P. R. L. P^IKCE, L I E E A E T. -42 4 5i f ' ' - : Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Institute of Museum and Library Services through an Indiana State Library LSTA Grant http://www.archive.org/details/followingflagfro6015coff " The Maine boys did not fire, but had a merry chuckle among themselves. Page 97. FOLLOWING THE FLAG. From August, 1861, to November, 1862, WITH THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. By "CARLETON," AUTHOR OF "MY DAYS AND NIGHTS ON THE BATTLE-FIELD.' BOSTON: TICKNOR AND FIELDS. 1865. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts. University Press: Welch, Bigelow, and Company, Cambridge. PREFACE. TT will be many years before a complete history -*- of the operations of the armies of the Union can be written ; but that is not a sufficient reason why historical pictures may not now be painted from such materials as have come to hand. This volume, therefore, is a sketch of the operations of the Army of the Potomac from August, 1861, to November, 1862, while commanded by Gener- al McOlellan. To avoid detail, the organization of the army is given in an Appendix. It has not been possible, in a book of this size, to give the movements of regiments ; but the narrative has been limited to the operations of brigades and di- visions. It will be comparatively easy, however, for the reader to ascertain the general position of any regiment in the different battles, by con- sulting the Appendix in connection with the narrative. CONTENTS Page Introductory , 1 Chap. I. Organization of the Army of the Potomac 3 II. Ball's Bluff 17 III. Battle of Dranesville, and the Winter of 1862 37 IV. Siege of Yorktown 60 V. Battle of Williamsburg 70 VI. On the Chickahominy 90 Affair at Hanover Court-House . 92 VII. Fair Oaks 98 VIII. Seven Days of Fighting . » . 122 Battle of Mechanicsville .... 125 Battle of Gaines's Mills .... 130 Movement to James River .... 137 Battle of Savage Station . 140 Battle of Glendale 142 Battle of Malvern ..... 149 IX. Affairs in Front of Washington . 168 Battle of Cedar Mountain . 160 X. Battle of Groveton 169 The Retreat to Washington . 181 XI. Invasion of Maryland 183 Barbara Frietchie . 185 Battle of South Mountain . .191 vi CONTENTS. XII. Battle of Antietam ...... 203 Hooker's Attack , 217 Sumner's Attack 226 The Attack upon the Centre . 240 Burnside's Attack 257 XIII. After the Battle 279 XIV. The March from Harper's Ferry to Warrenton 294 Removal of General McClellan . 316 APPENDIX. The Organization of the Army of the Potomac, April, 1862 326 LIST OF DIAGRAMS. Page Ball's Bluff 25 Battle of Dranesville ....... 40 Battle of Williamsburg 74 Battle of Fair Oaks 101 Battle of Mechanicsville 127 Battle of Gaines's Mills . 131 Battle of Glendale 145 . < . Battle of Malvern . 152 Battle of Groveton 172 Battle-Field of Antietam . " . 209 Sedgwick's Attack 230 French's and Richardson's Attack .... 242 Burnside's Second Attack 271 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. The Quaker Gun Frontispiece Death of Colonel Baker Page 28 The Baptism 47 Bally of the Sick Men 109 Destruction of the Train ....... 138 Barbara Frietchie 186 The Sunken Road 246 Burnside's Charge 264 FOLLOWING THE FLAG. INTRODUCTORY Battles I have witnessed. IjlOR more than three years I have followed -*- the flag of our country in the East and in the West and in the South, — on the ocean, on the land, and on the great rivers. A year ago I gave in a volume entitled " My Days and Nights on the Battle-Field " a description of the Battle of Bull Run, and other battles in Ken- tucky, Tennessee, and on the Mississippi. It has been my privilege to witness nearly all the great battles fought by the Army of the Poto- mac, — Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, at the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, the North Anna, Coal Harbor, and at Petersburg. Letters have been received from those who are strangers to me as well as from friends, expressing a desire INTRODUCTORY. Why this volume is written. that I should give a connected account, not only of the operations of that army, from its organ- ization, but of other armies ; also of the glorious achievements of the navy in this great struggle of our country for national existence. The pres- ent volume, therefore, will be the second of the contemplated series. During the late campaign in Virginia, many facts and incidents were obtained which give an insight into the operations of the armies of the South, not before known. Time will undoubt- edly reveal other important facts, which will be made use of in the future. It will be my en- deavor to sift from the immense amount of ma- terial already accumulated a concise and trust- worthy account, that we may know how our patriot brothers have fought to save the country and to secure to all who may live after them the blessings of a free government. / CHAPTER I. ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. The Effect of the Battle of BuU Run. The Feeling at the North. THE battle of Bull Run, or of Manassas, as the Rebels call it, which was fought on the 21st of July, 1861, was the first great battle of the war. It was disastrous to the Union army. But the people of the North were not disheart- ened by it. Their pride was mortified, for they had confidently expected a victory, and had not taken into consideration the possibility of a de- feat. The victory was all but won, as has been narrated in " My Days and Nights on the Battle- Field," when the arrival of a brigade of Rebels and the great mistake of Captain Barry, who supposed them to be Union troops, turned the scale, and the battle was lost to the Union army. But the people of the North, who loved the Union, could not think of giving up the contest, — of having the country divided, and the old flag trailed in the dust. They felt that it would be impossible to live peaceably side by side with those who declared themselves superior to the laboring men of the Free States, and were their " ORGANIZATION OF THE What the Slaveholders wanted. What General Polk said. rightful masters. They were not willing to ac- knowledge that the slaveholders were their mas- ters. They felt that there could not be friendship and amity between themselves and a nation which had declared that slavery was its corner-stone. Besides all this, the slaveholders wanted Mary- land, Kentucky, and Missouri in the Southern Confederacy, while the majority of the people of those States wanted to stay in the Union. The Rebels professed that they were willing that each State should choose for itself, but they were insincere and treacherous in their professions. Kentucky would not join the Confederacy ; there- fore they invaded the State to compel the people to forsake the old flag. A gentleman from Ohio accompanied a South- ern lady to Columbus, on the Mississippi, to see her safely among her friends. General Polk was commander of the Rebel forces at that place, and they talked about the war. " I wish it might be settled," said the General. " " How will you settle ? " O, all we ask is to have all that belongs to us, and to be let alone." " " What belongs to you ? " All that has always been acknowledged as ours." " Do you want Missouri ? " Yes, that is ours." " ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. The Children of the South. What a Little Girl said about " Old Scrubs." " " Do you want Kentucky ? "Yes, certainly. The Ohio River has always been considered as the boundary line." " But Kentucky don't want you." " We must have her." " " You want all of Virginia ? " Of course." " " You want Maryland ? " Most certainly." " What will you do with Washington ? " We don't want it. Remove it if you want * to ; but Maryland is ours." Such was the conversation ; and this feeling, that they must have all the Slave States to form a great slaveholding confederacy, was universal in the South. Besides this, they held the people in the Free States in contempt. Even the children of the South were so influenced by the system of slavery that they thought themselves superior to the people of the Free States who worked for a living. I heard a girl, who was not more than ten years old, say that the Northern people were all " " old scrubs ! Not to be a scrub was to own slaves, — to work them hard and pay them noth- ing, — to sell them, to raise children for the market, — to separate mothers from their babes, * Ohio State Journal. OEGANIZATION OF THE Southern Enthusiasm. The Feeling at the South. General McClellan. wives from their husbands, — to live solely for their own interests, happiness, and pleasure, with- out regard to the natural rights of others. This little girl, although her mother kept a boarding- house, felt that she was too good to play with Northern children, or if she noticed them at all, it was as a superior. Feeling themselves the superiors of the North- ern people, having been victorious at Manassas, the people of the South became enthusiastic for continuing the war. Thousands of volunteers joined the Rebels already in arms. Before the summer of 1861 had passed General Johnston had a large army in front of Washington, which was called the Army of the Potomac. At the same time thousands rushed to arms in the North.