Day 84. May 23, 1862.
84
valor which have saved it from disruption and placed it first upon earth….
May Friday 23 1862
Quite cool this morning and all appearance for a fine warm day away down in Va. Stafford Co. I was all night with John Patterson 5 PV Reserve. We went down to the 7 Regt P.V.R. to see Mr Kinsgan.* He had gone to Washington. He was sick. We came back to the 5 and then came up to where our Regt & Brigade was camped. We have a good view of Fredericksburg Va. The day was awful warm. President A Lincoln** was here viewing Gen McDowalls Troops. I saw him. He is plain in his dress and there was quite a crowed out to see him. I received 4 Letters and 14 Papers. Nothing new of importance that I know of and I hope we will soon get home
*Journal of the Shenandoah Valley During the Civil War Era: A Publication of Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute Volume IV 2021 Jonathan Noyalas Footnote 27 in piece by Cheyenne Nimes titled “May Peace Soon be Restored: The 1862 Diary of Ephraim Burket, 110th Pennsylvania” P. 51
“No one with this surname appears on the roster of the 7th Pennsylvania Reserves. Burket may be referring to Philip Klinger, a musician in the regiment. Klinger enlisted on May 4, 1861.”
**Lincoln visits his generals on their battlefields only fifteen times during the war. Today was one of them.“I saw him” is what Ephraim writes as a complete sentence; he understands the historic significance of this moment & that it needs recorded. He didn’t just write how Lincoln was casually dressed, but emphasized that he personally laid eyes on him. He doesn’t seem to be the 19th Century version of starstruck. He simply sandwiches the sighting between its being warm out, that the 110th has a good view of town, & that he gets letters today, after which he writes “nothing new of importance.” Of course I wish he’d written more, but the fact he thought to take a diary with him at all in the chaos of war is a minor miracle, a grace in itself. These men were so understated half the time I feel like I’m being punked, that passages like this should be a parody or satire of some sort. I can’t even find the word for how much the men of the times downplayed & minimized their life experiences compared to how we communicate in the 21st Century. There must be a word in another language for this. The limits of my language are the limits of this paragraph. The genuineness, unpretentiousness, unaffectedness just jumps off the pages. There’s probably a book or 100 on this very topic out of the war. If anyone knows of some titles, please advise. Except when I get to McClellan. Or Jackson. Those types. Those types were over the top, self-aggrandizing lunatics, & that, too, jumps off the page, but screams.
Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson S.C. Gwynne P. 277
“At 7a.m. Lincoln and Stanton “stepped from a steamboat onto a dock on the Potomac River. The place was Aquia Landing, a Federal and logistical supply depot less than ten miles by rail from the town of Fredericksburg. The two men had traveled all night from Washington to get there. It was a happy occasion. They had come to meet personally with General Irwin McDowell and to review his Army of the Rappahannock, all in anticipation of the big assault on Richmond.”
Army Life According to Arbaw: Civil War Letters of William A. Brand 66th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Edited by Daniel A. Masters P. 66 Footnote 91
“Theodore Wilder of the 7th Ohio grumped that “it was soon found that the division had arrived in the vicinity of reviews and inspections, the most detestable of all military performances to the utilitarian soldier. President Lincoln arrived on the morning train and ordered a review of the 43,000 troops then under the command of McDowell. The performance lasted until 9P.M. And the men returned to their quarters with disgust ripened to indignation.’”
Lincoln Day by Day: A Chronology 1809-1865 Volume III: 1861-1865 C. Percy Powell P. 114
“May 23, 1862: Fredericksburg Va., and en route. Gen. McDowell and Col. Herman Haupt, aide-de-camp to McDowell and chief of construction and transportation on military railroads, meet President and party at Aquia Creek, Va., and accompany them in baggage car to McDowell’s headquarters on north side of Rappahannock. President reviews various divisions and rides along lines with hat off as men cheer. Leaves headquarters at 9P.M. Leaves Aquia Creek on return trip at 10P.M.”
