WILLIAM
BEYMER'S
ON HAZARDOUS
SERVICE
When
William Gilmore Beymer initially undertook the basic research involved
in preparing articles regarding espionage operations conducted by both
Union and Confederate forces, he failed to anticipate the “serious
difficulty” involved in obtaining the data he needed to prepare
his excellent articles. In his preface to On Hazardous Service,
Beymer refers to “hundreds of letters” written to individuals
in nearly every state and he mentions frequent trips to Chicago, Boston,
and Pittsburgh during which he interviewed participants and witnesses
to these essentially undocumented clandestine operations. He
accurately writes that a “bibliography of the books, newspapers,
and pamphlets consulted would show a list of hundreds of volumes.” Readers
of his book can only wish that he had chosen to prepare an academic
study complete with footnotes and a full bibliography instead of preparing
articles initially published in Harper’s Magazine and Harper’s
Weekly. Had Beymer chosen this approach, he would have
created a significant contribution to an essentially undocumented
aspect of American Civil War history. On Hazardous Service consists
of ten stories, but three of them are personal narratives resulting
from interviews conducted by Beymer and correspondence between him
and the subject of his story. “Rowand,” “Phillips,” and “Landegon” resulted
from close contact between reporter and his subjects, and in the case
of Arch Rowand, the subject of the article proofread the article before
it was published. In the case of “Young,” Beymer
also had the assistance of Arch Rowand as a researcher who maintained
an active correspondence with surviving scouts such as Joseph McCabe,
Henry Chrisman, and John Riley in an attempt to ensure accuracy in
Beymer’s articles related to Sheridan’s Scouts.
Fortunately,
many of the letters written by Arch Rowand and the surviving scouts
were preserved by the Rowand family whose sense of the history the
old envelopes contained provides a fascinating insight into the activities
of Sheridan’s Scouts. Additionally, much of the correspondence
between Arch and Beymer, including copies of letters from the surviving
scouts written to Rowand in response to his questions seeking clarification
survived and were reviewed for a full study of the Jessie Scouts. As
a result, both sets of scout letters corroborate much of what Beymer
wrote in “Rowand” and “Young.” Additionally,
an old article from the National Tribune in Beymer’s personal
file contains Landegon’s account of his scouting activities for
the Army of the Potomac.
The latest research
generally focused on Arch Rowand and Henry Young, but additional material
was located on other stories in On Hazardous
Service. The article written by B.F. Ward titled “Jack
Sterry: The Jessie Scout” was initially published in Jackson,
Mississippi, and was also located in Beymer’s correspondence
file. This article goes far in revealing the existence of a clandestine
military capability within the Union army as early as 1862. The
meticulous Beymer, however, used only two sentences from this
important source in his article on Young.
During a
period between 1993 and 2006, researchers with Special Forces and Intelligence
Community backgrounds were able to repeat portions of Beymer’s research
by consulting a large number of letters – some of which had not been
seen since Beymer received them – and Military Service Records as well
as many of the documents in Philip H. Sheridan’s papers.
Two letters written to Beymer following
the appearance of his “Young” article
were very helpful in opening new research into Lt. Col. Henry H. Young’s
disappearance in Mexico along with 12-15 enlisted scouts accompanying
him on an ill-fated trip in November, 1866. This new material
will be published separately in a separate study on Union army scouts.
The
following samples of Beymer’s research are provided as examples
of the material available as he carefully prepared his ten articles
that were subsequently published in On Hazardous Service:
“Remember
you? Well I should guess yes. I will mention a little incident
that you will remember – the Sunday that we made the raid to
Colombia Furnace and captured about 20 prisoners. I captured
the picket on the outpost that we recaptured Stub William’s horse
that morning, the Rebs had taken him from us the Sunday before. You
will remember that we came up on a line of Johnnies on the bank of
the creek, about 100 of them, and rode into the creek to water our
horses. They asked us who we were; we told them we were Rosser’s
men. “Come ahead,” they answered, “you are
all right.” But as soon as our horses had drank Campbell
said, “You go to H—l. We’re Yanks.” Then
they opened up on us and we ran back to a log tobacco shed about 50
yards from them and you and Campbell would dash out into the open and
yell at them and draw their fire and in one of those dashes they shot
your horse through the thin part of the hock between the two joints. I
remonstrated with you for being so reckless, saying they might get
you yet. You laughed and said they would have to do better than
they had done yet.
