Peabody through Pivot

PEABODY, George, philanthropist, born in Danvers Mass. died in London….edgment of his " more than princely munificence," and adding a painting of herself. The letter and portrait are both to be seen in the Peabody Institute at Danvers. A year later he endowed an art school in Rome, Italy, and in 1869 he made his last visit to his native land, presenting the Peabody Museum at Salem with $150,000, and giving to other objects $105,000. During his absence the Prince of Wales unveiled, 23 July, a fine bronze statue of him, by William W. Story, erected by the citizens of London on the east side of the Royal Exchange. A replica of this seated statue will be erected in Baltimore during the present year (1888). Two months later Mr. Peabody returned to London, and died a few weeks afterward. His obsequies were celebrated in Westminster Abbey on 12 November For the first time in history the gates of Westminster Abbey were opened for the burial of a private citizen of another country, and, although the historic building was not Mr. Peabody's final resting-place, it was only owing to his own desire to sleep by the side of his mother's grave in his native land. Where the funeral service of the English Church was read over him. Mr. Peabody might have reposed forever with the universal consent and approbation of the British nation. The swiftest and finest frigate in the English Navy was selected to bear his body across the broad Atlantic, and it was received from the ship-of-war "Monarch" by an American Squadron commanded by Admiral Farragut, and buried at Danvers (now Peabody). Mr. Peabody never married, and his remaining fortune of $5,000,000 was bequeathed to his relatives. He was the most liberal philanthropist of ancient or modern times. In the words of Mr. Gladstone, he taught the world how a man may be the master of his fortune, and not its slave. It was Mr. Peabody's own testimony, and that of those most intimately acquainted with him, that his great benefactions were really a triumph over a disposition naturally parsimonious, and it was from a sense of benefits conferred on him by Divine providence that, he overcame the natural tendencies of his strong will in giving, till it became a delight to him to give. In the greatness of his benevolence George Peabody stands alone in history. See life, by Phebe A. Hanaford (Boston. 1882); and numerous addresses by Robert C. Winthrop (Boston, 1870); Severn Teackle Wallis (Annapolis. 1870), and others; and numerous eulogies and sermons delivered at the time of his death.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 688-689.


PEABODY, Everett, soldier, born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1831; died near Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, 6 April. 1862, was graduated at Harvard in 1849, became a railway-engineer, was colonel of Missouri volunteers, and was killed at Shiloh. He completed the biography of his uncle Oliver, and edited the "Literary Remains" of his father (Boston, 1850).  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 689.


PEACH GROVE, VIRGINIA, March 12, 1865. Detachment of the 13th New York Cavalry. A patrol party of 21 men, under the command of Lieutenant Freeman, was attacked near the Peach Grove stockade, 2 miles from Vienna, and suffered a loss of 2 men killed, 5 wounded and 6 horses killed and 1 wounded. The attacking party numbered about 80 or 100 men, and in the skirmish lost 2 killed and 7 or 8 wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 668.


PEACH ORCHARD, VIRGINIA, June 25, 1862. This action was brought on by the Union forces with a view to an advance on Richmond. It 1s also called Oak Grove and King's school-house, a full account of the engagement being given under the head of the Seven Days' Battles. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 668.


PEACHTREE CREEK, GEORGIA, July 20, 1864. (See Atlanta.) Pea Ridge, Arkansas, March 6-8, 1862. Army of the Southwest. About the middle of February, 1862, Major-General Samuel R. Curtis, after completing the organization of the Army of the Southwest, entered Springfield, Missouri, to find that it had been evacuated by Major-General Sterling Price and his Confederate army. Curtis followed by forced marches, skirmishing with Price's rear-guard across the Arkansas line, where the enemy took refuge in the Boston mountains. Upon reaching Fayetteville Curtis withdrew to await an attack on ground of his own choosing. The army was not widely separated, but it was essential that some division be made of it for purposes of obtaining forage. The location of the different portions was as follows: the 1st and 2nd divisions, jointly under the command of Brigadier-General Franz Sigel and individually under Colonel Peter J. Osterhaus and Brigadier-General Alexander Asboth, were on Cooper's farm 4 miles southwest of Bentonville; the 3d division, under Colonel Jefferson C. Davis,, was at Sugar creek, where the preliminary arrangements were made for a stand; the 4th division, under command of Colonel Eugene A. Carr, was at Cross Timber hollow, 12 miles north of Sugar creek. About 2 p. m. of the 5th Curtis learned that the combined forces of Price and McCulloch, together with some five regiments of Indians under General Albert Pike, all under the command of Major-General Earl Van Dorn, were moving on the Federal position. Orders were immediately sent for a concentration on Davis at Sugar creek. Carr's division, with the exception of Colonel William Vandever's brigade, which was Out foraging, started its march about 6 p. m. Vandever, however, received the news of Van Dorn's movement before Curtis' messenger reached him, and by forced marches reached Sugar creek on the 6th. Curtis, at the head of Carr's division, arrived at Sugar creek at 2 a. m. of the 6th and immediately set about erecting field works and felling trees to obstruct the enemy's progress. Early in the morning Davis and Carr took position on a hill commanding the creek valley, which at that point is from a quarter to a half mile wide. The valley intercepts three roads—the Telegraph pike on the east, the Bentonville and Keetsville road on the west, and a branch of the latter road, which is nearly parallel to and 3 miles from the Telegraph road. During the morning Colonel Grenville M. Dodge directed the felling of trees across all three roads. About 2 p. m. Asboth and Osterhaus reported with their divisions and shortly afterward it was learned that Sigel, who had remained at Bentonville for two hours with a detachment, had been surrounded and attacked at that point by Van Dorn's advance. The 1st and 2nd divisions were immediately hurried to his assistance, Osterhaus in the advance. Four miles from camp Osterhaus met Sigel fighting his way, and the artillery of the division was brought into action, which drove the enemy back. The divisions then took position along Sugar creek, with Asboth forming the right, then Osterhaus, Davis and Carr in order. In front of them was the deep valley of Sugar creek and in their rear was the broken plateau called Pea ridge. The road from Bentonville would have brought Van Dorn's forces in contact with Curtis' extreme right, but no assault was made that night. Rather than attack in a position which Curtis had chosen Van Dorn moved his force so as to outflank the Federals on their right and gain their rear by proceeding up the Bentonville and Keetsville pike and coming upon them from the direction of Cross Timber hollow and Elkhorn tavern. The trees which Dodge had felled on the 6th so effectually delayed the movement that Curtis had ample time on the following morning to make a change of front. The 1st and 2nd divisions became the left of the line with their left resting on Sugar creek; Osterhaus was ordered to take a detachment of light artillery, some cavalry and an infantry support and open the fight against the enemy's center. This force with Davis' division formed the Federal center, and Carr's division took the extreme right . About 10:30 a. m. it was reported that the pickets at Elkhorn tavern on the Telegraph road, about three and a half miles above the Sugar creek encampment, had been driven in. It was at this point that Carr's right was to rest. Osterhaus immediately advanced against the Confederate center, composed of the commands of Mcintosh and Hebert and the Indians, and succeeded in breaking the enemy's advancing line. A greatly superior force was brought against him, however, and he was compelled to retire, losing in the movement his flying battery. His infantry support after some desperate righting checked the Confederate advance, but Curtis thought the position so strategic that he countermanded an order to Davis to support Carr and sent him to assist Osterhaus. It was at the center of the Union line that the fight raged the most furiously at first, but Davis' line held like a stone wall and Van Dorn was compelled to adopt other tactics. Carr had met some trouble in repelling the attacks on him and Van Dorn determined to force that part of the line. At the first call for reinforcements from the right Curtis sent his body-guard and a detachment of mountain howitzers, but notwithstanding this the Confederates still held the advantage. Carr again asked for reinforcements, stating that he could not hold out much longer, and was sent a battalion of infantry and 3 pieces of artillery. Each augmentation of the Union right seemed to result in a still larger addition to the Confederate force opposed to it. At 2 p. m. no attack had been made on Sigel and Asboth on Sugar creek, and Curtis resolved to bring one or both of those divisions into the action. Asboth was moved by the direct road to Elkhorn tavern and Sigel with Osterhaus' division proceeded by way of Leetown to reinforce Davis, or if not needed at that point to come to Carr's assistance. Curtis himself accompanied Asboth and about 5 p. m. came to where Carr was stationed. The latter's division after 7 hours of constant fighting was still stubbornly engaging the enemy. Asboth's artillery was planted in the Telegraph road and opened a heavy fire at close range, continuing it until a lack of ammunition compelled it to fall back. Darkness closed in while the troops were still in the same relative positions. Curtis immediately began the formation of a new line of battle. Davis was drawn back from his center position and ordered to take the ground at Carr's left. About 2 a. m. of the 8th Sigel reported and with Asboth was sent to take position on the left. The 1st and 2nd divisions under Sigel were not yet in position when day broke, but the enemy did not renew the attack. Davis' division opened the fight of the third day, but no sooner had it done so than the enemy replied from a new line and from new batteries established during the night. The Federal right fell back a distance to avoid a raking fire, and in the meantime the left took position, the line then extending from the mountain on the left, commanded by Sigel's 2nd division, in a southeasterly direction across the Telegraph road to where Carr's division, somewhat refused, held the right. On the extreme right was a slight eminence some distance in advance of the main line, on which Curtis located the Dubuque battery, and had Carr move forward his right to support it, thus giving direction for the advance of the whole right wing. Other batteries were moved forward in the same way all along the line. As each battery sent forward by Sigel's two divisions on the right would drive the Confederates back from their front they would wheel with deployed infantry support half to the right. These tactics, repeated along the whole left, kept the Confederate right dropping back, and before many hours the Union line was a huge semicircle, the Dubuque battery its right end, the left of Asboth's division the left end, enclosing within it Van Dorn's army. It was next to impossible for the Confederates to withstand the concentrated cross-fire of the converging Union line and before noon they had stopped firing. It was soon discovered that Van Dorn was fleeing north through the gorge where the Telegraph road passes. Pursuit was made by Sigel along the Keetsville road to intercept the enemy at the junction of that road with the Telegraph, but it was afterwards found that the main force of Van Dorn's army after entering the gorge had turned short to the right into the ravines and passes that led into the Huntsville road in a direction due south. The losses in this engagement were 203 killed, 980 wounded and 201 captured or missing on the Federal side. The Confederate casualties were never definitely ascertained, but were undoubtedly fully as heavy. The affair is called by the Confederates the battle of Elkhorn Tavern. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, pp. 668-670.


PEA RIDGE, TENNESSEE, April 27, 1862. Cavalry Detachment of McClernand's Division. A cavalry detachment commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel William McCullough encountered some Confederate pickets at Pea ridge. Three were killed and the remainder driven back. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 670.


PEA RIDGE PRAIRIE, MISSOURI, February 23, 1862. Detachment of Missouri Militia. While on a reconnaissance with his company, Captain Richardson sent Sergt. Butcher, with 8 men, to scout along the south side of the prairie. After proceeding about a mile and a half Butcher discovered a small party of Confederates in a point of timber, charged and routed them, and a running fight for three miles followed, in which 3 of the enemy were killed, 1 wounded and 3 men and 3 horses captured. The Union loss was 1 horse killed. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 670.


PEA VINE CREEK, GEORGIA, September 10, 1863. 2nd Division, 21st Army Corps. While the Army of the Cumberland was maneuvering for position just before the battle of Chickamauga, this division, Major-General John M. Palmer commanding, left Rossville on the morning of the 10th and moved on the Dalton road toward Ringgold. At Pea Vine creek, 5 miles from Ringgold, a detachment of the enemy was seen in front, and Captain Norton was sent forward with Palmer's escort and part of the 4th Michigan cavalry. Norton attacked with great vigor and drove the Confederate cavalry for a mile, when, fearing he might be cut off by a larger force if he continued the pursuit, he returned to the column. No casualties reported in this action. A short time later the advance was charged by some Confederate cavalry and 58 men belonging to the 1st Kentucky cavalry were captured. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 670.


PEA VINE CREEK, GEORGIA, November 26, 1863. Detachment of 2nd Division, 12th Army Corps. During the pursuit of the Confederates up the Chickamauga valley, while Geary's division was awaiting the construction of a foot bridge over Pea Vine creek, the advance made a dash upon the rear-guard of Breckenridge's corps and the rest of the division was formed in line of battle on both sides of the road and advanced. The skirmish resulted in the capture of 3 guns of Ferguson's battery, the artillerists and part of the infantry support. The other casualties were not reported. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 670-671.


PEARCE, James Alfred, senator, born in Alexandria, Virginia, 14 December, 1805; died in Chestertown, Maryland, 20 December, 1862. He was graduated at Princeton in 1822, studied law in Baltimore, and was admitted to the bar in 1824, after which he began to practice at Cambridge, Maryland. At the end of a year he went to Louisiana with his father and engaged in sugar-planting for three years. He then returned to Maryland and settled in Kent County, where he resumed the practice of his profession. He was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1831, in 1835 to Congress as a Democrat, and he served, except during one term in 1839-'41, until 1843, when he was chosen to the U. S. Senate, where he remained until his death. During his long service in the Senate he was especially interested in the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Coast Survey. President Fillmore offered him a seat on the bench of the U. S. District Court of Maryland, which he declined. During the same administration he was nominated and confirmed Secretary of the Interior, but this honor was also declined upon the ground that he could be of more use to his country in the Senate. He took a deep  interest in educational matters, and in 1832 was elected one of the visitors and governors of Washington College, in which institution he afterward lectured on law. Mr. Pearce was regarded as one of the wisest and safest members of the Senate. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 691-692.


PEARL RIVER, MISSISSIPPI, July 16, 1863. (See Grant's Ferry.)


PEARL RIVER, MISSISSIPPI, February 28, 1864. Foraging party of 1st Brigade, 4th Division, 17th Army Corps. This affair was an almost continuous skirmish between a Federal foraging party and bands of Confederates. When the party returned to the Federal camp it was found that 15 of its members were missing, several of whom were known to have been wounded. The affair occurred during the Meridian campaign. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 670.


PEARSON, Alfred L., soldier, born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 28 December, 1838. He was educated at Jefferson and Allegheny Colleges, admitted to the bar in 1861, and in 1862 became captain and then colonel of the 155th Pennsylvania Regiment. He was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers, September, 1864, for services at Peeble's Farm, and major-general for a charge that he made at Quaker Road, 29 March, 1865, for which he was also complimented by General Meade. His command fired the last shot at Appomattox Court-House. On his return he engaged in the practice of his profession, and was district attorney in 1870, 1872, and 1877. He has been active in militia matters, and as ranking major-general of the Pennsylvania National Guard commanded in Pittsburg during the riots of 1877. He also ended the troubles in Luzerne County, and for his action in firing on the rioters was arrested on a charge of murder, but the grand jury did not indict him. General Pearson edited the "Sunday Critic" in 1886-'7, and is the author of three plays, none of which have yet been produced.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 692.


PEARSON, George Frederick, naval officer, born in New Hampshire, 6 February, 1796; died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 30 June, 1867. He was appointed midshipman, 11 March. 1815, and cruised in the frigates “United States" and "Independence " in the Mediterranean in 1816-'20, and in the West Indies in 1832-'3. He was commissioned lieutenant, 13 January, 1825, commanded the schooner "Shark" at Norfolk in 1839, and served at the Portsmouth U.S. Navy-yard in 1839-'41. He was promoted to commander on 8 September of the latter year, was in the "Falmouth" at Norfolk in 1852-'3, and became captain, 14 September, 1855. He commanded the steamer “Powhatan" in the East Indies in 1858-'60. During the Civil War, he rendered valuable service as commandant of the Portsmouth U.S. Navy-yard, which post he held at his death. He was retired by law, being over sixty-two years old, 21 December, 1861, and became commodore on the retired list, 16 July, 1862, and rear-admiral, 25 July, 1866.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 692.


PEASE, Henry Roberts, senator, born in Connecticut, 19 February, 1835. He was educated for a teacher, followed that calling several years, and was admitted to the bar in 1859. During the Civil War he was a captain on staff duty in the National Army. He was appointed superintendent of education in Louisiana while it was under military rule, became superintendent of the education of freedmen in Mississippi in 1867, took an active part in the reconstruction of that state, and was appointed state superintendent of education in 1869. He also published and edited the "Mississippi Educational Journal." which was the first of that character in the south. He was elected to the U. S. Senate as a Republican in 1874, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Adelbert Ames, served in 1874-5, and in the latter year was appointed postmaster of Vicksburg, but was removed a few weeks afterward for political reasons.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 693.


PEASE, Phineas, soldier, born in Somer, Connecticut, 10 April, 1826. He was educated in the common schools, and subsequently was employed on railroads in Illinois. He became lieutenant-colonel of the 49th Illinois Infantry at the beginning of the Civil War.  He was severely wounded at Shiloh, participated in the battle of Corinth, commanded a brigade at Du Glaise, Louisiana, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Franklin, Missouri, and was at the battle of Nashville, and numerous subsequent small engagements. In March, 1865, he received the brevet of brigadier-general of volunteers. He became general superintendent of the Indiana, Bloomington, and Western Railroad in 1875, and superintendent of the Ohio Central Railroad in 1880, and in 1885 became receiver and general manager of the Cleveland and Marietta Railroad.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 693


PEBBLY RUN, NORTH CAROLINA, April 13, 1862. (See Gillett's Farm.)


PECK, Henry Everard, clergyman, born in Rochester, New York, 27 July, 1821: died in Port au Prince, Hayti, 9 June, 1867. He was graduated at Bowdoin in 1841, studied theology, and, entering the Congregational ministry, preached in Rochester. He was associate professor of intellectual and moral philosophy at Oberlin from 1852 till 1865, an ardent champion of the anti-slavery cause, and took an active part in the presidential canvass of 1856. In 1858 he was arrested under the charge of violating the Fugitive-Slave Law, and confined with others in the county jail in Cleveland, Ohio. From 1862 till 1865 he was U. S. commissioner to Hayti, and was then appointed U. S. minister to that republic. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 695.


PECK, John James, soldier, born in Manlius, New York, 4 January, 1821 ; died in Syracuse, New York, 21 April, 1878. His father was one of the earliest settlers in Onondaga County. The son was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1843, assigned to the 2d U.S. Artillery, and was on garrison duty in New York Harbor till he was ordered to Texas in 1845. During the Mexican War he was at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, took part in the assault on Federation Hill at Monterey, and afterward received two brevets for gallantry—that of captain for Contreras and Churubusco, and that of major for Molino del Rey, where he had turned a captured gun on the enemy with great effect. "His name and services," said his division commander, Gen Worth, "will be found in the official account of every battle save one from the commencement of the war to the conquest of the basin of Mexico." He was given a sword on his return home in 1848, and after serving against the Navajo Indians in New Mexico, and on recruiting service, resigned his commission on 31 March, 1853. He was then connected with a projected railroad from New York to Syracuse by way of Newburg. and also organized in Syracuse the Burnet Bank, of which he was cashier till the Civil War. He was also president of the board of education in that city in 1859-'61, and was interested in politics, serving as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention of 1856, and in that at Charleston in 1860, running for Congress in 1856 and 1858, and once declining a foreign mission. He was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers on 9 August, 1861, and served first in the defences of Washington and then in the Peninsular Campaign. He rendered signal service at Yorktown; and at Williamsburg, where he arrived with re-enforcements at a critical point in the battle, his troops, by steadily withstanding repeated attacks from a superior force, did much to preserve the army from rout. At Fair Oaks a horse was shot under him, and he afterward covered the left flank of the army by holding White Oak swamp, he held an important place in the seven days' change of base, leading the rear-guard in the movement from Turkey Creek to Harrison's Landing. He was promoted major-general of volunteers, 4 July, 1862, and till September was in Yorktown, where he put the works in condition for defence. On 22 September, 1862, he was assigned to the command of all the National troops in Virginia south of James River, where he rendered important service by his brilliant defence of Suffolk against a superior force under Longstreet, whose position on Hill's Point he stormed and captured on 4 May, 1863, thus virtually ending the siege. After an absence of several months, which was necessitated by injuries that he had received at Suffolk, he held command in North Carolina till April, 1864, and, after another leave of absence, on the Canada frontier until the close of the war. He was mustered out of service, 24 August, 1865, and in 1866 organized at Syracuse the New York State Life insurance Company, of which he was president till his death.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 695-696.


PECKHAM, Stephen Farnum, chemist, born near Providence, Rhode. Island, 26 March, 1839. After a special course in the chemical laboratory of Brown he was two years in a pharmaceutical laboratory in Providence, after which he completed his studies in 1861 by a further course in chemistry at Brown. Subsequently, in association with Nathaniel P. Hill (q. v.) and others, he began the manufacture of illuminating oils from petroleum. The works were planned and successfully constructed by him, but their operation was unremunerative, and he became in 1862 hospital steward of the 7th Rhode Island Regiment. He continued in the military service until near the close of the Civil War, having at that time charge of the chemical department of the U. S. Army Laboratory in Philadelphia. His next engagement was as expert for the California Petroleum Company, for which corporation he spent a year in southern California studying the occurrence of petroleum in that region. He subsequently prepared for the geological survey of that state several reports on similar subjects, including a technological examination of Californian bitumen, which he made on his return to the east in 1867. In that year he also began to teach chemistry in Brown, and he afterward held chairs on that subject successively in Washington and Jefferson College, the state agricultural college, Orono, Maine, Buchtel College, Akron, Ohio, and in the University of Minnesota, where he was also chemist to the geological survey of that state. In 1880 he returned to Providence, and he has since been engaged in various chemical industries. Professor Peckham has contributed many articles to current scientific literature, both in the United States and abroad, chiefly on his specialty of petroleum, its manufacture and applications. He served in 1880 as special agent on the United States Census, and contributed to the reports a valuable monograph on the subject, including a full bibliography. In addition to his reports he wrote the article on  "Petroleum " for the "Encyclopaedia Britannica," and he has published an "Elementary Treatise on Chemistry" (Louisville, 1870).  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 697.


PECK'S HOUSE, TENNESSEE, December 24, 1863. 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Army of the Cumberland. The action at Peck's house on this date was part of the operations of Campbell's brigade, in the maneuvers about Mossy Creek Station and Dandridge. (See Hay's Ferry.) The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 671.


PECOS RIVER, NEW MEXICO, January 5, 1864. Detachments of 2nd California Cavalry and 5th U. S. Mounted Infantry. Lieutenant Charles Newbold with some men from each of the above regiments and a party of 25 Apache Indians started in pursuit of some Navajo Indians who had run off the stock of the Apaches. Near the Pecos river, about 12 miles from Fort Sumner, the Indians were overtaken and after a sharp skirmish were routed. The soldiers pursued and kept up a running fight to the banks of the river. The loss to the marauding party was said to be 40 killed and at least the same number wounded. The only casualties sustained by the attacking party were the wounding of 2 Apaches. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 671.


PECOSIN CREEK, VIRGINIA, January 30, 1863. (See Deserted House.)


PEEBLES' FARM, VIRGINIA, September 30, 1864. (See Poplar Spring Church.)


PEGRAM, Robert Baker, naval officer, born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, 10 December, 1811. He entered the U. S. Navy as midshipman on 2 February, 1829, served in the Mediterranean Squadron, and on 8 September, 1841, was appointed lieutenant. He was ordered to the "Saratoga," under Captain David G. Farragut. in 1847, served in the Mexican War, and in 1852 took part in the Japan Expedition. In 1855 he participated in a joint expedition from the British ship 'Rattler" and the U. S. vessel " Powhatan " against a piratical flotilla of thirty-one war-junks, and captured sixteen, with 100 cannon. For this service he received the thanks of Admiral Sir James Stirling, flag-officer of the British East India Squadron, of the governor of Hong Kong, and of the British government, and was presented with a sword by the state of Virginia. He served in the Norfolk U.S. Navy-yard in 1856-'8, in the Paraguay Expedition in 1858, and in 1859 was a commissioner to define the limits of the Newfoundland fisheries. He resigned from the U. S. Navy on 17 April. 1861, became a captain in the Virginia service, commanded at the U.S. Navy-yard in Norfolk after its evacuation by the U. S. forces, and erected a battery at Pig Point, Nansemond River, with which he disabled the U. S. steamer " Harriet Lane," which was  surveying the river and placing buoys. He afterward commanded the steamer "Nashville," which left Charleston on 26 October, 1861, and returned in the following February, having eluded pursuit and destroyed several merchant-vessels. He was ordered to superintend the shielding and armament of the iron-clad steamer "Richmond." and, after taking her to Drewry's Bluff, was transferred to the "Virginia." In 1864 a fund was raised in Virginia to purchase and equip in England a naval force to be called the " Virginia Volunteer Navy," and to be commanded by Captain Pegram. He had one vessel prepared for service at the time of General Lee's surrender. Since the close of the war he has resided in Norfolk, Virginia.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 700.


PEGRAM, John, soldier, born in Petersburg, Virginia, 24 January, 1833: died near Hatcher's Run, Virginia, 6 February, 1865. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1854, assigned to the 1st U.S.  Dragoons, became 1st lieutenant, 28 February, 1857, and was actively engaged on frontier duty for several years. He resigned his commission in the U. S. Army, 10 May, 1861, and was appointed lieutenant-colonel in the Confederate Army soon afterward. On 7 November, 1862, he was appointed a brigadier-general in the provisional army, and he subsequently acquired the rank of major-general. His brigade was composed of five regiments of Virginia infantry in the Army of Northern Virginia. As a major-general he commanded General Jubal A. Early's old division. He was engaged in all the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia, and was killed in action at Hatcher's Run. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 700-701.


PEGRAM, William Johnson, soldier, born in Petersburg, Virginia, in 1841: died there, 2 April, 1865. Pegram left the University of Virginia, where he was a law student, at the beginning of the Civil War, to enter a Confederate regiment of artillery as a private, and won promotion in that arm of the service at Cedar Run, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. Early in 1865 he was made brigadier-general, and he was killed during the siege of Petersburg, Virginia  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 701.


