The 48th/150th: Bidding Farewell to General James Nagle

150 years ago, from his headquarters near Lancaster, Kentucky, forty-one-year-old James Nagle, after wrestling with the thought for some time, reluctantly tendered his resignation from the army and was preparing to bid farewell to the men of his command, and particularly those of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, the regiment he had raised in the summer of 1861 from his native Schuylkill County. Since the beginning of 1863, if not earlier, Nagle had been in poor health, suffering from the onset of heart disease, a condition that would ultimately cause his death just three years later, at the young age of forty-four. He sought treatment and the advice of his doctors; the diagnosis was angina pectoris, and his doctors advised he resign. He finally did so, in early May, 1863.

Brigadier General James Nagle

His resignation was accepted, but not without the regret from his superiors.  On May 9, Samuel Sturgis, commander of the Second Divison, 9th Corps, forwarded Nagle's resignation, but took the time to write the following back to the suffering Nagle: Dear General: I cannot better express the pain it gave me to forward your resignation, than by giving you a copy of my endorsement upon it, viz.: 'Respectfully forwarded and approved. But I must express my deep regret at the necessity for this forwarding it. By his intelligence, energy, zeal and courage, and quiet, unassuming deportment, withal, Gen. Nagle has endeared himself to this command, and will carry with him the love and respect, not only of those gallant troops he had led so often to victory, but of all who have the good fortune to know him."

His resignation accepted and approved, Nagle said goodbye to his men on May 20 and issued his farewell address:

Head Quarters

1^st Brigade, 2^nd Division, 9^th A.C.

Lancaster, Ky May 20^th 1863

 

To the Officers and Soldiers of this Command,

                As I am about taking my leave from you, I deem it my duty to say a few parting words. It is with deep regret that I am obliged to take this step, particularly after having gone through so many fatigues, hardships and dangers on the field of Battle with you, and after having received a reward for my humble service by promotion to my late position.

                It was with great reluctance that I tendered my resignation, but disease with no hope of recovery compelled me to yield, and now as I can not be with you in person, rest assured that my heart will ever be with you.

                Our associations have been too pleasant to be soon forgotten. The proudest part of my life has been spent while in Command of this Brigade, and you respectful demeanor, and gallant conduct on the numerous fields of Battle will never fade from my memory.

                I trust that this Rebellion will soon be crushed, and that our glorious old Standard will once more float proudly over our whole Country.

                I am sorry that I am unable to take you all by the hand, and I hope as many as can will call upon me at my Quarters before I leave.

                To the members of my Staff I desire to express my high appreciation for the manner in which they have conducted the several Departments, and for the able assistance they have rendered me in the field.

                In bidding you all farewell I hope I may be pardoned for bidding an especial farewell to my old Command and more immediate associates, the tried Veterans of the 48^th Penna. Vols.

                I consign you to the care of that able and gallant Officer, Col. Simon G. Griffin 6^th N.H. Vols.

                May God bless you, and grant your continued services.

                                                                                                                                James Nagle

 

 

 

With that, Nagle boarded a traincar and was soon heading back home to his family in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Yet no sooner had he arrived than Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia in his second invasion of Union soil, this time making it deep into Nagle's home state of Pennsylvania. Heralding the call once more, Nagle, despite his poor health, set about raising yet another regiment of volunteers--the 39th Pennsylvania Emergency Militia--which he would lead to the front. Arriving in Harrisburg during the latter stages of the Gettysburg Campaign, Nagle was assigned brigade command by General Darius Couch, who headed the Department of the Susquehanna.

 

The 48th/150th: Stealing Liquor and Other "Mischievious Mischief" ??

150 years ago, the officers of the 48th Pennsylvania and 6th New Hampshire--another of the regiments in General James Nagle's 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 9th Army Corps--were trying to get to the bottom of what was universally described as an "outrage" committed at Spruce Creek, Huntington County, Pennsylvania, as the men made their westward journey to Kentucky.

It all started on March 28, 1863, a cold and snowy day. . .the trains carrying the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania and 6th New Hampshire stopped for a only a few minutes at the Spruce Creek Station.  Spruce Creek, in Huntington County, Pennsylvania, lays along the Juniata River about twenty miles west of State College.

It was there where all the trouble began.

