Diary of a Yankee Engineer: The Civil

War Diary of John Henry Westervelt

Anita Palladino
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DIARY OF A YANKEE ENGINEER
Self-portrait of John H. Westervelt. Special Collections archives,
United States Military Academy, West Point.
 DIARY
of a
YANKEE
ENGINEER
The Civil War Story of
JOHN H. WESTERVELT,
Engineer, 1st New York
Volunteer Engineer Corps

edited by
ANITA PALLADINO

Fordham University Press

New York
1997
 Copyright © 1997 by Fordham University Press
All rights reserved
LC 96-42521
ISBN 0-8232-1724-8
ISSN 1089-8719
The North's Civil War, no. 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Westervelt, John H. (John Henry)

Diary of a Yankee engineer : the Civil War story of John H.
Westervelt, engineer, 1st New York Volunteer Engineer Corps I
edited by Anita Palladino.
p. em. -(The North's Civil War, ISSN 1089-8719 ; no. 1)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8232-1724-8
1. Westervelt, John H. (John Henry}--Diaries. 2. Military
engineers-New York (State)-Rockland County-Diaries.
3. United States. Army. New York Engineer Regiment, 1st
(1861-1865}--Biography. 4. New York (State}--History-Civil
War, 1861-1865-Personal narratives. 5. United States-
History-Civil War, 1861-1865-Personal narratives.
6. Rockland County (N.Y.)-Biography. I. Palladino, Anita.
II. Title. III. Series.
E523.9.W47 1997
973.7'81-dc20 96-42521
CIP

Printed in the United States of America

 This book is dedicated
with love and gratitude to

my step-father, "Poppa Joe" Arcaro, finder of the diary, teller

of tales, and singer of songs who, I'm sure, is even now
enjoying some music and a demijohn of whiskey with John
Henry
and
my mother, Mildred Palladino Arcaro, who shared with me
her love of history and uncomplainingly endured endless
research trips and years of Westervelt obsession.
 Contents
Introduction ix
Acknowledgments xvii
A History of the Diary and Drawings
of John H. Westervelt xix
Chronology xxiii
Diary of a Yankee Engineer
South Carolina 1
Florida 107
Virginia 129
Epilogue 255
Sources 259
Index 263
 Introduction
By the time the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, two
hundred years had passed since the Westervelt family docked
at New Amsterdam. From two brothers on board the Hoop
were to descend a long line of patriots, religious and political
leaders, and, in 1827, a farmer's son named John Henry
Westervelt. 1
Unlike some of his more renowned relatives, John lived a
relatively obscure life. The little that is known about him
comes, for the most part, through his own words, written in
faded ink and sent in installments to his thirteen-year-old
son, Frazee. This diary, on a series of tattered, yellow pages,
records "such things as may come under my personal observa-
tion"2 during his service >vith the 1st New York Engineer
Corps.
John's accounts do not speak with the authority of a general
and make no pretense of battlefield heroics. Yet, by his intent
to write not for history, but for Frazee, his journal presents a
truer vision of military life than the more often told sagas of
glory. The soldier's life of relentless tedium, the fatiguing fight
against the twin enemies of pestilence and illness, give us
perhaps one of the "truer, if not beautiful" 3 pictures of war.
Early dreams of greatness depart, leaving only the voice of an
ordinary man in an extraordinary time, a man who merely
lived as he thought right, and died in consequence.
The early life of John Westervelt is largely undocumented;
both church and school records for the years involved are
missing, yet his youth was undoubtedly similar to that of
other farm boys in mid-nineteenth-century America. His early
education was probably either at Brick Church or English

1. W. Talman Westervelt, Genealogy of the Westervelt Family (Salem,

Mass.: Higginson Books, 1990),. pp. 1-2.
2. Diary entry of May 8, 1864.
3. Comment written on reverse of his sketch.
X INTRODUCTION

Church school, the two nearest to the family t~1rm in New

Hempstead (Ramapo), Rockland County.
In addition to the "3R's" John was undoubtedly taught the
fourth R-Religion. As long-standing members of the Dutch
Reformed Church (the family plot at Brick Church begins with
Revolutionary War veteran Albert Westervelt, buried in 1829),
the teachings of the Dutch Reformed Church without ques-
tion also played a large part in his boyhood training.
It appears that John left Rockland in the mid-1840s and
moved to New York City. 4 From his knowledge of literature,
mechanics, and draftsmanship it is obvious that his education
was continued beyond elementary school. While it cannot be
stated without reservation, there is a strong possibility that
he obtained his education at the school run by the Society of
Mechanics and Tradesmen at 4 72 Broadway.
The links between John Westervelt and this society are sev-
eral: his third cousin (and later New York City Mayor), Jacob
Aaron Westervelt, was president of the society for a number
of years, beginning in 1845. The Mechanics society was also
the sponsor of the First New York Regiment of Engineers, the
Civil War Regiment in which John enlisted. As the classes
otl'ered there included classical as well as mechanical studies,
the likelihood of .John Westervelt's attendance there cannot
be disregarded.
On April 14, 1850, John married Anna M. Nafis at the Bed-
ford Street Methodist Church, located at the corner of Bedford
and Morton Streets in Greenwich Village. 5 In November of
4. The 1850 Census no longer lists him as a residPnt of Rockland
County.
5. In William Scott Fisher, New York City Methodist Marriages, 1785-
1893 (Camden, Me.: Picton Press, 1994), p. 57. No indication is found of
how or when he broke with the Dutch Reformed religion, although it is
known that Nicholas Onderdonk (born 1828), brother-in-law to John's sister
Antoinette, was a member of the Bedford Street Methodist Church from
1850 until his death in 1910. (Onderdonk Family vertical file at Historical
Society of Rockland, New City, New York.)
The Westervelt genealogy also records that family mPmlwrs Matthew, Pe-
ter, and William \VPsten·elt migrated to Ohio in 1B18 and then• became the
first male members of the earliest :Methodist society, organizPcl in 1819.
(WestPrvillP, Ohio, is named in honor of thPse early sl'ttlPrs). In 1836 Mat-
thew donated the lot 011 which the church was built and later IH'canw one of
the first trustees of BIP!Hlon SPminary, prPdecessor of OttPrlwin l'nin'J'Sity,
which attemptPd to bf'('OmP thP h•ading college of \\'('stern MP!hodism.
 INTRODUCTION xi

1850 their first child, Frazee, was born. He was followed in

1852 by Marie Antoinette (died 1856), John Henry on Septem-
ber 13, 1854, Frank Brown on January 20, 1858, Frederick
on March 24, 1861 (died of infant cholera August 6, 1862),
and Edward C. on November 27, 1866.
Apart from these records, the lives of the family remain
largely unknown. John was a member of the New York City
Volunteer Fire Department, Gulick Hose Company XI, sta-
tioned in Greenwich Village, close to the Westervelt home at
66 Greenwich Avenue. Fire Department Company member-
ship records from the 1850s list John along with friends later
mentioned in his diary: John Halliday, carpenter of Mulligan
Place; tin smith Mitchell Halliday, his brother Robert, a car-
penter, and Charles Uhl, a mason (all Greenwich Avenue
neighbors of the Westervelt family); William Mathews, a stair
builder of Washington Street; and sash and blind makers
James and Peter Ward of First Avenue. Also found in the mem-
bership rolls is John's younger brother Schuyler, a lawyer and
resident of 4th Street in the 9th ward. 6
An additional hint about John (occupation recorded as
"stair builder," denoting a skill level above "carpenter") is
found in a marginal notation in these ledgers: "Suspended 6
months from March 27, 1857 to September 26, 1857."7 Al-
though the reason for this suspension is not given, it is known
that the most probable causes of suspension were "rowdiness"
and fighting, generally between members of different compa-
nies over their relative merits. Despite records indicating that
John resigned from the company on March 8, 1858, he obvi-

Thus, John would not have been the first in his family to exchange Dutch
Reformed membership for Methodism.
6. John Westervelt belonged to Hose Company XI, "Gulick." Organized
March 25, 1837, the company was located at 14 Amos Street in Greenwich
Village. Hose XI was notable for its colorful participation in parades, accom-
panied by its twenty-one-piece band. In the 1860 parade held for the Prince
of Wales many remarked that "its carriage alone cost $200" (Augustine E.
Costello, Our Firemen: A History of the New York City Fire Department
(New York, 1887). It went out of service in 1865 with the advent of paid
fire companies.
New York City Fire Department Certificate issued to John Westervelt lists
him as owner of Badge #15.
7. New York City Volunteer Fire Department Records, Files and Reports,
1855-58, original ledger at the New-York Historical Society.
xii INTRODUCTION

ously rejoined at a later date as his certificate of membership

in good standing is dated January of 1860 and includes a
new badge number. That he relished the camaraderie and
excitement of his days with the volunteer fire department is
evident by his references to Hose XI in his journal.
The same fire department records show that the Westervelt
family, at least up to 1858, resided at 66 Greenwich Avenue,
the old "9th Ward" that John fondly mentions in his journal.
By the time of the 1860 census, which values John West-
ervelt's estate at $500, the family had moved to West 26th
Street and Anna's widowed mother was living with them.
On September 8, 1862, John Westervelt signed his volun-
tary enlistment papers and became a member of the 1st New
York Volunteer Engineer Regiment, Company H. Also known
as "Serrell's Engineers" (for Edward Serrell), this company
was organized at New York City beginning in October of 1861.
The men of the engineering corps had the mission of con-
structing pontoon bridges for river crossings, building lookout
and signal towers, constructing roads (often through
swamps), and building entrenchments and fortifications.
Their work was often clone under rebel scrutiny and some-
times under fire, frequently when the engineers were unable
to respond. John's company was significantly involved in op-
erations on Folly Island and Morris Island, South Carolina, as
well as assaults on Forts Wagner, Gregg, Sumter, and Charles-
ton. Later, members of the 1st New York took part in Butler's
operations against Petersburg and Richmond, Bermuda Hun-
dred (where John Westervelt had the honor of erecting the
first flagstaff), the construction of Dutch Gap Canal, and the
occupation of Richmond. John was also part of an engineering
detachment sent to Florida after the battle of Oulstee and
from May of 1864 was part of the Army of the James.8
The reasons for his enlistment can be only partially under-
stood through his own words. Patriotism undoubtedly was an
important factor, as he refers to having done his part to save
the Union. Economic conditions may have been involved, and
8. The 1st New York Engineers (Serrell's) were organized under the aus-
pices of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, located at 472
Broadway (Martha J. Lamb, "The Career of a Beneficent Enterprise," bro-
chure, 1889, p. 16).
 INTRODUCTION xiii

