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diff --git a/old/50549-8.txt b/old/50549-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 454cd22..0000000 --- a/old/50549-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3368 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Three Wisconsin Cushings, by Theron Wilber Haight - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Three Wisconsin Cushings - A sketch of the lives of Howard B., Alonzo H. and William - B. Cushing, children of a pioneer family of Waukesha County - -Author: Theron Wilber Haight - -Release Date: November 25, 2015 [EBook #50549] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE WISCONSIN CUSHINGS *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, The Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - THREE WISCONSIN CUSHINGS - -[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL E. V. SUMNER AND STAFF, 1862 - - See facsimile of A. H. Cushing's letter, facing p. 40. From left - to right; Capt A. H. Cushing, Capt. L. Kipp, Major Clarke, - Lieut.-Col. Joseph Taylor, General Sumner, Capt. Sam Sumner, - Surgeon Hammond, and Lieutenant-Colonel Lawrence] - - WISCONSIN HISTORY COMMISSION: ORIGINAL PAPERS, NO. 3 - - - - - THREE WISCONSIN CUSHINGS - - A sketch of the lives of Howard B., Alonzo H. - and William B. Cushing, children of a pioneer - family of Waukesha County - - - BY THERON WILBER HAIGHT - - PRIVATE, CORPORAL, FIRST SERGEANT, SECOND AND FIRST LIEUTENANT - U. S. V., IN THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES - - WISCONSIN HISTORY COMMISSION - - APRIL, 1910 - - TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED COPIES PRINTED - - Copyright, 1910 - - THE WISCONSIN HISTORY COMMISSION - - (in behalf of the State of Wisconsin) - -Opinions or errors of fact on the part of the respective authors of the -Commission's publications (whether Reprints or Original Narratives) -have not been modified or corrected by the Commission. For all -statements, of whatever character, the Author is alone responsible. - - DEMOCRAT PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTER - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - WISCONSIN HISTORY COMMISSION ix - - RECORDS AND APPRECIATIONS xi - - THREE WISCONSIN CUSHINGS: - - A great New England exodus 1 - - The Cushing Family in Western New York 5 - - The father of three Wisconsin heroes 8 - - From Milwaukee to the Nemahbins 13 - - Removal to Chicago 18 - - The mother in charge of the family 21 - - All the boys established 26 - - The beginning of the War 31 - - The last year of Alonzo's life 39 - - Later naval services of William B. Cushing 58 - - William's letter to his mother 62 - - After Gettysburg 66 - - The destruction of the "Albemarle" 67 - - At Fort Fisher and afterwards 81 - - Howard Cushing with the Artillery 88 - - Transferred to the Cavalry 94 - - Death of the young cavalryman 98 - - INDEX 105 - - - - -Erratum - - -The portrait at p. 56, entitled "Alonzo Hersford Cushing," is that of -Howard B. Cushing. - -The portrait at p. 94, entitled "Howard B. Cushing," is that of Alonzo -Hersford Cushing. - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - PAGE - - MAJOR-GENERAL E. V. SUMNER AND STAFF, - 1862 _Frontispiece_ - - FACSIMILE OF PART OF LETTER BY ALONZO H. - CUSHING, 1862 40 - - PORTRAIT OF HOWARD B. CUSHING 56 - - PORTRAIT OF WILLIAM BARKER CUSHING 86 - - FACSIMILE OF PART OF LETTER BY HOWARD B. - CUSHING, August 6, 1863 88 - - PORTRAIT OF ALONZO HERSFORD CUSHING 94 - - FACSIMILE OF PART OF LETTER BY WILLIAM B. - CUSHING, May 15, 1871 102 - - - - - WISCONSIN HISTORY COMMISSION - - (Organized under the provisions of Chapter 298, Laws of 1905, as - amended by Chapter 378, Laws of 1907 and Chapter 445, Laws of - 1909) - - -JAMES O. DAVIDSON - - _Governor of Wisconsin_ - -FREDERICK J. TURNER - - _Professor of American History in the University of Wisconsin_ - -REUBEN G. THWAITES - - _Secretary of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin_ - -MATTHEW S. DUDGEON - - _Secretary of the Wisconsin Library Commission_ - -CHARLES E. ESTABROOK - - _Representing Department of Wisconsin, Grand Army of the Republic_ - - * * * * * - - _Chairman_, COMMISSIONER ESTABROOK - - _Secretary and Editor_, COMMISSIONER THWAITES - - _Committee on Publications_, COMMISSIONERS THWAITES - AND TURNER - - - - -RECORDS AND APPRECIATIONS - - -_Howard B. Cushing_ - -_Record_--Wisconsin. Private Co. B., 1st Illinois artillery, March -24, 1862 to November 30, 1863; private in B artillery (regular) -November 30, 1863; second lieutenant, 4th artillery, November 30, -1863; transferred to 3rd cavalry, September 7, 1867; first lieutenant, -December 16, 1867; killed May 5, 1871, in action with Apache Indians in -Whetstone Mountains, Arizona. - -_Appreciation_--"Of the distinguished services rendered to Arizona by -Lieutenant Howard B. Cushing, a book might well be written. It is not -intended to disparage anybody when I say that he performed herculean -and more notable work, perhaps, than had been performed by any other -officer of corresponding rank either before or since. Southern Arizona -owed much to the gallant officers who wore out strength and freely -risked life and limb in her defence; * * * but if there were any choice -among them I am sure that the verdict, if left to those officers -themselves, would be in favor of Cushing."--JOHN G. BOURKE, _On the -Border with Crook_ (N. Y., 1891), pp. 106, 107. - - -_Alonzo Hersford Cushing_ - -_Record_--Wisconsin and New York. Cadet at Military Academy, July -1, 1857 (12); second lieutenant and first lieutenant of the 4th -artillery, June 24, 1861; brevet captain, December 13, 1862, for -gallant and meritorious service at the battle of Fredericksburg, Va.; -major, May 2, 1862, for gallant and meritorious service at the Battle -of Chancellorsville, Va.; and lieutenant colonel, July 1, 1863, for -conspicuous gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg, Pa., where he was -killed July 3, 1863. - -_Appreciation_--"On the field of Gettysburg, more than once I stood -where the brave Cushing gave up his life, right at the peak of -Pickett's daring charge. Oh that day and that hour! History will not -let that smiling, splendid boy die in vain; her dew will glisten -forever over his record as the earthly morning dew glistens in the -fields. Fame loves the gentleman and the true-hearted, but her -sweetheart is gallant youth."--MORRIS SCHAFF, "Spirit of Old West -Point," in _Atlantic Monthly_, February, 1907. - - -_William Barker Cushing_ - -_Record_--September 25, 1857, appointed acting midshipman, from -33rd N. Y. district; March 23, 1861, resignation accepted; April 1, -appointed master's mate in volunteer navy--served on board the U. S. -S. "Minnesota;" Sept. 13, resignation accepted; Oct. 19, warranted as -a midshipman in the navy from the 1st day of June, 1861; Oct. 25, to -duty in North Atlantic blockading squadron; March 27, 1862, detached -from U. S. S. "Cambridge" (sick) and leave of one month; May 14, to -the U. S. S. "Minnesota;" July 16, promoted to lieutenant; April 27, -1863, commissioned; Sept. 5, detached from the "Shockokon" and to -command the "Monticello;" Oct. 19, 1864, detached and to the North -Atlantic blockading squadron; Nov. 22, again ordered to North Atlantic -blockading squadron; Oct. 27, promoted to lieutenant-commander from -this date; Feb. 20, 1865, commissioned; Feb. 24, detached from command -of the "Monticello" and wait orders; May 17, to the navy yard, New -York, N. Y.; June 13, detached and to the U. S. S. "Hartford;" June 24, -detached and to the U. S. S. "Lancaster," Pacific station; March 11, -1867, detached and wait orders; July 5, to the U. S. S. "Quinnebaug," -15th instant; July 25, previous order revoked and to command the U. -S. S. "Penobscot" when found; Oct. 7, detached and to command the U. -S. S. "Maumee;" Jan. 19, 1870, detached November 12th last, and leave -three months from 13th instant; March 30, to ordnance duty, Navy Yard, -Boston, Mass., April 30th; Jan. 31, 1872, promoted to commander from -this date; Feb. 2, to examination; Feb. 9, detached and wait orders; -May 16, commissioned; June 17, 1873, to command the U. S. S. "Wyoming" -per steamer 28th instant; June 21, previous order suspended; July 11, -to command the U. S. S. "Wyoming;" April 24, 1874, detached and wait -orders; April 27, to duty as assistant to executive officer, Navy Yard, -Washington, D. C.; Aug. 25, detached and to duty as senior aid to -commandant of the Navy Yard, Washington, D. C.; Dec. 17, died this day -at the Government Hospital for the Insane, Washington, D. C. - -_Appreciation_--"_To the Senate and House of Representatives_: In -conformity to the law of July 16, 1862, I most cordially recommend -that Lieutenant William B. Cushing, United States Navy, receive a -vote of thanks from Congress for his important, gallant, and perilous -achievement in destroying the rebel ironclad steamer, Albemarle, on -the night of the 27th of October, 1864, at Plymouth, North -Carolina. * * * This recommendation is specially made in order to -comply with the requirements of the aforesaid act which is in the -following words, viz.: That any line officer of the Navy or Marine -Corps may be advanced one grade if upon recommendation of the President -by name he receives the thanks of Congress for highly distinguished -conduct in conflict with the enemy, or for extraordinary heroism in the -lines of his profession. (Signed) - - ABRAHAM LINCOLN." - - - - -THREE WISCONSIN CUSHINGS - - - - -_A Great New England Exodus_ - - -Beginning with the last decade of the eighteenth century, and -continuing through the first decade of the nineteenth, the northern -and western borders of the state of New York were punctuated with -settlements of a peculiar people along the entire distance, and -reaching inland from the edges of the lakes and rivers along the line, -for a number of miles. These settlements were from New England; but -their population differed somewhat from the aggregate of those who were -left behind. Sires and sons of the great emigration were, in all their -movements, much influenced, no doubt, by the views of their wives, -mothers, and sisters, but the partiality of history takes notice only -of the former. - -They were the men, and the offspring of the men, whose sturdy strokes, -supplemented by their more delicate and elaborate strokes, had turned -New England from a wilderness into fertile fields and flourishing -towns, but who were not permitted to reap the fruits of their past -endeavors in their old homes. Debts had accrued against them while -they had been helping fight the battles of their country in the War -for Independence, and their creditors would not accept in settlement -the worthless Continental currency with which their country had paid -them for their services and sacrifices. In many instances they found -their homesteads taken from them and turned over to lawyers and other -professional men who had abstained from encouragement of bloodshed by -staying out of the army in the "times that tried men's souls." The -returning soldiers were disgusted and amazed by what looked to them -like a less tolerable condition than that which they had opposed of -late with powder and ball. Within a very few years all this feeling -culminated in a rebellion against the government--and particularly -the judicial branch of the government--of the state of Massachusetts, -led by one Daniel Shays, who had attained the rank of captain in the -Continental forces in active service. - -When this uprising was suppressed, as in less than a year it was, an -exodus of the dissatisfied classes began and continued as people could -get ready for their passage over the Hudson and into the wilderness -of what was then the Far West, reaching by way of the Mohawk Valley -even to Lake Erie itself, and up the eastern shore of Lake Ontario to -the St. Lawrence. Washington Irving was evidently familiar with the -appearance of such migrations from early boyhood, and gives a lively -picture in his _Knickerbocker's History of New York_ (though somewhat -distorted for purposes of burlesque entertainment), of the way in which -the Yankees moved westward, accompanied by their families, and with all -their belongings packed away in covered wagons drawn by jaded horses or -toiling oxen. - -The _History_ was published in 1809, when Irving was twenty-six years -old; but it is not probable that he had observed among the immigrant -wagons passing his father's house, the young ship-carpenter, Zattu -Cushing, who attained his majority in 1791, and soon after left his -native home at Plymouth, Mass., reaching the neighborhood of Ballston -Spa, New York, before 1795, the year of his marriage there to Miss -Rachel Buckingham. - -It seems most likely that the trip from Plymouth to the headwaters -of the Hudson was entirely by water; the young man's relations with -seafaring, together with the frequency of coastwise voyages from -the eastern ports of the old Bay State, would naturally have led -him to prefer that route. From the time of his marriage until 1799 -neither tradition nor record points out the character or direction -of his movements. In the last-mentioned year he is said to have been -superintending the construction of a ship, the "Good Intent," at the -island opposite Erie, Pennsylvania, although his residence at the same -time was in the town of Paris, a few miles south of Utica, New York. On -his return home from Erie he took back a team of horses, perhaps the -fruit of his ship-building on the lake. The horses claim a a place in -history on account of the escape of one of them in the neighborhood of -Dunkirk, and the camping-out of the owner, while searching for it, on -the site of the village of Fredonia, his home in subsequent years. - - - - -_The Cushing Family in Western New York_ - - -It was not until 1805 that the young man finally settled at Fredonia, -bringing with him his wife and five children, of whom Milton -Buckingham, born in 1800, was to become the father of perhaps the most -conspicuously daring trio of sons of one mother of any--not excepting -the Roman Horatii or Judean Maccabees--whose exploits have been noted -in the pages of history. For, in the days of early champions, personal -strength and dexterity counted for so much in battle that it did not -appear very extraordinary for Walter Scott's "Fitz-James" to set his -back against a rock and defy a whole tribe of armed Highlanders to a -close contest. The more modern fighting man can not see the death that -he hears whistling and humming about his head in the vicious flight of -bullets; or, tearing the atmosphere apart by means of shell that burst -into whirring fragments of cast-iron, destroying everything they touch, -whether animate or inanimate. He has to be ready for his fate, which -may be handed out to him at any instant without the possibility of -resistance or escape. - -The journey from Oneida County was made in the early winter by -ox-sleighs, and must have taken several days, perhaps running into -weeks, as the route led the emigrants to Dunkirk by way of Buffalo and -the frozen waters along the Erie shore. While spending one night on the -ice, a little way off shore, a thaw came on, in company with a strong -east wind, and the party had some difficulty in reaching land. Fredonia -is only three or four miles inland from the port of Dunkirk, and the -family soon found themselves domiciled in the log hut which in those -days almost always served as the temporary shelter, at least, of the -first occupant of a tract of land in the backwoods of New York. - -The Cushings were evidently well-thought-of by their neighbors, -so the former ship-carpenter soon received the appointment of -associate judge of the Niagara County court. It may seem rather -odd at present that this position should have been conferred upon -a layman; but the experience at their old homes of the emigrating -New Englanders had been such that they retained strong prejudices -against regularly-trained members of the learned professions. They -were quite generally inclined to prefer the illiterate exhortations -of revivalist ministers to the teachings of such clergymen as were -accounted orthodox in the Eastern states; to consider home-bred lawyers -as more likely to strive for the triumph of justice than those who had -devoted their lives to the study of technicalities; and even in respect -to medical practitioners, the self-taught empiric was as likely to -achieve a financial success among them as would be the graduate of a -long-established medical school. - -That the choice of Mr. Cushing as a judge was approved by the people, -became evident when Chautauqua County was set off from Niagara. In -1811, Judge Cushing took the place of presiding judge in the new -organization, and held it for fourteen years. In 1826, after the -opening of the Erie Canal, the judge, in company with other citizens -of Fredonia, built a boat for traffic on the new waterway, and had -it hauled over the three miles between Fredonia and the lake, by -ox-teams; there were said to have been about a hundred in the string. -The jurist therefore did not retire from the activities of life on -retiring from the bench; he found somewhat with which to occupy himself -until his death in 1839, respected and honored by the community where -he lived. - - - - -_The Father of Three Wisconsin Heroes_ - - -In the meantime his son Milton had grown to maturity, had taken the -degree of doctor of medicine after a classical course of study at -Hamilton Literary and Theological Institute, not far from the early -boyhood home of the student--a school founded in 1820, and now become -Colgate University. The duties of a physician were too exacting for his -own health, however. After a few years of practice at Zanesville, Ohio, -where he married his first wife, he became a local merchant, and in -1833, when the wife died, was the father of four children, none of whom -long survived their early manhood or womanhood. - -Not long after the death of Mrs. Cushing, Dr. Cushing removed his -business and home to Columbus, where in 1836 he married Miss Mary -Barker Smith of Boston, who was visiting in the West at the time. She -was then 29 years old, of splendid physical and mental constitution, -and fortunately endowed with a passionate love for life in an open, -free atmosphere, as near as practicable to nature itself. - -After the birth of their eldest son, named for his father, in 1837, -the young couple prepared for their removal into the far west of -Wisconsin, where the Potawatomi still fished and hunted, and whence the -Sauk leader, Black Hawk, had recently been driven. Neither documentary -evidence nor tradition show the manner of travel of the young -couple--whether through the prairies of Indiana and Illinois, and down -the east shore of Lake Michigan, or by sailing vessel around through -the straits of Mackinac. Either of the two routes was then available, -and neither was especially dangerous. - -What seems certain is, that on the 22nd of August, 1838, Howard B. -Cushing, the eldest of the three Wisconsin-born members of that family, -first saw the light at Milwaukee. Nine days previous to the event, -Mrs. Cushing was impressed with the presentiment of death, and wrote in -her Bible the verses following, under the heading, "To Milton, with the -Legacy of his Mother's Bible."