The Civil War Memoir of Sgt. Christian Lenker, 19Th Ohio Volunteers

By Judith A. Kennedy and Michael Barton

The Civil War Memoir of Sgt. Christian Lenker, 19th Ohio Volunteers, was originally published as a series of 174 articles appearing from 1912 to 1915 in the Pottsville (PA) Evening Chronicle. The authorat that time a physician practicing in nearby Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvaniahad been invited by the editor to describe his service fifty years earlier in an Ohio regiment fighting in the western theater. Composing his articles from field notes and letters, Dr. Lenker tells in great detail his regiments fighting at Shiloh, Stones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Picketts Mill, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Lovejoy Station, and Nashville.

The editors, assisted by students, have transcribed and edited the memoir from the only surviving newspaper articles. They have also provided annotations and written introductory essays.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499067804

Judith A. Kennedy

Judith Kennedy, M.A., M.S., is a counselor at Samaritan Counseling Services in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She studied psychology at Millersville University, her great grandparents’ alma mater. She also studied religion and depth psychology at Syracuse University. She has taught English literature, philosophy and religion at other schools. Judith’s poetry and essays appear in The Atlanta Review, Mythopoetry Scholar, Poem, Friends Journal and other publications. Her home is alongside the Susquehanna River, where she lives with her husband Glen and their dogs. Prof. Barton received his doctorate in American Civilization at the University of Pennsylvania in 1974 and has been a faculty member in the American Studies program at the Pennsylvania State at Harrisburg for over four decades. His Civil War scholarship includes the books Goodmen: The Character of Civil War Soldiers (Penn State, 1981), The Civil War Soldier: A Historical Reader (NYU, 2002), co-edited with Prof. Larry Logue, and The Civil War Veteran: A Historical Reader (NYU, 2007) also co-edited with Logue. Besides The Civil War Memoir of Sgt. Christian Lenker, 19th Ohio Volunteers, he and his students have also edited the previously unpublished regimental history of the 209th Pennsylvania Volunteers. Prof. Barton has also edited numerous Civil War diaries and letter collections for academic journals.

Book preview

Christian Lenker Remembering

By Michael Barton

February 24, 1912, on the threshold of his seventieth birthday, Dr. Christian Lenker began providing a Pennsylvania newspaper with a memoir of his service as a Civil War soldier. The Pottsville Evening Chronicle was proud to announce publication of the series of articles, for Dr. Lenker was one of the most prominent and honored citizens of nearby Schuylkill Haven, a small town on the edge of the state’s coal country, about 60 miles from Harrisburg. Lenker would have much to tell readers about the war, for he had been an enlisted man in the 19th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Company H, from 1861 to 1865.

Memoirs such as Lenker’s were published in the form of articles, addresses and books by a multitude of veterans around the turn of the 20th century, when former soldiers were in their 60s or 70s. Indeed, the personal memoir, along with the regimental history, became the soldiers’ characteristic forms of literary production. Civil War scholarship relies on them today.

Lenker’s greatly detailed reminiscences were based on a diary he kept and expanded after the war. He also included sections of reports, which may have been taken from the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, published from 1880 to 1901. He included several personal letters, too. He continuously relied on his own memory, particularly his recall of emotionally charged experiences. He mentions other sources he consulted, such as Samuel Watkins’ famous personal account, Company Aytch, Samuel P. Bates’ five-volume History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, and Edward Pollard’s three-volume Southern History of the War, perhaps a surprising source, given its pro-Confederate purpose. One suspects, however, that his readers in Pottsville and Schuylkill Haven were not concerned with documentation. Rather, we can imagine them simply wanting to hear about the town doctor’s adventures.

Lenker explained his motivation and his manner of writing at the outset of his first article in the Chronicle. Referring to himself in the third person, and using the elaborate humility thought proper at the time, he wrote,

He aspires to no literary form or polished style, and well

knows his own limitations. He claims no ability as an

historical writer and never had the means or leisure tobecome such, but, while resting under the shadows of his seventieth mile-stone, for his own enjoyment, and diversion of mind, he took advantage of odd, disconnected hours, at long intervals, to describe, in cursory manner, his every-day experiences and recollections of over four years of active service in the Rebellion or Great Civil War … .

As for their coming appearance in the newspaper, Lenker explained that "… while talking to the publisher of the Chronicle, and telling him what the author had written and what he intended to write, the proprietor made a friendly request to permit him to publish it. Consent was given upon condition that unsuitable parts should be omitted. As stated above the articles are personal and were intended for the family, only."

We can wish those unsuitable parts would have been retained in the articles, but such was the importance of privacy and discretion for Dr. Lenker.

The newspaper’s printing of the first installment of the memoir did not begin auspiciously—someone at the Chronicle got the author’s name wrong, announcing that Dr. Charles Lenker Starts Civil War Reminiscences. But perhaps that mistake also reflected a certain mystery about Lenker’s actual first name. He identified himself consistently as Dr. C. Lenker; his office letterhead referred to him that way, and even his obituaries identified him as C. Lenker. Did he simply not prefer the first name Christian, or did he have other reasons for avoiding its use? We do not know.

After that initial editorial blunder, the series took off, and the articles were published regularly on Saturdays for the next three years, the last installment appearing on June 19, 1915. Lenker’s reminiscences, including the newspaper editor’s commentary, amount to nearly 800 typed manuscript pages, or over 213,000 words. His writing was a considerable accomplishment by any standard.

The 19th Ohio Infantry Regiment was first organized for three month’s service on May 15, 1861, then for three year’s active duty on September 25, 1861. At the end of that period the regiment re-enlisted again and joined Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman in his Atlanta campaign, then went with Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas to the fighting at Nashville. After the war the regiment was sent to Texas for over six months. The 19th Ohio was finally mustered out in San Antonio on October 24, 1865, over four and a half years after it was originally organized.

The War Department’s records credit the 19th Ohio with participation in the following battles:

The battles Lenker covers in his articles do not match up exactly with the War Department’s listing for the regiment. He missed Shiloh and does not cover Liberty Gap or Rocky Face Ridge. He includes additional actions at Perryville, Wauhatchie, Peach Tree Creek, Ezra’s Church, Jonesboro, Spring Hill and Allatoona. We don’t know how to account for these differences, beyond saying that Lenker appears to have written about what he knew.