certainly family tradition was a consideration-grandfather

Albert was a Minuteman during the Revolutionary War and
other family members participated in the War of 1812. In fact,
one month before .John's enlistment, his eighteen-year-old
nephew James Henry Onderdonk joined the Union Army and
was sent to New Orleans. (James fared even less well than
John, dying of disease on August 8, 1863.) Whatever his rea-
sons, we do know from his diary that John Westervelt left
New York on the 21st of September 1862 at "ten o'clock in
the morning from the foot of old Amos St. for Port Royal S.C.
and landed at Hilton Head, S.C., just four days later on Oct
2nd at 10 A.M."
When John Westervelt's diary begins in the spring of 1863
he has been in the army for seven months. As a part of the
engineering corps outside Charleston under the command of
General Gillmore (who is intently drawing his "ring of fire"
around the Confederate-held Fort Sumter and Charleston),
the engineers are busy constructing fortifications, lookout
towers, and roads while Fort Sumter remains in rebel hands
despite relentless Union bombardments.
While John repeatedly cautions that he was not writing a
history of the war, he did inadvertently prepare an eyewitness
history from the seldom-seen point of view of the engineer.
Although he does not personally take part in battles, he and
his comntdes were instrumental in constructing pontoon
bridges and towers that significantly impacted Union fighting.
An added aspect of his contribution is found in the sketches
John drew. While they are perhaps less perfect than he would
have liked, they still manage to convey an on-the-spot pres-
ence and as such augment his personal, original impressions.
Although never maudlin, John comments with sadness at
the wounded, "their legs and arms cut off like butchering
sheep" (p. 171). In like manner, the heavy loss of lives during
Grant's campaign caused him to comment that "The news
from Grants army is of the most cheering kind. Everything is
cheering except the immense loss of human life" (p. 131). His
desire for peace is likewise tempered with foresight, insisting
that "We dont want peace at any price, but peace at a price we
can afford hereafter, one that will not at some future day com-
xiv INTRODUCTION

pell us to pay a heavy interest in another deluge of human

blood" (p. 213).
This is the John Westervelt that we can know without look-
ing further than his own words. His experiences, thoughts,
and emotions are both uniquely his and Everyman's.
By his own admission he was not an abolitionist, yet, he
was an abolitionist in the most universal sense of the word,
believing all men deserving of equal justice. On September
29, 1863, John writes Frazee that his passionate belief in the
"rights of man, whether black or white" compels him to com-
ment on the ill-use of black troops, despite their obvious con-
tributions to the Union cause.
In what may first seem a contradiction, this same entry
notes his "hatred" of southern blacks. It is only by looking
deeper at his philosophy that this unexpected feeling will be
understood.
The overwhelmingly dominant theme in the words John
sends home is that of pride. He repeatedly relays stories to
Frazee which stress how a man's behavior shapes that of those
around him: "for a man if he has any pride or self respect can
easily by a quiet dignity, compel those above him to respect
him, in spite of themselves" (p. 104).
And again, in his tale of returning to camp after furlough,
John reminds his son that "manly independence and self re-
spect will insure gentlemanly treatment" (p. 223). John re-
fused to acknowledge subservience to any man; thus, the
servility and timidity of the southern blacks was an anathema
to him. In essence, he was misplacing anger at southern
blacks, instead of at the system that created their servility.
(Interestingly, escaped slave Robert Smalls, certainly an atypi-
cal slave, was praised by John as "a very intelligent pilot ... a
plucky fellow" [p. 76]).
Closely allied to John's feelings on slaves were his emotional
reactions to the ignorance of Southerners, which induced him
to compare their level of intelligence to "that which you might
detect in the face of a dumb brute." Still, he concludes his
observations with a fervent hope that these "poor wretches
may be taught that they are human beings" (p. 231).
This is but another instance of John's forceful belief in
 INTRODUCTION XV

man's inherent dignity. This trait, this insistence upon self-

respect, is perhaps his most defining characteristic.
Government waste and inequity was another frequent tar-
get of his temper. In fact, he became so incensed at civilian
workers receiving more pay than soldiers without having to
face enemy fire or the draft that he avows "were I honorably
out of the service no consideration of duty would induce me
to enter it again" (p. 75).
Tempering his outbursts at injustice, John often displayed
great understanding and tolerance of his fellows. Unlike many
members of society of the time, John apparently held no
prejudice about religion. Upon seeing his General entering a
Catholic chapel he ofl'ered no criticism and, in fact, voiced
approval of any man's choice of worship, as long as he is "a
good and loyal citizen."
Further signs of his unusual understanding of his fellow
men are seen throughout his diary as he speaks of diverse
personalities. Describing Captain Cruso, he explains that
Cruso is eccentric yet if you understand his eccentricities you
will get along with him. However, regardless of his attempts
to accept his fellow man, John had his limits; in his mind
there was no excuse for, and no forgiving of, a man who was
unclean, a drunkard, or a bully.
In contrast to his passion for justice and serious mind-
fulness, it is important to consider John's appreciation of life
and sense of humor. His character was embedded with aware-
ness and enjoyment of nature. Many pages describe the flow-
ers and birds with a feeling of wonder. His fascination with
Florida is especially compelling in this regard; he speaks with
wonderment at the thousands of porpoises, the fragrance of
orange blossoms, and the delicious balminess so magical "you
almost imagine you're in paradise" (p. 125).
Later, stationed in Virginia during an unusual cold spell
which freezes the river, he watches the fortunate men with
skates and remarks with a boyish wistfulness that "I wished
very much for a pair" (p. 210).
John also found delight in music, fishing, and cooking. The
pleasure and pride in his accomplishments, whPther cooking
flapjacks, inventing a lamp, or building a stove, unerringly
xvi INTRODUCTION

gave Frazee the message: do your best, never say I can't, and
always conduct yourself with pride.
When John begins to lose his health, his optimism com-
bines with anger and he rallies his energies with the passion-
ate words, "I am a poor old horse turned out to die because I
am no longer useful. But I will not die for all they can do."
These words become all the more poignant when contrasted
with his earlier jaunty remark: "I am as healthy as a man can
possibly be .... I eat like a horse everything I get hold of and
feel, to use a vulgar expression, like a fighting cock."
Upon John Westervelt's discharge in June of 1865 he is
thirty-seven-years old. His weight has gone from 150 to 130,
and though he struggles to keep his confidence alive, his once
vibrant health has been broken.
In sum, his journal tells the story of his evolution, and, by
inference, the story of thousands who, no matter which side
they fought for, no matter their beliefs, were never again who
they were at the onset of the war.
 Acknowledgments
This diary could never have come into being without a great
deal of assistance and direction. Among those without whom
this volume would never have been possible are:
Dorothy Westervelt Briggs and family, in whose gracious spir-
its the John H. Westervelt line proudly continues
Joseph ("Poppa Joe") Arcaro, finder of the diary
Pat Durie, Alan Aimone, and Susan Lintleman of the United
States Military Academy Library, Special Collections, West
Point, New York
Edwin Alford, Document Specialist
Emerson New Jersey Genealogical Library of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Jean Koefoed of "Be Seated." New York, New York
Marie Koestler, Rockland County Genealogist, Nanuet, N.Y.
Patrick McCaully, South Carolina Historical Society
Carole Morrill, Coordinator of the Little Red Schoolhouse Mu-
seum, East Ramapo, N.Y.
George Pantonovic, Rockland County photographer and Lin-
coln scholar
Fran Pollard, Virginia Historical Society
Jeanne Reid, Yonkers Reference Librarian
David F. Riggs and Dee Ann Stallings, Jamestown, Virginia
Historians
Claude Westerfield of Bossier City, Louisiana
Sherron Westerfield Moore of Florida and Kentucky
and the numerous staff members of:
xviii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Finkelstein Memorial Libmry, Spring Valley, N.Y

General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, New York City
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Mount Pleasant Public Library, Westchester County, N.Y
National Archives and Record Service, Washington, D.C.
New-York Historical Society, New York, N.Y.
New York Public Library, Local History Division, New York, N .Y
Nyack Library, Nyack, N.Y
Rockland County Historical Society, New City, N.Y
U.S. Army Military History Institute Library, Carlisle Bar-
racks, Pa.
 History of the Diary
and Drawings of
John H. Westervelt
John Westervelt sent 68 installments of his life in the engi-
neer corps home to his son Frazee. Following John's death in
1868, John's widow and children continued to live in New
York City at 436 W. 36th Street until 1876, when Anna and
family moved to 406 West 55th Street. They remained there
throughout the 1870s, moving in late 1879 or early 1880 to
Railroad Avenue, near 166th Street. Per census records,
Anna's household contained sons Henry, Frank B., and Ed-
ward as well as Frazee, his wife Elizabeth, and their sons Schu-
lyer, Theodore, and Frank. Presumably, the journal and
drawings moved along with the rest of the family belongings.
According to the 1892 through 1895 New York City Directo-
ries, Anna is shown as having relocated to the West Farms
area of the Bronx, giving her address as 1735 West Farms
Road. (Frazee and family are not listed in the directory, but
were most likely also living there.) By the time of the 1900
census, dated June 4th, Anna is noted as "Head of Household"
in a rented house at 1601 West Farms Road, and Frazee is
living with her. The same census page lists John's younger
son, Edward (a "foreman"), living a few houses away at 1581
West Farms Road with his wife Minnie and their ten-year-old
son Clinton. 1 Anna continued to live at 1601 until her death
in 1904.
On September 18, 1927, the journal was found by George

1. Frazee's wife and children are not listed as household members; how-
ever, as they would have been in their 20s they may well have been on their
own by this date. His wife may have been away at the date of the census,
or deceased, or her omission may have been an error. Edward's household
included his widowed sister-in-law, Eva Pawson, and her daughter Emma.
Per the census, Edward owned this home free of mortgage.
XX HISTORY OF THE DIARY AND DRAWINGS

and Joseph Arcaro, my step-father. Many years later I received

the diary from Joe and was told that he and George found it
in the trash outside a house that was being renovated on West
Farms Road. While it cannot be stated with certainty, this was
probably the residence of Frazee.
As puzzling as the missing years in the existence of the
diary are, the circumstances surrounding John Westervelt's
drawings are even more of a riddle. While searching for clues
on the Westervelts I found a reference on the out-of-county
CD Catalog at Valley Cottage Library which stated: Westervelt,
John H. Papers; 1864, drawings and cartoons. The entry indi-
cated these items were in the holdings of the Library of the
United States Military Academy at West Point. Initial contact
with West Point could not provide any details and until the
sketches were located in Special Collections archives it
seemed doubtful that they could have any connection to the
same John H. Westervelt.
Once located and studied, however, it was obvious that they
were indeed done by the same man; their captions and refer-
ences matched the diary perfectly, leaving only the intriguing
question of how they were separated from the journal and
came to West Point. The acknowledgment letter for the map
and drawings 2 indicates only that they were donated in 1976
by Violet Westervelt, a name which was not familiar to any of
the present descendants of John. The only Violet found in
genealogies was a first cousin to John, born in 1888 to William
Westervelt and Annie Brydson. 3 Her connection to the art-
work seemed tenuous as John had direct descendants that
were more likely to have inherited the work.
The mystery of Violet continued when tracing the address
given to West Point. None of the neighbors knew or remem-
bered her. With this, the search for Violet seemed to have
reached a dead end until I entered her name one last time in
the computer-based Social Security Death Index at the Genea-
logical Library of the Emerson Branch of the Church of the
Latter Day Saints. Eureka! The computer located a Violet West-

2. Letter of 27 October 1976 from United States Military Academy Li-

brary to Violet Westervelt. In collection at West Point.
3. Westervelt, Genealogy, p. 113.
 HISTORY OF THE DIARY AND DRAWINGS xxi

ervelt and provided birth and death dates. A letter and check
to Tallahassee (Violet died in Florida in 1993) produced a
death certificate showing Violet as born in New York to Theo-
dore \Vestervelt, son of Frazee.
While there is still some mystery about the diary and art-
work-when and how they became separated or misplaced-
one can only be grateful for the serendipity, and perhaps
nudge from heaven, that led to their reunion after so many
years.

