The 48th/150th: The "Long, Long Tramp" To Knoxville

(In the Fall and Winter of 1863, Major General Ambrose Burnside achieved much success dealing with Confederate general James Longstreet in the oft-overlooked East Tennessee/Knoxville Campaign, successfully out-marching, out-maneuvering, and out-fighting this much revered Confederate commander. As part of the 9^th Army Corps, the 48^th Pennsylvania was involved in much of this campaign; a campaign that certainly does not rank among the more famous ones of the war, but an important one nonetheless. Over the next few weeks, I will be documenting the experiences of the regiment during this East Tennessee Campaign, beginning with their long, 221-mile, two-week march from Lexington to Knoxville).

Click on this link to view a map of the 48th's journey from Lexington to Knoxville:

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=znAlpNRukuKE.k3qNxU98RZCA

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After saying farewell to their friends in Lexington, Kentucky, the soldiers of the 48^th departed on train for Nicholasville, then on foot “along a very dusty turnpike” to within three miles of Camp Nelson—Burnside’s supply base for the campaign. The soldiers set up camp and the next day—September 11, 1863—a thorough regimental inspection was made, of the men’s weapons, accoutrements, and clothing. There, the regiment reattached itself to its larger command: the 1^st Brigade, 2^nd Division, of the 9^th Corps, which consisted of the 48^th PA, 2^nd MD, 6^th NH, 21^st MA, and 11^th NH (though this regiments was only temporarily attached to the brigade; it would remained with it for only six days). Because he was the senior colonel, Joshua Sigfried of the 48^th took command of the brigade.

Sigfried’s orders were to get his men across the Cumberland Gap and to Knoxville, at the heart of East Tennessee. Ambrose Burnside had himself arrived triumphantly in the city nine days earlier—on September 2—with a mixed force, mainly of the 23^rd Corps. But now his 9^th Corps soldiers were needed and Sigfried considered his best route and manner of march. As Oliver Bosbyshell explained, “Having a march of over two hundred miles. . .he determined to avail himself of the early morning, and later afternoon hours, affording ample time for rest during the heated portion of the day. Orders were promulgated requiring a steady tramp for three-quarters of an hour, and then a halt of fifteen minutes, with three hours’ rest during the middle of the day. This systematic march as rigidly adhered to,” said Bosbyshell, “and resulted in a rapid covering of the distance to be accomplished, with a minimum degree of fatigue on the part of the troops.” Apparently, Sigfried was quite “punctilious” in making sure his orders for the march were carried out and any deviation “would result in a sharp reproof.”

September of 1863 witnessed the 48^th Pennsylvania covering great distances in their march from Kentucky to Knoxville, Tennessee. A day-by-day account of their journey follows, with some descriptions of the march and their experiences along the way as told by Captain Bosbyshell:

Saturday, September 12: The march begins and the regiment tramped ten miles through a “terrific rain storm” before arriving at Camp Dick Robinson “in a thoroughly drenched condition.” Despite the rain, the Schuylkill County soldiers enjoyed the “grand scenery along the Kentucky River—hilly, rocky and romantic.”

Camp Dick Robinson, KY

 

Sunday, September 13: With the rain by now over and the skies cleared, the 48^th set off on the march, passing through the small town of Lancaster—“a pretty village, the good folks of which were going to service, summoned by the merry ringing of the church bells.” After their mid-day rest, the men continued on their way, ultimately reaching Dick’s River; that day, the regiment marched 17.5 miles.

 

20th-Century Aerial View of Lancaster, KY

 

Monday, September 14: Departing Dick’s River, the regiment marched through Crab Orchard, “which at the time presented a rather dismal, mean appearance.” Near there, the regiment settled into camp “under the wide spreading branches of a fine old woods, the delights of which were enjoyed all day on. . .”

Tuesday, September 15: The weather was cool and invigorated as the soldiers enjoyed a day off from the march.

Wednesday, September 16: The long journey to Knoxville was renewed and the command covered eleven miles, arriving near Mount Vernon after marching along roads described as “exceedingly rough, filled with stone and rocks, and very hilly.”