According to the American Civil War Research Database <http://asp6new.alexanderstreet.com/cwdb/cwdb.help.aspx?dorpID=1000381602>, the regiment lost 15 men at the battle of Shiloh in April 1862. Lost includes men killed, wounded, taken prisoner, and missing. In its most severe action at Stones River, Tennessee, in December 1862, it had 28 killed, 37 wounded, six taken prisoner, and one missing. An earlier report states that it entered the battle of Stones River with 449 men and lost in killed, wounded and missing, 213, nearly one-half, but those statistics are probably not as reliable as the Research Database. Stones River was one of the Civil War’s costliest battles; it had the seventh-highest number of casualties (23,515), just behind Shiloh (23,746) and just ahead of Antietam (22,717). At Chickamauga, Georgia, in September 1863, the regiment had five men killed, 22 wounded, nine taken prisoner, and one missing. Chickamauga had the second-highest number of casualties among Civil War battles.

Most of 19th Ohio’s engagements, according to the War Department’s listing, were in 1864—at Pickett’s Mill, Georgia, in May, losing 23 men; at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, in June, losing 15; in the Atlanta campaign in July, losing seven men; at Lovejoy’s Station, Georgia in September, 1864, where seven men were lost; and finally, the regiment participated in the battle of Nashville, Tennessee, in December, 1864, where one man was wounded. In all, the 19th Ohio lost 184 men—counting killed, wounded, taken prisoner, and missing—in these 16 actions. Another source says the regiment lost over 500 men in battle, but that figure is questionable.

The Research Database counts 1438 men who were enlisted or commissioned and 211 who were drafted into the regiment, totaling 1649 soldiers. Seven officers and 104 enlisted men were killed in battle or died of wounds; 6 officers and 162 enlisted men died of disease; 34 were taken prisoner, 16 of them dying in prison. In sum, according to the Database, 295 men died one way or another, which was 18% of all those on the regiment’s rosters. Men disabled in the war tallied 235, or 14% of the regiment. In other words, one-third of all the regiment’s men were either dead or disabled when the war was over. This was a highly active regiment in a highly active theater of the war.

The bulk of the Lenker memoir gives a bird’s eye view of the regiment’s actions over the course of the war. In this respect, it is a traditional military history. The key words here are position and movement. Lenker constantly gives the reader the locations and directions of troops, both Union and Confederate. He writes as if he has maps and records in front of him. For example, he gives this overview of the scene prior to the battle of Chickamauga:

On September 18th, in the evening, the armies lay in close proximity to each other; the Confederates on the east side of the Chickamauga River and the Federals on the west side, but owing to the forests and dense undergrowth, neither commander knew the exact position of the other one’s army. Bragg’s forces, however, were the most compact. On the 17th, our left flank was south of Lee and Gordon’s Mill, Thomas on the right of Crittenden, and McCook up in the Cove, to the right and rear of Thomas, having Stevens’ and Cooper’s gaps behind him. Bragg kept his pickets and cavalry in close touch with our line and knew that our army lay south of Lee and Gordon’s Mill.

Lenker’s reminiscences are also instructive, however, because he provides close-up observations of his own and his comrades’ experiences. In this respect, the articles resemble the new military history. This is especially true of the last third of the articles, when he says he is done describing battles. His letters also contain interesting anecdotes. His descriptions of events and persons are myriad, and in this limited introduction we will point out only a few of them.

He could sometimes be depressed by the fighting and at other times be stimulated. Of the death of his comrades at the battle of Stones River, he writes I felt so entirely sad and disconsolate that I positively wished that I were sleeping beneath the water. Yet he exclaims that the battle was a splendid spectacle, and the sight fascinates. Of another battle he is proud to say not one straggler lagged behind to sully the magnificence and perfectness of the grand battle array. But of the fighting at Chickamauga he notes, I shall never forget the terror. He wonders, Who will have to die tomorrow? Will I be one of them?

He remembers the gory details of combat, when leaders are shot out of the saddle, comrades right next to him are killed, and cannon balls destroy men. He observes the bodies on the field and notes the stench of wounds, but, interestingly, he never uses a physician’s clinical language to describe these matters or even his own sickness.

Lenker condemns the barbarous and brutal conduct by the Rebels at one point, and he is angry when he hears that the Confederates have danced on the U. S. flag. But he can also show respect for them, and he is impressed by their bravery and chivalry. We almost learned to love them, he remarks at one point. He recalls that temporary truces were sometimes arranged with the enemy, and then a warning shot would be fired before the fighting started again. He says of the southerners, A few minutes ago we were friendly neighbors. Now we shoot to kill.

He pays attention to slaves, freedmen, and black soldiers, particularly in one section on Negro Lore and Philosophy. He is convinced that slavery is a curse. Near the end of the narrative he describes without prejudice a wrestling match between a Negro and an Indian. When in Texas he comments on Mexicans often, going back and forth between caricature and respect.

Lenker mentions more than once to his readers that the veterans have earned their current pensions, and he is offended by criticism of their benefits. In one article he brings attention to them by asking What is a Veteran?

Perhaps the most puzzling feature of the narrative is the way Lenker decides to end it. One would think he might offer a moving summation of the meaning of this destructive war or at least his soldierly role, but instead, because his memory was hazy, he closes by quoting from a comrade’s unremarkable letter—if memory serves me right, every one paid his own transportation from Columbus to his home, writes Thomas Brierly.

His memoir is not atypical. It covers the topics we would expect, and it touts no shocking disclosures. The author is more learned than most writers of this genre, paying more attention to strategy and tactics than campfires and shoes. He seems to be thinking seriously about the war rather than reacting strongly to it—almost as if the subject were a patient that needed diagnosis first and empathy second. We watch the writer grow as a leader, especially after he is promoted to sergeant and given responsibility. He is partisan, naturally, but he could not be accused of extremism. He supports his commanders and his comrades, but his analyses are not greatly defensive. I see Christian Lenker as a medical professional, a community leader, a descendant of pioneers, and a proud veteran who was composing for his fellow citizens an authoritative and extensive account of events both cataclysmic and personal. Hence, not only was he displaying the war, but he was also on display too. His completion of those daunting tasks was a victory in itself.

