The 48th/150th: Thirty Days' Veteran Furlough: Part Two: From Lexington to Harrisburg

150 years ago, during the final week of January and into the first week of February, the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania--at least those who had re-enlisted for another three-year term of service--were finally on their way home, looking forward to a thirty-day furlough. And as the regiment headed east on various trains from Kentucky, through Ohio, and into Pennsylvania, the city of Pottsville was eagerly anticipating its arrival, determined to give the "boys" a great reception home.

After spending a few days catching up with their old Lexington friends, the soldiers of the 48th boarded train cars of the Kentucky Central Railroad and, at 12:00 noon on January 25, 1864, steamed toward Covington, where it arrived twelve hours later.

Sadly and tragically, during the trip Private Patrick M. Brown of Company F, was killed during an accident on the rails near Paris, Kentucky. Oliver Bosbyshell stated that he "was knocked off the top of one of the care, thrown under the train and killed," but Joseph Gould remembered it differently. The trains had stopped at Paris for the engine to take on water. Brown was attempting to cross the track by crawling under the cars when the train once more started. Regardless of how it happened, the 38-year-old private and native of Ireland who had survived the fall campaign in East Tennessee, died as a result. As Bosbyshell recalled years later: "This cast quite a gloom over the otherwise enjoyable journey."

Soldiers Cross A Pontoon Bridge Connecting Covington, KY, with Cincinnati, OH

The regiment spend nearly a week in Covington but on Sunday, January 31, the regiment crossed the river into Cincinnati and, at 6:30 p.m., in the midst of a heavy rain and, after having just been paid, they boarded yet another train "and the start for home began in earnest." The next stop was Columbus, Ohio, where they changed cars. That night, the regiment reached Pittsburgh. Even though the regiment did not arrive until 10:00 p.m., a committee of well-meaning and patriotic citizens were there to greet them and to escort the regiment to the Volunteer Refreshment Saloon where they were treated to a "fine supper." "That made us feel good," said Gould, "and we tendered thanks to the good people of Pittsburg for the manner in which they evidenced their appreciation of our services."


The Pennsylvania capital was at least reached at 5:00 p.m. on February 2 and the next morning, the regiment would be heading back home. . . .

A Train Arrives at the Harrisburg, PA, Train Station

As the soldiers of the 48th hopped from train to train and endured the bumpy journey back home--looking forward to thirty days spent with their families and old friends--the people of Pottsville were getting ready to welcome them. As explained in the Miners' Journal:

"When the 48th arrives home it will experience a hearty reception. The regiment enjoys the distinguished honor of being the first in the [Ninth] corps to re-enlist as veterans for an additional three years' service. [The 21st Massachusetts was actually the first to do so]. In all cases, when three-fourths of the men re-enlist they will be entitled to a furlough of some thirty days and the regular bounty. 
Colonel Sigfried, Lieutenant-Colonel Pleasants, Dr. Blackwood and the other veteran officers who have passed through all the trying scenes of the siege of Knoxville, and the exhausting toils and dangers of the defense of Holston [River] and the retreat from the river, the action at Campbell's Station, at Greenville and the repulse of Longstreet after he retired in the direction of Virginia, continue with the men, to their great delight. It is to be hoped that this veteran body will speedily be raised up to the standard of a full regiment. It is all important that young recruits should be associated with men who know their duty, and who, in circumstances of danger or want, know how to face danger without fear, and to make the best of difficulties.
The inhabitants of Pottsville recently procured a magnificent and costly flag for the 48th, having a list of the engagements inscribed on it through which the men have passed. In addition to the long lost with which the flag is covered, Gen. Burnside, who is idolized by the regiment, has authorized the addition of the words "East Tennessee," a phrase which covers a wonderful amount of cold, hunger, danger and suffering."


At last, after a long journey, the 48th Pennsylvania arrived back in Pottsville at 3:30 on the afternoon of February 3, 1864. The reception they received will be covered in a future post. . .

The 48th/150th: Thirty Days' Veteran's Furlough. . .First Stop: Lexington!

150 years ago. . .

