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Civil War Resources

Title: Address to Reunion of the 130th Pennsylvania by John Hays II

Date: 1908

Location: MC 2001.1, B8, F5

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LADIES, GENTLF.MFN, COMRADES"

It is a pleasure for us old Comrades to meet

again in reunion. We all drank fro the same canteen. We all endure

th~ same hardships . The same shot and shell passed ove1· all ct u ,

out gaps in our ranks, wound .d or killed our Gomr~dea. ow a.tt~r

many years have gone by we meet onoe more to recall the tragic scenes

of our early m nhood days. Two generations have grown up to ~all

maturity; an we ""urvivo...-n cf tho p~st tre patriarchs now. A brief

review of wh3t we did tn the nine months of oux service ill show the

rank our loved Regiment attained. On August 19th, 1862, the )30th

Regiment of P nneylvan·a Volu teers, wtthout a oo is.1one field or

~taff Officer and un~er he comma a of a Captain, actin~ as Colonel,

marched down Pennsylvania Avenue from Capitol Hill in Washington out

to and over the tong Bridge into Virginia. As ua passed oo~n the

Avenue the men sang the Halleluiah Chorus with a volume ot sound that

made the elkin ring. At the first reunion in Sharpsburg, aryland,

long after the war, that Chorus was adopted as the regimental song.

968 men m[).de that m rch. Four others, our surgeons and a seoond

chaplain subsequently joined, making th aggregate of the Regiment

972 Officers and men . or those 972 stalwart men and youths. about

722 hav orossed the River and joi ed the at joritJ leaving about

260 su~ivors, or one fourth ot our original aumber. f.hr out ot

every tour en have di • We w nt through th Xs.r.yland Campaign.~

On th 30th 4 1 after th maroh down Penn ylT 1a A"f'enue ' · on I'

September 17th, 1862, just 46 year ago, we passe through tbe »attle

ot Anti t • in front ot "Bloody'Lane", and h lped to g1Te th t

sunken road 1t famou !he Oaptain t t led the Regi t down

Penn ylvania Av nne led it through that t rrit1o 1 aghter at Bloo47

Lane. !rh folloWi:ag Jlolldq we mov 4 to Bo11"f&r ~B, Ha"Per'

rerr,. Lat r on we roaee4 t ~ lloah Ri"f r . aroulld th head of

Loudon Heights. and on 4own arrent on Where we saw

Fro

Deo :ber 13th, 1862. There w lost th o pt in th t ba4 1 d us

through Washington and Anti t • theh lmown as th brave o lonel ot

lighting Regiment - Colonel B nr.v I. Z1 - killed ae h rallied his

e around the Jlag. lro Sept. 7th until o 4 ys at r the Battle

ot Antiet we ~ad onl7 suoh shelter as the sky bove gave. Later on

shelter or dog tents w re issued to the , and ·with head and fe t

stioking out the shelter they gave ~ae taroio~l. On e v ral ooo sion

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,, we t~d oure lvee in the morning blanketea unde~ everal inche of snow.

'!he n1gh1 we reached the he18ht above rr d. ·J't.otsburg fro Belle Pla11l.

Captain Porter, ot Company "A", and I bunked together. We oraped the

now ott t e bud froseh gx-o\Uld. :tor it had become very cold during th

dar, put clon gum blanket, to.l4ed our blaakete on it • oove:recl all w1 th

a ponoho an4 then crept in betwe n the blaDke·ts. Captain Porter was

xhausted bJ the long day's arch through d ana lush t first and

then over the frozen ground and snow. He el pt all night like a log.