[1] - -[1] E. M. H. Edwards, _Commander William Barker Cushing_ (N. Y., 1898), -pp. 22, 23. - - I have no gold, my darling son, - No wealth to leave to thee-- - Yet never light hath shone upon - A richer, costlier, holier one - Than this my legacy; - "Bought with a price," this guide of youth-- - And gemmed with wisdom, light, and truth. - - Should'st thou live on through many years, - Of pilgrimage below, - Full well I know that earthly fears - And human woe and human tears, - Attend the path thou'lt go, - And that thy soul may well endure-- - Drink deeply of this fountain pure. - - Farewell, my son! perchance through grace - We'll meet again above-- - Thine infant memory may not trace - Thy mother's form, thy mother's face; - But O, that mother's love - Burns deep for thee, my first-born child! - _God keep thy spirit undefiled!_ - -If this is to be understood as an indication of despondent gloom, on -the part of the writer, it is the only one left by this conspicuous -exemplar of fine American womanhood. In later years, as will appear in -these pages, she was obliged to undergo privations more difficult to -encounter than those of a residence at the confluence of the Milwaukee -and Menomonee rivers--then a forlorn waste of swamps and hills, that -looked as though they would successfully defy the efforts of man for -transformation into the fairest of the cities along the shores of the -Great Lakes. - -In 1838 the little village contained not more than about eight hundred -inhabitants, and these were divided by Milwaukee River into two -hostile camps, whose differences were always apparently on the point -of breaking out into actual violence. The stream was still unbridged, -and it seemed likely that this watery frontier would long remain a -boundary line as fixed as that of the Rhine in Europe. Mrs. Cushing -had been reared among the most highly-cultivated people of Boston, and -was related to such distinguished families as the Adamses, Hancocks, -and Phillipses. It was not at all strange, therefore, that with three -or four children of her husband by a former wife to care for, besides -her own baby of sixteen months, she should have been attacked by the -nostalgia that has often dragged grown men to untimely graves. - -It was an evidence of the strength of character of this city-bred lady -that she so soon recovered her elasticity of spirit after the birth of -Howard, and again faced the hardships of frontier life as fearlessly as -her sons faced death in the campaigns of the great Civil War. It must -have been soon after her convalescence that she paralleled the shout of -Hannibal's soldiers, "Beyond the Alps lies Italy!" with the thought, at -least, that beyond the Menomonee marshes lay a country resembling in -aspect the most carefully tended English parks, but swarming with more -delicious and satisfying game of earth, water, and air than could be -found in any open hunting grounds of Europe. This was the country of -the "oak openings," extending for scores of miles to the westward, and -jeweled with lovely lakelets, from Pewaukee to beyond the "Four Lakes," -between two of which latter was to rise the capital of the nascent -state. - - - - -_From Milwaukee to the Nemahbins_ - - -In 1838 there was no elaborate road between Milwaukee and Waukesha, -but the intervening twenty miles presented no serious obstacles to -travel. A pioneer woman who made the trip that year, Mrs. Talbot C. -Dousman, wrote of it[2] that her pen was inadequate to a description -of the beautiful scenes. The prairie grasses stood as high as the -horses' knees, and thick with lovely flowers. Often, says she, "we -found ourselves looking about for the house belonging to these -beautiful grounds; but it was emphatically 'God's country,' without -sight or sound of human habitation, from the house where we dined [in -the present town of Brookfield] till we reached our home in the woods, -thirty miles from Milwaukee." - -[2] _History of Waukesha County, Wis._ (Chicago, 1880), pp. 473, 474. - -The route taken by the Paddock family, and thus depicted by one of -its daughters, passed the site of Waukesha rather more than a mile -north, and ended not far from the subsequent home of the Cushings. -Indeed, it was most probably followed by the Cushings early in 1839, -and one may feel no hesitation in believing that the latter breathed -in with delight the clear, sweet atmosphere of the "openings," as they -passed from hill to hill, skirting the south shore of Pewaukee Lake and -the southern point of Nagawicka, under the shadow of the magnificent -semi-mountain of Wisconsin's Kettle Range, and then into the charming -valley surrounded by lakelets and now occupied by the beautiful little -village of Delafield. - -At that time there was no obstruction to the free flowage of Bark River -from Nagawicka to the upper Nemahbin, two miles to the westward. The -site of the log cabin chosen by Dr. Cushing is about half way between -those lakes, and only a few rods north of the river. It may still be -recognized by travellers on the interurban trolley, by means of two -beautiful elm trees across the river, from a point half a mile west -of the trolley station at Delafield. Less than a mile farther north, -are the buildings of the Nashotah Theological Seminary, some of which -are also visible from the electric road. Then, however, oak openings -extended north and south without visible termination. It was an ideal -place for rest from the busy employments of the world, and Mrs. Cushing -long afterwards said that her sojourn there was the happiest period of -her life. - -Almost immediately, Dr. Cushing took a prominent place in this -community. Appointed justice of the peace, he made the first entries in -his docket February 15, 1840, in a case tried before him, between G. -S. Hosmer, plaintiff, and Russell Frisby, defendant. What is now the -township of Delafield was then the south half of the town of Warren, -but it was the next winter set off by an act of the legislature under -the name of Nemahbin, and Dr. Cushing was placed at the head of the new -municipal organization as chairman of its first board of supervisors. -The town meeting at which he was elected was held January 5, 1842, at -the schoolhouse; and over it presided George Paddock, whom we have -already noted as guiding his daughter to this locality. - -More than two years before, on December 28, 1839, a second son had -been born to Mrs. Cushing and her husband, and named Walter. The date -of the death of this child is not preserved, but he could not have -outlived very early childhood, since the burial place was on the farm -from which the parents removed within the next five years. - -Alonzo was also born on the Delafield farm, as shown by a family Bible -lately brought to light. Until this discovery his birth had been -credited to Milwaukee, like that of his elder brother, Howard. He was -born on January 19, 1841. - -Neither store nor post office had yet been established in the little -hamlet, nor was either of those conveniences to be found there for -more than two years afterward. The original Hawks's tavern was built -and opened to the public in 1840, and was deemed a great blessing by -immigrants on their way westward along the lately-cleared Territorial -Road; but there were no table supplies to be found on sale nearer than -Prairieville (now Waukesha), a dozen miles back towards Milwaukee. - -The year 1842 was an eventful one for the frontier township of -Nemahbin, since in the early part of the summer, a milldam was built -at the outlet of Nagawicka Lake, while not long after a gentleman -named Delafield arrived there, purchased the water power and its -improvements, and erected a flouring mill where the village mill has -ever since been a conspicuous figure in the landscape. But of far -greater importance was the birth, in the cabin north of the river of -which we have already spoken, on November 4, of that later glory of the -American navy, William Barker Cushing. - -As Dr. Cushing's first wife died in 1833, it follows that the youngest -of her children could not have been at this time less than nine years -old. Although nothing is told of the date of the former marriage in -any writings accessible to me, it seems likely that the eldest of the -children of that connection may have been born as early as 1825, and -therefore may have become fairly well qualified to take charge of the -household during any temporary incapacity on the part of Mrs. Cushing -herself. - -Mrs. Edwards states in her life of the naval commander[3] that there -were four children of Dr. Cushing's first marriage, but gives the -names of only three of them, who were all members of the family in -Wisconsin. The Milwaukee County records show the purchase, in 1844, -by Mrs. Cushing from Dr. Castleman, to whom the farm had then been -sold, of a burial lot, 6 feet by 4, including a grave, undoubtedly -that of her third son, Walter; and William was the youngest of her -sons and the youngest of the family except a daughter, born in Chicago -and still living there--Mrs. Isabel Cushing Bouton. In Mrs. Edwards' -volume, however, Mrs. Cushing is credited with being the mother of -seven, though she names only five. The last conveyance by Dr. Cushing -himself appearing in the register's office at Waukesha, is a deed to -Dr. Castleman of part of his holdings, dated April 13, 1843. It may -be pretty safely assumed that he became aware at about that time of -the inroads of a disease in his own system which some four years later -proved fatal. - -[3] Edwards, _op. cit._, p. 15. - - - - -_Removal to Chicago_ - - -In 1844, then, it is probable that the wife and mother left the -little town that she had learned to love so well, and wended her way -to Chicago with her own children and those of her husband's former -marriage. It is said that she had suggested the name of Delafield -for the township, because the Nemahbin lakes were not within its -boundaries. The change in designation was made by the legislature in -1843. During all the time of the residence of the family here, they -lived in Milwaukee County, in the Territory of Wisconsin. Waukesha -County had not yet been accorded a separate civic organization, and -Wisconsin did not become a state until 1848. Mrs. Cushing's choice -for the name of the place was stated by her to have been influenced -by what she considered the more euphonious sound of the name adopted, -when compared with the family name that was to be immortalized and -made resplendent by her three sons born in Wisconsin. It is a pity -that the town had not been called Cushing, for Mr. Delafield died soon -afterwards, and the mill property was sold with the rest of the estate -of the deceased in 1846, since which date there has been nothing of an -historical character to remind one of the origin of the local name. - -There is no available information of the events of the three years -ending with 1847 and relating to the Cushing family in Chicago--a town -not then as satisfactory from an aesthetic view-point as the Milwaukee -they had left in 1839. Perhaps an exception should be made to this -statement of lack of information, in favor of an anecdote told by -Mrs. Edwards of the young William walking off into Lake Michigan, and -informing his rescuer that his name was "Bill Coon," so that he could -not be immediately identified. He consequently was lost to his family -for the succeeding thirty-six hours. It is also mentioned incidentally -that Dr. Cushing resumed the practice of medicine at Chicago, but -he could hardly have attained much success in it, on account of his -declining health. Early in 1847 he returned to Ohio, perhaps arranging -there for the future of the two sons by his first marriage, one of -whom became a lawyer and partner of Salmon P. Chase, and the other a -physician; but both died several years before the outbreak of the war. - - - - -_The Mother in Charge of the Family_ - - -Dr. Cushing himself died at Gallipolis, Ohio, on April 22, 1847. He -must have been a man of considerable force of character, and of great -personal attractiveness, as well as of correct conceptions of right and -wrong, with sympathies always for the right side of public questions. -His physical constitution was not robust, however, and he therefore -passed away without leaving any memory of important action of his own, -and without provision for his widow and her children. - -It is at this point that Mrs. Cushing's personality becomes more -distinctly visible to the investigator of the family annals. Having to -lay out a course of life with particular reference to the welfare of -her little ones, she wisely decided, like Ruth in the ancient story, to -go back to the home of her husband's relatives, and there to begin life -anew. She loved her independence and had no intention of quartering -herself upon the charity of those well-disposed people; but it was -reasonable to hope that they, or some of them, would take sufficient -interest in the boys, at any rate, to point out ways and means for -their development into good citizens, and opportunities of which they -might take advantage to win places of honor and usefulness among their -fellow men. - -She was very soon enabled to establish a school for children at -Fredonia, by means of which, with the practice of strict economy, -she maintained her family in a respectable manner. The indulgence -of social vanities was of course not within the scope of her plans. -Her boys were required to help in the support of the family by the -performance of such slight tasks as the neighbors called upon them -to accomplish--driving cows to pasture, and other "chores" of a -similar character. All moneys earned by this work were handed over to -the mother and employed to the common advantage of the family. Mrs. -Bouton, of Chicago, the youngest of the children, and the only one now -surviving, writes this, of her early life at home: - - One trait, I think, was very remarkable in our family--the respect - and courtesy manifested toward each other. I never received a - reproof or heard an impatient word from either of my brothers. - They always displayed toward each other and my mother and myself, - the same courtesy they would show to a commanding officer. The - petting and love I received was enough to have spoiled me for life - for contact with the world. - -In the case of William, at least, the spirit of courtesy would not -appear to have been so overwhelming as to prevent an occasional -exuberance of spirits, an instance of which is told of in a letter from -Mrs. Julia G. Horton of Buffalo, cited by Mrs. Edwards as follows:[4] - -[4] _Ibid_, p. 38. - - Will was never happier than when playing some joke upon one of - his elder brothers. One summer evening I accompanied his brother - Alonzo (Allie, as we used to call him) "to the mill-pond," upon - his invitation to take a row in a forlorn old scow which was much - patronized by the young people for what they considered delightful - trips over the smooth pond. When we reached the bank we found that - some one had untied the boat and set it adrift. No other boat - was to be had and so we sat down on a log, wondering if some one - had tricked us out of our row. Soon we heard a wild whoop in the - distance and saw Master Will waving an oar and shouting to us: - "Next time you want to row, don't forget to ask your friends." - -Mrs. Horton also tells an anecdote of how the future commander followed -her and one of his brothers to a prayer-meeting, seating himself behind -them and singing improvised personalities instead of the approved words -of the hymns that were being sung by the worshippers, so that he was -discovered by a church official and led out of the congregation in -disgrace. There are other like narratives surviving among the relatives -and acquaintances of the Cushings, but none of them throw additional -light upon the young men in whom we are at this time most interested. -With Milton, the eldest, tradition has not seemed to busy itself. He -was not a native of Wisconsin; and it may be enough to say here that in -due time he became a paymaster in the Union navy, receiving promotion, -until he was retired for disability, as paymaster of the fleet then in -the Mediterranean, and died January 1, 1886. He married, but left no -issue. - -Of the younger lads, Howard appears to have been endowed with an -unusual aspiration for independence of action, so that at fourteen -years of age he took the position of "devil" in the office of _The -Censor_, in his home village of Fredonia. As soon as he had obtained -enough of the technique of the trade to imagine himself able to hold -his own among strangers, he went to Boston, where flourished the -aristocratic relatives of his mother. Here he continued his labors at -the press and in the composing room until affected with some illness -that made him homesick as well, upon which he returned to Fredonia to -recover under his mother's ministrations. When that result was attained -he started for Chicago, memories of which progressive town doubtless -had haunted him all through his sojourn in the East. - -He had left Chicago before he was ten years old. The Cushing traits -of character were shared by him in such measure, however, as to make -it reasonably certain that he was remembered affectionately by former -acquaintances, and the road towards independence was doubtless made -as easy for him as it could be made with a youth whose dread of being -under personal obligations to his friends was in any instance hard to -overcome. A situation as typesetter was given him in the office of _The -Farmer's Advocate_, and in that capacity and place he worked until -his enlistment in 1862 as a private soldier in an Illinois volunteer -artillery regiment. - - - - -_All the Boys Established_ - - -In the meantime, Alonzo was bravely attending to such home duties as -would be valuable in lightening his mother's work. - -In 1855 her brother-in-law, Francis S. Edwards, took his seat as member -of Congress from the Thirty-fourth New York district, and the next year -procured the appointment of William as a page on the floor of the House. - -Towards the end of the session he also secured the appointment of -Alonzo as a cadet at West Point, where he entered in 1857, in the -seventeenth year of his age, being described in the Academy records as -5 feet and 5 inches tall. - -William was then fourteen, and a favorite among the congressmen with -whom he came into touch. He also attracted the notice of a relative, -Commodore Joseph Smith of the Navy, afterwards admiral, who took -measures to have the boy entered as a cadet at the Naval Academy at -Annapolis. - -Milton was employed in a pharmacy at Fitchburg, Mass., where he -remained until the outbreak of the war. - -Mrs. Cushing henceforth had only herself and her young daughter to -provide for. She had fought a good fight, and had succeeded in the -establishment of all her sons in positions in which they were tolerably -well assured of a good equipment for life work, in which the ordinary -young American of that era only needed a sound mind in a sound body and -a fair field, with no favor, in order to accomplish something worth -while, whether in war or in peace. - -But it should be here noted, that the all-important feature of -personal character was and is requisite in the making of an American -whose existence is to be of advantage to his country. In such a -republic as ours, the nation would surely fail of long endurance if -a considerable proportion of its citizens did not hold the national -welfare as something higher and more sacred than that of their own -individual personality, and could not be found able and willing when -the emergency should arise, to give their best efforts, even at the -imminent peril of life and limb, to the advancement of the common -welfare. It was the prevalence of such elements of character among -great numbers of our citizens that carried us through the stress of -the Civil War in a manner that left us afterwards stronger and more -respected by the whole world than before its beginning, and which now -bids fair to place us beyond dispute at the head of all the nations of -the earth. In the building up of character of this kind, women were -most potent, and among American women Mary Cushing stands in this -respect in the very front rank. This was evidenced by her furnishing to -the country in its day of need at least three youthful sons so equipped -in intellect, nerve, and unflinching will as to be among the most -serviceable of all the soldiers and sailors of the Union army and navy. - -The four years following the entrance of Alonzo and William to -the military and naval academies respectively, were devoid of any -incidents of absorbing interest in the lives of the young Cushings. -At West Point, Alonzo was approved by his superiors and beloved by -his fellows. Modest in demeanor, but always efficient in his work, -and kindly towards under-classmen, General Morris Schaff's "Spirit of -Old West Point"[5] shows the esteem in which he was held by all. He -was graduated June 24, 1861, and on the same day commissioned second -lieutenant in the Fourth Artillery, being promoted to first lieutenant -before leaving the hall. - -[5] _Atlantic Monthly_, February, 1907. - -William's cadet experience was somewhat more eventful, for the reason -that the spirit of mischief was more dominant with him at that time -than with his brothers. The culmination of his pranks was reached -towards the close of the winter of 1861, when he fixed a bucket of -water at the top of the doorway through which his teacher of Spanish -was to pass on his way to an evening party. The teacher was deluged, -but the youngster was given permission to resign his cadetship, -which he did on March 23. This release was necessary for the sake of -discipline, but it was evidently not the intention of the officers to -allow him to pass permanently out of the navy. In a month after his -enforced resignation he was acting master's mate on board the frigate -"Minnesota," from which he wrote a letter dated May 7, 1861, to his -cousin, Miss Mary B. Edwards, at East Troy, Wisconsin, that may serve -to indicate his feeling as to his chosen profession at the beginning of -its really serious work. He says: - - I can write but a few hasty lines. I am an officer on board of the - splendid steam frigate, Minnesota. We have just left our moorings, - and as I write, we are moving under steam and sail, out of Boston - harbor. I am going to fight under the old banner of freedom. I - may never return, but if I die it shall be under the folds of the - flag that sheltered my infancy, and while striking a blow for its - honor and my own. * * * Wherever there is fighting, there we will - be, and where there is danger in the battle, there will I be, for - I will gain a name in this war. I must now say, Good-by; God bless - you, Mary. I will write you from homeward bound vessels as often as - possible. - -The young lady to whom this and many other letters were written by -William B. Cushing, during his stay at Annapolis and subsequently, was -a daughter of the congressman who took the boy to Washington in the -first instance, and it is likely that the two young people were on -terms of familiar acquaintance with each other while they were at the -capital. He writes to her as though she were his confidential friend as -well as his cousin. Seven weeks after sending the foregoing he wrote -again from the "Colorado," that he had - - been to the North twice in command of valuable prize ships captured - from the enemy. I am now on my return trip from one of these - expeditions. One of my prizes was worth seventy-five thousand - dollars, while the last was nearly double in value to that. I have - gained considerable honor by taking them safely to New York and - Philadelphia, and I expect promotion before long. - -His expectation proved well grounded, although in a boy of eighteen it -may have seemed rather extravagant. Before completing his twentieth -year, as will appear later, he had the unique distinction (for one of -his age) of being given absolute command of one of the Union gunboats. -But that story will properly wait. - - - - -_The Beginning of the War_ - - -From another account it seems that one of the prizes, "The Delaware -Farmer," was taken in by Cushing himself, and was the first taken -in the war by anybody. During most of July the young sailor was on -duty with the blockading squadron off the coast of the Carolinas. In -August he was once more on the waters of the Chesapeake, engaged in -storming a land battery and destroying some small supporting vessels -at the same place. In the meantime, Alonzo was just as rapidly -obtaining distinction. From West Point he had proceeded without delay -to Washington, and on reaching the capital had applied himself most -assiduously to the work most necessary at that time to be performed. -When the writer of this sketch arrived at Washington as a member of -a volunteer regiment early in July, 1861, Alonzo's smooth, swarthy -face and supple figure were to be seen wherever there was a volunteer -battery in need of instruction and drill. Although he worked his pupils -hard, they all loved him for his radiant smiles and frequent infectious -laughter, which were potent factors in smoothing the grim front of -grizzled war. - -He was then only in his twenty-first year and looked still younger. -Standing 5 ft. 9 in. in his stockings, his length of limb was such -as to give him the appearance, when on horseback, of being under -middle height. His good nature was so unusual on the part of young -regular officers, that it captivated every volunteer with whom he came -in contact. On July 18 he was at the front in the battle, or rather -reconnaissance, at Blackburn's Ford, near the stone bridge over Bull -Run, and three days later was in the thick of the disastrous fight -on the farther side of that stream. His conduct on that occasion was -said to have been admirable, but his position was not yet sufficiently -advanced to secure him mention in the reports of general officers, -such as became a mere matter of course as soon as he fought on his -own responsibility, whether in command of his battery or detached for -important staff duty at corps and grand division headquarters. - -In no instance is there record of failure on his part to meet the -utmost expectations of his superior officers, while generally he -exceeded those expectations by a great margin. Although not at the very -head of his class at the Military Academy, all who knew him concur -in the opinion that he came as near realizing the ideal of a perfect -soldier as any of the contestants of the Civil War. His assignment -to duty as a first lieutenant of artillery on leaving the Academy, -was strong proof that high expectations were already formed as to his -future. - -Within less than a month after he left West Point (July 22, 1861, to be -specific), in company with some thousands of other infantry soldiers, -I was floundering along the vile wagon way from the Long Bridge to -Bailey's Cross Roads, where our regiment was to make its headquarters -for several weeks afterwards, sending out scouting parties from time -to time, and establishing picket outposts in what appeared to our -uneducated eyes to be appropriate points of vantage. On the Monday -just mentioned, a copious rain set in at a very early hour, and the -roadsides were strewn with knapsacks, blankets, and other impedimenta -of the returning soldiers who plodded along towards Washington from -the battle of the day before. Many of them had marched all night, and -very few of them had taken more than short intervals of rest during -their night exit from the vicinity of Bull Run. One battery was -distinguished for its fine appearance, however; and that was Battery -A of the Fourth regular artillery. Cushing was in command of it when -it met and passed us, and even the events of the preceding twenty-four -hours had not been sufficient to take away his smile--although it might -have shown a sarcastic side to a closer observer than I then was. - -The infantry regiment in which I was a private retired to Arlington, -about the first of September, from the front line of the troops around -Washington, and found that wonderful organization of volunteers west of -the Potomac, plastic under McClellan's skillful hand, in the full bloom -of its evolution. Cushing entered into the spirit of soldier-making and -of earthwork construction, and his labors were of acknowledged value. -But what McClellan was competent to do was soon done. The great review -at Bailey's Cross Roads was a source of astonishment to the expert -spectators from other nations who observed the accuracy of its military -movements and the excellent bearing of the 70,000 men who might easily -have marched to Centerville the next day and squelched the Virginia -section of the rebellion with not a hundredth part of the effort that -was required for that purpose in the years following. It must have been -with a heavy heart that Alonzo Cushing, always longing for effective -action, saw the splendid opportunities of the winter of 1861 squandered -in useless delays. - -Although he made no complaint, the experience of Howard during 1861 -afforded ground for greater personal vexation. He had raised a company -from among the newspaper men of Chicago. They had elected him captain, -but for some reason their services were not accepted by the Illinois -state authorities, and he reluctantly resumed his regular work, -pursuing it until he could no longer resist the call of his country -to the field. He therefore enlisted (March 24, 1862) as a private -soldier in Battery B, First Illinois Artillery, in which he afterwards -served faithfully and with as much credit as a private is usually -thought entitled to, through several strenuous campaigns, including the -operations about Vicksburg. There can be no reasonable doubt that his -services as a private would furnish material for a story of interest -and instruction; but no record of them is attainable, and the outline -of his military life must here be postponed until after the earlier -notable achievements of his younger brothers shall have been narrated. - -With William, events were shaping themselves as he desired, except -that the fighting was not quite as plentiful as he wished. On November -22, 1861, eighteen days after his eighteenth birthday anniversary, -he wrote to his cousin Mary (at East Troy, Wisconsin, then recently -married to Mr. C. W. Smith), from the "Cambridge," a lively account of -an expedition into the Rappahannock River to cut out a vessel loaded -with wheat, which was burned on being found hard and fast on shore. -Returning, the boat was bombarded by cannon and musketry along the -river bank. Of the concluding scenes of this expedition, he gives the -following account: - - The Southerners had stationed a company of their riflemen in a - house, and watching them I fired canister till I had for the - time silenced their great gun. I then threw a thirty-pound shell - which burst directly in the house, tearing it in pieces, and as - I afterwards learned, killing and wounding some twenty-five men. - This dis-heartened the rebels, and a few more rounds from the gun - and the rifles finished the work, and we quietly steamed down the - river to the ship. * * * Of course I was glad to learn that I had - been mentioned with credit in the official dispatch to the Navy - department. - -There was nothing else that winter in the way of adventure of his -own that he thought worth mention; but he was a spectator (March 9, -1862), of the battle in Hampton Roads between the "Monitor" and the -"Merrimac," wherein the destiny of wooden ships was settled for all -time. - -Alonzo was prone, with the anonymous poet, to, - - Count that day lost whose low-descending sun - Saw at his hands no worthy action done. - -The test of worthiness with him was usefulness to the Union cause. -So when the defenses of the capital were completed, he took up the -duties (January 21, 1862) of ordnance officer for the Second Corps, -at General Sumner's headquarters--until the return, in March, of the -Army of the Potomac from its fruitless promenade to Centerville, and -to the vacant quarters of the Confederate army there. On March 21 -he was commanded to act as an aid-de-camp to Sumner, in charge of -topographical work, which was considered particularly important in the -operations at Yorktown. This lasted from April 5 to May 4, when it -was again discovered that the Confederates had declined to wait for -the annihilation prepared for them if they would delay moving until -McClellan should get all his parallels in shape according to Vauban, or -whomever the authority on earthworks then in vogue may have been. - - - - -_The last year of Alonzo's Life_ - - -In the "seven days" before Richmond, his conduct was such as to receive -very high praise from Sumner. Before the end of July, an order of -transfer was made for him to become an officer of the Topographical -Engineers, the most intellectually elevated of all the branches of the -army. - -To foregather with the military high-brows was not an aspiration -of this soldier, however, and he respectfully declined the honor. -Notwithstanding his preference for artillery work, McClellan ordered -him to perform the duties of assistant topographical engineer at his -own headquarters when he set out on the Maryland campaign, and kept -him at the work as long as he himself was in command of the Army of -the Potomac. The general had a keen eye for unusual merit in young -soldiers; one of the causes of the personal affection felt towards -him