The 316 soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania who had decided to re-enlist for another three-year term of service were eagerly looking forward to a visit home. For most of these men, they had not seen their loved ones and their Schuylkill County homes since the late summer of 1861. More than two years had passed since then, and these miners, clerks, laborers, canal workers, and students had seen all the horrors the Civil War had to offer. Too many of their friends and comrades--and in some cases, fathers, sons, and brothers--had already given their lives, and now lay under the sandy soil of North Carolina, or in an unmarked pit near Manassas, Virginia, or near the bloody fields of battle at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Campbell's Station, and Knoxville. The men had tramped and steamed and rode the rails for thousands of miles already, and now those 316 soldiers were looking forward to yet another trip: first by foot, back toward Lexington, Kentucky, then by rail to Harrisburg and back, finally, to Pottsville. Their decision to re-enlist had earned them a thirty-day furlough. . .and, 150 years ago, they were setting off, eager to see their families once more.

"[T]here was great rejoicing amongst the veterans," said Oliver Bosbyshell when the orders arrived to head back home.  Their journey back to Schuylkill County began at 9:00 a.m. on January 13, 1864, when the soldiers "started on the long march back over the mountains to Lexington." Along the way, the regiment paused briefly at the headquarters of Brigadier General Robert Potter, their divisional commander, and were "greatly gratified at the speech" Potter made. With a spring in their step that had been missing for quite some time, the men covered 17 miles that day. Another 18 miles were covered the following day--January 14--with the soldiers arriving within a few miles of Cumberland Gap. Up and over the mountain they continued on January 15. On this date, the regiment was turned over to Major Joseph Gilmour while Colonel Joshua Sigfried, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Pleasants, and Captain Oliver Bosbyshell rode on ahead, toward Lexington, with the intention of securing much needed supplies to be ready for when the regiment arrived. Bosbyshell, for example, made it all the way to Cincinnati where he was able to secure 160 new uniform coats to replace some of more tattered ones among the command.

Wartime Image of the Cumberland Gap
[From the collections of the Kentucky Historical Society]

Finally, on Saturday, January 23, the men arrived in Lexington, the city that had hosted them so kindly and so generously the year before when the 48th was detailed there as provost marshals. "The return to the 'old stamping ground' was like a homecoming, and very happy and enjoyable were the two days spent in renewing the friendships engendered by five months' provost duty." Joseph Gould recorded that when the regiment entered town, "the entire population turned out to meet us, as, with fife and drum, we marched out to our old camp-ground, where, before dismissing the regiment, Colonel Sigfried stated that he was going to place no restrictions on the men, trusting that every man would guard, as sacred, the good name we bore in Lexington. All he asked," concluded Gould, "was that enough men would remain in camp to guard the arms and regimental property."

The soldiers caught up with some old Kentucky friends and acquaintances and remained there until January 25, preparing for the next leg of their journey home. "That the people [of Lexington] enjoyed our coming goes without saying, as every evidence was given us of their delight, and that we were glad to be there was made manifest by the manner in which we enjoyed ourselves, especially as the 'freedom of the town' was extended to us," wrote regimental historian Gould.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in Pottsville, the people rejoiced at the news that their husbands, sons, and brothers in the 48th PA were heading home. . .if only for 30 days. An elaborate ceremony was being prepared to welcome the boys back home.

The 48th/150th: Reenlistment

            By the turn of the New Year, 1864, the veteran soldiers of the 48^th Pennsylvania Infantry had witnessed more than their fair share of hardship, misery, and bloodshed. Over the past two-and-a-half years, the men had campaigned, fought, and bled in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, and Tennessee, traversing thousands of miles and burying their friends in five different states. Of the 1,010 men who marched off to war with the 48^th in the late summer/early fall of 1861, fewer than four hundred remained; the others had been discharged, either because of sickness or wounds, succumbed to disease, or fallen on the field of battle at such places as 2^nd Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Campbell’s Station, and Knoxville.

            The turn of the New Year, 1864, found the veteran soldiers of the 48^th PA in their winter camps near Blaine’s Cross Roads in Eastern Tennessee, a winter encampment the soldiers likened to Valley Forge. It was cold, it was snowy, and the soldiers suffered from a poor diet with provisions being scant. Another Christmas had come and gone and the men longed for their families and loved ones, hundreds of miles away in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

            When these soldiers enlisted in the late summer of 1861, their term of service was for “three years or the course of the war,” whichever came first. For those who took the Oath in 1861, this enlistment was due to expire in either late September or early October, 1864. The men longed for home and they had witnessed more than two years of terrible hardship and horrific bloodshed. . .but the task was yet unfinished; the rebellion had yet to be crushed and the nation had yet to be reunited.