As it turned out, several soldiers hopped off board and rummaged through the house belonging to a Mr. R.F. Haslett, and made off with quite a haul of alcohol. . .
That night, and quite steamed, Mr. Haslett wrote directly to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton:

“Sir—This day about ten O’clock a Train Load of your Soldiers passing this place Came into my House with an officer at their head & Commenced Robbing my house & Carried off quite a lot of my Goods Which I don’t feel like Loosing.  We have to pay the Government there (Revenues) & Taxes & When Such things occur I have a right to be paid for whatever they take from me. As you have the power of taking it off the (Perpetrators)  Part of them is Said to belong to Baltimore. Some of the 6^th New Hampshire & Some of the 48^th Penn. The Penna. men Said that those Maryland men would Steal Anything they got there hands on.

“Another thing to be considered I have always treated the Soldiers with the best respect gave them what I could to both Eat & Drink ever Since they have been traveling over the road. I have two Sons now in the Army one in the 2^nd Illinois Cavalry under General John A. Logan & the other one belongs to the 125^th Penna. Regt. under Col. Jacob Higgins & I should be verry Sorry to hear of them Acting So. I will give you Some of the Items Stolen Hoping you will See to having it paid. If not I will Publish in the papers with the affidavits of Six or Eight good men So that people can on there guard when such men travel the Road.

“Ten gallons alcohol @ 1.50=$15.00
            Keg               @ 1.50=$  1.50
 Eleven Bottles Champagne @2.50=$27.50
 1 [...?...] & Contents 5.50=$5.50
 Destroying things, Breaking Lamps
 Tramping Candles, Wasting Liquors & Ale
 & Mischievous Mischief=$25.00
                            Total: $74.50

 “Above I give you a statement of what I have lost & then All is not inclosed as there was a great many Small items that I did not mention. You will please give the above your attention.

                                                                                    “Respectfully Yours
                                                                                                R.F. Haslett

                                                                                               Spruce Creek,
                                                                                                Huntington Co., Penn.”

 



The Spruce Creek Tunnel

About a month later, Mr. Haslett's complaint made its way to the officers of Nagle's Brigade.

Nagle demanded answers, but both Col. Joshua Sigfried of the 48th and Lt. Col. H.H. Pearson of the 6th New Hampshire denied their men's involvement in the outrages:

Col. Joshua Sigfried denied that any of the 48th were involved

Said Sigfried:

“Sir: Being personally in command of the regiment at the time it passed through Huntington County Penn., I made a close and thorough investigation myself into the inclosed complaint. I find that none of my regiment was engaged in the outrage. The train stopped but a few minutes at that station, and we left no stragglers there.
“Permit me to say that no Officer of my regiment was or could be guilty of such an outrage.”

In support of his own men, Pearson, in turn, responded:

“I commanded this Regt. during its passage from Va. to Ky. & was absent from it not a moment. I have questioned every Officer of the Reg. as to the enclosed complaint & they all state that they never heard of it before.
“I have required them to question the non-commissioned Officers & Privates & have made careful enqueries myself.
“I enclose the statements of three non-commissioned Officers which include all the intelligence I have been able to process in relation to this outrage.
“I am quite confident that no Officer or soldier of this Reg. participated in it.
“I do not think that any such occurrences could happen in this Regt. without it coming to my knowledge.
“Throughout the passage, sentinels were pasted the car doors & my men were not permitted to get off & on at pleasure.”

To lend further credence to his claim of the innocence of the 6th New Hampshire, Pearson included the following statements made by three of his soldiers, who each claimed it was, indeed, soldiers of the 48th who were guilty of stealing Mr. Haslett's liquor and creating other "mischievous mischief," their brass "48"s on their caps revealing their culpability:


Statement of Cpl. Charles H. Willey, Co. C, 6th NH: April 26, 1863:

“While we were stopping for a few minutes at some station on the Penn. R.R. (the name of which I did not notice) I saw four men belonging to the 48th Penn. carry a new half barrel from a building which stood within a short distance from the R.R. track. and bring it to the train. They rolled it under the car in which I and my company were and then carried it toward the rear of the train and put it into the 4th or 5th car. I should think. My company rode in the car next to the rear one of our Regiment. And behind that came the 48th Penn. I know the four men carrying the half barrel belonged to the 48th Penn by the figures on their caps. It had a faucet in it and it was not closed. Some kind of liquor was running out.”

