xt7vdn3zsv1p https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7vdn3zsv1p/data/mets.xml Bosbyshell, Oliver Christian, 1839- 1895 books b9297373b652009 English Avil printing company : Philadelphia, Pa. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. United States. Army. Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, 48th (1862) United States --History --Civil War, 1861-1865 --Regimental histories. The 48th in the war. Being a narrative of the campaigns of the 48th regiment, infantry, Pennsylvania veteran volunteers, during the war of the rebellion. text The 48th in the war. Being a narrative of the campaigns of the 48th regiment, infantry, Pennsylvania veteran volunteers, during the war of the rebellion. 1895 2009 true xt7vdn3zsv1p section xt7vdn3zsv1p

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48^

IN THE WAR.

BEING A NARRATIVE

of the

Campaigns of the 48th Regiment, Infantry,

PENNSYLVANIA VETERAN VOLUNTEERS,

DURING THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.

Oliver Christian Bosbyshell,

Late Major.

PHILADELPHIA: Avil Printing Company, 1895.
Copyright 1895,

Oliver Christian Bosbysheli..
dedicated

TO THE

Sons and Daughters

OF THE

MEN WHO FOUGHT FOR THE UNION IN THE FORTY-EIGHTH.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

page

Chapter 1. Organization and Muster-in..........17

Chapter II. Hatteras....................22

Chapter III. Newbebn.....................38

Chapter IV. Newport News............... . . 52

Chapter V. With Pope....................58

Chapter VI. McClellan's Last Campaign...........73

Chapter VII. Burnside in Command.............91

Chapter VIII. Lexington ............. ......104

Chapter IX. East Tennessee..................117

Chapter X. Veteran Furlough................141

Chapter XI. Wilderness to Petersburg............146

Chapter XII. The Petebsburg Mine .............163

Chapter XIII. Final Assault and Muster-out.........178

Chapter XIT. Second Maryland. Sixth New Hampshire . . . 190

PREFACE.

HAT is more interesting to the old soldier than a rehash of former campaigns a calling up of old camping grounds, and lingering along the trails made in the marchings and meanderings of the years of the war, with the scenes and incidents attendant thereon ? An attempt is made in this book to sketch the doings of the Forty-eighth Regiment, Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers, Infantry, not with rule and compass, but as they happened under the notice of my own eyes. That it is not all it ought to be, I fully know ; that it may seem somewhat tinged with partiality may likewise be so, but remember, it is the way in which it came under my own observation; it is not compiled from official data, or the say-so of others ; it is simply as I saw it and as my ideas clothed it. Several comrades have helped in certain parts of the work, particularly in the campaign from the Wilderness to Petersburg. I am especially grateful to the lamented General Pleasants, who furnished invaluable data of the campaign named and the Petersburg Mine. Captain Francis D. Koch, of Company I, and Private Robert A. Reid, of Company G, have been particularly kind in aiding me.

A tender chord of comradeship resounds in my heart, whenever any who marched in the ranks of the Forty-eighth are named. For them, to keep alive some of their deeds, I have written what follows.

Fugs of 48th Reg't Pa. Vols,

The 48th in the War.

CHAPTER I.

ORGANIZATION AND MUSTER-IN.

The Forty-eighth Regiment Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers (infantry), was recruited in Schuylkill County during the months of August and September, 1861. James Nagle, a distinguished citizen and soldier of Pottsville, Pa., who served honorably and well as captain of Company A, First Pennsylvania Regiment, during the war with Mexico, and also as colonel of the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment during the Three Months' Service, in the beginning of the War of the Rebellion, was authorized by Governor Andrew G. Curtin, on the fourteenth of August, 1861, to raise and organize this regiment. He was commissioned as colonel of the same, to rank from the date named. He at once empowered Daniel B. Kauflman, James Wren, Henry Pleasants, Daniel Nagle, William Winlack, Joseph H. Hoskings, Philip Nagle, Joseph A. Gilmour, John R. Porter, and H. A. M. Filbert to recruit companies for the regiment; each of these gentlemen being subsequently commissioned captain of Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and K, respectively.