            The primary topic of conversation among the men during that winter of ’63-’64 in East Tennessee was whether they would sign up for another three-year of service; whether they would re-enlist. The government realized so many of its veteran troops were scheduled to go home in 1864, so they offered a number of incentives if the men reenlisted to serve another three-year term: a $300 bounty, a 30-day furlough, and the honorary title of “Veteran.” Plus, with unit pride being so important to the men, if three-quarters of the regiment re-enlisted, they would be able to maintain their regimental designation; if not, those who did sign up to serve another three years would be distributed to other regiments in the field.

            For some of the soldiers of the 48^th, these incentives were not enough. There were other things more important—like their homes and families—and they had already put in enough service, they felt. But, for whatever their reasons or the motivations, on January 1, 1864, 316 soldiers—well more than 75%--of the 48^th Pennsylvania decided to re-enlist; to serve until the end, to see the war through to its end.  They were the second regiment in the entire 9^th Corps to do so—the 21^st Massachusetts beat them to the punch and were the first to reenlist. For the Massachusetts and Pennsylvania boys, this meant a 30-day furlough. The Bay Staters left first, leaving East Tennessee on January 7. Those who re-upped in the 48^th Pennsylvania would have to wait another week—they were scheduled to march away from East Tennessee (for good, as it turned out) on January 13, heading first back to Kentucky and from there, by rail to Pittsburg, Harrisburg, before finally arriving back home in Pottsville for their well-deserved and much-needed 30-day furlough.

 

Among those who elected to serve another three-year term of service were. . . .

 

 

Samuel Beddall, Company E

Elias Britton, Company A

Daniel Donne, Company G

Lewis Eveland, Company A

Joseph Hoskings, Company F

James May, Company E

Henry H. Price, Company A

 

The 48th/150th: "Christmas Has Passed, And A Very Dull One It Was For Me:" Lt. Pollock's Letter Home

One-hundred-and-fifty years ago this past Thursday--on December 26, 1863--and from the 48th's winter quarters near Blaine's Crossroads, Tennessee, Lieutenant Curtis Pollock, at that time commanding Company G, penned the following letter to his mother in Pottsville. The weather was cold, raw, and snowy as the veteran soldiers of the regiment endured yet another winter in uniform, and observed yet another Christmas hundreds of miles away from their families and from their homes. They knew that their original terms of enlistment were to due to expire the following year--in either September or October 1864. With the end of the war still nowhere in sight, however, and fearing the loss of so many of seasoned, veteran troops--like the men of the 48th--the government began to offer incentives to those who re-enlisted for another three years. As Pollock writes here, the topic of re-enlistment was the "all absorbing topic" that winter in Tennessee. When he wrote this letter on December 26, it is apparent that the reaction of the men to the idea of re-enlisting was lukewarm, at best. As it eventually turned out, however, in early January 1864--and as will be covered in a future post--more than 3/4 (75%) of the soldiers of the 48th did choose to reenlist.

 

Lt. Curtis Clay Pollock, Company G.
Sadly, Christmas 1863 would be his last Christmas on earth; he died six months later, in late June 1864, as a result of wounds received at Petersburg.

 

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

Camp near Blane’s Cross Roads Tenn.

Dec. 26, 1863

Dear Ma

     I am kept very busy at present making out Muster Rolls and a great many other papers that a Company Commander has to bother himself with.  Christmas has passed, and a very dull one it was for me. The day before Christmas we were out and made a reconissance but the Rebs. had just left.  I have never felt so tired as I did that night when we got back to camp.  There has been a great deal of talk of the 9^th Corps leaving Tennessee, since Burnside has left us, but now that has given way to the all absorbing topic, “reinlistment.” They are trying to get our Regt. to reinlist, but with the exception of a few of the Companies they do not succede very well.  There are only two men in G. who are willing to reinlist.  I heard this evening that there were one hundred and sixty four in the whole Regt.  The Government offers all those who reinlist thirty days furlough and the bounty.  If three fourths of the Regt. enlist they will allow them to go home in a body, and those who refuse are to be put in other Regt’s and companies to do duty until their term of service expires.  I have no idea what we will do here now.  The Rebels have evidently left this immediate vicinity but whether we are to follow them up or remain here I do not know.  As soon as I get through all the writing I have now on hand I will copy my diary and send it to you.  It has been raining nearly all day and as we have nothing but the shelter tents to do everything in, I have not gotten through much work.  I received my valise as a Christmas present and it is the only one I have rec’d. It has been all this time on the way from Camp Nelson here.  I picked up a young contraband the other day. He run away from the Rebs. when they evacuated before Knoxville.  He says his “Massa” is a private and had him with him to carry his knapsack and other drudgery.  He calls himself “Dick.” He tells some wonderful stories about what the Rebs do, but I think he has a rather strong imagination.