Statement of Sgt. Frank Flanders, Co. G, 6th NH: April 26, 1863:

“I was sergeant of the guard in the car containing my Company on the passage through Penn. I got off the car for water at a station where we stopped for a few minutes; do not recollect the name of the station. While filling my canteen with water from a pail which a lady had brought out of a house, I saw a number of soldiers belonging to the 48th Penn. coming out of a door near me with large quart bottles, which I took to be brandy bottles.
“I heard it said by the bystanders that the soldiers were “cleaning out a bar-room” I did not go into the bar-room myself or see any one of my Regt go in or come out. I looked in particular for me of the 6th NH but saw none.
“As soon as my canteen was filled the engine bell rang and I ran for the cars. I know the soldiers belonged to the 48th Penn by the figures on their caps.”

Statement from Sergeant James C. Smith, Color Sergeant, 6th NH: 4/26/1863:
 
“While looking out the cars at a certain station on the Penn R.R. where we had stopped for a few minutes, I saw some soldiers belonging to the 48th Regt. Penn. Vols. go by my car carrying a Keg. I heard some of the “48th” who were coming up from the opposite direction ask them “what they had there?” and their answer was “it’s whiskey” – “it’s about half full.”
“I know they belonged to the 48th by the figures on their caps. I should think the keg would hold Ten Gallons. Four men carried it.
“I saw Sergeant Flanders of my company get off the cars and go to a pail which a lady brought from a house, fill his canteen and return. I don’t recollect the name of the station. It was snowing at the time and the windows were closed. I had shoved mine [window] up to look out.”

Then-And-Now Photos of the Railroad Passing Along the Juniata River at Spruce Creek
[From:http://testplant.blogspot.com/2011/09/spruce-creek-and-juniata-valley-images.html]

Despite these statements, it appears, at least from the existing records, that poor Mr. Haslett did not receive compensation and that the culprits were never positively identified. 


The only "resolution" that appears in the records in this brief note, penned by an unknown/unnamed person:

“The within papers exhibit such a conflict of testimony that an intelligent answer to Mr. Haskell cannot be formed. The Col. of the 48^th Pa Vols says that no persons under his command committed the outrages alleged. On the other hand three non-commissioned officers of the 6^th NH Vols affirm that said outrages were perpetrated by persons wearing the number of the 48^th Pa on their caps.”  

What's your verdict?

The 48th/150th: "Quite A Jolly Time:" Lt. Pollock Describes The Journey West To Lexington

150 years ago, the 48th Pennsylvania were settling in at Lexington, Kentucky, where, for the next five months they were stationed as provost guards. Thus, while missing out in the major campaigns and battles that spring and summer of 1863, the soldiers enjoyed a much-needed and much deserved respite.



Main Street
Lexington, KY

In this letter, written 150 years ago today (April 5, 1863), 2nd Lieutenant Curtis C. Pollock, lets his mother know that he has arrived safe and sound in Lexington:

My Dear Ma

                I guess you will think it very strange that I have not written for so long a time, but the reason (and I know it is a poor one) that we have been in so unsettled a state that I had no opportunity.  And I do not feel a bit like writing now but I know that you will be anxious about me so I will write a few lines to let you know that I am in good health and spirits.  Col. Sigfried is Provost Marshal of the City and the Regt. is doing Provost duty in it.  I am on guard to day and have been kept pretty busy all day.  I will write a long letter in a few days giving you an account of our journey here. We had a very pleasant trip.  If we can only stay here it will be also the most comfortable quarters we ever had.  The Regt. is quartered in two houses and we have a room with the officers of Co. B. We were paid the day before we left camp to come into town and I received $426.  I will not send any home as I am going to try and get there myself as soon as possible.  No more at present

                                                                                Your affec son

                                                                                                C.C.P.

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

A week later, on April 13, Pollock had more time to relate the journey of the regiment from Newport News, Virginia, to Lexington:

 

Lexington Ky.