PEGRAM'S FARM, VIRGINIA, September 30, 1864. (See Poplar Spring Church.)


PEIRCE, Ebenezer Weaver (purse), soldier, born in Freetown, Massachusetts, 5 April, 1822. He received an academic education, and held various local offices in Freetown and Lakeville, Massachusetts. He was commissioned major of the Old Colony Regiment in 1844, and was made brigadier-general of state militia in 1855. In 1859 he became lieutenant of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. He commanded as brigadier-general the Massachusetts troops in Virginia in 1861, for three months, and was appointed colonel of the 29th Massachusetts Regiment on 13 December of that year. He lost an arm at White Oak Swamp, Virginia, 30 June, 1862, and commanded a brigade in the 9th Army Corps from September, 1863, till November, 1864, when he resigned, after serving in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. He was appointed in August, 1866, collector of internal revenue for the 1st District of Massachusetts, which appointment was not confirmed by the Senate. He is the author of " The Peirce Family of the Old Colony" (Boston, 1870); "Contributions, Biographical. Genealogical, and Historical" (1874); "Indian History, Biography, and Genealogy" (1878); "Civil, Military, and Professional Lists of Plymouth and Rhode Island Colonies" (1881); and sketches of Bristol and Plymouth County towns.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 703.


PEIRCE, William Shannon, jurist, born in New Castle, Delaware, 3 September, 1915; died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 4 April, 1887. Pierce was descended from Abraham Peirce, an early Plymouth colonist. He was educated in his native town and in the high-school at Philadelphia, and engaged in mercantile pursuits. A few years later he studied law with Charles Chauncey, was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia in 1845, and won reputation in his profession. He was an earnest advocate of emancipation, and was the counsel of the slave in nearly every fugitive-slave case that occurred in Philadelphia under the Fugitive-Slave Act of 1850. The last important case was the great Dangerfield Case, in which trial he and his colleagues argued before the court and jury from the opening of the court in the morning until sunrise the next morning. He took an active part in public affairs, and in 1856 was a delegate to the convention that nominated John C. Fremont for the presidency. In 1866 he became a judge of the court of common pleas in Philadelphia, which office he held by subsequent elections until his death. In 1886 he had been chosen by both parties for a term of ten years. He took an active part in founding the Woman's Medical College in Philadelphia.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 703.


PEKIN, INDIANA, July 11, 1863. A telegram from Thomas W. Fry, a surgeon in the government service, to Brigadier-General Jeremiah T. Boyle, from New Albany, under date of July 13, says: "A skirmish occurred at Pekin, in which we killed 1, wounded 5, and took 20 prisoners. The balance fled for the river, southwest." This is the only official mention of the affair, which was an incident of Morgan's Ohio raid. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 671.


PELOUZE, Louis Henry, soldier, born in Pennsylvania, 30 May, 1841; died in Washington, D. C. 1 June, 1878. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1853, assigned to the artillery, and promoted 2d lieutenant on 11 November. In 1857-'8 he was on duty in Kansas during the anti-slavery disturbances, and accompanied the second column of the Utah Expedition as acting assistant adjutant-general. He was commissioned as captain on 14 May, 1861, and served during the Civil War, first on the staff of General John A. Dix. then in the Port Royal Expedition, in Georgia when Fort Pulaski was captured, with General James Shields at Port Republic, and as major on the staff with the 2d Corps of the Army of Virginia in the Shenandoah Campaign until he was severely wounded at Cedar Mountain, 9 August, 1862. After his recovery he served till the close of hostilities as assistant adjutant-general of volunteers with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, being on special duty in the defences of Washington in the autumn of 1862, then with the troops of the Department of Virginia till August, 1863, and in the adjutant-general's department at Washington till May, 1864, and afterward in charge of the records of colored troops in the War Department till 14 June, 1868. For his gallantry at Cedar Mountain he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel, and on 13 March, 1865, he received the brevets of colonel and brigadier-general for valuable services in the field and in the adjutant-general's department. He was adjutant-general of the Department of the Lakes in 1869-'73, and afterward till his death assistant in the office of the adjutant-general of the army.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 705.


PEMBERTON, John Clifford, soldier, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 10 August, 1814; died in Penllyn, Pennsylvania, 13 July, 1881, was appointed to the U. S. Military Academy on his own application by President Jackson, who had been a friend of his father. After his graduation in 1837 he was assigned to the 4th U.S. Artillery, and served against the Indians in Florida in 1837-9, and on the northern frontier during the Canada border disturbances in 1840-'2. He was promoted 1st lieutenant on 19 March, 1842, and was on garrison duty till the Mexican War, during which he served with credit as aide to General Worth, receiving the brevet of captain for gallantry at Monterey, and that of major for services at Molino del Rey. At the close of the war he was presented with a sword by citizens of Philadelphia, and thanked, with other Pennsylvania officers, by resolution of the legislature of that state. In 1848 he married Martha, daughter of William H. Thompson, of Norfolk, Virginia. He was promoted captain on 16 September, 1850, took part in operations against the Seminole Indians in 1849-'50 and 1856-'7, and served at Fort Leavenworth during the Kansas troubles, and in the Utah Expedition of 1858. At the beginning of the Civil War he was ordered from Fort Ridgely, Minnesota, to Washington, and after his arrival there, in spite of the personal efforts of General Winfield Scott to prevent him, resigned his commission and was appointed lieutenant-colonel of Virginia State troops, to date from 28 April, 1861. He was intrusted with the organization of the artillery and cavalry of the state, and became colonel on 8 May, 1861. On 15 June he was made major of artillery in the Confederate Army, and two days later a brigadier-general. On 13 February, 1862, he was promoted major-general, and at the request of General Robert E. Lee, whom he succeeded, was appointed to command the department that included South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, with headquarters at Charleston. Here he strengthened the harbor defences, planning and beginning Fort Wagner and Battery B, and planting submarine obstructions. On 13 October, 1862, he was promoted lieutenant-general, and assigned to the charge of the department that comprised Mississippi, Tennessee, and eastern Louisiana, with headquarters at Jackson, Mississippi. Pemberton's operations around Vicksburg and his defence of that city against General Grant are described in the article GRANT, ULYSSES S. After his surrender of the city and garrison on 4 July, 1863, he returned on parole to Richmond, where he remained until he was duly exchanged. As a man of northern birth he had many enemies at the south during the early period of the war, but he had always the confidence of the Confederate authorities. After his exchange, finding no command that was commensurate with his rank, he resigned, and was reappointed as inspector of ordnance, with the rank of colonel, in which capacity he served until the close of the war. He then retired to a farm near Warrenton, Virginia, but in 1876 returned to Philadelphia, which was the home of his brothers and sisters. In the spring of 1881 his health began to fail, and he moved, in the hope of benefiting it, to Penllyn, near Philadelphia, where he died.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 707.


PEMISCOT BAYOU, ARKANSAS, April 6, 1864. Detachment of 2nd Missouri Light Artillery. The detachment, under Major John W. Rabb, while in pursuit of guerrillas in Missouri and Arkansas, was attacked by a band of about 100 before daylight near the house of one Mark Walker on Pemiscot bayou. After 5 minutes of sharp fighting the enemy retreated, carrying off their dead and wounded. The Federals suffered a loss of 3 killed and 7 wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 671.


PENDER, William Dorsey, soldier, born in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, 6 February, 1834; died in Staunton, Virginia, 18 July, 1863. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1854, and assigned to the artillery, but was transferred to the 2d U.S. Dragoons on 3 March, 1855, and promoted 1st lieutenant, 17 May, 1858. He was engaged in active service on the frontier until 21 March, 1861, when he resigned his commission. He was appointed colonel of the 6th North Carolina Regiment on 27 May, 1861, and brigadier-general in the provisional Confederate Army, 3 June, 1862. He was promoted to the rank of major-general, 27 May, 1863. His brigade was composed of five North Carolina Regiments of infantry, and formed part of Anderson's division, of Ambrose P. Hill's corps, in the Army of Northern Virginia. His division was composed of the brigades of Pender, McGowan, Lane, and Thomas, in the same army. He died from wounds received at the battle of Gettysburg.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 708.


PENDERGRAST, Garrett Jesse, naval officer, born in Kentucky, 5 December, 1802; died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 7 November, 1862. He entered the U. S. Navy, 1 January, 1812. He saw twenty-two years of sea service, becoming lieutenant in 1821, commander in 1841, and captain in 1855. In 1860 he was appointed flag-officer of the Home-Squadron. At the beginning of the Civil War he was in command of the West India Squadron, and subsequently he was appointed to the frigate "Cumberland " at Norfolk U.S. Navy-yard, Virginia, and protected the waters of Hampton Roads. Before the surrender of Norfolk to the Confederates the authorities of Virginia endeavored to get possession of the U. S. ships-of-war lying off that city by sinking obstructions in the mouth of the channel in order to prevent their egress. Among other vessels that were thus blockaded was the " Cumberland," then under Commodore Pendergrast's command. Finding himself in danger of being hemmed in, he sent word to the authorities that if the obstructions were not removed within a specified time he would open fire on the city. This message had the desired effect, and, the channel being cleared, the " Cumberland " and other vessels were brought out in safety. Soon afterward he was appointed commandant of the Philadelphia U.S. Navy-yard, which post he tilled until two days before his death. Under the reorganization of the navy he was twelfth commodore on the retired list, which rank he attained on 10 July. 1862.—His son, Austin (1829-74), entered the navy in 1848, and had attained the rank of commander at his death.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 708.


PENDLETON, George Hunt, senator, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, 25 July, 1825, received an academic education, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in Cincinnati. He was a member of the state senate in 1854-'5, and was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1850, serving till 1865. He was a member of the Committee on Military Affairs during each term, and in the 38th Congress served on the Committee of Ways and Means, and as chairman of the Special Committee on Admitting Members of the cabinet to the floor of the House of Representatives. He was nominated for the vice-presidency on the ticket with George B. McClellan for president in 1864. He was a member of the Philadelphia Loyalist Convention in 1860, an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Ohio in 1869, and in the same year became president of the Kentucky Railroad Company. He was elected U. S. Senator in 1878, and during his senatorial service he was chairman of the Committee on Civil-Service Reform, and as such, on 26 June, 1882, introduced a resolution that instructed the committee " to inquire whether any attempt is being made to levy and collect assessments for political partisan purposes from any employes of the government." In 1846 he married Alice, daughter of Francis Scott Key. At the expiration of his term, in 1885, he was appointed by President Cleveland U. S. minister to Germany. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 709.


PENDLETON, William Nelson, soldier, born in Richmond, Virginia, 20 December, 1809; died in Lexington, Virginia, 15 January, 1883, was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1830, served as assistant professor of mathematics there in 1831-'2, and the next year resigned to become professor of mathematics in Bristol College, Tennessee. He was ordained deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1837, priest in 1838, and the next year established the Episcopal High-School in Alexandria, Virginia, and became its principal. In 1853 he accepted the charge of the church in Lexington. He joined the Confederate Army as captain of artillery in 1861, was made colonel the same year, and shortly afterward appointed chief of artillery to the Army of the Shenandoah. He was commissioned brigadier-general in March, 1862, and, with three exceptions, participated in every battle that was fought by the Army of Northern Virginia from the first battle of Bull Run to Appomattox, where, with General John T. Gordon and General James Longstreet, he was appointed to negotiate the terms of surrender. He then returned to his charge in Lexington, which he had continued to hold during the Civil War, and so remained until his death. He was largely instrumental in building the Lee Memorial Church in that town. He received the degree of D. D. from Alexandria Theological Seminary in 1868. Dr. Pendleton published "Science a Witness for the Bible" (London, 1860). His only son, Alexander S., served on General "Stonewall" Jackson's staff until his death, and subsequently as adjutant-general to General Jubal A. Early and General Richard S. Ewell. He was killed at Fisher's Hill, Virginia, 22 September, 1864.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 709.


PENDULUM. The times of vibration of pendulums are proportional to the square roots of their lengths. T=7T V 9 Therefore, if l be the length of a pendulum vibrating seconds, and V the length of any other simple pendulum, or the distance from the point of suspension to the centre of oscillation of a compound pendulum, vibrating in the time t at the same place, then: I' / f

The length of a pendulum vibrating seconds is in a constant ratio to the force of gravity: -j= 9.8696044.

Length of a pendulum vibrating seconds at the level of the sea, in various latitudes. At the Equator . A . . . . 39.0152 inches. “ Washington, Lat. 38 53' 23” . . . 39.0958 “ New York, Lat. 40 42' 40” . . . 39.1017 “ London, Lat. 51 31' ... 39.1393 “ Lat. 45 39.1270 “ Lat. L. 39.1270 in. 0.09982 cos. 2 L


PENDULUM HAUSSE is a tangent-scale, the graduations of which are the tangents of each quarter of a degree of elevation, to a radius equal to the distance between the muzzle-sight of the piece, and the axis of vibration of the hausse, which is one inch in rear of the basering. At the lower end of the scale is a brass bulb filled with lead. The slider which marks the divisions on the scale is of thin brass, and is clamped at any desired division on the scale by means of a screw. The scale passes through a slit in a piece of steel, with which it is connected by a screw, forming a pivot on which the scale can vibrate laterally. This piece of steel terminates in pivots, by means of which the pendulum is supported on the seat attached to the gun, and is at liberty to vibrate in the direction of the axis of the piece. The seat is of metal, and is fastened to the base of the breech by screws, so that the centres of the steel pivots of vibration shall be at a distance from the axis of the piece equal to the radius of the base-ring.

A MUZZLE-SIGHT of iron is screwed into the swell of the muzzle of guns, or into the middle of the muzzle-ring of howitzers. The height of this sight is equal to the dispart of the piece, so that a line joining the muzzle-sight and the pivot of the tangent-scale is parallel to the axis of the piece. (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 459).


PENETRATION. The penetration of a solid shot, other circumstances being the same, varies with its diameter, and with the distance and material of the substance penetrated.

In the subjoined table are given the penetrations of a 24-pounder shot, whence a tolerably accurate estimate may be formed of the penetrations of shot of other calibres.

RANGE. Substance penetrated. 100 yards. 400 yards. 1,200 yards. 2 ft.  ft. f ft. 5 Oak 4 " 3 " H"  Firm Earth 64- " 5 " 94- " 4 Fresh dug Earth 12 " 9 " 4-J- " a m

Sand, sandy earth mixed with gravel, small stones, chalk and tufa resist shot better than the productive earths. Shells may be considered as round shot of a. lower specific gravity, and their penetrations are therefore proportionately less. A bank of earth, to afford a secure cover from heavy guns, will require a thickness from 18 to 24 feet. In guns below 18-pounders, if the number of the feet in thickness of the bank be made equal to the number of lbs. in the weight of the shot by which it is to be assailed, the requisite protection will be obtained. Earth possesses advantages over every other material. It is easily obtained, regains its position after displacement, and the injury done to an earthen battery by day can be readily repaired at night. Where masonry is liable to be breached, it should be covered with earth. Wrought-iron plates 4k inches in thickness will withstand the effects of 32-pound shots, and of all inferior calibres at short ranges as 400 yards. Plates of this thickness, however, are soon destroyed by 68-pound shots, and afford little protection from the elongated shots of the new rifled ordnance. (See IRON PLATES.)

To resist successfully the fall of heavy shells, buildings must be covered with arches of good masonry, not less than 3 feet thick, having bearings not greater than 25 feet, and these must be again protected by a covering of several feet of earth. Iron plates half an inch thick, oak planks 4 inches thick, or a nine-inch brick wall, are proof against musketry or canister at a range of 100 yards. Iron plates 1 inch thick, oak from 8 to 10 inches thick, a good wall a foot thick, or a firm bank of earth 4 feet thick, will afford secure cover from grape shot, from any but the largest guns at short ranges. The common musket will drive its bullet about a foot and a half into well-rammed earth, or it will penetrate from 6 to 10 half-inch elm boards placed at intervals of an inch. The penetration of the rifled musket is about twice that of the common musket. A rope matting or mantlet 3 inches thick is found to resist small-arm projectiles at all distances; it may therefore be employed as a screen against riflemen.

Experiments were made in 1848 at Portsmouth against the “ Leviathan,” to ascertain whether a round shot fired at a depression into the water close to a ship would continue its course, and passing through the water, can maintain force sufficient to penetrate into the ship considerably below the water-line; for this a 32-pounder gun of 56 cwt., with a charge of 10 lbs., was fired at a depression of 7 degrees from a dockyard “ lump,” 16 yards distant from the “ Leviathan.” The shot struck the water 4 feet from the ship's side, rose immediately, passed through the orlop, and was found on the lower deck. Another shot, fired under the same circumstances, only indented the wood 18 inches below the water line. But elongated rifle-shot fired into the water have the faculty of entering and passing through the fluid in the direction of their axes, and, after passing through many feet of water, retain force sufficient to penetrate any ship's side below the water-line. This was proved by firing Whitworth's hexagonal shot under circumstances nearly similar to the preceding experiments against the “ Leviathan,” when a flat-headed hexagonal shot fired from a 24-pounder passed through 33 feet of water, and then penetrated into the ship through 12 or 14 inches of oak and planking; (Sir HOWARD DOUGLAS; HYDE and BEXTON.) (See RIFLED ORDNANCE.) (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, pp. 459-461).


PENNINGTON, James William Charles, 1807-1870, African American, American Missionary Association, fugitive slave, abolitionist, orator, clergyman.  Member of the Executive Committee of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society.  Published The Fugitive Blacksmith in London in 1844.  One of the first African American students to attend Yale University. Served as a delegate to the Second World Conference on Slavery in London.  Active in the Amistad slave case.  Recruited African American troops for the Union Army. 

(Dumond, 1961, pp. 330-334; Mabee, 1970, pp. 65, 100, 101, 140, 194, 203, 269, 338, 339, 413n1; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 52, 73, 166, 413-414; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 7, Pt. 2, p. 441; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 17, p. 300)


PENNINGTON, William, statesman, and governor of New Jersey, born in Newark, New Jersey, 4 May, 1796; died there, 16 February, 1862. Pennington was graduated at Princeton in 1813, admitted to the bar, and began practice in Newark. He was governor of New Jersey in 1837-'43, and at the same time was ex-officio chancellor of that state. During his administration the Broad Seal War occurred, a controversy which grew out of the Congressional election of 1838, when six members were to be chosen by a general ticket in New Jersey. In two of the counties the clerks had rejected some of the township returns for real or alleged irregularities, and thus five of the Whig candidates received majorities which they would not have obtained had all the votes been counted. The sixth, having run ahead of his ticket, was elected beyond dispute. The governor and his council, in accordance with the law then in force, canvassed the votes, and to the six persons who had received the highest number, issued commissions under the great seal of the state. Congress, on convening, found that the five votes from New Jersey must decide the speakership, and this gave, rise to a stormy debate, which lasted several days, and finally ended in the choice of John Quincy Adams as temporary chairman. He decided that all members holding commissions could vote; but the decision, being appealed from, was reversed and a resolution adopted that only the names of members holding uncontested seats should be called. On the twelfth day of the session Robert M. T. Hunter was chosen speaker, and on 28 February the five Democratic members were admitted to their seats. The subject was referred to a committee, which retorted that the sitting members were elected. It was generally admitted that the governor had no option but to fill the commissions as he did. He was clerk of the U. S. District Court in 1815-'26, and afterward declined appointments as governor of Minnesota Territory, and as one of the judges to settle claims under the Mexican treaty. He was elected to Congress as a Republican, served in 1859-'61, and was chosen Speaker in February, 1860, after a contest that lasted over eight weeks. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 717-718.


PENNOCK. Alexander Mosely, naval officer, born in Norfolk, Virginia, 1 November, 1813; died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 20 September, 1876. He was appointed to the U.S. Navy from Tennessee on 1 April, 1828, served on the frigate "Guerriere," in the Pacific Squadron, in 1829-'30, and on the sloop " Natchez," in the Brazil Squadron, in 1834. He was promoted lieutenant, 25 March, 1839, was light-house inspector in 1853-'6, and on 15 December, 1855, was commissioned commander. He was on special duty connected with the steam frigate “ Niagara" in 1857, commanded the steamer "Southern Star," of the Brazil Squadron, and in the Paraguay Expedition in 1859-'60, and was again detailed as light-house inspector in 1861. In the last-named year Commander Pennock was ordered to duty as fleet captain of the Mississippi Squadron, where he remained till the autumn of 1864, gaining a reputation for executive ability of a high order. He was commissioned captain, 2 January, 1863, in 1866-'7 was on duty at the Brooklyn U.S. Navy-yard, and in 1868 was appointed to the frigate "Franklin," then Farragut's flag-ship, of the European Squadron. He was commissioned commodore, 6 May, 1868, and in 1869 was in charge of the European Squadron. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1872.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 718.


PENNYPACKER, Elijah Funk, 1804-1888, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, reformer, abolitionist.  Manager, American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (AFASS), 1841-1842.  (Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 719; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 7, Pt. 2, p. 446)

PENNYPACKER, Elijah Funk, reformer, born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, 20 November, 1804; died in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, 4 January, 1888. He was educated in the private schools in Burlington, New Jersey, taught there, and subsequently engaged in land surveying in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. He then became interested in real estate, was in the legislature in 1831-'5, chairman of its committee on banks, and a principal mover in the establishment of public schools. In 1836-'8 he was a canal commissioner. He joined the Society of Friends about 1841, and thenceforth for many years devoted himself to the abolition movement, becoming president of the local anti-slavery society, and of the Chester County, and Pennsylvania state societies. He was an active manager of the “Underground Railroad,” and his house was one of its stations. With John Edgar Thompson he made the preliminary surveys of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He aided the suffering poor in Ireland in the famine of 1848, and subsequently identified himself with the Prohibition Party, becoming their candidate for state treasurer in 1875. He was an organizer of the Pennsylvania Mutual Fire Insurance Company in 1869, and was its vice-president till 1879, when he became president, holding office till January, 1887, when he resigned. John G. Whittier says of him: “In mind, body, and brave championship of the cause of freedom he was one of the most remarkable men I ever knew.” Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 719.


PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, September 14, 1861. Detachment of crew of U. S. Steamer Colorado. With a detail of men, Lieutenant John H. Russell descended upon the navy yard at Pensacola at 2 a. m. The steamer Judah, with 5 guns, lying at anchor just off the yard, was burned and the only gun in the yard was spiked. Three of Russell's men were killed and 4 wounded. The Confederates report no casualties. Pensacola, Florida, November 22-23, 1861. Troops of the Department of Florida, and Steamers Niagara and Richmond. This affair was an artillery duel between the U. S. forces in Fort Pickens and the adjacent batteries and two vessels in the harbor, and the Confederates under Bragg in the town and fortifications. The fighting was kept up for two days without much loss to either side, Bragg's casualties amounting to 1 killed and 20 wounded, while the Federals lost 1 killed and 6 wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 671.


PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, April 2, 1864. (See Cow Ford Creek, same date.)


PENSION. No person in the army, navy, or marine corps, shall be allowed to draw both a pension as an invalid and the pay of his rank or station in the service, unless the alleged disability for which the pension was granted, be such as to have occasioned his employment in a lower grade, or in some civil branch of the service; (Act April 30, 1844.) Any officer, non-commissioned officer, or soldier of the army, including militia rangers, sea-fencibles and volunteers, disabled by wounds or otherwise, while in the line of his duty in public service, shall be placed on the list of invalids of the United States, at the following rates of pay: No officer shall receive more than the half pay of a lieutenant-colonel; half the monthly pay of inferior grades; or, for a first lieutenant, seventeen dollars; a second lieutenant, fifteen dollars, a third lieutenant fourteen dollars, an ensign thirteen dollars; and a non-commissioned officer, musician, or private, eight dollars per month for the highest disability, and for less disabilities a sum proportionably less; (Act March 16, 1802, and April 24, 1816.)


The widow of an officer dying of wounds received in military service, or if the officer have no widow, any child or children left by the officer, is entitled to his half pay for five years; provided that the pension to the widow shall cease upon her death or intermarriage, and shall also cease upon the death of such child or children; (Act March 16, 1802.)

In an elaborate opinion given by Mr. Attorney-general Gushing, published by the War Department in General Orders, No. 11 of 1855, he draws the conclusion that “ the phrase ' line of duty ' is an apt one, to denote that an act of duty performed must have relation of causation, mediate or immediate, to the wound, the casualty, the injury, or the disease producing disability or death.” “Every person” (says Mr. Gushing) who enters the military service of the country officer, soldier, sailor, or marine takes upon himself certain moral and legal engagements of duty, which constitute his official or professional obligations. While in the performance of those things which the law requires of him as military duty, he is in the line of his duty But at the same time, though a soldier or sailor, he is not the less a man and a citizen, with private rights to exercise and duties to perform; and while attending to these things he is not in the line of his public duty. In addition to this, a soldier or sailor, like any other man, has the physical faculty of doing many things which are in violation of duties either  general or special; and in doing these things he is not acting in the line of his duty. Around all those acts of the soldier or sailor which are official in their nature the pension laws draw a legislative line, and then they say to the soldier or sailor: If, while performing acts which are within that line, you thereby incur disability or death, you or your widow or children, as the case may be, shall receive pension or allowance; but not if the disability or death arise from acts performed outside of that line; that is, absolutely disconnected from, and wholly independent of, the performance of duty. Was the cause of disability or death a cause within the line of duty or outside of it? Was that cause appertaining to, dependent upon, or otherwise necessarily and essentially connected with, duty within the line; or was it unappertinent, independent, and not of necessary and essential connection? That, in my judgment, is the true test-criterion of the class of pension cases under consideration.” (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, pp. 461-462).


