Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1916-11-29
THE OLD VERMONT
BRIGADE
General McMahOn's Famous Tribute
He Called 1t the Best Brigade
i'm the Army of the Potomac.

We reprint by request the follow
ing tribute to the old First Vermont
brigade It was first printed soon at
ter the Civil War, and was entitled
''The First Vermont Brigade by one
who did not belong to it, and who was
| never in Vermont" It's authorship
nal4y was discovered and acknoWl-
edged by it's author. This was Gen.
| Martin T.. Mcmahon, who was chief
/ of staff of the Sixth Army corps I'M
| der "Uncle" John Sedgwick, and had
| ample opportunity to see the Yer
monters 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 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
rovers. They stole ancient horses and
bony COWS on the march. They pill
| LACED moderately in other things.
They swept the diaries and stripped
the orchards for miles where they
travelled They chased rabbits when
they went into camp after long
marches, and they yelled like wild In
dams when other camps were silent
| through fatigue. They were ill-dis
ciplined and familiar with their Off
GERS They staggered in a cool i'm
pudent way, and looked down with
patronizing Yankee GOODNESS upon all
regiments that were better drilled,
and upon that part of the army gen
orally that did not belong to the Yer
mont 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 out
march the army. They were individ
ually self-reliant and skillful in the
use of arms, and they honestly be
lieved that the Vermont brigade could
not be beaten by the combined armies
Of the rebellion.
They were veterans in fighting
qualities almost from their first skir-
mish. This was at Lees Mills. They
crossed a narrow dam under a hot
fire, made the attack they were in
structed to make and came back wa
ding deep in the water with steadi-
ness that surprised the army. They
were an incorrigible, irregular, noisy
set of rascals. They were much sworn
at during their four years of service,
yet they were at all times a pet bri-
gade. There were but two things they
could do-march and fight, and these
. they did in a manner peculiarly their
own. They had long, slow swinging
stride on the march, which distanced
) | hot fn11
had a quiet, attentive, earnest, individ-
: ual way of fighting that made them
terrific in battle. Each man knew that
: his neighbor in the ranks was not 60
ing to run away, and he knew also,
that he himself intended to remain
where he was. Accordingly none of
the attention of the line was directed
from the important duty of loading
and firing rapidly and carefully.
When moving into action and while
hotly engaged, they made queer,
quaint jokes and enjoyed them great
Iy. They crowed like cocks, they
ba-ed like sheep, they neighed like
horses, they beloved like bulls, they
barked like dogs, and they counter
feited with excellent effect the indie
= scribable music of the mule When,
perchance they held picket line in
had gone to pieces there.
In every engagement in which this
brigade took part it was compliment
ed for gallant conduct. One of the
5 most remarkable of it's performances,
t however, has never appeared in print,
nor has it been noticed in reports.
After the battle of Gettysburg, when
Lees army was in the vicinity of Ha-
!. garstown and the Antietam, the Yer
< mont brigade was deployed as Skin
!, mlsh line covering front of nearly
, three miles. The enemy were in force
IN front near Beaver creek. The
e Sixth corps was held in readiness in
rear of the skirmish line, anticipating
, a general engagement. The enemy
u +, had evidently determined to attack
ward. The batteries opened at once
: and the skirmishers delivered their
tires. Our troops were on the alert
and stood watching for the skirmish-
s ers to come in, and waiting to receive
a the coming assault. But the Skin.
: mlshers would not come in and wher
the fire died away it appeared that the
y Vermonters thus deployed as a Skin
1t mlsh line had actually repulsed a full
d line OF battle attacks. Twice after
a ward the enemy advanced to carry
!, the position and were each time driv
en- back by this perverse skirmisl
y line. The Vermonters, it is true. wert
strongly posted in the woods, ant
,. each man fired from behind a tree
I But then, everybody knows that Ell
It quette in such matters is for the Skin
1t m1sh line to come in just as soon a.
they are satisfied the enemy mean
- business. These simple-minded pa
trlots from the Green Mountains
however, adop ted a rule of thei
own on this occasion, and the enemy
s disguised with this stupidity. retire
across Beaver creek.
r When the Vermonters led the col
S. umn on the march their quick move
~ mentS had To he ron11la I cd f.a,.. -