Company A was principally recruited in Tamaqua and Port Clinton ; Company E in New Philadelphia and Silver Creek. Company F made Minersville its headquarters. Company I found a fruitful field of operations in Middleport and the Schuylkill Valley, whilst Company K confined its recruiting to Cressona and Schuylkill Haven. The other companies, B, C, D, G and H, made Pottsville their harvesting ground. As rapidly as men were secured they were forwarded to Camp Curtin, in Harrisburg, where the regiment rendezvoused. The medical examinations having been successfully passed, the recruits were equipped and assigned to their respective companies. Drills were instituted by the squad and company, and twice during its stay at Camp Curtin regimental drills were had. For the majority this was their first taste of military duty; however, there were many who had served in the Three Months' Service, in the Sixth, Fourteenth, Sixteenth, Twenty-fifth, and

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other organizations. A number of those who first entered Washington City, and who are now known as the "First Defenders," re-entered the service in the Forty-eighth Kegiment, nearly all attaining the rank ot commissioned officers.

In a very short space of time the ranks were filled by Schuylkill Countians, it being Colonel Nagle's special desire to have a regiment composed of men exclusively from that county.

The field, staff, and non-commissioned staff were as follows: James Nagle, Colonel; David A. Smith, Lieutenant Colonel; Joshua K. Sigfried, Major; John D. Bertolette, Adjutant; James Ellis, Quartermaster ; David Minis, Jr., M. D., Surgeon; Charles T. Reber, M. D., Assistant Surgeon; Eev. Samuel A. Holman, Chaplain; Charles Loeser, Jr., Sergeant Major; Alexander S. Bowen, Quartermaster Sergeant; Jacob F. Wagner, Commissary Sergeant; William H. Hardell, Hospital Steward, and Abraham Nagle, Principal Musician.

The companies were officered as follows:

Company A, Daniel B. Kauffman, Captain; Abiel H. Jackson, First Lieutenant, and Henry Boyer, Second Lieutenant.

Company B, James Wren, Captain; Ulysses A. Bast, First Lieutenant, and John L. Wood, Second Lieutenant.

Company C, Henry Pleasants, Captain ; George W. Gowen, First Lieutenant, and Thomas J. Fitzsimmons, Second Lieutenant.

Company D, Daniel Nagle, Captain; William W. Potts, First Lieutenant, and Charles Kleckner, Second Lieutenant.

Company E, William Winlack, Captain; William Cullen, First Lieutenant, and Thomas Bohannan, Second Lieutenant.

Company F, Joseph H. Hoskings, Captain; Henry James, First Lieutenant, and John L. Williams, Second Lieutenant.

Company G, Philip Nagle, Captain; Cyrus Scheetz, First Lieutenant, and Oliver C. Bosbysheli, Second Lieutenant.

Company H, Joseph A. Gilmour, Captain; William J. Hinkle, First Lieutenant, and Edward C. Baird, Second Lieutenant.

Company I, John R. Porter, Captain ; George H. Gressang, First Lieutenant, and Michael M. Kistler, Second Lieutenant.

Company K, H. A. M. Filbert, Captain; Isaac F. Brannan, First Lieutenant, and Jacob Douty, Second Lieutenant.

The regiment was the recipient of two stands of colors, one from the State and the other from John T. Werner, Esq., one of Pottsville's patriotic citizens, and the father of J. Frank Werner, who served so gallantly in the regiment. Inscribed upon the blue field of this flag were the Words " In the cause of the Union we know no such word as
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fail." These colors were presented by Governor Curtin on the twentieth of September, and the glowing words of his speech made a deep impression upon the command. Through the war they were gallantly defended, and although shattered and torn by bullet and shell, were safely returned to the State, and now find sacred shelter in the flag room of the Capitol Building, in Harrisburg.

The regiment was ordered from Camp Curtin on the twenty-fourth of September, and left via the Northern Central Railway, presumably for Washington City; the destination was, however, changed en route upon the receipt of a telegram by Colonel Nagle, directing him to report to General Wool, at Fortress Monroe.