Judith Kennedy brought me her great-grandfather Lenker’s memoir in the fall of 2007. Her husband, Prof. Glen Mazis, who is also my colleague at Penn State Harrisburg, had first told me about the existence of the document and Judith’s desire to see it in print. She showed me Christian Lenker’s newspaper articles that had been scanned onto a compact disk. I told her that this very lengthy memoir could be of some value to historians and that I might be able to convince some students to work with us in preparing it for publication. She agreed and began to write an introduction to the memoir. I was able to recruit two PSH American Studies graduate students, Darrel Showers and John Beistline, to study the document and see if there might be an easy way to convert the scans to a Word document. They tried, but we concluded that the entire text would have to be transcribed by hand. Darrel and John began that labor themselves, and then the PSH students in my Civil War course in the spring of 2008 made their crucial contribution to the Lenker editorial project. At my invitation, they each transcribed a portion of the original scans. They are, in alphabetical order, Jenna Carpenter, Kristin Campbell, Lynsey Douglas, Melissa Flynn, Reynard Frenz, Wendy Graham, Belinda Hahn, Benjamin Hoover, Brent Milchak, Cuc Nguyen, Harry Nusser, Lonnie Nusser, and Heather Still. Sarah Hopkins, a graduate assistant in the PSH School of Humanities, was also willing to transcribe text as part of her duties in the School that spring. Melissa Flynn, a very enthusiastic student from my Civil War class, continued working on the original manuscript in an Independent Study course. She proofread the entire transcription and researched Lenker’s life in Schuylkill Haven, using the resources of the Schuylkill County Historical Society. Our final contributor was Paul Miller, an American Studies graduate student at PSH and a Civil War battlefield guide and scholar. He provided some annotations for Lenker’s articles and also did research at the Military History Institute at the Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. All these students deserve the title of co-editors. Without them, this project simply could not have been accomplished.

Lenker’s original memoir exists today as his articles that he cut out of the newspaper and pasted on top of the pages of an already published book. This form of book recycling was not an uncommon way to construct a scrapbook at the turn of the century. There is no original hand-written manuscript of Lenker’s memoir that we can find, and the original issues of the Pottsville Evening Chronicle for the years 1912-1915 no longer exist. The issues cannot be found in any newspaper archive, nor are they preserved on microfilm, microfiche, or any other form. So there is no master copy to check this version of the memoir against; we could only transcribe what was before us—a copy of a copy of a copy. At the same time, it could be said that the document we worked from had the essential characteristics of an original manuscript—it is the only version of the text in existence, and the author, at the end, proofread it for accuracy.

Our team’s editorial policy in transcribing the original newspaper articles was to make mainly the necessary changes. We wanted modern readers to see the articles generally as the first readers did, although without all the typesetter’s blunders. Surprisingly, for all the detail in his hundreds of pages, Lenker did not usually give dates or even years for the battles he witnessed or described. One article, for example, was titled New Year without mentioning the year. Therefore, we added, when needed, new, more descriptive titles to the articles for the reader’s convenience. An additional advantage is that now the revised table of contents has a more discernible chronology.

We have kept the newspaper editor’s commentary that preceded the articles because that was part of their context, and it was often informative. Where the document’s spelling was improper or distracting—most likely the typesetter’s fault—we corrected it without note, in the interest of readability. The original articles were overloaded with commas; we have not attempted to completely minimize these, only deal with them when readability was an issue. Lenker himself made corrections to the articles in his own handwriting in the margins of the scrapbook, and we have tried to follow his changes where they were legible. The newspaper edition has quotation marks at the beginning of each of Lenker’s paragraphs, probably to indicate that it was presenting the articles as the author wrote them and to underscore their authenticity. We have retained these marks because we consider them indicative of the newspaper’s original concept. Small parts of the articles were impossible to read because the print was not clear or because Lenker snipped off words when he cut the articles out of the newspaper to paste them into his scrapbook. Here we note [missing words] or [?] if they were indecipherable. Sometimes we use [sic] or [illegible] if needed. In any case, the editorial challenges we had with the original articles did not make this project impossible, even if they were sometimes frustrating.

In sum, our primary purpose in editing the Lenker memoir was to preserve it, and we have done so with pride and gratitude.

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The Lenker Memoir as it appeared in the newspaper

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[Handwritten note by Lenker]

Whoever reads this book will find many mistakes … all of them were made by the typesetter, and neglected or overlooked by the proofreader. A few are due to the author, and most all are corrected and noted in the margins of the pages.

The manuscripts were written at the age where life is uncertain, hence in a hurry to get over the ground, and very little time was taken for careful review or correction. The facts, however, are true history.

C. L.

The manuscript contains about 263,000 words. This book approximately the same.

1

DEPARTING FROM HOME

Dr. Charles [sic] Lenker Starts Civil War Reminiscences

To be Published by the Chronicle, in Serial Form, Every Saturday—Inside Details, Not Found on the Popular Historical Page, Will be Recounted from His Remarkable Personal Experiences—First Installment Today

The Chronicle today begins the publication of a recountal of reminiscences of the early life and Civil War experiences of Schuylkill Haven’s prominent and most esteemed practitioner, Dr. Christian Lenker. It is a complete record of personal impressions and happenings. The story of the succeeding events and incidents, the battles in which the author participated, and many other interesting features are sure to keep you entertained and whet your desire for the succeeding installments as they appear, Saturday after Saturday. Dr. Lenker’s splendid description and his pleasing style of writing, with his full details of the great war between the North and the South, promise you a rare treat and an opportunity for perusing personal memoirs that carry you up, in their general interest and tone, way beyond the often dry and uninteresting historical page of the many popular publications taking up the great struggle for the preservation of our Union.