How the South Could Have Won the Civil War: The Fatal Errors That Led to Confederate Defeat Bevin Alexander P. 62
“On the morning of May 23, Jackson, accompanied by the 6th Virginia Cavalry, turned his infantry to the right off the main road and approached Front Royal** on a small track winding along the lower slopes of the Blue Ridge. The main body of cavalry crossed a South Fork ford and worked through the forest around the base of Massanutten. During the night Turner Ashby’s 7th Virginia Cavalry descended on Buckton to sever Banks from Front Royal. The 2nd Virginia Cavalry under Thomas Taylor Munford destroyed the railway bridges east of Front Royal and set up a blocking force in case Kenly tried to escape in that direction. Meanwhile, small groups of horsemen cut the telegraph between Front Royal and Washington and were ready to block the Union troops positioned at Rectortown.
Thus, around 1 P.M., when a long line of Confederate skirmishers broke forward from the forests just south of Front Royal, Colonel Kenly and his garrison were totally isolated. When the Southern cavalry was about to cut him off from the bridges he was valiantly defending, Kenly ordered his troops to withdraw over the North Fork bridge and to fire all three bridges as they went. But the 6th Virginia, accompanied by Jackson, set off in pursuit. The Confederates encountered Kenly at the hamlet of Cedarville, three miles north of the river, where the Union colonel had pulled up his infantry. With Rebels coming from all sides, the Union force disintegrated as individuals fled in panic. Most were unable to escape. The 250 Confederates forced 600 Union soldiers to surrender. In addition, 32 Federals were killed and 122 wounded. Rebel losses were 11 killed and 15 wounded.
P. 63
Banks, at Strasburg, was strangely unmoved when he heard, at 4:00 P.M., that Front Royal had been attacked. He believed that Stonewall Jackson was still at Harrisonburg, and concluded that the attack was only a cavalry raid. He wired Stanton that it had come from a force that had been “gathering in the mountains.’”
Civil War Weather in Virginia Robert K. Krick P. 58
“7a.m. 62; 2p.m. 86; 9p.m. 67. Refreshing shower at 5P.M., 30 minutes.”
Note: This day in 1865, the Grand Review, day one:
Reid Ross https://www.historynet.com/civil-war-grand-review.htm
(Excerpts)
“The first part of the two-day parade began promptly at 9 a.m., with the single boom of a cannon. From around the Capitol a solitary horseman swung into view. It was bespectacled Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade, riding Blackie, his favorite horse. As the crowd roared “Gettysburg, Gettysburg!” Meade and his staff headed the Army of the Potomac’s parade until it reached the presidential reviewing stand. Next to the president sat Grant, his young son Jesse on his lap. His wife Julia was there, too. The other seat by the president was reserved for Meade on May 23 and Sherman on May 24. Also present were Meade’s wife Margaretta and his two sons, Spencer and Willie; Sherman’s wife Ellen and his son Tom; and various Cabinet members, diplomats and other high-ranking generals.
Grog shops closed for three days to minimize possible brawling, upsetting a number of thirsty men; but some speakeasies were in business on the city’s outskirts. Police were busy arresting pickpockets, thieves, prostitutes and counterfeiters. By daybreak on the first day, crowds lined Pennsylvania Avenue. Buildings along the parade route were bedecked with American flags; red, white and blue bunting; and floral displays and black crepe ribbons to reflect mourning for President Abraham Lincoln. For the first time since his assassination, flags were raised to full staff, signifying the end of the official mourning period. Welcome signs and banners hung from buildings and across street intersections. “THE ONLY NATIONAL DEBT WE CAN NEVER PAY IS THE DEBT WE OWE TO THE VICTORIOUS UNION SOLDIERS” read a banner on the Treasury Building. Over its entrance hung the torn battle flag of the Treasury Guard Regiment. Arches of flowers and evergreen boughs bridged Pennsylvania Avenue. Another banner over the avenue read, “ALL HAIL OUR WESTERN HEROES.”
