Clark's Scribbles

Into the Fray

He stepped into the spacious office. The woman seated at the large desk in the center of the room looked up. A faint smile. Her blue eyes sparkled.

The visitor said, “Tell the old man I’m here,”

“He’s expecting you.” She rose and stepped gracefully to the door behind her. Her red hair was pulled back in a bob. Her dress was plain but stylish – black with a white “V” over her chest. She pushed the door open and leaned in. “Sir, Major Clark is here for your meeting.”

“Send him in,” a deep, raspy voice growled. Clark strode across the room, stepped into the office and shut the door.

General Winfield Scot looked and acted weary. He was losing his battle for control of the war with the secessionist states. Scot had recommended former West Point Superintendent Colonel Robert E. Lee to lead the Union army. Lee had declined, resigned his commission, and joined the rebel army. George McClellan was emerging as President Lincoln’s favorite for the role.

There was a lot to be said for McClellan. He had graduated from West Point in 1846. He was second in his class even though he was the youngest. He went on to serve with distinction in Mexico, earning a promotion to Colonel. After leaving the military, he became a railroad executive. Several states wooed McClellan to lead their militia when Lincoln issued his initial call for troops in April 1861. He picked Ohio. Then he came up with a detailed plan for defeating the secessionist states. It looked good on paper, but to Scott’s practiced eye, it was too complicated.

The Old Man came up with his own plan. He wanted to use the 80,000 men who made up the newly formed army and navy to take control of the Mississippi River while blockading ports on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Newspapers derisively dubbed it “The Anaconda Plan.”

General Scot handed a packet of documents to Clark. “Major, General Banks needs reinforcements to set up a defensive perimeter along the Potomac. I am ordering these regiments to report to Banks at Harper’s Ferry immediately.”

“Yes, sir.” The Major saluted sharply. He pivoted and marched off to carry out the orders that would send men into combat.

##

The 28th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, the Goldstream Regiment, recruited by Colonel John White Geary, was one of the units activated by Scot’s orders. Geary had begun putting the Regiment together right after Fort Sumpter was attacked. He was still organizing his men when he received orders to report to Banks at Harper’s Ferry. His soldiers were mostly young and poor. They came from Philadelphia and nearby towns. Geary personally paid to outfit the unit with uniforms, rifles, and other equipment.

Young Tom Donal and his brother John were in Company C, a contingent from Philadelphia.

Early on Saturday, July 27, 1861, the Colonel marched his regiment’s 15 companies to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where they boarded vessels that carried them to Baltimore. Once they disembarked, they marched 70 miles to Harper’s Ferry in less than 24 hours.

By the time the Regiment reached Harper’s Ferry, Scot had retired and General George McClellan was in command of the Army of the Potomac. Major General Nathan Banks had been given command of the Department of the Shenandoah, which included the Maryland side of the Potomac River. Colonel Geary and the Goldstream Regiment were attached to Colonel George H. Thomas’s brigade.

Thomas should have been the senior officer. He had graduated near the top of his class at West Point before fighting the Mexicans and the Seminoles. He went on to teach at the Military Academy, where he became friends with fellow Virginian Colonel Robert E. Lee. But Banks, a career politician, outranked him because of his success in recruiting troops for the war.

Within days the 28th was deployed in a forty-mile defensive line from Noland’s Ferry to the Antietam Aqueduct. Picket positions were established every 400 yards where the terrain permitted. The soldiers also took over operation of the telegraph, post office, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Communications and transportation had to be protected.

The situation was precarious. Only the Potomac River stood between the Union forces and the Confederates. Maryland was a slave state with mixed loyalties that kept it in the Union. The rural areas surrounding Thomas’s men favored the South.

Confederate soldiers fired on the pickets from the Virginia side of the river daily. Rebel cavalry roamed the rugged woodland on the Maryland side. Armed militia conducted guerrilla warfare in support of the rebel cause.

One day Lieutenant Dahlgren returned from patrol with some locals he had taken into custody on charges of insurrection. Eight of them were men. The ninth was a woman. A very young, freckle-faced, red-head rode behind the Lieutenant because she didn’t own a horse. She had given her name as Katherine Donnelly.