 

Modern-Day Aerial View of Mount Vernon, KY

 

Thursday, September 17: On the one-year anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, the men of the 48^th broke camp at 6:00 a.m. and marched through Mount Vernon. What thoughts about Antietam and their friends and comrades they lost there, we cannot know, but Captain Bosbyshell recorded that the men were struck by the way the residents here extruded coal from the ground. “It was curious to the men from the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania,” said the Pottsville native, “to see the people here so easily supplying themselves with coal from the veins cropping out on the surface beside the road. They simply shoveled black dirt into wagons.” The march that day was a rough one. “The way was up hill and down dale constantly. In many places the road being extremely rough and difficult of passage, especially for the [wagon] teams.” At noon, and having already crossed over some high mountains, the regiment rested at Big Rockcastle River. While resting there, several hundred Confederate prisoners—captured by Burnside’s men at Cumberland Gap—marched past “on their way to Yankee land.” They were, said Bosbyshell, “a dirty, greasy looking set of fellows.” At 3:00 p.m., the march resumed. Crossing Wild Cat Mountain, the regiment went into bivouac near Little Rockcastle River at 5:30. The sixteen mile trek that day—up and down—over rough roads had made the men weary.

 

Rockcastle River [www.smallcreekfishing.com]

 

Friday, September 18: A shorter journey was in store this day. After breaking camp at 6:30 a.m., the regiment marched but eight miles before reaching a place named Pittman’s, just three miles from London.

Saturday, September 19: Broke camp early and marched nine miles before the welcome noon-halt arrived; another three miles were covered that afternoon before the regiment was ordered into camp. A welcome visitor arrived soon afterward—Major Fell—a U.S. Army paymaster and “the boys’ pocketbooks were thoroughly reinforced.”

Sunday, September 20: The weather was “cool and damp, with a dense fog covering field and road” when the regiment broke camp at 6:30 a.m. By 9:00, the fog had lifted and the sun appeared. The regimental halted at 1:00 p.m. within a mile of Barboursville. When the march resumed, the soldiers of the 48^th passed through “this small country village of scattering houses, some stores and a couple of taverns” before going into bivouac on the banks of the Cumberland River. In all, the regiment covered 15.5 miles that day. It was on this day also when Colonel Sigfried resumed command of the 48^th, since Brigadier General Simon Griffin arrived back with the command to take charge of the brigade. Griffin had assumed brigade command in May 1863, taking the place of General James Nagle who had resigned.

Colonel Simon Griffin, 6th NH

 

 

Monday, September 21: The regiment resumed the march at 7:00 a.m. and covered some thirteen miles before settling into camp near Cumberland Ford, where the soldiers “were comfortably quartered in an extensive apple orchard. . . .amid the most attractive scenery, indeed as the march followed all day the windings of the river, the charms of the richest autumnal effect impressed the entire command.”  “The march so far,” summarized Bosbyshell, “was enjoyed by all—no complaint reached any ears, straggling was unheard of and no sickness in the command—all seemed hearty and well, not in the least broken down, but fresh and active.” That’s what he said, at least.

 

Cumberland River [www.fw.ky.gov]

 

Tuesday, September 22: In a very heavy fog, the regiment left camp at 7:00 a.m. and crossed the three Log Mountains. The road they used was “decidedly rough, stony and generally troublesome.” The regiment halted at noon at Yellow Creek, but they were off again several hours later, marching “over dusty roads and exposed to a hot sun.” At 3:30 p.m., the regiment crossed the Cumberland Gap; they were now in Tennessee. An hour later, the command halted and the regiment went into camp at the foot of the mountain—on the Tennessee side—having covered fourteen “tedious” miles that day.

 

Soldiers Crossing the Cumberland Gap into Tennessee

 

Wednesday, September 23: The march continued and all day—excepting the three hour break—the men continued toward Knoxville. At 4:30, after covering thirteen more miles, they reached the edge of Tazewell, a town that “impressed all favorably, although a large part of it had been destroyed by fire—the blackened ruins showing its extent.”