Cavalry patrols were posted along the parade route to keep crowds clear of the tree-lined, cobblestone avenue. At intersections they kept vehicles and spectators out of the line of march. Mathew Brady set up large glass-plate cameras on tripods on temporary scaffolding above 15th Street. Hawkers sold purple lemonade.
The reviewing stand was at the end of 1½-mile parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue. On the White House lawn facing the avenue were long rows of elevated, terraced seats reserved for special guests. In the center of these seats was a separate, elevated section for the covered presidential reviewing stand. It was handsomely decorated with national colors, flags and banners bearing names of the armies’ famous battles.”
Lens Of War: Exploring Iconic Photographs of the Civil War Edited by J. Matthew Gallman and Gary W. Gallagher P. 243 Steven E. Woodworth
Note: On the 100th Indiana Infantry walking today (Woodworth notes later in the essay that “The Coming of the Lord” seemed the favorite song sung during these two days):
“As it passed the reviewing stand, each regiment crisply moved from “right shoulder shift” to “carry arms,” the marching salute. The dignitaries on the reviewing stand lifted their hats, and the crowds cheered again.”
Note: Picture to left, first picture is out of Hearts Touched by Fire: The Best of Battles and Leaders of the Civil War Harold Holzer P. 1165. All other pictures, or stereographs, from the Library of Congress, soldiers on horses trotting down PA Avenue in D.C., most likely all taken by the inimitable Mathew Brady. Also, see YouTube, “THE GRAND REVIEW 1865.” Another rare instance having to do with the war I caught a glimpse. The music is spectacular. God, if there is one, still do bless these men….
Note: On May 23, 1865, what is left of the 110th (companies B & D have combined) will walk today in the Grand Review. Below are excerpts most pertinent to the 110th today, as well as other interesting tidbits from the original NYT article about the Grand Review as it marched today down Pennsylvania Avenue. I just love these original newspaper accounts. Reminder that Ephraim was in the 110th PA, by now folded into the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 2nd Army Corps, to June, 1865:
REVIEW OF THE ARMIES; Propitious Weather and a Splendid Spectacle. Nearly a Hundred Thousand Veterans in the Lines. The Names and Order of the Several Corps and Divisions. Grateful Recognition of Gallant Officers. Wreaths of Laurel and Beautiful Bouquets for the Brave. The Grand Procession of Battle Stained Banners. Enthusiastic Admiration of the People for the Glorious Rank and File. Graphic Picture of the Parades, its Scenes and Incidents. HEADQUARTERS ARMY POTOMAC. NINTH CORPS. FIFTH CORPS. https://www.nytimes.com/1865/05/24/archives/review-of-the-armies-propitious-weather-and-a-splendid-spectacle.html
Special Dispatch to the New-York Times.
WASHINGTON, Tuesday, May 23, 1865.
“The Army of the Potomac has passed in review. The first day’s pageant is over, and to the correspondent falls the duty of depicting a scene almost devoid of incident, save in its grand aspiration. Every circumstance has combined to make it a complete success. The weather has been magnificent; the air, delightfully tempered by the rains of the past week, is cool and fragrant, and dust is for the time subdued.
Washington has been filled as it never was filled before; the hotel-keepers assert that the pressure upon their resources never was so great, and thousands of people have been nightly turned away to seek a place of rest where best they might.
The train which left New-York on Monday evening consisted of twenty-one overcrowded cars, and only reached Washington at ten o’clock this morning, an hour after the grand column had begun to move. Still are the crowds pouring in, particularly from the West, with the friends and admirers of SHERMAN’s great armies, which pass in review to-morrow.
At four o’clock this morning reveille was sounded in the camps of all the organizations composing this vast army, and by six o’clock breakfast had been eaten, baggage packed and loaded on the wagons, and the troops were ready for duty.