The men were turned over to Colonel Thomas’s Adjutant, Major Shultz. They had been on their way back to their farms after harassing the pickets when they ran into Dahlgren’s column. Their first thought was to confront the Federals but they quickly realized they were outnumbered. They surrendered. Schultz paroled them after making them promise to stop their attacks on Union men and positions.

The woman was a different problem. She was friendly. When the Major ordered her to take a seat, she nodded. “Thank you, Sir.”

He hadn’t expected that response. She studied him with a look of wide-eyed puzzlement and shook her head as he read the charges. “That’s just not true, Sir,” she drawled.

“You deny that you were hiding in the woods with a rifle?”

“No, Sir.”

“Well then?”

“I was hunting for rabbit when armed men on horseback showed up. I didn’t want anything to do with them, so I hid.”

“You were out hunting?” Schultz sneered.

She nodded.  He needled, “Shouldn’t you be home doing the wash or something?”

“No, Sir. All those chores are taken care of,” she replied as if she had missed his taunt. “I needed meat for dinner.”

The Major stood and walked over to the window, hands clasped behind his back. He turned and studied the small, fragile woman. She smiled hopefully as she waited for him to decide her future. “Isn’t there a man to put meat on the table?”

“No, Sir. My father and brother are off fighting the war.”

“Where?”

“In the Department of the West under General Fremont.”

Schultz couldn’t check that statement. He stroked his beard as he walked back to his desk. He leaned toward Donnelly. “How did you get the musket?”

“It was given to me.”

“By whom?”

“I tried to sign up as a volunteer along with my father and my brother. Colonel Stevens was impressed with my pluck as he put it. He held up an Enfield and said it was too big for me. I told him I had killed deer, turkey, and other game with muskets like that.” She looked up to get Schultz’s reaction and smirked. “He took me outside and had a soldier put his cap on a tree limb at 50 paces. He handed me a pouch of balls, a pouch of caps, and the Enfield. I loaded up and shot that soldier’s hat off the limb.” Donnelly grinned at the Adjutant. “He said he couldn’t enlist me being as I was a woman. He told me to keep the musket and ammunition as an honorary member of his Regiment.”

Schultz had to see this. He handed the Enfield to the woman and said, “Let’s go.”

Her ammunition was returned to her while a target was set up fifty yards away. When he was ready, the Major nodded and said, “Let’s see what you can do.”

Donnelly loaded her weapon and prepared to fire. As she did, a large gray jackrabbit popped out and raced for the trees. She shifted her aim and squeezed the trigger. The rabbit was knocked sideways in mid-leap. It tumbled to the ground. Struggled to its feet and then collapsed.

The woman strode to her still quivering prey and held it up above her head. “Dinner,” she announced. Then she ambled back to Schultz. “If you have no further questions, I have work to do.” After an awkward pause, Donnelly said, “I can help you, Major. If you don’t mind working with a woman.”

“In what way?”

“I know most of the families within fifty miles.”

The Major needed intelligence to help him break up a network of rebel spies who were feeding information to the Confederates. He invited her to stay the night. She declined but agreed to return in the morning.

Donnelly had some useful information and she was willing to try to dig up more. Over the next month, she visited a couple of times a week. Everyone came to know her has Kat. She seemed as interested in spending time with Lieutenant Dahlgren as helping Major Schultz. She did eventually provide critical information leading to the breakup of the spy network.

Schultz asked for a volunteer to work with Kat. The spy would dress in civilian clothes and pose as a farmhand helping Donnelly with work on her farm. He would spend time talking to men in the nearby towns and taverns. PFC Tom Donal got the job.

Confederate troops continued frequent, sometimes daily, attacks on Union positions. In mid-September, they attacked the pickets above Harper’s Ferry. A two-hour battle ensued. The attackers retreated, leaving behind 18 killed, 73 wounded, and a twelve-pound cannon.

Ten days later, 500 rebels attacked the regiment’s left flank from the Virginia side of the Potomac. They were defeated and driven off. Homes in the area were searched. The ones that had sheltered retreating rebels were destroyed.

A few days later, Union soldiers attacked a fortified position set up to support forays across the river. They destroyed the rebel stronghold and took prisoners.

A similar incident took place on the right flank at the beginning of October.