 

Old Jail, Tazewell, TN, built in 1819 [Wikipedia.org]

 

Thursday, September 24: Departed Tazewell at 7:00 and, after a march of eight miles, arrived at the Clinch River. There, the bridge had been destroyed and so the men were forced to wade across. After a sometimes “treacherous” crossing, the regiment went into bivouac in order to give the men an opportunity to wash their clothes. “Tents were pitched beside the road facing the river. The opposite bank, where the command came from, presented high rocky cliffs, jagged and torn, extremely picturesque.”

Friday, September 25: Broke camp at 6:00 a.m., and two-and-a-half hours later, the regiment began the climb up and over Clinch Mountain. “The road up the mountain, whilst quite steep in places, was found good,” but the view from the top was even better. “From the summit a superb view breaks upon the sight,” remembered Bosbyshell. “‘Tis said four States can be seen: Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. A vast extent of country spreads before the vision.” Though a beautiful view from top, the tramp down the mountain was fraught with peril. “The descent was most difficult. . . .The troops could manage fairly well, but the brigade wagons. . .had a rough passage. With the aid of long ropes, the men prevented these wagons from slipping over the banks and falling down the yawning precipices. The task was finally accomplished, with the loss of one wheel and an iron bolt.” At noon, a halt was called at the foot of the mountain. At 2:00 p.m., the march resumed and the men reached the Holston River, which they waded before setting up camp on the southern banks of the river. Crossing two rivers and a mountain, the regiment covered fifteen miles this day.

 

View From The Summit of Clinch Mountain [www.city-data.com]

 

Saturday, September 26: Stretching their legs, the soldiers of the 48^th set out at 7:00 a.m., passed through Bean’s Station and then through Morristown—“a shabby-looking little village.”  It was there that General Griffin received a dispatch from Burnside: make your way directly to Knoxville! Griffin led the brigade to Panther Springs where the noon halt was made; at 2:00 p.m., it was once again on the move, arrived that night at Mossy Creek, having covered eighteen miles that day, “which, considering the heat and the never ending clouds of dust, was a fair day’s work.”

Sunday, September 27: Broke camp at 6:00 a.m.; rested at Beaver Creek then resumed the march to Strawberry Plains, where, again, the regiment had to cross the winding Holston River. There was a bridge here; however, its plank walkway was wide enough to accommodate one person at a time. Those on horseback, as well as the wagons, had to cross the river at a ford some three miles further downriver. Having crossed the river, the regiment found a camping ground at McMillan’s Farm, which amply stocked with straw. “So the Sabbath’s march ended, and sinking into piles of straw, beneath the brilliant rays of the moon, the command forgot in sleep its long, long tramp from Lexington.” They bedded down only thirteen miles from Knoxville.

 

1886 Birds' Eye View of Knoxville, TN

 

Monday, September 28: At 6:00 a.m., the regiment resumed its march. “Over a very dusty road, the last day of the great march over the mountains from Lexington to Knoxville had arrived.” At 3:00 p.m. the 48^th at last arrived. The regiment went into camp “on the top of a small hill to the left of the road” and, reflected Bosbyshell, “Thus ended the 221 miles’ march, a march remarkable for its extent and the entire freedom from fatigue by the men of the command. The regularity of the tramp, with its times for rest nicely adjusted, undoubtedly contributed to so satisfactory a result, and is in every way creditable to General Sigfried’s sagacity and good sense.”

Tuesday, September 29: This day was a day of well-deserved rest; all day the men remained quietly in camp. They were visited there by Generals Ambrose Burnside and John Parke, “who rode through the company streets during the afternoon to see how the boys looked after the long tramp.” The 48^th greeted their beloved Burnside with cheers, “long and loud.”

 

Major General Ambrose Burnside
 

 

 

 

The 48th/150th: Bidding Farewell to Lexington

After a six-month-long stint as provost guards in Lexington, the 48^th Pennsylvania, on September 8, 1863, received orders to leave Kentucky and rejoin the Ninth Corps, which was then on its way to East Tennessee. Just a week before, Major General Ambrose Burnside triumphantly entered Knoxville to a hero’s ovation, the first step in what would prove a very successful campaign in East Tennessee.

Harpers Weekly depiction of Burnside entering Knoxville. . .

