he was left to defeat.10 As a last desperate resort, he conceived the bold design of marching forth by night with his little army of five thousand, and surprising the rebel camp. "By striking a sudden blow, he hoped to inflict so deep a wound as to paralyze the enemy till he could be relieved by re-inforcements, or retreat in safety."" He left Springfield Aug. 9; and at night came in sight of the hostile fires, and rushed upon the camp at dawn, leading one column against the north side, while Sigel led another against the south. Nothing prevented the surprise from being complete and overwhelming, except the singular circumstance that McCulloch had simultaneously planned a night-attack on Springfield; and the men, with no pickets out, were sleeping on their arms. Lyon's little army was within musket-shot before it was discovered; then it plunged through the camp; and McCulloch fled from the breakfast-table, and led the bewildered rebels to the adjacent hills. But they took their arms. The ensuing conflict was one of the most skilfullymanaged and resolutely-contested, not only of this war, but of any war.

The battle raged for six hours; and how terrible were the onsets may be learned from the fact that the rebels acknowledged a loss of over five hundred killed, while Lyon's loss was two hundred and fifty killed and a thousand wounded and missing.12 Early in the engagement, Geu. Lyon's horse was shot under him, and he was three times badly wounded. The closing scene of his gallant life is graphically described by his biographer, Dr. A. Woodward:

"Mounting another horse, he rode back to the front in order to rally the thinned and bleeding but not disheartened lines for a fresh attack. He now directed the fragments of one or two regiments to charge the enemy with the bayonet. Many of their officers were disabled, and they called for a leader. With countenance blanched from the loss of blood, and haggard from anxiety, Gen. Lyon threw himself to the head of the column, and, with hat waving, cheered it onward. Inspired with almost superhu

10 Gen. Frémont, in command of the Department of the North-west, was widely censured for failing to give Lyon proper support.

11 Woodward's Life of Gen. Lyon, p. 307.

12 Major Sturgis, in his official report of the battle, said of Surgeon Sprague (of Danielsonville, Conn.), that "he attended the wounded with as much self-possession as if no battle were raging around him, and not only took charge of the wounded brought to him, but found time to use a musket with good effect against the enemy."

FUNERAL OF GEN. LYON.

115

man energy by the heroism of their chief, the men rushed forward, scattering the enemy like chaff. But in that charge the brave Lyon fell. Our country, in the crisis of her darkest peril, lost that hour one of her clearest heads and stoutest hearts. He placed no value upon repose, comfort, or even life, when the land that he loved with all the devotion of his generous soul demanded their sacrifice."

When he fell, the battle ended: no other leader could so inspire the soldiers. Sigel took up a reluctant retreat to Rolla; but the enemy were so badly crippled, that they could not pursue.

In the confusion of the retreat, the remains of Lyon were left behind. Mrs. Phelps, wife of Col. John S. Phelps, member of Congress for the district, and an unqualified Unionist, caused the body to be incased in a coffin hermetically closed, then concealed it in an old cellar under some straw. Finally, fearing it would be disturbed by the rebel soldiers, she had it taken out and buried in the night. When Danford Knowlton of New York, and John B. Hasler, relatives of Lyon, arrived, she assisted them to recover the body. To this lady the thanks and honors of the nation are due; for she gave her time and expended her fortune in the relief of sick and wounded Union soldiers.

Gen. Lyon's remains were brought to Connecticut, to be buried at Eastford, tenderly greeted all the way by tearful multitudes strewing the choicest flowers on the brave man's coffin. At St. Louis, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, New York, and Hartford, the body lay in state. It was estimated that ten thousand attended the funeral at Eastford. From all Windham and the adjoining counties they came; for he represented the soul of the loyal North; and it was felt, that, in a season of timidity and inefficiency, he had borne aloft in his own hands the flag and the hope of the nation. The services were held in the Congregational church at Eastford, Ex-Gov. Chauncey F. Cleveland presiding. Judge Elisha Carpenter delivered an historical address, and Hon. Galusha A. Grow of Pennsylvania (both natives of Eastford) an oration, which eloquently enforced the lessons of the hour. Remarks were also made by Gov. Buckingham, Gov. Sprague, Senator Foster, Major-Gen. Casey, Mayor Deming of Hartford, and others; and the remains of the hero were affectionately consigned to earth with military honors.

In a marked and peculiar sense, Lyon was the Leonidas of the war; so able in council, and so brilliant in battle, as to extort reluctant praise even from his enemies; 13 so patriotic, that he bequeathed all his property, as has been currently reported, to the United-States Government; so daring, that he inspired raw farmer-boys to fight like veterans. He was not constitutionally courageous, but timid, yet he was as brave a soldier as ever drew a sword, and gave his life joyously to his country like a gallant knight; he was not religious, yet his honesty of purpose was proverbial, and he had a high uprightness of soul which even religion sometimes fails to confer; he was not a statesman, yet the schemes of wily trai tors, outnumbering him ten to one, dissolved at his touch.

In Congress, Senator Pomeroy eulogized Lyon's heroism, and commended it as an example for emulation; and resolutions were passed, declaring that "the country to whose service he devoted his life will guard and preserve his fame as a part of its own glory."