As you are already informed, the troops participating in this most interesting pageant that has ever been known in the history of the country, left their camps yesterday and marched to positions convenient to the city. The Ninth Corps, which was encamped near Alexandria, left their camp at an early hour yesterday morning, and marched through Alexandria, along the turnpike, thence to Long Bridge, across the bridge, and through Maryland-avenue to a field about one and a half miles east of the Capitol, where they encamped for the night.
The following order, in column of corps, divisions, brigades, and regiments, for the review on the 23d inst., is published for general information, viz.:
Third Division.
Brevet Maj.-Gen. G. Mott commanding.
First Brigade, Brig.-Gen. R. De Trobriand commanding — 1st Maine Heavy Artillery, Lieut-Col. R.B. Shepherd; 20th Indiana, Lieut-Col. Andrews; 110th Pennsylvania, Capt. J.B. Fite; 99th Pennsylvania, Lieut-Col. Peter Fritz; 40th New-York, Lieut.-Col. M.M. Cannon; 86th New-York, Maj. L. Todd; 73d New-York, Lieut.-Col. M.W. Burns; 124th New-York, Lieut.-Col. C.H. Weygant.
The Third Division of this corps, Maj.-Gen. CRAWFORD, the Surgeon of Fort Sumter in April, 1861, in command, forms the left of the Fifth Corps. This division contains all that is left of the old First Artillery Corps, whose fame was never tarnished. It resisted the enemy’s terrible attack at Gettysburgh, but lost JOHN REYNOLDS, and its brigades, though often sadly reduced, still present a bold front, and march finely on.
The First Brigade, under MORROW, the lawyer-soldier of Michigan, comprises all that is left of the famous Iron Brigade, now reduced to two small regiments and the Sixth and Seventh Wisconsin veterans. From this brigade JOHN GIBBONS, now famous as a corps commander, graduated to higher rank and command. BRAGG add CUTLER both were Colonels of the Sixth Wisconsin. Gen. LUCIUS FAIRCHILD, the next Governor of Wisconsin, came from the old Second.
The Third Division is now passing by. It possesses a peculiar interest. It is all that is left of the famous Third Army Corps, and it is still permitted to wear its old emblem — the White Diamond.
Gen. MOTT sits his horse well, though I left him (April 14) crippled by a severe wound, which was not his first. In the First Brigade is the Fortieth New-York, (the veteranized Mozrrt Regiment,) still strong in numbers. The Seventy-third New-York is the only district regiment left of the organization known as the Excelsior Brigade.
In the Third Brigade I find one relic of the famous New-Jersey brigade, the Seventh Regiment under Col. PRICE, which at Chancellorsville took seven battle-flags from the enemy, though it lost Col. FRANCINE. This division — a corps in miniature — have not lost their love for the hand that first moulded and fashioned into shape JOS. HOOKER.
Throughout the entire line the troops appeared in excellent condition and spirits, and although they have decidedly opposed the task involved in this parade, after having commenced the march it seemed to have become a pleasant duty, and they performed it as they have many others more laborious and dangerous, with cheerfulness.