I am quite anxious to get that letter that came to Pottsville for me for I imagine there is a photograph in it.  Did you ever get any of those pictures of Reilly and myself.  I should very much like to have one.  I suppose by this time Mary has arrived again at home and I need not ask if she has enjoyed herself.  How is Marge and Charley getting along.  I heard something about a young man being seen with a young lady and after that she could not be found.  How is it?

                           With much love to all I remain

                                           Your affec Son

                                                         C.C.P.

Santa Claus Handing Out Gifts To Union Troops, by Thomas Nast and Published in Harper's Weekly on January 3, 1863. This was one of Nast's very first depictions of Santa Claus and still today, 150 years later, Nast's renderings/depiction of his imagined Santa Claus remains as the most widely recognized.

The 48th/150th: "The Condition Of The Men Was Deplorable In The Extreme:" The 48th's "Valley Forge" Winter. . .

150 years ago, as the campaign against Longstreet's men drew to a close, the ragged, footsore and cold veteran soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania endured what was a miserable winter encamped in the mountains of East Tennessee. Snow fell heavily that winter, with ice covering the ground, and temperatures seldom rising above freezing. The men had spent the winter of '61-'62 encamped along the sandy shores of Hatteras, North Carolina; the next winter--that of '62-'63--found them recovering from the shock of Fredericksburg at their camps near Falmouth, but it was this winter encampment, that of '63-'64, that the soldiers would never forget and one they would refer to as their own Valley Forge.

Edwin Forbes sketch of a Civil War Soldier in Winter Camp. . .
(Library of Congress)

Many years after the war, Sergeant William Wells of Company F left a vivid account of what the soldiers experienced that frigid winter of '63-'64 and how they did their best simply to stay warm and get something to eat:

William Wells, Company F, 48th PA

During the encampment of the 48th at Blaine's Crossroads, in East Tennessee, from December 7th, 1863, to January 13th, 1864, the condition of the men was deplorable in the extreme. Probably no troops of the Union Army, during the entire war--prisoners of war excepted--suffered so much from lack of supplies as did those of the Burnside forces during that dreary winter in that barren, mountainous region. The cause of this in no way reflected upon the War Department nor any of its officers, the conditions surrounding the situation being alone responsible. Being over two hundred miles from the base of supplies at Hickman Bridge, Kentucky, it was utterly impossible for the Commissary and Quartermaster's Departments to procure anything like adequate supplies of food or clothing for the Army of East Tennessee, as almost the entire distance lay over a succession of mountain, steep, high and rocky, as the Wild Cats, the Cumberland, the Clinch, and intervening ranges, besides rivers and mountain streams. The roads during the summer were bad enough, but almost impassable for teams in winter. To add to the difficulty, forage for the miles, from start to finish--except a few days' supply at the start--was unobtainable, both armies having devastated the country for many miles, so that the finish they scarcely had strength enough to move their loaded wagons. At places on the Clinch mountains the descent was so steep that they only way to get the wagons down was by use of ropes coiled about the trees.  Besides this method of obtaining supplies, the otherwise useless teams were sometimes sent out into the surrounding country on foraging expeditions, under strong guard, returning to camp, perhaps empty, or with a small supply of corn-on-the-cob so ancient that, to reduce the corn to an edible condition, the boys were kept busy. At any time, day or night, an old coffee mill or other improvised grinder might be heard grinding away. Two ears of corn, or eight ounces of flour, generally constituted a day's rations. Occasionally when a drove of cattle, sleek and fat at the start, but fatless on their arrival in camp, made their appearance, they were soon slaughtered and we had a little fresh meat. A little hard tack and "salt horse" now and then, varied the diet, and sometimes the memory of yesterday's meal must suffice. Most of the men at the close of this arduous campaign, in that wintry camp, the cold north wind sweeping around them, were tentless, blanketless, many without overcoats, and but few had any change of underclothing.

For shelter, two heavy logs, placed slightly apart, gave support for fence rails, which, inclining forward, served as a support for a thick covering of pine boughs, of which the woods gave a plentiful supply. Underneath this shelter additional pine boughs served for a bedding. To keep warm at night, heavy logs were laid in front of the shelter to form the fire-bed, which was kept burning by one comrade while the others slept. Thus the time passed, while the camp and picket guard "kept up their dreary rounds." To-day it seems like a dream, yet what a stern reality!