EDITORIAL NOTE

The diary of John Westervelt has been transcribed as written

by him. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar have not been
regularized nor modernized. Names, where misspelled, have
been corrected only in the appropriate notes identifying the
individual at the end of each section.
While every attempt has been made to record the full text
of the journal, when only fragmentary words or phrases can
be deciphered due to damage to the original manuscript these
sections are omitted if no understandable context can be dis-
cerned. These areas are indicated as ...
Where words, phrases, or sentences are legible only in part,
and the remaining text strongly suggests the obscure or miss-
ing letters or words, such letters or words have been added
and are indicated by brackets.
John frequently inserted small sketches to illustrate items
to Frazee. Places where these occur in the original diary are
indicated by [sketch]. His more elaborate drawings, from the
West Point archives, are noted as [illus/WP].
 Chronology
Oct. 21, 1827 John Henry Westervelt born on family farm
in New Hempstead (Ramapo), Rockland
County
Aug. 26, 1830 Anna Maria Na.fts born on Sullivan Street,
New York City
mid-1840s John moves to New York City
Apr. 14, 1850 Married to Anna Na.fts at Bedford Street
Methodist Church in New York City by Rev.
VanDeusen
Nov. 1850 Son Frazee S. born in New York City
1852 Daughter Marie Antoinette born in New
York City
1850s to Member New York City Volunteer Fire De-
early 1860s partment, Gulick Hose Company, #11
Jan. 15, 1853 John's mother, Hannah (Teneyck), dies at
Rockland County family farm
Sep. 13, 1854 Son John Henry born in New York City
1856 Daughter Marie Antoinette dies
Jan. 20,1858 Son Frank Brown born in New York City
Mar. 24, 1861 Son Frederick A. born in New York City
Aug. 6, 1862 Frederick dies of infant cholera
Sep.8, 1862 John enlists and is mustered into 1st New
York Volunteer Engineer Corps, Co. H, as a
private. Paid bounty of $50 plus a premium
of$29
Sep. 28, 1862 Leaves New York for South Carolina on Star
of the South from dock at the "foot of Amos
Street"
Oct. 2, 1862 Arrives Hilton Head, South Carolina
Apr. 4, 1863 Begins journal to send to Frazee
xxiv CHRONOLOGY

Apr. 1863 to
Feb. 1864 Stationed in and around Folly and Morris Is-
lands, South Carolina
May 8,1863 Promoted to private 1st class/artifl.cer
Feb.-Mar. 1864 Serves with detachment in Florida
Apr. 1864 Stationed in various Virginia locations: For-
tress Monroe, City Point, Bermuda Hundred
Dec. 17, 1864 Promoted to sergeant
Mar. 16-Apr. 3 Home on furlough
June 13, 1865 Discharged for disability, Richmond,
Virginia
June 15,1865 Arrives "safe at home," makes last journal
entry
Nov. 27, 1866 Son Edward C. born in New York City
Apr. 1868 Increase to total disability approved
Oct. 18, 1868 Dies of tuberculosis at his West 36th Street
home
Oct. 22, 1868 Buried in Rockland County
Oct. 17, 1879 John's father, James, dies at family farm
Nov. 22, 1904 John's wife, Anna, dies at home on West
Farms Road, Bronx; buried at Woodlawn
Cemetery, Bronx
Sep. 18, 1927 Journal found, West Farms Road
Oct. 1976 Artwork donated to West Point by Violet
Westervelt, great-granddaughter of John
(Frazee Westervelt's son Theodore was the
father of Violet. She was born in 1908, died
1993.)
Journal of an expedition to Folly
Island written by JHW for FSW
No.1

Apllst 4pm Word came to prepare for a secret expedition to

Folly Island. 2nd Last evening we packed everything belong-
ing to us. 6 P.M. We had orders to strike tents but were obliged
to sleep in the sand all night. The wind blowing a gale on us
and sand in clouds .... got my breakfast 8 A.M. Fell in and
marched on board all highly elated with their idea of work .
. . . there are ... birds here. They seemed so playful that I
almost imagined that it was for our benefit. After watching
them a while went to dine on salt hardtack. Water on board
vessels is made fresh by placing in what they call condensers,
after which it becomes sweet and pure. [However] not having
any on board old enough ... 5 P.M. We had 2 boats lashed
together one upside down, we took them in tow although the
sea was very high and we had great difficulty in getting them
and was obliged to cut the one adrift that was upside down.
6 P.M. We ran and anchored in Edisto inlet between Edisto &
John's Island 4th 7 A.M. Up anchor and put to sea. 8 A.M.
began to get rough, the sea kept rising. 11 A.M. when we took
a pilot on board. Previous to this the boat we picked up
swamped. We cut her loose and let her go. We now ran as far
as Stono inlet and lay out at the bar for the tide till 6 P.M.
when we ran in and anchored. We could now see the fleet
blockading Charleston harbor, being about 15 miles distant.
We could also see rebel camps on the land. Here lay several
monitors and gun boats waiting orders for the attack on C.
Sunday 5th 3 P.M. Orders came on board for the Company
to go to Folly island with three days rations in our haversacks,
or knapsacks. All hands were highly elated except two of those
who showed the whites further. Now we detect the chaff from
the wheat. I will tell you some anecdote about it when I see
you. I have no space here. 11 P.M. Left the steamer in small
boats and landed at 12 midnight. All of the boats running
2 DIARY OF A YANKEE ENGINEER

aground we were obliged to jump overboard and go ashore,

getting wet up to the middle. 3 A.M. 6th Commenced a march
along shore. We had 2 infantry besides our Co which numbers
75 men. It was moonlight and we proceeded on our expedition
halting every ten minutes for our scouts who was scouting
the woods in every direction fearing there might be a rebel
force on the island. 9 A.M. We halted for breakfast after we
made 3 miles. After eating some salt horse and hard tack, 1 a
young man by the name of Benson 2 and myself crawled under
the bushes and slept till 12 Noon. I'll tell you more about
Benson some other time, suffice it for the present he has taken
a fancy to me, and as I like him he generally makes one of
our group. March again now and saw some of the most wild
looking scenery I ever saw. It is all white sand but mostly
covered with pines and stunted palmettos. Its growth of brush
so dense that a cat could not creep through it with their paw.
It looks if had been trimmed by the hand of man as you have
seen there in gardens. The general appearance of the island
reminds me of pictures I have seen of Africa or of the south
sea islands. There are plenty of snakes and a few wild goats
and cows, also some black squirrels. There is an eagles nest,
in a pine tree over our camp. 2 P.M. halted and eat dinner,
then built a lookout or signal station. We now began to think
about a place to sleep for the night, being pretty well played
out and my feet sore from walking with wet stockings and
drawers. So we pulled out our jack knives and Benson and me
cut a hole under the brush large enough for two to lay. Hotch
& Patterson3 doing the same close by us. We now took some

1. Salt horse was actually pickled, salted beef, taking its nickname from
soldiers' rumors of finding horseshoes at the bottom of barrels. Hardtack,
staple of issued rations, were crackers made of unleavened flour and water.
Generally moldy and riddled with vermin, they nonetheless kept many a
soldier from starvation.
2. Edward Benson, age 19, enlisted December 23, 1861 in New York
City. Mustered out at Varina, Virginia, December 23, 1864. Annual Report
of the Adjutant General of the State of New York for the Year 1898, p. 20.
3. Aaron S. Hotchkiss, age 44, enlisted August 31, 1862 in New York
City. Promoted to sergeant February 11, 1965, mustered out June 30, 1865
in Richmond, Virginia. Annual Report of the Adjutant General, p. 152.
James Patterson, age 34, enlisted September 8, 1862 in New York City. Pro-
moted to sergeant February 11, 1865, mustered out June 30, 1865, Rich-
mond, Virginia. Annual Report of the Adjutant General, p. 245.
 SOUTH CAROLINA 3

palmetto leaves, some of which are as large as the top of a

table, and put them in the hole and by pressing them against
the top and sides formed an arch making a neat and comfort-
able place to sleep. We were not destined to enjoy it long how-
ever for at 1 A.M. we were ordered on the march. We proceeded
about a mile and a half when our scouts reported having seen
rebels. The engineers now fell in the rear and the infantry
front for battle but then the alarm passed the scout having
most likely seen some of our other scouts. So the men lay
down on their arms and the engineers on their shovels and
axes till daylight when we returned to our palmettos. After
taking a snooze, about 10 P.M. I took a walk% mile from camp
and saw Fort Sumter plain enough to distinguish two flagstaffs
one being the secesh and the other a black flag. The black
flag expected to mean no surrender. Our monitors which lay
outside now began toward the harbour. Soon a battery on
Morris island began popping away at them, but we waited
without returning their fire until they were in range of old
Sumpter who [showered] tremendous fire on them, the firing
commenced at 2 P.M. 4 and lasted till 5 with what result I did
not learn, but it is believed that the monitors received but
little injury except Keokuk which is only an experiment hav-
ing two turrets and is owned by a man who had an under-
standing that if she proved successful government was to buy
her, but she sunk next morning. 5 The engagement was the
grandest I ever saw. It was one continual boom, boom, from
forts and batterys. Sumpter's heavy guns would make the
earth quake and you could almost feel the concussion of air

4. On the afternoon of April 7, 1863, Admiral duPont led the naval

attack on Sumter. Damaged considerably, the federal fleet withdrew at night-
fall, leaving the Confederates to repair their heavily injured Fort. The results
of this attack convinced duPont that Sumter would not be taken by naval
power alone. E. B. Long, The Civil War Day by Day: An Ahnanac (New
York: Doubleday, 1971), pp. 335-36.
5. The experimental craft referred to was the Keokuk. Only partially
armored, Keokuk suffered through 90 hits before retreating. She sank off
Morris Island the morning of April 8th. Unknown to the Union, the Confed-
erates recovered the signal book from Keokuk and used it to decipher mes-
sages between Admiral Dahlgren and General Gillmore, making their attack
of September 8, 1863 (see chapter 14) no surprise to the prepared rebel
forces. Bern Anderson, By Sea and by River: The Naval History o.fthe Civil
War (New York: De Capo Press, 1962), p. 171.
4 DIARY OF A YANKEE ENGINEER

on your cheek, although we were 4 or 5 miles distant. 8th

commenced to build a dock to land troops and provisions but
being on the inside of the island and in sight of the rebels we
gave it up. We are encamped on the outside of the island and
within the midst of the 9th Ave of the sea. Sometimes the
waves nearly wash some of the mens tents who were foolish
enough to build to far down to the water. It is quite interesting
to watch the breakers which are scarry sometimes if the wind
is from the east. Their incessant roar was verry noisy at first
but we soon got used to it. 9th Nothing for breakfast this
morning. Out at 12M started for Stono river> for provisions
which is 6 miles from camp. At 6 P.M. eat some hard tack and
at 7 P.M. advanced 2 miles on the beach, we were obliged to
use caution as before being in hearing of the enemys pickets
of their battery on morris island, the men spoke to each other
in whispers and rarely but shovels was used in the soft sand,
and we succeeded in throwing up a battery of 6 guns without
being discovered. The engineers while working were protected
by a natural embankment between us and the creek that runs
between the islands. got to camp before daylight. lOth To day
we heard firing near shore but could not make out. did not
do anything to day. Yesterday I received a letter from my wife
I was glad to get it out in the woods and was not long in
intensely devouring its contents. To day I received one from
my sister Antoinette 7 I wrote answers to them both. 11th For-
tifying the island to day. all quiet till we fell in and marched
up to the battery and brought back the guns again don't know
what for unless it was fear that the rebels might capture or
spike them ... crossed in a boat the last night and captured
one of our pickets.
6. Stono River, south of Folly Island, was the site of the capture of the
Fedeml gunboat Isaac Smith on January 30, 1863. Fmncis T. Miller, ed.,
The Photographic History of the Civil War (New York: The Review of Re-
views, 1911), vol. VI, p. 316.
7. This refers to Marie Antoinette [Westervelt] Onderdonk, born August
19, 1822, died February 27, 1887. On December 1, 1841 she married Lake
Onderdonk (son of Adrian and Easter [Hetty], who was born January 22,
1816 and died August 25, 1895). Both buried at Brick Church Cemetery
(New Hempstead/Spring Valley, New York) with their son, James Henry Ond-
erdonk. Eighteen-year-old James H. died (unmarried) on August 9, 1863
while serving in the Union Army stationed in New Orleans. Excepts from
his diary were published in New York History, January 1968. The original
 SOUTH CAROLINA 5