Within seven miles of Baltimore the train was detained over ten hours, by reason of a wreck ahead, so that the city was not reached until the morning of the twenty-fifth. A march of two miles through Baltimore brought the command to the wharf, where, embarking upon the steamer Georgia, the water life of the regiment began. The trip down the Chesapeake Bay was accomplished safely and really enjoyed by all, notwithstanding the fact that the Georgia was a precarious old craft, likely to fall to pieces. The captain wisely crept along close in to shore, not knowing what moment the timbers of the old hulk would separate. He was all anxiety, and his constant call admonishing to " trim ship " kept the boys moving. The night moved slowly away, the somnolent regiment unmindful of danger, although ever and anon through its weary hours the cry of " trim ship" caused a shifting of position. On the morning of the twenty-sixth the command disembarked at Fortress Monroe, just as the Twentieth Indiana was leaving for Hatteras, a region destined to be full of events for the Forty-eighth. Passing around the walls of the fortress over the long, narrow road and bridge connecting with Hampton, the command reached a camping ground within the confines of " Camp Hamilton," in charge of dear old General Mansfield. His mild disposition and benevolent heart, that caused him to be ever on the lookout for the welfare of his soldiers, combined, however, with a firm, just discipline, endeared him to all with whom he came in contact.

One dark, blustery night, and this camp was prolific of such kind of nights, Jake Haines let General Mansfield slip through the camp guard without challenge. Jake was as deaf as a post, and besides was walking away from him when the General entered. The General notified the officer of the guard to have the offender reprimanded the next morning at guard-mount, and then attempted to pass out of camp on the opposite side, but Rogers was there, and his " halt, or I'll prog ye "
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brought him up a-standing. Colonel Nagle reprimanded Haines next morning, but it was done in the low squeaking voice which the Colonel sometimes adopted, so that when it was over Haines inquired " What did he say ? " Drills and inspections became the routine duty of the regiment, with an occasional detail for picket duty. Companies E, F, G and K were mustered into the United States Service by Colonel T. J. Cram, U. S. A., on the first of October, and the occasion was made quite enjoyable by Sergeant Stafford Johnson, of E, declining to be sworn as a sergeant. "Why, what did you come for, man?" inquired Colonel Cram. " I kim fur a leu-tenant, sir," says Johnson. " Well, well," replied Cram, scarcely able to repress a smile," stand up and be mustered as a sergeant; if you're not fit to be a sergeant, you are not fit to be a lieutenant."

General Wool, commanding at Fortress Monroe, frequently visited the camp. His venerable appearance, he being at the time the second eldest general in the army, won the respect of the boys, if Quinn did sometimes personate the shaky manner he displayed when lifting his hat at a review of the troops. On the third of October, the regiment, having been flooded out the previous night, moved to higher ground, occupying a camp vacated by one of the regiments that had been ordered away. The ninth of October was made memorable by the arrival of Sutler Isaac Lippman, with a great, unwieldy tent, which the boys pitched with infinite delight, although a heavy storm of wind and rain prevailed. On the eleventh, Shaw made himself famous by shooting in the leg a Massachusetts soldier, who attempted to pass his picket post thought he was "secesh." On Sunday, the thirteenth, the first religious service was held, by the chaplain, Rev. Samuel J. Hol-man. These Sunday services became general, and at least a fourth of the regiment, many times a greater number, attended. Great interest was felt in the grand expedition fitting out here for the South Atlantic coast. Hampton Roads was crowded with vessels waiting to join the Armada, and a large force of troops was being gathered at this point. Daily the various organizations detailed as a part of this expedition would leave camp to embark on some one of the numerous vessels in waiting. On the fifteenth, Brigadier General Mansfield assumed command of all of the forces at Camp Hamilton, vice General Max Weber.