The first part of Dr. Lenker’s private history he has written under these heads—Preliminary—A Trip West—In Search of an Occupation—At School—Enlisted in the Army—March to West Virginia—Campaign. It opens as follows:

Contents

"The author has not written this introduction as an apology, but as an explanation why he should permit succeeding articles to come before the public in the Chronicle. He aspires to no literary form or polished style, and well knows his own limitations. He claims no ability as an historical writer and never had the means or leisure to become such, but while resting under the shadows of his seventieth mile-stone, for his own enjoyment and ‘diversion of mind,’ he took advantage of odd, disconnected hours at long intervals to describe in a cursory manner his every-day experiences and recollections of over four years of active service in the Rebellion or Great Civil War, with the intention of laying away in some unused drawer or serviceable box his manuscripts as a legacy to his children, there to rest during generations to come, and to be resurrected and read by anyone who may have sufficient curiosity and interest to do so.

"But, while talking to the publisher of the Chronicle, and telling him what the author had written and what he intended to write, the proprietor made a friendly request to permit him to publish it. Consent was given upon condition that unsuitable parts should be omitted. As stated above, the articles are personal and were intended for the family only.

"Many of the details may be monotonous, uninteresting and apparently trifling, but they were recorded to give every phase of the soldier’s life, not as seen from high positions of rank or through a field glass from a hill top or a mountain summit, but as seen and experienced from the entrenchments near the enemy, and the skirmish and battle lines, as well as in hospitals and every day duty, wherever ordered.

"The first few articles may not have enough of blood and carnage, and may be seemingly puerile, especially to those who ‘smelled the battle from afar,’ and who now call the old veterans ‘government robbers.’ But let such check their ardor, and later they shall have an abundance of detailed tactics, fine strategy, and a surfeit of ‘the plumed troop,’ ‘the big wars,’ ‘the neighing steed,’ ‘the shrill trump,’ ‘the stirring drum.’ ‘the ear-piercing fife,’ ‘the pride, pomp and circumstances of glorious war’ with nothing to extenuate or exaggerate, but the unvarnished tale may go forth for what it is worth in ‘rude speech’ and little blest with the soft phrase of peace, not for fame or gain, but simply to tell in plain, everyday language, the story of the boys from 1861 to 1865, not courting praise or caring for criticism.

Sketch of Dr. Lenker

"My father died when I was about four years of age. He left me a small amount of money and a large share of combativeness. Several years afterward, my mother married the second time. The husband was generous and open-hearted, but in some respects a second ‘Wilson Micawber.’ [Ed. A reference to the character named Wilkins Micawber in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. The substitution of Wilson for Wilkins was probably an error by the typesetter.] He was always waiting for something to ‘turn up,’ and also the arrival of my mother’s interest, coming from a dowry left in this form, which he spent regularly and promptly, and, finally, when the principal was paid over, he invested it in a fool enterprise in which every dollar was lost. My older brother left home, to go to work on farms, and, later, to learn trades, and, at the age of fourteen, I became restless, and imbued with a spirit of adventure.

"A guardian had been appointed over us. I decided to go West, but he and my relatives opposed it and refused to furnish any money. I borrowed twenty-five dollars, promising to pay it back with the first money I earned and I fulfilled my promise, promptly, at the first opportunity.

"I started for Forestip [Forest?], Illinois, then a little frontier town in the northwestern part of the state near Wisconsin and Iowa. I walked eight miles across the prairies and went to work at eight dollars a month. I worked two years, eight months each summer and went to school during the winter—three months. These two years were among the most pleasant ones of my life, spent associating with the few and generous-hearted boys and girls of that community. There were tens of thousands of acres of prairies unimproved or untouched by the hand of man or civilization. These prairies were in their primeval beauty.

"In the spring, the grass sprung up in the richest verdure and the landscape presented the appearance of a vast Turkish carpet, adorned by myriads of flowers of varied color shapes and sizes. It seemed like some great ‘Garden of the Gods,’ a paradise of beauty. Thousands of prairie chickens gathered in the evenings before sundown near a slough or ravine where water abounded. The cocks erected the neck feathers and dragged their wings over the ground, making a rumbling noise like distant thunder. The air was vocal with their noise, and they strutted about in varied movements with their mates and companions like fairies in a dance.

"The cattle ranged free to go at will in any direction or any distance they chose. In the evening, the farmer boys started out bareback on the shoeless horse in the stable. There were no stones. The meeting of two or half a dozen generally meant a horse race over the soft, smooth and level plain.

"All of us became daring and reckless riders as we trained like the Indians or Arabs of the desert. There we breathed the free, open air.

Fremont, the Rocky Mountain Pathfinder, had been selected as the first standard bearer of the new Republican party. I lived with a rank Breckenridge advocate, but became an ardent admirer of Fremont, and his and Lincoln’s principles. [Ed. In May of 1842 John C. Fremont was authorized by the government to explore the Rockies to open an overland route to the Pacific Ocean. Fremont became known as an anti-slavery candidate for president. He lost to James Buchanan in 1856. John Breckinridge was Vice-president under Buchanan and a presidential candidate in 1860.]

"Upon my return from Illinois, I remained in Pennsylvania, the next year, working on a farm, during the summer, and going to school during the winter, and three months the following spring.

"After this my guardian and I had some differences. I was living with him at the time. I quietly purchased a fifty-cent, black oil-cloth hand satchel or grip, and during the following night, I packed my meagre worldly possessions and decamped.

"The Northern Central R.R. was not built at that time, so I took the stage at Millersburg, on the Susquehanna, and journeyed to Harrisburg. After arriving there I hunted up an old boyhood companion. He inquired where I was bound for. I told him I was on my way to New York or Kansas, I could not decide which. My intention was to go to New York, and hunt up Horace Greeley, and secure a position to learn printing. On the other hand, the ‘John Brown War’ had given me a desire to go to Kansas. [Ed. A founding member of the Republican Party, Greeley was editor of the Jeffersonian and the influential New York Tribune, which he used as an anti-slavery platform.]