The reception the troops met with, though it may be equal to anything they could expect in this city, with its cosmopolitan characters, is not such as citizens of a large city — such as New-York or Philadelphia — would anticipate. It is true, there were splendid displays of flags, and above Pennsylvania-avenue and Fifteenth-street the pavements, windows and balconies, and in some instances roofs, were crowded with people of all ages and sexes, who frequently cheered and waved their handkerchiefs or small flags in their hands. At other places along the route of march no proper demonstration was made. It was, therefore, quite refreshing this morning, when the head of the column arrived opposite the north side of the Capitol, to witness the scene that awaited them there. The entire hill side was literally covered with children dressed in holiday attire. The girls were gaily bedecked with ribbons of different colors and the lads were sashes or rosettes of similar hue. A number of mottoes, printed in large and legible letters, were prominently arranged in the rear of the groups, and in appropriate places were banners and flags of various sizes. Before the eye could become interested with the details of this charming spectacle, the hundreds of juvenile voices were heard singing, in a highly-artistic style, “The Battle-Cry of Freedom.”** We soon learned that the assembly was composed of the scholars, teachers and trustees of the public schools of the city, who had chosen this method of welcoming home the heroes of the war for the Union. The different colored ribbons, sashes and rosettes designated the several districts to the schools of which the wearers belonged — the red representing the first, white the second, blue the third, and green the fourth. Among the most prominent of the inscriptions was one explanatory of the scene: “The public schools of Washington welcome the heroes of the republic.” This hung immediately over the entrance to the east portico of the capitol, and was painted upon a large white banner. Opposite to it, over the entrance to the western portico, was another similar banner bearing the inscription, “The only national debt we can never pay is the debt we owe to the victorious Union soldiers.” Other banners arrayed against different parts of the building between these two bore the mottoes, “Honor to the Brave,” “Union and Freedom Forever,” “Welcome Brave Soldiers,” “Defenders of the Country,” etc. At intervals on the hillside, evergreen bushes, dressed with clusters of flowers enhanced the beauty of the scene, and the interest was increased when several children were observed standing ready to bestow upon the soldiers these, charming boquets. Nearly all the Generals, and many of the field officers, were recipients of these favors, and the fair lasses were not a little elated to see their gifts highly prized and carefully preserved by those upon whom they bestowed them. Besides the song named above, the scholars also sung several others equally appropriate and as only a portion of them sung at once after the first piece the singing was continued most of the time while the column was passing. To aid the effect of this well-planned entertainment the schools were accompanied by the Cliffburne Barracks Band, and the band of the Ninth Veteran Reserve Corps, who filled the intervals between the vocal performances by playing a number of popular airs. The soldiers were not slow to appreciate the compliment intended by this welcome, and several times gave utterance to their approbation by hearty cheers for the public schools of Washington.
After passing this point, the sidewalks became densely crowded with spectators of both sexes, and every available place for overlooking the column, such as windows, balconies, &c., was filled with ladies. Most of these expressed their welcome by waiving handkerchiefs, bowing, smiling, and clapping their hands. This was especially the case when they recognized an acquaintance in the column whose attention they desired to attract, and their demonstrations frequently elicited cheering from the troops.
On arriving opposite the Metropolitan Hotel, several regiments, cheered lustly, Gov. FENTRN, of New-York being upon the balcony. His care and attention has endeared the Governor to the troops from his State and his presence was sufficient to account for the enthusiastic demonstration indulged in.
Again on reaching Willard’s Hotel, there was loud cheering in compliment to Gov. CURTIN, of Pennsylvania, who was a witness of the pageant from the balcony in front of that building. There were also loud demonstrations in front of a stand on Fifteenth-street south of the Treasury building, where a large number of friends and relatives of the officers and soldiers were assembled.
During the entire march along Pennsylvania-avenue no unpleasant incident occurred to mar the general harmony. The street was kept entirely clear of pedestrians not belonging to the army, and by this careful management no opportunity for accident or disorderly proceedings occurred. All the liquor establishments were closed by order yesterday, and will remain so until Thursday morning.
The day has been memorable and enjoyable beyond expectation or precedent.
Just here is the most exciting little incident of the day. CUSTER leads his famous division around the corner of Fifteenth-street when some fair hand throws out a beautiful wreath; the General catches it upon his arm, but the movement so frightens the magnificent stallion which the General rides, that he becomes unmanageable and dashes up the avenue at a frightful speed; but CUSTER is too good a horseman to be so easily unseated; minus hat and sabre, holding on to the wreath with one hand, he brings his steed down with the other, and curbing him severely, brings him back to his good behavior and in his place at the head of the division, and horse and rider, with superb spirit, have afforded the spectators the finest equestrian exhibition of the day.