 

The soldiers of the 48^th expressed much regret at having to leave Lexington; they had grown fond of the city and many of the Schuylkill County boys had fallen in love with the young ladies of Lexington, who were the subject of many of their letters home. But orders were orders, and on the morning of September 10, the regiment left Lexington, their spot as provost guards having been taken by the 7^th Rhode Island Infantry. “Leaving the quarters so long occupied,” wrote Oliver Bosbyshell, the regiment marched down Limestone Street Main Street and from there to the Kentucky Central Railroad. Hundreds of people turned out to bid farewell to the 48^th and, said Bosbyshell, “the departure was leaving home.”

A letter that appeared in the Miners’ Journal described the scene:

The soldiers of the 48^th  “were greeted, while passing through the city, with the waving of handkerchiefs, numerous shaking of hands, bidding of ‘good-byes,’ and in many instances, by the shedding of tears. Several times the band struck up with ‘The Girl I Left Behind Me,’ at which many of the boys would assume a melancholy look, and some would apply the handkerchief to their eyes, which bespoke that truth was issuing from the horns with telling effect. When the column reached the Court House the Colonel proposed ‘three cheers for the good people of Lexington’ which was given with a hearty good will, and three more were as cheerfully given some distance further down the street. Upon reaching the depot they were met by a large number of citizens who had congregated there to take a final leave of ‘soldiers who are gentleman in all they do and say.’ After waiting nearly an hour, the train as pronounced in readiness, the regiment got aboard, and the trains started. As they were moving away, the boys off with their caps and cheered vociferously until they were out of sight, thus bidding adieu to attachments that will not be forgotten as long as life last.”

In his regimental history, written more than forty years later, Joseph Gould fondly remembered the regiment’s time at Lexington: “The 48^th Pennsylvania Regiment has had charge of this post for nearly six months, and the efficient, quiet and orderly manner with which it has been conducted has won praise from all—even rebel sympathizers have admired them, and spoken of them in the highest praise. Many attachments have been formed by them between both young and old of both sexes, which will never be blotted from memory. They parted and were parted with as reluctantly as if they were leaving their homes and kindred—in fact, some were doing so, several having married since their arrival here and others were on the eve of doing so. Many were the parting words, and tears that fell from lips and eyes as the boys lingered at the gates, as if it were almost impossible to go, but ‘duty called and they must obey,’ and bid good-bye to ‘all they held dear.’

But before setting off, an anonymous soldier of the 48^th, writing on behalf of the entire regiment, penned this heartfelt letter to the editor of Lexington’s leading newspaper, expressing their thanks for the gracious hospitality of the citizens there during their long stay:

                “Mr. Editor: We cannot leave this place without expressing some of the feeling that is stirred within us as say our ‘farewells,’ and ‘good byes’ to the good people of Lexington.

                “We have been treated most kindly by nearly all; we have become acquainted with many; admitted to the homes and shared the hospitalities of some, and formed friendships that are as warm, and shall last as long as any of life. And while we have been treated kindly by some who have avowed themselves as rebel sympathizers, it is to the strictly loyal men and women that we owe our deepest gratitude. They are to us as brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, and it seems as hard to say the little, sad and mournful ‘good-bye,’ as when we left our own homes. We part from them with regret. Their many deed of kindness, words of cheer, and their many blessings shall be deeply engraven on our hearts, and often, in the busy and crowded future that is before us, we shall love to think of the noble girls who say:

                ‘But your country called you, darling,
                                Angels cheer your way;
                While our nation’s sons are fighting,
                                We can only pray.
                Nobly strike for God and liberty,
                                Let all nations see
                How we love the starry banner,
                                Emblem of the free

                “And the kind and glorious mothers who have treated us as sons, ministered to our wants only dreamed of by mothers, and who have shed the halo of that mysterious and unaccountable influence over every word and deed, that seems as the reflected image of our own fond, dear mothers. And God will surely bless you. Who shall say the right in not with us? Who shall say that the ultimate triumph of this war can be other than the return of peace with the Union of our country unimpaired?

                “The prayers of the mothers and fair daughters of our country, their heroic self-sacrifices and noble words of sympathy, cheer and love infused into the hearts of its brave defenders, rekindling the fires of patriotism with a deeper intensity. We must save our country from the hands of the destroyer.