I kept tu~i g to get the oolder stde a littl warmer. After that

night while he lived pin run into the side he slept on was unt lt by

the Oapta.i , and that fact carried through the pr1.vate Aot of Oongr s

b7 whioh his widow was given a p ns1on. Fro~ Falmouth as our ter o:t

service was expiring we went through the move on Ohano lloraville and in

the even~ng of saturdaJ, ay 2nd, through the fleeing Dutch Corps - the

12 - to meet and stop the advanoing torces of Stonewall Jaokeon. That

night we slept on our arms in the Woods to th& right of the ·plank Road,

. and west of the Chancellor Rouse. and in the earl7 morning were in the

battle ot Kay 3rd, 1863. Three w eke thereafter w .were baok in

H rriaburg. and changed by Dnlster ut trom Soldiers into private

Citizens. Our service was ended and th 130th_Reg1ment ot P nnsyl-

vania Volunteers ceased to exist as part ot the Union Army. ·!J!he

recital is a simple one. »ut on that nine onths' trip fro Harrisburg

back to Harrisburg the way was full ot tragedJ, and suffering with

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\ interludes that w re jolly and ooaioal. Don'~ you reme b r how

retre h1ag tt was to drink out ot the toot print of a hor e 1 a

muddy place in the road? Did you ever aste sweeter thing than ~

raw ear ot green oornT Row delicious piec of raw flitch tasted.

!h n oocastonall7 we feasted on roast young pig, ohiokena ~ even

turkeys captured on the wayside. Do ~ou r e ber th loa~es of bread

flying through the air on raw Jovember afternoon trom sutlers

wago , and ret not a man 1n the br1gade could b found whe had gotte

as oh as a crumb ot that waso . load ot brea~. !her~ was onlr one

artiole of food we did not heater tor. Do you re e ber it • .desiccated-

dried ~eget bl. e o~lled it 4 eeorated veg_table and turned tro it

in disgust. Then the trag . · scenes on the field ot battle, the ,;:..

awful carnage, our killed and aimed oo rades when w were doing what

we ooul4 to preserve the Union, How all these thing oome baok to

us when w think over that nine months tr1p. o would part fro

his reoolleot1one ot those darst o would 1ve up hi share in what

our old Regi ent did? At what a oost 1 w e done. Our killed and

wounded in action,. upon the bas1s ot ~. Bat s report in h1 ~Ri tor.r I

of P nnsylvani Volunteers" where he puts tt as 2~6 at Antietam •. was

445 men kill d and wounded,trom data 1 _, possession it was 394, and

I believe trom the ott1o1al 1r~~~~ the ott1o1al

report ot the Battle ot Ant1etamJ\ W de our loss 1n that Action

178 men killed and wounded. That is the ott1c1 1 loss as shown in

\ th War Department in Washington. ~t we did not include the slightly

wo~ded men who remained with the R giment. In a priTate letter

written at the time our ott1oial loss was given as •reported - 1V8 -

but was qualified by the statement as to those slight17 wounded having

been omittea from the official Report. MJ estimate of the killed and

woun4ed in that one action 1s 240 against the 296 of R1 tor1 Eatea

and the 178 of the oft1oial report. Ther tore we r within bounds

when we give the number of our killed and waunaea as 3 4 en. Those

who ere killed 1n. aotion or died troa wotin4s were 1n the proportion

ot one to ever, sixteen en in the entire.9V2 th Regiment uuab r 4.

In the entire Armie of the U ited tates the a~e tor the entire

war was one to every twenty-tiv men. our peroentag ot killed in

aotion and died trom wounds in nine months was 60 per oent greate~ ,

than the average of all the ArmJ in tour 7ears. We were justly oalled

"a fighttDg Regim nt". But when our loss is ooapar d with the number

ot men we toot 1ato .,aoh aotioa the oarnase w were bjeoted to

b oo es trighttul. 01t'ing to a o p guard left beh1 4 at Camp llax'07

aear W shington, those 1 oepttal, those ab ent oa apeotal detail,

and those lett behi 4 beoau e ot sio s oll the maroh through

K&r,Jland, with those who remained ia the ooratiel4 we did not r aoh

Roalett s Rouse at Antiet where the President ot our Regtm ntal

Aeaoo'iation to-dar was the first one ot our en to be wounded, with I

more than from 400 to 450 en. Ot tho e we lost !40 1D till 4 and wouaded

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- about 60 per oent. At Frederick burg we took into aotion about 160

meu. Our lose in killed and wo 4ed was lOV. - about 60 per o nt. ne ,

Company of 13 men lost 12 in killed ana wounded. fhat un~uok7 13t an

is still alive and kicking. At Chana lloreville we had about 120 men

nd ~ st 4V - about 40 per oent. Our av r g loss from th n ber ot

en taken into otion during the nine month w s about 53 p r o nt. You

y wonder at the comparatiTely small number of our m n aotuall7 engaged.