Sunday 12th The monitors all left for Hilton Head to day.
I believe there will be no attack for the present. Four compa-
nies of engineers of our regiment [will] leave for the head to
day. Co A leave their muskets with us till we can get our own.
13th This has been quite an exciting day. We [went] through
the woods by the captains orders who was tight, thus [the]
boys mad. About 11 o'clock the sergeant in charge sent a por-
tion of us in camp to change axes for shovels. This the boys
did not like, but obeyed and went to camp, but when we got
there the Cap who had taken a little more flew in a passion
and ordered us to take both axes and shovels and although
the cook said dinner would be ready in 10 minutes he com-
pelled us to go without it, saying he would send it to us. On
going out and telling the other men about it they were wild
and but for myself and one or two others would have thrown
down their tools and packed in camp, but we persuaded them
to wait to their usual quitting time when we went in without
waiting for dinner to be sent to us, expecting trouble when we
got there but the captain is easily intimidated, and thinking
perhaps he had a determined set of men to deal with in a bad
place he made the best of a bad bargain and he said nothing
about it.
To be continued

diary is at Rockland County Historical Society, New City, New York. James
had enlisted on August 14, 1862, left for Washington Sept 6.
Journal of an expedition to Folly
Island written by J.H.W
For F.W.

No.2

Apr 13th continued. In the afternoon we went out again with-

out any further trouble. This morning while some men of the
62nd were cooking their breakfast, an old bomb shell they
had put in the fire to hold their kettle up, thinking there was
nothing in it, suddenly exploded dangerously wounding two
of them and making it necessary to amputate the leg of one
of them. To day we built more roads and commenced a splin-
ter proof battery, that is a battery covered over with palmetto
logs and sand. Palmetto being of a soft spongy nature like cork
if hit by a ball or shell no splinters fly off which is often the
case with other wood, the splinters wounding more men than
the shots. This morning a captain of the 62nd was shot dead
by one of his own men. 1 It seems that the captain went outside
the lines and lost his way, and came in at another point. The
guard not knowing the captain was out challenged and the
captain being a little deaf did not respond, so the guard fired
killing him almost instantly. This happened before day light.
The wind from the east to day blowing a gale. The sea is very
high and the breakers make such a roar we can barely hear
each other speak. This tide is verry high compelling some of
the men to move higher up the bank. 15th This day is clear
and beautiful and I begin to like it here as well or nearly as I
did Beaufort. I am sure I like better than the head of it in the
wild woods. To day I tried something new. In the top of the
palmetto grows a substance which the negroes call cabbage,
and it certainly tastes much like it. I like it much better. It
can be used all the different ways the same as cabbage. I use
it mostly raw cut up with vinegar. One tree furnishes about

1. Accidental deaths of Federal forces are estimated at 4,114. Long, The

Civil War Day by Day, p. 710.
 SOUTH CAROLINA 7

as much as a small cabbage head and makes a meal for three.

The palmetto is a usefull tree to us. We use the trunks to build
forts. The cabbage to eat, the leaves to build huts, and the
roots which grow in an enormous mop, to tie them on with.
16th Today we are short of rations again. The first we have
been short since we have been here. 8 A.M. We started for
stono river after our arms and provisions, got back near dark
tired and with sore feet. There is a rumor that we are to evacu-
ate the island altogether. 7 P.M. Went 2 miles down the beach
after some barrels. 9 P.M. in camp played out.
17th Fresh as ever this morning. 1 P.M. went again to stono
after balance of arms, coming back we got caught by the tide
which got so high we were obliged to leave the beach and get
up the bank and make the best of our way through the bushes
or remain in the woods untill late at night till the tide went
out. Some of the men pulled off their boots and pants and
taking them in their hands waded through the water. Myself
and some of the men took the bank cutting our way in many
places through the brush and arriving in camp some time
after dark, ready to drop with fatigue, but a ration of whiskey
cured all and went to bed and slept it off. Forgot to say this
morning there was a short engagement between rebel battery
and one of our gun boats. It seems the boat was reconnoiter-
ing and got a little too close to them and they fired at her. The
boat returned the fire but being only a wooded one she
thought it best to retire. We could see the affair plainly. At
night there was considerable firing between the pickets but
no harm done.
18th Still fortifying, all quiet except the gnats of which
there are myriads. 2 They are very annoying if the sun does
not shine or the wind dont blow but they cannot stand either,
nor do they not bite after dark. There is another nuisance
here in the shape of the wood tick, an insect about the size
and looking like the bed bug. They eat their way in the flesh

2. Union forces in coastal South Carolina suffered continuously from

the insect problem. "Common houseflies swarmed and clouds of mosquitoes
joined the attacks of sand fleas, lice and gnats. Little peace was available for
the men without netting to protect them at night and no peace during
the day from the bites of the millions of sand fleas." Denney, Civil War
Medicine, p. 131.
8 DIARY OF A YANKEE ENGINEER

without being felt for some time. It then begins to get sore
and you look and find them half buried, and they are so tough
you can hardly pull them out. It is necessary to examine your-
self every day. If as is sometimes the case they eat all the way
in it makes a bad sore. There is a report afloat to day that
there will soon be another attack on Charleston.
Sunday 19th Today we were not detailed for any work, and
as our shanty has leaked some most of the men built new ones
improving them somewhat. Hotchkiss, Paterson and myself
clubbed in as usual and build a bully one. I like it better than
our tents for they are poor things and leak bad. Our camp is
a curious looking little village and would make you all laugh
if you could see it. There is not much difference in the size,
but they are all the different shapes the imagination can con-
ceive, I will give you the shape of mine, here it is [sketch] It
is about as large inside as the room you sleep in and in the
highest part so I can just stand up in it. If you have ever seen
a picture of a hottentot or esquimaux village, that is the best
description of it I can give you now.
20th To day Paterson and me are detailed to build a lookout
in the top of a pine tree. A rebel boat came out to the sunken
Keokuk for some purpose, but one of our gun boats sent her
back again. The rebel ram then went out a little way and drove
our gun boats away, but we have one boat they dare not come
in range with, this is the ironsides and lays outsides the har-
bor. Nothing the rebels have come near her. To night I had a
new dinner. It consisted of hard tack or crackers first soaked
in salt water and then fried in the fat that comes out of our
pork. We eat it with molasses if we have it and it is the best
meal I have eaten since I left home. We have to fry it ourselves.
We have molasses dealt to us every 10 days but in small quan-
tities. Get some of the hardest crackers you can find and try
it, you can put salt in place of sea water which we use because
it gives a better flavor and is healthy. 3
21st Finished the lookout to day. It is 100 feet off the ground

3. Soldiers were notorious for trying various ways to make their hard-
tack more palatable. Recipes included pudding, stew, and "skillygalee" (hard
tack fried in bacon fat). The Civil War Book of Lists: Over 300 Lists, from
the 8u1Jlime ... to the Ridiculous (Conshohocken, Pa.: Combined Books,
1994), p. 186.
 SOUTH CAROLINA 9

and is reached by steps built round the trunk of a tree like a

staircase. When the wind blows it rocks like a cradle. It com-
mands a splendid view of the forts in the harbor and the
islands with their batterys. We can plainly see the steeples in
charleston, and could [see] the town itself were it not for the
woods that intervenes. We will have a glass in a few days and
then we can see better. I was offered the position with three
others as lookouts but I did not like the confinement of being
perched in the top of a tree four hours together and I can go
up when I please without it. 22nd On guard to day. Everything
quiet. 23d To day I am off duty and can go where I please
with a pass, so I thought I would take a walk down to the
point (I mean stono river) and see what was going on. I said
no one ever lived here but I was mistaken. There is one house
about 3 miles below here or halfway to the point on the other
side of the island. It is quite a nice place and is occupied as
the generals headquarters. One of our corporals was with me
and we went to see it and then went to the point down the
other side. We expected to find a mail at the generals but were
disappointed and returned home about 1 O'clock tired out
having walked 14 miles. The rest of the afternoon I lay off in
the shanty. After supper we went on the inside of the island
and got about half a bushel of muscles. There are waggon
loads of them here. We boiled them up and put them in vine-
gar and next morning they were fit to eat and were verry
excellent. It seems there are plenty of things to eat here, and
all good. There is here a small shell fish very much resembling
a snail. The men gather them in great quantities and eat them,
but they are too small for me. Do you recollect the conk shells
up to grandpops 4 that they used to blow for dinner well there
are plenty of them here alive and we consider them a great
dish. Everything that grows in salt water seems to be good to
eat here and we have the bonus of getting it for nothing. The
beach has most curious and beautiful shells. I would like to
send you some if I had an opportunity, but I have not. I am
saving some of them if I can carry them along when we leave

4. As Frazee's maternal grandfather (George Nafts) died years earlier

(April19, 1839), this reference must be to John's father, James Westervelt,
who remained at his Rockland County farm until his death on October
17, 1879.
10 DIARY OF A YANKEE ENGINEER

I may send them at some future time. 24th Not being well to
day I did not go on fatigue but lay off and took some oil. There
is considerable excitement in the company to day on account
of serious charges having been made against the captain by
Lieut Baldwin5 of our company. If the charges are proven the
captain will be broke. Some of the sergeants are trying to
create alibis but the company are too unanimous, which may
I dare not say just now. I will acquaint you with the particulars
after the court martial which will soon take place. 25th Noth-
ing unusual to day. Sunday 26th No duty of any kind to day.
After breakfast our tent took a walk on the inside of the island
where I saw a sight that if it were nearer New York would
gladden the sight of the oyster dealers.B Between this island
and the next is a marsh about 2 miles wide. It is intersected
by a small river and numerous creeks wind through it. At low
tide numerous little islands make their appearance so thickly
covered with oysters that they have not room to lay actually
crowding each other a foot above the mud. They are an excel-
lent flavor and thousands of vessels might be loaded with
them with only the trouble of picking them up. We gathered
some and took them to camp, eating some now and waiting,
frying or stewing the balance. But I find that eating so much
of everything does not agree with me and that I shall have to
be more sparing hereafter.
JHW

to be continued

5. Lieutenant James Baldwin was 18 when he enlisted in New York City

in September 1861. Mustered as second lieutenent on February 14, 1862.
Honorably discharged at Varina, Virginia on February 13, 1865. Frederick
Phisterer, New York in the War of the Rebellion (Albany: J. B. Lyon,
1912), p. 1640.
6. "Everywhere you turned [in New York City] there were oyster cellars,
oyster houses, and stands .... "' John Atlee Kouwenhoven, The Columbia
Historical Portrait of New York (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1953), p. 183.
New Yorkers' daily oyster consumption in the 1860s was approximated at
$15,000 (in 1863 dollars). Over 1,500 boats and crews labored daily to sup-
ply the city. James Miller, Miller's Stranger's Guide for the City of New
York, 1866 (New York, 1866), p. 93.
Journal of an expedition to Folly
Island
Aprill863
No. #3