“….but Oh; those flags, slowly but appreciatively, the audience begin to mark and applaud the tattered banners, some stained and worn, others torn to threads, barely clinging to the staff, and others still carefully gathered around the staff, the threads all too priceless less to lose a single one. How many volumes those banners speak; how much more eloquent than any words are they?”
Though the city is so crowded, it is yet gay and jovial with the good feeling that prevails, for the occasion is one of such grand import and true rejoicing, that small vexations sink out of sight. With many it is the greatest epoch of their lives; with the soldier it is the last act in the drama; with the nation it is the triumphant exhibition of the resources and valor which have saved it from disruption and placed it first upon earth.
So the scene of to-day (and that of to-morrow) will never be forgotten, and he who is privileged to be a witness will mark it as a white day in the calendar, from which to gather hope and courage for the future.”
**A well-known song at the time was also “Nigger Doodle Dandy” with a one chorus:
“‘Irish serfs,” and “lousy Dutch,”
What care we about you!
Nigger Doodle takes your place,
We can do without you.”
Note: A stanza of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Black national anthem, first performed as a poem at a celebration of Lincoln’s birthday:
“We have come, treading our path through the
blood of the slaughtered
Out from the gloomy past
‘Til now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.”
Note as well: Whether “colored” troops were barred from marching in the Grand Review down Pennsylvania Avenue historians still debate. It’s a probable yes. In 2015, the sesquicentennial, some Harrisburg residents recreate the march. But on November 14, 1865, up to 7k Black PA. & Mass. Union soldiers (USCT) will march in Harrisburg. Turns out, PA. was the sole state to hold a march for Black troops. I have located no pictures of Black veterans marching in the victory parades today & tomorrow.
Note: On May 23, 1865, what is left of the 110th will walk today (which is day one of two total; the Review went on for two days) in the Grand Review. I would imagine if Ephraim came to D.C. for the parade, he would have taken out his old diary & noted that. But he left at least half the diary pages blank, unfortunately.
But before they officially sign out, 150-200k Yankees walk in these 2 days, which was a mere 14-15% of all soldiers & sailors now still in uniform. However, numbers are hard to come by: 200k is one estimate (War Army College), 25k horses, & somewhere between 50-250k spectators.
Note: Six months after demobilization, 800k of 1 million were finally home. For salt in wounds stories, look up what regiments faced in the Union Army’s demobilization process. Talk about getting you from the dead. The army was “easy enough to get into, but damnned hard to get out.” –Capt. James Cartwright, 56th Mass. See: Gettysburg NPS lecture by Ranger John Hoptak, “The Grand Review and Demobilization of the Armies.”
Living Hell: The Dark Side of the Civil War Michael C.C. Adams P. 198-199
“The huge demobilization of 1865-1866 left large numbers unemployed. Veterans, used to appropriating what they needed, might go on doing just that. Some treated this as a temporary expedient, but others had acquired a taste for violent adventure that became incurable. The James and Younger boys, “Bloody Bill” Anderson, all got their training as guerrillas in the war. Sue Mundy, another hoodlum, had been a captain in John Hunt Morgan’s cavalry. He found death at the hands of a peace officer, as did most of the others. Veteran Sam Hildebrand, for example, ended a career of violence gunned down by a constable in Illinois, March 1872.
Border areas that had been contested by the two sides, Kansas, Missouri, West Virginia, and the eastern Kentucky mountains, remained areas of bitter personal division, often resulting in long-lasting blood feuds, such as the famous Hatfield and McCoy clan war of 1873 to 1878. As in other times and places around the globe that have seen decades of violence, casual brutality became a norm of life. Witness the death of Rebel private John Patterson, as reported by Lucy Maxfield from Randolph County, Missouri. Released from service, July 1865, “He started home and had got but a short distance from the army when he was murdered by two robbers,” just for his horse and saddle.
