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Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 1, Chapter 5: graduation from the United States Military Academy, 1854; brevet Second Lieutenant in Ordnance Department, 1855-56 (search)
ardens always well kept, and roads and paths which were a delight. Our outdoor parties in pleasant weather are kaleidoscopic in my recollection. The young officers did much reading at that time, each choosing books according to his taste. Major Symington, on one occasion, introduced to us a young Frenchman, Eugene de Courcillon, who had met with some singular misfortune and was seeking employment. I was somewhat fascinated by him and hoped that my intercourse with him would improve my French, but he soon proposed to write a book revealing some of the customs of the part of France from which he came, interesting especially to Protestant minds. As he knew very little English I aided him in the translation of his book. This took all my leisure time for months. The book was published in New York. I aided him in its publication and was to receive a return for my advances whenever he disposed of his manuscript. Without my knowledge he managed to sell his work out and out and then
Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 1, Chapter 13: General E. V. Sumner and my first reconnoissance (search)
ustry and energy. Those were the qualities for Sumner: he selected my brigade, French's, and later that of Thomas Francis Meagher. I was delighted at the change, I was the ranking brigade commander, was placed on the right north of the Pike, French's on the south, and Meagher's back toward the city. My camp was on Mr. Richardd souls there formed a city and spent three months encamped in military order. French's was slightly in echelon with my brigade and arranged back and south of a houswelcomed us to headquarters, pleasant to visit and worthy to imitate. General W. H. French, who commanded the next brigade, the Second, was a man advanced in yearsave me a detachment for that purpose made up of my brigade, some regiments from French's brigade, Hazzard's battery, and the Eighth Illinois Cavalry. I was greatly pd I worked a whole night to make the needed preparations. In the morning General French told Sumner that he ran too great a risk, that my detachment by going so fa
Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 1, Chapter 15: the battle of Williamsburg (search)
ancock far in advance of all other participants in the engagement. Ile thought that General Johnston intended to fight a general battle at that point and that his own troops were outnumbered; so he at once ordered Sedgwick's and Richardson's divisions to march from Yorktown to Williamsburg. Just before sunset that Monday evening, May 5th, my brigade received its marching orders. The rain still continued to pour down. We set out as quickly as possible, my brigade following that of General French. I was obliged to march my men through a narrow roadway across the Yorktown works; the clay mud, which stuck to the men's feet in lumps or masses, was from eight to ten inches in depth. Horses, wagons, mules, and footmen were coming and going both ways and often meeting in the narrow passage. As my brigade passed I remained for some time at the Yorktown sally port. The bits of board attached to torpedoes had not all been removed, but little flags were placed as a warning of the pres
Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 1, Chapter 16: the battle of Fair Oaks (search)
Swamp. Of our division, on Sedgwick's left, French's brigade of four regiments was the front line till abreast of Colonel Brooke, who commanded French's left regiment. The reason for not connectin. There were but a few minutes to wait. Upon French's left front there came a Confederate attack wy rolling fire of musketry within fifty yards. French's men instantly returned the fire, and the congade, who, as we have seen, was to the left of French, saw through the trees the coming troops. He re yet without the danger of pouring shot into French's line. In five minutes I had mounted my laning ground leftward, until we came abreast of French's division. Before reaching French's line IFrench's line I was wounded through the right forearm by a small Mississippi rifle ball. Lieutenant Howard just tho on farther, and, asking Brooke's regiment on French's left to lie down, called again: Forwardl And and there he lost a great opportunity. General French's medical director, Surgeon Gabriel Grant,[1 more...]
Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 1, Chapter 17: Second battle of Bull Bun (search)
lled at Chantilly. That evening I was near by but did not see him. All the passengers in our freight car, which left Fair Oaks for the White House landing that day, save Captain F. D. Sewall, my adjutant general, were suffering from wounds. Some were standing, some sitting, but the majority were lying or reclining upon straw which covered the floor of the car. From one of the latter I received a pleasant smile and a word of recognition. It was Capt. A. P. Fisk, the adjutant general of French's brigade, who greeted me. His surgeon, having examined his most painful wound near the knee joint, at first feared to leave his leg unamputated, but the captain and he finally decided to take the risk. Every tilt or jar of the rough car gave him intense pain; still his cheerfulness, showing itself in sprightly conversation, never forsook him. He also constantly cheered others around him who were gloomy and despondent. The roadbed was in bad condition and the freight peculiarly sensitive
Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 1, Chapter 19: the battle of Antietam; I succeed Sedgwick in command of a division (search)
then it embraced but two divisions, Sedgwick's and French's, Richardson's being detained to await Franklin's dy sent troops to watch him. Without waiting for French's division, not yet near, or Richardson's, still aton, which had held the projection of the woods, nor French's was covering our left flank, came from a visit ofof some hostile countermove from that direction. French, as we have seen, was not in sight when Sedgwick wed Irwin's elongated lines, to fill the interval. French's division marched briskly, driving in hostile skirSedgwick's discomfiture. Colonel Weber, commanding French's leading brigade to my left, now monopolized the fd his march on the Piper house, taking his cue from French's field, and soon was breasting the same deep roadwthe Confederates were moving between Richardson and French, for there was free space enough. Brooke caught thists far off to my left; while, in conjunction with French, Richardson alone touched the right spot at the rig
Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 1, Chapter 21: battle of Fredericksburg (search)
m; then send on the third brigade, preserving the same distance. French's division thus formed was to have the advance; Hancock's to followts exist, the opposite qualities, nervousness and unreliability. French, who was to lead, very soon gained an as-* cendency over all office forward and cleared the open space beneath increasing volleys till French's line of battle stretched from road to road. Kimball's main lintenant colonel (Marshall) came to command the brigade. The last of French's brigades having also but three regiments, Palmer commanding, was his troops in dashing across that barrier. To our field glasses French's brave division had almost disappeared. Hancock's division came next. He sent up two regiments to replace two of French's. It was a way of renewing ammunition, for it was next to impossible to carry it up beyond former troops along the ridge and at the hamlet. Some of French's men in rear sprang up and joined in the brisk movement. Still th
Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 1, Chapter 22: battle of Chancellorsville (search)
t and joins the Rappahannock at right angles. Meade stretched his command along the western crest of this run, and, resting his left not far from the Rappahannock, faced toward Fredericksburg. The whole of Meade's line ran through an unbroken forest; its extent was about three miles. Couch continued the line, but was obliged to bulge out for a half mile to cover the Chancellorsville house and knoll. Hancock's division of this corps made a right angle, the apex being on the old turnpike. French's division covered the space between Hancock and Meade, being substantially in reserve. Slocum's corps was next. Geary's and Williams's divisions, abreast of Hancock's foremost men, carried the line along some high ground to a second knoll, called Hazel Grove. Sickles, making an obtuse angle with Slocum's front, filled the space between Slocum's right flank and the small open field which embraces Dowdall's tavern. This he did with Birney's division; the remainder of his corps was in rese
Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 1, Chapter 23: campaign of Gettysburg (search)
year before under McClellan, when it approached the field of Antietam in about the same locality. Hooker had gone off to Harper's Ferry to see if it was feasible to begin a movement from his left. He had asked for Tyler's command near there. He now proposed the abandonment of Harper's Ferry as a garrison or station after the stores should be withdrawn. He could not afford to hold the works in that neighborhood at the expense of losing the services of 11,000 men, just then changed to General French. Halleck rejoined, in substance, that Harper's Ferry had always been deemed of great importance, and that he could not consent to its abandonment. Hooker then sent this famous dispatch: My original instructions were to cover Harper's Ferry and Washington. I have now imposed upon me in addition an enemy in my front of more than my numbers. I beg to be understood, respectfully, but firmly, that I am unable to comply with these conditions with the means at my disposal, and I earnestl
Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 1, Chapter 34: battle of Peach Tree Creek (search)
echelon movement; that is, for Bate's division to move first, Walker's a little later, Maney's later still some 200 yards or more behind and leftward, and so on, including Loring's and Walthall's divisions, to the left of Hood's attacking force. French's division in reserve watched the left flank. There was one other hindrance to Hood's advance; it was that, though he had the inner lines, enabling the speediest reinforcement, he must gain more ground with his whole force toward the right or d bring to bear, broke up the assaulting columns and rendered all attempts to turn Thomas's position futile. While this was going on there was again a renewed supporting effort put forth by all the Confederate divisions, from Walker's right to French, to sustain their attack, but Thomas's men from Newton to Palmer's center were still watching, and easily stopped and drove back the advancing lines. The loss on both sides was heavy: on our side not far from 2,000 men hors de combat. The Conf