"Finally, my friend said ‘Stay here, and try to get a position in one of the printing offices, and in the evenings, we will take lessons in the boxing school.’ The latter appealed to my desire, so we started out and visited every printing office in the city and at the last one there was an opening. We made a bargain and I was to begin work in the morning. I returned to the hotel and went to bed but could not sleep. It occurred to me that when my folks at home would hear of my whereabouts, they would come and take me home.

"I rolled around in bed in misery, trying to make up my mind what to do. Finally Kansas got the upper hand in the mental struggle. I believe this was the only time that I defaulted an agreement. It may not have been a great loss to the other party. In the morning, the rain was pouring down, and, as I looked at my grip and trudged through the city towards the station, it reminded me of the story of Ben Franklin’s first appearance in Philadelphia.

"Nevertheless I bought a ticket for Canton, Ohio, in which to stop off and see my brother, whom I had not seen for a long time. I arrived at his hotel, before daylight, and, when he came downstairs in the morning, he passed through the waiting room where I sat reading a paper, neither one recognizing the other. However, he turned around and looked at me, and, on close inspection, we knew each other. He immediately asked for an explanation of my sudden appearance. I gave him some evasive answer, but he invited me into the dining room with him. Finally, after breakfast, I told him why I had left and that I was on my way to Kansas. He inquired what I wanted there, and how much money I had. I responded I had ten dollars when I left home, but spent about seven getting so far.

"‘A nice sum of money to take you to Kansas! How will you do it?’ ‘Oh, I will get in the car and ride until they put me off, then wait for the next train and get in again, and when the railroad men refuse to let me get on again, I will walk.’

"I believe I would have been the original first hobo, and that traveling fraternity never knew what they lost, and the army and medical profession what they gained. My brother persuaded me to listen to reason and common sense and get rid of my vagaries. I took his advice, and he accompanied me to the Repository office. Thomas Saxon, Mrs. McKinley’s father, was publishing a paper then, and my brother said that he and Mr. Saxon were warm friends, and I might get a position, but there was no vacancy and we went to the Republican office. The proprietor told us that there was no position open, but that he would discharge ‘Tom’ Fitch, who was very disagreeable and disliked by all in the office. I told him I could never accept a position under such circumstances.

"So this and the Harrisburg affair show what a narrow escape I had from becoming a ‘printer’s devil’—and probably a poor one at that.

"My brother then offered to send me to school and let me pay him when I could, but I refused, telling him that I had started out to paddle my own canoe.

"I then got work in the ‘Buckeye Reaper and Mower Works,’ hard work at eight cents an hour. After continuing about three months, I reconsidered my brother’s generous offer and accepted it.

"I went to college at Mt. Union, Ohio, and matriculated. This was a co-educational institution to prepare teachers or confer college degrees. Most of the students rented rooms in the village houses. The President of the college owned a number of houses, and I rented from him. He placed another young man about my age in with me as a room-mate. He was decidedly the most vicious and depraved young fellow whom I ever met. He was repulsive in person and manner.

One day I was sitting on a chair studying at the table. He told me to get up and give him the chair. I paid no attention to him, so he took hold of the chair and tried to pull it out from under me. I jumped up, got him by the throat, and choked him until he rolled up his eyes and became dark in the face. I dropped him and went to the President, and told him to give me another roommate or another room or I would leave the school. He put me with another one who was an improvement, but so vain and egotistical that no one liked him. He was eternally harping about his lineage and ancestry. I was a little, slender, Pennsylvania Dutchman, with few facilities or surroundings up to this time to aid me in acquiring English.

2

LINCOLN’S CAMPAIGN AND THE POLITICAL CLIMATE

Interesting Narrative of C. Lenker Continued

In This Installment He Finishes His Recountal of His School Experiences and Relates Incidents of Ante-Bellum Politics— Enlists In Civil War and Marches to the Front

In last Saturday’s issue, the Chronicle commenced Dr. Christian Lenker’s interesting memoirs, taking up his introductory preliminary, a trip west in search of an occupation, and at school. Today we publish another installment referring to his enlistment in the army for service in the Civil War, and his marching away to the front to participate in the West Virginia Campaign. It is as follows:

Westfall Is Overbearing

"Westfall, while in his room, in his actions, constantly tried to impress me and others with his assumed superiority over me, and my supposed inferiority. I resolved to bide my time and opportunity to teach him a final lesson. One day, when the bell rang, he took the key, went out of the room and locked me in, taking the key with him. The result was, I missed my class and recitation. When he returned he tried to make sport of me.

"I said `Wait, young man, you have gone the limit that’s all.’ A few days afterwards, after a dismissal in the afternoon, four of us boys began to pitch quoits. A score or more of students stood by and watched the game, among them Westfall. I made some remark which may have had a little brogue to it, when he turned to the crowd and sneeringly imitated me, or tried to do so sarcastically. I saw my opportunity—a good crowd. I jumped in front of him, rubbed my fist under his nose, and said, ‘D–- you, retract that or I will knock you down. He turned pale and apologized. Then I said, ‘And if you are not satisfied, take off your coat, and I will give you a coat of arms for your family. I will put it all over your face and make it look like a lobster.’

He made another humiliating apology and the boys sent up three hearty [missing text].

"Another fellow, Clem P–-, kept cheers. That cured him [missing text] annoying me. He claimed to be the champion wrestler and said that he had thrown everybody. One day, he approached me, in front of the post office, which was opposite his father’s store. He halted me, and said, ‘I want to wrestle you.’

"I told him I made no claims in that line, and he should go away and not bother me. He said, ‘You must.’ ‘All right, if it is a must.’

"We clinched and I picked him up and threw him upon the curbstone, and let my full weight fall upon him. I threw him with the ‘hip’ upon the stone. He walked with a cane and crutch the greater part of three weeks.

"Joseph Rue was my next roommate. He was a farmer boy. We concluded to board ourselves. He did the cooking and I fixed the bed and kept the room swept and in order. We never were hungry, but if I were to tell the people, of the present day, that we lived upon 60 cents a week they would hardly believe me, but it was a fact. It was in Jimmy Buchanan times too. Potatoes could be bought for 20 to 25 cents per bushel; butter from 10 to 12 cents and eggs from 8 to 10 cents. Apples were 12 cents a bushel and a loaf of bread, equal to three of our present day loaves, could be purchased for six cents.