Sunday the 26th continued. An accident occurred to a Lieut

of the ... Illinois. He was walking under a pine tree that was
hollow at the bottom in which someone had built a fire. It
was nearly burned off and falling and suddenly nearly
crushed him to death. 28 & 29th. all quiet.
30th. This is a day set apart by the President for humili-
ation and prayer. 1 Nothing done in the shape of duty. AM.
Mustered in for the last two months. We are always mustered
on the 1st of every two months. We then have to turn out
with everything we have, muskets, cartridge, boxes, canteen,
haversack, knapsack, eating utensils, extra boots, shoes &
clothing. We are not allowed by the regulations to carry any
useless things. If anything is lacking we are supplied the first
opportunity. Each mans name is called and provisions are
made should there be any vacancies, but you do not know
anything about it at the time. After muster some of us went
in bathing. We have a most beautiful beach for bathing, and
hundreds of men can be seen in the surf from morning till
night. It is glorious to swim out and let the waves break over
you, burying you from head to feet as you plunge in a wave
and come out the other side. And then it is laughable to see
some of the timid ones, who deceived by the apparent calm-
ness have ventured out to far and perhaps cannot swim when
along comes a huge billow frightening him half to death with
its foamy crest and before he can reach the shore tumbles
over him, and tumbling him over half a dozen times, finally
leaving him sputtering and blowing the salt water from his

1. One month earlier, on Monday March 30 President Lincoln had pro-

claimed April 30 as a national fast and prayer day. Long, Civil War Day by
Day, p. 332.
12 DIARY OF A YANKEE ENGINEER

mouth, a laughing stock of some designing fellows who in-

duced him to venture too far, but after a few plunges one gets
used to it. For my part, I was initiated years ago at Cooney
and Long Island.
May 1st. We are not so busy to day as people in NY but we
have commenced to build a new tower or lookout. We expect
to get it up enough by the time attack is made on Charleston
to see the whole affair. It will be 40 feet higher than the old
one and will give us a splendid viewing of the harbor with its
islands and fortifications. May 2nd. Some old friends from
Beaufort arrived today, viz 6th Conn. & 4th N.H. Vols. In the
evening I received a letter from my wife which I read with
eagerness not having received any for a period longer than
usual. Sunday 3rd Having been busy through the week we
put up our tent today which had arrived some days before.
We have a better place to live now than we ever had. We first
made a frame 4 ft high closing the sides with palmetto leaves
and then setting the tent up on top of it this. [sketch]. Inside
we made three bunks thus [sketch] with a table in the center
made of an old cracker box. The bunks are our seats also. Our
dishes when not in use are placed inside the box. This plan
is my own and the boys are all following it. Our beds and
carpet are of palmetto leaves. 4th This evening promotions
were read off when I found I was made 1st class or artificer
to date from 1st May. Nothing of interest took place till 13th
when an accident occurred that came near costing me my life.
We were working on the tower 80 ft high when through the
carelessness of sergeant Otis, 3 our guy pole fell nearly throw-
ing me to the ground and bruising my legs so that I could not
work for a couple of days. This shows I might lose my life
without the aid of powder or ball. 14th. Today we have good

2. First-class privates of the Corps of Engineers used the designation

"artificers" to denote their design and construction skill. Artificers were
paid $17 per month; second-class privates or privates of other corps re-
ceived $13. Philip Katcher, The Civil War Source Book (New York: Facts on
File, 1992), p. 304.
3. Charles D. Otis, age 28, mustered in New York City December 2, 1861
as corporal. Promoted to sergeant April 30, 1862; re-enlisted as veteran
February 1, 1864; mustered in as second lieutenant March 1, 1865; first
lieutenant May 23, 1865. Mustered out at Richmond, Virginia, June 30,
1865. Phisterer, New York in War of Rebellion, pp. 1646-47.
 SOUTH CAROLINA 13

news from Genl. Hooker. I cannot give you all the rumors
afloat, suffice it to say they leave a portion of his army in
Richmond and still advancing. It is to be hoped it is all true
but it needs confirmation. 15th We are having a violent north-
east storm today. No work and our camp is situated so that we
are entirely protected. We have all the advantage of the winds
from all other quarters. 16th It still storms but not so bad
and it is very warm. Having nothing else to do, Hotchkiss,
Patterson and myself downed our rubber blankets and started
for the Hd Qrs of the Regt to see if we could not get something
out of the usual notice to eat. But we had our walk for nothing,
the Sutler4 being sold out and gone to the head for more. You
will understand that alterations having been made in the Regt
making it different from any other. In the 1st place we have
12 Cos each having a Capt & two Lieuts. The Regt is divided
into two battalions of six cos each. We have two Majors, Major
Butt5 1st Bat, Major Place6 2nd ditto. Butts Battalion is at the
Head, and Places here with the Genl Commanding. Our Co
being detached is with neither at present, but belongs to Major
Places. Being detached with good officers is a great advantage
as they do not have half the duty to perform. Our Co has not
been much with the Regt. nor do I think it will be hereafter.
Col Serrell 7 is still in N. Y. recruiting and looking after the
4. Sutlers were officially authorized civilians who set up business at
camps to sell miscellaneous items such as food, paper, and tobacco. Al-
though prices were supposed to be regulated, many charged outrageously,
resulting in frequent clashes between soldiers and sutlers. Interestingly,
the word "sutler" has a Dutch origin, meaning "to undertake low office."
5. Richard Butt enrolled February 14, 1862 at Hilton Head, S.C. Mus-
tered in as major April 25, 1862; resigned April 19, 1864. Phisterer, New
York in the War of the Rebellion, p. 1642.
6. James E. Place, 31 at enlistment, enrolled at New York City on August
22, 1861. Mustered as captain October 10, 1861, as major January 1, 1863.
Mustered out with regiment at Richmond, Virginia, June 30, 1865. Phist-
erer, New York in the War of the Rebellion, p. 1647.
7. Edward Wellman Serrell (1826-1906) was a 34-year-old civil engineer
when he enlisted at Albany on July 27, 1861. Mustered in as lieutenant-
colonel Oct 10, 1861, made colonel February 14, 1862, breveted brigadier
general U.S. Volunteers March 13, 1865; mustered out February 13, 1865
at Varina, Virginia. Phisterer, New York in the War of the Rebellion,
pp. 1634, 1648. In addition to recruiting and organizing the 1st New York
Regiment of Engineers and Artisians, Serrell is credited with successfully
completing the impossible: establishing a battery on the west side of Morris
Island in mud 16 feet deep. (The captain to whom it was originally assigned
14 DIARY OF A YANKEE ENGINEER

two new Cos. You will see by the above that the Regt. when
full will number 1800 men besides commissioned officers,
and that we have one Major, several Lieuts and about 100
sergeants & corporals more than an infantry Regt. I believe
there is to be an extra Lieut Col. also making two. I forgot to
say that each Co is to consist of 150 men of which there are
ten Sergts and ten Corpls.
Sunday 17th To day is clear and beautiful but hot. We got
a paper this morning and went to the upper end of the island
next to Morris. The creek which divides the two is scarcely
wider than from 35th to 36th street, and the pickets can talk
to each other quite easily. One of the rebs called to know if
we did not want a wooden leg for Gel Hooker stating that he
had lost both of his at the 1st battle and he thought we must
be nearly out of stuff for Genis. Another invited us over to
witness inspection this morning. They appear to be a low set
of bravados and say a great many things and use language that
is unfit to put upon paper, and I am sorry to say some of our
men on picket can give as good as they get. Some of the better
sort on both sides exchange papers, tobacco, coffee &c and
converse intelligently on the topics of the day. They are very
anxious to get our papers and will give any amount of tobacco
for a little coffee. As no one is allowed to cross from either
side articles are sent across by an ingeniously contrived little
sail boat about two ft long. An attempt was made to send a
paper over while we were there, but the tiller not being set
right it ran out to sea and disappeared. Two rebels stripped
and tried to get it, but although they could easily have swam
to it, they would most likely have been shot by their own men
had they made the attempt. It is curious to note the ridiculous
rumors that gain credit among the pickets here. They told us
that Jeff Davis and his whole cabinet was certainly captured.
Some half dozen of females having appeared on the other side
in black it was rumored that they were in mourning for the
late disasters to the rebel cause. Another rumor was that the
two or three rebel rams had run out from Charlston and deliv-
had requested "men eighteen feet high" in order to comply; he was relieved
and replaced by Serrell.) After two weeks of intensive night labor, "Swamp
Angel" was installed on a platform at the battery. Rossiter Johnson, Camp-
fires & Battlefields (New York: Civil War Press, 1967), p. 294
 SOUTH CAROLINA 15

ered themselves up considering the rebel cause hopeless. Not-

withstanding the absurdity of these reports they are fully
believed untill some other equally absurd is told to the con-
trary. At this point we can see some of the rebel batterys, but
I think some of them are only sham intended to keep us from
crossing as no guns were in sight. While we were here Sumter
fired a salute of 14 guns. We could see the flame from the
mouth of her guns, and the ground beneath us trembled per-
ceptibly. They could have knocked us to pieces in a few min-
utes had they felt disposed. In the afternoon we got a nice lot
of oysters and had oysters fritters for supper.
April
No.4

(Much of No. 4 is illegible;

meaningless fragments are excluded)

... 23rd Everything quiet. not to work yet. News of the arrival
of the Arago and Delaware tell us the former of which was
reported to have been shot at by the rebels. We are in hourly
expectation of a mail. During leisure hours a great many
things can be seen which the casual observer would not no-
tice. I frequently have thought this war will never come to an
end if we have to rely upon the present officers of the army
from the highest to the lowest nineteen of every twenty men
never held such high positions or earned steady pay untill
they joined the army, Money being the reason ...
What will a man not do for money? We have here a most
miserable set of wretches who follow in the wake of the army,
sutlers. All such men who should be drafted and placed at
the front and used as targets for the enemy to fire at. All who
deal in such stuff should lose their money and generally go
toward the number of deaths that occur in the army.
Expedition to Folly Island
No.5

... 27th Went to work on fortifications ourselves as otherwise

nothing will be done. We are going to do as much to keep
them from becoming demoralized as we can do 28th To day
we have a heavy noreaster, the heaviest we have had yet. The
waves lash the shore with fury.
The habit of gambling in the army [is] frightfull. I am happy
to find a few who do not carry it to such extremes in our
officers. One man I shall not name one time by my advice I
sent home his money myself, but in these days he did promise
to quit. He now prepares the same amount as myself to send.
He promised me not to play anymore. Unless it is sent imme-
diately he will gamble it. So that you will suspect the wrong
person I will say no more of to my knowledge. It is a pity that
the army does not entirely prohibit gambling and give the
severest penalties to gamblers. Soldiers families suffer from
the practice. [Many] were incapable of until now earning
enough for their bread. And [some] get off duty [by] foolishly
paying enormous prices for [replacements] or for less than
quart bottles at 30 cts per gallon thus verifying ignorance.
Another humbug in the army is what is commonly called [pa-
pers] in which business innumerable officers are ignorant. I
recollect reading an incident which will illustrate [this.] A
man [was] sent to a certain hospital but they could not find
his papers. They sent out for another, but it was found [wrong]
and they were sent back for correction, they found that the
right man had not signed at all. The papers they finally pro-
nounced all right, but the man dead. So it is with everything .
. . . Many furloughed men get off for other than the precise
reasons intended for it. I could not tell how many since 1st
May up to the present have [managed] to get their papers made
out correctly. And it does not affect their waiting their turn.
29th Clear but windy. 30th Last night it was really terrible.
The wind blew so hard ... off scattering them over the island
like rain. Some of the tents went in every direction. Ours was
saved by being held up and holding the edges down untill the
wind subsided. it did well.
An Expedition to Folly Island
No.6

