The river press., 1912-12-25
A Wartime New Years
Day Experience


~ New Years morning. 1864. |
when the thermometer was
below zero. probably the
~ most uniisciplined body Of
troops in the whole Union army march
ed into camp ut Martinsburg. Viva.
The men looked careless, fatigued.
sleepy and cold. Some of them We're
bareheaded. which showed that they
had travelled day and night and had
fallen asleep on their horses Many
had lost their hats and caps by their
heads coming in contact with the
limbs Of the trees in the woods. Some
had the front and back parts burned
| out of their overcnats and trousers,
which had probably happened while
they were doing before the fire. A
few of them wore some Confederate
clothing, indicating apparently that
they had captured some Confederate
Quartermaster's stores and had re-
placed their own damaged garments
with their enemy's clothing. Others
had their feet tied up with pieces OF
blankets and sheepskins.
| Muuy Oh tIp IlS.l were
others were mounted on wagon horses
and mules. with the harness still on
the animals. This showed that their
wagon train had been destroyed and
that some of the men, who had lost
their cavalry horses, had mounted
these animals
The infantry and the citizens Of
| 10 vti in 81, rofh hnr nd CT
ed at these troops in wonder. This
was General Averills command. four
regiments of cavalry and a battery that
had Just returned from the Salem raid,
The raiding party left New Creek now
Keyser City. w. Va.), Dec. s. 1868:
marched to Salem, Va. thence back to
Martinsburg w. Va. arriving there
Jan. l. 1864, travelling twentyfour
days. During this time the party trav-
eled several hundred miles, tore up the
Virginia and Tennessee railroad tracks
, to prevent General Lee from re-enforc-
, ing General Longstreet, who was fight
ing General Burnside at Knoxville.
Tenn. At Salem the Confederate quar-
termaster and commissary stores were
destroyed.
. On our retreat dozen or more Con-
federate brigades were after us and
tried to head us of at every crossroad
+ At Covington, Va, after the bridge
over Jackson river was burned, our
, regiment, the Fourteenth Pennsylva-
MIA cavalry, which was the rear guard.
and a few dismounted men Of other
, regiments that were with the wagon
, train were surrounded on the south
side of the river. One of the Confed-
crate generals sent in a flag of truce,
= demanding a surrender, but we fought
= our way through After we burned
our wagon train we swan the jackson
river.
On our retreat we Travelled through
a severe snowstorm and slid down icy
mountains. Our artillery was saved
j by pulling it over the mountains with
ropes.
! Our brigade lost on this raid killed
! drowned, frozen and captured, 14t
E men and five officers.
. A few men We're so badly frozen that
- they died shortly afterward.
- Thus on that New Years morning
G we were cold, hungry, tired. sleepy
dirty and shabby. Uncle Sam soo1
heard of our condition and came to US
q with outstretched arms, for on Jan. II
J. he presented every one of us with {
9 brand new outfit, which included over
coat, dress coat. blouse, hat, cap, shirt
d drawers, stockings, boots and blankets
, We soon commenced to get conceited
for we believed that we were the onl!
7 brigade in the whole Union army tina
| had ever received such a magnif1cen
| gift from the United States govern
| ment.-James F. Hays in Baltimor
j American