they did—that dhu the work. . . . Wud fifty seasoned sodgers have taken Lungtungpen in the dhark that way? No! They'd know the risk av fever and chill. Let alone the shootin'." When the order came for the Seventeenth to charge, the regiment, indifferent to the enemy calmly waiting behind their stone walls and other defenses, rushed through the storm of lead with mad cheers, and forced the Confederates to retreat down the slope of the mountain. The regiment lost 140 of the 500 men engaged, but earned the proud title of the "Stonewall Regiment.

99 1

Three days later the Seventeenth was again des

1 With regard to the conduct of the Seventeenth Michigan in the battle of South Mountain, General O. B. Willcox, the division commander, says: "The Seventeenth Michigan, Colonel Withington, performed a feat that may vie with any recorded in the annals of war, and set an example to the oldest troops. This regiment had not been organized a single month, and was composed of raw levies." (Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume XIX, Part I, page 429.)

...

Colonel B. C. Christ, the Brigade Commander, says: "Supported by the Seventy-ninth New York, the Seventeenth Michigan moved steadily forward until they arrived within good range, and then opened a fire on the enemy with terrible effect, . . . driving him in the utmost confusion across the field into the woods, and capturing a number of prisoners. Under any circumstances the conduct of both officers and men of this regiment was worthy of the highest commendation, but especially so when taking into consideration that they were mustered into service as late as the 21st of August, 1862, and that this was their first engagement." (Ibid., page 437.)

General McClellan, the army commander, also says: "General Willcox praises very highly the conduct of the Seventeenth Michigan in this advance-a regiment which had been organized scarcely a month, but which charged the advancing enemy in flank in a manner worthy of veteran troops." (Ibid., page 50.)

perately engaged at Antietam, Maryland, in that useless attempt to carry Burnside's Bridge when the narrow stream could have been easily forded above or below. The success of the regiment in gaining the opposite heights was at a fearful cost in killed and wounded.

"It is often asked-" Burrows writes, "and I presume the same inquiry is made at home-why we did not advance after the battle of Antietam. The Rebels had been driven from every position they had taken, they had been defeated in two pitched battles, and were cowering under the banks of the Potomac. The whole of the Union forces had not been engaged, the soldiers were elated with their victories and eager to go forward, yet at the very moment when a word would have annihilated that whole Rebel army, not a gun was fired nor a man moved. For one whole day and night the Rebels were retreating across the Potomac under the very muzzles of our guns. Here the war might have been ended, but strategy forbade. The only excuse offered for this masterly blunder is that we were out of ammunition."

Unpreparedness! Had the North made ready for the civil struggle from the moment Fort Sumter was fired upon, victory would have been won within six months, instead of dragging over four awful years!

1 November 1, 1862.

It is the same cry from this youthful captain in 1862 which we hear from every experienced army commander in 1917. The sentiment of the people at large, even of loyal Republicans, was in hearty accord with the despair and disgust of the soldiers in the field. This letter to Burrows from A. A. Knappen, his law partner (December 15, 1862), is graphically illuminating:

From A. A. Knappen

God only knows whether I am writing to a live man or a corpse! Yesterday's news of the battle of Fredericksburg reached us, and it was of a gloomy character. It told of panic in Sumner's Division and terrible slaughter-eight generals killed. I hope the news today will be more cheerful—will tell of a brilliant victory for our brave troops, the enemy routed and broken, and their artillery and commissary stores captured, and Burnside, with "On to Richmond" inscribed on his banner, pursuing the retreating foe. This would make millions of loyal hearts throb with pleasure and pride-it would be a rather novel sensation! What! pursue a flying foe! Preposterous, absurd! When have we done as rash a thing as that? But once or twice during the war. But I will not complain to one who feels just as intensely as I do, and more too. I know you are confident of

going to Richmond, and I hope you will see the inside of it. But I confess my faith is oozing out by degrees. There is no head or heart to the Administration sufficient to grapple with a mighty conspiracy. I fear there is too much weakness at the bottom of the Cabinet. To tell the truth, I am mad at the President's Message offering to pay for all slaves, whether belonging to Rebels or loyal men! There is the Major Key for you! Distrusting the power of our armies, and the same infernal regard for the sacredness of slavery! I would give more for the little finger of a Jackson or a Douglas in such a contest as this than I would for the whole President and Cabinet of today. Lincoln is weak, and Seward uses him to suit his great strategic purposes. I tremble while I hope for the best. The people here are getting more and more disgusted every day. The whole thing looks like child's play or a farce. There is so much vacillation and hesitating about measures until the golden moment has sped. It is enough to make one weep tears of blood. We know the soldiers want to do their work thoroughly and well, so that they can come home and rest easy, but politicians and speculators wish the war still to continue-and it hangs fire. But enough of this grumbling. I am satisfied that you must feel what I can but poorly

express.

Burrows closes his own letter last quoted with the following comment: "On the 26th inst. Burnside's Corps crossed the Potomac near Point of Rocks, and we at last stood upon the soil of the Old Dominion. The 'Grand Army of the Potomac' is in motion, and if it is defeated the soldiers are not at fault. McClel

lan has not yet crossed, but there is great activity along the Potomac, and we all hope that this is at last advance, and that our generals in the field and the apologists of treason at home will simply let the soldiers go forward. They will deal such blows upon the heads of this rebellious crew as will make all rebeldom resound with one universal shout for mercy."

After the battle of Antietam there was no active service of importance until the bitter struggle on December 13 at Fredericksburg, where the Michigan Seventeenth was again in the thickest of the fight. The severity of the campaign forced Burrows into the hospital after Fredericksburg. Suffering from exhaustion, he had become reduced in weight to eighty pounds, and he was granted leave of absence to recuperate. He writes home from Seminary Hospital, January 9, 1863: "I am going to 'walk the Halls of Congress' some day this week. You may look in the paper for a big speech if health continues to improve!" Happy augury!

my

Could he have fore