"A sister occasionally brought him a lot of produce. She was a fine example of robust country product. She might have been a prototype for a ‘Highland Mary’ or ‘Maud Muller.’ (Ed. References to poems by Robert Burns, the Scottish bard, and John Greenleaf Whittier.] Joe was a splendid boy. He seemed to be a mental prodigy. Only sixteen years old, yet I have met few persons who were better informed in history and geography.

"He was a most ardent admirer of Stephen A. Douglas. The schoo1 [was] strongly Republican and Abolition. I saw him stand up and debate alone against three or four Republicans and never come out of the contest the worse for it. On these occasions, he dressed in his Sunday’s best and presented a unique appearance. He wore a stand-up collar, a ruffled shirt, such as I, years afterward saw worn by Judge Brewster, and a blue swallow-tail coat with large horn buttons. There he stood, defiant, with a splendid store of knowledge, a never failing vocabulary of words and almost faultless delivery. I still recall his magic eloquence and historical facts, as he debated about the Crusaders, and depicted in vivid language the bones and skeletons which strewed the plains and battlefields around Jerusalem and Acre.

"He and I had many friendly political duels in our room. It was during the campaign of 1860 when Douglas and Lincoln were candidates. He could be no stronger advocate of Douglas than I was of Lincoln. Fifty years have passed since these men were rivals and I doubt whether either had an equal since. They were mental giants and the untimely death of both was a world’s misfortune. In that terrible struggle, which so soon burst upon our peaceful country, deluging it with blood, flowing from the wounds and bodies of its noblest sons, Douglas and his youthful admirer remained loyal to the American flag.

"Mr. Douglas was one of the first men to come forward and offer, in any way possible, to aid Mr. Lincoln and the cause for the Union. The youthful Rue shortly enrol1ed himself in one of his state’s best regiments and fought heroically under the Lincoln Union Banner. Afterwards, he and I met for the first time on one of Georgia’s bloody battlefields.

Bitter Feelings Engendered

"During the campaign of 1860 for president, politics engendered bitter animosities, and political parties pushed their curious beliefs to the utmost tension. The Republican Party was well organized and guided by able and determined leaders. The opposing organization was not less evident. Speeches, flag-raising and marching clubs deemed to be the principal events of the day. Mt. Union College, as stated before, was strongly Republican and the students of that faith decided to raise a pole and flag in the public square of the town. They procured a fine pole with a suitable flag. The hole was dug to receive the pole and ropes and tackle were applied for the purpose of raising it.

"The Democrats sat on a nearby fence, quietly watching and talking in an undertone. After everything was ready, we made a united effort but all in vain. Our opponents put on an exulting smile or grin and of course we could not ask them to help us. We were undaunted and re-arranged our ropes and the position of man, and, in one mighty, prolonged effort, we raised the pole and sent ‘Old Glory’ floating to the breeze, from its top, high in the air. Then the air was filled with a long reverberating shout which afterwards seemed to echo on many a bloody battlefield amidst the dead and 1iving Lincoln’s boys in blue. On the night before the election, about an hour before the results were known, a destructive storm swept over the country and broke off about one-third of the pole and it and the flag fell to the ground.

"The superstitious said, ‘That is an omen of Lincoln’s defeat.’ Others prophesied that it meant a separation of a part of the Union. Some of us may have had unpleasant forebodings, especially when states passed ordinances of secession. During Lincoln’s journey from Springfield, Illinois, to Washington to become the lawful ruler of this great nation, he stopped off at Alliance, ten miles from Mt. Union, for dinner. Many of the students and citizens went to the station to see him, I among them. There were thousands of people, all determined to get as near him as possible.

"One of my room-mate’s principal arguments during the campaign, that Lincoln would never be president, was that he was too ugly, too homely, that he looked like a gorilla, etc. By the way, this was a favorite epithet among the Rebels and Copperheads [Ed. Southern sympathizers in the north]. I usually replied that Douglas would never get there because his legs were too short. Douglas had a long body but very short legs.

Lincoln’s Expressive Face

"I wormed my way through the crowd so I could touch the steps which Lincoln had to descend while making his way to the dining room. When the car door opened, as soon as the people could see his face, a united cheer from thousands of throats made the welcome ring with loud acclaim. The first glimpse made an indelible impression upon my memory which will never be effaced. That gaunt, tall figure and haggard face, the angular, spare body, enclosed in a dark suit, not fitting, or seemingly not fitting.

"Above all was that face, which, once seen, could never be forgotten. There was something deeper than the exterior, something magnetic, transfigured, attractive, a benevolent and spiritual face, which seemed to make one feel as if it were the face of a friend, whom one had known for years. Lincoln was not ugly.

"With him was Colonel Ellsworth of the famous Zouaves, who, I believe was the first union soldier to lay down his life on Rebel soil. He was shot at Alexandria, Virginia, on the stairs of a hotel by the proprietor when Ellsworth was coming down with the Rebel flag which he had taken from the roof of the house. The assassin was immediately killed by one of Ellsworth’s men. Besides Ellsworth, there were others among them, as we were informed, General Hunter and Senator Ben Wade. About these latter I am not sure, but I recognized Ellsworth.

"The people called for a speech and this is what he said: ‘My friends, I understand there is a turkey waiting for us in there in the dining room which needs our attention, and should I make a speech, we might get to Washington too late for the inauguration.’

"That was the only time I ever saw Lincoln and I never regretted the few miles walk to see him. Only a short time before, the Prince of Wales, the late King Edward of England, passed through the same place while making a very popular tour of the United States. I walked the distance to see a president-elect, but not to see a future king of the greatest empire in the world.

"Lincoln addressed large assemblages of people at various cities on his way to Washington. His speeches were temperate, conciliatory, hopeful and patriotic. Little did he dream of the bloody drama which would soon be enacted, and in which he would be compelled to be the most responsible [missing text]ctor, and that his life should be sacrificed by the hand of a traitorous assassin, just as the dawn of victory, peace and a united country was showing its glimmering portends.