                “The women of Kentucky send their greetings to the mothers and daughters of Pennsylvania through the affections of their sons and brothers.

                “We say to them to-day ‘Farewell and God Bless you! Kind friends, farewell.”

                “We commend the 7^th Rhode Island Regiment to the citizens of Lexington with the hope that they will be treated as well as the 48^th was, which we can assure them if they behave themselves as well as the relieved regiment has done. Kentuckians are a fine people and treat everyone very kindly.”

                “FORTY-EIGHTH”

 

At last pulling away from Lexington and after a relatively short journey, the regiment arrived in Nicholasville where the men detrained and marched several more miles before settling into Camp Parke, very near Camp Nelson, Burnside’s massive supply depot. While there, a thorough inspection of the soldiers’ weapons, clothing, and accoutrements was made to make sure the men were still in fighting trim; there was a new campaign unfolding. The 48^th Pennsylvania still belonged to the 1^st Brigade, 2^nd Division, 9^th Corps, which also consisted of the hard-fighting 2^nd Maryland and 6^th New Hampshire and 21^st Massachusetts, all mainstays of the 9^th Corps. In command of the brigade was the senior colonel, Joshua Sigfried of the 48^th.

 

Colonel Joshua K. Sigfried, 48th Pennsylvania

Colonel Sigfried’s task was to get his brigade to Knoxville via Cumberland Gap and join up with Burnside’s gathering forces there. A journey of over two hundred miles thus lay before him and the soldiers of the 48^th.

Camp Nelson, Kentucky. . .

Soldiers of the 48th: Bvt. Col. John D. Bertolette

151 Years Ago. . .on August 29, 1862. . .John D. Bertolette, a 1st Lieutenant serving on the staff of Colonel James Nagle, who led a brigade in the 9th Army Corps, fell seriously wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Advancing alongside Nagle on foot, through a thick woodlot and toward Stonewall Jackson's Confederate troops well-positioned in an unfinished railroad embankment, Bertolette watched as the soldiers of the 2nd Maryland, 6th New Hampshire, and 48th Pennsylvania pushed steadily on. Oliver Bosbyshell of Company G described the action:

“Off we moved, over a clear field, to quite a dense wood, out of which we were to drive the rebels. The wood was skirted by a fence, which we had scarcely crossed—in fact, our regiment was just getting over it—when bang! bang! whiz! whiz! and the battle commenced. . . .Our brigade went right in; walked steadily on, driving the rebels quickly before them, but losing men fast. A ditch of embankment, in which the rebels had shielded themselves, and from out of which the brigade which entered the woods before ours failed to drive them, our brigade assailed so fiercely, that it was soon cleared."

After achieving initial success in driving Jackson's men from the embankment, it was not long before the Confederates mounted a crushing flanking assault, firing into the left flank and rear of the brigade, which advanced with no support on either side. Nagle and Bertolette had tied their horses to the fence that skirted the woods, as did all the members of the colonel's staff. . .and all the horses were captured in this smashing flank assault.
Nagle and his staff fled for safety, being called on several times to halt and surrender but they, instead, took their chances and ran the gauntlet. In the melee--in the confusion, in the smoke that lay thick in the woodlot--Bertolette was shot down, a bullet slamming into his thigh. . .

 

John D. Bertolette was born on June 11, 1839, in Reading, Pennsylvania. He was studying law in Mauch Chunk (modern-day Jim Thorpe) under the tutelage of Attorney Charles Albright when the war broke out. He very quickly volunteered his services and on April 22, 1861, he was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant in the 6th Pennsylvania Infantry, a three-month unit commanded by Colonel James Nagle. When the 6th PA's term of service expired in late July, Nagle raised the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, a three-year regiment. Nagle must have been struck by the young, twenty-two-year-old Bertolette, for he would assign him a staff officer's position--that of Assistant Adjutant General. Bertolette continued as a staff officer when Nagle was elevated to brigade command and then to the rank of brigadier general. And even after Nagle tendered his resignation in the Spring of 1863, Bertolette--recovering from his wound at 2nd Bull Run-- remained with the brigade, advancing to the rank of captain, then major, and ultimately to colonel, by brevet. He was mustered out of service in February 1866.