PENTECOST, George Frederick, evangelist, born in Albion, Illinois, 23 September, 1843. He was apprenticed to a printer at fifteen years of age, and was subsequently private secretary to the governor of Kansas Territory, and clerk of the U. S. District Court. He then studied law, and entered Georgetown College, Kentucky, but left to join the National Army, and in 1861-'2 served in the 8th Kentucky Cavalry, resigning with the rank of captain. He was licensed to preach in 1864, and was pastor of Baptist churches in Indiana, Kentucky, and New York till 1877, when he became an evangelist, in which work he has since continued, with the exception of a few years pastorate of a Congregational Church in Brooklyn, New York. He has been abroad three times on missions, and is a successful revivalist. Lafayette College gave him the degree of D. D. in 1884. He has published tracts and pamphlets, has edited "Words and Weapons for Christian Workers," a monthly, since 188a, and is the author of " In the Volume of the Book" (New York, 1879); "Angel in Marble" (Boston, 1884); and "Out of Egypt" (New York. 1887).  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 720.


PERALTA, NEW MEXICO, April 15, 1862. 19th U. S. and 4th and 5th New Mexico Infantry, and 3d U. S. Cavalry. After effecting a junction at Tijeras, the forces under command of Colonel Edward R S. Canby, commanding the department of New Mexico, arrived early on the morning of the 15th at Peralta, where a wagon train was captured with a loss to the enemy of 6 killed, 3 wounded and 22 captured. Canby's movement had been kept concealed from the enemy's main body by the New Mexico infantry and three companies of regular cavalry, which, after some sharp skirmishing, drove the Confederates across the river, losing 1 man killed and 3 wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 671.


PERCHE HILLS, MISSOURI, May 5, 1865. Detachment of 9th Missouri Militia Cavalry. Major Reeves Leonard, reporting from Sturgeon under date of May 5, says: "A scout from this post under Sergt. Tate, of Company C, had a skirmish with a band of guerrillas this morning in Perche Hills. Killed 1, wounded 2, captured several horses, arms, etc." Perkins' Mill, Tennessee, December 28, 1862. Detachments of 6th and 10th Kentucky Cavalry. As an incident of an expedition into east Tennessee, the detachment, under Major James L. Foley, surprised the camp of some 350 Confederates at Perkins' mill on Elk fork, capturing the 16 pickets without noise and then charging the main body at daylight. Three times the enemy attempted to form his line, but was each time unsuccessful, and finally gave way in confusion, losing 30 killed, 17 wounded and 51 captured. No Federal casualties were reported. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 672.


PERCUSSION. Twelve percussion caps are issued to ten cartridges. (See ARMS and ACCOUTREMENTS.) (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 462).


PERCUSSION BULLETS are made oy placing a small quantity of percussion powder, inclosed in a copper envelope, in the point of an ordinary rifle musket bullet. The impact of the bullet against a substance no harder than wood is found to ignite the percussion charge, and produce an effective explosion. These projectiles can be used to blow up caissons and boxes containing ammunition at very long distances; (BENTON.) (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 462).


PEPPER, George, physician, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1 April, 1841 : died there. 14 September, 1872. was graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1862, and in medicine in 1865. He enlisted on 15 September, 1862, as a private in the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, was promoted to a lieutenancy, and saw much active service, but was disabled in 1863, and on 22 May received an honorable discharge. He was chiefly instrumental in founding the Philadelphia Obstetrical Society, and served as its secretary until illness compelled him to resign. He was a member of many professional bodies, and rapidly acquired practice in the branches to which he devoted himself. His artistic talent, his mechanical ingenuity, his retentive memory, his industry and devotion to his profession, gave assurance of a career of unusual brilliancy. His contributions to the proceedings of the societies of which he was a member were numerous. Among the more important are that on "Adipose Deposits in the Omentum and Abdominal Walls as a Source of Error in Diagnosis " and that on " The Mechanical Treatment of Uterine Displacements." Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 720.


PERHAM, Sidney, born 1819.  Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine.  Served in Congress 1863-1869.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.  Governor of Maine 1871-1874.  (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 727; Congressional Globe)

PERHAM, Sidney, governor of Maine, born in Woodstock, Maine, 27 March, 1819. He was educated in the public schools, and subsequently was a teacher and farmer. He was a member of the State Board of Agriculture in 1852-'3, speaker of the legislature in 1854, a presidential elector in 1856, and clerk of the supreme judicial court of Oxford County in 1859-'63. He was elected to Congress as a Republican, and served in 1863-'9. He was governor of Maine in 1871-'4.  Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 727.


PERKINS, George Hamilton, naval officer, born in Hopkinton. New Hampshire, 20 December, 1830. His grandfather, Roger, was an early settler of Hopkinton, and one of the most public-spirited citizens of that town, and his father, Judge Hamilton, was the founder of the town of Contoocookville, New Hampshire.  George was graduated at the U. S. Naval Academy in 1850, and became 1st lieutenant in 1861. He served with gallantry as executive officer of the "Cayuga" at the passage of Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson, and at the capture of New Orleans in April, 1862, and with Captain Theodorus Bailey received the surrender of the city, passing through the streets in the, midst of a hooting mob, who threatened them with drawn pistols and other weapons. He became lieutenant-commander in December, 1862, was in charge of the gun-boat "New London " in June, 1863, and conveyed powder and despatches between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, ran the batteries at Port Hudson successfully five times, and on 9 July had a severe skirmish with the enemy at Whitehall's Point. He was on blockading duty on the "Scioto," of the Gulf Squadron, from July, 1863, till April, 1864, and at that time was relieved, but volunteered at the battle of Mobile Bay. In his official report of that engagement Admiral Farragut said: "I cannot give too much praise to Lieutenant Commodore Perkins, who, although he had orders to return north, volunteered to take command of the “Chickasaw,” and did his duty nobly." He remained in charge of that ship in the subsequent operations that resulted in the taking of Mobile, the reduction of Fort Powell, Fort Gaines, and Fort Morgan. He was superintendent of iron-clads in New Orleans in 1865-6, became commander in 1871, was in charge, of the store-ship "Relief," to convey contributions to the French, from September, 1871, till January, 1872, and in 1882 was commissioned captain. See his "Letters," edited and arranged by his sister, with a sketch of his life by Commodore George E. Belknap (Concord, New Hampshire, 1886).  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 728-729


PERKINS, Granville, artist, born in Baltimore, Maryland. 16 October, 1830. He studied drawing in Philadelphia, and painting under James Hamilton. For several years he devoted himself mainly to scene-painting, finding employment in Richmond, Virginia, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. He began working for the illustrated papers about 1851, and in 1855 took a post on "Frank Leslie's Weekly." About 1860 he was engaged by Harper Brothers, with whom he remained for several years. He furnished a large number of illustrations for books, his specialty being marine views, and became widely known through his excellent work in that direction. He has exhibited frequently at the National Academy since 1862, and at the exhibitions of the Water-Color Society, of which he is a member.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 729.


PERKINS, Jacob, inventor, born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, 9 July, 1766: died in London, England, 30 July, 1849. In childhood he was apprenticed to a goldsmith, and at the age of fifteen he carried on the business of a goldsmith in his native town, and invented a method of plating shoe-buckles. When he was about twenty-one years of age he was employed by the state of Massachusetts to make dies for copper coinage, and three years afterward he invented a machine for cutting and heading nails at one operation. Through the mismanagement of his partners he was at this time involved in great pecuniary distress. He made great improvements in bank-note engraving by substituting steel for copper plates. After residing for some time in Boston and in New York, he moved to Philadelphia in 1814, and became associated with a firm of bank-note engravers. In 1818 he went to England, accompanied by Mr. Fairman and several workmen, and obtained a contract for supplying the Bank of Ireland with plates. He carried on his business extensively for many years in London, and was employed in perfecting engines and machines to be worked by steam-power. He originated a process for transferring engravings from one steel plate to another, an instrument called the bathometer, to measure the depth of water, and the pleometer, to mark with precision the speed at which a vessel moves through the water. He constructed a gun in which steam, generated at an enormous pressure, was used for propulsion instead of gunpowder, and with it passed balls through eleven planks of the hardest deal, each an inch thick, placed some distance apart. With a pressure of only 65 atmospheres he penetrated an iron plate a quarter of an inch thick. He also screwed to a gun-barrel a tube filled with balls, which, falling into the barrel, were discharged at the rate of nearly 1,000 a minute.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 729.


PERRIN, Abner M., soldier, born in Edgefield County, South Carolina, in 1827; died at Spottsylvania, Virginia, 11 May, 1864. He was educated at Bethany Academy, South Carolina, and served in the Mexican War as 2d lieutenant in the 10th Volunteers. On his return to South Carolina he studied and practised law until 1861, when he entered the Confederate Army as captain of the 14th South Carolina Volunteers, and was promoted colonel in April, 1863, and brigadier-general in May, 1864. with the command of an Alabama brigade.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 732.


PERRY, Benjamin Franklin, lawyer, born in Pendleton District, South Carolina, 20 November, 1805; died in Greenville, South Carolina, 3 December, 1886. He was educated in Asheville, North Carolina, and Greenville, South Carolina, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1827. On becoming editor of the Greenville "Mountaineer" he boldly attacked the Nullification Party, not sparing its leader, John C. Calhoun, the sturdy defence of his principles and the persistent warfare upon his political enemies led to the formation of a Union Party in the state, and he was the chief spirit, of its convention in 1832. In 1834 he was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress, but in 1830 was elected to the lower branch of the legislature, serving until 1844, when he was sent to the state senate and labored earnestly for the Union cause. He established in 1850 a Union newspaper at Greenville, entitled "The Southern Patriot." In the legislature of 1850 he delivered stirring appeals to the loyalty of its members. When the state seceded in 1850, although he had tried to prevent the act, he embraced the Confederate cause and sent his sons to serve in the southern army. Under the Confederacy he held the offices of district attorney and district judge, and at the close of the war he was appointed provisional governor. Subsequently he was elected U. S. Senator, but was not permitted to take his seat. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention of 1870. Governor Perry was the author of "Reminiscences of Public Men " (Philadelphia, 1883), and left in manuscript several sketches of American statesmen, which have been edited, enlarged, and published by his wife, entitled "Sketches of Eminent American Statesmen, with Speeches and Letters of Governor Perry, prefaced by an Outline of the Author's Life," with an introduction by Wade Hampton (Philadelphia, 1887).—His son, William Hayne, lawyer, born in Greenville, South Carolina, 9 June, 1837, was graduated at Harvard in 1857, practised law with his father, and served in the Civil War in Brooks's troop of cavalry, which was afterward incorporated into the Hampton Legion. He participated in the chief battles fought by the Army of Northern Virginia, and defended the coast of South Carolina. Subsequently he served in the legislature, and was elected as a Democrat to Congress in 1884 and 1880.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 734.


PERRY, James Alexander, soldier, born in New London, Connecticut, 11 December, 1828, is the son of Nathanael Hazard. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1851, assigned to the 2d U.S. Artillery, and served against the Seminole Indians in 1852. He was assistant professor of mathematics at West Point in 1852-'7, in frontier service in the northwest during hostilities with the Sioux and Chippewa Indians, and became captain in the quartermaster's department. He served in the Civil War as chief quartermaster of the Department of Florida, and participated in the relief and defence of Fort Pickens. On 20 April, 1862, he became lieutenant-colonel of volunteers, and in 1864 he was made chief of a bureau in the quartermaster's department with the rank of colonel. He was brevetted major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel, on 13 March, 1865, and also brigadier-general, U. S. Army, for faithful and meritorious services in that department. He was commissioned major on 29 July, 1866, and lieutenant-colonel on 3 March, 1875. Since 1869 he has served as chief quartermaster of various departments, and he is now (1888) assistant quartermaster-general of the Division of the Pacific. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 737.


PERRY, Edward Aylesworth, governor of Florida, born in Richmond, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, 15 March, 1833. He entered Yale in the class of 1854, but left college in 1853 and went to Alabama, where he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1857, and began practice in Pensacola, Florida. At the beginning of the Civil War he became captain of a company that he raised for the Confederate service, and was made colonel of his regiment, which he commanded at Seven Pines and the other battles around Richmond, being wounded at Eraser's farm. He was then made brigadier-general, and led a brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia, which lost a larger number of men at Gettysburg than any other on the Confederate side, he was wounded a second time at the battle of the Wilderness in May, 1864. At the close of the war General Perry resumed practice in Pensacola. He was elected governor of Florida for four years from January, 1885.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 737.


PERRY COUNTY, ARKANSAS, December 3, 1864. Detachment of 3d Arkansas Cavalry. Colonel Abraham H. Ryan, reporting from Lewisburg under date of December 4, says: "Lieutenant Robert W. Wishard has returned from scout through Perry county; killed 1 lieutenant and 4 men of the enemy. Lost 1 man killed and 1 wounded badly." The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 672.


PERRY COUNTY, KENTUCKY, November 9, 1862. 14th Kentucky Cavalry. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 672.


PERRY'S FERRY, MISSISSIPPI, April 19, 1863. (See Coldwater, same date.)


PERRYVILLE, INDIAN TERRITORY, August 26, 1863. Troops of Southeastern District of Missouri. After pursuing the Confederates for 40 miles during the day the Federal advance under Colonel William F. Cloud about 8 p. m. came upon their rear-guard behind a light barricade just outside of Perryville. A few shells from the Federal howitzers made the enemy leave their fortifications in haste and Cloud occupied and burned the town. Four Federals were wounded, and during the pursuit and taking of the town the enemy lost 4 killed and between 12 and 20 captured. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 672.


PERRYVILLE, KENTUCKY, October 8, 1862. Army of the Ohio. Early in August, 1862, the Confederate forces under Generals Bragg and E. Kirby Smith united for an invasion of Kentucky, in the hope of forcing the state to secede from the Union. Smith entered Kentucky via of Cumberland gap and moved toward Lexington. Bragg's column crossed the Tennessee river at Chattanooga, moved rapidly through middle Tennessee, and on September 13 was at Glasgow, Kentucky, the objective point being Louisville. If Louisville could be seized and held the states north of the Ohio river would be in danger of invasion. Leaving a sufficient force to hold Nashville, Buell pushed forward with the remainder of his army in a race with Bragg for Louisville, where the Federal advance arrived on September 25, and the rear division four days later. At Louisville Buell found a large number of raw recruits from the states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and immediately set about the reorganization of his army by intermixing the new troops with the old without changing the old organization. When reorganized the Army of the Ohio numbered about 60,000 men. It was composed of the 1st, 2nd and 3d army corps, respectively commanded by Major-Generals A. McD. McCook, T. L. Crittenden and C. C. Gilbert. McCook's corps embraced the 3d and 10th divisions, commanded by Brigadier-General L. H. Rousseau and Brigadier-General J. S. Jackson; Crittenden's corps was composed of the 4th and 6th divisions, commanded by Brigadier-Generals W. S. Smith and T. J. Wood; Gilbert's corps consisted of the 1st, 9th and 11th divisions, commanded by Brigadier-Generals Albert Schoepf. R. B. Mitchell and P. H. Sheridan. Opposed to this force was the Confederate Army of the Mississippi under General Braxton Bragg, the estimated strength of which was about 68,000 men. The right wing, under Major-General Leonidas Polk, consisted of Cheatham's division and the cavalry brigade of Colonel J. A. Wharton. The left wing, commanded by Major-General W. J. Hardee, was made up of the infantry divisions of Brigadier-General J. P. Anderson and Major-General S. B. Buckner, and the cavalry brigade of Colonel Joseph Wheeler. It was Buell's intention to start from Louisville on the last day of September and move against Bragg, who was then at Bardstown, about 45 miles south, but an order was received relieving him of the command of the army and turning it over to Major-General George H. Thomas. The latter declined to accept, however, and was made second in command. This proceeding delayed the movement of the army for one day, and on October 1, it marched out in five columns. The left moved toward Frankfort to hold in check the Confederates in that vicinity, and the other four moved over the roads leading via Shepherdsville, Mount Washington, Fairfeld and Bloomfield to Bardstown. Each column encountered Confederate detachments a few miles out from Louisville and the delay occasioned by the almost constant skirmishing gave Bragg an opportunity to get away from Bardstown, the last of his infantry retiring about eight hours before Buell's advance entered the town. A sharp skirmish occurred between the cavalry and artillery, the pursuit of the Confederate rear-guard continuing for some distance in the direction of Springfield. Believing that the enemy would concentrate his forces about Danville, Buell ordered McCook to move toward that point via Harrodsburg while Crittenden proceeded on the Lebanon and Danville road and Gilbert took the direct road to Perryville. Shortly after leaving Bardstown Buell received information that Kirby Smith had crossed the Kentucky river near Salvisa and was moving to effect a junction with Bragg at Harrodsburg or Perryville. Orders were therefore sent to McCook to move directly to the latter place. Gilbert's corps arrived within 3 miles of Perryville on the afternoon of the 7th and was drawn up in line of battle, as the enemy appeared to be in considerable force and an attack was apprehended. Captain Gay pushed forward with his brigade of cavalry and a battery, driving the Confederate rear-guard back about a mile and enveloping the enemy's position, which was such that it indicated he intended to make a stand at Perryville. As water had been somewhat scarce during the last three days, Buell's first step was to gain possession of Doctor's creek, a tributary of the Chaplin river, and to accomplish this Colonel Daniel McCook's brigade of Sheridan's division was ordered to seize and hold a position commanding the creek. The enemy tried to prevent this, but McCook carried out the order just before daylight on the morning of the 8th. Orders were sent to commanders of the 1st and 2nd corps to move at 3 a. m. on the 8th and take positions on the right and left of Gilbert. These orders did not reach McCook and Crittenden until after 2 o'clock in the morning. The former marched at 5 o'clock and reached the field at 10:30 a. m., and the latter's command was not in the engagement at all. The battle on the 8th began with the attempt ot the Confederates to drive McCook from his position covering Doctor's creek, and was opened with artillery. McCook ordered Barnett's battery to the right of his line to reply, and after about three-fourths of an hour Barnett succeeded in silencing the enemy's guns. Buckner then commenced massing his troops in the edge of the woods in which McCook had placed his skirmishers. Gay's cavalry started toward Perryville, but was stopped by Buckner. Dismounting part of his command, Gay joined the skirmishers of the 54th Ohio and soon became engaged with Buckner's force, consisting of two brigades of infantry. The 2nd Missouri and 44th Illinois were then sent forward to the support of the skirmish line, driving the enemy from the woods and back across an open field. In the meantime the divisions of Mitchell and Sheridan had been moved to a position where they could come quickly to McCook's support, with orders to hold their ground until the army was prepared to attack in force. About the time that Buckner was driven back across the field Rousseau's division came up on the Mackville road and formed in an open field on the left of Gilbert, but with considerable space between the two commands. At 2 p. m. the enemy made an attack on the skirmishers of the 33d Ohio. The remainder of that regiment and the 2nd Ohio were sent to the support of the skirmish line and in a short time the action became general, the heaviest assault falling on the left of the line, where it was gallantly repulsed by Starkweather's brigade. General Jackson was killed at the first fire, and this caused a portion of his division to give way in some confusion. Brigadier-General W. R. Terrill, commanding the 33d brigade, lost his life while trying to rally the men, and 10 pieces of his artillery were left on the ground, though 8 of these were afterward recovered. The Confederates next took advantage of the gap between Rousseau's right and Gilbert's left, pressing the attack at that point with an overwhelming force. Rousseau's right was turned and his line was being forced back, when Gooding's and Steedman's brigades of Gilbert's corps came to his assistance, driving back the enemy and reoccupying the ground near the Russell house. Steedman posted his battery along with that of Pinney's near the Russell house and opened a terrific fire on the Confederate lines, while the batteries of Sheridan's division caught the enemy on the left flank and poured in a heavy enfilading fire from that direction. Carlin's brigade of Mitchell's division now reinforced Sheridan, a charge was made with such intrepidity that the Confederates were completely routed and forced back through the town, Sheridan capturing 2 caissons and 1S wagons loaded with ammunition, as well as the guard with them, consisting of 3 officers and 138 men. This ended the battle, though the Union commanders spent the greater part of the night in perfecting their plans for a renewal of the fight on the following morning. At daylight on the 9th the Federal camps were astir and at 6 o'clock the corps of Crittenden and Gilbert moved forward to attack the enemy's front and left flank. When the advance reached the town it was discovered that the enemy had abandoned his position during the night and fallen back toward Harrodsburg. The Union losses in the battle of Perryville were 845 killed, 2,851 wounded and 515 missing. Bragg reported his losses as being 510 killed, 2,635 wounded and 251 missing. This engagement ended the Confederate invasion of Kentucky. The effort to force the state to secede had failed. On October 12 Bragg made a report from Bryantsville. in which he said: "The campaign here was predicated on a belief and the most positive assurances that the people of this country would rise in mass to assert their independence. No people ever had so favorable an opportunity, but I am distressed to add there is little or no disposition to avail of it. Willing, perhaps, to accept their independence, they are neither disposed nor willing to risk their lives or their property in its achievement." In the same report he also says: "Ascertaining that the enemy was heavily reinforced during the night, I withdrew my force early the next morning to Harrodsburg and thence to this point. * * * My future movements cannot be indicated, as they will depend in a great measure on those of the enemy." The only "reinforcement" added to Buell's army on the night of the 8th was Crittenden's corps, and this was near enough to have been brought into the action at Perryville, had the commanding general deemed it necessary. As "the enemy" showed a disposit10n to act on the aggressive, Bragg hurried to get out of Kentucky, retreating via Cumberland gap into Tennessee, the Union army continuing the pursuit as far as London, Kentucky, harassing the rear-guard and capturing a number of stragglers. (This engagement is sometimes called the battle of Chaplin Hills.) The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, pp. 672-674.


PEST-HOUSE, LOUISIANA, May 28, 1864. (See Port Hudson, same date.)


PETARD. An engine made of gun-metal, fixed upon a board, and containing about nine pounds of powder. Sometimes attached to gates, &c., to burst them open. In an attack upon a fortification, leathern bags containing fifty pounds of powder have been found more useful. (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 462).


PETERSBURG, TENN., March 2, 1863. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 674.


PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, June 9, 1864. Detachment, Army of the James. Brigadier-General August V. Kautz with the cavalry division, in what was to be a joint movement on Petersburg, assailed and carried the first line of the Confederate intrenchments by dismounting his men and slowly advancing until the enemy was obliged to retreat. The men were then remounted and started for the city, but before reaching it a large ravine had to be crossed. While Kautz was moving down this he was fired on by the Confederate artillery and musketry and after waiting for some time for the infantry under Major-General Q. A. Gillmore to come up, he withdrew, having lost 4 killed, 26 wounded and 6 captured or missing. Gillmore's command, through some misunderstanding did not advance to support Kautz, but during the day skirmished with the enemy in his works on another side of town. In the fighting there Gillmore lost 25 in killed and wounded. Petersburg, Virginia, June 15, 1864, to April 2, 1865. Army of the Potomac and Army of the James. When the Army of the Potomac began the campaign from the Rapidan to the James on May 4, 1864, General Butler, with the Army of the James, was directed to move against Richmond by the south bank of the James river, and General Hunter was to move up the Shenandoah Valley, "destroying, as far as practicable, railroads that could be used as lines of supplies to the enemy, and also the James river and the Kanawha canal." After the battle of Cold Harbor, on June 3, Grant resolved to transfer the field of operations to the south side of the James, and on the 5th he sent a despatch to General Halleck, chief of staff, in which he stated: "My idea from the start has been to beat Lee's army if possible north of Richmond; then after destroying his lines of communication on the north side of the James river to transfer the army to the south side and besiege Lee in Richmond, or follow him south if he should retreat. * * * Once on the south side of the James river, I can cut off all sources of supply to the enemy except what is furnished by the canal. If Hunter succeeds in reaching Lynchburg, that will be lost to him also. Should Hunter not succeed, I will still make the effort to destroy the canal by sending cavalry up the south side of the river with a pontoon train to cross wherever they can." Grant had now adopted practically the same plan that had been proposed by McClellan two years before. In June, 1862, McClellan said: "The superiority of the James river route as a line of attack and supply is too obvious to need exposition," and again in August, when the authorities in Washington were needlessly alarmed for the safety of the national capital, he telegraphed General Halleck: "Here is the true defense of Washington. It is here, on the banks of the James, that the fate of the Union should be decided." In view of the final success of the army under Grant these words are prophetic. The siege of Petersburg was also the siege of Richmond, for with the fall of the former the latter was doomed. From Richmond the James river flows south in almost a straight line for 10 miles, when it turns toward the southeast and after a sinuous course receives the Appomattox at City Point. Petersburg is located on the Appomattox, 10 miles above its mouth and 22 miles south of Richmond. The two cities were connected by the Richmond & Petersburg railway. From Petersburg the South Side railroad ran west along the bank of the Appomattox to Lynchburg; the Weldon railroad ran south and the Norfolk southeast. A short line also connected Petersburg with City Point. Directly across the James from Richmond was the village of Manchester, from which the Richmond & Danville railroad ran west along the south bank of the James river, while along the north bank of that stream was the Kanawha canal, mentioned by Grant in his despatch to Halleck. To cut these lines of commun1cation was the first object of the Federal commander. About half way between Petersburg and City Point are the Point of Rocks and Broadway landing on the Appomattox. From this point to the Dutch Gap bend on the James the distance in a straight line is about 3 miles. The peninsula enclosed by the two rivers below this line is known as Bermuda Hundred, which had been occupied by Butler early in May and a line of works constructed across the neck of the peninsula. This position was a strong one for defense, but General Beauregard, commanding the defenses of Petersburg, threw up a line of works immediately in Butler's front, thus preventing his further advance and bottling him up on the peninsula, where he remained until the Army of the Potomac moved to the south side of the James. On June 9, Kautz charged and carried a portion of the Petersburg works, but not being supported by the infantry was unable to hold them, though he brought out 40 prisoners and 1 piece of artillery when he withdrew. The withdrawal of troops from Cold Harbor began on the 10th. Shortly after dark on the 12th the 18th corps, the last to leave the trenches, took up the march to White House landing on the Pamunkey river, where the men were embarked on transports, and by sunset on the 14th the corps joined Butler at Bermuda Hundred, near the junction of the James and Appomattox rivers. The other corps crossed the Chickahominy and marched across the country, striking the James river in the vicinity of Malvern hill. By the 20th of June Grant had about 110,000 men in front of the Petersburg and Richmond intrenchments. His forces were organized as follows: The Army of the Potomac, Major-General George G. Meade, commanding, consisted of the 2nd, 5th, 6th and 9th corps of infantry and the cavalry corps. The 2nd corps was commanded by Major-General Winfield S. Hancock and was composed of three divisions, the first under command of Brigadier-General Francis C. Barlow, the 2nd under Major-General John Gibbon, and the 3d under Major-General David B. Birney. The 5th corps, commanded by Major-General Gouverneur K. Warren, embraced four divisions, respectively commanded by Brigadier-Generals Charles Griffin, Romeyn B. Ayres, Samuel W. Crawford and Lysander Cutler. The 6th corps. Major-General Horatio G. Wright commanding, included three divisions, the 1st commanded by Brigadier-General David A. Russell, the 2nd by Brigadier-General George W. Getty, and the 3d by Brigadier-General James B. Ricketts. Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside was in command of the 9th corps, which was composed of four divisions respectively commanded by Brigadier-Generals James H. Ledlie, Robert H. Potter, Orlando B. Willcox and Edward Ferrero, the last named being composed of colored troops. The cavalry corps was under command of Major General Philip H. Sheridan, and was made up of three divisions, the 1st commanded by Brigadier-General Alfred T. A. Torbert, the 2nd by Brigadier-General David McM. Gregg, and the 3d by Brigadier-General James H. Wilson. With the 2nd corps was the artillery brigade of Colonel John C. Tidball; Colonel Charles S. Wainwright commanded the artillery brigade of the 5th corps, and Colonel Charles H. Tompkins of the 6th, while the artillery of the 9th was distributed among the several divisions. Captain James M. Robertson's brigade of horse artillery was attached to Sheridan's command. The Army of the James, Major-General Benjamin F. Butler commanding, was made up of the 10th and 18th infantry corps, the cavalry division under Brigadier-General August V. Kautz, the siege artillery under Colonel Henry L. Abbot, and the naval brigade under Brigadier-General Charles K. Graham. The 10th corps, commanded by Brigadier-General William H. T. Brooks, included the three divisions commanded by Brigadier-Generals Alfred H. Terry, John W. Turner and Orris K. Ferry. The 18th corps, commanded by Major-General William F. Smith, embraced the three divisions under Brigadier-Generals George J. Stannard, John H. Martindale and Edward W. Hinks. In addition to the regular organizations named there were some unattached troops. Early on the morning of June 13 Lee discovered that the Federal troops in his front had been withdrawn, and immediately put his own army in motion for the Richmond and Petersburg intrenchments. The Confederate works about the two cities are thus described by Hotchkiss in the Virginia volume of the Confederate Military History: "At this time, Beauregard's left rested on the navigable Appomattox, about one mile north of east from Petersburg. * * * On his right, Anderson, with the First corps, extended the Confederate line for some 3 miles to the southward, in front of Petersburg, crossing the Norfolk & Petersburg railroad in the vicinity of the Jerusalem plank road, thence westward for some 2 miles; the Third corps, under A. P. Hill, extended the Confederate right, on the south of Petersburg, to the Weldon & Petersburg railroad. Pickett's division took up the line on the west side of the Appomattox and extended it north to the James, at the big bend opposite Dutch gap. The fortifications on the north of the James, from Chaffin's bluff northward, along the front of Richmond, were held by batteries and by local troops in command of Lieutenant-General R. S. Ewell. Subsequently the Confederate works were extended to the southwest of Petersburg for more than 10 miles to beyond Hatcher's run, until Lee's line of defensive works, consisting of forts and redoubts connected by breastworks and strengthened by all means known to the art of war, extended for nearly 40 miles." According to the same authority, "Lee had, in his 40-mile line, for the defense of Richmond and Petersburg, some 54,000 men, the remaining veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia, and of the department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia, Beauregard's army." From official sources it is learned that on June 30 Lee's forces numbered 54,751 men, which was gradually increased until on December 20 he had 66,533. During the same period the Union army had lost in killed, wounded and missing 47,554 men, but recruits had been brought in until on December 20 Grant had 110,364 men of all arms in front of the Confederate works. About 4 a. m. on June 15 Smith's corps and Kautz's cavalry left Broadway landing for an assault on Beauregard's works. Kautz soon met the Confederate skirmishers and at Baylor's farm, about 4 miles from Petersburg, a force of infantry and artillery was found occupying a line of rifle-pits. Hinks' division of colored troops made a vigorous attack, dislodged the enemy and captured 1 piece of artillery. Smith then advanced about a mile and a half to the Jordan farm, where his entire front was subjected to an artillery fire that drove the Union batteries from their position. Some delay was incurred in reconnoitering, but at 7 p. m. the divisions of Brooks and Hinks pushed forward and carried the works, capturing over 200 prisoners, 4 guns, with horses, caissons and ammunition, several stands of colors and the intrenching tools. About the same time Martindale's division carried the works between Jordan's house and the Appomattox, capturing 2 pieces of artillery and equipments complete. Hancock was directed on the evening of the 14th to hold his corps in readiness to move, but he was delayed in waiting for rations from City Point until 10:30 a. m. on the 15th, when the -command moved without the rations. Owing to an incorrect map l1e was unable to join Smith until after the action at Jordan's was over. At 8 o'clock that evening Burnside started the 9th corps to reinforce Smith and Hancock, and at 10 o'clock the next morning his command went into position on Hancock's left. Hancock was placed in command of all the troops and ordered to make a general assault at 6 p. m. Before that hour Egan's brigade of Birney's division assaulted and carried a redoubt, known as redan No. 12, on Birney's left . In the attack at 6 o'clock redans Nos. 4, 13 and 14, with their connecting lines of breastworks, were carried, but with considerable loss to the assailants. At dawn on the 17th Potter's division surprised the enemy in the works on the ridge near the Shand house, captured 4 guns, 5 stands of colors, 600 prisoners and 1,500 stands of small arms. This was accomplished without a shot being fired, the bayonet alone being used. The Confederates were asleep with their arms in their hands, but Potter's men moved so quietly, and at the same time so swiftly, that they were over the works before the alarm could be given. Those captured surrendered without resistance and the others fled precipitately to an intrenched position along the west side of Harrison's creek. Later in the day this line was attacked by Willcox, but owing to a heavy enfilading fire of artillery from the left, and the lack of proper support, the assault was repulsed. Hartranft's brigade went into this action with 1,890 men, of whom but 1,o50 came back. In the meantime Warren's corps had come up and taken position on the left of Burnside. From prisoners Meade learned the character of Beauregard's intrenchments and the strength of his force, and ordered an assault by the whole line to be made at daylight on the morning of the 18th, hoping to carry the works before Lee could send reinforcements. When the line advanced on the morning of the 18th it was found that the enemy had evacuated the trenches held the day before and now occupied a new line some distance farther back toward the city of Petersburg. It was also discovered that Field's and Kershaw's divisions had arrived during the night and were already in position to meet the assault. On account of the change in the enemy's position and the nature of the ground over which the Federal troops had to advance, the attack was postponed until 12 o'clock. The 2nd corps then made two attacks on the right of the Prince George Court House road, but both were repulsed. Burnside encountered some difficulty in driving the Confederates from the railroad cut, but finally succeeded and established his corps within a hundred yards of the enemy's main line. Warren's assault was also unsuccessful, though some of Griffin's men fell within 20 feet of the enemy's works. Martindale's division carried a line of rifle-pits, but made no attack on the main line. The positions gained by the several commands were then intrenched and the siege of Petersburg was begun in earnest. From that time until the fall of the city on April 2, 1865. there was almost daily skirmishing at some point along the lines in front of Petersburg, with more serious engagements on the Jerusalem plank road, at Deep Bottom, along the Weldon, South Side and Danville railroads, Reams' Station, Yellow Tavern, Globe Tavern, Dinwiddie Court House, Fort Harrison, Chaffin's farm, Fair Oaks, Hatcher's run, Five Forks, Sailor's creek, and a number of minor skirmishes, each of which is herein treated under the proper head. In Potter's division of the 9th corps was the 48th Pennsylvania, a regiment made up chiefly of miners from Schuylkill county and commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Pleasants, who was a pract1cal mining engineer. After the assault of the 18th the men of this regiment began discussing the feasibility of running a mine under the enemy's works, and the plan was finally proposed by Pleasants to Burnside, who gave the project his unqualified approval and gained Meade's consent to it . The portion of the works to be mined was known as Elliott's salient, being occupied by Elliott's brigade of Bushrod Johnson's division and was near the center of the line on the east side of the city. With no tools but the pick and shovel the Pennsylvanians excavated a main gallery 522 feet in length with lateral galleries 37 and 38 feet long running under and nearly parallel to the enemy's works, the earth taken from the tunnel being carried out in cracker boxes. The work was commenced on June 25, and on July 27 the mine was charged with 8,000 pounds of powder, which was placed in eight magazines of 1,000 pounds each. On the 26th Burnside reported his plan for an assault to follow immediately upon the explosion of the mine. This plan contemplated the placing of Ferrero's division in the advance, because his other divisions had been under a heavy fire, day and night, for more than a month, while the colored troops had been held as a reserve. This selection was not approved by Meade and Grant, partly for the reason that it might be charged they were willing to sacrifice the negro soldiers by pushing them forward and partly because Ferrero's division had never been in close contact with the enemy and it was not known how they would conduct themselves in such an emergency, though the men had been drilling for several weeks for the work, and were not only willing but anxious for the undertaking. A division was then selected by lot, and it fell to General Ledlie to lead the assault. This was Burnside's weakest division and was commanded by a map whom General Humphreys, Meade's chief of staff, characterizes as "an officer whose total unfitness for such a duty ought to have been known to General Burnside, though it is not possible that it could have been. It was not known to General Meade." On the 29th an order was issued from headquarters providing that "At half-past three in the morning of the 30th, Major-General Burnside will spring his mine, and his assaulting columns will immediately move rapidly upon the breach, seize the crest in the rear and effect a lodgment there. He will be followed by Major-General Ord (now in command of the 18th corps), who will support him on the right, directing his movement to the crest indicated, and by Major-General Warren, who will support him on the left. Upon the explosion of the mine the artillery of all kinds in battery will open upon those points of the enemy's works whose fire covers the ground over which our columns must move, care being taken to avoid impeding the progress of our troops. Special instructions respecting the direction of the fire will be issued through the Chief of Artillery." At the appointed time Ledlie's division was in position in two lines, Marshall's brigade in front and Bartlett's in the rear, ready to charge into the breach the moment the mine was sprung. Four o'clock came and still no explosion. Officers and men who had been in a state of feverish expectancy since shortly after midnight, began to grow restless. An officer was sent to Burnside to inquire the cause of the delay, and it was learned that the fuse had died out. Lieutenant Jacob Douty and Sergt. Henry Rees volunteered to enter the gallery and reignite the fuse. Their efforts were crowned with success though they had barely emerged from the mouth of the mine at 4:45 when the explosion took place. A solid mass of earth, mingled with timbers, dismantled cannon and human beings, rose 200 feet in the air, and where Elliott's salient had stood was a ragged crater 170 feet long, 60 feet wide and 30 feet deep, filled with dust and debris. Immediately the Federal artillery—about 160 guns and mortars—opened fire and as soon as the dust had cleared away Marshall's line advanced, closely followed by Bartlett's, but the men could not resist the temptation to crowd forward to look into the hole, and the two brigades became hopelessly mixed. When the explosion occurred the Confederates hurried away from the intrenchments for 200 or 300 yards on either side of the mine, but the confusion of Ledlie's men and the delay in restoring something like order gave the enemy time to recover from his bewilderment, so that when the Union troops attempted to cross the crater they were met by a fire of musketry, straggling at first but increasing in effectiveness until at the end of half an hour the two brigades were huddled in a confused mass in the hole, unable to advance or withdraw. General Humphreys says: "General Ledlie did not accompany, much less lead, his division. He remained, according to the testimony before the Court of Inquiry that followed, in a bomb-proof about 50 yards inside our intrenchments, from which he could see nothing that was going on. He could not have given the instructions he received to his brigade commanders. Had the division advanced in column of attack, led by a resolute, intelligent commander, it would have gained the crest in fifteen minutes after the explosion, and before any serious opposition could have been made to it." Willcox sent in part of a brigade on the left of the mine, halting the remainder of his command until Ledlie's men should advance. He was criticised by the court of inquiry for not making efforts "commensurate with the occasion to carry out General Burnside's order to advance to Cemetery Hill." Ferrero moved in the rear of Willcox and upon reaching the most advanced line of the Federal works was compelled to halt on account of other troops occupying the position assigned to him. After some delay he was ordered to advance and carry the crest beyond the crater and was moving forward for that purpose when he was directed to halt. All seemed to be confusion, for in a little while the order to advance was renewed. By this time the enemy had strengthened his position on the hill and when Ferrero tried to carry it he failed. His colored troops established their valor, however, as in his report Ferrero says: "They were repulsed, but veterans could hardly have stood the fire to which they were exposed." At 6:30 orders were again sent to the division commanders not to halt at the works, but to advance at once to the crest without waiting for mutual support. Potter had moved his division forward by the flank soon after Ledlie began his advance. Upon reaching the vicinity of the mine Griffin's brigade turned to the right, took possession of the intrenchments which the Confederates had abandoned and began an attack upon Elliott's troops which were forced back after a long and severe contest. The other brigade attacked on the right of Griffin but was repulsed. The support of Ord and Warren did not come up to the expectations and at 9:15, after four hours of desultory fighting, Burnside received a peremptory order to withdraw his troops from the enemy's lines and cease offensive operations. This order was sent into the crater with instructions to the brigade commanders to consult and determine as to the time and manner of retiring. They sent back a request that a heavy fire of artillery and infantry should be opened to cover the withdrawal, but before the messenger reached Burnside the enemy made another attack and the men fell back in some disorder leaving the wounded to fall into the hands of the Confederates. The Union loss on the 30th was 419 killed, 1,679 wounded and 1,910 missing. Marshall and Bartlett were both captured and 23 regimental commanders were reported either killed, wounded or missing. On the Confederate side the loss in Elliott's brigade was 677, and as Weisinger's brigade lost about as heavily the total casualties among the enemy numbered probably not far from 1,000, most of whom were killed or wounded, as but few prisoners were taken by the Federals. On July 5, General Early, commanding the Confederate forces in the Shenandoah valley, crossed the Potomac near Shepherdstown and moved toward Washington, hoping thereby to compel Grant to withdraw troops from in front of Richmond and Petersburg for the defense of the national capital and thus giving Lee an opportunity to once more assume the offensive. Grant did send Wright with the 6th corps to Washington and this corps was not with the Army of the Potomac again until the early part of December. Soon after the mine explosion Lee felt that he could reduce his force at Petersburg and sent Kershaw's division to reinforce Early in the valley. Grant met this movement by sending Sheridan with two divisions of cavalry early in August to operate against Early. After the failure of Burnside's mine no more assaults were made on the Confederate fortifications, the Union army conducting the siege by regular approaches, raids against the railroads and various movements by detachments. A few days after the battle of Hatcher's run (October 27) the army went into winter quarters and from that time until the next spring the operations were confined to occasional picket firing and artillery duels. Late in the summer Butler conceived the idea of cutting a canal across the narrow neck of the peninsula known as Dutch gap, by means of which the Union gunboats could ascend the James river without running the fire of the Confederate batteries. The isthmus was less than half a mile in width and by the close of the year the canal was completed, except a bulkhead at the upper end. This was blown up on New Year's day, but the earth fell back in the canal and the enemy immediately planted a battery opposite the entrance to the canal, thus preventing its being opened, and the whole scheme came to naught. By the latter part of March, 1865, numerous changes occurred in the Union army. Hancock had been sent north to organize a new corps and the 2nd was now commanded by Major-General A. A. Humphreys, the divisions being commanded by Miles, Barlow and Mott. Cutler's division of the 5th corps was no longer in existence as a separate organization. The divisions of the 6th corps were commanded by Wheaton, Getty and Seymour. After the mine explosion Burnside was, at his own request, granted leave of absence, the command of the 9th corps being turned over to Major-General John G. Parke. Willcox took command of the 1st division, Potter of the 2nd and Brigadier-General John F. Hartranft of the 3d. Sheridan still commanded the cavalry of the army, the 1st and 3d divisions, commanded by Devin and Custer, being known as the Army of the Shenandoah under command of General Merritt, and the 2nd division was commanded by General George Crook. Wilson had been sent to General Thomas at Nashville, Tennessee The Army of the James, Major-General E. O. C. Ord commanding, was composed of the 24th and 25th corps and some detached troops guarding the defenses of Bermuda Hundred and the landings along the James. The 24th corps, under Major-General John Gibbon. 1ncluded the divisions of Foster, Devens and Turner, and the 25th, Major-General Godfrey Weitzel commanding, consisted of the divisions of Major-General August V. Kautz, Brigadier-General William Birney, and the cavalry division under Brigadier-General Ranald S. Mackenzie. On the last day of March the total strength of the army that was destined to close the war in Virginia was 114,335 men. On February 27, 1865, Sheridan, with the two divisions of cavalry, left Winchester and moved up the Shenandoah valley via Staunton and Charlottesville to within a short distance of Lynchburg, destroying the James river canal for some distance, and on March 27 effected a junction with Grant's army in front of Petersburg and Richmond. A few days before his arrival Lee and Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, held a conference in Richmond, at which it was decided to abandon the Richmond and Petersburg lines as soon as the railroads would admit of it, the purpose being to unite Lee's forces with those of Johnston in North Carolina and attack Sherman there. Lee knew that Grant was preparing for a movement against the Danville and South Side railroads and to counteract this he proposed a sortie against the works on the east side of Petersburg, which he believed would oblige Grant to concentrate there, thus thwarting the design on the railroads and postponing the evacuation until the weather was more favorable. The point selected for the attack was a redoubt known as Fort Stedman, about a mile from the Appomattox and not more than 150 yards from the Confederate works. This part of the line was held by the 9th corps, Willcox on the right, Potter on the left and Hartranft in reserve, Fort Stedman being garrisoned by a detachment of the 14th New York heavy artillery under Major G. M. Randall. Gordon's corps was chosen to lead the assault, in which he was to be supported by portions of Hill's and Longstreet's commands. At this time Lee's army was in desperate straits for food. The capture of Fort Fisher in January had closed the port of Wilmington to the Confederacy, thus making it impossible to obtain supplies from abroad. It had become a common occurrence for squads of Confederate soldiers, impelled by the hope of securing better rations, to desert with their arms in their hands and come over to the Union lines. About 4 a. m. on March 25 several such squads, claiming to be deserters, left the enemy's works and when near enough made a dash and overpowered the Federal pickets. Immediately three strong columns emerged from the Confederate abatis, one moving straight on Fort Stedman, one on Battery No. 10, a short distance north of the fort, and the third against Battery No. 11, about the same distance on the south of it. The second column broke the main line between Batteries 9 and 10 and then turned toward the fort, taking it on the flank. The garrison was soon overpowered and the guns of the fort, as well as those of Battery 10, were turned on Willcox's troops. Batteries 11 and 12 were quickly captured by the column that had turned to the right, and for a little while it looked as though Gordon's attack was to be a complete success. When the assault was commenced it was so dark that friends and foes could not be distinguished and the artillery of the other batteries could not be used. As soon as it was light enough General McLaughlin, whose brigade occupied the line near Battery 11 opened a mortar fire on the enemy there and soon afterward carried the battery at the point of the bayonet. He then entered Fort Stedman, not knowing it was in the hands of the enemy, and was taken prisoner. Gordon was under the mistaken impression that there were some forts in the rear of the main line and the column which captured Battery 10 was moving to capture these forts when it came in contact with Hartranft's division, which was coming up to Willcox's support, and was driven back to the battery and Fort Stedman. Battery 12 was retaken soon after No. 11, and by 7:30 Parke had driven the Confederates there into the fort, upon which was concentrated the fire of several of the Union batteries on the high ground in the rear. A heavy cross-fire of artillery and infantry was also brought to bear on the open space between the lines, rendering it almost impossible for the enemy to return to his own works or to receive reinforcements. Hartranft then moved against the enemy in the fort and recaptured the position with comparatively small loss, capturing 1,949 prisoners, most of whom had sought shelter in the bomb-proofs, and 9 stands of colors. Many of the Confederates were killed or wounded by the murderous cross-fire, while endeavoring to get back to their own lines. The Union loss was 494 in killed and wounded and 523 missing. The 2nd and 6th corps were then directed to make a reconnaissance of the enemy's works in front of Fort Fisher on the right of Fort Stedman, and to attack if it was found the force there had been sufficiently weakened to support Gordon. The intrenched picket line was carried and the Union troops advanced close to the main works, when it was found that Hill occupied them with a force too strong to be assaulted. The enemy tried to recapture the picket line at several points, but every attack was repulsed. In this affair the Union loss was about 900 in killed and wounded and 177 missing. The Confederate loss in killed and wounded was about the same and nearly 1,000 were captured. Grant was now in shape to operate against the railroads on Lee's right. On April 1 the Confederate forces under General Pickett were defeated in the battle of Five Forks, and on the morning of the 2nd the 6th corps broke through the Confederate lines near Hatcher's run, about 4 miles southwest of Petersburg. In an attempt to recover the captured line General A. P. Hill, one of Lee's ablest lieutenants, was killed. The defeat of Pickett and the breaking of his line determined Lee to evacuate the Petersburg fortifications before it was too late, and early on Sunday morning, April 2, he sent the following despatch to General J. C. Breckenridge, Confederate secretary of war: "I see no prospect of doing more than holding our position here till tonight. I am not certain that I can do that. If I can I shall withdraw tonight north of the Appomattox, and, if possible, it will be better to withdraw the whole line tonight from the James river. The brigades on Hatcher's run are cut off from us; the enemy has broken through our lines and intercepted between us and them, and there is no bridge over which they can cross the Appomattox this side of Goode's or Beaver's, which are not very far from the Danville railroad. Our only chance, then, of concentrating our forces is to do so near the Danville railway, which I shall endeavor to do at once. I advise that all preparation be made for leaving Richmond tonight. I will advise you later, according to circumstances." This despatch reached Richmond at 10:40 a. m. and was handed to President Davis while in attendance upon the service at St. Paul's church. He at once left the church and late in the day, in company with the officials of the Confederate States, took a train for Danville. That night the Confederate army withdrew from Richmond and Petersburg and commenced its last march, the line of which was up the Appomattox river toward Amelia Court House. During the winter the people of Richmond had been kept in ignorance of the real state of affairs and gave themselves up to pleasures, confidently expecting to hear any moment of a great Confederate victory. Lee's despatch, therefore, created consternation among them and there was a mad rush for the railroad stations in the desire to leave the doomed city. But transportation was out of the question, as every available coach and car were loaded with the officials, attaches and effects of the government, and to make matters worse orders had been issued that none should be permitted to board the trains without a pass from the secretary of war, who could nowhere be found. Ewell's command was the last to leave the city, and scarcely had his rearguard departed when a fire broke out near the center of the town and the mob took possession. Stores were broken open and plundered, private residences were robbed and new fires kindled, until the city was a perfect pandemonium. At 3 a. m. on the 3d Parke and Wright discovered that the enemy had been withdrawn from the trenches in their front, and upon advancing ascertained that Petersburg was evacuated. Willcox was ordered to occupy the town with his division, while the remainder of the 9th, with all of the 6th and 2nd corps, pushed on after Lee. Weitzel, who commanded the Union forces on the north side of the James, was informed by General Devens about 5 o'clock that the Federal pickets had possession of the enemy's line. Two staff officers, with 40 of the headquarters' cavalry, were sent forward to receive the surrender of the city, in case the Confederates had evacuated it, and soon afterward Weitzel followed with the divisions of Kautz and Devens. Entering the city by the Osborn pike, Weitzel rode direct to the city hall, where he received the formal surrender of the city at 8:15 a. m. For several days Lieutenant J. L. de Peyster, a son of Major General J. W. de Peyster, had carried a United States flag upon the pommel of his saddle, ready to raise it over the Confederate capitol when the city should fall into the hands of the Union forces. The same flag had waved over Butler's headquarters at New Orleans. Scarcely had the surrender been made before de Peyster, in company with Captain Langdon, chief of artillery on Weitzel's staff, raised this flag over the state house, bringing Virginia once more under the realm of the Stars and Stripes. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 675-684.


PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, February 27-March 28, 1865. Sheridan's Expedition. On the 27th Major-General P. H. Sheridan left Winchester for an expedition to the front of Petersburg, the object being the destruction of the Virginia Central railroad, the James river canal, and the capture of Lynchburg, after which Sheridan was to join General Sherman's army in North Carolina or return to Winchester. His forces consisted of the 1st and 3d cavalry divisions of the Army of the Shenandoah, respectively commanded by Brigadier-General T. C. Devin and Bvt. Major General G. A. Custer; one section of the 2nd and one of the 4th U. S. artillery, and a pontoon train, the total strength being about 10,000 men. Mount Crawford was reached on March 1, and here about 200 of Rosser's Confederate cavalry were discovered trying to burn the bridge over the middle fork of the Shenandoah. Two regiments of Capehart's brigade swam the river above the bridge, charged and routed Rosser, pursuing him nearly to Staunton, killing a few of his men and capturing 30 prisoners, with 20 wagons and ambulances, Capehart's loss being 5 men wounded. This caused General Early to retreat from Staunton to Waynesboro, where he intrenched a position. At Staunton Sheridan detached a part of his command for the destruction of some stores at Swoope's station, and pushed on with the main column, Custer's division in advance, for Waynesboro. At Fisherville, 6 miles from Staunton, Custer's advance encountered the enemy's pickets and drove them rapidly to Waynesboro. Without waiting for the 1st division to come up, Custer sent the 2nd brigade against Early's position, to display the force in the works, and directed Lieutenant-Colonel Whitaker to take three regiments of  Pennington's brigade to the extreme right. The 1st Connecticut, 2nd Ohio and 3d New Jersey, all armed with Spencer carbines, were moved to the right and dismounted under cover of the woods. When they were in position to attack, Woodruff's section of horse artillery opened fire with such vigor that the Confederates were compelled to lie down behind their embankment. Wells and Capehart moved their brigades to the attack in front, at the charge, and at the same time the three regiments on the right caught the enemy on the flank, the whole movement being so sudden that Early's men were completely routed and fled in all directions, leaving 11 pieces of artillery, with their horses and caissons; 200 wagons loaded with subsistence, with their teams and harness; a large quantity of ammunition; all the camp equipage and officers' baggage; the headquarters' papers; 16 battle flags and 1,600 prisoners in the hands of the Federals. On the 3d the expedition moved toward Charlottesville, which place was reached on the 4th, the bridges, depots, etc., between Staunton and Charlottesville having been destroyed during the march. At Charlottesville the command divided, the 1st division moving to Scottsville on the James river, and the 3d, with the wagon trains, along the Lynchburg railroad, destroying the bridges and culverts as far as Buffalo river. The two divisions came together near New Market, where the dam and locks on the canal were thoroughly destroyed. At Duguidsville. on the 8th, the Confederates fired on Devin's division from across the river, but the 5th U. S. cavalry was dismounted and covered the retirement of the rest of the division. All the locks on the canal between Goochland and Duguidsville were destroyed, as well as large stores of cotton, tobacco and subsistence. Columbia was reached on the 10th, where the expedition rested for a day, and on the 12th the march was resumed toward the Virginia Central railroad, which was struck at Tolersville on the 13th, and several miles of track torn up. The next day Custer directed his march toward Ground Squirrel bridge, while Devin moved along the railroad to the South Anna. Both bridges were destroyed after a slight skirmish with the guards, in which the 5th U. S. cavalry captured a number of prisoners and 3 pieces of artillery. The 1st division was here ordered to move toward Hanover Court House and the 3d to push south as far as Ashland, but upon learning that a considerable force of the enemy under Longstreet was moving to intercept the expedition, the two divisions were united, the whole command recrossed the South Anna and moved along the north bank of the Pamunkey to White House landing, which was reached on the 18th. Here the expedition rested until the 25th, when it again took up the march and two days later rejoined the Army of the Potomac. During the movement Sheridan's forces captured 1,603 prisoners, 2,154 horses and mules, 16 battle flags, 17 pieces of artillery and over 2,000 stands of small arms. The line of march was marked by wholesale destruction. Sixteen large mills and factories 26 warehouses and 8 railroad depots, together with their contents of valuable stores, were laid in ashes; 47 miles of railroad track, 30 miles of telegraph, 49 canal locks, 44 railroad and several wagon bridges, 10 water tanks, and about 40 canal and flatboats all loaded with provisions, etc., were completely destroyed. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 684-685.


PETERSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA, October 29, 1862. Detachments of 23d Illinois and Ringgold Pennsylvania Cavalry and Battery L. 1st Illinois Artillery. The detachment, under Lieutenant-Colonel James Quirk, while in pursuit of a party of Confederate cavalry, which had run off 200 head of cattle in Hardy county, came up with it at daylight 5 miles from Petersburg. A few shells quickly dispersed the enemy and the cattle were recovered. The Federals suffered no loss, but it was thought that the enemy had 3 men killed. Sixteen Confederates were taken prisoners. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, pp. 685-686.


PETERSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA, March 3, 1864. Detachment of Ringgold Pennsylvania Cavalry. Lieutenant Benjamin W. Denny, with 27 men, was sent out on the Moorefield road from Petersburg on a scout. A short distance out he encountered a small force of the enemy, which he drove back until it was reinforced, and he in turn was obliged to fall back with a loss of 7 men missing. Two Confederates were wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 686.


PETERSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA, June 19, 1864. Pendleton Home Guards. Captain John Boggs, with 30 men of his company, was returning from New Creek with supplies, when he was attacked near Petersburg by about 60 of McNeil's men, under command of a Lieutenant Dolen. The Confederates drove the guards to the woods, captured several horses and burned 1 wagon. Boggs rallied his men and recaptured the train. In the fight Dolen was killed, several of his men were wounded and the rest driven to the mountains. Boggs lost 6 killed and several wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 686.


PETERSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA, October 11, 1864. Pendleton Home Guards. Captain John Boggs, with 198 men, met a detachment of the enemy under Harness, 2 miles south of Petersburg, and the fight which ensued lasted about 3 hours. The results were not reported. Petersburg, West Virginia, (Note). Besides the engagements above noted, mention is made in the official records of skirmishes in the vicinity of Petersburg on September 7 and 12, 1861; January 10 and 15, and September 6, 1863, but no circumstantial reports of these affairs can be found. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 686.


PETERSBURG GAP, WEST VIRGINIA, September 4, 1863. (See Moorefield, same date.)


PETERSBURG & WELDON RAILROAD, VIRGINIA, May 5-11, 1864. (See Kautz's Raid.)


PETIT JEAN, ARKANSAS, July 10, 1864. Detachment 3d Arkansas Cavalry. Captain John W. Gill, with a company of this regiment, had a fight with Captain Adams' company of Confederates on the Arkansas river near Petit Jean, in which 2 of the enemy were killed and several wounded. The Union force suffered no casualties. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 686.


PETTEGREW, James Johnston, soldier, born in Tyrrel County, North Carolina, 4 July, 1828; died near Winchester, Virginia, 17 July, 1863, was graduated at the University of North Carolina in 1847, and became assistant professor in the Naval Observatory at Washington, but shortly afterward began the study of law. He travelled in Europe in 1850-'2, and then began practice in Charleston, South Carolina. He was elected to the legislature in 1856, and in 1858 went abroad again and entered the Sardinian Army; but the peace of Villa Franca prevented him from seeing active service, and after a visit to Spain he returned to South Carolina and devoted himself to the improvement of the militia, in which he was elected captain. In 1860, by order of Governor Pickens, he demanded of Major Robert Anderson the evacuation of Fort Sumter. He was afterward made colonel of the 12th North Carolina Regiment, and in 1862 was promoted brigadier-general in the Confederate Army. He was wounded and taken prisoner at Seven Pines, and after his exchange fought at Gettysburg, where he commanded Heth's division on the third day, took part in Pickett's charge, and was wounded again. On the retreat into Virginia that followed he was surprised by a small party of National cavalry and received wounds from which he died three days later. General Pettigrew published "Spain and the Spaniards" (1859). See " Memorial of J. Johnston Pettigrew," by William H. Trescott (Charleston, South Carolina, 1870).  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 747.


PEYTON'S MILL, MISSISSIPPI, September 19, 1862. 2nd Iowa Cavalry. Colonel Edward Hatch, of the 2nd la. cavalry, moved forward from Jacinto toward Peyton's mill. When within 2 miles of that place he began skirmishing with the enemy's pickets and drove them into the mill. A regiment of dismounted cavalry appearing was immediately engaged, but after 20 minutes' fighting was put to rout with a loss of 5 killed, 10 wounded, and 6 captured. Hatch reports no casualties in his command. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 686.


PHELAN, James, jurist, born in Huntsville, Alabama. 20 November, 1820; died in Memphis, Tennessee, 17 May, 1873, was apprenticed as a printer to the "Democrat" at fourteen years of age, subsequently edited the "Flag of the Union," a Democratic organ, and became state printer in 1843. He was admitted to the bar in 1840, moved to Mississippi in 1849, and settled in Aberdeen, where he soon established a large practice. He was elected to the state senate in 1860, and on the organization of the Confederate Congress was chosen senator, and was an active member of that body. In 1863 he introduced what was called the "Crucial bill of the Confederacy," which was a proposition to impress all the cotton in the south, paying for it in Confederate bonds, and using it as a basis for a foreign loan. The bill passed the House, but was defeated in the Senate, and created so much indignation among the planters that Mr. Phelan was burned in effigy, and defeated in the next canvass. He then served as judge-advocate till the end of the war, when he settled in Memphis, and practised law in that city until his death.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 750.


PHELPS, Charles Edward, jurist, born in Guilford, Vermont, 1 May, 1833, moved with his parents to Pennsylvania in 1837, and to Maryland in 1841. He was graduated at Princeton in 1852, and at Harvard law-school in 1854. After a tour abroad he settled in practice in Howard County and subsequently in Baltimore, Maryland. Phelps joined the National Army in 1862 as lieutenant-colonel of the 7th Maryland Regiment, soon afterward became colonel, was severely wounded at Spottsylvania, while temporarily commanding a division of the 5th Army Corps, and was captured. He served in the Wilderness Campaign, and in 1864 received the brevet of brigadier-general of volunteers for "gallant conduct in the battle of Spottsylvania." He was elected to Congress as a Unionist in 1864, reelected in 1866, and at, the expiration of his term resumed the practice of law in Baltimore. In 1867 he declined the appointment of judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals. In 1877 he raised a volunteer regiment to serve during the riots of that summer. In 1882 he was elected associate judge of the superior court of Baltimore, for a term of fifteen years. Judge Phelps has been for many years a member of the American Society for the Advancement of Science, was president of the Board of School Commissioners of Baltimore, is president of the Alumni Association of Princeton, and professor of equity in the Baltimore Law-School. In 1880, at the request of the Maryland Historical Society, he delivered the address in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of Baltimore. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 751.


PHELPS, John Wolcott, soldier, born in Guilford, Vermont, 13 November, 1813; died there, 2 February, 1885. Five of his paternal ancestors were lawyers of high standing. His father, John Phelps, was a lawyer, and a lineal descendant of William Phelps (q. v.), The son was graduated at the U.S. Military Academy in 1836 with the rank of 2d lieutenant, no served against the Creeks and Seminoles, and was engaged in the action at Locha Hutchee in 1838. He was put in charge of the emigration to the west of the Cherokee Indians in that year. At the beginning of the Mexican War he led a company, which was under his command for two years. During that time he was in the battles of  Vera Cruz, Contreras, and Churubusco. For gallant conduct he was brevetted captain, but declined to accept the nominal promotion until 1850, when he received the full commission. In 1852 he obtained a leave of absence, and spent a year in Europe, and on his return wrote and published, anonymously, a volume entitled "Sibylline Leaves, or Thoughts upon visiting a Heathen Temple " (Brattleboro, Vermont, 1853). In 1859 Captain Phelps resigned his commission after serving for some time in the Utah Expedition, and returned to Brattleboro, Vermont, where he had previously taken up his residence. He had completed nearly twenty-three years of continuous military service. Much of the intervening period between his leaving the army and the Civil War was spent in writing articles against the aggression of the slave power. He volunteered his services to lead the 1st Company of Vermont Volunteers in 1861, which, together with one regiment from Massachusetts and one from New York under his command, took possession of the mouth of James River. Thence he was ordered to the southwest, where he occupied Ship Island with a New England brigade. On 17 May, 1861, he was made brigadier-general in the volunteer service. Subsequently he took part in the reduction of New Orleans. At that time he conceived the idea of organizing slaves as soldiers, but he was in advance of the time, and the government commander bade him cease and set them at work instead. As he could not conscientiously do the latter, he returned to Vermont, after resigning his commission on 21 August, 1862. During his occupation of Ship Island he issued a manifesto "to the loyal citizens of the southwest," in which he set forth his views on slavery. He declined a major-general's commission when the Negroes were finally armed, and spent the rest of his life in Brattleboro, Vermont. His acquirements as a scholar and linguist were considerable. He became vice-president of the Vermont Historical Society in 1866, and president of the Vermont State Teachers' Association in 1865. He was active until his death in the anti-masonic movement, and was the candidate for president of the American Party in 1880. He contributed largely to current literature, published a volume entitled "Good Behavior," intended as a text-book for schools, which was adopted in western cities (Brattleboro, Vermont, 1880); and a "History of Madagascar" (New York, 1884); and the Tables of Florian " (1888); and translated from the French Lucien de la Hodde's " Cradle of Rebellions " (1864). See his Memoir by Cecil H. C. Howard (Brattleboro, Vermont, 1887).  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 751.


PHELPS, Amos Augustus, Reverend, 1805-1847, Boston, Massachusetts, clergyman, editor. Founding member of the New England Anti-Slavery Society (NEASS), 1832.  Manager and founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS), December 1833;  Manager, 1834-1835, Vice-President, 1834-1835, Executive Committee, 1836-1838, Recording Secretary, 1836-1840.  Editor, Emancipation and The National Era. Phelps was the husband of abolitionist Charlotte Phelps.

(Dumond, 1961, pp. 182, 185, 266, 276, 285; Pease, 1965, pp. 71-85; Rodriguez, 2007, p. 290; Yellin, 1994, pp. 47, 54, 54n, 59-60, 125; Abolitionist, Vol. I, No. XII, December, 1833; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 751; Phelps, “Lectures on Slavery and its Remedy,” Boston, 1834; Staudenraus, P. J. The African Colonization Movement, 1816-1865. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961, pp. 132, 228-229; First Annual Report of the New England Anti-Slavery Society, 1832)

PHELPS, Amos Augustus, clergyman, born in Farmington, Connecticut, in 1805; died in Roxbury, Massachusetts, 12 September, 1847. He was graduated at Yale in 1826, and at the divinity-school there in 1830, was pastor of Congregational churches in Hopkinton and Boston, Massachusetts, in 1831-'4, became agent of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society at the latter date, and was pastor of the Free Church, and subsequently of the Maverick Church, Boston, in 1839-'45. He also edited the “Emancipation,” and was secretary of the American Anti-Slavery Society for several years. He published “Lectures on Slavery and its Remedy” (Boston, 1834); “Book of the Sabbath” (1841); “Letters to Dr. Bacon and to Dr. Stowe” (1842); and numerous pamphlets on slavery. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 751.


PHELPS, Anson Greene, 1781-1853, merchant, philanthropist.  President of the Colonization Society of the State of Connecticut.  Director, American Colonization Society, 1839-1840.

(Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 751; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 7, Pt. 2, p. 525; Staudenraus, P. J. The African Colonization Movement, 1816-1865. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961, pp. 135, 240)

PHELPS, Anson Greene, merchant, born in Simsbury, Connecticut, 12 March, 1781; died in New York City, 30 November, 1853. He learned the trade of a saddler, and established himself in Hartford, Connecticut, with a branch business in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1815 he became a dealer in tin plate and heavy metals in New York City. Having accumulated a large fortune partly by investments in real estate, he devoted himself to benevolent enterprises, and was president of the New York Blind Asylum, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and the New York branch of the American Colonization Society. He bequeathed $371,000 to charitable institutions, and placed in the hands of his only son a fund of $100,000, the interest of which was to be distributed in charity. In addition to large legacies to his twenty-four grandchildren, he intrusted $5,000 to each to be used in charity. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 751.


PHELPS, Charlotte Brown, first president, Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society (BFASS), wife of abolitionist leader Reverend Amos Phelps (Yellin, 1994, pp. 47-49, 47n, 125)


PHELPS, Isaac, New York, abolitionist leader (Sorin, 1971)


PHELPS' BAYOU, LOUISIANA, April 26, 1863. (See Clark's Bayou.) Philadelphia, Tennessee, September 27, 1863. General H. W. Halleck, reporting on the east Tennessee campaign, states that after Rosecrans had fallen back to Chattanooga, Burnside " had occupied Philadelphia and other points on the south side of the river with small garrisons. The enemy surprised some of these forces, and captured 6 guns, 50 wagons, and 600 or 700 prisoners. The remainder retreated to Loudon and succeeded in holding the crossing of the river." This is the only mention of the affair in the official war records. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 686.


PHILBRICK, Samuel, Brookline, Massachusetts, abolitionist.  Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, Counsellor, 1837-1840, 1840-1841, Treasurer, 1842-1860-.


PHILLEO, Calvin, abolitionist, married to abolitionist Prudence Crandall


PHILLIPS, Ann, Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society (BFASS), Boston, Massachusetts (Yellin, 1994, pp. 50, 56, 62, 309, 311n, 333)


PHILLIPS, John, 1823-1903, Richmond, Vermont, physician, politician, abolitionist.


PHELPS, Royal, merchant, born in Sempronius, New York, 30 March, 1809; died in New York City, 30 June, 1884. He received a common-school education, and early in life went to St. Croix, W. L, where he entered the office of a merchant. He began business on his own account in 1840, established houses in Puerto Cabello and Laguayra, and in 1847 settled in New York City as one of the firm of Maitland, Phelps and Company, where he acquired a large fortune. Although a life-long Democrat, he was active in support of the National cause at the beginning of the Civil War. He was a member of the New York legislature in 1862-'3, vice-president of the chamber of commerce from 1855 till his resignation in 1859, and president of the New York Society for the Protection of Game in 1867-'77. He contributed largely by his influence and money to the erection of the statue of Washington that stands in front of the sub-treasury building in Wall street. His only daughter became the wife of John Lee Carroll, of Maryland.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 752.


PHELPS, Samuel Shethar, jurist, born in Litchfield, Connecticut, 13 May, 1793; died in Middlebury, Vermont, 25 March, 1855. His grandfather, Edward, a descendant of William Phelps, the colonist, was a  representative to the general court of Connecticut in 1744-75, and a large landholder. His father, John, was a soldier of the Revolution and a wealthy citizen of Litchfield. The son was graduated at Yale in 1811, studied law in Litchfield, and in 1812 settled in Middlebury, Vermont, and began the practice of his profession. During the war with Great Britain he warmly espoused the cause of the government, was drafted to serve on the Canadian frontier, and subsequently became a paymaster. He resumed practice in 1814, was in the legislature in 1821—"32, by which body he was elected to the supreme court in the latter year, and held office until he was chosen to the U. S. Senate as a Democrat in 1838, serving by re-election in 1839-'51, and by appointment in 1853-'4 to succeed William Upham, deceased. He opposed the abolition movements in his state, favored slavery in able speeches on the Clayton Compromise and on the anti-slavery resolutions of Vermont, and when he was a member of the Congressional Committee of 1850 that was appointed to discuss the slavery question, dissented from the report that was presented by Henry Clay. At, the end of his senatorial career he returned to practice, and continued to hold the first rank at the bar until his death. He published an "Address on the Council of Censors' (Middlebury, Vermont, 1827); "Speech on the Tariff Bill" (Washington, D. C, 1844); and "Speech on the Oregon Question" (1848). His published judicial decisions, in the Vermont reports, are much esteemed. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp.752-753.


PHELPS, Thomas Stowell, naval officer, born in Buckfield, Maine, 2 November, 1822. He was graduated at the U. S. Naval Academy in 1846, became lieutenant in 1855, served in the Indian War in Washington Territory in that year and in 1856, and in the Paraguay Expedition in 1858-'9. At the beginning of the Civil War he was attached to the expedition that was sent to the relief of Fort Sumter, and in June, 1861, was selected to co-operate with the army and navy in preparing a survey of Potomac River. He was transferred in September to the steamer "Corwin" for secret service, examined five of the inlets of North Carolina, surveyed and buoyed Hatteras inlet for the introduction of expeditions into the interior waters of that state, skirmished with Confederate gun-boats in Pamlico Sound, and engaged the gunboat “Curlew" in Hatteras Inlet on 14 November. He was in three engagements with Yorktown and Gloucester point batteries, caused the destruction of two of the enemy's vessels, and thwarted that of White House bridge in April and May, 1862. At the battle of West Point he prevented the conjunction of a large force of Confederates with the main army. He became lieutenant-commander in July, 1862, was subsequently engaged chiefly in surveying and examining dangers in the way of blockades and transports, and commanded the "Juniata " in the Fort Fisher fights in 1865. He was commissioned commander in that year, captain in 1871, commodore in 1879, and rear-admiral in 1884, and retired in 1885. He has published "Reminiscences of Washington Territory" (New York, 1882).  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 753


PHELPS, John Smith, statesman, born in Simsbury, Connecticut, 22 December, 1814; died in St. Louis, Missouri, 20 November, 1886, was graduated at Trinity in 1832, studied law under his father, practised a short time in his native state, and in 1837 emigrated to Missouri, near Springfield, Greene County. He served in the legislature in 1840, the next year was appointed brigade inspector of militia, and in 1844 was elected to Congress as a Democrat, serving continuously till 1863. He was chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means for seven terms, and was a member of the Select Committee of thirty-three on the rebellious states. During his Congressional career he achieved a national reputation for ability in debate, sagacity, and prudence, and exercised a pacific influence on contending factions. He was appointed colonel of U. S. volunteers in 1861, and brigadier-general of volunteers in July, 1862, the same year serving as military governor of Arkansas, he was a delegate to the National Union Convention in 1860, and the next year a commissioner to settle the claims of Indiana. He was governor of Missouri in 1870-'82, declined to serve on the tariff commission, and did not again accept any public office.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 754


PHILADELPHIA, TENNESSEE, October 15, 1863. 45th Ohio Cavalry. Colonel Frank Wolford, commanding an unattached cavalry brigade in the east Tennessee campaign, reports that about 100 Confederates attacked the wagon train of the 45th Ohio 6 miles from Philadelphia on the Cotton Port road, but the guard repulsed them, killing 2. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, pp. 686-687.


PHILADELPHIA, TENNESSEE, October 20-22, 1863. Colonel Frank Wolford's Unattached Cavalry Brigade. At 10 a. m. on the 20th Wolford learned that between 1,200 and 1,500 Confederates had attacked the wagon train of his brigade 6 miles from Philadelphia, and immediately sent the 1st and 11th Kentucky cavalry to its assistance. These two regiments got in the enemy's rear and were cut off. Another body of the enemy approached from Sweet Water and with the rest of his men, about 700, Wolford attacked and drove them back several times. Owing to the enemy's superior numbers Wolford was finally obliged to fall back, abandoning his 6 pieces of artillery. During the following two days the Confederates were again driven out of and beyond Philadelphia. The Federal loss, all of which occurred on the 20th, was 7 killed, 25 wounded and 447 captured. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 687.


PHILADELPHIA, TENNESSEE, March 1, 1865. Detachment 7th Tennessee Mounted Infantry. Captain William A. Cochran, reporting from Athens under date of March 2, says: "I sent a scout out yesterday after the guerrillas that were near Philadelphia. They ran into the rear of them and killed 5 or 6, and captured 7 horses and large amounts of other property, such as clothing, boots and shoes. We took no prisoners." The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 687.


PHILLIPS, Stephen Clarendon, 1801-1857, philanthropist.  U.S. Congressman, Whig Party.  Also member of Free Soil Party. 

(Mabee, 1970, p. 161; Rodriguez, 2007, p. 437; Wilson, Henry, History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America, Vol. 2.  Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1872; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 763)

PHILLIPS, Stephen Clarendon, philanthropist, born in Salem, Massachusetts, 1 November, 1801; died on St. Lawrence River, 26 June, 1857. He was graduated at Harvard in 1819, and began the study of law, but soon discontinued it to engage in business in Salem. He was in the lower house of the legislature in 1824-'30, was elected to the state senate in the latter year, and in 1832-'3 was again a member of the legislature. He was then chosen to Congress as a Whig to fill a vacancy, and served during three terms—from 1 December, 1834, until his resignation in 1838—when he became mayor of Salem, which place he then held until March, 1842. On his retirement from this office he devoted the whole of his salary as mayor to the public schools of Salem. He was the Free-Soil candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 1848-'9, and a presidential elector in 1840. Mr. Phillips discharged several state and private trusts, and was many years a member of the State Board of Education. Retiring from public life in 1849, he engaged extensively in the lumber business in Canada, and met his death by the burning of the steamer “Montreal” while coming down the St. Lawrence River from Quebec. Mr. Phillips was president of the Boston Sunday-School Society, and author of “The Sunday-School Service Book,” in several parts (Boston). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 763.


PHILLIPS, Wendell, 1811-1884, lawyer, orator, reformer, abolitionist leader, Native American advocate.  Member of the Executive Committee, 1842-1864, and Recording Secretary, 1845-1864, of the American Anti-Slavery Society.  Called “abolition’s golden trumpet.”  Counselor, 1840-1843, of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.  Advocate of Free Produce movement. 