##

During this period, Kat continued reporting to Major Schulz and consorting with Lieutenant Dahlgren. On one occasion, the Lieutenant took her on patrol dressed as a soldier and riding one of the brigade’s horses.

PFC Donal escorted her on these visits. He met with Schulz and with his commanding officer, Colonel Geary. The Colonel was concerned about PFC Donal’s situation. He didn’t want one of his soldiers captured and hung as a spy.

At first, Tom slept in the hayloft in the barn. The pair decided he should sleep in the house. He laid out his bedroll on the floor while Kat slept in the bedroom. It wasn’t an actual room but a doorway with a curtain gave her some privacy.

The arrangement had several benefits for the young soldier. He didn’t have to stand watch and the food was better. Mixing with the local men felt a lot like selling the Enquirer back in Philly. He got to know people but he had to be careful what he said. Each night he wrote out notes on a sheet of paper that went into an envelope for his reports to the commanders.

His partner was the problem. She had lived most of her life with two adult males. She seemed comfortable with Tom in her house. Sometimes too comfortable. She seemed to want more intimacy at times. She would say, “Goodnight.” Then she stood staring as if she expected him to do something. When he didn’t respond, she shuffled off to her room and closed the curtain.

Tom would have been tempted if Major Schultz hadn’t given him strict instructions. And if his mother had not drummed proper treatment of women into his head. He knew he’d end up in trouble if he followed his instincts. Once they returned early from a trip to headquarters. Tom noted that Dahlgren was away on an extended patrol. He was certain they would have stayed overnight if the Lieutenant had been in camp.

Kat seemed clingy. She kept brushing up against Tom. He acted like he didn’t notice. She came to say goodnight wearing a shift with a bow at her neck. The sleeves covered her shoulders. Her breasts and nipples were clearly visible. “Tom,” she said. “I’m feeling distraught. Could you hold me?”

He looked up. Scrunched his lips and shook his head.

“Tom, please.”

The young Irishman stood and walked over to the sad-eyed woman in the middle of the room. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She sighed and rested her head on his chest as her arms clamped around his waist. They stood like that for a few minutes. Tom’s discomfort deepened by the second. He tried to pull away. “This isn’t right.”

She looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”

“I shouldn’t be touching you.”

“Why not?”

“I just shouldn’t. That’s all.”

“Why?” she repeated. “I asked you to hold me. I need your touch.”

“We got a job to do.” He put his hands on her shoulder and pushed gently but firmly. “We can’t let nothin’ get in the way of that.”

“Tom, sex doesn’t have to get in the way.” She smiled wryly. “My parents had a job to do but they managed to make four babies.”

“That’s another thing,” he snapped. “What if you get pregnant?”

“I am not going to get pregnant,” she scoffed. “But if I do, that’s my problem, not yours.”

He clamped his mouth shut and shook his head. She reached up and massaged his shoulders. “We both need a good fuck and you know it.”

“What about Lieutenant Dahlgren?”

Kat shoved him away. She glared and hissed, “What about Shaun? We’re not married. I’m not his property.”

“But he is a lieutenant,” Tom objected.

“Not in your regiment,” she snorted.

“He can still make trouble.”

“He can spread rumors. So what?”  Kat began unbuttoning his shirt. “There are rumors about him and me, and there are rumors about you and me.” Tom’s mouth dropped open. She smirked. “You are probably the only man in that camp who doesn’t believe you and me are sharing a bed.” She kissed his chest. “You might as well get some pleasure out of it.”

Tom’s eyes shut. His right hand ran through his hair. Kat pulled his head down for a kiss. It was a long kiss that kept getting hotter. She pushed the shirt off of his shoulders. He untied the bow at the top of her gown. She opened his breeches and he slipped out of them. He pushed the shift off her shoulders. It fell to the floor. She took his hand and led him to her bed.

###

Tom and Kat had already come across rumors of an armed rebellion developing in the Frederick area. They carefully collected details, including names and addresses of participants. When Major Schultz decided he had enough information, he ordered a raid. Lieutenant Dahlgren took two companies to make arrests and otherwise disrupt the plot. They found stockpiles of weapons and other military equipment hidden in barns and outhouses.