April 13^th 1863

Dear Ma

                I received the letters sent by Flanagan and Evans, but have not received any by mail, except one from Mary.  We are getting along very well and like our new duties.  I am on guard to night and it is 1 o’clock A.M.  I am sitting in the Provost Marshal’s office writing. We had a splendid trip from Newport News here and we all enjoyed it very much.  We saw plenty of pretty girls along the road and we would get out at the stations where the train would stop and talk to them and when we came across any while train was going, we had notes prepared and would throw them out the window, kiss our hands to them and wave our handkerchiefs.  Indeed we had quite a jolly time.  The scenery along the Juniata is beautiful, and going across the plains from Altoona to Pittsburg the scenery is said to be perfectly beautiful but as it was very foggy we did not get to see much.  We had four engines attached to our train crossing the Alleghanies and they had tough work to get us up.  I was very much taken with Ohio.  Every town we passed through the depots were thronged with pretty girls and there were so many of them.  It was on Sunday when we passed through and every body was dressed up in their Sunday go to meeting clothes and looked well.  There was one particular young lade who was down at the cars and with whom I fell desperately in love, her name I found out to be Sue Sterling and she kissed her hand to me.  We passed through Columbus about 12 o’clock at night and we did not get to see much of it.  I was nearly left behind here.  Capt. & I got out to get our coffee pot full of coffee and before we got to the place where they were dishing it out the train started and Capt. he got right aboard but I was not going to loose the coffee so I took the pot and ran to the place but it was almost all gone so that I could only get a few tin cups full, and when I started for the train it was about a hundred yards ahead of me and going very fast.  well I did some tall running about that time with the old coffee pot in one hand. I just managed to get up to the last car and get aboard.  They all thought I had been left. I met a gentleman in Pittsburg by the name of Whitney and he took me around and treated me first rate and I had quite a jolly time.  We arrived in Cincinata about 11 o’clock Monday morning and were marched to the Market House where a table was set for the men, one of the Hotel keepers then invited the officers down to take dinner at his hotel and it was there I ate the first buckwheat cakes I had tasted the last winter, they were very good and we had some of the best sausage I ever ate.  After dinner we crossed over to Covington got on the train and after waiting until nearly dark we started for Lexington.  We rode all night and when I got awake the next morning I found myself here, and a very fine city it is though they are a great many Secesh. about. I have become aquainted with some Union ladies and spent a very pleasant evening with them and last night I escorted one home from church.  I saw on the street to day a daughter of the Rebel General Preston she is rather a fine looking girl but not pretty.  I expect to get aquainted with quite a number of ladies this week and I now have the photographs to two very pretty young ladies here. One of them is a namesake of Sallie Brights, he name is Bell Bright.  The town clock has just struck two and I am very sleepy so I hope you will excuse this hastily written letter.  We have been quartered I town for some time, but to day we moved out to the outskirts, and send our details in ever day.  Col. Sigfried commands this post and Gen. Wilcox has relieved Gen. Gilmour who has been here and commanded the central district of Kentucky.  I do not know whether I shall be able to get home or not but as soon as I think there is any show, I will try it.  Your affec Son

                                                C.C.P.

 

 

The 48th/150th: Heading West!

After a six weeks' stay at Newport News, Virginia, the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of March 25, 1863, received orders "to pack up and leave at once."  Although they did not yet know it, these veteran soldiers from many a campaign in North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia, were now heading to the war's Western Theater and for the next year, would campaign in Kentucky and Tennessee alongside their 9th Corps comrades and under Burnside.

The Steamer John A. Warner which carried the 48th from Newport News to Baltimore

Not wasting any time, the regiment was fully aboard the steamer John A. Warner by 4:30 p.m. and by 7:00 that evening where anchored off Fortress Monroe. At 3:30 a.m. the following morning--March 26, 1863--the John A. Warner cast loose and was soon steaming up the Chesapeake Bay. Even though the 48th shared the overcrowded steamer with the 6th New Hampshire, Oliver Bosbyshell nevertheless remembered that the "weather was delightful, the bay as smooth as a mill pond and the trip to Baltimore thoroughly enjoyed by all hands." Docking at Baltimore, the 48th disembarked from the John A. Warner on March 27 then marched through Baltimore to the station of the North Central Railroad. For those "First Defenders" within the ranks of the 48th, this march through Baltimore must have been odd, since it was there, two years earlier, where they came under attack from an angry mob of Baltimore residents sympathetic with the Confederacy. What a contrast now, as Bosbyshell (who was among the First Defenders) recalled: "The good people of Baltimore viewed with each other in showering kindness on the men; all sorts of eatables and drinkables were provided by them, and the really demoralized condition of a vast number of the men of the regiment before that city was departed from, is entirely 'too numerous to mention.'"