(Dumond, 1961, pp. 182, 186, 273, 340; Filler, 1960, pp. 39, 42, 45, 59, 80, 94, 130, 138, 140, 183, 204, 206, 214, 275; Hofstadter, 1948; Irving, 1973; Mabee, 1970, pp. 72, 86, 105, 109, 116, 123, 124, 136, 165, 169, 173, 180, 193, 200, 243, 248, 261, 262, 269, 271, 278, 279, 286, 289, 295, 301, 309, 316, 337, 364, 369; Pease, 1965, pp. 339, 459-479; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 50, 54, 56, 169, 309, 399, 476, 602-605; Stewart, 1998; Yellin, 1994, pp. 35, 82, 86, 260, 306, 308n, 309-311, 311n, 333; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 759-762; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 7, Pt. 2, p. 546; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 17, p. 454; The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. II. New York: James T. White, 1892, pp. 314-315; Hinks, Peter P., & John R. McKivigan, Eds., Encyclopedia of Antislavery and Abolition.  Westport, Connecticut, Greenwood, 2007, Vol. 2, pp. 529-531; Bartlett, Irving H. Wendell Phillips: Brahmin Radical. Boston: Beacon Press, 1961; Sherwin, Oscar. Profit of Liberty: The Life and Times of Wendell Phillips. New York: Bookman, 1958)

PHILLIPS, Wendell, orator, born in Boston, Massachusetts, 29 November, 1811; died there, 2 February, 1884, entered the Boston Latin-school in 1822, and was graduated at Harvard in 1831, in the same class with the historian J. Lothrop Motley. As a student he showed no particular interest in reforms; indeed, he bore the reputation of having defeated the first attempt to form a temperance society at Harvard. Handsome in person, cultivated in manners, and of a kindly and generous disposition, he was popular among his fellow-students, and was noted for his fine elocution and his skill in debate. His heart had responded to Webster's fiery denunciation at Plymouth in 1820 of that “work of hell, foul and dark,” the slave-trade. “If the pulpit be silent whenever or wherever there may be a sinner bloody with this guilt within the hearing of its voice, the pulpit is false to its trust.” He had taken a boy's part in honoring Lafayette, and in the midst of such associations he was unconsciously fitted for his career. In college his favorite study was history. He gave a year to the story of the English revolution of 1630, reading everything concerning it that he could find. With equal care he studied the period of George III., and Dutch history also so far as English literature enabled him to do so. His parents were of the Evangelical faith, and in one of the revivals of religion that followed the settlement of Dr. Lyman Beecher in Boston he became a convert, and he did not at any subsequent time depart from the faith of his fathers. While he denounced the churches for their complicity with slavery, he made no war upon their creeds. A fellow-student remembers well his earnest religiousness in college, and his “devoutness during morning and evening prayers which so many others attended only to save their credit with the government.” Though orthodox himself, he welcomed those of other faiths, and even of no faith, to the anti-slavery platform, resisting every attempt to divide the host upon sectarian or theological grounds. He entered the Harvard law-school for a term of three years, and in 1834 was admitted to the bar. He was well equipped for his profession in every respect save one, viz., that he appears to have had no special love for it and small ambition for success therein. “If,” he said to a friend, “clients do not come, I will throw myself heart and soul into some good cause and devote my life to it.” The clients would doubtless have come in no long time if he had chosen to wait for them, but the “good cause” presented its claims first, and was so fortunate as to win the devotion of his life. “The Liberator,” founded by William Lloyd Garrison in 1831, had already forced the slavery question upon public attention and created an agitation that the leaders of society were vainly endeavoring to suppress. It has been said, probably with truth, that the first person to interest Mr. Phillips in this subject was the lady—Miss Anne Terry Greene—who afterward became his wife and, as he himself has said, “his counsel, his guide, his inspiration,” during his whole subsequent life. Of all the young men of Boston at that period, there was hardly one whose social relations, education, and personal character better fitted him for success as an aspirant for such public honors as Massachusetts was accustomed to bestow upon the most gifted of her sons. But if ambitions or aspirations of this sort were ever indulged, he had the courage and the moral power to resist their appeals and devote himself to what he felt to be a righteous though popularly odious cause. The poet James Russell Lowell has embalmed the memory of his early self-abnegation in a sonnet, of which these lines form a part:

“He stood upon the world's broad threshold; wide

The din of battle and of slaughter rose;

He saw God stand upon the weaker side

That sunk in seeming loss before its foes.

.       .       .      .        . Therefore he went

And joined him to the weaker part,

Fanatic named, and fool, yet well content

So he could be nearer to God's heart,

And feel its solemn pulses sending blood

Through all the wide-spread veins of endless good.”

Looking from his office-window on 21 October, 1835, he saw the crowd of “gentlemen of property and standing” gathered in Washington and State Streets to break up a meeting of anti-slavery ladies and “snake out that infamous foreign scoundrel, Thompson,” and “bring him to the tar-kettle before dark”—the same Thompson of whom Lord Brougham said in the House of Lords at the time of the passage of the British Emancipation Act: “I rise to take the crown of this most glorious victory from every other head and place it upon his. He has done more than any other man to achieve it”; and of whom John Bright said: “I have always considered him the liberator of the slaves in the English colonies; for, without his commanding eloquence, made irresistible by the blessedness of his cause, I do not think all the other agencies then at work would have procured their freedom.” The mob, disappointed in its expectation of getting possession of the eloquent Englishman, “snaked out” Garrison instead, and Phillips saw him dragged through the streets, his person well-nigh denuded of clothing, and a rope around his waist ready to strangle him withal, from which fate he was rescued only by a desperate ruse of the mayor, who locked him up in the jail for safety. This spectacle deeply moved the young lawyer, who from that hour was an avowed Abolitionist, though he was not widely known as such until the martyrdom of Elijah P. Lovejoy (q. v.) in 1837 brought him into sudden prominence and revealed him to the country as an orator of the rarest gifts. The men then at the head of affairs in Boston were not disposed to make any open protest against this outrage upon the freedom of the press; but William Ellery Channing, the eminent preacher and writer, was resolved that the freedom-loving people of the city should have an opportunity to express their sentiments in an hour so fraught with danger to the cause of American liberty, and through his persistent efforts preparations were made for a public meeting, which assembled in Faneuil Hall on 8 December, 1837. It was the custom to hold such meetings in the evening, but there were threats of a mob, and this one on that account was appointed for a daylight hour

The hall was well filled, Jonathan Phillips was called to the chair, Dr. Channing made an impressive address, and resolutions written by him, fitly characterizing the outrage at Alton, were introduced. George S. Hillard, a popular young lawyer, followed in a serious and well-considered address. Thus far everything had gone smoothly; but now uprose James T. Austin, Attorney-General of the state, a member of Dr. Channing's congregation, but known to be bitterly opposed to his anti-slavery course. He eulogized the Alton murderers, comparing them with the patriots of the Revolution, and declared that Lovejoy had “died as the fool dieth.” Mr. Phillips was present, but with no expectation of speaking. There were those in the hall, however, who thought him the man best fitted to reply to Austin, and some of these urged the managers to call upon him, which they consented to do. As he stepped upon the platform, his manly beauty, dignity, and perfect self-possession won instant admiration. His opening sentences, uttered calmly but with deep feeling, revealed his power and raised expectation to the highest pitch. “When,” said he, “I heard the gentleman [Mr. Austin] lay down principles which placed the rioters, incendiaries, and murderers of Alton side by side with Otis and Hancock, with Quincy and Adams, I thought those pictured lips [pointing to the portraits in the hall] would have broken into voice to rebuke the recreant American, the slanderer of the dead. Sir, for the sentiments he has uttered on soil consecrated by the prayers of Puritans and the blood of patriots, the earth should have yawned and swallowed him up.”

These stinging words were greeted with applause, which showed that the young orator had but expressed the conviction and the feeling of the vast majority of the assembly, and that it was not in the power of the dissidents to defeat the purpose for which it had been convened. Freedom of speech was vindicated and mobocracy and assassination were rebuked in Faneuil hall, while the hated Abolitionists rejoiced that they had found a champion fitted to maintain their cause in any presence or emergency. From that hour to the end of the anti-slavery conflict the name of Wendell Phillips was everywhere, and among all classes, the accepted synonym of the highest type of American eloquence. In no half-way fashion did he espouse the anti-slavery cause. He accepted without reservation the doctrines that Garrison had formulated—viz.: slavery under all circumstances a sin; immediate emancipation a fundamental right and duty; colonization a delusion and a snare; the blood-guiltiness of the church in seeking apologies for slavery in the Bible, and the spuriousness of the statesmanship that sought to suppress agitation and held that liberty and slavery could be at peace under one and the same government. He did the work of a lecturing agent, obeying every call so far as his strength permitted, without any pecuniary reward. When he could command fifty or one hundred dollars for a lecture on any other subject, he would speak on slavery for nothing if the people consented to hear him. It is hardly possible to estimate the value to the anti-slavery cause of services so freely rendered by a man of such gifts and attainments, in the years when that cause was struggling under a weight of odium which not even his eloquence sufficed to overcome. As a speaker he was above all others the popular favorite, and his tact in gaining a hearing in spite of mob turbulence was extraordinary. His courage lifted him above fear of personal violence, while his wit illuminated his argument as the lightning illumines the heavens. The Abolitionists were proud of a defender who could disarm if he could not wholly conquer popular hostility, who might be safely pitted against any antagonist, and whose character could in no way be impeached. In every emergency of the cause he led the charge against its enemies, and never did he surrender a principle or consent to a compromise. His fidelity, no less than his eloquence, endeared him to his associates, while his winning manners charmed all who met him in social life. The strongest opponents of the anti-slavery cause felt the spell of his power and respected him for his shining example of integrity and devotion.

In the divisions among the Abolitionists, which took place in 1839-'40, he stood with Garrison in favor of recognizing the equal rights of women as members of the anti-slavery societies, in stern opposition to the organization by Abolitionists, as such, of a political party, and in resistance to the attempt to discredit and proscribe men upon the anti-slavery platform on account of their religious belief. In 1840 he represented the Massachusetts Abolitionists in the World's Anti-Slavery Convention in London, where he pleaded in vain for the admission of the woman delegates sent from this country. He took a prominent part in discussing the provisions of the constitution of the United States relating to slavery, and after mature reflection came with Garrison to the conclusion that what were popularly called the “compromises” of that instrument were immoral and in no way binding upon the conscience; and in 1843-'4 he was conspicuous among those who led the anti-slavery societies in openly declaring this doctrine as thenceforth fundamental in their agitation. This was done, not upon the ground of non-resistance, or on account of any objection to government by force, but solely because it was held to be immoral to wield the power of civil government in any manner or degree for the support of slavery. There was no objection to political action, as such, but only to such political action as made voters and officers responsible for executing the provisions that made the national government the defender of slavery. Of course, those who took this ground were constrained to forego the ballot until the constitution could be amended, but there remained to them the moral power by which prophets and apostles “subdued kingdoms and wrought righteousness”— the power of truth, of an unfettered press, and a free platform. And these instrumentalities they employed unflinchingly to expose the character of slavery, to show that the national government was its main support, and to expose the sin and folly, as they thought, of maintaining a Union so hampered and defiled. They accepted this as their clearly revealed duty, in spite of the odium thereby involved; and they went on in this course until the secession of the slave states brought them relief by investing the president with power to emancipate the slaves, under the rules of war.

Thenceforth Mr. Phillips devoted himself to the task of persuading the people of the loyal states that they were honorably released from every obligation, implied or supposed, to respect the “compromises” of the constitution, and that it was their right and duty to emancipate the slaves as a measure of war, and as a means of forming a regenerated and disenthralled Union. In this he was sustained not only by the whole body of Abolitionists of whatever school, but by a great multitude of people who had long stood aloof from their cause, and the effort was crowned with success in the president's proclamation of 1 January, 1863. From that moment the Civil War became an anti-slavery war as well as a war for national unity, and thousands of Abolitionists who had followed the lead of Phillips hastened to enter the ranks.

In all these conflicts Phillips stood shoulder to shoulder with Garrison, and was followed by a body of people, not indeed very numerous, but of wide moral influence. In 1864 Mr. Phillips opposed, while Garrison favored, the re-election of President Lincoln. In the spring of 1865, when Garrison advocated the dissolution of the American Anti-Slavery Society, on the ground that, slavery being abolished, there was no further need of such an association, Mr. Phillips successfully opposed him, contending that it should not disband until the Negro had gained the ballot. This division led to some unpleasant controversy of no long continuance. Mr. Phillips became president of the society in place of Mr. Garrison, and it was continued under his direction until 1870.

In the popular discussion of the measures for reconstructing the Union he took a prominent part, mainly for the purpose of guarding the rights of the Negro population, to whom he thus greatly endeared himself. He had previously won their gratitude by his zealous efforts in behalf of fugitive slaves, and to abolish distinctions of color in schools, in public conveyances, and in places of popular resort. He was at all times an earnest champion of temperance, and in later years the advocate of prohibition. He was also foremost among those claiming the ballot for woman. He advocated the rights of the Indians, and labored to reform the penal institutions of the country after the slavery question was settled. He espoused the cause of the labor reformers, and in 1870 accepted from them and from the Prohibitionists a nomination as candidate for governor. He advocated what has been called the “greenback” theory of finance. “The wages system,” he said, “demoralizes alike the hirer and the hired, cheats both, and enslaves the workingman,” while “the present system of finance robs labor, gorges capital, makes the rich richer and the poor poorer, and turns a republic into an aristocracy of capital.” He lent his aid to the agitation for the redress of the wrongs of Ireland. In 1881 he delivered an address at the centennial anniversary of the Phi Beta Kappa of Harvard College, which was pronounced, on very high authority, “an oration of great power and beauty, full of strong thoughts and happy illustrations, not unworthy of any university platform or academic scholar,” though containing some sentiments from which a portion of his audience strongly dissented. As an avowed critic of public men and measures, speaking year after year, almost always extemporaneously, and often amidst scenes of the greatest excitement, nothing less than a miracle could have prevented him from sometimes falling into mistakes and doing injustice to opponents; but it is believed that there is nothing in his record to cast a shadow upon his reputation as one who consecrated great gifts and attainments to the welfare of his country. His last public address was delivered on 26 December, 1883, at the unveiling of Miss Whitney's statue of Harriet Martineau, at the Old South Church, in Boston. A little more than a month after this the great orator passed from earth. The event was followed by a memorial meeting in Faneuil Hall, and by appropriate action on the part of the legislature and the city government. After the funeral the remains were taken from the church to Faneuil Hall, whither they were followed by a vast multitude. Mr. Phillips published “The Constitution a Pro-Slavery Contract” (Boston, 1840) and “Review of Webster's 7th of March Speech” (1850). A collection of his speeches, letters, and lectures, revised by himself, was published in 1863 in Boston. Among his lectures on other than anti-slavery topics were “The Lost Arts,” “Toussaint l'Ouverture,” and “Daniel O'Connell.” His life has been written by George Lowell Austin (Boston, 1888). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 759-762.


PHILLIPS' CREEK, MISSISSIPPI, May 21, 1862. 2nd Division, Right Wing, Army of the Tennessee. This action was an incident of the siege of Corinth. As the lines were being extended along the ridge between Phillips' and Bridge creeks, the pickets of Davies' division encountered a brigade of Confederate infantry posted on the Corinth side of the former. Davies ordered up a field battery and threw a few shells into the enemy's ranks, when they fell back and the whole Union line was moved up to the creek, where it intrenched. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 687.


PHILLIPS' CROSS ROADS, NORTH CAROLINA, March 4, 1865. Kilpatrick's Cavalry. On the evening of the 3d the cavalry went into camp near Phillips' cross-roads, about 10 miles south of Wadesboro, the 1st brigade being in the rear. As Hampton and Wheeler were both known to be in the vicinity, and an attack by their combined forces was expected, the 2nd Kentucky was sent about three-fourths of a mile and the 9th Pennsylvania a mile and a half to the rear, with orders to station themselves behind barricades facing to the rear to guard against a surprise. About 7 a. m. on the 4th the pickets of the 9th Pennsylvania were attacked several times, but each time the enemy was repulsed. Believing the attacking party to be a small one, Lieutenant-Colonel Kimmel, commanding the regiment, sent a detail of 100 men under Lieutenant Bassler to gain the enemy's rear. Bassler gained a hill in the rear of the Confederates, but found the attacking force to be Dibrell's entire brigade and reported the fact to Kimmel, who was immediately afterward ordered to rejoin the brigade. About 11 a. m. the enemy changed his tactics and began mass1ng his forces on the right of the 1st brigade and the left of the 2nd. The pickets of the 2nd brigade were attacked and forced back with slight loss, and the l0th Ohio, dismounted and behind a barricade, was flanked from its position and fell back to the line of battle which Colonel Atkins, commanding the brigade, had formed with the rest of his command. The 1st brigade then passed through the lines of the 2nd and Atkins held his position at the cross-roads until all the divisions had passed, withdrawing about 5 p. m. and skirmishing with the enemy as he rejoined the main body. During the evening there was considerable firing along the Federal front, but very few casualties were reported. Phillips' Ferry, Georgia, July 8, 1864. (See Chattahoochee River.) The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, pp. 687-688.


PHILLIPS' FORK, KENTUCKY, May 10, 1863. 44th Ohio Infantry. Colonel Samuel A. Gilbert, reporting to Brigadier-General O. B. Willcox, states that 100 men of the 44th, under Captain Alpheus H. Moore, pursued 300 Confederates up the Red Bird river and attacked them at Phillios' fork. The enemy fled at the first fire and the Federals followed, capturing some arms, equipments, etc. Several Confederates were wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 688.


PHILOMONT, VIRGINIA, November 1, 1862. Pleasonton's Cavalry. The cavalry division reached Philomont about noon and drove out some of Stuart's Confederate cavalry. A squadron was then sent out to reconnoiter the road to Union, but was attacked by a superior force of the enemy and forced back. Colonel David McM. Gregg, with the 3d Indiana and 8th Pennsylvania, was sent to the support of the squadron engaged. Gregg dismounted part of his men, threw them forward as skirm1shers and drove the enemy from a piece of woods. While this was taking place, Pennington's battery opened a vigorous fire on the Confederates, forcing them to change the position of their artillery, which then began throwing grape and canister into the woods where Gregg's skirm1shers were. In the meantime their cavalry fell back to a position behind the artillery and Gregg retired, having lost 2 killed and 13 wounded. The enemy's loss was somewhat heavier. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 688.


PHILOMONT, VIRGINIA, November 9. 1862. Major E. V. White, commanding a battalion of Virginia (Confederate) cavalry, reported on the 14th that 4 of his men "drove out of the town of Philomont 50 Yankee cavalry, wounding 1 Yankee, capturing 2 negroes and 3 wagons from the rear of a long train, which they brought safely to camp." Federal reports make no mention of the affair. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 688.


PIATT, Donn, journalist, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, 29 June, 1819, was educated at the Athenaeum (now St. Xavier College), but left suddenly in consequence of a personal encounter with the professor of mathematics. He then studied law, and in 1851 was appointed judge of the court of common pleas of Hamilton County. At the end of his term he was made secretary of legation at Paris, under John Y. Mason, during Pierce's administration. When the minister was attacked with apoplexy, Piatt served as charge d'affaires for nearly a year. On his return home he engaged actively in the presidential canvass in behalf of John C. Fremont. During part of the Civil War he was on the staff of General Robert C. Schenck. Having been sent to observe the situation at Winchester previous to Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania, he on his own motion, ordered General Robert H. Milroy to evacuate the town and fall back on Harper's Ferry. The order was countermanded by General Halleck, and three days afterward Milroy, surrounded by the Confederate advance, was forced to cut his way out, with a loss of 2,300 prisoners. When General William Birney was sent to Maryland to recruit colored regiments, he was chief of staff, with the rank of colonel. After the war he became Washington correspondent of the Cincinnati ''Commercial." He subsequently founded and edited the Washington "Capital" for two years, making it so odious to many Republican officials that, during the presidential controversy of 1876, he was indicted for conspiring to disturb the peace of the country. Since then he has devoted himself to farming and literature at his residence, Mac-o-chee, Ohio. In all his writings he is apt to take a peculiar and generally unpopular view of his subjects. He has published a sharply critical work, "Memoirs of the Men who saved the Union" (Chicago, 1887).—His wife, Louise Kirby, author, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, 25 November, 1826: died 2 October, 1864, possessed rare intelligence and culture, and became widely known for her graceful, spirited, pointed newspaper correspondence. She accompanied her husband to Europe when he was appointed secretary of legation, and contributed letters to the " Home Journal," which were afterward published in book-form as " Bell Smith Abroad" (New York, 1855).  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 766.


PIATT, Abram Sanders, farmer, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, 2 May, 1821, was educated at the Athenaeum and at the Kinmont Academy in his native city, after which he engaged in agricultural pursuits in the Macacheek Valley, which occupation he has followed with but few interruptions. In 1846 he devoted some time to the study of law, and edited the " Macacheek Press," a journal that he established. At the beginning of the Civil War he was active in raising volunteers for the National service, and was commissioned colonel of the 13th Ohio Regiment. At the expiration of his three months' service he raised at his own expense the First Zouave Regiment of Ohio, of which he became colonel. After the first regiment had been raised, applications to join continued to be received, and he began the organization of the second, with the intention of forming a brigade, but before it was completed he was ordered to the front and made brigadier-general of volunteers on 28 February, 1862. In April, 1863, he resigned his commission, and subsequently returned to his farm. General Piatt has given attention to polities. On the close of the war he became affiliated with the National Greenback Labor Party, and he has been its candidate for the offices of lieutenant-governor and governor. He is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, and served that organization for two years as its state lecturer. General Piatt is also known by his poetry, which has appeared in his own journal and in the Cincinnati " Commercial."  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 766.


PICKENS, Francis Wilkinson, statesman, born in Togadoo, St. Paul’s Parish, South Carolina, April, 1805: died in Edgefield, South Carolina, 25 January, 1869. Pickens was educated at South Carolina College, was admitted to the bar in 1829, and began practice in Edgefield District. In 1832 he was elected to the legislature by the Nullification Party of his district, and soon attracted notice as a debater. At the age of twenty-five he was an active member of the Judiciary Committee, after of that on Foreign Relations Committee. In 1833 he made a sovereignty and allegiance indivisible, and that Congress, as the agent states severally, had no claim to allegiance and could exercise no sovereignty. He was elected to Congress serving from 8 December, 1834, till March, 1836 he made an elaborate speech denying the right of Congress to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia without the consent of Maryland and Virginia. In 1844 he was elected to the Carolina Senate from Edgefield with the majority against the “Bluffton  Movement," a secession demonstration then progress in the state. After several year of private life he was elected a delegate to the Nashville Southern Convention in 1850-'l, and in 1856 he delegate to the National Democratic Convention in Cincinnati. From 1858 till 1860 he was U. S. minister to Russia, and on his return in the latter year elected governor of South Carolina, He was suspicious with the secession movement, demand of Major Robert Anderson the surrender of Fort Sumter, gave the order to fire upon the "Star of the West," and rendered all the aid in his power to the Confederate cause. He retired from office in 1862. Governor Pickens was a wealthy planter, gave much attention to scientific agriculture, and enjoyed a reputation in the southern states as an orator before colleges and literary societies.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. IV, p. 768.


PICHACO PASS, ARIZONA, April 15, 1862. 1st California Cavalry.


PICKER. A small pointed brass wire, which is supplied to every infantry soldier for the purpose of cleaning the vent of his musket. (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 462).


PICKET. Sharp stakes used for securing the fascines of a battery. To picket horses in camp. STOCKADES, which see, are also sometimes called picket works. Also a detachment composed of cavalry or infantry, whose principal duty is to guard an army from surprise, and oppose such small parties as the enemy may push forward for the purpose of reconnoitering. (See OUTPOSTS,) (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 462).


PICKERING, Charles Whipple, naval officer, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 23 December, 1815; died in St. Augustine, Florida, 29 February, 1888. He was appointed midshipman on 22 May, 1822, became lieutenant on 8 December, 1838, and was attached to the Pacific Squadron. In 1854 he served as executive officer or the "Cyane," which conveyed Lieutenant Isaac G. Strain (q. v.) and his exploring party to Darien, and afterward rescued them and brought them to New York. He was at the bombardment of Greytown, Nicaragua, in 1854, which was reduced to ashes after four hours' siege. On 14 September, 1855, he became commander, and in 1859-61 he was inspector of a light-house district near Key West, Florida. He was commissioned captain on 15 July, 1862, commanded the "Kearsarge " in the Mediterranean and in the West Indies, and was in charge of the "Housatonic" when that vessel was destroyed by a submarine torpedo near Charleston on 17 February, 1865. When he had recovered from his wounds he took command of the "Vanderbilt," and in 1865 he was ordered to Portsmouth U.S. Navy-yard. He was placed on the retired list on 1 February, 1867, and made commodore on 8 December of the same year. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 1.


PICKETT, George Edward, soldier, born in Richmond, Virginia, 25 January, 1825; died in Norfolk, Virginia, 30 July, 1875. His father was a resident of Henrico County, Virginia. The son was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy from Illinois, and graduated in 1846. He served in the war with Mexico, was made 2d lieutenant in the 2d Infantry, 3 March, 1847, was at the siege of Vera Cruz and was engaged in all the battles that preceded the assault and capture of the city of Mexico. He was transferred to the 7th Infantry, 13 July, 1847, and to the 8th Infantry, 18 July, 1847, and brevetted 1st lieutenant, 8 September, 1847, for gallant and meritorious conduct at Contreras and Churubusco, and captain, 13 September, for Chapultepec. He became captain in the 9th Infantry, 3 March, 1855, after serving in garrisons in Texas from 1849, and in 1856 he was on frontier duty in the Northwest Territory at Puget Sound. Captain Pickett was ordered, with sixty men, to occupy San Juan Island then, during the dispute with Great Britain over the northwest boundary, and the British governor, Sir James Douglas, sent three vessels of war to eject Pickett from his position. He forbade the landing of troops from the vessels, under the threat of firing upon them, and an actual collision was prevented only by the timely arrival of the British admiral, by whose order the issue of force was postponed. For his conduct on this occasion General Harney in his report commended Captain Pickett “for the cool judgment; ability, and that he had displayed,” and the legislature of Washington Territory passed resolutions thanking him for it. He resigned from the army, 25 June, 1861, and after eat difficulty and delays reached Virginia, where he was at once commissioned colonel in the state forces and assigned to duty on Rappahannock River. In February, 1862, he was made brigadier-general in General James Longstreet's division of the Confederate Army under General Joseph E. Johnston, which was then called the Army of the Potomac, but afterward became the Army of Northern Virginia. His brigade, in the retreat before McClellan up the peninsula and in the seven days' battles around Richmond, won such a reputation that it was known as “the game-cock brigade.” At the battle of Gaines's Mills, 27 June, 1862, Pickett was severely wounded in the shoulder, and he did not rejoin his command until after the first Maryland Campaign. He was then made major-general, with a division that was composed entirely of Virginians. At the battle of Fredericksburg this division held the centre of Lee's line. For an account of Pickett's charge at Gettysburg, 3 July, 1863, see the articles LEE, ROBERT E., and MEADE, GEORGE G. Pickett was afterward placed in command in lower Virginia and Eastern North Carolina.  In May, 1864, he defended Petersburg and saved it from surprise and capture by General Benjamin F. Butler. In the attack on General Butler's forces along the line of the railroad between Richmond and Petersburg, Pickett's division captured the works. General Lee, in a letter of thanks and congratulation, dated 17 June, said: “We tried very hard to stop Pickett's men from capturing the breastworks of the enemy, but could not do it.” At Five Forks his division received the brunt of the National attack, and was entirely disorganized. After the war General Pickett returned to Richmond, where he spent the remainder of his life in the life-insurance business. His biography by Edward A. Pollard is in Pollard's “Life and Times of Robert E. Lee and his Companions in Arms” (New York, 1871). See also “Pickett's Men,” by Walter Harrison (1870). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 5.