The passes required for visiting Fortress Monroe or other points of interest were prescribed by orders to be written on a quarter-sheet of foolscap paper, with an allowance of at least four lines for the assistant adjutant general's signature, and what a wonderful signature \ " Drake DeKay," written with a paint brush I
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How enjoyable the details for wood cutting, only a mile's march from camp, and one long day of jolly fun, with plenty of grapes, persimmons and crab-apples thrown in. On Sunday, the tenth of November, orders were received assigning the Forty-eighth to Hatteras Inlet to relieve the Twentieth Indiana, and it cannot be said that a very large degree of enthusiasm was manifested over this assignment. On the eleventh tents were struck, packed, and with baggage placed on steamer " S. R. Spaulding," the regiment marched to the wharf near Fortress Monroe, and embarked upon the same vessel. At dusk the steamer started, and in going out of Hampton Roads, passed between the ships of war, Roanoke and Minnesota, the former the better craft of the two. The " S. R. Spaulding " was a fine ship, only two years old, delightfully fitted out with the best appliances and most comfortable conveniences. Very agreeable was her graceful motion as she steamed out of the Roads into the broad bosom of the Atlantic. The unexpectedly warm and balmy atmosphere, combined with the bright radiance of the silvery moon, made the journey down the coast delightful in the extreme; few of the members of the regiment sought repose until long after midnight Many had their first glimpse of a sunrise at sea on the morning of the twelfth and enjoyed its glories to the full, out of a cloudless sky. By 8 o'clock, a. m., the steamer dropped anchor in Hatteras Inlet, and two hours later the regiment disembarked.
CHAPTER II.

HATTERAS.

Hatteras Island forms a part of the eastern boundary of North Carolina; it is some forty miles long and varies in width from a half mile to three miles. Its northern boundary is Loggerhead Inlet, and its southern Hatteras Inlet, and its sides are washed by the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound, respectively. Hatteras Inlet is the main entrance for vessels into Pamlico Sound. It is a narrow sheet of water, probably half a mile wide, connecting the ocean and sound. According to local testimony, it has not always been in its present location.

In August, 1846, so goes the story, a terrific storm, with wind blowing from the sound, broke through the island at this point and formed the inlet. A bar runs across the mouth nearest the sound, which at low water cannot be crossed by vessels of heavy draught. The local name of the bar is the " Swash," and many were the trials and tribulations of the Federal navy in battling with the " Swash."

Changes rapidly occur in the formation of Hatteras Island, thus confirming the story of the origin of the inlet.

The Twentieth Indiana Regiment was sent to garrison Forts Hatteras and Clarke two earthworks near the inlet during the early fall of 1861, and it had a peculiarly rough experience. During this regiment's sojourn there a terrible storm swept down on this coast. The ocean and the sound met across the narrow sand spit, submerging the camp, drowning a number of the Indiana boys, and leaving the rest in a most miserable plight without camp or garrison equipage, clothing or provisions. The Forty-eighth boys remember how the men looked on their return to Fortress Monroe to recuperate woe-begone, utterly fagged out only paralleled by the returning prisoners from Dixie's land. This storm formed a new inlet across the island, between Fort Hatteras and Fort Clarke, which at high tide was five or six feet deep in the shallowest places. In going to and fro between the two forts this inlet had to be waded, and it became a source of great annoyance. To get over the difficulty Company B's boys erected a pathway, or bridge, by standing flour barrels filled with sand on end side by side, across the inlet. At low tide a dry walk was thus made, and a barrier was

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presented against which sand was washed by the action of the waves. In a few weeks the inlet was completely closed, and in three months no trace of its existence remained.

No one would choose Hatteras Island at the inlet as a cheerful place to live ; not even for a seaside resort.

The Schuylkill county boys, as they rattled down the 45 plank from the side of the " S. R. Spaulding " to the temporary wharf, missed the lovely wooded hills and grassy valleys of their charming mountain th homes. No trees here, no bushes to relieve the dull monotony, not a

tlf spear of the sickliest looking shrub even, no green grass to gladden the

its eye, naught save sand and sea! Some jocose soldier suggested that it

in was the last spot made. The creation having been accomplished in a

ce week, there had been no time to plant grass.

ly Some five miles north of the inlet, however, scrub oak and holly

al trees abound, adding greatly to an endurable life on Hatteras, relieving

the wearisomeness of sand and sea. These groves are filled with id mocking birds, whose brilliant song in the early morning make up a

id reveille of rich, joyous trills of music, thus adding poetry and pleasure

d, to a life on the bare old island.