An incident will illustrate thft r on for it. About t n d~e r two

weeks aft r Antiet when we were on ~ol1TaT Heights. n order oame

down fro Corps Headquarter• to det 11 Col. Zinn • who bravery in

action and that of the Regim nt had attracted attentio .. with 400 m n

of th 130th for a pecial aut1 that required oo and ooolnees. I

carried the detail from Brig d Headquarters to Col. Ztnn. R aid 1

was an 1 possibility to tur.ni h &Dlthing r 400 n from the Reg1 ent.

Special duty and the Hospital had depleted it. fhe matter was fixed

up by taking the required number from the three Regiments in the Brigad

with Col. Zinn in oomman4. A 1milar detail tor dang roue dutJ w s

subaequ ntl7 Ae with Ool. Zina de 1gnated as the Oft1o r to

Did we 1ntl1ot corr eponding ana oo p neatory lo upon the e e for

the lo e we suatainedT Dr. 1stler 1 hie address at tiet four

7ear ag sa7s th Regiment was et 11 d to bury the de d at Antiet

~b7 rea o ot ita having inourr d the displeasure ot 1t Brig der".

In behalf ot the Regiment I repudiate the a eertion. or so oause or

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other on the arch through ryland the Regi ent and it Colonel

incurred the displeasure ot Gen'l. Sumner i oo and o~ the Corps.

One evening Capt. Porter and I oall d on Gen'l. Sumner, who waa well

known in Carlisle an~ to us. e overheard him say to Gen'l. renoh

who command a our Division, "You will hav to ateh Col.· Zinn and his

Regiment. They require to be taken do ." .Antietam put Col. Zinn

and the egim nt up not down. Fighting R giments do not wear the

ispleaBU!'e ot oonmumdi tf1 r • It is the other wa7 ro nd.

The Re iment as detailed two day after the battle to bury th~ r bel

aead on de ignated portio ot th field. I wae specially eta1led

by a Statt Ottioer ot General oCl llan to keep the reoor~ ot the

number buried and report directly to htm. We buried the aead on our

bri aae front on Bloody Lan and i the tront ot part of the Ir1 h

Brigade on our lett. A record w kept and the r port was made.

In writing home on Sept. 22nd, 1 62 - a lett r till preserTed -

an aooount was given of this burial of th dead on the front of bout

halt a mile ot the line ot b ttle and the number ot aead rebels

buried was over 5oo; So 7 r ago the lat C pt. Landis and hi

wife, my wite and I drove from Hager town, l7lalld to eharp burg to

attend reunio ot our Restm nt. e pa sed· 11 tle Ohuroh Yard

in the outskirts ot Hagerstown whioh was al ost tilled with se 1-

oiroul r ro ot little head stone • Oar driver said the Cont~te

were burt d ther - that h had a

" dead at outh Mountain and Antiet

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oontraot from the Stat e ot Virgini and Maryland to burr th dead ,

there. He had lived near the b ttlefield and had vi wed th battle

from one of the neighboring hills. He was toll of our burial ot the

dead, that our first trenoh was ver,v near the Bloody Lane on Roul ttes

Far-m covering nearly the front of our Regiment. and that my reoolleotion

was we put about 180 bo~iee 1n that trench. He referred to a memorandum

book ana said that he took 220 bodies out ot that trenoh. He mew

every trench th t oould be recalled to him and g T the nnmber of

bodies take from eaoh.. The aggregate of bodi&$ he took up and buried

in that churoh 7 rd approxtm ted 5000. Any one ho ever sa Bloody

Lane as the tide of battle left 1t, where the mo~ument to our Regiment

tande on the aide ot that lane, could pprec1ate the oYerwhelming

injury our Regiment helped to intliot upon the enemy.. The dead bodies t

were two and three deep 1n that sunken ~oa~, . ana i' wae almost

impossibl to orosa it without stepping Oil bodies. It waa a

fearfUl eight and attested th bravery ot the men in blue and ot the

men in graJ. With our Regimental onument, reoted b7 the state ot

Pennsylvania, standing on that "Blood;y Lane•• our f e ae a fighting

Regiment can never die.