Traitors Against Government

"As state after state was driven into rebellion and attempted secession by traitors, many, or most of whom were drawing pay from the United States government, or had been educated in its naval and military schools and were holding commissions in its army and navy, public opinion throughout the north crystallized into a determined movement.

"At school, the post office was thronged after every mail by students waiting for the daily papers describing the latest developments and acts of the traitors. Arsenal after arsenal was taken by State troops in rebellion. Immense quantities of arms were captured and navy yards, dry docks and millions of dollars worth of property were destroyed. Lincoln was not yet inaugurated, and the government existing at Washington seemed supine and paralyzed. Some of the students could study no longer, but, at the first opportunity exchanged their books for muskets, rifle and sword. After the firing on Sumter, three of us resolved to leave school and enlist. We started on our way to a recruiting office. Enroute, we met the president of the col1ege, and he inquired where we were going.

"We told him told him we were going to enlist. He tried to persuade us to turn back, but we refused. When he found that his appeals had no effect, he threatened to mark us in the catalogue as expelled. Even this had no effect. The other two enlisted at Alliance and I took train for Canton to tell my brother that I had left school and was going back to Alliance to enlist. He said, ‘Our artillery is waiting every day for orders from the governor; go back to school; wait till we are called and then go with us.’

"It was near the end of the spring term, 1861, and I went back. School ended and no call, and I, like many of the students, went into the hayfields to help a farmer make his hay. Near the end of June, when I was on top of a load of hay, in the field, a horseman rode rapidly toward us, and when he got near, he said the Governor sent a message for the Canton artillery. I prepared to jump down upon the ground, but the farmer’s son said, ‘Finish the load and get your dinner before you go.’ I did so and then walked to Canton and put my name upon the roll.

"The organization had been in ex[missing text] for years, but was not [missing text]tery having only one gun [missing text]ns had been captain and [missing text]-lieutenant. A num[missing text] at home and the officers [illegible] did not wish to go, that they should say so, and their names would be dropped from the list. Quite a number were dropped and in a few hours we filled the ranks with new men, who did not believe in Fourth of July soldiery, but real fighting soldiers. We took train for Columbus, Ohio, where we were mustered to the United States service, June 28th, 1861, and immediately started toward what is now West Virginia. We drew horses and equipment after being mustered into service and then were consolidated with a similar company under Charles A. Cotter. Previous to the consolidation, our company went under the title of ‘Capt. Wm. S. Williams’ Independent Company Ohio Artillery.’

Mustered Into Service

"We were mustered at Camp Chase, and I shall never forget the fear which took possession of me on that occasion. I was a slim, slender boy, rather tall, and feared very much that the mustering officer would reject me on account of my light weight. Two circumstances occurred which mortified me very much. They were remarks made, one by the mustering officer, and the other by a smart street urchin, boot-black or paper boy, likely. We wore the local ‘ginger-bread’ uniforms used by the members of the company during times of peace. The hats, in shape, size and weight, reminded me very much of the ones which were worn by the Hessians when King George sent them over here during the Revolutionary War and as pictured in our geographies and histories. The mustering officer scanned us with a keen eye, then said, ‘Ho! These are no soldiers, they are only dressed as soldiers!’ It hurt our feelings, but the truth of it was realized hundreds of times after over four years of marching, drilling and fighting, under such good disciplinarians and fighters as Buell, Rosecrans, Thomas, Grant, Sherman and Sheridan. It takes more than uniforms to make soldiers. One hangs awkwardly upon a ‘tenderfoot.’

In our company was a heavy member weighing about 220 pounds and well built. The little urchin viewed him admiringly, then said to the other boys standing by, ‘Gee Whiz! What a fine looking soldier he is!’ Then, turning his attention to me, ‘Oh! Look at this fellow! He is thin and as tall as a match!’ And the grins which were on their face nearly took all the ambition and patriotism out of me. My examination was not rigid and when the mustering officer said ‘You pass, and I stood with uplifted hand and took [illegible] a solemn oath to defend the flag and constitution of the United States. I felt it was the happiest and proudest moment of my life, and no soldier under the banner of Sparta, Greece or Rome ever could have felt prouder than I was."

3

ENLISTING IN OHIO

Dr. Christian Lenker Tells of Early Army Experiences

Takes Up, in Interesting Vein, the Initial Engagement in Which His Command Figured, His First Impression of the Awfulness of War When He Looked Upon Comrades Killed in Battle

The Chronicle publishes another part of the recountal of Dr. Christian Lenker’s experiences after 1eaving school and enlisting for the service of his country in that long internecine strife between North and South, commonly known as the Civil War. The portion of his memoirs which appears in this issue pertains to the West Virginia campaign, dealing with the early training of the soldiery preparatory to the splendid service which they were to give Uncle Sam amid smoke and bullets on many battlefields, until the dove of peace would again be welcomed by the reunited nation. Today’s installment follows:

"Many of us had not drilled at home, as we had not been original members of the company during times of peace and Fourth of July parades. We were raw—extremely raw—and know nothing at all about military tactics or military duties, but most of us were patriotic and willing to learn. There were a few low characters who were notoriously insubordinate, unprincipled and intemperate and proved themselves cowards at the first opportunity.

An Auspicious Start

"It was a beautiful summer day as we loaded our horses and guns on the cars. The golden wheat was waving in the sunlight, or had succumbed to the reaper and the sheaves gathered into shocks in the fields.

"Along the road, as we passed, groups of women and children waved their handkerchiefs and men and boys their hats. It seemed, indeed, that the Goddess of Peace was smi1ing upon everything, and yet, as we left behind our smiling friends and were moving toward the enemy rapidly we began to realize that sooner or later we would be engaged in the clash of arms and war, in reality. After leaving the cars, we marched some distance to Gallipolis in southern Ohio on the Virginia border. There we drilled every day, first learning the parts of making up the guns and caissons, also to 1oad and fire. The majority of the men were intelligent and desirous to learn military tactics and manoeuvres and acquired the simplest elements and rules rapidly. In a short time we were taught to loosen the guns and wheels quickly, throw them on the ground, and then drop beside them. Then, at the word of command, jump up, replace the guns and wheels, and fire a load. We could do it in half-a-minute. This was mostly for fancy show, but in the case of battle, when out of ammunition, and under the enemy’s fire, it was sometimes practiced until ammunition could be procured. In this way, sometimes under a raking fire, the guns and men could be saved when the firing was temporary.