The journey west thus got off to a great and memorable start, and it only got better in the days ahead. "It was much in the nature of an ovation, as crowds greeted the 'boys' at every station, and a plentiful supply of good things was constantly distributed by friends." The trains carried the regiment from Baltimore and across the Pennsylvania countryside--for most of the soldiers of the 48th, this was their first return to their native state since marching off to war a year-and-a-half earlier. Since they were so very close to home, the temptation "to go home for a few days was so strong," noted regimental historian Joseph Gould, "that some few members of the regiment took French leave when passing Harrisburg, and visited their folks at home." The trains stopped at York, Mifflin, Altoona, and Pittsburgh, where coffee and bread was given to the men. At Pittsburgh, "a fine repast was prepared, and greatly enjoyed--especially," noted Bosbyshell, "in having present many of the Smoky City's fine ladies, who, although the hour was 2 o'clock in the morning, lent the charm of their presence to enliven the 'soldier laddies'' hearts."

1874 Lithograph of Pittsburgh by Otto Krebs

Continuing on through Ohio, the 48th enjoyed yet another fine reception in Cincinnati, where, at the Market House, they enjoyed "a most appetizing feast" and "a breakfast all too delightful to dwell upon." Said Bosbyshell: "The ride through Ohio was made on Sunday, March 29. The enthusiastic crowds of girls, boys, women and men that greeted the regiment at every stop, was an experience so charming to the men who had been so long campaigning in a country hostile to them, that it made the trip satisfactory in the extreme."

Leaving the trains, the soldiers of the 48th continued on their most satisfactory trip now by ferry boat The Queen City:  across the Ohio River and into Kentucky, to Covington. From there, it was back onto train cars, those of the Kentucky Central. . .another ride on the rails at last brought the regiment to their destination point: the city of Lexington, where they arrived at 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 31.  Upon their arrival, the soldiers received four months' back pay and, as Gould wrote, "the city of Lexington received a coat of red paint, whether it deserved it or not. Some of the members received several days in No. 3 jail, which they fully deserved."

Soldiers of the 48th: Lt. Henry E. Stichter, Company E

Early War Image of Henry E. Stichter, as a Corporal

I had the good fortune several years back to come into possession of this great tintype photograph of Henry E. Stichter, Company D, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. Henry Stichter, a native of Pottsville, was twenty-three years of age when, in September 1861, he was mustered into service as a Corporal in the ranks of Company D, a company recruited almost entirely from Pottsville and commanded, at the outset of war, by Captain Daniel Nagle, brother of the regiment's commander, Colonel James Nagle.

Although from Pottsville, Henry listed Hamburg, in neighbording Berks County, as his place of residence when the war began. According to the regimental muster rolls, he stood 5'8 1/2" in height, had a Dark Complexion, Dark Eyes, and Dark Hair. His occupation was listed as Painter.  Henry was not the only Stichter to appear in the ranks of the 48th. Indeed, in 1861, we also see a Samuel Stichter, age 43, a resident of Berks County. Although I do not know for sure, it is possible that Samuel Stichter was Henry's father and the two served side-by-side in the ranks of Company D. The fate of Samuel Stichter is unclear, since the regimental history lists him only as "Not Present at Muster Out." In February 1864, another Stichter entered the ranks of Company D, twenty-one-year-old Alfred, a cigar maker from Berks County.  Again, I do not know for sure, but there is a good chance that Alfred was a younger brother of Henry's. Enlisting as a private in March 1864, Alfred Stichter survived the war and was mustered out in July 1865.

Henry Stichter rose in the ranks from Corporal to 2nd Lieutenant in September 1863 then, one year later, from 2nd to 1st Lieutenant. He was discharged from the army in October 1864, his three-year term of service having expired and he not electing to re-enlist for another three-year stint. It appears there was a good reason why he chose to go home, for on the day after Christmas, 1864, Henry married Amelia Zweizig, a Hamburg gal, as evidenced by this small, business card-sized Marriage Certificate that I acquired along with Henry's photograph.