Following the war, Bertolette returned to Mauch Chunk, working as a partner at Albright's firm before establishing his own independent law practice. In 1869, Bertolette married Sarah Jane Loose, but their union proved to be a short one. On April 17, 1881, John Bertolette passed away at the age of forty-one. He was buried at the Lehighton Cemetery, in Carbon County, Pennsylvania.

The Grave of John D. Bertolette
(www.findagrave.com)

This past May, a flag that once belonged to Bertolette was donated to the Mauch Chunk Museum in Jim Thorpe: read about it here.

The 48th/150th: Getting Photographs Taken In Lexington

 



The photographers of Lexington, Kentucky, no doubt enjoyed the presence of the 48th Pennsylvania in their city during the summer of 1863. It would seem that during their five month stay in the city, many--if not most--of the regiment made their way to the studios of either the Elrod Brothers or W.R. Phipps and had their photographs taken.

 

The following are some of the images of some of the 48th Pennsylvania soldiers taken in Lexington during the summer of 1863.

 

 

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The Commanders of Company E
(Captain William Winlack, seated; Lts. Thomas Bohannon (left) and Joseph Fisher)
Elrod Brothers, Photographers
[From The Civil War Diaries of Lt. James K. Helms, The Patriotic Order, Sons of America]

 

 

 

The Commanders of Company G
(Captain Oliver Bosbyshell, seated, Lts. Curtis C. Pollock (left) and Henry Clay Jackson)Elrod Brothers, Photographers
[Hoptak Collection]



Three Unidentified Soldiers of the 48th PennsylvaniaElrod Brothers, Photographers
[From The Civil War Diaries of Lt. James K. Helms, The Patriotic Order, Sons of America]  

Major Joseph Wagner
W.R. Phipps, Photographers
[Hoptak Collection]

Private Daniel Ohnmacht
Elrod Brothers, Photographers
[Hoptak Collection]

Private Henry Davis, Co. A
W.R. Phipps, Photographers
[Hoptak Collection]  

Sgt. Joseph Edwards, Co. I
Elrod Brothers, Photographers
[Hoptak Collection]
 

Private James Meck, Co. A
Elrod Brothers, Photographers
[Hoptak Collection]

Unknown Soldier
Elrod Brothers, Photographers
(I have not been able to positively identify this soldier as 48th PA, but with that jacket, hat, and bowtie, there is a good chance he belonged to the regiment)
[Hoptak Collection]

The 48th/150th: "How We Loved Doing Duty In This City. . ."

During the spring and summer of 1863, the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania were spared from any hard marching, heavy campaigning, and horrific combat; they were, instead, assigned to Lexington, Kentucky, to serve as provost marshals. Thus, while other soldiers in blue were shedding their life's blood under Meade at Gettysburg or Grant at Vicksburg, the seasoned, veteran members of the 48th--their ranks much reduced from heavy battle action the previous year--were instead guarding railroad stations, ordnance depots, jails, and patrolling the streets of Lexington, day and night," said Sergeant Joseph Gould "to preserve order."

Lexington, Kentucky, during the Civil War [exploreuk.uky.edu]

"How we loved to be doing duty in this city," reflected Sergeant Gould more than forty years later, "plenty to eat and to wear, little or nothing to do in the way of duty, amusements of all kinds and everything that could be of service to make a soldier happy." Even the evening dress parades were something the men looked forward to. "Every man had his clothing, arms and accoutrements in first-class shape. Our drills were perfect, and round after round of applause greeted our manual of arms from the crowds of visitors who came to camp to view the evolutions of the troops and listen to the music of our very excellent band. . . ."

Spirits soared and morale reached levels not seen, perhaps, since the regiment first marched off to war in the late summer of 1861. Those spirits only soared higher once news arrived of the twin Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in early July.

The regiment celebrated Independence Day in grand style. Orders actually went out to the men to do so, orders written by Lt. Col. Henry Pleasants, who commanded the post as Lexington.

General Orders No. 7
Lexington, July 3, 1863.
At the present time, when the United States is making gigantic exertions to crush out a rebellion which threatens to destroy its nationality, it is especially appropriate that the anniversary of the day when the liberty of its people was achieved, and their rights secured, should be held sacred and suitably celebrated.