“And
to think for all these years I never had your name right. When
my wife asked me this morning who my letter was from I answered “Archie
Roan, one of the old scouts. You heard me speak of him often.” “Yes,” she
answered, “but this is not Roan but Rowan,” so if I had
ever written to you you could not have gotten the letter. I regret
that I am unable to give you the names of the two men that went through
to Grant on foot South of Richmond as I was not with you at that time. When
Maj. Young came to Sheridan’s headquarters in November he brought
five infantry scouts with him, Cassady of the 1st R.I. and Abe Atkins,
George Kyle, Jim Blair, and _______ Ball, of a Wisconsin regiment. I
think the third Sunday we dashed into Edinsburg and captured Capt.
Granstaff’s pickets, Cassady was wounded and captured by the
rebs and did not get back that time. Ball never scouted any so
I think that you will find that it was Abe Atkins with either George
Kyle or Jim Blair that made the trip, for you know it would be almost
impossible to get a cavalryman to start on a trip like that afoot. In
looking over McCabe’s writings I cannot see that he claims to
have captured Captain Stumpf or that he mentions him at all but in
writing up the capture of Harry Gilmore he has made some errors as
you well know he says he was in command and started after night with
thirty men. You will remember that Maj. Young was in command
that we started just afternoon and that we had fifteen or sixteen scouts
and 300 Michigan Cavalry from Custer’s Brigade. We left
the Michigan men with their blue clothes concealed in the timber until
we should need them, that after we crossed the river we divided our
party with Nick Carlysle taking part of the men and going to the William’s
house as he thought that Gilmore was there and the rest of us went
to Randolph’s house where we found Gilmore. If you was
with the group that went to Randolph’s you will remember that
in some way the Johnnies caught on to who we were and we had a race
for the house and we won. I saddled Harry Gilmore’s black
mare and Capt. Gilmore (Harry’s cousin) bay horse and the rebs
were firing on us by the time I had them saddled. I noticed that
the black mare was very speedy and suggested to the Maj. that he let
one of the boys take the mare but the Maj. put Harry on his own horse
as we rode through the gate into the road the rebs was firing at us
from the other side of the road, two jumps of his horse would have
taken him, Gilmore, among them. He made the attempt when I caught
his bridle and as soon as I released my hold he tried it again, and
I caught his bridle again and threatened to kill the mare if the Maj.
did not make him change horses. Maj. Young then had Jack Riley
take the mare and put Gilmore on Jack’s horse and said, “Now
are you satisfied?” I answered, “Yes, my horse can
out run that one.” “Guard him, then,” said
Maj. All of this happened before we got 200 yards from Randolph’s
house. So you see McCabe got this expedition mixed up with some
other one as he said we got three miles before the rebs overtook us….
“It has
always been a wonder to me that some one did not write up a history
of Sheridan’s
Scouts (The Jessie Scouts the rebs called them). It would be
a very interesting book, especially so for you eight old scouts.”1
* * * *
“I was
along with party that captured Capt. Stump. He
was shot but he was not hit with rail or anything else, and he died
from his wound, and if it came out in a magazine it was not the truth,
and the man that wrote it did not know anything about it, and tell
his nephew that it is a lie, and there is no truth in it, for the scouts
were gentlemen, and had more principle and were raised better than
that, and had the principle of a soldier and a man, and were not beast.”2
* * * *
“I might
say I was the first scout with General Sheridan after he was detailed
to command the 5th Military District, which was on august 7th, 1864;
on August 14th, I was ordered by General Averill, whom I had been a
scout under to report to General Sheridan. I
remained with General Sheridan until the wind up at Appomattox, and
then went to the Southwest with him. The letter you quote about General
Sheridan writing about one of his scouts was the one he wrote about
my old partner Captain James A. Campbell.”3
* * * *
“I
was in a pretty severe fight on Sunday last. I will give you
a few of the particulars.
“On Saturday night at Nine o’clock fifteen of the scouts
and Fifty of the 5th N.Y. Cav. Left this place under command of Maj.