At the dedication of a handsome monument to Gen. Lyon, by the State of Missouri, at Jefferson City, Senator Brown delivered a biographical address, and Lieut.-Gen. Sherman recalled some interesting reminiscences. He said of Lyon,—

"He did not wait till the meshes and trammels which were being plotted for him were perfected. He was the first man in this country that seized the whole question, and took the initiative, and determined to strike a blow, and not wait for the blow to be struck. That he did not succeed at Wilson's Creek was no fault of his, but the result of causes which he could not control. The act itself was as pure and god-like as any that ever characterized a soldier on the field of battle. I wish he could have lived; for he possessed many of those qualities which were needed in the first two or three years of the war, and his death imposed on the nation a penalty numbered by thousands on thousands of lives, and millions on millions of dollars."

13 Pollard, in the Lost Cause and his Southern History, says, "Lyon was an undisguised and fanatical abolitionist. He was, undoubtedly, an able and dangerous man, a man of the times, who appreciated the force of audacity and the value of quick decision. No doubts or scruples unsettled his mind. A Connecticut Yankee, without a trace of chivalric feeling; † small in stature, wiry, active, of dark complexion, and brave to a fault. The fall of such a man was a serious loss to the Federals in Missouri.”

* Yet he voted for Franklin Pierce.

†The rebels insisted that no mau would fight against treason who was "chivalric."

CHAPTER VIII

The Fourth in Maryland. - Dissatisfaction and Insubordination. - The Fifth on the Potomac. - Recruiting active. — The Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth. -Towns represented. Departure. - Sixth and Seventh at Washington and Annapolis. - Eighth on Long Island. "The Sons of Connecticut."- Ninth Regiment organized. — "All Full Companies" accepted. - The Tenth.— Towns represented. — Eighth and Tenth at Annapolis.- Meetings and Social Intercourse. - The Eleventh.- Recruiting. Towns represented. The Regiment embarks for Annapolis. - Port-Royal Expedition.-Landing of the Sixth and Seventh. First Union Troops in South Carolina.- Tyler appointed Colonel of the Fourth. - The New Discipline. - Exposure and Privations of the Fifth.

N the mean time, the Fourth and Fifth Regiments were at the front. All the next day after its departure (June 10, 1861), the Fourth waited at Jersey City for transportation; then made a

night-trip to Philadelphia, eating the oranges Mrs. Sigourney had thoughtfully provided; and took a pleas ant morning-ride along the Valley of the Susquehanna. Next evening they arrived at Chambersburg, where, after their novel and fatiguing experience, they wrapped themselves in their blankets, and tumbled down in the clover to sleep, their first bivouac. Here they pitched their camp, and tarried four days, brigaded with the 11th Pennsylvania and the 1st Wisconsin; the latter commanded by Col. John C. Starkweather, formerly of Norwich, and a native of Preston, Conn. The next week they made a camp at Hagerstown, Md., where they staid until July 6, behaving so well, that the citizens petitioned to have them remain.

At midnight, June 17, the long-roll was beaten; and the excited men were hurried off on the double-quick for Williamsport, "to meet the rebels, only six miles off." There were wild rumors that they had crossed the Potomac for an invasion of Pennsylvania. Forty rounds of ammunition had

been dealt out; and the men were eager to test their valor. "Now or never," they thought, " for the triumph of republican institutions!" On arriving, it appeared that the enemy had been seen across the river, but had drawn off on the approach of our troops. They then returned to the camp at Hagerstown; but, on the 4th of July, advanced again to Williamsport, relieving other regiments in holding this frontier. Here, while the antagonists were measuring each other's strength in Central Virginia, the Fourth had a quiet time, occupying a charming and comfortable camp until Aug. 16. Officers and men seem to have been great favorites with citizens wherever they were stationed.

1

The regiment was next encamped near Frederick City, at the White-oak Springs. Here the dissatisfaction which had been silently gathering came to a crisis. They had not been paid; their clothes were so worn in three months of service, that "scarce two men had hats or shirts alike; coats had long been discarded; and many were obliged to appear, even on dress-parade, lightly and airily attired in simple under-clothing." So bitter was the discontent, that, on Aug. 23, about two hundred men, including Company K, marched out with their arms, and formed in line, facing the camp, announcing that they were going home. The colonel directed Capt. Kellogg to arrest them. "Shall I fire on them if necessary?" asked the captain. "Take your own course," was the reply. Capt. Kellogg ordered his men to load, marched them out, and formed line, facing Company K, within two rods. He bluntly ordered Company K to "shoulder arms." They sullenly refused. "You'll shoulder arms, or be shot!" growled he. "Company B, ready!" The muskets came to the shoulder before the order to fire was given; and the men were marched into camp, and the ringleaders taken to Banks's headquarters as prisoners. Active resistance was quelled; but discontent continued. Within a week, there were eighteen desertions, ten of them from Company K. A week later came pay-day.

About this time, a temperance meeting was organized, of which Lieut.-Col. White was chairman, and Sergeant

1 Anniversary Address by Chaplain E. A. Walker.