Over the next few days, activity in the woods surrounding the Donnelly farm picked up. Then a neighbor came to the door. He spoke to Tom. “People believe you’re the ones who tipped off the Union troops. There’s a lot of angry talk. Some insist a lynching is required.”

After he left, Tom told Kat, “That was a warning. We have to get out of here.”

They stuffed what they could in duffle bags, grabbed their muskets, and set off for the camp. The next day, Dahlgren took Kat and a patrol to check out her farm. It had been burned to the ground. Nothing was left.

Geary agreed to take Kat into his Regiment as a cook. He ordered Dahlgren to stay away. He cautioned Tom to leave the woman alone. “Whatever was going on between you two had better stop immediately. You have a bright future but not if you’re going to cavort with loose women.”

About 150 women were attached to the 28th. Many of them were married to officers and enlisted men. Officers’ wives were treated well. The wives of enlisted men were tolerated. The rest made themselves useful cooking and sewing when they weren’t entertaining the men. Kat was automatically dumped into this third group.

###

Ten days after the Fredericksburg incident, Banks ordered a raid on the Confederate grain supply a few miles outside Bolivar, Virginia. Colonel Geary took two enhanced companies and Company C with an artillery piece across the Potomac. The enhanced companies returned that evening with grain they had liberated from the mill. They said the others would be returning in the morning.

It was still early when Kat heard artillery and gunfire across the river. She fretted for hours as the battle raged on but no reinforcements were sent to rescue Geary and his men. The fighting ended around mid-morning, and the Colonel led his troops back across the Potomac. He was out front but he was limping. He ordered the wounded taken to a nearby mess tent for treatment. Kat spotted Tom helping a wounded soldier hobble along with the rest of the company.

She raced to her tent and grabbed some supplies. By the time she reached the mess tent, things were under control. Geary had the men laid out on tables while he waited for the surgeon. The old man was stoic but pale. Kat walked up to him and said, “Take a load off your feet so I can look at that leg.”

“Take care of the men.”

“I’m starting at the top. Lie down and make yourself comfortable.”

“You’re not qualified. I’ll wait for the surgeon.”

She glared at him and snapped, “I’ve cared for men and horses, hogs and dogs all my life. I haven’t lost a patient yet.”

The Colonel recoiled. His eyes went wide with shock. But he let the woman push him back to a table. She tore a rag from a petticoat and wiped away the blood. Bone was visible. “That’s pretty nasty.”

“Shrapnel.”

She opened a bottle and poured fiery liquid into the wound. He grimaced. “Whisky. Where did you get that?”

“It’s easy to come by. My friends use it to pry money from your men.”

“So, you’re settling in?”

Kat covered his wound with a poultice that smelled and felt like horse manure. She started bandaging that with another piece torn from her crinoline. “There’s only two men in this place I’d fuck, and you won’t have me.”

Geary chuckled. “What about Lieutenant Dahlgren?”

“Make that three.”

“Private Donal is an innocent young man. I don’t want him led astray.”

The woman paused to stare incredulously at the Colonel. “I heard a lot of shooting this morning. I imagine Tom was trading bullets with the enemy.”

“Yes. He gave a good account of himself.”

“It seems to me you’re doing a fine job of leading him astray without any help from me.” She returned to her bandage. “You have children, Colonel?”

“Three. One in the army.”

“So, it didn’t turn out all bad when you let a woman lead you astray.”

The Old Man guffawed. By that time, Captain Gray was looking over Kat’s shoulder and admiring the bandage she had put on Geary’s wound. “How bad?”

She turned and faced him. “Cut to the bone. Have to make sure it doesn’t become infected.”

The medic sniffed the open bottle of whisky and dabbed some of the poultice on his tongue. He nodded. “You’ll do. Follow me. I’ll examine and tell you what I want done.”

###

The men were eating their dinner outside their tents. A soldier grabbed Tom by the arm and said, “Come with me, private.”

He looked up. He was startled but he followed. When they were well back in the trees, Kat threw her arms around his neck and squeezed. He wrapped his arms around her and held tight. She whispered, “I knew you were over there. When I heard the shooting, I was afraid I’d never see you again.”

“I wasn’t hurt.”

“Some men were killed. You could’ve been one of them.”