by the great bulk of his officers and men was his promptness to -acknowledge their merits. - -On November 5, McClellan was superseded by General Burnside, and the -Army of the Potomac was soon after re-organized by separation into -three "grand divisions" under the respective commands of Generals -Sumner, Franklin, and Hooker, for the right, the left, and the centre. - -The right grand division was naturally to take the initiative in -future movements, and Sumner wanted Cushing for topographical work -at his headquarters. The required surveying and map-making were not -objectionable to the young man, so long as no active operations were in -sight, and his labors in this direction also received warm commendation -from the commanding officers. Indeed, no task was ever placed upon the -shoulders of Alonzo Hersford Cushing, whether in civil or in military -life, so far as I have been able to ascertain, that was not well and -cheerfully done. - -[Illustration: Facsimile of part of letter from Alonzo H. Cushing to -his brother Milton; written after the fights before Richmond in 1862. -For group photograph alluded to in postscript, see frontispiece to this -volume.] - -The disastrous battle of Fredericksburg occurred on December 13, -and Lieutenant Cushing cut loose for the day from grand division -headquarters, taking position by the side of General Couch, commanding -the Second Corps, with whom he found ample opportunity for deeds of -heroic daring, which were acknowledged in a general way in Couch's -report of the part taken by his corps in the fight. "Lieutenant -Cushing," he says, "was with me throughout the battle, and acted with -his well-known gallantry." Such further representation of Cushing's -conduct was made to the War Department that President Lincoln brevetted -him captain, to date from the 13th of December, "for gallant and -meritorious services at the battle of Fredericksburg, Va." A leave of -absence for a three weeks' visit home was also accorded to him from -January 26, 1863--his last opportunity for a glimpse of life among -his relatives and friends. On returning to Virginia, Cushing resumed -command of his battery, and never afterwards left it until his -glorious death on the third day at Gettysburg. - -The battle of Chancellorsville was prefaced by several tentative -actions, beginning at Fitzhugh's Crossing on the Rappahannock, below -Fredericksburg (April 29, 1863), and continuing at Spottsylvania -Court House, Fredericksburg, Salem Heights and Marye's Heights before -culminating in "The Wilderness" on May 3. - -What Cushing did in this fighting, I have not been able to ascertain; -but that it partook of the character of his service is evident -because the President gave him the brevet of major, dating from May -2, 1863, "for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of -Chancellorsville." It may incidentally be mentioned that in those days -a presidential brevet was of more importance than it afterwards became -under subsequent acts of Congress. Originally it entitled the officer, -if he pleased, to wear the uniform of his brevet rank, to be addressed -by his brevet title, and to serve as of his brevet rank when specially -detailed. Under later laws he could not properly wear the uniform of -rank above that which belonged to him by regular commission. - -It was a short two months from Chancellorsville to Gettysburg, and the -concluding two weeks were full of incident for the men engaged, though -history has not considered it worth while to note the incidents in -any length of detail. Even the _Rebellion Records_ published by the -national government have little to say of the marches of the two great -opposing armies from the Rappahannock to the sources of the Monocacy -and beyond. - -But the destiny of the Republic was entwined in the serpentine paths of -Lee's army going down the west side of the Blue Ridge, and Hooker's on -the east side, both headed towards the north. A change of commanders of -the Army of the Potomac was also impending, of which the soldiers knew -nothing, but which was all the time a puzzle and worry to the corps and -division leaders. Cushing, with an ever cheerful face, was found with -his battery in front of each successive mountain pass reached by the -advance of Lee's forces, as the latter moved along the valley of the -Shenandoah on the western side of the range. - -On June 25, Hancock concentrated the Second Corps, of which he was now -the head, at Haymarket, only a few miles from Manassas and Thoroughfare -Gaps. There the Confederate cavalry general, Stuart, was surprised -to find so large a force and went back over the mountains--again -northward, in the track of Lee, instead of delaying the Union army by -a raid on its rear, as he had expected to do when he was detached from -the main Confederate army before crossing the Potomac. - -That Hancock should parallel Stuart's march was a matter of course, and -on June 30 he was in bivouac at Taneytown, half a dozen miles south -of Gettysburg. The next day the curtain was partially withdrawn from -the most magnificent spectacle of a conflict of ideas, supported by -fighting men, that the Western Continent, at least, ever witnessed. -Hancock's corps, to which Cushing was attached, was resting at -Taneytown all day; but after the death of General Reynolds, Hancock was -on the battlefield north of the town; and although the battery was with -the rest of the corps, there can be little doubt that Cushing was with -him personally as a temporary aide. My reason for assuming this is, -that the brevet of lieutenant-colonel, made out for him the next day, -stated that the honor was conferred "for conspicuous gallantry at the -battle of Gettysburg, Pa., July 1, 1863." - -I wish that I had even one letter written by Lieutenant Cushing between -Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, but I have knowledge of none. Such a -document would admit us to his inner feelings. From his acts alone, and -from what his most intimate acquaintances in the army have written, -our judgment must be formed. A history of the great battle can not be -given here; but fortunately no account of the engagement by a reputable -writer fails to take notice of the part taken by the brave young son of -Wisconsin in stemming the high tide of rebellion on the third day of -the conflict. In Colonel Haskell's absorbing story, a tribute is also -paid to Cushing's endeavors on the second day.[6] To that narrative -the reader is referred for that, among other living pictures of the -deadly struggle. - -[6] Frank Aretas Haskell, _The Battle of Gettysburg_ (Wisconsin History -Commission: Reprints, No. 1, November, 1908), pp. 102, 116, 120, 121. - -For me, it must be sufficient to portray as well as I can the final -stand of Battery A and its commander at the focus of the last day's -fighting. Our line of battle stretched along the ridge overlooking the -valley between it and the southern armies; along its whole length, -fighting was either imminent or actually in evidence. The thunder of -artillery was like a continuous roar that filled the atmosphere. The -fire of most of the one hundred and fifteen Confederate cannon then in -action seemed to be directed by a kind of instinct towards the point -in our line where the batteries of Cushing, Woodruff, and Rorty were -belching destruction in the faces of their assailants, a mile and a -half away. The artillery practice of the Southerners was good. Between -the afternoon hours of 1 and 3, many of our artillery organizations -suffered severe losses by the bursting of ammunition chests, the -breaking of wheels of gun carriages, and the overthrow of horses that -lay in death struggles on the ground. Men were hit, also. Among the -first to receive a serious wound that fateful afternoon was Cushing -himself. Both thighs were torn open by a fragment of shell--under which -ill fortune, said General Webb in his report, "he fought for an hour -and a half, cool, brave, competent." - -The commander of his brigade, Colonel Hall, reported that: - - he challenged the admiration of all who saw him. Three of his - limbers were blown up and changed with the caisson limbers, under - fire. Several wheels were shot off his guns and replaced, till at - last, severely wounded himself, his officers all killed or wounded, - and with but cannoneers enough to man a section, he pushed his - gun to the fence in front and was killed while serving his last - canister into the ranks of the advancing enemy. - -Hall's last reference is to a later hour of July 3 than that to -which I at present wish to call attention. It is near 3 o'clock in -the afternoon. To give them an opportunity to cool off somewhat, our -eighty cannon have been ordered to cease firing. The artillerymen throw -themselves on the ground to rest, or help clear away dead horses and -other debris from about the guns. Our infantry line is closely fronted -by stone walls and other fences along the Emmetsburg road, or a short -distance back from that thoroughfare. The protection thus afforded -is not at all certain, even when sods are packed against the fences, -for a solid cannon shot or fragment of shell may penetrate such an -earthwork, when reinforced only by a wooden fence, as though it were a -row of cigar boxes. It affords some defense, however, against bullets -which strike diagonally, or are fired over a considerable distance. -Down in front of the hill called "Round Top," Kilpatrick's cavalry -are worrying the right of the enemy; but that fails to disturb those -in the neighborhood of Cushing, who was almost in the middle of the -outstretched line of Union troops. - -Now Pickett's splendid column of 17,000 Virginians emerge from the -woods on the farther side of the valley, and direct their course -towards the point where Cushing is holding a front place. Other Union -batteries are hurling solid shot at the enemy, as they start on their -fatal journey across the valley. Confederate cannon send volleys -of shell over the heads of their infantry, into the groups of our -cannoneers, who continue to pelt the advancing column. The iron shells -burst in midair, with puffs of smoke, like sporadic ejections from the -smoke-pipe of a locomotive engine, but with resounding clangs. If the -puff from a bursting shell is behind you, or directly overhead, you -are safe from the effects of that explosion; but if seen in front, the -iron fragments are likely to cut through the flesh and bones of some of -you; for the forward motion of the shell is not lost by its explosion, -although the pieces acquire additional directions of flight. There is -a composite of demoniac noises, every missile splitting the atmosphere -with its own individual hum, whir, or shriek; the musketry rattle like -hail, and the deep boom of cannonry lends its all-pervading basso to -the symphony of thousands of instruments and voices. - -As the grim column hurries on, our batteries change from solid shot to -shell, tearing great gaps in the advancing lines; but these resolutely -close up, and move forward to attain a distance from which their rifled -muskets shall be used effectively against us. This reached, they begin -blazing away. Cushing and his neighbors open upon them with canister -and case, every discharge sending a shower of small metal into the -approaching ranks. However, the survivors press onward, firing as they -come, and the batteries behind them send their shell among our cannon, -killing horses and men, and overthrowing guns, but not yet harming -afresh the young hero whom we are particularly noting. Woodruff and -Rorty are slain, though, at the head of other batteries close at hand. - -At last a bullet pierces Cushing's shoulder. He simply laughs at the -hurt, calling to Webb, his division commander, "I'll give them one more -shot. Good-by!" As he serves the last round of canister, another bullet -strikes him in the mouth, passing through the base of his brain, and -he falls forward, bereft of life, into the arms of his clarion-voiced, -resolute, and fearless orderly sergeant, Frederick Fuger, whom he has -called to his side to convey his orders to the men. - -The Union line of infantry was also making use of its muskets, in -trying to stop the Confederate assault. The aim of the soldiers was -more or less accurate in proportion to the nerve-control exercised -by the respective individuals engaged. For not all of the forces -attacking or attacked are fully conscious of what they are doing, -when the surrounding air is pregnant with death. Some try to shoot -with their eyes shut, and others forget to place a percussion cap on -their firearm. Out of over thirty-seven thousand muskets left on the -Gettysburg battle-ground by soldiers of both sides, no longer able to -carry them, nearly a third were loaded with more than one cartridge -each, and many with more than two. We pardon the confusion of mind -exhibited before his audience, by a young actor or speaker, and it -surely is no less to be expected that unaccustomed soldiers should -often feel trepidation when face to face with death. - -Despite the firing from our side, a hundred of Armistead's men kept -close to their chief, leaping the fence next to Cushing's battery, just -behind him, and in time to see their leader lay hand on Cushing's last -cannon and fall dying with a bullet through his body--only a few yards -from where his late indomitable opponent lay dead. - -By the side of that field-piece, went out the lives of two as gallant -warriors as ever wielded sword on battlefield, and Cushing still -lacked six months of completing his twenty-third year of life. The -Southern soldiers who thought they had taken the battery, now rushed -back or surrendered on the spot, and the flood tide of rebellion began -to recede, never again to attain so dangerous a height, although often -rising somewhat uncomfortably. - -The loss of a son so high in aspiration and so capable for the -achievement of necessary tasks, must have been a grievous stroke for -his mother to bear--she who had placed her greatest reliance upon him, -rather than upon his brothers. For her compensation for such a loss, -she was allowed a pension of seventeen dollars per month until the year -of her death (which happened March 26, 1891), when the allowance was -increased to fifty dollars. In this case the national government was -certainly very much the reverse of liberal in its recognition of the -services of a noble mother, who had formed the character of a noble son -whose life was joyfully laid upon the altar of his country. - -It is pleasant to be able to state that Sergeant Fuger, who took -command of the battery after the death and disablement of its three -commissioned officers taking part in the battle, was promoted to a -lieutenancy in the regiment. He served in the regular order of grades -until retired (about 1900) on account of age, as colonel, since which -he has lived in the city of Washington. From a letter recently written -by him to Mrs. Bouton, I am permitted to make the following transcript: - - In answer to your letter received yesterday morning, I would - say that the best friend I had was your dear brother, Alonzo H. - Cushing, First Lieutenant 4th Artillery, commanding Battery A, 4th - Artillery, at the battle of Gettysburg. On the morning of July 4, - 1863, I received an order from Gen. Hancock, commanding 2d Corps, - to send your brother's body to West Point for burial. I placed the - body in care of two non-commissioned officers who were slightly - wounded, to take it to West Point. - - The manner of your brother's death was this: When the enemy was - within about four hundred yards, Battery A opened with single - charges of canister. At that time Cushing was wounded in the right - shoulder, and within a few seconds after that he was wounded in the - abdomen; a very severe and painful wound. He called and told me to - stand by him so that I could impart his orders to the battery. He - became very ill and suffered frightfully. I wanted him to go to the - rear. "No," he said, "I stay right here and fight it out, or die - in the attempt." - - When the enemy got within two hundred yards, double and triple - charges of canister were used. Those charges opened immense gaps - in the Confederate lines. Lieut. Milne, who commanded the right - half-battery, was killed when the enemy was within two hundred - yards of the battery. When the enemy came within about one hundred - yards, Lieutenant Cushing was shot through the mouth and instantly - killed. When I saw him fall forward, I caught him in my arms, - ordered two men to take his body to the rear, and shouted to my - men, as I was left in command, to fire triple charges of canister. - - Owing to dense smoke, I could not see very far to the front, but to - my utter astonishment I saw the Confederate General Armistead leap - over the stone fence with quite a number of his men, landing right - in the midst of our battery, but my devoted cannoneers and drivers - stood their ground, fighting hand to hand with pistols, sabers, - handspikes and rammers, and with the assistance of the Philadelphia - brigade, the enemy collapsed and Pickett's charge was defeated. The - gall and behavior of the men in Battery A was entirely due to your - brother's training and example set on numerous battlefields. - - Lieutenant Cushing, my commander, was a most able soldier, of - excellent judgment and great decision of character. Devoted to his - profession, he was most faithful in the discharge of every duty, - accurate and thorough in its performance. Possessed of mental and - physical vigor, joined to the kindest of hearts, he commanded - the love and respect of all who knew him. His superiors placed - implicit confidence in him, as well they might. His fearlessness - and resolution displayed in many actions were unsurpassed, and his - noble death at Gettysburg should present an example for emulation - to patriotic defenders of the country through all time to come. - - General Armistead fell, mortally wounded, where I stood, about - seven yards from where Lieutenant Cushing, his young and gallant - adversary, was killed. In height your brother was five feet nine - inches, in weight about one hundred and fifty pounds, good long - limbs, broad shoulders, blue eyes, dark brown hair, smooth face, - without beard or mustache, and rather swarthy complexion. - -From other communications of the colonel, addressed to myself, I learn -that Lieutenant Cushing personally saved the battery from capture at -the battle of Antietam; that its loss at Gettysburg was two officers -killed and one wounded, seven enlisted men killed and thirty-eight -wounded, and eighty-three horses killed out of ninety taken into the -action. Not an uninjured wheel remained, and nine ammunition chests -were blown up. Ninety enlisted men belonging to the battery were on -duty at the beginning of the fight. - -Corporal Thomas Moon has also written his recollections of the day, -and although his memory seems somewhat at fault in relation to certain -matters, his description is worth reading. He says: - - Cushing was a small-sized man with blue eyes, smooth face and - auburn hair, and looked more like a school girl than a warrior; but - he was the best fighting man I ever saw. Our battery arrived on the - field July 2 and took position on the left of the 2d corps. I was - sent to the rear with the 4th caisson. We went back over the hill - close to General Meade's headquarters. When the heavy cannonading - commenced on the 3d we went further to the rear. About the time - that Pickett was ordered to charge, I was ordered to the battery. - I was informed by the courier that I would find the battery on - the right of the 2d corps, at the grove and angle. My horse made - a good run for about a mile. I found my piece, the 4th, still on - her wheels, and all the canister we had piled up around her. I had - been on the ground but a few minutes before I found the gun hot and - firing slow. A very few minutes passed until the smoke raised, and - we saw the head of Pickett's column within three hundred yards of - us. We had the opportunity of our lives; just what an artilleryman - wants. We had a flank fire on them and enough canister to stop - them, but before they got to the stone wall in front we were out - of ammunition and my gun was dismounted. Lieutenant Cushing was on - the right. We both got to the piece in front about the same time. I - found the piece out of canister, started back to the limber, looked - back and saw General Armistead with his hat on his sword yelling - to his men, and Cushing being held up by some infantry officer. - If I had stayed at the gun as long as Cushing did, I would have - been there yet. Our guns were all disabled, limbers and caissons - blown up, men and horses killed and wounded, and the battery under - command of a First Sergeant (afterwards lieutenant) Frederick - Fuger, a 10-year man, and as fine a soldier and officer as ever - faced an enemy. I was on duty that night--had three men under me. - All we had to guard was a few dead men. We took Lieutenant Cushing - and three or four men off the field. It rained all night. - -[Illustration: HOWARD B. CUSHING] - - - Now, as to Cushing's wounds. One piece of shell struck him in the - thighs; another piece struck him in the shoulder; but he stuck to - the guns until a ball struck him right under the nose. He fell on - one side of the piece and General Armistead on the other. His right - thumb was burned to the bone, serving vent without a thumb-pad. We - were all tired, powder-burned and bruised; so we laid the dead men - together and lay atop of them all night. The next morning we took - Cushing's fatigue blouse off, and his cook got that after I took - off the shoulder-straps. I carried them till the next winter, and - gave them to his brother (Howard) at Brandy Station. - - - - -_Later Naval Service of William Cushing_ - - -Up to the day of Alonzo Cushing's death, the reputation of his -younger brother William kept pretty even pace with his own. William's -judgment in moments of imminent peril seemed to be unerring, so that -a venture with him appeared to his companions to have but one chance -of failure--the death of the adventurer himself. But this had been -challenged with so many styles of defiance, as to cause the more -superstitious among the sailors to believe him invulnerable. They were -always ready and anxious to accompany him on those of his expeditions -that appeared the most desperate. The unlimited devotion of his men -and under-officers is one of the most valuable assets of a military -or naval officer. This, with his other qualities, procured for him a -commission as lieutenant on July 16, 1862, nearly four months before he -attained the age of twenty years. - -William was thereupon given the position of second officer on the -gunboat "Perry," on the North Carolina coast, at an age when a -midshipman or master's mate, or even a lieutenant, is usually content -to play a very subordinate part in warfare. - -Soon after this (September following), his superior officer, -Lieutenant-Commander Flusser, was ordered up the Blackwater River -with his own and two other boats to co-operate with a land force in -preventing the escape of about seven thousand Confederates stationed at -Franklin, with Norfolk as their ultimate object. The naval contingent -was at the rendezvous at the agreed time; that from the army failed to -make connection. It was an unpleasant predicament for the boats, but -they fought their way back, down the narrow channel of the river, the -banks of which for many miles were lined with infantry and artillery. - -At one point, when the decks were being swept by the enemy's bullets, -and a boarding party was making a dash for the "Perry," Cushing called -a half dozen of his men to help him get a howitzer into position, to -meet the boarders with canister. When his volunteers were all killed or -disabled, he took the gun alone and trained it upon the assailants with -such effect that they ran away. In Flusser's report of the affair he -took occasion to say: - - I desire to mention as worthy of praise for great gallantry, - Lieutenant W. B. Cushing, who ran the field-piece out amid a storm - of bullets, took a sure and deliberate aim at the rebels and sent a - charge of canister among them that completely silenced their fire - at that point. - -On October 26, 1862, Admiral S. P. Lee reports: - - Lieutenant W. B. Cushing has been put in command of the gunboat - Ellis, and is increasing his reputation by active operations. - -On October 18, William had written to his cousin: - - I am alone, inside the outer bar. The nearest friendly vessel or - citizen is forty miles away. Three miles off, up the inlet, is the - rebel town of Swansboro. I am going to run up and take possession - in a few days, when I have burned up enough coal to lighten my - vessel so I can cross the other bar. * * * You see I have a sort of - roving commission and can run around to suit myself. * * * If under - these circumstances I can not stir the rebels up in more places - than one, it will be strange indeed. - -He ran up to Swansboro in due time and burned the "Adelaide" with a -$100,000 cargo, besides destroying salt works. On November 23, he -worked his vessel to Jacksonville, a depot for blockade runners, and -on the way caused a ship loaded with turpentine to be burned. At the -town he captured a lot of guns and other public property, and started -back. About 5 o'clock p. m. he found and shelled a camp of Confederate -troops on the river bank, and came to anchor at nightfall, staying all -night with his prizes, two large schooners. - -The next morning Cushing moved on. Reaching a difficult passage in the -river, he was attacked by shore artillery, but replied so vigorously -that the gunners on shore were driven away, and he passed along. -Shortly after, however, the "Ellis" ran aground and had to be burned, -but not before her outfit had been mostly removed to one of the -schooners, amid some hours of fighting. Then Cushing and his companions -escaped in a small boat to the schooner which, with its companion, was -taken back to open water. - -He asked for a court of inquiry on account of the loss of his gunboat, -but the admiral said there was no need, and the Navy Department at -Washington approved, saying, "We don't care for the loss of a vessel -when fought so gallantly as that." - -A much thicker volume than this would be required to tell the stories -of the young sailor's various adventures during the ensuing year. -The reader must be content with relations of occasional adventures, -sometimes in Cushing's own language. Our hero was now given command of -the "Commodore Barney," a steamer of five hundred and thirteen tons -with a very powerful battery, and, according to his own statement, -a good crew of over one hundred men and thirteen officers. He -continues, in his letter (written April 5) to his cousin, Mrs. Smith, -at East Troy: "Of course I am as proud as a peacock at being the only -lieutenant in the regular navy who has a [separate] command." - - - - -_William's Letter to His Mother_ - - -On the 15th he writes his mother a letter which is given here nearly -in full, for it indicates better than almost anything else some of -the prominent traits of his character as developed at that time, when -boyish impulses were mixed with striking elements of manliness. He -talks with the intimate frankness of a son who is still in love with -his mother and wishes her to share in his triumph: - - Another fight and another victory! Again I have passed through the - ordeal of fire and blood, and again I thank God for being safe in - life and limb. Suffolk is besieged by the enemy, thirty thousand - strong, and contains an army of fifteen thousand to defend it. - The town is situated on this river (the Nansemond) and its water - communication must remain open or our force will be in a desperate - position. Who do you suppose was selected to perform the dangerous - task of guarding the rear, and preventing the crossing of ten - thousand of the flower of the southern army? Who but your son, - that ex-midshipman, ex-master's mate, hair-brained, scapegrace, - Will Cushing! Yes, it is even so. I am senior officer commanding - in the Nansemond river. I have my vessel and two others now. I had - two more, but they were disabled in action, and have been towed - to Hampton Roads. I am six miles from the city, at a place called - Western Branch, the point most desired by the enemy. I draw too - much water to go up further, but sent my light boats up above. - - Yesterday morning, as they were on their way down, they encountered - a battery at a distance of three hundred yards, and swarms of - riflemen in the bushes on the banks. A sharp action ensued, in - which two of the boats were disabled, and but one left uninjured, - but the captain of her, like a brave fellow as he is, got them - around the point out of range, and we managed to get them as far - as the bar here when one, the Mount Washington, got aground. The - rebels soon appeared in force, bent upon driving us and crossing - the river. They opened with artillery from two positions a - cross-fire, and their seven pieces sent a hail of shot and shell - around us. - - I had but two vessels afloat, but I silenced their fire in an hour. - In a short time they again went into action; this time unmasking - a regularly constructed battery not five hundred yards from us, - and so situated as to rake the narrow channel completely. It was - impossible to get our disabled steamer off from the bar until high - water, five hours ahead, and I determined to fight on the spot as - long as the Barney [his own vessel] was above the water. I sent the - light steamer down to guard another coveted point, and was soon - exchanging death calls with the enemy. - - Well, it was a hard fight and at close quarters most of the time; - so close that their infantry riddled the two vessels with bullets. - Crash! go the bulkheads; a rifle shell was exploded on our deck, - tearing flesh and woodwork. A crash like thunder is our reply--and - our heavy shell makes music in the air, and explodes among our - traitor neighbors with a dull, sullen roar of defiance. Up goes the - battle-flag and at once the air is filled with the smoke of furious - battle, and the ear thrills with the unceasing shriek and whistle - of all the shell and rifled bolts that sinful man has devised to - murder his fellow creatures. Crash! Crash! Splinters are flying in - the air; great pools of blood are on the deck, and the first cry - of wounded men in agony rises on the soft spring air. The dead can - not speak, but there they lie motionless, lifeless and mangled, - who a moment ago smiled on the old flag that floated over them, and - fought for its glory and honor. Sprinkle ashes over the slippery - deck; the work must still go on. The rifled gun--my best--is - disabled, for three shots have struck it; the muzzle is gone, the - elevator is carried away and the carriage is broken. - - Steady, men, steady; fill up the places of the killed and wounded. - Don't throw a shot away. The wheel of the howitzer is torn off - by the shell and the gun rendered useless. Never mind; work the - remaining guns with a will, for we can and must be victorious. And - so the time wore away until the rising river promised to release - the imprisoned steamer, when I signaled to the light steamer to - move up and take her in tow. This duty was gallantly performed, and - the old Barney remained alone under the rebel cannon. * * * - - My vessel is riddled with cannon balls and bullets, and I have lost - three killed and nine wounded--four of them mortally--men who lost - legs and arms. The loss on the other vessels is proportionally - severe. I am no braggart, but I challenge the world to furnish a - more determined fight, or a victory more richly earned. The enemy - shall not cross here. I will not give way an inch. Even now the - thickets on the banks are alive with their sharpshooters, and - as I write, the quick whirr of the rifle bullet is often heard, - sent from the bank five hundred yards ahead in the vain hope of - injuring the hated Yankee. A good providence seems to watch over - my fortunes, tho' I do not deserve its protection. I may go - into action again at any moment, probably tomorrow. I have every - confidence in my gallant crew and officers and do not doubt the - result if my life is spared. Love to all. - - In haste, Your affectionate son, - - WILL. - - - - - -_After Gettysburg_ - - -When General Lee crossed the Potomac on his way to Gettysburg, William -was called to Washington to be ready for action in defense of the -capital, should it need defense. Hearing of his brother's death on -the night of its occurrence, he obtained permission and left for the -battlefield, intending to ask the privilege of handling Alonzo's -guns, which undoubtedly he was perfectly capable of doing. Those guns -were out of the business, however, and he had to satisfy himself with -looking through the field, of which he said long afterwards, "My mind -fails to bring up any picture that is so grand, or solemn, or so -mournful as that great theater of death." - -A month afterwards, William was in command of the "Shoboken," a former -ferry boat made over into a vessel well-adapted to the shallow waters -of the Carolina coasts. With her he destroyed the blockade runner -"Hebe," after a fight with a land battery. - -A few nights later he took a crew of six men in a dingey, to a -point on the beach four miles from the mouth of the inlet which was -separated from the waters outside by a long and very narrow stretch -of sandbank. Here he and his men carried the boat across the neck of -land, and proceeded with it up the inlet to the anchorage of another -blockade runner, where he took ten prisoners, burned the vessel and -some valuable salt works, threw the shore armament into the water, and -returned by the same route, regaining the "Shoboken" without loss of -any kind. - -The next day, William rejoined the squadron outside, which was engaged -with a shore battery. Landing with twenty men, he captured the battery -and took two rifled cannon back with him to the squadron. - - - - -_The Destruction of the "Albemarle"_ - - -As it is impossible to crowd into this sketch any considerable -proportion of the adventures of Lieutenant Cushing, it seems best in -illustration of the extraordinary quality of his bravery, to proceed -at once to the narrative of his famous exploit in the destruction of -the Confederate ironclad "Albemarle," which earned for him further -promotion, the engrossed thanks of Congress, and congratulatory -addresses from civic bodies in every part of the North. - -This ironclad was built on the lines of the old "Merrimac," and like -the latter had met the fire of our biggest guns without injury. In -April, 1864, she had attacked and recaptured the town of Plymouth, -situated near the head of Albemarle Sound, eight miles above the place -where the Sound receives the waters of Roanoke River. She had beaten -off our fleet at that place, sunk its principal boat, the "Southfield," -and killed the commander, Flusser, of whom we have spoken in connection -with an earlier conflict. In May, the "Albemarle" steamed out into the -Sound and simultaneously engaged seven of our vessels, destroying the -"Sassacuse," which had unsuccessfully tried to overwhelm her by ramming -beneath the water-line. The Union ironclads were not light enough to -cross the bar in front of the entrance to the Sound, and the officers -of our fleet were much puzzled as to how to be rid of the annoyance. - -Cushing finally submitted two plans to Admiral Lee, either of which -had, he thought, a fair chance of success. One was for him to take a -hundred men, with India-rubber boats ready for inflation, lead them -through the dense thickets of the swamps adjoining Plymouth, and after -inflating the boats turn the sailors into a boarding party that should -overpower the "Albemarle's" crew. The other was the one adopted, -although with many misgivings on the part of the admiral and of the -assistant secretary of the navy, Mr. Fox. It looked like a modern -repetition of the dramatic episode of David and Goliath, and they -permitted themselves to hope that this youth of twenty-one might have -as good fortune as his Biblical predecessor. In brief, it was arranged -that William should proceed to New York and select two very small, -low-pressure steamers, each carrying a howitzer and a torpedo. These he -was secretly to convey along the coast to the Sound and there attack -the big ironclad by night, in such manner as might appear best when the -time was ripe for action. - -The boats were secured. Each was about thirty feet long and carried -a 12-pound howitzer, with a torpedo fastened to the end of a boom -at the bow, the boom being fourteen feet long and supplied with a -"goose-neck" hinge where it rested on the bow. One of the boats was -lost before reaching Norfolk; but with the other Cushing went through -the Chesapeake and Albemarle Canal to the Sound. - -Starting at midnight, he found the Union fleet fifty miles up the -Sound, expecting a visit from the enemy's ironclad. Here he explained -the daring plan to his officers and men, and told them they were at -liberty to go with him or not, as they might choose. All wished to go, -and a few from other vessels also volunteered. On the night of October -27, the party steamed up the river. - -What happened thereafter, is told so tersely by Cushing himself, in -his formal report to Admiral Porter, that it seems fair to use his own -words. Under date of October 30, he writes: - - Sir: I have the honor to report that the rebel ironclad Albemarle - is at the bottom of the Roanoke river. - - On the night of the 27th, having prepared my steam launch, I - proceeded up towards Plymouth with thirteen officers and men, - partly volunteers from the squadron. The distance from the mouth of - the river to the ram is about eight miles, the stream averaging in - width some two hundred yards, and lined with the enemy's pickets. - - A mile below the town was the wreck of the Southfield, surrounded - by some schooners, and it was understood that a gun was mounted - there to command the bend. I therefore took one of the Shamrock's - cutters in tow, with orders to cast off and board at that point if - we were hailed. - - Our boat succeeded in passing the pickets, and even the Southfield - within twenty yards without discovery, and we were not hailed until - by the lookouts on the ram. The cutter was cast off and ordered - below, however, while we made for our enemy under a full head of - steam. - - The rebels sprang their rattles, rang the bell and commenced - firing, at the same time repeating their hail and seeming much - confused. The light of a fire ashore showed me the ironclad, made - fast to the wharf, with a pen of logs around her, about 30 feet - from her side. Passing her closely, we made a complete circle so as - to strike her fairly, and went into her, bows on. - - By this time the enemy's fire was very severe, but a dose of - canister at short range served to moderate their zeal and disturb - their aim. Paymaster Swan of the Otsego was wounded near me, but - how many more I know not. Three bullets struck my clothing and - the air seemed full of them. In a moment we had struck the logs, - just abreast the quarter port, breasting them in some feet, and - our bows resting on them. The torpedo boom was then lowered, and - by a vigorous pull I succeeded in driving the torpedo under the - overhang, and exploded it at the same time that the Albemarle's - gun was fired. A shot seemed to go crashing through my boat, and a - dense mass of water rushed in from the torpedo, filling the launch - and completely disabling her. The enemy then continued his fire - at fifteen feet range, and demanded our surrender which I twice - refused, ordering the men to save themselves, and removing my own - coat and shoes. Springing into the river, I swam with others into - the middle of the stream, the rebels failing to hit us. The most of - our party were captured, some drowned, and only one escaped besides - myself, and he in a different direction. - - Acting Master's Mate Woodman, of the Commodore Hull, I met in the - water half a mile below the town and assisted him as best I could, - but failed to get him ashore. Completely exhausted, I managed to - reach the shore, but was too weak to crawl out of the water until - just at daylight, when I managed to creep into the swamp, close - to the fort. While hiding a few feet from the path two of the - Albemarle's officers passed, and I judged from their conversation - that the ship was destroyed. - - Some hours traveling in the swamp served to bring me out well below - the town, when I sent a negro in to gain information, and found - the ram was truly sunk. Proceeding through another swamp, I came to - a creek and captured a skiff belonging to a picket of the enemy, - and with this by 11 o'clock the next night made my way out to the - Valley City. Acting Master's Mate William Howarth of the Monticello - showed as usual conspicuous bravery. He is the same officer who - has been with me twice in Wilmington harbor. I trust he may be - promoted when exchanged, as well as Acting Third Assistant Engineer - Stotesbury, who, being for the first time under fire, handled his - engine promptly and with coolness. All the officers and men behaved - in the most gallant manner. I will furnish their names to the - Department as soon as they can be procured. - - The cutter of the Shamrock boarded the Southfield, but found no - gun. Four prisoners were taken there. The ram is now completely - submerged, and the enemy has sunk three schooners in the river to - obstruct the passage of our ships. I desire to call the attention - of the admiral and the Department to the spirit manifested by the - sailors on the ships in these sounds. But few men were wanted, but - all hands were eager to go into the action, many offering their - chosen shipmates a month's pay to resign in their favor. - - I am, sir, very respectfully your obedient servant, - - W. B. CUSHING, - - _Lieutenant United States Navy_. - -So much by way of requisite and necessary formality from an inferior -officer who does something, to a superior who has the right to know all -about what the other has been doing. Still, the young man who has not -yet attained the maturity of twenty-two years discloses the ability -on his part to say clearly and concisely what conveys his meaning, -although not always in strict conformity with rhetorical rules. Of -course he does not present himself as a candidate for honors in a -class in rhetoric; but he does possess the essential of success in -that direction also, if he cares for it. The language that is for use, -rather than for ornament, is the language of lasting character. - -But from motives of modesty and discipline combined, the lieutenant -did not tell his superiors in office all the items of fact that other -people would like to know. Matters of interest omitted in the formal -report, are noted in many cases in Cushing's private journal, and that -document was handed over to Mrs. Harriet Prescott Spofford for use in -an extended magazine article.[7] From that and other sources I will -add somewhat to the story told officially to the admiral. - -[7] _Harper's Monthly_, June, 1874. - -Cushing had a way of rapidly and judiciously thinking for himself. On -approaching near enough to the "Albemarle" to make out her presence, -he concluded to board her and take her down the river to the Union -lines, trusting to the confusion of a night surprise to help the daring -scheme to a successful issue. His view was correct; but just as he was -about to put it into execution a challenge rang out from the ironclad, -followed by the rattle of musketry from the guards who stood at their -stations. Luckily for the assailants, the flame of a bonfire of pine -knots and other light-wood flared upward, and Cushing saw what without -it he would have been unable to see--a surrounding semicircular boom of -logs, fastened end-to-end by iron links and hooks, making futile any -attempt at boarding. - -He was standing on the deck, in full view of the enemy, who were doing -their best to kill him; but the whistling bullets could not disturb the -quickness and accuracy of his judgment. In front of him lay two signal -lines, one of which was attached to the engineer's ankle, and one to -the arm of the officer in charge of the torpedo beam--besides other -lines, one of which was arranged to push the torpedo under the vessel -to be attacked, while still another was to explode the torpedo at the -supreme moment. A mistake in relation to either of these would have -been fatal to the undertaking. - -But Cushing made no mistake. On being signaled, the engineer below -backed the boat out into the stream, and then headed straight on to -the middle of the line of logs, carrying the bow of the launch partly -over, so that the torpedo when let down would be within reach of the -ironclad. The officer in charge of the sweep was then signaled, and -lowered the torpedo boom, which Cushing caused to be crowded under the -"Albemarle's" side. Then he pulled a cord that released a suspended -iron ball, which in its turn fell upon a percussion cap, thus exploding -the infernal machine and blowing a hole through the side of the ram. To -me, this perfection of action in the midst of death-dealing missiles, -seems almost beyond the scope of mere human endeavor. - -Plenty of men in both armies could, without flinching, march up -to the mouths of cannon and into a storm of bullets; but under -such circumstances as surrounded young Cushing when destroying the -"Albemarle," such an exhibition of coolness absolutely imperturbable -was neither seen nor imagined by me, in what I saw of the War. I doubt -much if there ever was a parallel instance. Possibly the exploits of -the elder brother, Alonzo, at Gettysburg, were as remarkable; but if -so, they lacked a minute chronicler. With the latter, no complicated -calculations nor deliberate weighing of comparative probabilities were -apparently necessary to be employed, in order to accomplish what he -wanted to do. Although among the bravest of the brave, it is not shown -that Alonzo was in every respect as unquestionably the complete master -in battle, of the lesser, equally with the greatest, of his mental -faculties as was the case with his younger brother. William was as -alert, resourceful, indefatigable as he might have been at a game of -whist, or in the solution of a mathematical problem in the quietude of -his chamber. - -But escape from the Southern soldiery at Plymouth was purchased at -the price of misery--and, ten years later, of a lamentable death. In a -published paper by him, he refers to his experience in the river, after -the explosion of the torpedo:[8] - -[8] _Battles and Leaders of the Civil War_ (N. Y., Century Co., -1884-88), vol. 4, p. 638. - - I directed my course towards the town side of the river, not making - much headway, as my strokes were now very feeble, my clothes - being soaked and heavy, and little chop-seas splashing with a - chocking persistence into my mouth every time that I gasped for - breath. Still there was a determination not to sink, a will not - to give up; and I kept up a sort of mechanical motion long after - my bodily force was in fact expended. At last, and not a moment - too soon, I touched the soft mud, and in the excitement of the - first shock I half raised my body and made one step forward; then - fell, and remained half in the mud and half in the water until - daylight, unable even to crawl on hands and knees, nearly frozen, - with brain in a whirl, but with one thing strong in me--the fixed - determination to escape. The prospect of drowning, starvation, - death in the swamps--all seemed less evils than that of surrender. - -At twenty-two, one does not think of remote consequences, but human -constitutions are not so made up as to remain uninjured by such violent -usage. The commander of the "Albemarle," Captain A. F. Warley, -contributed the following note to Cushing's paper, which should not be -omitted here, in the interest of fairness:[9] - -[9] _Ibid_, p. 642. - - The crew of the Albemarle numbered but sixty, too small a force to - allow me to keep an armed watch on deck at night and to do outside - picketing besides. Moreover, to break the monotony of the life and - keep down ague, I had always out an exhibition of ten men, who were - uniformly successful in doing a fair amount of damage to the enemy. - It was about 3 a. m. The night was dark and slightly rainy, and the - launch was close to us when we hailed and the alarm was given--so - close that the gun could not be depressed enough to reach her; so - the crew were sent in the shield with muskets, and kept up a heavy - fire on the launch as she slowly forced her way over the chain of - logs and ranged by us within a few feet. As she reached the bow - of the Albemarle I heard a report as of an unshotted gun, and a - piece of wood fell at my feet. Calling the carpenter, I told him a - torpedo had been exploded, and ordered him to examine and report to - me, saying nothing to any one else. He soon reported "a hole in her - bottom big enough to drive a wagon in." By this time I heard voices - from the launch: "We surrender," etc., etc. I stopped our fire - and sent out Mr. Long, who brought back all those who had been in - the launch, except the gallant captain and three of her crew, all - of whom took to the water. Having seen to their safety, I turned - my attention to the Albemarle, and found her resting on bottom in - eight feet of water, her upper works above water. That is the way - the Albemarle was destroyed, and a more gallant thing was not done - during the war. - -A special message came from President Lincoln, recommending a vote -of thanks by Congress, so that the young hero might be advanced to -the grade of lieutenant-commander. This was immediately followed by -the vote requested, and by his promotion to that rank, under the law -providing "That any line officer of the Navy or Marine Corps may be -advanced one grade, if upon recommendation of the President by name he -receives the thanks of Congress for highly distinguished conduct in -conflict with the enemy, or for extraordinary heroism in the lines of -his profession." The importance, as well as the "highly distinguished" -character, of the exploit with the "Albemarle" may be understood when -it is learned that not only were the Carolina Sounds thereafter free to -all such of our vessels as were of sufficiently light draft, but the -town of Plymouth fell a few days later also, without a struggle. Even -Cushing's coat, which he had cast off when he leaped from the launch -into the river, was returned to him. The back of it was shot away, and -there were other bullet holes through it; but a gold chain remained -safely sewed under the collar, where he had caused it to be placed in -honor of the girl to whom it belonged. - - - - -_At Fort Fisher and Afterwards_ - - -After this promotion, Cushing took command of the admiral's flagship, -the "Malvern," and in December was engaged in the operations at Fort -Fisher, where in various attempts to capture that stronghold, so many -failures had been recorded against both our army and navy. In an open -skiff there, he performed a service as perilous as before, although -less spectacular. This was the buoying the channel for the fleet, which -task occupied him for about six hours under a shower of shot and shell -from the fort. - -On January 12, 1865, the bombardment was resumed from sixty vessels, -and after three days of that exercise an assault was ordered, in which -Lieutenant-Commander Cushing was permitted to take part. It proved -to be one of the bloodiest little affrays of the war. Two of his -classmates at Annapolis, Lieutenants B. H. Porter and S. W. Preston, -were killed by his side; which caused him, he said, the bitterest -tears he had ever shed. No other officer being near him, he rallied a -few hundred men and was about to resume the assault, when he received -orders to join the land forces under General Ames. He then had the -satisfaction of witnessing the surrender of the fort before midnight. - -After the works had been taken, Cushing proceeded to round up all -the pilots in the vicinity, and by threatening to hang them procured -all necessary information about the signals used for the guidance -of the blockade runners who were in the habit of coming in at that -point. Within four or five days, one of that class, the "Charlotte," -commanded by a British ex-naval officer, steamed up to her anchorage, -bringing two English army officers as well as a valuable cargo of arms -and ammunition. Gratified at their successful trip, the officers were -enjoying a banquet in honor of the event. Cushing, who liked surprises, -stepped into the cabin and informed them that