May [] 1863

text cont from #5

walking on the surface of the water. Altogether it was a beauti-

ful picture. One needing the pencil of a painter. Those who
had bunk.•;; raised from the ground remained all night. Those
who had not were obliged to take up their beds and walk to
higher ground and sleep in the open air. The next day the 3rd
the camp was broken up and removed to higher quarters.
This morning was exceedingly sultry, no air stirring and the
sun pouring down on our heads like fire. It is better here in
the morning than at our camp. From 6 till nine in the morn-
ing it is so hot you feel as there was not any air. At 12M we
went a little higher ... but about 10 O'clock we rested our
legs. The tide had risen to our tent. There is nothing to do to
avoid these therefore unavoidable mishaps. But let some offi-
cers be ... by which they may suffer a trifle and the men
would [suffer]. At the time it is about ... we should have
started for camp and got the stuff up, But we were obliged to
stay ... two preceding ones. The steamer [arrived] without
any news. There was a lot of missionary works and tracts
distributed among the men also a few ... In the afternoon I
took a walk in the woods I saw quite a variety of ... to attract
my attention but none worth describing here except it may
afford you some amusement to know what surrounds us. If I
have an opportunity I will try....
5th Last night lightning kept up one almost continuous
flash. It would flash from one cloud to another and then disap-
pear. There . . . each other between and for an instant all
would be darkness, then lightning would burst from some
dark corner and [light] the heavens as far as the eye could
reach. My pen cannot do the scene justice and I will leave the
rest to your imagination.
Returned to camp which after all seems like home com-
 SOUTH CAROLINA 19

menced to put up the magazines. In the afternoon I received

a letter from your mother and yourself. In it you refer to the
subject of white anedotes. I might [say much] on the subject
but I will content myself with relating one. On the night we
left the steamer and were all prepared to leave long before we
got the order there were but few exceptions .... him a joke
and try and fool him ... A corporal came up to me and no[t]
catching at the joke ... caught the words and as he has no
great intelligence spoke to the crowd about ... Taking advan-
tage of the hubbub [saying] that I did not feel well and had
obtained permission to go ... I told [them] to keep up the joke
while I put my things on board. I heard W. say there he goes
sneaking away just as I left. He started for a man who is known
in the co as the blackguard who appeared to be standing near
my things, so slipping in a ... then I heard W come up to him
and say I want you to come and sun ... some of whom were
decieved as well. When I returned at the scene it was perfectly
ridiculous, W had both guns and . . . out, I knowed it, I
knowed it, I was told so before we left the head, I was told so
... this was a little more than I had expected and raised my
ire and all and catching him by the neck I commenced telling
him he knew he was lying. I then told him to get . . . till
morning. At this the boys sent up a tremendous shout to
take he was really sick and at which time we ... telling I will
guard ....
Just previous to this ridiculous spectacle of the guard ...
was for disobediance of the orderlies orders ... He forgets the
reports [and] the roll if he is so inclined. In our co we have
had a few such incidents. [I] mention these things to show
you the inside works of a military Corp.

to be continued
June 1863
No 7

June ... An incident that I must not omit to mention is that

this morning at doctors call we had not a sick man on the
list. 1 This does not occur in one co out of ten throughout
the whole Rgt during their service. General orders have been
issued to the whole ... in view of the continuance of hot
weather as a result of which we have built shades for our tents
in the shape of an arbor covered by palmetto leaves. This keeps
the sun off and allows the breeze to circulate through. 11th
Last night a large steamer succeeded in getting inside the
blockade ran aground fast in shoal water 1 ¥.! miles from shore.
As it is stuck fast in the sand either by intent or accident she
was set on fire ... burned very badly. During the forenoon
the rebels flired] into our batterys and up ... falling in our
hands. she is within reach of both our batterys and gun boats
as well. By going up the beach we can get quite close to her.
In the afternoon we went opposite her to prevent the rebels
from taking her.
12th This morning some of our men of the batallion swam
out to her. While on board their boat got loose and floated
away and is now in rebel possession. As this is the only boat
we are without one for the present. One or two swam ashore
and returned with clothing and other useful articles for the
rebs ... From this it would seem she is from the west indies.
Hotchkiss and me were walking on the beach . . . looking
around I made out enough to form the conclusion that he is
of a family or person of some wealth by the name of ... H
seems to have left a son-in-law and his family by the ... on
the ground. I concluded that the complete family were the
1. Westervelt's estimation of the amount of men on siek call is not over-
stated. "The diseases that ravaged many of the new camps, both North and
South, left few untouched. It wasn't uncommon for a company that began
with 100 or more men to lose 20 to disease, accident or disability during
the first few months of eamp life. Statistics were to show that during the
first year and a half of the war, the Union would lose 20.1% of its forces
from disease and sickness." Denney, Civil War Medicine, p. 65.
 SOUTH CAROLINA 21

last landing here. I must tell you of a creature I found this

morning called by sailors a portuguese man of war. It is bright
sky blue in colour. It was [probably] brought ashore during a
squall last night. ... It is a verry beautiful creature ... part
of his body is transparent and underneath he is a beautiful
crimson and pink. ... All the sick were sent to the head this
morning. Among them were several from our co. I am sorry
to say quite a number are on the sick list again.
To day we again went up to the point to cut a road through
the woods for the artillery. We left about ... O'clock when the
rebs commenced to shell the woods. In order that you will
understand me I must inform you that the upper point of this
island is covered with thick woods and the shore next morris
island is a high bluff so that at the point we only see the tops
of the trees. Our camp is near another ... of woods on the
edge of which is our tower and batterys. Between our batterys
and the woods on the upper point is a cliff [which] we have
to pass to get to the bluff and the rebels can see us when we
do so. Thus [we] were seen at this time and ... the tops of the
trees as we fell them .... This being the first that most of us
had been under fire we had opportunity to test our courage.
The men behaved like old hands at the business. It was not
as dangerous as the shell burst over heads, the pieces cutting
down trees, a solid shot cutting a whole tree down to run was
useless as it would bring us in the open. The only chance was
to fall flat on the ground without thought or you will be to
late. This is done more from instinct than reason, covering
as much of our person as possible. Taking advantage of a pause
we made for the sand bluffs and lay untill they ceased which
was ... P.M. Let me tell you this laying under fire and being
unable of returning it is awfully trying to the nerves of a
good man.
I mentioned about a darkey being killed. I have since the
particulars. The darky was standing about and heard the re-
port, and fell flat and was instantly killed. No one else being
hurt .... we cut the trees in every direction.
14th This morning all is quiet.
Another random document with
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romantic that would be! I heard of such a case the winter I was in
Albany.”
 CHAPTER XVIII
GREAT-UNCLE SAMUEL

Surprising events were not over for Rose. The next morning as
she was dusting the sitting-room, with a lighter heart than she had
thought could ever again be hers, a carriage drew up at the small
white gate, from which an old gentleman alighted and came nimbly
along the narrow, flagged walk, tapping the stones smartly with his
gold-headed cane.
“Is this Mrs. Blossom?” he asked in a thin, brisk voice as she
answered his knock on the green-paneled door, where Rose had
stood with fluttering heart so few months before. “Then I suppose
you are the person who wrote concerning a young girl supposed to
be the daughter of Kate Jarvis and James Shannon.”
At that moment he caught sight of Rose. “Bless my heart!” he
exclaimed, stepping in. “If there isn’t the child now! Kate’s own
daughter; I’d have known her anywhere. The very picture of what her
mother was at her age. Bless me!” and he rubbed his thin face,
flushed with the chill of the ride from Byfield and wrinkled like a
withered apple, with a great white silk handkerchief.
“Turn around to the light, child,” he directed Rose, not heeding
Mrs. Blossom’s invitation to lay aside his wraps. “I want to get a good
look at you. Yes,” lifting her chin and moving her head from side to
side, “clear Jarvis and no mistake—the color of the hair and eyes,
the turn of the head and all. I’m thankful you’re no Shannon, though
Jim looked well enough as far as that went.
“Dear, dear,” to Mrs. Blossom, “to think that Brother Robert’s
daughter, the little Kate I have held on my knee many a time, should
be grown and married and dead, and this be her child. It’s difficult,
madam, to realize such changes; it makes one feel that he is
growing old, upon my word it does.”
 Rose, on her part, was looking at him intently. “I believe it is your
picture in the locket,” and running upstairs she quickly returned with
it open in her hand.
He drew out his eye-glasses. “Yes, that is my picture. Quite a
good-looking fellow I was in those days. Kate was my only niece,
and I gave her the locket on her eighteenth birthday. And so she
always kept it, and you have it still. Well, well!”
“And had my mother an Aunt Sarah?” questioned Rose.
“Yes, her mother’s only sister, Sarah Hartly.”
“I have a Bible she gave my mother, with ‘To Kate from Aunt
Sarah,’ written inside.”
“Well,” with a little chuckle, “I’m surprised to know that she ever
gave anybody anything.”
 “Clear Jarvis and no mistake.”—Page 237.