!o the 394 of our men killed and wounded in aot1on must be

added 26 w~o ~ied from sickness, ~disoharged because ot sickness

ana 17 discharged by special order we paTe a total of casualties in ' . ,, .

nine months in a body of 972 men of 646. At the muster out 632 men were

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pres nt while 34 more were absent sick or wounded, making 666 en

• altogether and showing a final loss ot over 300 men, or nearly one-third

of the entire Reg1meht. These figur s tell the story of the Regiment

and they make a record that we and our descendants oan be proud ot. ·

low let us turn to the Brigade. The new Regiments hurriedly

:torwarc!ed to Washington in August 1862, were thrown ~nto the ArJ;Jq of

.the Potomac Bl'ld pushed into th Jla17lancl C81Dpa1gn, About S pt. 9th,

1862, near Tennallytown, Maryls.n the7 wex-e ae igned to various llrigades

in the different !rm7 Corps. our Regiment was brigaded with the

14th Conn otiout and the lOath New York, all new Regiment , ana ormed

the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd D1~is1on ot the 2nd Army Corps. our Brigade

was not assigned a separate aommandinB office. · 1~e comman6 devolvftd

upon the ranking officer present.. The effect . of this wa~ thst wo

were unfortunate in our first two oomman~ers. . Col. Dwight orris of

the 14th Connecticut, . was the first. He was the most prominent

lawyer in Bridgeport, Conn. - he said so himself - an~ he w s a

. pompous man. He brought with htm into th Army a pair ot candle

etioke he said an ancestor~sn ottioer on the staff . ot George ashington-

used at the siege of Yorktown hen Oornwalli surr naered • . Poes1bl7

h brought them to show up his greatness, but they were not required

to show up his utter laok ot soldierly qualities and knowledge • . On the

march to Warrenton near Snickers Gap w ere ordered to go into Oamp

in close oolumn by Division - a tront ot two Compan1e at halt

Comp ny distance - Gen'l. rrench'e favorite w 7 ot camping on the rob.

The o}a r was given to Ool. Morris b7 Staff Officer. Th Colon 1

rode back to th leading regim nt - his own, the 14th Connectiout,-and

in loud tone oalled out "Colonel", th n he got x- 4 in the foe, ag 1

Colonel", till r dder, a third t1 "Colonel". then, Oh D8ZDD it, 70u

know what I mean, Bunch em. Bunch em. • He was nold Bunoh em" att :r

th8t, ana was about all he knew o~ Military matter • He suffered

from a peculiar 1 dy. It atfeot d h OJ?-17 whe a fight wa 1 the

air. At that same Snickers Gap ther was a ~oroe ot the ene d a

fight beoa 1mm1ne t~ He was o eiok that he h to take tuge in

a ne1 hb rin farm-house.. He lett 1D pr otioal oo an of the

Br1 ade for the night with orders to ee that ration d 81D1l~1 t ion

were issu d, and if a OTe was to b de to tum oYer the oomaan4 to

th ne officer in rank • . In the orning I went to the farm-house a.ncl

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~ old th Colonel th t all w e quiet, an that tbe· en~m.v ha 41 appeared tr

our front. He said he felt muoh batter t a.n he had expect d.. He

resumed command and we marched on to Warrenton and the to Jal outh

where the Brigade was ordered to !elle Plain with. Col. orris 1n

co He was in his 1 me~t sn4 we liY d well. Salt was the

edi of exoh~e with the JoJu:in7 R be tor turk 'J8, ohtoken . , sweet

potat e and tob ooo. W .11Te4 high he d:. quartaJ'a, and I guee

a good many ot our oomra~ lY d high also. :But ala • We were cr.rtlered

baok to Jalmouth an4, there were minors ot the oo iag ba tle .• flle malad7

ot the Colonel broke out again, and the command waa turned over to

Ool. o. B. Palmer, ot the 108tb Bew York, and Col.