ie As stated, there were two large earthworks at Hatteras, named

id respectively Fort Hatteras and Fort Clarke. The first was built directly

at the inlet, commanding the entrance from the ocean and from the is sound, the latter fort, nearly half a mile north, commanding the ap-

proaches from the ocean. These forts were built by the rebels to aid the ts English blockade runners in getting through the inlet with supplies of

[y arms, ammunition and clothing for the Confederates. Fort Hatteras was

is the most pretentious and mounted ten guns. Fort Clarke was a square

ie redoubt and mounted seven guns. Negroes were used in the construction

ie of these fortifications. Large pieces of swamp sod, brought from the

n mainland, laid one above the other, and pinned fast by long wooden

!g pegs served the purpose.

,j On the twenty-ninth of August, 1861, after two days of hard

[y pounding, General B. F. Butler and Commodore Silas H. Stringham,

's with a combined force of land and naval troops, captured these forts.

rj "No one of the fleet or army was in the least degree injured," said

p Butler in his report to General Wool. He added that the loss of the

js Confederates was " twelve or fifteen killed and thirty-five wounded."

<0 The loss of these forts proved a great blow to the rebels. In the

B hands of the Federals the traffic they had been built to protect was pre-

ie vented, and a way was opened up for very important results, which

: _ speedily followed.
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Hatteras Island was, and possibly still is, inhabited by a hardy, raw-boned, tough-looking people, with rough, weather-beaten countenances, and possessed of a good stock of native shrewdness. There are few deaths among them, the chief disease is consumption. Avoid this fell destroyer and the native lives to a ripe old age. The women are pale, frail, attenuated creatures, who apparently never grow old. Tradition has it that they gradually shrink up, and at some remote period are blown away.

The men are ostensively pilots. Every house boasts its " lookout," an immense pole erected in the sand, upon which is nailed small pieces of wood, ladder-like. From these elevated perches observations are made for incoming vessels, in order to obtain work as pilots. Many are undoubtedly honest in this, but that there are men there who use their " lookouts" for an entirely different purpose, admits of no doubt. A free, uninterrupted view of the ocean is obtained. Approaching vessels can easily be observed. The coast is a treacherous one, the best possible for the work of wreckers, and in the use of decoy or false lights these worthies are well versed. Many of the stranded hulks with which this coast is strewn, owe their destruction to the action of bad men.

A kind word must be said for some of the Hatteras people. But for the assiduous attention and warm-hearted, motherly nursing given to a number of very sick soldiers, by old widow Whitby, for instance, there would have been more burials in the old churchyard. She and her son, Jackson, and old colored help, Aunt Hester, are deserving of especial mention. The remembrance of their kindness redeems much of the ills incident to a sojourn on Hatteras, and for their sake, and for the sake of some others like them, a warm spot remains in the heart for this sandy, wind-racked, desolate old island.

The dialect used by these people is difficult to describe. Once heard it is rarely forgotten and seldom successfully imitated. " Right smart," " aggravating," reckon," and the like, make up the greater part of the conversations. " Right smart of sweet potatoes in the ground, but it is aggravatin' to have the soldiers yank 'em out. Reckon you can't stop it." A peculiar characteristic of the ladies of Hatteras is the dreadful habit of snuff-dipping, to which they are all, married and single, addicted. There's a grace about this habit that almost amounts to an art. A novice could not work the improvised brush with the skill of a native; one must be born to it. The brush is a stick, cut at one end into fine splinters about an inch in length. This is dipped into the snuff, then rubbed on the teeth, after the manner of cleaning the teeth with a
25

dy,

tooth powder, but differing in that whilst the latter purifies and sweetens

1*e_ the mouth, the former befouls and blackens it most disgustingly. The

are female islander smokes also, and spits "just like a man."

