History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

the ElevenHi Rpj^imont ns captain of one of the ooinpanios, became the ]{cutcii»iit-<;(>U)tiel, wno twice woundH, cniiiu humu tlisabletl, and died here on tlio 20th of October, 1804. "The eucftiiipiiioiit of the Firet Regiment, to which thia company woa H-v^igned, wan, wiiile in the State, a ruthcr pleasant affair, Bonietliing in the lino of a picnic. Tliis was the experience of all the reyimento. TIio food was good, every man liad n phite, knife, and fork, the tents woie clean, beds were furnislied 1 1 hK-0[> uiH»n, passes were fre<iiient, the uui- fomis were new. and there wvtf plenty of admirers. After leavinp the Stale and getting into the tleld another and an entirely different order of thinjirs developed, and the progress to it was riomewhat like falling down HtJiire. There was but very little applc-«ance in the fiehl, and scarcely any cologne, while the nnin who had a knife and fork was looked upon with considembic snapieian. Straw ticks gave way to bare ground, and shoo blacking to stono bruitics, and if a man had a whole crown to Ilia hat ho flattered himself that he was d..ing very handsomely liy the government. When the news lenched the Seventt-onth Connecti- cut, reclining in the frozen mud of Cliantilly, Va , of the complaint of a newly HI rganized regiment at home that only one bundle of straw was given to each nmn, very heavy gloom settled upon Chantilly, and may be there yet. All the misery of wur is not confined to the baltle-tield, although that appeals to bo the generally received impression outsiJe the army, " The FiiBt Connocticut left New Haven for Washington on the 0th of 3Iay. Gen. Scott's comment upon it was brief but to the point. He said, ' Thank GihI, there is one regiment un bund n-ady for service !' "Early in the morning of July 'ilst the regiment went to the front, and Danbury received its baptism of flro in the war of the Union. All that day the regiment was marched and countormarched In the multi- tude of changes in itoeitioii, and much of the time it was subject to a severe Are from the enemy, but came out of that dreadful dijykster with ■cftrcely a mark. The only loss the Danbury company sustained wa« the capture of two of its members, Alfred H. Hoddinott and Isaac N. Jennings. "The regiment was mustered out of the servlro on the 31fit of July, and the Wooster Guards were given a jiicnic reception in Jnmoe Nichols* woods, in Great Plain District, on Saturday, August 3d, at which there was great rejoicing and an unlimited supply of sandwiches, in Ciinnccliou with music, jvoetry, and pies. "Within ten days from the departure of the Woostor Guards for New Haven n second company for three months' s^srvice was formed and ready to deport. This was on the 'iOth of Apiil. The organization wiut called the Danbury Kille (Vnipany, and was commiindcd by the gallant antl lamented James E. Moore. His first lieutenant was Samuel (i. JJailey, and his second lieutenant Charles H. Hoyt. Lieut. Hoyi resigned six weeks later and F. W. Jackson, a sergeant, was promoted to the vacancy. The company was nnisteicd into tho United States senico us Company C of the Third Regiment, and numbered Boventy-soven men. The de- parture of this Itmly of citlzon-soldiora was sfgnuUzcil by a general ont- IKJui ing of the petipio of Danbury. The company was escorted through tho village by a »]iirited cavalcade, and at the roil way -it tal ion there were ' elabotale preimrations f.ir an enlhusiaslic: send-off. A platform was ! i-rected, wlihh was na>unt**d by the clergy, wlio tired tin- hearts of tho volunteers and uthcrs with new zeal, and a band of music added to tho electriciiy. Tho com|Miny depaitetl amid u volley of cheers and a buret I of music, while the air was whito with tlio waving of handkerchiefs mnist with tearw. I " Ah, it is something to have lived in Ihoao days uf dcliiium! ' "The company was muslcrcHl into tho survico on the 14th of May, at | Hu'tford, ond on tho 2Jth of that month left the Slate for Washington. | "The Diinburj- Uillo* bmk uu acllvo part in tho Inigedy of Hull Run. The regiment was ex|»osod to a severe fiic, and acquitted itself most creditably. From its ranks Dunbury oflen-d her flmt living sucrilico. This was John R. Maii«h, fourth sergeant uf the com|>any, a name that liea<t<t Diinbury's list of martyrs in ttiu war for tho Union. He wiis vtnu-k and ktlU-d by i\ piece of flying shell. Privalo A. K. Branson was made a prisoner. "Of the Rifles Bovenil aflerwMrds rendered distinguished scrvico in other citmnmnds. Chief was the gallant captain who crowned his unsel- flsh devotion by yhdding up hia life at the head of his coni|>Nny on the Mood-tntunitiHl fiehl of Gi-tlysburg. Theie also Unmnon gave up his life, dving by the hide of his leiflvr. Cori*. Milton Daniels and