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out of

the rmy because ot 111 health. Apart tro hi p ouliar lady 4

hio pomposity he was a ple sant good hearte gentl an, but no olater.

Col. o. H. Palmer ot th 108 Jrew York, w s our seoolld Br1ga4

Commander. He was a Vic.,-Pres1dent and Seore ary o~ The We tern Union

Telegraph Co pany. a v ry pleasant,g nial. elderly gentle an. He was

not soldier and he knew it- ~o att r deriokeb~g he r signed al o

~nd lett th r.my.

Our third Commander wae a soldier, ~ttate ot West Point

who had fought through the M xi u War, e ohiet ot artillery at

Frederi~ burg and had charge of the bombardment of that oity - Gener 1

Willi Har • e hould ha~e had hi tro the start. The o~ttoers

and me of the 14th Connecttiout, an lOSth ew York wer among the beet

1n the ehtire Division and with our own Regtment mad a eplendi~. bod7 of

n to whioh the 12th ew Jerse7, in Jattttar.y 1863, wa added. It was

a new .Regiment ana out numb~red our three old one • In oamp Gen '1. Hq •

after the routine work of the ~orn1ng, woula go o~er to Gen'l. French's

quarters. They were ola artillery oft1oers, and cronies. The General

would return about three or tour o'clock in the atter~oon lo ded to his

very lips, but from there up his brain was ae clear as a bell, ana· he

was e sober as a judge. On the maroh, or tn action he woul« not take

drop. Wnd r his command the Brigade was r lied upon at headquarters.

On ;.a.turday evening. Kay 2nd, 1863. when onew 11 Jackson was doubling

~· up the Dutoh Corps the Brigade was detached trom the Division and mas d

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to ;he right of the road and the rear ct the Chancellor House to be

in readiness for duty. There it recei~ea an order throu h Captain

Bronson, of Gen'l. Couch's Staff, who then nommanded the 2nd Corps, to

go to the front against the prot et and profanity of Gen'l. French.

We went up through the Dutch Co~s bu~ the advancing enemw had been

driven aok, .and the brigade we.a eiven a };IOSitivn in the third or fourth

' line to support the troop in front. Bow tor an unpublished taot in

regard to the battle ot ChanoelloreYille. About nine o'olook at night

or later I was e t down bf Gen'l. H ys to report woods road on our

extrem right 1 ading to the cl aring 1n the rear ot Ohanoellorsville,

and to ask if w ahould oooupy it in toroe. I tound east ot the

Ohanoellor Rouse Gen'l. Oouoh,. and some four or five other Generala.

among them Gen'l. · Hanoook, and gave .the moaaage fl'om Gen'l. Hays. , The

. matter was talked over, Gen'l. : Couoh see to heeitate. t Gen'l. Hanoook

advised that it be left to Gen'l. , Haye, aB he was on the ground and

would know what to do. : Finally Gen'l •• Oouoh instructed me to say to

Gen '1. Hays that Gen.' 1. 1lu t ter:f'ie ld, , Oh1e:f' of' Ste.:f':f' , hB& reported ~

road and woods as 1mpaee ble tor ~lfu!a~fii£'(d!'!:!!e~ ~ :-~e Qt h1a own Statt Ott1a re whe_re ~~· 1~_-. Hqe ooul b found

{f;K_~~· if it hould be necessary to · der~ ite e rl7 o Sunda7

morning that Staff Officer came up from General Couch to know who joined

us on the night. I as seleote to fi~d out and was directed to go on

foot as less ~angerous than on horse baok. I ran out to the extreme

right ot our Brigade. crossed the Woods road and ent a considerable

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distance b&J"OJlcl ·1t ~and to the front ot our position. Nothing ae seeD

or heard. We were· on the rlreme right ot the line, an« there waR

nothing to protect the position. Jnet ae I report ~. the first gnn of

that ~unda1 morning battle was tirea. When the opening eaunonr..«e haft

somewhat slankened we mounted and rode ·along tho 11n~ to take position '

with the 12th lew Jers~y Reg1ment then '!!or the first time under fire.

fhe mns~etry fire was .terrifio - some writers say the worst of tbe war.