'h*s Every house on the island seems to have been built after the same

^e> model, by the same builder, and many hundred years ago. They are

lon all old, nothing modern at all in their appearance, square in shape, one

are story high, with a porch sliced into one corner, without cellars; not a

house on the island enjoys this luxury, they cannot dig them ; there are

:t> no foundation walls, because there are no stones to make them. Piles

ces or large props are driven into the sand, and upon these the houses are

are erected. Fine white sand is sprinkled over the board floor, and constant

ny wear and friction produce white smooth floors. There are no plastered

no walls, although many of the houses have a lining of paper newspapers

110 of various colors and shapes, illustrated and otherwise. One old lady

Jh- seemed especially struck with the chaste character of a highly colored

;he picture she had adorning her walls, representing a spirited contest

tee between Heenan and Sayres. Quite a number of houses have a

th " grandfather's clock " ticking in the corner, or back of the door. The

*d display of furniture is not extensive indeed, it is generally scarce ;

pieces of wrecks and ship stock have to answer the purpose. The staple

ut articles of food are fish and sweet potatoes. Corn, pigs and poultry are

to raised by some. Garden cultivation is very primitive and exceedingly

3e, careless. Some miserable oysters can be obtained, and an occasional

id opossum. All the sugar, coffee, tea and molasses used by the natives

of come from wrecks. They are a religious people, in their own peculiar

ch way, vigorous in attendance at divine service, and any infringement of

ar the local laws is tried and punished in the church. If their stock of

or provisions be short, they think it right and proper to pray that the coast

may be strewn with wrecks laden with the kind of provisions most

ce needed. So the ill fortune of the hapless bark becomes the good fortune

bt of the devout islanders another exemplification of the old Dutchman's

rt saying: " Vat's one man's loss is annunderer man's gain."

d, Some six miles up the island from the inlet is an old Methodist i't meeting house, a plain frame building, built without special architec-I- tural features, no display of taste or beauty, but simple, homely, and

e, for use.

in The windows are irregular in size placed here and there in the

yf side of the building without the least regard to symmetry or order;

d plain wooden benches on the inside, a single rail for a back, which rail

ft is so nicely adjusted that it catches the sitter just back of the neck.

a Directly opposite the meeting house is an old graveyard, wherein
2G

reposes the dust (if it is dust) of the ancient Hatterasins ; a lonely old place with some curious inscriptions on its tombstones. Here's one as a sample.

In memory of Thos. Austin. Died 1845. Aged 70 years. Thos. Austin. Was. His. Name. Heaven. I. Hope. His. Station. Hatteras. Was. His. Dwelling. Place. And. Christ. Was. His. Salvation. Now. He. Is. Dead. And. Buried. All. His. Bones. Are. Rotten. Remember. Him. When. This. You. See. Least. He. Should. Be. Forgotten.

The author of that epitaph was not familiar with the peculiar virtues of that old burying ground. Thomas, rest in peace; your bones are not all rotten, old boy oh, no ; listen !

Diehl, of Company G, was buried in this graveyard. The authorities refused permission to send his body home. It is not the mere burying that makes the soldier's funeral so inexpressibly solemn, it is the thought that there is no one near to mourn for him ; none but the moaning wind and the ever roaring surf. It was a doleful funeral, tramping through the sand, up the island to this old graveyard. Digging the grave was not difficult. It was tedious to make it as deep as it should be. Two feet below the surface developed water, and the balance of the depth attained was through a constantly increasing volume of water. The coffin was lowered into the grave, and by the aid of sticks was pushed down under the water and held there until a sufficient quantity of the wet, sandy soil had been thrown upon it to prevent it from floating. Diehl was buried in December. The following May his body was disinterred, placed in a lead coffin, and sent North. But what a metamorphosis had taken place in the short time it had lain in this old graveyard. Through some chemical action the work of petrifaction had begun, the forehead had already turned to stone. A longer stay in the grave would have undoubtedly completed the change. This incident causes doubt as to the " dust" of the old Hatteras folks reposing in this outof-the-way graveyard, probably they are all stone statues, as it were. Had it been supposed that this was the case with the bodies silently resting here, it would not have been remarkable, judging from the known tendency of some of the sojourners on Hatteras for practical jokes, to have discovered, on most any bright morning, all the old
27

worthies unearthed from their salt, sandy, wet bed, and standing up as guardians over the places so long occupied by them.