He squeezed her again. His cock pushed against her crotch. She breathed in his ear, “Do you want me?”

Tom pulled back. “That could get us in a lot of trouble.”

“The men pay the women and the women give them what they want. Every night. No one gets in trouble.”

He gave her an exasperated look. She pulled his head in for a kiss. When their lips separated, Kat said, “All I want is to feel you up inside me.”

His hand slid to her butt. She unbuckled her breeches and pushed them to her knees. He squeezed the soft flesh while she pushed his breeches aside to stroke his stiff horn. “That’s quite a bayonet you’ve got there, soldier,” she giggled as she pulled him down on top.

When it was over, they pulled their breeches up and snuggled. “Tell me what happened.”

Tom shrugged. “They ordered us to wipe out the rebel grain supply stored at a mill on the other side of Bolivar. Colonel Geary had Company C, that’s me, take our artillery piece up the heights and set up cover. The rest of the battalion went to the mill. They loaded up all the grain we could haul back and burned the rest. It was dark by the time they had sailed for our side of the river. The Colonel decided to stay put until morning.” He stroked her cheek and kissed her. “We were on our way back when they hit us. We retreated to the edge of town and set up a defensive perimeter. There was a lot of shooting but we were holding them off. The Old Man ordered a couple of squads to work their way around the Rebels and hit their flank. That ended the fight pretty quick. They took off running.”

Tom pointed at the moon high in the night sky and said, “I’ve got to get back for bed check.”

She grabbed his head as he started to stand. She kissed him then let him slip from her grasp.

##

The attacks and skirmishes from the Virginia side of the Potomac continued into the early months of 1862. In January, Lincoln ordered his army to move into Virginia with the goal of taking Richmond. Colonel Geary and the 28th were charged with anchoring the Union’s left flank in Loudon County. Four companies from the First Michigan Cavalry were attached to the regiment to beef it up for its new role.

Geary began crossing the river on February 24th. Bad weather made the operation difficult and dangerous. A sudden storm upset one of the boats. Six men drowned. It took four days for the Regiment to fight its way up the steep slopes on the Virginia side and capture Loudon Heights.

The following day, he marched his men to Lovettsville, a Union friendly German settlement. He had to continue to Waterford ten miles to the southeast because the enemy was getting ready to torch the town. Geary sent his cavalry ahead followed by foot soldiers to avert the disaster.

A few days later, he continued to Leesburg. The Confederates were in full retreat, burning supplies and bridges as they moved. Geary took Leesburg without opposition. He took over Fort Johnson and renamed it Fort Geary.

The Colonel left a small garrison at Leesburg and continued his pursuit of the fleeing rebels. By the 15th, he had set up a perimeter along the eastern edge of Loudon County. Over the next week, he expanded his perimeter west along the Manassas Gap Railroad as far as Front Royal.

During this period, Major General Banks was moving up the Shenandoah to confront General Stonewall Jackson.

Banks and Jackson fought throughout March and April. Banks won at Kernstown at the end of March. Jackson seemed to be maneuvering to keep the Union forces engaged so they could not attack Richmond.

The 28th spent April repairing roads, bridges, telegraph lines, and rails. The work was demanding. Union soldiers had to live off the land foraging for food and harvesting lumber needed for the repairs. Rebel militia and cavalry kept up constant pressure with lightning attacks.

In late April, a four-day rainstorm swelled the rivers and wiped out some of the bridges they had built. Those bridges had to be replaced.

On April 25th, Colonel Geary was promoted to Brigadier General. LTC DeKorponay was promoted to Colonel and given command of the Regiment. Major Tyndale moved up to Lieutenant Colonel.

###

On May 23rd, Confederates hit the small Union outpost at Front Royal. Troops under Colonel John Kenley made a stand but were forced to retreat to Cedarville. Banks found his position untenable and began a retreat back across the Potomac. General Geary was ordered to regroup at Manassas Junction.

The Regiment set out from Manassas on the 28th to patrol gaps in the Blue Ridge Mountains and support the expected counterattack against Jackson.

On June 12, Major General Pope took command of the Army of Virginia. The 28th Regiment and other units in General Geary’s command were officially designated as the Second Brigade of the First Division Second Corps.