PICKETT'S MILL, GEORGIA, May 27, 1864. (See Dallas.)


PICTON, John Moore White, physician, born in Woodbury, New Jersey, 17 November, 1804; died in New Orleans, Louisiana, 28 October, 1858. His father, Reverend Thomas Picton, was chaplain and professor of geography, history, and ethics in 1818-'25 in the U. S. Military Academy, where the son was graduated in 1824. He was assigned to the 2d U.S. Artillery, but resigned his commission in March, 1832, and in that year was graduated at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. He settled in New Orleans, where he practised his profession for thirty-two years, acquiring reputation as an operator. He served for many years as home surgeon in the New Orleans Charity Hospital, and was president of the medical department of the University of Louisiana. He was a founder of the New Orleans School of Medicine in 1856, in which he was professor of obstetrics from 1856 till 1858.—His cousin. Thomas, journalist, born in New York City, 9 May, 1822, entered Columbia, and subsequently the University of New York, where he was graduated in 1843. After studying law he was admitted to the bar in 1843. Several years later he visited Europe, and, after travelling over the continent, resided in the environs of Paris, participating in the Revolution of 1848 as an officer of the 2d Legion of the Banlien. Upon his return to New York he began the publication of "The Era" in 1850 in conjunction with Henry W. Herbert, and in 1851 he became one of the editors of "The Sachem," afterward entitled the " True American," a vigorous advocate of the Associated Order of United Americans. A little later he edited the "True National Democrat," the organ of the Free-Soilers. On the reorganization of the "Sunday Mercury" he became one of its editors, and contributed to the paper a series of popular stories under the name of "Paul Preston." These were subsequently published in book-form, and had an extensive sale. At the beginning of the Civil War he raised a battalion, which was consolidated with the 38th New York Regiment, with which he went to the field. During the reign of Maximilian in Mexico, Mr. Picton was employed in the service of the Liberals, and wrote a " Defence of Liberal Mexico," which was printed for distribution among the statesmen of (his country. General Rosecrans remarked that this publication had "done more for the cause of Mexico than all other external influences combined." He has translated some of the first modern romances from the French, and several of his light dramas are popular. He is the author of "Reminiscences of a Sporting Journalist," issued in serial form, and. besides the works mentioned, has edited "Frank Forester's Life and Writings" (New York, 1881). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 6.


PIEDMONT, VIRGINIA, June 5, 1864. Department of West Virginia. Major-General David Hunter, commanding the army in the Lynchburg campaign, after crossing the Shenandoah river at Port Republic, bivouacked his command a mile south of that town and at an early hour on the 5th advanced on the Staunton road. About 6 a. m. the Confederate skirmishers were encountered and after a sharp skirmish driven back. At the village of Piedmont, not far from Mt. Crawford, the enemy was found drawn up in an advantageous position and at 9 a. m. the battle was commenced by artillery firing. An hour later the 1st infantry brigade, under Colonel Augustus Moor, moved forward on the right and drove the Confederates from their advanced position. Colonel Joseph Thoburn occupied the left with the 2nd brigade on elevated ground. By 11:30 a. m. the Federal artillery silenced the enemy's guns. An hour after noon the 1st brigade attacked the enemy's line in front, and after a hard fight was compelled to fall back without carrying it. At 2 p. m. the Confederates made a determined attack on Moor's front, but with the aid of a cross fire from the artillery he was able to hold the position. Thoburn meantime moved his brigade across the open space between his own and Moor's brigades, and when the Confederates made their attack he fell upon their exposed flank. They at once gave way, and Moor, quick to follow up the advantage, charged over the breastworks in his front and added to the enemy's confusion. Colonel John E. Wynkoop's cavalry brigade next assaulted the Confederate right and the rout was complete. This affair cost the Federal forces little' less than 500 men in killed, wounded and missing. Hunter captured 1,000 men, and estimated the Confederate loss in killed and wounded at 600.


PIEDMONT, WEST VIRGINIA, November 28, 1864. Company A, 6th West Virginia Infantry. A force of some 300 Confederates, under the command of Major McDonald, approached the town about 2 p. m. on the New Creek road. Captain Fisher, commanding the company of Union soldiers, commenced skirmishing with the enemy some distance from the town, but as he had but 35 men he decided to fall back across the river and take a position on a hill which would give him a good command of the town and its approaches. Here he repulsed two attempts to cross the river, keeping up the fight for 3 hours, when the Confederates retreated in the direction of Elk Garden, leaving 1 man dead on the field and 1 mortally wounded. Ten or 15 wounded were carried away. Fisher's company met with no casualties whatever.


PIEDMONT STATION, VIRGINIA, May 16, 1863. Detachment of Virginia and Pennsylvania Cavalry. Captain Summer's company of Maryland cavalry was surprised at Charlestown about 1 a. m. and the greater part of the command taken prisoners, together with some 75 horses. Captain Utt, with about 120 men, started 1n pursuit and came up with the Confederates near Piedmont Station in Fauquier county, and a sharp skirmish ensued, in which all the Union prisoners and horses were recaptured, as well as 40 of the Confederates, with their horses and equipments. Captain Utt and a sergeant were killed. The enemy lost 2 men killed and a number wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 688-689.


PIERCE, Byron Root, soldier, born in East Bloomfield, Ontario County, New York, 20 September, 1829. He received an academic education at Rochester, New York, and, moving to Michigan, early became interested in military matters. At the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted in the 3d Michigan Volunteers, and was commissioned successively captain, major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel of that regiment, which served throughout the war with the Army of the Potomac. He was made brigadier-general of volunteers, 7 June, 1864, brevetted major-general, 6 April, 1865, and mustered out of the service on 24 August At present (1888) he is commandant of the Soldiers’ Home at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 7.


PIERCE, Franklin, fourteenth president of the United States, born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, 23 November, 1804; died in Concord, New Hampshire, 8 October, 1869. His father, Benjamin Pierce (born in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, 25 December, 1757; died in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, 1 April, 1839), on the day of the battle of Lexington enlisted in the patriot army and served until its disbandment in 1784, attaining the rank of captain and brevet major. He had intense political convictions, was a Republican of the school of Jefferson, an ardent admirer of Jackson, and the leader of his party in New Hampshire, of which he was elected governor in 1827 and 1829. He was a farmer, and trained his children in his own simple and laborious habits. Discerning signs of future distinction in his son Franklin, he gave him an academical education in well-known institutions at Hancock, Francestown, and Exeter, and in 1820 sent him to Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine. Among the son's class-mates were John P. Hale, his future political rival, Prof. Calvin E. Stowe, Sargent S. Prentiss, the distinguished orator, Henry W. Longfellow, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, his future biographer and life-long personal friend. His ambition was then of a martial cast, and as an officer in a company of college students he enthusiastically devoted himself to the study of military tactics. This was one reason why he found himself at the foot of his class at the end of two years in college. Stung by a sense of disgrace, he devoted the two remaining years to hard study, and when he was £i in 1824 he was third in his class. While in college, like many other eminent Americans, he taught in winter. After taking his degree he began the study of law at Portsmouth, in the office of Levi Woodbury, where he remained about a year. He afterward spent two years in the law school at Northampton, Massachusetts, and in the office of Judge Edmund Parker at Amherst, New Hampshire. In 1827 he was admitted to the bar and began  practice in his native town. Soon afterward he argued his first jury cause in the court-house at Amherst. This effort (as is often the case with eminent orators) was a failure. But he was not despondent. He '' to the sympathetic expressions of a friend: “I will try nine hundred and ninety-nine cases, if clients continue to trust me, and if I fail just as I have to-day, I will try the thousandth. I shall live to argue cases in this court-house in a manner that will mortify neither myself nor my friends.” with his popular qualities it was inevitable that he should take a prominent part in the sharp political contests of his native state. He espoused the cause of General Jackson with ardor, and in 1829 was elected to  his native town in the legislature, where, by three subsequent elections, he served four years, the last two as speaker, for which office he received three fourths of all the votes of the house. In 1833 he was elected to represent his native district in the lower house of Congress, where he remained four years. He served on the judiciary and other important committees, but did not £ largely in the debates. That could not expected of so young a man in a body containing so many veteran politicians and statesmen who had already ' a national reputation. But in February, 1834, he made a vigorous and sensible £ against the Revolutionary claims bill, condemning it as opening the door to fraud. In December, 1835, he spoke and voted against receiving petitions for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. In June, 1836, he spoke against a bill making appropriations for the Military Academy at West Point. He contended that that institution was aristocratic in its tendencies, that a professional soldiery and standing armies are always dangerous to the liberties of the people, and that in war the republic must rely upon her citizen militia. His experience in the Mexican War afterward convinced him that such an institution is necessary, and he frankly acknowledged his error. It is hardly necessary to add that while in Congress Mr. Pierce sustained President Jackson in opposing the so-called internal improvement policy. In 1833 he was elected to the U.S. Senate. He was the youngest member of that body, and had barrel arrived at the legal age for that office when he too his seat. In January, 1840, he spoke upon the Indian War in Florida, defending the Secretary of War from the attacks of his political opponents. In December of the same year he advocated and carried through the senate a bill granting a pension to an aged woman whose husband, Isaac Davis, had been among the first to fall at Concord bridge on 19 April, 1775. In July, 1841, he spoke against the fiscal bank bill, and in favor of an amendment prohibiting members of Congress from borrowing money of the bank. At the same session he made a strong speech against the removal of government officials for their political opinions, in violation of the £ to the contrary which the Whig leaders had given to the country in the canvass of 1840. During the five years that he remained in the senate it numbered among its members Benton, Buchanan, Clay, Calhoun, Webster, Woodbury, and Silas Wright, an array of veteran statesmen and intellectual giants who had long been party leaders, and who occupied the whole field of debate. Among such men the young, modest, and comparatively obscure member from New Hampshire could not, with what his biographer calls “his exquisite sense of propriety.” force himself into a conspicuous position. There is abundant proof, however, that he won the friendship of his eminent associates. In 1842 he resigned his seat in the senate, with the intention of permanently withdrawing from public life. He again returned to the practice of w, settling in Concord, New Hampshire, whither he had moved his family in 1838, and where he ever afterward resided. In 1845 he was tendered by the governor of New Hampshire, but declined, an appointment to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy occasioned by the appointment of Levi Woodbury to the U.S. Supreme Court. He also declined the nomination for governor tendered to him by the Democratic State Convention. He declined, too, an appointment to the office of U.S. Attorney-General, offered to him in 1845 by President Polk, by a letter in which he said that when he left the senate he did so “with the fixed purpose never again to be voluntarily separated from his family for any considerable time, except at the call of his country in time of war.” But while thus evincing his determination to remain in private life, he did not lose his interest in political affairs. In the councils of his party in New Hampshire he exercised a very great influence. He zealously advocated the annexation of Texas, declaring that, while he preferred it free, he would take it with slavery rather than not have it at all. When John P. Hale, in 1845, accepted a Democratic renomination to Congress, in a letter denouncing annexation, the Democratic leaders called another Convention, which repudiated him and nominated another candidate. Through the long struggle that followed, Pierce led the Democrats of his state with great skill and unfaltering courage, though not always to success. He found in Hale a rival worthy of his steel. A debate between the two champions, in the old North Church at Concord, aroused the keenest interest throughout the state. Each party was satisfied with its own advocate; but to contend against the rising anti-slavery sentiment of the north was a hopeless struggle. The stars in their courses fought against slavery. Hale was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1846 by a coalition of Whigs and Free-Soilers, and several advocates of free-soil principles were elected to Congress from New Hampshire before 1850. In 1846 the war with Mexico began, and New Hampshire was called on for a battalion of troops. Pierce's military ardor was rekindled. He immediately enrolled himself as a '' in a volunteer ' that was organized at Concord, enthusiastically began studying tactics and drilling in the ranks, and was soon appointed colonel of the 9th Regiment of infantry. On 3 March, 1847, he received from President Polk the commission of brigadier-general in the regular army. On # March, 1847, he embarked at Newport, Rhode Island, in the bark “Kepler,” with Colonel Ransom, three companies of the 9th Regiment of Infantry, and the officers of that detachment, arriving at Vera Cruz on 28 June. Much difficulty was experienced in procuring mules for transportation, ' the brigade, was detained in that unhealthful locality, exposed to the ravages of yellow fever, until 14 July, when it began its march to join the main army under General Winfield Scott at Puebla. The junction was effected (after a toilsome march and several encounters with guerillas) on 6 August, and the next day General Scott began his advance on the city of Mexico. On 19 August the battle of Contreras was fought. The Mexican General Valencia, with 7,000 troops, occupied a strongly intrenched camp. General Scott's plan was to divert the attention of the enemy by a feigned attack on his front, while his flank could be turned and his retreat cut off. But the flanking movement being much delayed, the attack in front (in which General Pierce led his brigade) became a desperate struggle, in which 4,000 raw recruits, who could not use their artillery, fought 7,000 disciplined soldiers, strongly intrenched and raining round shot and shells upon their assailants. To reach the enemy, the Americans who attacked in front were obliged to cross the pedregal, or lava bed, the crater of an extinct volcano, bristling with sharp, jagged, splintered rocks, which afforded shelter to the Mexican skirmishers. General Pierce's horse stepped into a cleft between two rocks and fell, breaking his own leg and throwing his rider, whose knee was seriously injured. Though suffering severely, and urged by the surgeon to withdraw, General Pierce refused to leave his troops. Mounting the horse of an officer who had just been mortally wounded, he rode forward and remained in the saddle until eleven o'clock at night. The next morning General Pierce was in the saddle at daylight, but the enemy's camp was stormed in the rear by the flanking party, and those of its defenders who escaped death or capture fled in confusion toward Churubusco, where Santa-Anna had concentrated his forces. Though General Pierce's injuries were intensely painful, and though General Scott advised him to leave the field, he insisted on remaining. His brigade and that of General James Shields, in obeying an order to make a detour and attack the enemy in the rear, struck the Mexican reserves, by whom they were largely outnumbered, and a £ and obstinate struggle followed. By this diversion Generals Worth and Pillow were enabled to carry the head of the bridge at the front, and relieve Pierce and Shields from the pressure of overwhelming numbers. In the advance of Pierce's brigade his horse was unable to cross a ditch or ravine, and he was compelled to dismount and proceed on foot. Overcome by the pain of his injured knee, he sank to the ground, unable to proceed, but refused to be taken from the field, and remained under fire until the enemy were routed. After these defeats, Santa-Anna, to gain time, opened negotiations for peace, and General Scott appointed General Pierce one of the commissioners to agree upon terms of armistice. The truce lasted a fortnight, when General Scott, discovering Santa-Anna's insincerity, again began hostilities. The sanguinary battles of Molino del Rey and Chapultepec soon followed, on 14 September, 1847, the city of Mexico capitulated, and the war was virtually over. Though Gen. Pierce had little opportunity to distinguish himself as a general in this brief war, he displayed a personal bravery and a regard for the welfare of his men that won him the highest credit. He also gained the ardent friendship of those with whom he came in contact, and that friendship did much for his future elevation. On the return of peace in December, 1847. General Pierce returned to his home and to the practice of his profession. Soon after this the New Hampshire legislature presented him, in behalf of the state, with a fine sword.

In 1850 General Pierce was elected to represent the city of Concord in a constitutional Convention, and when that body met he was chosen its president by a nearly unanimous vote. During its session he made strenuous and successful efforts to procure the adoption of an amendment abolishing the religious test that made none but Protestants eligible to office. But that amendment failed of adoption by the people, though practically and by common consent the restriction was disregarded. From 1847 till 1852 General Pierce was arduously engaged in his profession. As an advocate he was never surpassed, if ever equalled, at the New Hampshire bar. He had the external advantages of an orator, a handsome, expressive face, an elegant figure, graceful and impressive gesticulation, and a clear, musical voice, which kindled the blood of his hearers like the notes of a trumpet, or melted them to tears by its pathos. His manner had a courtesy that sprang from the kindness of his heart, and contributed much to his political and professional success. His perceptions were keen, and his mind seized at once the vital points of a case, while his ready command of language enabled him to present them to an audience so clearly that they could not be misunderstood. He had an intuitive knowledge of human nature, and the numerous illustrations that he drew from the daily lives of his strongminded auditors made his speeches doubly effective. He was not a diligent student, nor a reader of many books, yet the keenness of his intellect and his natural capacity for reasoning often enabled him, with but little preparation, to argue successfully intricate questions of law. e masses of the Democratic Party in the free states so strongly favored the exclusion of slavery from the territory ceded by Mexico that their leaders were compelled to yield, and from 1847 till 1850 their resolutions and platforms advocated free-soil principles. This was especially the case in New Ham shire, and even General Pierce's great popularity £ not stem the tide. But in 1850 the passage of the so-called “compromise measures” by Congress, the chief of which were the fugitive-slave law and the admission of California as a free state, raised a new issue. Adherence to those measures became to a great extent a test of party fidelity in both the Whig and Democratic parties. General Pierce zealously championed them in New Hampshire, and at a dinner given to him and other personal friends by Daniel Webster at his farm-house in Franklin, New Hampshire, Pierce, in an eloquent s h, assured the great Whig statesman that if his own arty rejected him for his 7th of March speech, the £ would “lift him so high that his feet would not touch the stars.” £ the masses of both the great parties gave to the compromise measures a £ acquiescence, on the ground that they were a final settlement of the slavery question. The Democratic National Convention met at Baltimore, 12 June, 1852. After thirty-five ballotings for a candidate for president, in which General Pierce's name did not appear, the Virginia delegation brought it forward, and on the 49th ballot he was nominated by 282 votes to 11 for all others. James Buchanan, Stephen A. Douglas, Lewis Cass, and William L. Marcy were his chief rivals. General Winfield Scott, the Whig candidate, was unsatisfactory both to the north and to the south. Webster and his friends leaned toward Pierce, and in the election in November, Scott carried only Massachusetts, Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee, with 42 votes, while Pierce carried all the other states with 254 votes. The Whig Party had received its death stroke, and dissolved. In his inaugural address, 4 March, 1853, President Pierce maintained the constitutionality of slave and the fugitive-slave law, denounced slavery agitation, and hoped that “no sectional or ambitious or fanatical excitement might again threaten the durability of our institutions, or obscure the light of our prosperity.” On 7 March he announced as his cabinet William L. Marcy, of New York, Secretary of State; James Guthrie, of Kentucky, Secretary of the Treasury; Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, Secretary of War; James C. Dobbin, of North Carolina, Secretary of the Navy; Robert McClelland, of Michigan, Secretary of the Interior; James Campbell, of Pennsylvania, Postmaster-general; and Caleb Cushing, of Massachusetts, Attorney-General. This cabinet was one of eminent ability, and is the only one in our history that remained unchanged for four years. In 1853 a boundary dispute arose between the United States and Mexico, which was settled by negotiation and resulted in the acquisition of a part of the territory, which was organized under the name of Arizona in 1863. Proposed routes for a railroad to the Pacific were explored, and voluminous reports thereon published under the direction of the War Department. A controversy with Great Britain respecting the fisheries was '' justed by mutual concessions. The affair of Martin oszta, a Hungarian refugee, who was seized at Smyrna by an Austrian vessel and given up on the demand of the captain of an American ship-of-war, excited t interest in Europe and redounded to the credit of our government. (See INGRAHAM, DUNCAN NATHANIEL.) In 1854 a treaty was negotiated at Washington between the United States and Great Britain providing for commercial reciprocity for ten years between the former country and the Canadian provinces. That treaty and one negotiated by Commodore Perry with Japan, which opened the ports of that hitherto unknown country to commerce, were ratified at the same session of the senate. In the spring of 1854, Greytown in Nicara# was bombarded and mostly burned by the U.S. Frigate “Cyane,” in retaliation for the refusal of the authorities to make reparation for the property of American citizens residing there, which had been stolen. In the following year William Walker with a party of filibusters, invaded Nicaragua, and in the autumn of 1856 won an ephemeral success, which induced President Pierce to recognize the minister sent by him to Washington. In the winter of 1854–5, and in the spring of the latter year, by the sanction of Mr. Crampton, the British minister at Washington, recruits for the British Army in the Crimea were secretly enlisted in this country. President Pierce demanded Mr. Crampton's recall, which, being refused, the president dismissed not only the minister, but also the British consuls at New York, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati, for their complicity in such enlistments. The difficulty was finally adjusted by negotiation, and a new British legation was sent to Washington. In 1855 President Pierce signed bills to reorganize the diplomatic and consular system of the United States, to organize the court of claims, to provide a retired list for the navy, and to confer the title of lieutenant-general on Winfield Scott. President Pierce adhered to that strict construction of the constitution which Jefferson and Jackson had insisted on. In 1854 he vetoed a bill making appropriations for public works, and another granting 10,000,000 acres of public lands to the states for relief of indigent insane. In February, 1855, he vetoed a bill for payment of the French spoliation claims, and in the following month another increasing the appropriation for the Collins line of steamers.