It is therefore ordered, by the Lieutenant-Colonel commanding this post, that in honor of the eighty-seventh anniversary of the Independence of the United States of America, two National Salutes, of thirty-five guns each, be fired from Fort Clay--one at dawn, and the other at mid-day.

It is also ordered that the Forty-eighth Regiment P.V. have a street parade at 7 o'clock a.m., to be ended by a Battalion drill.

By order of
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pleasants

Civil War Soldiers Celebrate Independence Day
 

That parade, said Gould, was "a very pretty one," and that night fireworks erupted above the city. "Our camp was crowded with the elite of the city, and everybody went away happy."

Lieutenant Curtis Pollock of Company G, left a more detailed account of the Fourth of July celebration:

We started down town about 7 o’clock with about two hundred men and marched all over town and when we got to the Court House Square we went through the Manual of Arms and the fireings and did it very well.  We did not get back to camp until about 11 I took a good wash to cool myself off.  Such warm weather I do not think I ever experienced before, the persperation just rolled off me in small creeks.
I laid down after dinner and slept all afternoon and as we were going to have some quite extensive fire works in the evening I went down town to bring a young lady up.  I did not get up when it first commenced but what I did see was very beautiful.

The 48th/150th: “One Long Happy Holiday:” Establishing Camp and Settling In At Lexington. . .

From April through September, 1863, while other men in blue fought and bled near Vicksburg, Mississippi, central Tennessee, and at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the soldiers of the 48^th were spared active campaigning and witnessed no major battles or engagements; they were, instead, assigned to provost duty in “so charming a spot” as Lexington, Kentucky.  Those five months, declared regimental historian Oliver Bosbyshell, was “one long, happy holiday.”  



1871 "Bird's Eye View" of Lexington, Kentucky

On April 3, as the regiment settled into a temporary camp on the old fairgrounds, about one mile from downtown Lexington, Colonel Joshua Sigfried of the 48^th was named provost marshal for the city and, in a formal ceremony that took the place outside the city courthouse, the 48^th Pennsylvania officially assumed provost guard duty. The officers, bragged Bosbyshell, “looked well—boots were nicely blackened, belts, trappings, buttons and brass plates glittered, and white gloves adorned the hands. That first day’s provost guard duty won the hearts of the field, and the boys were ever satisfied to stay in Lexington.” 

On April 4, 1863, the regiment moved into town, taking up quarters in the various vacant buildings in town. The soldiers must have been on their best behavior, for, as Bosbyshell noted, “Praises most lavish were bestowed upon the regiment, and by its good conduct, it soon won its way into the kind hearts of the citizens.” However that might have been, just a few days later—on April 13—orders arrived for the men to get out of town. . .. to move out of town and vacate the buildings where they had taken up quarters. Marching out Limestone street, the 48^th established what would become their permanent camp for the next five months—just outside the city.  “The change [in camp] was a good one,” admitted Sergeant Joseph Gould, “as it kept the boys from frequenting the saloons so much, and gave us a good drill ground.”  Gould and the boys of the 48^th also very much appreciated the “two pretty milkmaids” who kept their camp supplied with milk. Captain Bosbyshell did not mention these two ladies in his own description of the camp:

          “This ground was enclosed by a high board fence, with an excellent green sward. A large hemp warehouse occupied the center, and made comfortable barracks for the companies—amply spacious for all needs. Two large hospital tents, two Sibleys, and three wall tents, erected on the green lawn, served as quarters for the officers; except those of C, H, and K, who quartered in a building inside the same enclosure. Lieutenant-Colonel Pleasants’ wall tent was erected in the center of the line of tents, but in advance of them—to his right and left respectively the adjutant and major had each a wall tent. On the adjutant’s right was a sibley occupied by F’s officers, and on its right, a hospital tent for Company B and G’s officers. On the major’s left was A’s officers’ sibley, and on its left the hospital tent of the officers of D, E, and I. The surgeon’s and regimental hospital used one of the buildings in the enclosure.”

 

Having now established their camps outside the city limits, orders went out requiring passes of all those who sought to venture into town and patrols were placed to enforce these orders.