“I haven’t thanked you yet,” and he turned again to Mrs. Blossom,

“for the interest you have shown in the matter. Indeed I was so
surprised when I received the letter from the minister who married
Kate, who still lives in Fredonia, inclosing yours to him, and the first
word concerning Kate for fifteen years, that I haven’t recovered from
it yet. And now to find another Kate, as you may say; why, it makes
me feel as though I had lost my reckoning, and the world had rolled
back thirty years.”
“And did you not know then that Rose’s mother was dead?”
“No. Since her foolish, runaway marriage to Jim Shannon, sixteen
years ago, I had not heard a word either from or about her, till your
letter, and you know how little that told. Since her mother’s death the
lawyer in charge of the business has made every effort to find a
trace of Kate or her heirs, but in vain. Of the events of her later life I
know nothing whatever, not even when or where she died.”
“It was when I was quite a little girl,” answered Rose, “and in a city
that I now think was Chicago.”
“I gather from Mrs. Blossom’s letter that your father was also dead.
Is that so?”
“Yes; he died a little while after mamma.”
“A fortunate circumstance for you,” with a nod to Mrs. Blossom.
“And where have you been all this time; and why if you had your
mother’s marriage certificate didn’t you try to find your friends, or
somebody before this try to find them for you?”
In the meantime, Mr. Samuel Jarvis, the old gentleman, as he
talked, had by degrees taken off his muffler, fur-lined overcoat, fur
cap and gloves, and accepted the comfortable rocker before the fire.
Now in answer to his question, made though it was in a somewhat
testy fashion, Rose related to him her story, recalling all the details
she could remember of her mother, while Great-Uncle Samuel
rubbed his eyes with his big silk handkerchief and murmured, “Poor
Kate, poor Kate!”
When she came to her residence with Madam Atheldena Sharpe,
his tone changed to one of horrified protest. “Kate’s baby in the
hands of a travelling clairvoyant; exhibited like a Punch and Judy
Show; who ever heard of such a thing!” As she told of the exposure,
and her desertion by Madam Sharpe, the bitterness and misery of
which she had never forgotten, he bristled with indignation. “Kate’s
baby with nowhere to go and nothing to eat; alone, afraid, and
hungry! Could it be possible!”
All excited as she was, and stimulated still more by his interest,
Rose gave to her story a certain dramatic force. Her keen sense of
the ludicrous gave some humorous touches even to her description
of Mrs. Hagood. When it came to her trouble with that lady she
hesitated a moment, and then gave a most dramatic account of the
closing scene, as well as of her flight, her encounter with Ben
Pancost, and the help he had given her.
“True Jarvis spirit!” cried Great-Uncle Samuel, rubbing his hands.
“Kate’s baby climbed out of the window in the night; tramped off all
alone. Just think of it! And that boy, I’d like to meet him!”
But when she came to tell of her appearance at the Blossom
home, and the kindness which she had there received, he insisted
on shaking hands with the whole family in turn. “Bless me,” he
exclaimed, “to think you have done all this for Kate’s baby. Who ever
heard anything like it?”
Her stay at the Fifields’, including as it did the accusation made
against her there, was a subject so fresh and painful to Rose, and
seemed to her from the fact of the suspicion to involve her in such a
disgrace that when she came to it she flushed, hesitated, and Mrs.
Blossom, seeing her embarrassment, came to the rescue and
related the circumstances that had led to the bringing out of the
locket, and the accidental discovery of the marriage certificate inside
it.
 To Rose’s great surprise Great-Uncle Samuel did not seem to
regard the fact that she had been charged with theft as anything
particularly shameful; indeed he treated it with decided indifference.
“They need not have worried,” with a lofty tone, “as to her being a
low-bred child, the Jarvises are as good blood as you will often find.
And to think,” sadly, “that the locket I gave Kate should have served
a purpose neither of us ever dreamed of.”
“And why was it you didn’t know anything about my mother?”
asked Rose.
“Yes,” said Mrs. Blossom, “that is a question I was just going to
ask.”
“As I said before, when she ran away with Jim Shannon she cut
herself off from all her friends. Poor Kate, how much suffering she
brought on herself by her wilfulness! And yet I don’t think the blame
was all hers. If her father had lived I’m certain it would never have
happened; but her mother was a woman who wanted to bend every
one and everything to her will. And Kate was an uncommonly high-
spirited girl, impulsive and a trifle headstrong, but generous,
affectionate, and everybody’s favorite; a girl that it needed some tact
to manage, and her mother hadn’t a particle of tact. So when Kate
fell in love with Jim Shannon she made a bad matter worse instead
of better. Enough was said to Kate but she wouldn’t believe a word
of it. I told her myself that he drank like a fish, and she only held up
her head and said that he might have been a trifle wild, as any
number of other young men had been, but that he was going to be
entirely different. Well, it was the old story, marry him she would and
did. And when she wrote to her mother asking if she could come
home, Mary sent word back that she might, but her husband could
never cross her threshold. Of course that made Jim mad, and Kate
wrote at once that whoever received her must receive her husband
also. Her mother sent that letter back to her, and there it all ended. In
less than a week they were on their way West, and Kate never wrote
a word home again.
“Some of her girl friends had a few letters from her, very bright at
first, and telling how happy she was in her new home, but these
soon stopped. I don’t deny that I was a good deal put out with her at
first, but I understood her silence only too well. If life had gone
smoothly with her she would have written, but as it was, she knew
that whatever she had to endure she had brought it on herself, and
she would bear it alone.
“Kate’s mother was a proud woman, too. From the day Kate left
she never mentioned her name, nor would she let any one mention it
to her; but I believe that secretly she lived in the expectation and
hope of her return. It was like her when she died, five years ago, not
to leave any will, and the lawyer has advertised, and tried in every
way to find some trace of Kate. And now, like the spring in the locket,
all at once unexpectedly it opens and everything is clear and plain.”
He turned abruptly to Rose, who had been listening intently to all
that concerned her mother. “What did they say your name was,
Rose? I ought to remember that, when I was a little boy in school if
there was a little girl we liked very much we used to write on a slate,

“‘The rose is red,

The violet blue,
Sugar is sweet,
And so are you,’

and hold it up for her to see. Now, Rose, when I speak of the
property your grandmother has left you may think you are going to
be an heiress. And I want to tell you the first thing that you will be
nothing of the kind. My brother left everything to his wife, and she
had no more business sense than that cat, so when she died there
was very little left. I don’t know the exact amount but somewhere
about three thousand dollars. The proofs are sufficient that you are
Kate’s child, so there will be no trouble there. But you understand
that there isn’t enough for you to go to seaside summer resorts, or to
fly very high in the fashionable world.”
Rose laughed outright. “Why, I don’t know anything about either
seaside summer resorts, or the fashionable world, and never expect
to.”
 “Just as well; it’s a pity more women, young and old, can’t say the
same. But as I was going to say, if you are willing to use strict
economy there will be enough to take care of you at least till you are
through school.”
Rose’s eyes sparkled with joy. “Oh, if there is only enough for that
it is all I ask! Once I have education to teach I can take care of
myself.”
“That sounds like Kate. And if you are like her as much as you
look I sha’n’t fear for you.”
 CHAPTER XIX
ROSE FINDS A RESTING-PLACE

“Or course, Mr. Jarvis, you will stay with us to dinner, and as much
longer as you can,” said Miss Silence as he drew out a big gold
watch and snapped the case open.
“Thank you, madam, thank you. I shall be glad to accept your
hospitality for the dinner. In the meantime I think I will take a walk
about your pleasant little village. By the way, there are two questions
I always ask concerning a place: what is its latitude, and
population?” and he looked from one to another.
Miss Silence laughed. “I am afraid we can answer neither
question.”
“It doesn’t matter, I can judge of the latter myself.” And having
enveloped himself again in his muffler, overcoat, cap, and gloves, he
went briskly down the walk, his cane seeming more for ornament
than need.
Rose hurried out into the kitchen and putting on her gingham
apron began to set the table. “I suppose now,” and Silence counted
out the eggs to fry with the ham, “that I sha’n’t have you to help me
much longer.”
“Oh, Miss Silence,” and dropping the bread tray, Rose caught her
around the waist and gave her a squeeze, “you know, you know, I
never will go away from here as long as I may stay.”
For Rose had been tossed to and fro like a shuttlecock at the
mercy of adverse currents so long, that she felt not only some
wonder but a little uneasiness as to what disposal would next be
made of her.
“It’s very nice, of course,” as she sliced the bread, “when I didn’t
know that I had a relative to have Great-Uncle Samuel walk in, and I
suppose he has the right to say where I shall go, and what I shall do.
Only I’m so tired of changes and uncertainties that I wish I might
never have to make another change; and I wish that I might know
right now, right away, what I am going to do.”
As for Mr. Samuel Jarvis, the surprising news of Rose’s existence,
followed so quickly by her appearance before him in the flesh, was of
itself bewildering, to say nothing of the responsibility so suddenly
thrust upon him of making provision for her future.
This was shown by a certain preoccupation of manner on his
return. Not so much so but that his eyes, still keen and bright, noted
everything around him; the well-appointed table, the delicately
served food, the low tones and gentle manners of the group
surrounding it, the air of order and comfort pervading the modest
home. But it was not till he pushed back from the table after the meal
that he mentioned the question of vital interest to Rose.
“I’ve been thinking,” he spoke to Mrs. Blossom, tapping his cane
on the floor as he talked, “what I ought to do for Kate’s baby now I’ve
found her, and I don’t know when I’ve come across a harder
proposition. I don’t wonder that women look worn out who have half
a dozen girls to provide for. I’m sure that one would be too much for
me.
“Of course Sarah Hartly is the one who ought to take Violet—oh,
Rose, so it is, and if she wasn’t so supremely selfish she would. I
stopped off at Fredonia, on my way from Buffalo here, and put it up
to her. There she is, her grandmother’s sister, and Kate her only
niece, a widow without chick or child, and a house she doesn’t begin
to use, and she said her health wasn’t good enough, and her nerves
were too weak to take a bouncing girl—those were her very words,
‘bouncing girl,’ into her family. I should think her nerves would be
weak,” he sniffed, “with that miserable whiffet dog she keeps, barking
and snapping at every one. Snapped at me he did, and I told Sarah
plainly that if a dog ever bit me some one would pay well for it. She
shut him up then, and he was howling and scratching when I came
away.
 “Now, I can’t take her. I never was married and I don’t know any
more what a girl needs than the man in the moon. Besides, I live at a
club and that would be no place for a young girl. But as I was saying
about—what did you say her name was? Oh, yes, Rose, she looks
strong and healthy, and I’d like to have her stay where she could
have pure air, and new milk and fresh eggs. There is no place like
the country to live, at least when one is young.
“I’m quite pleased with your little village; it’s situated nicely, and
your town-folk tell me you have no malaria. I have made inquiry
about the school and am told it is unusually good for a place of this
size. And, Mrs. Blossom, I had just as soon tell you that I have made
inquiries about your family, with the most flattering answers. You
have all shown the kindest interest in the poor child, and from what I
have heard, and still more from what I have seen, I feel that if she
can remain in your care it will be the best arrangement I could make
for her. Would that suit you?” turning to Rose.
“Indeed it would,” her face bright with pleasure that what she had
wished seemed so near fulfilment. “Nothing could suit me better.”
“Wait a moment,” waving his hand to Mrs. Blossom not to speak; “I
want to make myself fully understood. If Kate’s baby remains here
you will, of course, be paid for her board, but I should want you to
regard her as more than a mere boarder—in short, to receive her as
one of your family, and give her the same care and interest, and as
long as the arrangement continues that this shall be her home, and
all that implies.”
As Rose glanced from one to another she recalled the day when
homeless and friendless she had sat in that same room and waited,
with a hungry hope in her heart, for the decision that meant so much
to her; the misery and uncertainty of further wandering, or the
happiness and security of a shelter and abiding-place. There had
been a great change since then. Now she had Great-Uncle Samuel
to vouch for her; she was no longer an unknown and half-suspected
applicant for charity, but ready and able to pay for what she had. But
so dear had that home, and those within it grown to Rose, with such
a dread did she shrink from the thought of being thrust out again
among strangers that not even on that first time, it seemed to her, did
she wait the answer more eagerly.
As often happened, impulsive Silence was the first to speak. “For
my part, I should be only too glad to have Rose stay with us, and I
will do all I can to make her happy here.”
“I’m sure,” it was Mrs. Patience’s gentle voice, “Rose has won for
herself a place in our home, that would be vacant without her.”
It was a moment longer before Mrs. Blossom spoke, and when
she did there was a quiver in her usually firm, self-controlled tone,
“Yes, I will keep Rose, and I will do for her just as I would have done
for my own little Rachel if she had lived.”
Grandmother Sweet, sitting in her rocker with the sunshine falling
across her snowy hair and serene face, laid down her knitting,
whose subdued click, click, seemed like her own quiet personality to
pervade the room, “I feel it borne on my mind, Elizabeth, that thee
will never regret the word thee has just given.” And then to Mr.
Jarvis, “Thee need feel no concern for the child, for while Silence
and Patience in the tenderness of their hearts would, I fear, wholly
spoil her, their mother will be heedful of her duty to guide and train.
And truly it will be a pleasure to us all to have this little one of the
dear Lord set in our midst.”
“Thank you, madam,” and Great-Uncle Samuel made a deferential
bow to her; “I shall go away with my mind at ease.
“And now,” to Rose, “if I leave you with these kind ladies I shall
expect you to be good and obedient in return for all they do for you.”
“I’ll try to be,” was Rose’s dutiful answer.
“That’s right, that’s right. I hope you always will remember to.
Young people are very apt to think they know it all when they haven’t
the first idea what’s for their good. I’m glad you look like your mother,
and hope you will have all her good qualities, but I want you to
remember the trouble she brought on herself and all who cared for
her just by wilfulness. I believe that settles everything. Four dollars, I
was told, is the average price for board here; if that is satisfactory a
check will be sent you every three months, for that and Rose’s
expenses. But mind,” turning to Rose, “you must be very prudent to
make the money last.”
She hesitated a little. “I—I could go back to the Fifields’. They
would pay me fifty cents a week and that would save a good deal.”
He threw up both hands. “What! Robert Jarvis’s granddaughter,
Kate’s child, a servant? Bless me! Never let me hear of that again!”
“Rose is very helpful about the house,” added Mrs. Blossom. “I will
not ask that price.”
“Little enough, madam, little enough. Besides, I want you to teach
her useful things; to cook, to take care of a house. More men are
killed by bad bread than bullets, and I don’t want Kate’s baby ever to
murder any one that way.” As he spoke he began to draw on his
overcoat.
“Why, you are not going?” exclaimed Mrs. Blossom.
“Yes, madam, yes. There seems no need for me to stay longer.
The team that brought me from the station is waiting to take me back
for the evening train, and I can be in Buffalo again in the morning.”
“But when are you coming again, Uncle Samuel?” asked Rose.
“Can’t say, Rose—yes, I am right, it is Rose. What with dyspepsia
and rheumatism, and the weight of years, I am not a great traveler.
Besides, everything is, I believe, satisfactorily settled. My brief stay
has been very pleasant,” as he shook hands around, ending with
Rose and the admonition, “Be a credit to these good ladies.”
The team was already waiting at the gate. “He doesn’t intend to
come again,” said Rose with a wistful accent as she stood at the
window and watched Great-Uncle Samuel tuck the fur robes about
him and drive away.
 CHAPTER XX
PAYING DEBTS