At all evente it was one continuous roar eo that the eonnd of a nm.sket

shot ten feet away oould hOt be d1 t1ngu1ehe~. We wer~ in tbe third

or fourth line ~: o suppQrt the lin a in front, and it wae avarif unhealth

plaoe • . When.we were in rea~ ot about the center ot the 12th New Jersey

the General's horae was instantly killed, $l'lc! the General waR oa:ught under

him. Seeing aqu~ds of the Regiment breaking off ,, e;n(l_ knowing that the

14th Oonneotiout ought to be on the right~ 12th Bew Jeree7, I lett

another ?.taf-t Officer and the orderlJe to~ the Gneral up, I rode

forward to rally the retreat·i:ag eqll&ds, I elmost rode into the enemy's

line. All our lines on the right were taken in r~ont and !lan , and the

nemy was swinging around to our rear, all beoaus that road and woods

had been reported impassable for troops ana artillery. H1gh Of.ticera

41reoted Gen'l. Rays to disregard it, and the reauli was that ou• rigbt

was doubled up. It was ~ tight plaee to be in. I got out of it on

toot, but the General was captured. On the wa~ out ·z found a Br1gade

going in and infor.med its commanding Oft1o r in whioh 41reqtion the enemJ

aa oomi1'18 and how to taoe lila -m n. ·I• thzoew h1 anen j,ato 1111 at ono ·13 -

~ and possibly some of our men were saved from capture. I limped on down

to the Chanoellor House. and seeine G n'l. Hooker, Commander of the rm7

.. on the Porch, t odastly t~ld him in whioh direction the enemy was

ad·vanoing, and asked him 1:C h~ ooula sen4 more troops to that point.

Be asked wh t oommand I b longed to. H as told the Brigade of Gen'l.

Hays. The reply ~as, My God. is h! driven in.

in there. ~he enemy's rtillery h 6 gotten th range of that house.

It was getting pretty hot there, and I ltaped of~ to the field Hospi 1

rear of the Chancellor Rouse and into hioh that \1ooda Road led. The

movement of the enemy to our right was known tor several days. ife aw

it on Thurslay when we moved to the hill beyond Chanoelloraville.. It our

right haa been properly protected QS Gen'l. Haya practically suggested

the result might h ve been dift rent. this is long and round bout

way of telling you that onr Brigade was highly regarded in the peoond

Army Corps. It could be relied upon. Its commander wa& an able Officer,

and the Brigade was picked out from the Corps for dangerous duty.

Our ~ork was d ne. Looking back o er it can th en of the

One Runored and Thirtieth say that their duty was well done. We wer in

three battles of the ar where over 10,000 en were killed and oTer 66,000

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were wounded- an aggregate exceeding 75,000 men. · We helped to -bring

about the results ot the war - A re-united Country with co and1ng

position among the nations. In the 46 years sino we started on that

nine months trip from Harrisburg this land of ours has beoome th richest 14 -

and e Atrongest in the orld. It has been oe onstr ted hat

A government of the :people, by the people and tor thA eople shall

not :perish fro:n the earth.'' We helped i.n that groat work. de nd

our d cendanta h~ve a right to ba proud of it, anf e have b~en it

we are honored for it. From our young , &.Ilhood i1 u;ys · e havo grO\i, n

into Old men, and it iSH pleasu~e to think :rld tot lk OVer ho U'I.YS

of long ago, and wh t we then suf' ered .~.nd ·;vh t we i tor o· r Co· ntry.

As I a id to you four ye r.a a o, etannin in the sr..a o··r of

tha cnu:rtcnt Penn ylvan a, erected to our belovo Regiro. l t on the

border of Bloody Lan 1n r ard to t ~t honor so I s y now ot the

grouter honor w ha e in th rand Co try we helped save •

• :vhen th

..In the Gh1ning fter glo

night of death is nnar within each breast

'l'he feeble he rt

ill ell with pride at thought of honor gi en

The little p rt

We took ao long ago, ana tben from .eakhing

Life depart.

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