 

 

I wish I knew more at the present time about Henry Stichter and the other two Stichter's in the ranks of Company D, 48th PA. An 1889 burial record of the Odd Fellow's Cemetery in Pottsville does have Henry Stichter buried within, so it seems he did not enjoy a long post-war life.

It appears a request to the National Archives is in order. 



The 48th/150th: Preparing to Head West With Burnside. . .

Maj.Gen. Ambrose Burnside

Following the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg and the infamous "Mud March" in late January 1863, Major General Ambrose Burnside was relieved of his command of the Army of the Potomac, replaced by the ambitious and brash General Joseph Hooker. But President Lincoln was not quite willing to cut Burnside entirely loose from the army. Instead, recognizing Burnside's capabilities and skills, appreciating his aggressive command style and perhaps feeling a bit culpable for the defeat at Fredericksburg, Lincoln appointed Burnside commander of both the Army and the Department of the Ohio. The stout and heavily-whiskered Burnside would thus be heading west. . .and, at his request, his tried and true soldiers of the 9th Army Corps would be heading out with him.

 

 

 

On February 6, 1863, orders arrived for the 48th to report to General John Dix at Newport News, Virginia, "and the news," noted regimental historian Joseph Gould, "was received joyfully by the command."

 

The soldiers of the 48th now prepared for a new chapter in its history. Thus far in the war, they had served on the North Carolina coastline, fought with Pope at 2nd Bull Run, under McClellan at South Mountain and Antietam, and under Burnside at Fredericksburg, witnessing heavy combat and sustaining heavy losses at each of these engagements. But now their service in the east would be suspended, and for the next year, they would serve in the war's Western Theater, being first assigned to provost guard duty at Lexington, Kentucky, then serving in East Tennessee in a campaign that pitted Burnside against General James Longstreet's forces for control of this vital part of the state.

 

The first step of this journey for the 48th was from Fredericksburg to Aquia Creek then from Aquia Creek to Fortress Monroe and, finally, to Newport News. Having bid adieu to the Army of the Potomac, the soldiers of the 48th marched to Aquia Creek where they boarded the transport ship North America, which set sail for Fortress Monroe at 5:00 p.m. on the evening of February 9. "The North America was somewhat crowded," wrote Oliver Bosbyshell, "having on board the 6th New Hampshire, 2nd Maryland, and the 48th Pennsylvania, besides a provost guard of about sixty men and numerous handers on."



Soldiers of the 9th Army Corps (perhaps the 48th PA???) board steamers and transport ships at Aquia Creek on February 9, 1863, preparing to set sail for Fortress Monroe and Newport News



9th Corps Soldiers Boarding a Transport Ship. . .which looks awfully, awfully cramped and crowded!

The crowded vessel set sail early on Tuesday morning, February 10, steaming down the Potomac then entering the Chesapeake Bay around noon. That night, the ship drew up within sight of Fortress Monroe, where it anchored for the night. On February 11, the North America continued on its way up to Newport News, arriving there early in the afternoon. At 1:00 p.m., the cramped soldiers of the 48th disembarked, stretched their legs from the crowded voyage and set up camp "about three-quarters of a mile from the landing," explained Bosbyshell, "in rear of the fortifications, on the magnificent plain stretching along the James River."



The North America (left) and Albany

Thus ended the first part of their journey. The 48th remained encamped at Newport News for the next six weeks, from February 11 until March 25, 1863.

 

The weather that winter was poor. "It was very cold, and severe snow storms were frequent," remembered Sergeant Gould, "and the troops were suffering quite considerably from the inclement weather. Company and regimental drills were held almost day, and contributed very much in the solution of the question of keeping warm."

 

But despite the poor weather, it seems it did not take long for the 48th to settle in and get used to their new camp.  "Many amusements were indulged in," wrote Captain Bosbyshell, "horse racing, cricket matches, base-ball and the like."



Civil War Encampment at Newport News, Virginia

 

 

 

It was also during their stay at Newport News that the men received new weapons. They had been carrying .58 caliber Enfield smoothbores. Now, they regiment was armed "with the improved 'Springfield Rifled Muskets.'"