The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1916-07-27
THE OLD VERMONT BRIGADE
General McMahon's Famous Tribute.
He Called ii the Best Brigade in the
Army of the Potomac.

! He Called 1t the Best Brigade in th
Army of the Potomac.
We reprint, by request the following
. tribute tothe old First Vermont brig
. ade. II was first printed soon aftel
the close Of the Civil War, and was en-
titled THE First Vermont Brigade
. By one who did not belong TO it, anC
who was never in Vermont. Its au
thorship was not known for some time
but finally was discovered and ac'
J knowledged by its author. This was
Gen. Martin T. Mcmahon, who was
chief of staff of the Sixth Army Corps
under Uncle John" Sedgwick, and had
ample opportunity to see the Vermont
ers in camp, on the march and in
battle. He has been United States
marshal in New York, United States
minister to Paraguay, and held other
important offices. He is now Judge OF
the court of general sessions in New
York City, and he takes back nothing
Of his old high opinion Of the Vermont
troops, ~
| They were honest farmers turned
vagabonds. They were simple coun-
trymen changed into heroes. They
were quiet townsmen that had become
rovcrs. They stole ancient horses and
bony cows on the march. They pillag-
ed moderately in other things. They
swept the dairies and stripped the or
chards for miles where they Travelled.
They chased rabbits when they went
into camp after long marches, and
they yelled like wild Indians when
neighboring camps were silent
through fatigue. They were ill-dis-
ciplined and familiar with their Off
GERS. They staggered in cool, i'm
pudent way, and looked down with a
patronizing Yankee coolness upon all
regiments that were better drilled, and
upon that part of the army generally
that did not belong to the Vermont
brigade. They were strangely proud,
not of themselves individually, but of
the brigade collectively, for they knew
perfectly well they were the best
fighters in the known world. They
were long of limb and could outmarch
the army. They were individually
self-reliant and skillful in the use of
arms, and they honestly believed that
the Vermont brigade could not be
beaten by the combined armies of the
rebellion. a
They were veterans in fighting quail
tiles almost from their first skirmish.
This was at Lees Mills. They crossed
a narrow dam under hot fire, made
the attack they were instructed to
make and came back wading deep in
the water with a steadiness that sur
prised the army. They were an incor-
rigible, irregular, noisy set Of rascals.
They were much sworn at during
their four years Of service, yet they
were at all times pet brigade. There
were but two things they could do
march and fight; and these they did in
a manner peculiarly their own. They
had a long, slow, swinging stride on
the march, which distanced everything
that followed them. They had a quiet,
attentive, earnest, individual way of
fighting that made them terrific in
battle. Each man knew that his
neighbor in the ranks was not going to
iun away, and he knew also, that he
himself intended to remain where he
was. Accordingly none of the atten-
ton of the line was directed from the
important duty of loading or firing
rapidly and carefully When moving
into action and while hotly engaged,
they made queer, quaint jokes and en-
ioyed them greatly. They crowed like
cocks, they ba-ed like sheep, they
neighed like horses, they beloved like
bulls, they barked like dogs, and they
with excellent effect the
music of the mule.
When, perchance they held a picket
line in a forest, it seemed as if Noah's
ark had gone to pieces there.
In every engagement in which this
brigade took part it was complimented
for gallant conduct. One of the most
of its performances, how
ever, has never appeared in print, nor
mas it been noticed in its reports.
After the battle Of Gettysburg, when
Lees army was in the vicinity Of
iagarstown and the Antietam, the !
Vermont brigade was deployed as a
,kirmish line covering front Of near |
y three miles. The enemy were in
orce in front near Beaver creek. The s
Sixth Corps was held in readiness in
ear Of the skirmish line, anticipating
general engagement. The enemy had
determined to attack. At
asst his line of battle came forward.
The batteries opened at once and the
kirmishers delivered their fires. Our T