P. 206-207
The South had every reason to be sick of war, with its harvest of death, ruin and crippled men, its forests and wilderness areas infested with deserters and outlaws. In the North, despite early enthusiasm for the boys in blue, the unsavory reputation of soldiers had never quite dissipated. Now, as they came home in thousands, stories of their bad behavior went the rounds again. Popular repute stigmatized veterans as unreliable in habits, prone to substance abuse and sexual license (as indeed some had been). Bars and chop houses still posted signs prohibiting Irish, dogs, and soldiers. A police officer ordered men of the 10th Illinois, strolling a Chicago sidewalk, June 1865, into the gutter, as he would bums or vagrants. “Could a greater insult have been offered us?” asked Corporal James A. Congleton.”
Note: According to https://www.shenandoahatwar.org/history/battle-of-cross-keys/ forces engaged today at the Battle of Front Royal: Kenly: 1063 with 903 casualties. Jackson: 3000 with 56 casualties.
Note: This day in 1861, Virginia’s referendum vote was 128,884 for secession, 32,134 opposed (Governor Letcher’s count). For a month now, the Confederate flag (the design of which will change throughout the war) has been flying over the Capitol building. Note as well: The city of Richmond saw 3,682 votes for, & 3 votes against, secession. The brave three. In the Shenandoah Valley, just 5 voted to stay in the Union (just 13 men voted for Lincoln that past November).
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there was quite a crowed out to see him….
May 23, 1865, the Eastern armies walked; May 24 the Western. Today & tomorrow are the same clear day, the exact sunny light breeze, but the sun’s teeth starts getting in them.
9am: one cannon shot goes off to start the men walking, a cannon done up in garlands the same as they do for the horses– 25k horses in 2 days, and treated them as machines, black toes smack down on the swelter street shambling forth like extras on The Walking Dead, the sun bearing down on thousands so there’s a madness to it, a darkness to it when men die of light poisoning as they promenade down Pennsylvania Avenue, & the camera pans them ground down to simple, gestural shapes, a side-loping blur-march, staring straight in front of them at what is lunging toward them still.
It will take 5½ hours to pass, the mass of them, past any given point today. They walk 20 miles. They will not muster out until June 28.
When they leave, sit in camp right after, wait on discharge papers after the explosions of paper streamers, after all that applause, the song they all agree to sing is Battle Hymn of the Republic.
A spirit floats out from the places people gather, dream figures in a war already gone but just now begun, the mourning crepe still twisting on the Capitol’s columns as they marched, no, not quite down yet is it, when some die from sun stroke & mandatory cheer, gleamy, & the corsages of roses waving in rhythm, walking corteges & flowers sway, metallic tremors of the bayonets as they walk all trussed up like turkeys in those hot wool uniforms & still dropping dead, only a hundred or so this time around. But for the first time since Lincoln’s death, flags go full staff.
Post-surrender, Rebels pass through NYC, wait days for transportation home. Still in uniform, just hanging out in Battery Park with no Yankee cash. The ½ million disabled Rebels will have no two days’ review to amble along to, just prosthetic limbs, & they totter off to zero pensions & no homes. Arrive home to no parades, just to hear again, again, again how Longstreet’s said if Lee’d kept his forces & not divided ’em, he coulda won. “The great mistake…”
The black cloth, crepe, paper, all of it swathes across the occasion at the Grand Review stands except here & there the black would shine through the shaded sun, drape around the long white column, the black crepe still hanging months after L’s death & the face was just a bloody mask by then & already people can’t picture him anymore. And now the folks back home asking after what the Real War was, the different elements composed to the sound of a rising wind in Richmond as civilians clambered in fires while others lit them and laughed. That night in Columbia. Charleston. Chattanooga. Bits of apocrypha, all the spent shell casings waiting in the ground in the fugue states of an America “consecrated by some special dealing of God’s providence.”
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