| |
Passing over many equally
stirring events which mark the brilliant career of the regiment, let us
review for a moment the assault on the Black River Bridge, which for
heroic gallantry, stands unparalled in the history of the war.
Major-General Camby in the General Orders No. 81, dated December 9, 1864,
said of this engagement:
“The Major-General commanding the District of West Tennessee and
Vicksburg, styles this affair as one of the most daring and heroic of
the war.” Two previous and well-organized attempts by some of the best
troops in the department, had failed to dislodge the enemy and destroy
this bridge. That these assaults had been desperately maintained and that
the bridge had been heroically defended, its blackened and bullet-torn
timbers attested.
It was at a time when the rebel general Hood was concentrating his
army for an attack on the forces of General Thomas, at Nashville. His
means of obtaining supplies and reinforcements must be cut off, to the
effect which the railroad bridge over the Big Black must be destroyed at
any cost. From previous vain attempts to dislodge the enemy from their
strongly entrenched position at the bridge, it was well known to the
District Commander that the bridge could only be taken by the most
determined bravery and sacrifice of many lives.
It was not so much a question of numbers to be brought into action as
it was of the dash of mettle of those engaged.
It may, therefore, be considered as a high compliment to the officers
of the Third U.S. Colored Cavalry, that they were selected to lead the
assault. This bridge was situated in an almost impenetrable swamp,
inaccessible, except over the narrow railroad bed, broken at intervals by
trestle-work.
The bridge was guarded by a force of rebel infantry, which was posted
in an almost impregnable position, being protected by a strong stockade on
the opposite side of the river, from which they could concentrate a deadly
fire on the bridge without exposing themselves to danger.
Into the fiery jaws of this volcano the regiment was sent.
On that day, November 27, 1864, the regiment won imperishable fame.
From the Department Commander and from the War Office in Washington,
the regiment was complimented in the highest terms.
You who passed through that crucial test can never forget the
experience. It is so indelibly impressed on our minds that looking back
even from this distance, we shudder at the picture memory retains.
Down there in that Mississippi swamp, we seem to see the black
troopers as they appeared on that ever memorable occasion, crouched for
the final spring. In the hard-set faces and stern commands of the
officers, we read a determination that foreshadowed victory.
It was understood by all that when the bugle sounded the charge,
there must be no faltering, no matter what might betide.
For the Third Cavalry this was the supreme moment – the crucial test.
Great results were at stake. Much depended on the success and failure of
the charge. Much was expected of the Third Cavalry. Would they sustain,
under this trying ordeal, their high reputation for gallantry?
Let us follow them and see.
With every nerve strung to the utmost tension, the black troopers,
when the bugle sounded the charge, sprang forward as one man.
Into the flaming crucible they plunged. The swamp resounds with the
rattle of musketry and as they meet volley upon volley, their lines
tremble and sway like a young forest swept by a cyclone.
Do they waver? Is there confusion in their ranks? No, the gaps close
up their organization is intact. None falter, but those who fall to rise
no more. Surely none but the best of disciplined troops could face
undismayed that storm of leaden hail.
Facing this deadly storm of buck and ball, with ranks thinned, they
reach the bridge and, though swept with murderous fire, they scale its
dizzy heights. With no footing but the railroad ties, they press forward.
Catching the inspiration of their officers, the black troopers swept
on with irresistible force. Pierced with bullets, men reel on the dizzy
heights and fall with a splash into the murky waters below. The survivors
reach the opposite bank. The battle cry on the Third Cavalry rose above
the din of the conflict. They close in on the enemy. Through the sally
ports of the stockade they fight their way. A mighty shout rends the air.
The enemy, in terror, flees to the shelter of the swamp. The victory is
complete. The Third Cavalry has written its name high up on the roll of
fame. It has passed through the crucial test emerging as tempered steel.
The enemy had been routed from his stronghold. The bridge was
destroyed. Nashville was saved. Hood’s army was in retreat. Thomas the
“Rock of Chickamauga” has turned back an invading army. Another cherished
scheme of the confederacy had been crushed. The North had been saved from
the ravages of an invading army. Thus the Third U.S. Colored Cavalry
played a humble part in that great strategic movement on the checkerboard
of war by which Sherman and his army marched through to the sea, severing
the Southern Confederacy in twain.
This, gentlemen, is but a faint glimpse at the record of the regiment
when the whole is spread upon pages of history, it will challenge
comparison. The record of the regiment on well established and undisputed
facts. Many of its deeds are chronicled in the official records of the War
Department. The light of criticism cannot fade it. Alongside the record of
the famous regiment, whose deeds embellish the pages of history, the
record of the regiment will lose none of its luster.