I'rivate Henry tinivii IxH-ame captains of the I>iinl>ury comiVLuy in the Seventeenth. "The Itifles returned to Danbury on We Incsitny evening, the 14th or August. OnSatnnlay.tho 174^ they were enteitHined by ■ grave dining at CHI Mill, and by B|>eeches and music in Concert Hall. "1 have B»iJ that there wms CJn^iJelltble demuuatrBtion when (he Rifles went away. lu tho escort on that day was a company of young men whose very hot blood found some expression in tho impulsively sug- gestive title of Zouavus. Tlie Zouaves numbered sixty members on that day, and they aveniged nearly six feet in stjituro. They were In some ret-iwcts the most remarkable body of men sent to Ilie war from Danbury, The larger i>ortion of them were the full-bloo<led and high-spirited boys of the period, full of Life and dash, and a crcnlit tu the eiist side of Main Street any afternoon or evt-ning. Tlie Zouaves became Comjiany A of the Fifth Regiment, and were the first company of thi-ec-yoars* men to go out from Datibur^'. 1 think the author of that rather vigorous poem, 'Tramp, tramp, tramp, tho buys are marching,' nmst have been a member of the gallant Fifth. Nowhere else Could he have gut more liispinttion. Colt's facb>ry was to have fur- nished tho regiment with revolving arms. Nature gave them their revolving legs, and never before or since was Nature more gODerans. No bo»ly of men from Danbury equaled this company in the extent of ser- vice. TU'iH i» a distinction indei-d among a number of bodies no one of whom bi-ought discredit uikhi our dear old town, and nii«it of whom were subject to sevoro tests of physical endurance and courage. '•The Zouaves were commanded by Capt. Henry B. Stone, the liouton- ants wore James A. Bottd, firvt, and William A. Daniels, second. They loft Danbury for Hartford on the 10th of May. Tlic demonstration made over their departure exceeded that made on either of tho preceding oc- casions. Nearly all the Zouaves were well known and well liked in this community, and they had a large following of friends. It was the biggest day Danbury witnessed in that Vidumc of big days. >Iany of you re- member it. There were several locjil organizations in the line of march through tho village. One of them wits the Home Guards, another was the Union Cadets, u third the Anderson Guards, which was comjKtsed of Irish citizens. In nddilijn to these wore the Are companies. Most of the Zouaves had ' run with tho machine,' and ran with itouthusiastically, too, you may be sure, and so the Are-lads wore out in force. Then there were the village bniss band and u long line of horsemen. Twenty ycan> ago Danbury didn't think it couhl parade with any decency whatever unless it was u-stiaildlc of a hoi so. There were tho ringing of the bvlb. the discharge of cannon, the stniins of music, flights of orator>\ and cheers tliat made the checror^ hoarse for a week after. What added a deep significance to tho atTair was tho prusjwct that the juirting was ti> be ft)r a much longer period than three months, and to tho hearts of thos*- left behind, shivering in the verj- glory of tho parade, three months looked long enough, looking forward to it. Well for those poor souU bravely fighting d<-»wn their pain that they could look no further into the future than they did ! "The company was originally designed to apply to tho three m >nths quota, but bolV>re its muster-rxdl was complete<l the quota was full, and it was then a choice with them whether they would cnrvill for Ihn-*' years or stay at home. You will readily comprehend how sovcio a tost to their zeal was this choice. But they were equal ttt it, as they proved themselves to Ihj equal to every lent tho military genius of friend or fw subjected thorn to. " The Fifth left Hartford on tho 20th of Juno for the seat of war, or rather for the war-juWA, for it was a regiment that saw but precious few op|K>rtnniiies for lilting tlown. In the years of iti* service the regiment marched over Afteen hundred miles, at one lime being i>n the move for nineteen cousocullvo days,aiid nmrching liioncday the unusual ilintauce of forty-five miles. It took in more scenery than any other regiment fitmi Cunnocllcut. It began in Virginia and braught up in North Caru* lino, by way of Tonnopece and Georgia. Tho only reason why it did not seo the Yosemito Valley wiis because there ImpiH'ncd to bo no fighting there. It fought eleven battles, among them Iwing t^cdar .Mountain,— whore it met its heaviest loss, — Chancellornville, and Gettysburg. Six of tho Zouaves were killetl outilgbt or were fatally wounded, and nine- teen of Ihem otherwise woundeil, Of the original com|viny only tlirce dioil In thosorvicoframdisejuio, which shown the supcibtr physical condi- tion of the men. Perha|)« nocomfmny fiom Danbury witnessed so many changes In its ofTlccrs as did the Z^'imves.