they were prisoners, -but that he would join them in a glass of the champagne with which the -table was loaded. The Englishmen made the best of the predicament, but -the feast was interrupted by the announcement that another steamer, the -"Stag," was coming up the river, whereupon their young captor excused -himself to attend to the fresh arrival. - -The war was now practically over, and during the few additional months -of its continuance no further adventures appear to Cushing's credit. In -1867 he was given command of the "Maumee," and attached to the Pacific -squadron, where life was no longer strenuous. On January 31, 1872, he -was made full commander, and in July, 1873, placed in charge of the -"Wyoming." In November of the same year he heard of the execution of -several of the crew of the insurgent vessel, "Virginius," at Santiago -de Cuba. Steaming for that port without orders, he stopped the -executions, pending instructions from Spain by which they were entirely -discontinued. - -The following year, and the day before Cushing's untimely death (at -Washington, December 17, 1874), the "Virginius" was handed over to the -United States authorities. For three days, without medical attendance, -the young commander had suffered indescribable tortures from sciatic -inflammation. The servants in the house at last recognized the serious -character of his ailment, and called a physician. Soon the inflammation -reached the patient's brain, and he was removed to the government -hospital for the insane, where, universally lamented, he expired some -days later. - -Of this young hero's personal appearance we have his own statement. In -an early letter to his cousin he says that he was "tall and slim." In -one of his published letters the poet Longfellow described his face -as of a beauty resembling Schiller's. Since all of the foregoing was -written, however, I have received from the widow of Commander Cushing -(still living with their two daughters at Fredonia, New York), a letter -containing a description of him so admirably lifelike that I am glad -to reproduce it in full. For reasons appearing elsewhere, however, it -would seem that her recollection of what she heard forty years ago -as to Alonzo's stature is not so perfect as her remembrance of her -husband. She writes under date of January 1, 1910: - - _Mr. Theron W. Haight_, - - MY DEAR SIR: Your letters of kind inquiry regarding Commander - Cushing's personal appearance, height, etc., have unavoidably - remained too long unanswered. I trust you will pardon the delay, - and that the information I send will be satisfactory and not too - late for your use. - - I met Mr. Cushing for the first time in the late spring of 1867--a - few months before I acted as bridesmaid at his sister's wedding. - - Mr. Cushing was tall, slender and very erect. His movements easy - and graceful, at the same time indicating force and strength. His - head was well poised, his look clear, direct, and steady. His - features were regular and clear cut, with a fascinating expression - about the mouth when he smiled which attracted one's attention to - that feature. His hair was of a medium brown, soft, fine, dark, - and straight, without a suggestion of curl. His rather delicate - mustache was of a lighter brown, suggestive of golden lights, never - of reddish tints. - - His animation and enthusiasm in conversation lent a glow to his - light, blue-gray eyes that made them seem dark. His brilliant mind - was expressed in choice and facile diction--he was a fluent and - charming writer. All his impulses were fine, noble. He was generous - to a fault, tender and affectionate, and exemplified the sentiment, - - The bravest are the tenderest; - The loving are the daring. - - What he achieved and lived through in the Civil War, the perilous - tasks he assumed and accomplished for his country in her time of - greatest danger, form a background from which his figure stands - out in vivid relief. It beams with his indomitable courage and is - gilded with his heroic character. - - I have often heard Mr. Cushing speak of his brother Alonzo, who was - two years his senior and two inches taller. My husband was exactly - six feet without shoes. They were as intimate and devoted as girls, - and quite the opposite in manner and speech, I should say. - - Alonzo and Howard I never saw, but the picture of the former stands - out in my mind as a tall, gentle, dark-haired, reticent man (he was - only 22 when he died), as against the younger, more lively and more - impressionable brother. - - When I became acquainted with Mr. Cushing, he seemed to have - become the head of the family. I mean that he assumed and bore - the responsibility of the family. He had been more fortunate in - financial matters and was therefore in a position to help all - the others, which he did on occasions with the most open-handed - liberality. - -[Illustration: WILLIAM BARKER CUSHING - -From oil portrait (1865) by A. Bradish. - -See Mrs. Cushing's letter, p. 87.] - - Alonzo died at Gettysburg in '63, long before I knew the family. - Howard was killed by the Apaches after I was married. I well - remember what a shock it was to my husband, and how he grieved - for him, and tried to comfort his mother, obtaining all possible - details of his brilliant service and lamentable death in Arizona - through correspondence with the commanding general and officers, - and with the War Department at Washington. - - * * * * * - - I wish to thank you most cordially for the fine photogravure you - sent. It arrived in excellent condition. It is an admirable copy of - the Bradish portrait, which we have, but the portrait itself does - not seem correctly proportioned on the side turned away, being a - trifle too broad under the eye, and so represents the face as too - pointed. The photo shows it more clearly than the painting. My - criticism of the portrait, however, does not affect your fine copy - or the kindness that prompted you to send it. I thank you sincerely - for it. - - I wish also to thank you for the work you are doing, and trust your - history of the _Three Wisconsin Cushings_ will be admirable in - every way, and fully meet your own expectations, as well as receive - the merited reward of the approbation of the State Historical - Society and of the public. - - Respectfully yours, - KATE L. CUSHING. - - FOREST PLACE, FREDONIA, N. Y. - - - - - -_Howard Cushing With the Artillery_ - - -Of Howard Cushing, the attainable memorials are very meagre. Indeed, -whatever may have been the achievements of a private soldier in a -volunteer regiment in war time, they are not commonly mentioned in -official reports. In the case of Howard it is only apparent on the face -of the records of the Illinois regiment with which he served, that -his conduct there was at least sufficiently creditable to warrant his -promotion (November 30, 1863) to a second lieutenancy in the regular -artillery. - -His claim to distinction was not made conspicuously emphatic during his -artillery service. However, it is probable that this was due rather to -circumstances than to any failure on his part to do what might be done -by a soldier of very high class under the conditions which he found -after entering the regular service. At his own request he was assigned -to Battery A of the Fourth, in which his brother Alonzo lost his life. -But he had not the _éclat_ with which his brother was signalized on his -graduation from West Point; moreover, the fact that Sergeant Fuger, now -an officer in the same organization, had also served as an enlisted -man, did not tend to keep it at the same level, in the esteem of other -regular officers, as would have been the case had one of the two, at -least, arrived at his position by way of the Academy. It may be that -the exclusiveness here noted tends to the general advantage of the -army, but not unlikely it is somewhat depressing to appointees from the -ranks. - -[Illustration: - - allow me to see home again for a few days, it will be a very happy - time for me. _Our_ campaign is ended and we are in Summer quarters, - there is nothing down here for us to fight. Blair, our division - commander, has gone up the river, and I don't know as he will - command the division any more or not. Please to write to me at - once, and tell me how things are working. I shall be very anxious. - And, my dear brother, if I get the position it shall be my endeavor - so to fill it, as to satisfy the government and my friends, and now - with the hope of hearing from you soon, and with my best love to - Will. - - I remain - - Your affec. Brother - - Howard Cushing - - -Facsimile of part of letter from Howard B. Cushing to his brother -Milton; dated August 6, 1863] - -At all events, what happened to Battery A after Howard's assignment -to duty with it was, that it was kept in camp near Brandy Station, -Virginia, until the following March. Then it was attached to the -second division of the cavalry corps of the Army of the Potomac, and -took part in Sheridan's battles at Mine Run, Virginia (May 3, 1864), -at Todd's Tavern (May 4), at Meadow Bridge (May 6), at Yellow Tavern, -where General "Jeb" Stuart was killed in front of Howard's section (May -11), at Strawberry Hill (May 13), and at Hawes's Shop the same day. In -these battles Howard commanded a section of two three-inch guns. The -losses of the battery in those fights were so considerable that it -was, in the latter part of May, sent back to Washington to recuperate, -remaining there until after the conclusion of the war, with the -exception hereinafter mentioned. - -After its transfer to the capital, the last experience of the battery -in hostilities came very near proving serious. Early's raid into -Maryland occurred shortly after the first of July. On the ninth he -fought a battle with a Union force on the Monocacy, in which he was -victorious, and headed for Washington, then defended by only about -5,000 soldiers. Battery A was then at Fort Totten, near Bladensburg, -where the ranking officer was a captain of one hundred-day troops from -Ohio, and of course in command. He seems, nevertheless, to have had -good discretion, and before making any movement in the way of defense -requested the advice of the seasoned officers under him. Late on the -tenth, soldiers of the Veteran Reserve Corps from the city, accompanied -by clerks from the departments and convalescents from the hospitals, -swarmed out to the outer line of earthworks and manned the rifle-pits -stretching along between the forts. - -The next day, Confederate cavalry came into sight and the smoke of -burning houses behind them told the sort of work they were doing. -In the afternoon, Confederate infantry appeared, but stopped after -forming in line of battle. On the twelfth they began moving before -sunrise, and were met by shells from the forts--among others, three -100-pound Parrott guns, handled by the men of Battery A, being brought -into action. There was also infantry fighting, but not of a serious -character. Towards night the Sixth Corps of the Union army, which -had been brought up the river on transports, began to arrive at the -earthworks, and no further danger was feared. Advancing in line of -battle it was found that the Confederates were now in retreat; but -if they had not been so cautious the day before, it is probable -that Early's 18,000 tried soldiers would have made their way into -Washington, and inflicted the most humiliating disaster of the war. - -Late in the fall, the senior lieutenant of the battery being absent -on leave, Lieutenant Cushing was ordered to take the men and guns to -Elmira, New York, to assist in guarding the prison pen at that place. -There, about 12,000 Confederates were confined, in charge of a regiment -of short-term men, undisciplined and unaware of the responsibilities -of their position. The prisoners were in consequence unruly and often -uproarious. - -The day after his arrival, Cushing went with his second in command, -Lieutenant Frank Wilkeson, to inspect the outer lines of the camp, and -was assailed with jeers and howls of contempt by the prisoners. Quick -action was needed. Cushing gave the Confederates the following talk, -reported[10] to have been delivered in a low, clear voice, in terms far -from polite, but nevertheless effective, for no further trouble was -experienced: - -[10] Frank Wilkeson, _Recollections of a Private Soldier in the Army of -the Potomac_ (N. Y., 1887), pp. 223, 224. - - See here ----, ----, ----! I am just up from the front, where I - have been killing such infernal wretches as you are. I have met - you in twenty battles. I never lost a gun to you. You never drove - a battery I served with from its position. You are a crowd of - insolent, cowardly scoundrels, and if I had command of this prison - I would discipline you, or kill you, and I should much prefer to - kill you. I have brought a battery of United States artillery to - this pen, and if you give me occasion I will be glad to dam that - river [pointing to the Chemung] with your worthless carcasses, and - silence your insolent tongues forever. I fully understand that you - are presuming on your position as prisoners of war when you talk - to me as you have; but [and here his hand shook warningly in the - faces of the group], you have reached the end of your rope with me. - I will kill the first man of you who again speaks insultingly to me - while I am in this pen, and I shall be here daily. Now, go to your - quarters! - -The release of all prisoners of war, in 1865, made unnecessary the -further presence of cannon at Elmira. Cushing thereupon returned to -Washington. His entire organization was dismounted, and early in 1866 -assigned to duty as heavy artillery at Fort Meyer, across the river -from Georgetown, D. C. It may well be imagined that the new service, -consisting principally of drilling recruits, would not be much to the -taste of the dashing young lieutenant who was now in his twenty-eighth -year, full of life and vigor, a lover of literature and art, but above -all imbued with the desire to write his name by the side of those -of his brothers, whose services to their country were worthy of a -permanent place on the tablets of the Nation's memory. - - - - -_Transferred to the Cavalry_ - - -It was not until he had completed his twenty-ninth year that Howard -obtained a transfer to the cavalry, which was then engaged in subduing -Indians, the only warlike enterprise then in operation. On September -7, 1867, he became second-lieutenant of troop F of the Third cavalry, -probably with reasonable certainty of early promotion, for about three -months later he received a commission as first lieutenant. - -[Illustration: ALONZO HERSFORD CUSHING] - -From the border annals, it would appear that thenceforward he was -practically commander of his troop. So closely identified was he with -it, that what the troop did was credited to Cushing, and what Cushing -did was the pride and the boast of the troop. In captivating the hearts -of his followers, Howard displayed a power and quality of bravery much -resembling that of his brothers. Captain Bourke, who served with him -as junior lieutenant, in the same troop, frankly stated in private -conversation that Howard Cushing was the bravest man he ever saw; -and repeated for emphasis, "I mean just that--the bravest man I ever -saw." In Bourke's volume,[11] he writes to like effect, although not -in the identical language above quoted. One among his many allusions -to Cushing is given in the "Appreciations" preceding the present -narrative; but there are others, expressed with nearly as strong -emphasis--for instance, a list of the able and gallant officers who had -helped clear Arizona of Apaches is recited, with the conclusion: "They -were all good men and true, but if there were any choice among them I -am sure that the verdict, if left to those soldiers themselves, would -be in favor of Cushing." In a burst of indignation, after speaking of -the lieutenant's "determination, coolness and energy, which had made -his name famous all over the southwestern border," Bourke adds: "There -is an alley named after him in Tucson, and there is, or was when last I -saw it, a tumble-down, worm-eaten board to mark his grave, and that was -all to show where the great American nation had deposited the remains -of one of its bravest." - -[11] John G. Bourke, _On the Border with Crook_ (N. Y., 1891). - -Cushing's first cavalry service of distinction was in western Texas, -from which he drove the savages in 1869. The next spring, after a -cruel massacre by the Indians of a party of thirty white men and women -on their way to work at a private ranch, he was selected to head an -expedition for the punishment of the murderers. Patiently searching for -every indication of the trails of the Indians, he found their camp one -night, and the following morning surprised and destroyed them, almost -to the last man. They were said to have the more easily succumbed to -the attack, from having drunk a quantity of patent medicines taken from -the baggage of their earlier victims. This stuff was composed mostly of -what the distillers call "high wines," containing a large percentage of -crude alcohol. - -On returning to Camp Grant the troop rested for a short time, and -then started on an extended expedition touching the Sierra Apache and -Mesquite Springs--losing only one man, the blacksmith, in the course -of the trip, and inflicting no great injury on the Indians. Other -expeditions followed, about as fruitless; but towards the end of summer -the headquarters were moved fifty-five miles west to Tucson, which -had not then acquired fame as a mining centre. It was, however, noted -as being the capital of Arizona and one of the dirtiest of little -Spanish-American towns. The camp was on the eastern border of the -village, and the Apaches were in the habit of coming up to its close -neighborhood to steal and drive away live stock. Even after the arrival -of Cushing's troop, the savages had shown strong tendencies towards -mischief, seriously wounding one of his men. Later they simultaneously -attacked wagon trains and widely-separated settlements, thus confusing -the calculations of our officers. As a crowning exploit they carried -away a herd of cattle from Tucson itself, and followed that achievement -by the killing of a stage-mail rider and the massacre of a party of -Mexicans on their way to Sonora. - -During the time when these events occurred, Cushing kept his troop hard -at work and extirpated many of the hostile Indians--how many, is not -stated in any work of which I have knowledge. Cochise, chief of the -Chiricahua clan of Apaches (and predecessor of Geronimo), finally came -into camp as winter drew nigh, and claimed that he wanted peace and -a resting-place on the reservation. He had already been fighting the -white people for fourteen years, and had tried every trick upon his -enemies save this. Cushing vainly protested against coddling the wily -chief during cold weather, to suffer from his depredations when warmth -should again prevail. Cochise was taken care of all winter; and before -May, 1871, was on the warpath with Cushing close after him. On May 5th -the lieutenant was at the head of a reconnoitering party of twenty-two -men at Bear Springs, in the Whetstone Mountains, about fifty miles -southeasterly from Tucson, and twenty-five southwesterly from the site -of the present town of Benson. - - - - -_Death of the Young Cavalryman_ - - -Cushing was riding at the head of the party with three soldiers and a -citizen or two near him, when Sergeant John Mott saw movements of some -Apaches who were trying to get to the rear of the detachment. He sent -word to the lieutenant, inducing him to fall back, although already -engaged with an ambush of Cochise's followers in front. The latter had -succeeded in entirely surrounding the little party, and Cushing, with -four at his side, were all slain before they could get back to the rest -of their party. - -Sylvester Maury, a graduate of West Point--pioneer miner, and author of -a classic of modern Arizona, entitled _Arizona and Sonora_--in a letter -to the New York _Herald_ shortly after Cushing's death, boldly charged -the catastrophe to the foolish policy then prevailing, of dealing with -the Indians of the Southwest. Under this policy, the ravages of the -enemy were promoted by feeding them up well during any intervals when -they might feel like taking a rest from assassination and plunder. He -added: - - Now we have the result. There is not a hostile tribe in Arizona - or New Mexico, that will not celebrate the killing of Cushing as - a great triumph. He was a beau sabreur, an unrelenting fighter; - and although the Indians have got him at last, he sent before him - a long procession of them to open his path to the undiscovered - country. * * * He has left behind him in Arizona a name that will - not die in this generation. - -As a comment on the foregoing, I need only say that in response to -my request, at an Arizona newspaper office a few weeks ago, for some -special information regarding Howard Cushing, I was told that the -writer had "never heard of the party inquired after." _Sic transit -gloria mundi_, making very rapid time in the transit, in many of the -modern instances. Nevertheless, Arizona has taken enough care of -Cochise's name to attach it to one of her large counties. - -Howard's death occurred more than three-and-a-half years before that -of William; but I fancy that the acts and sayings of the latter at the -time of his brother's demise were such as to indicate something in -the nature of nervous affection. Mrs. Bouton informs me that it was -difficult to dissuade him from a project that he had in mind, to go -into the frontier service himself and there take vengeance on Howard's -slayers. On first hearing of the fatality he had been unable to refrain -from tears, even after reaching the office of a commercial bank. -Before leaving the place, he wrote the following letter to his brother -Milton: - - THE BLACKSTONE NATIONAL BANK, BOSTON, - - _May 15th, 1871._ - - MY ONLY AND VERY DEAR BROTHER: With a heart full of agony I write - to you of our terrible misfortune. Dear, brave "Howie" is no more. - I saw the news in the paper at 8 a. m. in the country this morning, - and hastened in to break it to Mother. _Poor, dear_ little Ma! Her - heart is almost broken. Oh! _dear_ old fellow--we are left alone - now--the last of four; and let us swear to stand by each other - and our noble Mother in all things. Let our old boyhood and vows - come back with full force and meaning, and let us cling together - in truest and most unselfish love and friendship. I long for you, - _dear_ brother--for a clasp of your true, honest hand, and the - comfort of one glance into your eyes. How much it would comfort - Mother to see you before you go! Tomorrow I take her with me into - the Country where we are living. I am in delightful quarters, - and shall take good care of little Ma. God bless her! Kate [the - writer's wife] is like a real daughter to her; and I thank Heaven - that she was not alone in Mary's absence. [Referring to the present - Mrs. Bouton, whose name was Mary Isabel, the "Mary" having since - been dropped by her.] - - _Dear_ old fellow--we must be doubly loving and attentive to - little Ma now. Write often to her. One thing is certain of her - Sons; they can not be beaten. You can kill but not conquer them. - A beautiful tribute was paid to Lon by the General of his brigade - at the great Army of the Potomac meeting here. He described his - wonderful, superhuman bravery. How he demanded--white with loss of - blood--to go again to the front. The General said, "You have done - all that mortal can do; attend now to your wounds." Lon answered, - "No, I will fall by my guns." He selected Allie as the only one to - especially eulogize, God bless the brave boys! I can almost see - their meeting--the handclasp of two who gave up life for duty; and - Father, joined by his noble Sons, proudly and tenderly embracing - them. - - God bless you, dear brother! Don't lose love for me. We are alone - now. My tears are falling so that I can scarcely see. Good bye. - - With all his heart your loving brother - - WILL. - - -The story of these noble sons of Wisconsin might properly be concluded -with the foregoing letter; but for the satisfaction of those who may -wish to have a good idea of the personal appearance of the young -cavalryman, I will add the description given by Captain Bourke: - - He was about five feet seven in height, spare, sinewy, active as a - cat; slightly stoop-shouldered, sandy complexioned, keen gray or - bluish gray eyes, which looked you through when he spoke and gave - a slight hint of the determination, coolness and energy which had - made his name famous all over the southwestern border. - -[Illustration: - - Kate is like a pal daughter to her and I thank Heaven that she was - not alone in Macy's absence. _Dear_ old fellow it must be doubly - boring and attrition to little Ma now. Write often to her--One - thing is certain of her Son--they can not be beaten. You care - kill but not conquer them. A beautiful tribute was paid to Lon by - the General of his brigade at the great Army of Potomac awaiting - here. He described his wonderful, super human bravery. How he - demanded--white with loss of blood--to go again to the front. The - General said 'You have done all that mortal can do--attend now - to your wounds.' Lon answered "No. I will fall by my guns." He - selected Allie as the only one to especially eulogize. God bless - the brave boys! I can almost see their meeting the hand clasp of - two who gave up life for duty, and Father, joined by his noble Sons - proudly and tenderly embracing them. - - God bless you--dear brother! Don't lose love for me--We are alone - now--My tears are falling so that I can scarcely see--Good bye. - - With all his heart - - Your loving Brother - - Will. - - -Facsimile of part of letter from William B. Cushing to his brother -Milton; dated May 15, 1871] - -So long as such men can be produced in the republic, there is little -danger of its decline and fall. Without such, or men of stamina -approximating to their standard, our country would be likely to meet -the fate of its predecessors, and become the prey of stronger peoples. -It would therefore be foolish indeed to withhold from our fighting men -the honor and the more substantial rewards which tend to encourage -bravery and, when necessary, the upholding of our national solidarity -by force of arms. To a considerable degree this is accomplished by our -national pension system; but that is faulty, in respect that it makes -no distinction, as to the amount of his quarterly stipend, between a -four-years' fighting soldier and a ninety-days' malingerer in or about -hospitals. - -That it was difficult to provide for advancement in the army, in -accordance with desert, is evident from the fact that Howard Cushing -served as a private soldier in the same battery for twenty months. That -was, indeed, keeping talent hidden in a very inconspicuous napkin. It -may be that such bad fortune was unavoidable on the whole, and that -a just grading of pensions would be still more difficult to attain -than logically-just promotions in the army. At all events, it is clear -to me that whatever does tend most effectually to keep alive in our -citizenship such devotion to the country as to make men willing to -strive to the uttermost and to die for its sake, is what ought to be -practised--and where possible, improved. - - - - -INDEX - - - "Adelaide", 60. - - "Albemarle", xiv, 67-80. - - Albemarle Sound, 68-70. - - Ames, Gen. Adelbert, 82. - - Apache Indians, 86; - in Arizona, 95-100. - - Arlington, Alonzo Cushing at, 35. - - Armistead, Gen. Lewis A., 51, 54, 55, 57. - - - Battles: Antietam, Alonzo Cushing at, 55. - Bailey's Cross Roads, 34, 35. - Blackburn's Ford, 33. - Bull Run, 33, 34. - Chancellorsville, xii, 42, 43, 45. - Fitzhugh's Crossing, 42. - Fredericksburg, 41, 42. - Gettysburg, xii, 42-45, 51, 66. - Hawes's Shop, 89. - Long Bridge, 34. - Marye's Heights, 42. - Meadow Bridge, 89. - Mine Run, 89. - Salem Heights, 42. - Spottsylvania Court House, 42. - Strawberry Hill, 89. - Todd's Tavern, 89. - Wilderness, 42. - Yellow Tavern, 89. - - Bear Springs (Ariz.), 98. - - Black Hawk, Sauk leader, 9. - - Bladensburg (Md.), 90. - - Bourke, John G., xi, 94-96, 102. - - Bouton, Isabel Cushing, 18, 22, 53, 100, 101. - - Brandy Station (Va.), 89. - - Brookfield, 13. - - Burnside, Gen. Ambrose, 40. - - - "Cambridge", xiii, 37. - - Castleman, Dr. A. L., 18. - - Centerville (Va.), 35, 38. - - "Charlotte", 82. - - Chase, Salmon P., 20. - - Chiricahua Indians, 98. - - Cochise, Apache chief, 98-100. - - "Colorado", 31. - - "Commodore Barney", 62. - - "Commodore Hull", 72. - - Couch, Gen. Darius N., 41. - - Cushing, Alonzo H., born, 16; - youth, 16-26; - at West Point, 26, 28, 29, 33; - Washington, 32; - Long Bridge, 35; - Arlington, 35; - with Gen. Sumner, 38, 39; - McClellan, 39, 40; - at Fredericksburg, 41, 42; - on furlough, 41; - at Fitzhugh's Crossing, 42; - Spottsylvania Court House, 42: - Salem and Marye's Heights, 42; - Wilderness, 42; - with Hooker, 43; - Hancock, 44; - at Gettysburg, 45-50, 53-57, 77; - death, 50, 102; - personal appearance, 32, 56, 85; - record, xii; - appreciations, xii, 41, 42, 45, 47, 54-57; - facsimile of letter, 40; - portrait, 56. - - Cushing, Howard B., born, 9; - youth, 9-16; - enlisted, 26, 36; - promoted, 88; - with Sheridan in Virginia, 89; - in Washington, 90; - Elmira (N. Y.), 91-93; - Fort Meyer, 93; - joined cavalry, 94; - in Arizona and Texas, 95-98; - expedition against Cochise, 98; - killed, 86, 87, 99; - personal appearance, 102, 103; - record, xi; - appreciation, xi; - facsimile of letter, 88; - portrait, 94. - - Cushing, Kate L., 84-87, 101. - - Cushing, Mary Barker Smith, 9-19, 21, 22, 27, 28, 52, 62, 101. - - Cushing, Mary Isabel, 18. - - Cushing, Milton, 9, 10, 24, 27. - - Cushing, Milton Buckingham, 5-21. - - Cushing, Rachel Buckingham, 4-8, 12, 17; - children of, 17, 18. - - Cushing, Walter, 15, 16, 18. - - Cushing, William Barker, born, 17; - youth, 17-26; - at naval academy, 28, 29; - on "Minnesota", 30; - "Colorado", 31; - "Cambridge", 37; - "Perry", 58; - "Ellis", 60; - burned "Adelaide", 60; - at Jacksonville, 60, 61; - on "Commodore Barney", 62-66; - "Shoboken", 66, 67; - destroys "Albemarle", 69-81; - promotion, 81; - at Fort Fisher, 81-83; - on "Maumee", 83; - "Wyoming", 83; - death, 84; - personal appearance, 84-87; - letter on Howard's death, 101; - record, xii-xiv; appreciations, xiv, 58, 60, 76, 77, 80, 94, 95, - 102, 103; - facsimile of letter, 102; portrait, 86. - - Cushing, Zattu, 3-5. - - Cushing family, in New England, 3; - in New York, 3-8; - at Milwaukee, 9-13, 16; - removal to Waukesha County, 12-15; - at Chicago, 18-20; - in Ohio, 20; - at Fredonia (N. Y.), 22, 25, 84. - - - Delafield, ----, town named for, 17, 19. - - Delafield, Cushings at, 14-19. - - "Delaware Farmer", 31. - - Dousman, Mrs. Talbot C., 13. - - - Early, Gen. Jubal, 90, 91. - - East Troy, 30, 62. - - Edwards, Francis S., 26. - - Edwards, Mary B., 30, 37, 60, 62. - - "Ellis", 60. - - Elmira (N. Y.), Howard Cushing at, 91-93. - - - Finance, Continental currency, 2. - - Fitchburg (Mass.), Milton B. Cushing at, 27. - - Flusser, Com. Charles W., 59, 60, 68. - - Forts: Fisher, 81. - Meyer, 93. - Totten, 90. - - Franklin, Gen. William B., 40. - - Franklin (Va.), 59. - - Fredonia (N. Y.), Cushings at, 22, 25, 84. - - Frisby, Russell, 15. - - Fuger, Sergt. Frederick, 50, 52-55, 57, 89. - - - Gallipolis (Ohio), Dr. Milton Cushing at, 21. - - Gaps: Manassas, xiii, 44. - Thoroughfare, 44. - - Geronimo, Apache chief, 98. - - - Hall, Col. George B., 47. - - Hampton Roads, 38, 63. - - Hancock, Gen. Winfield S., 44, 53. - - "Hartford", xiii. - - Hawks, N. P., 16. - - Haymarket (Va.), 44. - - "Hebe", 67. - - Hooker, Gen. Joseph, 40, 43. - - Horton, Julia G., 23, 24. - - Hosmer, G. S., 15. - - - Jacksonville (N. C.), 60. - - - Lakes: Nagawicka, 14, 17. - Nemahbin, 14, 16, 19. - Pewaukee, 12, 14. - - "Lancaster", xiii. - - Lee, Gen. Robert E., 43, 44, 66. - - Lee, Admiral S. P., 60, 69. - - Lincoln, Abraham, xiv, xv, 41, 42, 80. - - - McClellan, Gen. George B., 35, 39, 40. - - Madison, 12, 13. - - Maryland, campaign in, 39, 40. - - Meade, Gen. George G., 56. - - "Merrimac", 38, 68. - - Milwaukee, Cushings at, 9-13, 16. - - "Minnesota", xiii, 30. - - "Monitor", 38. - - "Monticello", xiii, 73. - - Moon, Corporal Thomas, 56, 57. - - Mott, Sergt. John, 98. - - "Mount Washington", 63. - - - Nashotah, Theological Seminary, 14. - - Naval Academy, William Cushing at, 27, 30. - - Nemahbin, Cushings in, 15. - - New England, emigration to Wisconsin, 1-4. - - New York, Cushings in, 3-8. - - Norfolk (Va.), 59, 70. - - - "Otsego," 72. - - - Paddock, George, 15. - - Paddock family, 13-15. - - "Penobscot", xiii. - - "Perry", 58. - - Pickett, Gen. George E., xii, 48, 54, 56. - - Plymouth (N. C.), captured by "Albemarle", xiv, 68, 69, 71, 77, 78. - - Porter, Lieut. B. H., 82. - - Porter, Adm. David D., 70. - - Potawatomi Indians, in Wisconsin, 9. - - Potomac, Army of, 35, 38, 40, 43, 89. - - Prairieville. See Waukesha. - - Preston, S. W., 82. - - - "Quinnebaug", xiii. - - - Reynolds, Gen. John F., 44. - - Richmond (Va.), 39. - - Rivers: Blackwater, 59. - Bark, 14. - Menomonee, 11, 12. - Milwaukee, 11. - Monocacy, 43, 90. - Nansemond, 63. - Potomac, 33, 44, 66. - Rappahannock, 37, 42, 43. - Roanoke, 68, 71. - Shenandoah, 43. - - Rorty, James M., 46, 50. - - - Santiago de Cuba, 83. - - "Sassacuse", 68. - - Sauk Indians, in Wisconsin, 9. - - Schaff, Gen. Morris, xii, 29. - - "Shamrock", 71, 73. - - "Shockokon", xiii. - - Sheridan, Gen. Philip, 89. - - Smith, C. W., 37. - - Smith, Commodore Joseph, 26. - - "Southfield", 68, 71, 73. - - "Stag", 83. - - Stotesbury, Asst. Engineer William, 73. - - Stuart, Gen. J. E. B., 44, 89. - - Sumner, Gen. Edwin V., 38-40. - - Swan, Paymaster ----, 71, 72. - - Swansboro (N. C.), 60. - - - Taneytown (Md.), 44. - - Tucson (Ariz.), Howard Cushing at, 95, 97-99. - - - "Valley City", 73. - - Vicksburg (Miss.), Howard Cushing at, 36. - - "Virginius", 83, 84. - - - Warley, Capt. A. F., 79. - - Warren, Cushings in, 15. - - Washington (D. C.), Alonzo Cushing at, 32. - - Waukesha, 13, 16, 19. - - Waukesha County, _History_, 13. - - Webb, Gen. Alexander S., 47, 50. - - Western Branch (Va.), 63. - - West Point, Alonzo Cushing entered, 26; buried at, 53. - - Wilkeson, Lieut. Frank, 92. - - Woodman, Acting Master's Mate ----, 72, 73. - - Woodruff, George A., 46, 50. - - "Wyoming", xiv. - - - Yorktown (Va.), 39. - - - - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES - - - Erratum on page vi has been corrected in the text. - - Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical - errors. - - Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. - - Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Three Wisconsin Cushings, by Theron Wilber Haight - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE WISCONSIN CUSHINGS *** - -***** This file should be named 50549-8.txt or 50549-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/5/4/50549/ - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, The Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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