It may not be generally known, but it is nevertheless a fact, that1 the people of Hatteras, Hyde County, North Carolina, set up a state government of their own during the war, utterly repudiating the Confederacy and avowing their firm devotion to and entire faith in the United States of America.

They met in convention at Hatteras and formally prepared and issued a " Declaration against the Confederate Government."

This high-sounding and pretentious document was nicely printed by a New York firm, on a large sheet of paper, enclosed in a colored' border consisting of folded Union flags, and was sold to the patriotic' and curious for the small sum of twenty-five cents, a sort of taxation imposed by the new State Government for the purpose of revenue. One of these papers is now in the possession of the Pennsylvania Historical' Society. It was originally presented to the writer by Governor Taylor, personally.

Under this " Declaration " an election was held for governor, and the Eev. Marble Nash Taylor was elected to this high and responsible-position. Governor Taylor resided on Hatteras. He was the minister in charge of the religious instruction for the entire community, and regularly expounded the gospel to them in the old frame church heretofore alluded to.

He was a gentlemanly looking man, very affable in"manners, quite an interesting conversationalist, an avowed Unionist, and strongly in favor of cutting Hatteras loose from the government of the mainland. In this particular he was in favor of secession. His wife was a pleasant, agreeable lady, who enjoyed the enviable (in the eyes of the island belles) distinction of being the only lady in that region who could boast of a genuine hooped skirt. This article of female apparel, by the way, met with much opposition from the other of the frail sex of this section of the country. Some of the younger ones also cried out against the innovation, but by far the greater number of the girls envied the possessor, and went so far as to manufacture them out of green briars ; all of which information is not gathered from personal observation, but is based entirely upon hearsay evidence.

Hatteras remains comparatively unknown, at least uncared for. An occasional wreck brings up the name. The ocean trade of Albemarle Sound cannot be had without passing over the " Swash " in the inlet, but who gives a thought to the rugged people living a lifetime on this barren spot ?
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What does the world know of them, or what does it care ? The accident of war introduced their mode of living, their characteristics and their oddities. In the days of peace they will live on in the old routine, unthought of in their dreary, out-of-the-way nook.

Yet, with all its ills of winds, sands, barrenness and utter desolate loneliness, the several months spent upon its lone, bleak shores are treasured up in memory's storehouse as a pleasant page in life's history. Many and many a time subsequently, the barrack life of Hatteras was longed for in preference to Virginia mud or Tennessee itch.

The morning of November 12, 1861, saw the members of the Forty-eighth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers descending, one at a time, a plank at an angle of 45 , reaching from the old steamer " S. R. Spaulding's" side, to a floating wharf, within a few yards of Fort Hatteras, and taking up the line of march for Fort Clarke. The wading of the temporary inlet between the two forts added to the discomforts of the trip.

At Fort Clarke some of the companies occupied tents, others preferring the old wooden barracks erected by former occupants, vulgarly but suggestively named " Camp Louse."

Here the regiment settled, literally away from the rest of the world; left exposed to all the ills incident to such an inhospitable coast, and what was thought to be worse, the tender mercies of General Thomas Williams, with whom the boys felt disposed to quarrel the second day on Hatteras.

Generally it was not a difficult matter for a soldier to pitch a tent. It would not have been difficult at Hatteras if the wind could have been subdued. Wind ! Speaking of wind, do you remember how the wind blew at Hatteras ? What a dreadful draft it was ! Hark ! its snapping the tent-fly now. It is a mighty, rushing torrent of air, sweeping continuously in furious blasts, with irresistible force keen, sharp, penetrating, unrelenting in its terrific power, unabating in its fury driving the sand into mouth, nose, eyes, ears and hair. 'Twas such a wind greeted the pitching of the tents around Fort Clarke. The more the boys tugged and pulled to keep the tents upright, the more the wind seemed to howl, " You can't! you shan't!" then it would come along with such