The lack of proper clothing, for want of a change, was a source of much annoyance to the men; but there was no remedy, as soap in that camp was almost an unknown commodity. Many tried, covered only with a thin blouse, to wash their shirt in the mountain streams, using clay as a substitute for soap, but with poor results. As "Cleanliness is next to Godliness," they succeeded but poorly in living up to the adage.

Their feet were in but little better condition than their bodies and stomachs, for many a foot was but poorly clad, some wrapped in rags. Raw beef-hides, when obtainable, cut into moccasin form and tied with strips of the same, or string, covered many a foot to keep it from the biting cold or frozen ground. Yet but few complained, complaint being useless, no betterment in sight. Never did men bear greater hardships in camp life than did the troops in East Tennessee in the winter of 1863-1864. Hungry, half-clad, shelterless and footsore, they bore all uncomplainingly for the land they loved so well and the flag they followed."  
 

Harper's Weekly

The 48th/150th: Chasing Longstreet in East Tennessee & Settling Into Winter Camps

Having been defeated at Fort Sanders, Knoxville, on November 29, 1863, and having it confirmed that Bragg had been routed at Chattanooga, Confederate General James Longstreet decided against returning to the shattered ranks of the Army of Tennessee in Georgia. With hundreds of dead and wounded men laying between his own lines and Fort Sanders, Longstreet initially considered continuing with his semi-siege of Burnside's men in Knoxville. But when he learned that a large column--some 20,000 men strong and under the command of William T. Sherman--had been sent north by Grant from Chattanooga to Burnside's relief, Longstreet wisely chose to head northeast, slipping away from Knoxville and to the mountains of East Tennessee. When the Union troops discovered that Longtreet's men had "pulled up stakes and departed," a reconnaissance was ordered and at 9:00 a.m. on the morning of December 5, the soldiers of the 48th departed their trenches around Knoxville and set out, seeking to determine just exactly where Longstreet had gone. Covering several miles, the men "gathered up" about 50 Confederate prisoners, "found in squads of two or three on the roads traversed," explained Captain Bosbyshell.

Confederate Soldiers in Retreat

After this rather short reconnaissance mission, the 48th returned to Knoxville but--two days later--were once again ordered back out, to keep an eye on Longstreet's men, still maintaining an irritating, if not threatening position northeast of the city. On the cold December 7, the regiment covered twelve miles before going into camp along the side of the road. Another six or seven miles was covered the following day--December 8--before the Schuylkill County men arrived at Blaine's Crossroads. Next day, twelve more miles--with the regiment encamping for the night of December 9-10 near Rutledge--"a small village of wooden houses, save the Court House, which was a large brick building of fine appearance. The town had been completely stripped of provisions," said Bosbyshell, "butter, eggs and chickens were not to be had--the rebels having cleared the place out just twenty-four hours previously." For nearly a week, the men remained in their campsites near Rutledge. They were once more on the move on December 15 when reports arrived that Longstreet was heading back for Knoxville. "Camp was abandoned and line of battle formed, awaiting an expected attack from the enemy," but the reports were ill-founded and no attack ever came. After waiting in line of battle all day, the 48th fell back, went into bivouac and, next day, continued a retrograde movement back toward Knoxville. Yet again, on December 16, and again expecting an attack, the soldiers of the Second Division, 9th Corps, formed up in line of battle, ready to contend with any force Longstreet might throw at them. But again. . .no attack came. More of the same followed on December 17, but the temperatures began to plummet, "making it uncomfortable without tents," said Bosbyshell--with just a little understatement. On December 18, the soldiers of the 21st Massachusetts were sent forward to shoo-away some Confederate cavalry that had appeared to the front of the 9th Corps men and this, it was noted, would be last the 48th saw of any Confederate troops in East Tennessee.

Soldier's Dream, as it appeared in Harpers' Weekly, on November 7, 1863
No doubt many men of the 48th were thinking about home and family while chasing after Longstreet, hundreds of miles away, in the mountains of East Tennessee

With Longstreet heading back deeper into the mountains, the 48th returned to a location near Blaine's Crossroads and there settled into winter camp. It would be a winter long remembered by the veterans of the regiment--in the cold, in the snow--in a camp many of the men described as their own little Valley Forge.