This, comrades, is the common heritage of the surviving members of
the regiment. It is yours to keep, defend and cherish and to transmit to
your children.
All helped to make this record and all should share alike in its
glory.
Through these were many deeds of individual heroism, yet they are
infinitesimal in the fight of the glorious whole.
The proudest distinction one can have is the enrollment of his name
on the roster of its gallant leaders whose intrepid daring inspired even
the humblest private in the ranks to deeds of valor.
Gentlemen, we owe a solemn duty to the memory of our gallant comrades
who fell in the strife. They were the bravest of the brave, the noblest
and truest types of the American volunteer soldier. Midst the roar and the
smoke of battle they sealed their devotion to the country with their
lives.
Their heroic deeds form a part of the record of the regiment. In
preserving this record, we honor their memory. The names of Stewart,
Walter, Sedgwick, Starr and Pattengill are rendered immortal. You will
find them inscribed on the roll of honor with this inscription: “Killed in
Action.”
Monuments of marble and granite decay pass from the memory of men.
But they have a monument more enduring than stone; their names are written
in never fading letters on the tablets of time.
There are others whose memory it is also our duty as well as our
pleasure to commemorate; we see their names on the roster. But they are
here only in spirit, their lips are silent. Osband, Haynes, Hyland, Cook,
Webber, Moon, Randall, Whiting, Lovejoy, Jennings, Freeborn, Beadles and
Keith.
These are names that were once potent in council and in the field.
How often have we depended on the courage and fidelity of these men?
Were our positions reversed, were they assembled here instead of us,
were they instructed with the duty of keeping out memory green, think you
they would hesitate in the work? Think you they would allow the memory of
your heroic deeds to go out in forgetfulness? – No.
“The bravest are the tenderest,
the loving are the daring.”
Then let us erect an enduring monument to their
memory. Let us leave a record of their heroic deeds. Let us tell the story
of their sacrifices.
Let us honor ourselves by honoring their memory.
How often have we stood at the open grave of a beloved comrade and,
as the clods covered the lifeless form, renewed our unspoken pledges of
loyalty to country and to each other?
Time cannot have made us insensible to the emotions which then filled
our hearts. With passing years, have their names and companionship faded
from memory?-No.
“Nor shall their glory be forgot,
While fame her record keeps.”
GENERAL ORDERS No. 81.
HDQRS. MIL. DIV. OF WEST MISSISSIPPI,
New Orleans, La., December 9, 1864.
Subject to the approval of the President of the United
States, Maj. J. B. Cook, Third U.S. Colored Cavalry, is hereby promoted to
the lieutenant-colonelcy of that regiment, to date from the 27th of
November, 1864, in consideration of the gallantry displayed by him on that
day, when, with his men dismounted, and having nothing but railroad ties
for a path, he charged over the Big Black bridge, near Canton, Miss., in
the face of a heavy fire, drove off the rebel force stationed on the
opposite shore behind a strong stockade, and destroyed the bridge, by
which the main line of the rebel General Hood's communication with his
depots in South Mississippi and Alabama were effectually cut off. The
major-general commanding the Districts of West Tennessee and Vicksburg
styles this affair as "one of the most daring and heroic acts of the war."
By order of Maj. Gen. E. R. S. Canby:
C. T. CHRISTENSEN,
Lieutenant-Colonel and Assistant Adjutant-General.
[First indorsement.]
HDQRS. MILITARY DIVISION OF WEST MISSISSIPPI,
New Orleans, La., December
9, 1864.
Respectfully forwarded to the Adjutant-General of the Army,
with the earnest request that this order be approved, and, if thought
proper, the promotion be published in general orders of the War
Department.
E. R. S. CANBY,
Major-General, Commanding.
By C. T. CHRISTENSEN,
Lieutenant-Colonel and Assistant Adjutant-General.
(General Canby being confined to his quarters in
consequence of wounds.)
[Second indorsement.]
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
December 19,
1864.
Respectfully submitted to the Secretary of War, with the
recommendation that this order be approved. Attention is respectfully
invited to the suggestion of Major-General Canby that the confirmation of
this order be published in general orders from the War Department.
C. W. FOSTER,
Assistant Adjutant-General of Volunteers.
[Third indorsement.]
WAR DEPARTMENT,
December 21,
1864.
The within order of Major-General Canby is approved, and
will be published in War Department general orders as requested.
By order of the Secretary of War:
JAS. A. HARDIE,
Colonel and Inspector-General.
SOURCE: United States War Department. THE WAR OF
THE REBELLION: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880-1901.
|
|