Young Com. Scouts with the intention of capturing the Enemies Picket
Post at Edenburg. Distance from this place 26 miles. At
1 o’clock we passed out outer picketts passing through
New Town and flanking Middletown, Strasburg, Maurrytown, and Woodstock
and at little after daylight we struck the Valley Pike at the Narrow
Pass and two miles from Edinberg without the Rebs knowing a Yank was
within twenty miles of them. Going at a pretty fast trot thro
the town we dashed through and captured the Rebel picket at the bridge
just outside of town with his horse toed to the railing of the
bridge. Leaving a man with him we made for the reserve. Fred
Barry and myself being in front was within twenty yards of the camp,
the Rebs being yet asleep in their blankets when Barry giving a yell. One
Reb jumped out of his shelter tent when I let drive at him with my
Navy. He gave up as did the balance of them. It was the
most compete surprise I ever witnessed. Our capture was one Lieutenant
and twelve men. Now we had a very nice affair of it had we got
away with them but we didn’t get away with them. We were
overtaken at Woodstock by two hundred of them. As soon as they
came in sight of us they charged us at Chew’s Run one mile this
side of Woodstock. We repulsed them. The Major here sent
out orders for the main column to push ahead with the prisoners having
the Scouts as a rear guard as we were moving along between the run
and Maurry Town four miles distance from Woodstock. There was
twenty Rebels dashed off a hill to our right and not twenty yards distance. Giving
a yell they came right on us. We had it about ten yards distance
for a few minutes. They being reinforces we were forced to fall
back. On coming in sight of the main column they were in full
gallop. When the Rebels charged us from the hill. There
was five of the 5th N.Y. new recruits just ahead of us. They
run like whipped curs and started the main body. The Maj. sent
me to stop them. I only got them stopped by threatening to shoot
the first man that run and I would have done it as I had begged them
to stop until I was so hoarse I could scarcely speak. They showed
but little fight when they were stopped. I never saw such cowards
in my life. We had a running fight for ten miles and we lost
all our prisoners. 8 scouts are gone. One known to be killed,
3 wounded, two mortally and four captured. Only one of the captured
being dressed in full grey. Have heard he was shot after being
taken. If it is so, the first Rebel we catch will die as sure
as there is a hereafter. Some fifteen of the N.Y. was captured. One
hundred of the Rebels followed us to Fisher’s Hill where the
pursuit ended. I had several very narrow escapes from being shot
and captured. Three times were the Rebels within twenty yards
of me, the fleetness of my horse alone saving me. A graylock
would yell out for me to surrender but I couldn’t see the point.”4
* * * *
“I regret to say, however, that to my knowledge that there is
not now living one of that band yet there may a few of the forty yet
here whose whereabouts I do not know. Major H.H. Young, who commanded
these scouts, went to Mexico in 1866 to aid Juarez in driving the Imperialist
forces from that country. Some twelve or fifteen of the scouts
accompanied him and all were killed there by a detachment Juarez’ army
through a mistake, they having been taken for Imperialists.”5
* * * *
Several of the scouts studied by Beymer
remained in the army following Appomattox. Jim Campbell, for example, was still serving during
the Spanish-American War and an article in the Rowand letters reveals
another episode in American history witnessed by a member of Sheridan’s
Scouts:
“For the
last twenty-five years “Scant” Campbell
has been in Indian country, and he is now growing stout because there
are no more Indians to chase over the mountains in Big Horn country. He
was with General Terry at the time of the Custer battle on the Little
Big Horn in 1876, and was one of the first to go over the field.”6
* * * *
Interestingly,
the pair of old friends had been separated for some time. Rowand
explained the reason in a letter to General Horace Porter:
“Campbell
and I both thought one another dead for twenty-nine years, each believing
the other had gone to Mexico and met the same fate poor Young did.
“Col.
Michael Sheridan brought us together three years ago….”7
* * * *
In the concluding
portion of the article on Rowand, Beymer refers to a scene he observed
following his interview session with the aging scout:
“…circle
of brilliant light in which he was slowly reopening the little leather
case, and with him I seemed to read, graved in the dark bronze, the
shining words, “For
Valor.”
General Philip
H. Sheridan recommended a medal of honor be awarded to Arch Rowand
for his hazardous service. Sheridan’s
recommendation was written in terse, unemotional words normally found
in military documents, but more could have been said:
“I respectfully
recommend that a medal of honor be given Private Arch H. Rowand, Jr.,
1st West Virginia Cavalry, for gallant and meritorious service as a
scout in the Army of the Shenandoah during the late war.
“During
the James River raid in the winter of 1864-’65,
Private Rowand was one of two men who went through from New Market,
Va., to General Grant, who was then encamped at City Point.
“He also
gave information as to the whereabouts of the rebel scout, Harry Gilmore,
and assisted in his capture, besides making several other daring scouts
through the enemy’s lines.”8
* * * *
The recent research
concentrated on Sheridan’s scouts, Rowand,
Young, and the other enlisted scouts mentioned in Beymer’s articles
and much corroboration was found in the process. Beymer’s
work was vague in some parts of his articles, but they are generally
accurate. The articles are a good starting point for anyone
interested in pursuing the study of these fascinating, but relatively
undocumented soldiers and civilians.
David
L. Phillips
Leesburg,
Virginia
July
22, 2007