Rose stood at the window as long as Great-Uncle Samuel was in

sight. Then she turned away and sitting down on a low stool by
Grandmother Sweet’s side laid her head on its chintz covered arm.
“Grandma Sweet,” she whispered softly, “I’m sorry I said what I
did. I do see God’s care and leading now.”
“Dear child,” was the smiling answer as the wrinkled hand
smoothed tenderly the plump, fair cheek, “never doubt His care and
leading. It is not often this is made so clear and it never may be to
thee again, for we are commanded to walk by faith and not by sight;
but always be sure that God’s love and care are ever over thee.”
“I know it,” was the low answer. “I will never doubt it again.”
“If thee is ever tempted to, and it will be strange if thee is not—
keep this in mind: that the Lord’s thought toward thee is always of
love, that He will lay nothing upon thee that He will not give thee
strength to bear, and no discipline whose right use will not make thee
stronger and better, and the better fitted for that abundant entrance
into His kingdom which I trust and pray may be thine.”
Twilight shadows were creeping into the room, and these two, the
young heart just opening to God’s love, and the aged heart who had
tested it through a long lifetime, sat hand in hand in the peaceful
stillness.
The opening of a door aroused Rose. Silence Blossom had come
in from feeding her chickens, bringing with her a whiff of the crisp,
outer air. “Well, Rose,” as she held out her hands to the heat of the
fire, “are you a happy girl to-night?”
“Indeed I am. I thought yesterday when I knew that the money was
found, that I was happy as I could be; but I am still happier now. To
think that no one can call me a pauper any more, or twit me with
being a charity child!” Her voice choked, for every taunting reference
to her poverty had stung deep, and with all the sensitiveness of a
proud nature she had felt the bitterness of her dependent condition.
“Just to think that I can pay for what I have, and have an education.
Why, it seems too good to be true. If it were three millions I don’t
believe I could feel any richer. Of course,” she hurried to add, “I know
I must be very careful, but I wonder—do you think—that I could have
a new dress, not made over, but one bought on purpose for me; and
a pair of kid gloves—I don’t know that I could afford them, but I’ve
wanted a pair so long.”
“Yes.” Silence Blossom spoke quick and decisive. “You can have a
pair of kid gloves and a new dress. It can be neat and pretty without
being of expensive material.”
Rose hesitated a moment. “I suppose a brown or a blue dress
would do me the most service, but I’ve always wished that I could
have a red dress.”
“A red dress it shall be, then,” said Miss Silence. “And you can
help me make it. I haven’t forgotten how a girl feels about her
clothes, and as long as I have any say about it you are going to have
things like other girls.”
Rose drew a blissful breath; she could hardly believe it possible. In
fact, it was a difficult matter for Rose to go to sleep that night, she
was so overflowing with happiness; and numberless were the plans
as to what she would do and be, as blissful as they were vague, that
floated through her excited mind as she lay with her eyes wide open
in the moonlight.
“I wish Ben Pancost could know,” she whispered. And then for all
her happiness she sighed a little quivering sigh, for since the day
they parted in the little parlor of the Byfield hotel, not one glimpse
had she seen or one word had she heard of Ben Pancost. He had
neither come to Farmdale at the time he had appointed, nor in any of
the weeks that followed, though she had watched for him with eyes
that grew weary with watching, and sometimes were wet with the
tears of disappointment.
 Rose could not understand it. Ben had been so interested in her
behalf, he had left her so full of anxiety for her welfare, with such a
positive promise of coming to see her. Nor could she doubt him. If
ever she felt inclined to do so, the remembrance of all his kindness,
of all he had been to her in the time of her sore need would come
afresh to her mind. She had but to shut her eyes to see again the
merry, sunburned face, with the straightforward, honest eyes, so full
of sympathy, and to feel the tight clasp of his warm, brown hand as
he slipped the silver dollars into it. One of these she had never spent
and whenever she looked at it there came the certainty that Ben
could not have failed her; something must have happened, and what
that was she could not imagine. Rose seldom mentioned Ben to Mrs.
Blossom or Silence, because they both inclined to the opinion that
being but a boy some fresher interest had crowded the matter from
his mind. But Mrs. Patience believed with her that he was not a boy
to lightly break a promise, and that he would have come if he could.
“I wish more than ever that I could see Ben Pancost,” she confided
to Mrs. Patience when her first check arrived, “for now I could pay
him back the money he let me have. And Ben works hard for his
money, and he may need it. If I knew where he was I would write and
send it to him.”
“Oh, no, Rose!” Mrs. Patience’s sense of propriety was delicate
and old-fashioned. “It would hardly be proper for a young girl to write
to a boy.”
“But this would be different,” urged Rose. “It would be business,
paying a debt.”
“That would make a difference,” admitted Mrs. Patience, “for a
lady would not wish to rest under an obligation of that kind if she
could avoid it. But then you do not know where he is.”
“No,” admitted Rose sadly, for brief as her acquaintance with Ben
Pancost had been its circumstance had made it one of the most vivid
memories of her life; and the day spent with him, as she looked back
on it, seemed to her almost like a page out of fairyland, with Ben
himself, warm-hearted, sympathetic, loyal Ben, with his happy self-
confidence and happier confidence in God, as its knight and hero.
 Then Rose’s face brightened. “For all that, I have a feeling that I
shall meet Ben again, sometime.”
“He may be dead,” suggested Mrs. Patience, whose own
bereavement sometimes gave a tinge of melancholy to her sweet
nature.
“Then he has gone to heaven,” was Rose’s quick answer, “and if
when I die I go there, too, I shall be sure to meet him.”
A few days later Rose came in with her arm full of school books.
“Those are my books for next term,” as she spread them proudly on
the table.
“The history is not new,” remarked Silence Blossom as she
glanced them over.
“No; Clara Brown used it last year. But it is not much soiled and
she let me have it fifty cents cheaper than a new one, and I have a
particular use for that fifty cents.”
With that Rose went up to her room and after a time came down
with an open letter in her hand. “I’ve been writing to Mrs. Hagood,
and I’d like to read it to you, and have you tell me if it’s all right.
“‘Dear Madam,’
“I thought first I wouldn’t say ‘dear,’” she explained, “for
she never was dear to me, one little bit; but I thought it
would be polite to, and I wanted to be polite.
“‘Perhaps you think that I ought not to have taken those
things to eat when I left your house, though they were not
much more than I would have eaten at the supper which I
did not have, and the basket I put them in was an old
grape basket. So I send you fifty cents, which is all
everything is worth, and more, too!’
“Fifty cents was all Ben paid for my dinner the next day,
and it was a fine dinner.
“‘I am living with a very nice family who are so kind to
me. Mrs. Blossom found my relatives, and my real name is
 not Posey Sharpe, but Rose Shannon. My grandmother
had left me property, so I am not a charity child any more,
but have money of my own to pay for my board and
clothes, and an education. I like Farmdale, and have good
friends here. The paper I am writing on is from a box given
me at Christmas.’”
She paused and looked from one to another. “Will that do?”
“I didn’t hear any regret for the way you left Mrs. Hagood,” said
Mrs. Blossom.
“No, nor you won’t hear any. I know I didn’t do right, but if she had
done what was right herself it wouldn’t have happened. If I’d said
anything, I should have said that, so I thought perhaps I’d better not
say anything. I’ve always felt she might say that I took what didn’t
belong to me, and I’m only too glad to send her the money. I would
have liked to have added something to Mr. Hagood, but I was afraid
if I did it would make trouble for him. She will be apt to read the letter
to him, and he will be glad to know I am so nicely settled, but it will
make her feel pretty bad to know that I can pay for my board and she
not get the money,” and Rose gave a chuckle.
“How did you sign yourself?” asked Miss Silence, who had been
biting her lips to keep from laughing.
“I just signed my name. I wasn’t going to say ‘Yours truly,’ or
‘sincerely,’ for I’m not hers, and it’s one of the joys of my life that I
never shall be.” And Rose folded the letter into its envelope and
patted on the stamp.
 CHAPTER XXI
THE BOX FROM GREAT-AUNT SARAH

It was some two weeks after Great-Uncle Samuel’s visit that the
stage one day stopped at the Blossom’s. “Rose Shannon live here?”
the driver asked. “Here’s a box for her I found over at Byfield.”
“A box for me?” cried Rose, circling round it. “Who in the world can
it be from?”
“Perhaps when we open it we will know,” and Silence brought the
hatchet and quickly had the cover loose. “There’s a letter,” as she
lifted the lid. “No doubt that will tell.”
Rose unfolded the letter and read it in silence. Then she handed it
to Mrs. Blossom. “It’s from my Great-Aunt Sarah; you can read it out
loud.” Her cheeks were red, but she spoke quietly, so quietly that
Mrs. Blossom glanced at her keenly as she took the letter and read:
“My Dear Niece:
“I have had a letter from Samuel Jarvis in which he
writes that there is no question but you are the daughter of
Kate Jarvis, and as he is a careful man I dare say it is so.
The minister who was written to, and who married Kate
came to me first and I referred him to Samuel, for being a
man he could better look after the matter.
“He also wrote me the arrangement he had made for
you. I am glad to know that you are with a worthy family,
and I trust they will look after your manners—manners are
so important for a young girl. Your mother’s manners were
considered attractive, but she was headstrong. I hope you
are not headstrong. I must say that under the
circumstances, with no one to look after and his brother’s
grandchild, I should have thought Samuel Jarvis would
have taken charge of you himself. But Samuel never did