"After years of experience, it was indeed amusing to know how little this country knew about war and military training and discipline.

Placing of Cannon

"As an instance, one of our guns was posted hundreds of yards outside the guard-lines on a high elevation. A tent was placed near the gun for the cannoneers to guard it. This was conspicuous and could easily have been seen by spies or scouts, solitary and alone, with only these men to guard it, but the most ridiculous part was that the guards had no revolvers, carbines, or rifles, but ancient broadswords, such as were carried by foot soldiers in the time of Julius Caesar.

"A single enemy might have made his way stealthily in the darkness, shot the guards, and spiked the gun before assistance could have come from camp.

"One night, a fellow by the name of Kynett and myself were placed on guard over the gun. Physically, he was a fine specimen of manhood, young, strong and robust. Morally, he was a thief and a gambler, and, in danger, or apparent danger, a coward. We heard a noise in the bushes below, and Kynett, without folding his tent, silently stole away. He deserted and never was heard from again. It was the nearest he had been to the enemy.

"This camp at Gallipolis was the first experience I had with an organized body of men having the appearance of a small army of arms.

"With us was a collection of fine looking men, healthy and mostly young. They constituted the Eleventh and Twelfth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the First and Second Kentucky. There was a troop of cavalry and [illegible] own artillery. I should have mentioned the Twenty-first Ohio.

Advance Upon the Enemy

"On the 17th of July, the Second Kentucky, Eleventh Ohio and Twelfth Ohio, and one of our guns, crossed the Ohio River into Virginia and advanced upon the enemy, camped at Scarytown [sic], about four or five miles above us. They had thrown up entrenchments and had some artillery behind them. Our men attacked and got rather the worst of the affair, having 9 killed and 38 wounded. This being the first engagement created considerable excitement in camp when our forces returned, bringing with them the killed and wounded. [Ed. Also known as Scarry Creek, Scarrytown, or Scary, this battle was fought in contemporary Scary, West Virginia.]

"To the most of us, this was the first experience of grim, earnest, real war. I can yet see the dead as they were carried from the boat by their comrades, wrapped in army blankets and laid side-by-side on the river banks. Then came the solemn funeral dirge by the band during their burial. One of our most popular young men was among the slain. He was struck in the thigh by a cannon ball.

He Wasn’t a Coward

"As happens generally with green troops and officers, there is want of military knowledge and discipline, and in the least disaster criminations and recriminations spring up, so in this affair, owing to the want of experience, these men, while marching back from the battlefield, fired into each other, owing to the darkness of night, killing and wounding a number. The members of the Twelfth Ohio accused their colonel, [John W.] Lowe, who had command of the expedition, of being a coward. His regiment was also along. They claimed that during the fighting, he remained in the rear, behind a house. Whether accused justly or unjustly, the criticism wounded his feelings and honor, and in the very next battle, Carnifex Ferry, he fell dead with a bullet in his head while leading his men in the engagement. [Ed. More commonly known as Carnifex Ferry, this battle was fought on September 10, 1861 along the Gauley River in modern day West Virginia.]

"Undoubtedly, he exposed himself rashly to prove that he was no coward. He was apparently about five feet seven inches tall, with gray hair and a refined face, indicating culture and education. I do not believe that a man of his age, standing and attainments would have offered his services if he were a coward.

A French Adventurer

The colonel of the Eleventh Ohio was a little Frenchman, an adventurer by name Charles Deviller. Up to the experience of the Rebellion, the American people looked upon foreigners with too much awe and confidence in military affairs, and our army became flooded with them in commissioned positions. Many of them proved themselves fakes," and some of them scoundrels. Deviller never returned again while the regiment was with us. I learned that he was dismissed from the service later.

"There were very good and able men among these generals, like Carl Schurz and John Turchin, who was highly educated in Russia and had been an officer on the imperial Staff. He became an American citizen and died at a very old age in Illinois. Deviller was left in camp during the Battle of Scarytown, but without permission he and two other officers mounted their horses and rode right into the enemy’s lines, not knowing that our men had returned. All became prisoners.

Advance into Virginia

"When we began our advance into Virginia along the Great Kanawha River, the Rebels abandoned their positions without opposition. We were under the immediate command of General Jacob D. Cox. He was a splendid-looking soldier, tall, erect, light hair and fine blue eyes. He was a man of polished manners and liberal education, and had good, common sense, knowing how to handle inexperienced, volunteer soldiers. Our marches were made in easy distances and were not very eventful, except a few occasional, random shots at the rear guard of the enemy, and just below Charleston, we came up to one of their steamboats. We put a few shells into her and she went into the water, the men getting away, having the boat near enough to shore at the time to save themselves.

"The Rebels were under command of Ex-Governor Wise of Virginia. He did nothing but run from the time we got after him until he was superseded by his Co-Rebel and thief, General Floyd.

"Our boys began to sing:

Old Governor Wise put the spectacles upon his eyes,

But we took him by surprise,

And sent him to the happy land of Canaan.

The boys were free Americans and not mercenary soldiers. Most of them were well-informed as to our public men and politics, and knew what Floyd had done as a vile traitor while under oath of the U. S. Government and yet a member of Buchanan’s cabinet. They knew that he and his conspirators had robbed the arsenals of the northern states of arms and materials of war and placed them in convenient southern arsenals, to be seized by the Secessionists at the earliest possible opportunity. In many places they had done this before Lincoln was inaugurated, before a United States soldier had crossed into any southern state. Lincoln said, ‘If we shall have war you must make it.’ They did make it, and then whined, ‘We want to be let alone and govern ourselves.’ Who had ever attempted to interfere with their state government or laws?

"No responsible statesmen of