The policy of Pierce's administration upon the question of slavery evoked an extraordinary amount of popular excitement, and led to tremendous and lasting results. That policy was based on the theory that the institution of slavery was imbedded in and guaranteed by the constitution of the United States, and that therefore it was the duty of the National government to protect it. The two chief measures in support of such a policy, which originated with and were supported by Pierce's administration, were the conference of American diplomatists that promulgated the  “Ostend manifesto." and the opening of the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to slavery. Filibustering expeditions from the United States to Cuba under Lopez, in 1850 and 1851, aroused anxiety in Europe as to the attitude of our government toward such enterprises. In 1852 Great Britain and France proposed to the United States a tripartite treaty by which the three powers should disclaim all intention of acquiring Cuba, and discountenance such an attempt by any power. On 1 December, 1852, Edward Everett, who was then Secretary of State, declined to act, declaring, however, that our government would never question Spain’s title to the island. On 10 August, 1854, President Pierce directed James Buchanan, John Y. Mason, and Pierre Soule, the American ministers to Great Britain, France, and Spain, to meet and discuss the Cuban question. They met at Ostend, 9 October, and afterward at Aix la Chapelle, and sent to their government that famous despatch known as the "Ostend manifesto." It declared that if Spain should obstinately refuse to sell Cuba, self-preservation would make it incumbent on the United States to wrest it from her and prevent it from being Africanized into a second Santo Domingo. But the hostile attitude of the great European powers, and the Kansas and Nebraska excitement, shelved the Cuban question till 1858, when a feeble and abortive attempt was made in Congress to authorize its purchase for $30,000,000. President Pierce, in his first message to Congress, December, 1853, spoke of the repose that had followed the compromises of 1850, and said: "That this repose is to suffer no shock during my official term if I have power to prevent it, those who placed me here may be assured." Doubtless such was then his hope and belief. In the following January, Sir. Douglas, chairman of the senate committee on the territories, introduced a bill to organize the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, which permitted slavery north of the parallel of 36° 30' in a region from which it had been forever excluded by the Missouri compromise of 1820. That bill was Mr. Douglas's bid for the presidency. Southern politicians could not reject it and retain their influence at home. Northern politicians who opposed it gave up all hope of national preferment, which then seemed to depend on southern support. The defeat of the bill seemed likely to sever and destroy the Democratic organization, a result which many believed would lead to civil war and the dissolution of the Union. Borne onward by the aggressive spirit of shivery, by political ambition, by the force of party discipline, and the dread of sectional discord, the bill was passed by Congress, and on 31 May received the signature of the president. Slavery had won, but there never was a more costly victory. The remainder of Pierce's! term was embittered by civil war in Kansas and the disasters of his party in the free states. In 1854. with a Democratic majority in both houses of the New Hampshire legislature, the influence of the national administration could not secure the 1 election of a Democratic U. S. Senator, and at the next election in 1855 the Democracy lost control of the state. The repeal of the Missouri Compromise was soon followed by organized efforts in the free states to fill Kansas with anti-slavery settlers. To such movements the south responded by armed invasions. On 30 March, 1855. a territorial legislature was elected in Kansas bv armed bands from Missouri, who crossed the border to vote and then returned to their homes. That initiative gave to the pro-slavery men a technical advantage, which the Democratic leaders were swift to recognize. The proslavery legislature thus elected met at Pawnee on 2 July, 1855, and enacted an intolerant and oppressive slave code, which was mainly a transcript of the laws of Missouri. The free-state settlers thereupon called a constitutional convention. which met on 23 October, 1855, and framed a state constitution, which was adopted by the people by a vote of 1,731 to 46. A general assembly was then elected under such constitution, which, after passing some preliminary acts, appointed a committee to frame a code of laws, and took measures to apply to Congress for the admission of Kansas into the Union as a state. Andrew H. Reeder was elected by the free-state men their delegate to Congress. A majority of the actual settlers of Kansas were in favor of her admission into the Union as a free state; but all their efforts to that end were treated by their opponents in the territory, and by the Democratic National administration, as rebellion against lawful authority. This conflict kept the territory in a state of confusion and bloodshed, and excited party feeling throughout the country to fever heat. It remained unsettled, to vex Buchanan's administration and further develop the germs of disunion and civil war. On 2 June, 1856, the National Democratic Convention met at Cincinnati to nominate a candidate for president. On the first ballot James Buchanan had 135 votes, Pierce 122, Douglas 33. Cass 6, Pierce's vote gradually diminished, and on the 17th ballot Buchanan was nominated unanimously. In August the house of representatives attached to the Army Appropriation Bill a proviso that no part of the army should be employed to enforce the laws of the Kansas Territorial Legislature until Congress should have declared its validity. The senate refused to concur, and Congress adjourned without passing the bill. It was immediately convened by proclamation, and passed the bill without the proviso. The president s message in December following was mainly devoted to Kansas affairs, and was intensely hostile to the free-state party. His term ended on 4 March, 1857, and he returned to his home in Concord. Soon afterward he visited Madeira, and extended his travels to Great Britain and the continent of Europe. He remained abroad nearly three years, returning to Concord early in 1860. In the presidential election of that year he took no active part, but his influence was cast against Douglas and in favor of Breckinridge. In a letter addressed to Jefferson Davis, under date of 6 January, 1860, he wrote; "Without discussing the question of right, of abstract power to secede, I have never believed that actual disruption of the Union can occur without bloodshed; and if, through the madness of northern Abolitionists, that dire calamity must come, the fighting will not be along Mason and Dixon's line merely. It will be within our own borders, in our own streets, between the two classes of citizens to whom I have referred. Those who defy law and scout constitutional obligations will, if we ever reach the arbitrament of arms, find occupation enough at home. . . . I have tried to impress upon our own people, especially in New Hampshire and Connecticut, where the only elections are to take place during the coming spring, that, while our Union meetings are all in the right direction and well enough for the present, they will not be worth the paper upon which their resolutions are written unless we can overthrow abolitionism at the polls and repeal the unconstitutional and obnoxious laws which in the cause of ‘personal liberty' have been placed upon our statute-books.” On 21 April, 1861, nine days after the disunionists had begun Civil War by firing on Fort Sumter, he addressed a Union mass-meeting at Concord, and urged the people to sustain the government against the southern Confederacy. From that time until his death he lived in retirement at Concord. To the last he retained his hold upon the hearts of his personal friends, and the exquisite urbanite of his earlier days. His wife and his three children had preceded him to the tomb. Some years after Pierce's death the legislature of New Hampshire, in behalf of the state, placed his portrait beside the speaker's desk in the hall of the house of representatives at Concord. Time has softened the harsh judgment that his political foes passed upon him in the heat of party strife and civil war. His generosity and kindness of heart are gratefully remembered by those who knew him, and particularly by the younger members of his profession, whom he was always ready to aid and advise. It is remembered that in his professional career he was ever willing, at whatever risk to his fortune or popularity, to shield the r and obscure from oppression and injustice. t is remembered, too, that £ sought in public life no opportunities for personal gain. His integrity was above suspicion. After nine years' service in Congress and in the senate of the United States, after a brilliant and successful professional career and four years in the presidency, his estate hardly £d to $72,000. In his whole political career he always stood for a strict construction of the constitution, for economy and frugality in public affairs, and for a strict accountability of public officials to their constituents. No political or personal influence could induce him to shield those whom he believed to have defrauded the government. Pierce had ambition, but greed for public office was foreign to his nature. Few, if any, instances can be found in our history where a man of thirty-eight, in the full vigor of health, voluntarily gave ' a seat in the U.S. Senate, which he was apparently sure to retain as long as he wished. His refusal at the age of forty-one to leave his law-practice for the place of Attorney-General in Polk's cabinet is almost without a parallel. Franklin Pierce, too, was a true patriot and a sincere lover of his country. The Revolutionary services of a father whom he revered were constantly in his thoughts. Two of his brothers, with that father's consent, took an honorable part in the war of 1812. His only sister was the wife of General John H. McNeil, as gallant an officer as ever fought for his country. To decline a cabinet appointment and enlist as a private soldier in the army of his country were acts which one who knew his early training and his chivalrous character might reasonably expect of him. But for slavery and the questions growing out of it, his administration would have passed into history as one of the most successful in our national life. To judge him justly, his political training and the circumstances that environed him must be taken into account. Like his honored father, he believed that the statesmen of the Revolution had agreed to maintain the legal rights of the slave-holders, and that without such agreement we should have had no Federal constitution or Union. He believed that good faith required that agreement to be performed. In that belief all or nearly all the leaders of both the great parties concurred. However divided on other questions, on that the south was a unit. The price of its political support was compliance with its demands, and both the old parties (however reluctantly) paid the price. Political leaders believed that, unless it was paid, civil war and disunion would result, and their patriotism re-enforced their party spirit and personal ambition. Among them all there were probably few whose conduct would have been essentially different from that of Pierce had they been in the same situation. He gave his support to the repeal of the Missouri compromise with great reluctance, and in the belief that the measure would satisfy the south and thus avert from the country the doom of civil war and disunion. See the lives by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Boston, 1852) and D. W. Bartlett (Auburn, 1852), and “Review of Pierce's Administration,” by A. E. Carroll (Boston, 1856). The steel plate is from a portrait by George P. A. Healey. The vignette on page 8 is a view of President Pierce's birthplace, and that on page 10 represents his grave, which is in the £i at Concord, New Hampshire.—His wife, Jane Means Appleton, born in Hampton, New Hampshire, 12 March, 1806; died in Andover, Massachusetts, 2 December, 1863, was a daughter of the Reverend Jesse Appleton, D. q. v.), president of Bowdoin College. She was brought up in an atmosphere of cultivated and refined Christian influences, was thoroughly educated, and grew to womanhood Surrounded by most congenial circumstances. She was married in 1834. Public observation was extremely painful to her, and she always preferred the quiet of her New England home to the glare and glitter of fashionable life in Washington. A friend said of her: “How well she filled her station as wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend, those only can tell who knew her in these private relations. In this quiet sphere she found her joy, and here her gentle but powerful influence was deeply and constantly felt, through wise counsels and delicate suggestions, the purest, finest tastes, and a devoted life.” She was the mother of three children, all boys, but none survived her. Two died in early youth, and the youngest, Benjamin, was killed in an accident on the Boston and Maine Railroad while travelling from Andover to Lawrence, Massachusetts, on 6 January, 1853, only two months before his father's inauguration as president. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce were with him at the time, and the boy, a bright lad of thirteen years, had been amusing them with his conversation just before the accident. The car was thrown from the track and dashed against the rocks, and the lad met his served till July, 1861, when he was detailed to coldeath instantly. Both parents were long deeply neglect the Negroes at Hampton and set them to work affected by the shock of the accident, and Mrs. on the intrenchments of that town. This was the Pierce never recovered from it. The sudden bereavement shattered the small remnant of her remaining health, yet she performed her task at the W#: House nobly, and sustained the dignity of her husband's office. Mrs. Robert E. Lee wrote in a private letter: “I have known many of the ladies of the White House, none more truly excellent than the afflicted wife of President Pierce. Her health was a bar to any great effort on her part to meet the expectations of the public in her high position, but she was a refined, extremely religious, and well-educated lady.” She was buried by the side of her children, in the cemetery at Concord, New Hampshire, where also the remains of General Pierce now rest. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 7-12.


PIERCE, Henry Lillie, member of Congress, born in Stoughton, Massachusetts, 23 August, 1825. He received a good education, engaged in manufacturing, and as early as 1848 took an active part in organizing the “Free-Soil” Party in Massachusetts. He was a member of the Massachusetts Legislature in 1860–6, and in 1860 was instrumental in getting a bill passed by both branches of the legislature removing the statutory prohibition upon the formation of militia companies composed of colored men. He was elected to Congress as a Republican to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William Whiting, was re-elected for the next congressional term, and served from 1 December, 1873, till 3 March, 1877, when he declined a renomination. In the presidential election of 1884 he was prominent in organizing an independent movement in support of Cleveland, and has since taken a leading part in the effort to revise the tariff legislation and reduce the taxes on imports. He was mayor of Boston in 1873, and again in 1878. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 12.


PIERCE, Edward Lillie, author, born in Stoughton, Massachusetts, 29 March, 1829, was graduated at Brown in 1850, and at Harvard Law-School in 1852, receiving the degree of LL.D. from Brown in 1882. After leaving the school, Mr. Pierce was for some time in the office of Salmon P. Chase at Cincinnati. He afterward practised law in his native state, and was a delegate to the National Republican Convention in 1860. At the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted as a private in the 3d Massachusetts Regiment, and beginning of the employment of Negroes on U.S. military works. In ember, 1861, the Secretary of the Treasury despatched Mr. Pierce to Port Royal to examine into the condition of the Negroes on the Sea Islands. In February, 1862, he returned to Washington and reported to the government, and in March was given charge of the freedmen and plantations on those islands. He took with him nearly sixty teachers and superintendents, established schools, and suggested the formation of freedmen's aid societies, by means of which great good was accomplished. In June, 1862, Mr. Pierce made his second report to the government setting forth what he had done. These reports were afterward reprinted in the “Rebellion Record,” and were favorably reviewed both in Europe and the United States. The care of the Negroes on the islands having been transferred to the War Department, he was asked to continue in charge under its authority, but declined. He was offered the military governorship of South Carolina, but was not confirmed. He was collector of internal revenue for the 3d Massachusetts District from October, 1863, till May, 1866, district attorney in 1866–'9, secretary of the board of state charities in 1869-'74, and a member of the legislature in 1875–6. He was a member of the Republican National Conventions of 1876 and 1884, and in December, 1878, was appointed by President Hayes Assistant Treasurer of the United States, but declined. In 1883 he gave to the white and colored people of St. Helena Island, the scene of his former labors, a library of 800 volumes. He also originated the public library of Milton, Massachusetts, where he has resided, and has been a trustee since its formation. He has been a lecturer at the Boston law-school since its foundation. Mr. Pierce has visited Europe several times. His second visit was for the inspection of European prisons, reformatories and the result is given in his report for 1873 as secretary of the Board of State Charities. He has been a frequent contributor to newspapers and periodicals, he has published numerous articles and addresses, and “American Railroad Law” (New York, 1857); “Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner” (2 vols., Boston, 1877, unfinished), and “The Law of Railroads” (Boston, 1881). He also edited “Walter's American Law” (1860), and compiled “Index of the Special Railroad Laws of Massachusetts” (1874). [Brother Henry L. Pierce]. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 12.


PIERPONT, John, 1785-1866, Massachusetts, poet, lawyer, Unitarian theologian, temperance reformer, abolitionist leader, member of the anti-slavery Liberty Party.  Liberty Party candidate for Massachusetts.  Free Soil candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1850. (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. V, p. 14; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 7, Pt. 2, p. 286; Dumond, 1961, p. 301)

PIERPONT, John, poet, born in Litchfield, Connecticut, 6 April, 1785; died in Medford, Massachusetts, 26 August, 1866. He was a great-grandson of James, who is noticed below. He was graduated at Yale in 1804, and after assisting for a short time in the academy at Bethlehem, Connecticut, in the autumn of 1805 went to South Carolina, and passed nearly four years as a private tutor in the family of Colonel William Allston. After his return in 1809 he studied law at Litchfield, was admitted to the bar in 1812, and practised for a time in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The profession proving injurious to his health, he relinquished it, and engaged in business as a merchant, first in Boston, and afterward in Baltimore. In 1816 he abandoned commerce for theology, which he studied, first at Baltimore, and afterward at Cambridge Divinity-School. In April, 1819, he was ordained pastor of the Hollis Street Church, Boston. In 1835 he made a tour through Europe and Asia Minor, and on his return he resumed his pastoral charge in Boston, where he continued till 10 May, 1845. The freedom with which he expressed his opinions, especially in regard to the temperance cause, had given rise to some feeling before his departure for Europe; and in 1838 there sprung up between himself and a part of his parish a controversy which lasted seven years, when, after triumphantly sustaining himself against the charges of his adversaries, he requested a dismissal. He then became for four years pastor of a Unitarian Church in Troy, New York, on 1 August, 1849, was settled over the Congregational Church in Medford, and resigned, 6 April, 1856. He was a zealous reformer, powerfully advocated the temperance and anti-slavery movements, was the candidate of the Liberty Party for governor, and in 1850 of the Free-Soil Party for Congress. After the Civil War began, though seventy-six years of age, he went into the field as chaplain of a Massachusetts regiment, but, finding his strength unequal to the discharge of his duties, he soon afterward resigned, and was appointed to a clerkship in the Treasury Department at Washington, which he held till his death. Mr. Pierpont was a thorough scholar, a graceful and facile speaker, and ranked deservedly high as a poet. He published “Airs of Palestine” (Baltimore, 1816); re-issued, with additions, under the title “Airs of Palestine, and other Poems” (Boston, 1840). One of his best-known poems is “Warren's Address at the Battle of Bunker Bill.” His long poem that he read at the Litchfield County centennial in 1851 contains a description of the “Yankee boy” and his ingenuity, which has often been quoted. He also published several sermons and addresses. See Wilson's “Bryant and his Friends” (New York, 1886). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p.14.


PIERRPONT, Edwards (Pierrepont), jurist, born in North Haven, Connecticut, 4 March, 1817, was graduated at Yale in 1837 and at the law-school in 1840, and began practice at Columbus, Ohio. In 1845 he moved to New York City, where he became eminent at the bar. In 1857 he was elected a judge of the superior court of the city of New York, in place of Chief-Justice Thomas J. Oakley. A speech that he made a year and a half before the fall of Fort Sumter, in which he predicted the Civil War, attracted much attention. In October, 1860, he resigned his seat on the bench and returned to the practice of law, and in 1862 he was appointed by President Lincoln, in conjunction with General John A. Dix, to try the prisoners of state that were confined in the various prisons and forts of the United States. In 1864 he was active in organizing the War Democrats in favor of the re-election of Abraham Lincoln. In April, 1867, he was elected a member of the convention for forming a new constitution for the State of New York, and one of its judiciary committee. He was employed to conduct the prosecution on the part of the government of John H. Surratt, indicted for aiding in the murder of President Lincoln. Judge Pierrepont has been engaged in many celebrated causes, and he was much employed by railroads and other corporations. At the beginning of the Civil War he was an active member of the Union Defence Committee, and one of the three that were appointed to proceed to Washington to confer with the government when all communication was cut off by way of Baltimore after the attack upon the Massachusetts troops. In the presidential contests of 1868 and 1872 he was an ardent supporter of General Grant, by whom he was appointed in 1869 U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which office he resigned in July, 1870. In the autumn of that year he was one of the most active members of the committee of seventy in opposition to the Tweed ring. In May, 1873, Judge Pierrepont was appointed U. S. minister to Russia, but declined, and in April, 1875, he became Attorney-General of the United States, remaining in the cabinet of President Grant until May, 1876, when he was sent as U.S. minister to Great Britain. During his term of office as Attorney-General he was called upon by the Secretary of State to give an opinion upon a question of international law, in which were discussed the questions of natural and acquired nationality. This opinion  gave him a wide reputation. During General Grant's visit to London, Judge Pierrepont urged upon the queen's ministers the propriety of according the same precedence to him as had been given to the ex-ruler of France. This was done, and other governments followed the example of Great Britain. Judge Pierrepont devoted large attention to the financial system of England. On his return in 1878 he engaged actively in his profession, but afterward retired and has taken especial interest in the financial policy of the country, writing several pamphlets upon the subject. In one, issued in 1887, he advocated an international treaty and claimed that by convention the commercial value of the silver dollar might be restored. He has published various orations, including one before the alumni of Yale, (1874). Judge Pierrepont received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Columbian College, Washington, D.C., in 1871. In 1873 the same degree was conferred upon him by Yale. While he was in England Oxford gave him that of D. C. L. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 16.


PIERRIER was a term originally applied to an engine for casting stones; then to a small kind of cannon; now to a mortar for discharging stones, &c. (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 462).


PIERS. The columns upon which a bridge is erected. (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 463).


PIERSON'S FARM, VIRGINIA, June 16-17, 1864. Detachment, 36th U. S. Colored Infantry; 2nd and 5th U. S. Cavalry. While on an expedition from Point Lookout, Maryland, to Pope's creek, Virginia, the detachment, Colonel Alonzo G. Draper commanding, encountered the enemy at Pierson's farm on the afternoon of the 16th. Draper ordered a charge and started himself to lead it, but when within a few hundred yards of the enemy's lines he discovered that he was accompanied by only his staff and part of his escort, the main body having failed to obey the order to charge. Under the circumstances he hastily withdrew, but the next morning he again advanced with 200 infantry and 36 cavalry and found the Confederates, estimated at 600 strong, 'busily engaged in constructing a barricade across the road. Concealing the cavalry and 50 of the infantry at the bend of the road, Draper advanced with the remainder of the infantry and opened fire at 500 yards range, directing his men to fire at the bottom of the barricade. After a few volleys the enemy hastily withdrew, taking several killed and wounded with him. No Federal casualties were reported. Pigeon Mountain, Georgia, September 14-18, 1863. (See Catlett's Gap.) The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 689.


PIGEON'S RANCH, NEW MEXICO, March 28, 1862. (See Glorieta, same date.)


PIGGOT'S MILL, WEST VIRGINIA, August 25, 1861. Brigadier-General Henry A. Wise (Confederate) reported that his command was ambushed near Piggot's mill while going to the assistance of another detachment. Wise's loss was 1 man killed and 5 wounded, but he does not state the loss of the Federals. His report is the only mention of the affair in the official records of the war.


PIG POINT, VIRGINIA, June 5, 1861. Steamer Harriet Lane. This vessel came within a mile and a half of the Confederate battery on Pig Point and opened fire. After firing, using some 33 shots from her 11 and 32-pounder guns, she withdrew out of range, having had 6 men wounded by the return fire of the battery. The only report of the affair is a Confederate report, which states that no one in the garrison was killed, although one of the big guns was disabled. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, pp. 689-690.


PIKE. A military weapon formerly used as a bayonet. The pike had a shaft from ten to fourteen feet long, with a flat pointed steel head called the spear. (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 463).


PIKE, James Shepard, 1811-1882, journalist, diplomat, anti-slavery activist.  Washington correspondent and associate editor of the New York Tribune. (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. V, p. 18; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 7, Pt. 2, p. 595; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 17, p. 512)

PIKE, James Shepherd, journalist, born in Calais, Maine, 8 September, 1811; died there, 24 November, 1882. He was educated in the schools of his native town, entered mercantile life in his fifteenth year, and subsequently became a journalist. He was the Washington correspondent and associate editor of the New York “Tribune” in 1850-'60, and was an able and aggressive writer. He was several times a candidate for important offices in Maine, and a potent influence in uniting the anti-slavery sentiment in that state. In 1861-'6 he was U. S. minister to the Netherlands. He supported Horace Greeley for the presidency in 1872, and about that time visited South Carolina and collected materials for his principal work, “A Prostrate State” (New York, 1876). He also published “The Restoration of the Currency” (1868); “The Financial Crisis, its Evils, and their Remedy” (1869); “Horace Greeley in 1872” (1873); “The New Puritan” (1878); and “The First Blows of the Civil War” (1879). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 18. 


PIKE, Frederick Augustus, 1817-1886, lawyer.  Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine.  Member of Congress 1861-1869.  Active in emancipation of slaves.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 18-19; Congressional Globe)

PIKE, Frederick Augustus, Congressman, born in Calais, Maine, 9 December, 1817; died there, 2 December, 1886, spent two years at Bowdoin, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1840. He served eight terms in the Maine Legislature, was its speaker in 1860, and was elected to Congress as a Republican, retaining his seat in 1861-'9, and serving for six years as chairman of the Naval Committee. He was active in his efforts for emancipation and for necessary taxation, and the closing sentence of his speech in Congress in 1861—“Tax, fight, emancipate”—became a watchword of his party. He was in the legislature in 1870-'1, and was defeated as a candidate of the Liberal Republican Party in 1872. In 1875 he was a member of the Maine Constitutional Convention. He retired from the practice of law after his congressional service. Mr. Pike was an early and active Abolitionist, a friend of education, and for many years an eminent member of the bar. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, pp. 18-19.


PIKE, Mary Hayden Green, born in Eastport, Maine, 30 November, 1825, was graduated at Charlestown Female Seminary in 1843, and married Mr. Pike in 1846. She published her first book—“Ida May,” a novel, dealing with slavery and southern life among the wealthier classes (Boston, 1854)—under the penname of “Mary Langdon,” and 60,000 copies of the book were sold in eighteen months. She must not be confounded with the writer of a song entitled “Ida May,” published simultaneously with the novel, who subsequently issued numerous books as the “author of Ida May.” Mrs. Pike's other works are “Caste," under the pen-name of “Sidney A. Story, Jr.” (1856), and “Agnes” (1858).   [Wife of Frederick A. Pike] Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 19.


PIKE CREEK, MISSOURI, October 25, 1862. Detachment of 12th Missouri Cavalry. Major Bazel F. Lazear, reporting to Brigadier-General J. W. Davidson from east of Thomasville, says: "Yesterday, at 12 a. m., we drove Boone out of his camp on a high hill on the divide between the waters of Pike creek and Eleven Points river. We chased him over the hills all the evening, killing 8, taking 18 prisoners, 25 stand of arms, and 12 horses. They are completely broken up." The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 690.


PIKETON, KENTUCKY, November 9, 1861. 33d and part of 2nd and 59th) Ohio Infantry and 142 Mounted Men. This detachment, under Colonel Joshua W. Sill, advanced on Piketon from Prestonburg. The mounted men encountered a Confederate reconnoitering party on the farther side of the west fork of the Big Sandy river and drove it back. After deploying skirmishers it was found that the town was deserted, except for a few mounted men who were driven out by a few shots from the artillery. The cavalry then occupied the place. On the way to Piketon several minor skirmishes occurred with scouting parties of the enemy. The casualties of the affair were 1 killed and 3 wounded' on the Confederate side and 1 killed on the Federal side. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 690.


PIKETON, KENTUCKY, April 15, 1863. Detachment of 39th Kentucky Mounted Infantry. Colonel John Dils with 200 men of the 39th attacked the Confederates at Piketon at daylight. After sharp skirmishing for over an hour the enemy was obliged to surrender the town, the 87 members of the garrison becoming prisoners. All the stores in the place fell into the hands of the attacking party. No casualties were reported.


PIKEVILLE, ARKANSAS, June 26, 1864. (See Clarendon, same date.)


PIKEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, April 11, 1865. Portion of Hospital Train of Army of the Tennessee. Asst. Surg. S. C. Rogers, with 23 convalescents and hospital attendants, proceeded from Goldsboro the day after the army moved. When near Pikeville the train was attacked by Confederates, thought to have been bushwhackers, and the escort was compelled to take to the woods. Rogers and another man were the only Union men who escaped. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 690.


PILE. A beam of wood driven into the ground to form a solid foundation for building. Also a heap, as a pile of balls. To pile arms, is to stack arms in the prescribed manner, that they may remain steady on the ground. Balls are piled according to kind and calibre, under cover if practicable, in a place where there is a free circulation, of air, to facilitate which the piles should be made narrow if the locality permits; the width of the bottom tier may be from 12 to 14 balls, according to the calibre. Prepare the ground for the base of the pile by raising it above the surrounding ground so as to throw off the water; level it, ram it well, and cover it with a layer of screened sand. Make the bottom of the pile with a tier of unserviceable balls buried about two-thirds of their diameter in the sand; this base may be made permanent: clean the base well and form the pile, putting the fuze holes of shells downwards, in the intervals, and not resting on the shells below. Each pile is marked with the number of serviceable balls it contains. The base may be made of bricks, concrete, stone, or with borders and braces of iron. Grape and canister shot should be oiled or lacquered, put in piles, or in strong boxes, on the ground floor, or in dry cellars; each parcel marked with its kind, calibre, and number. (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 463).


PILE, William A., soldier, born near Indianapolis, Indiana, 11 February, 1829. He received an academic education, studied theology, and became a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a member of the Missouri Conference. He joined the National Army as chaplain of a regiment of Missouri Volunteers in 1861, and took command of a light battery in 1862. He was subsequently placed at the head of a regiment of infantry, promoted brigadier-general of volunteers, 26 December, 1863, and served till the close of the war, being mustered out, 24 August, 1865. He was elected to Congress from Missouri, and served from 4 March, 1867, till 3 March, 1869, but was defeated as the Republican candidate for the next Congress. Mr. Pile was appointed by President Grant governor of New Mexico, served in 1869-'70, and was minister resident at Venezuela from 23 May, 1871, till his resignation in 1874. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 18.


PILLAGE. (See PLUNDER.)


PILLOW, Gideon Johnson, soldier, born in Williamson County, Tennessee, 8 June, 1806; died in Lee County, Arkansas, 6 October, 1878. He was graduated at the University of Nashville, Tennessee, in 1827, practised law at Columbia, Tennessee, was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention in 1844, and aided largely in the nomination of his neighbor, James K. Polk, as the candidate for president. In July, 1846, he was appointed brigadier-general in command of Tennessee Volunteers in the Mexican War. He served for some time with General Zachary Taylor on the Mexican frontier, subsequently joined General Scott at Vera Cruz, and took an active part in the siege of that city, afterward being one of the commissioners that received its surrender from the Mexican authorities. At the battle of Cerro Gordo he commanded the right wing of the American Army, and was severely wounded. He was promoted to major-general, 13 April, 1847, was engaged in the battles of Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and Chapultepec, where he was wounded. He differed with General Scott in regard to the convention of Tacubaya, and the differences led to such results that General Pillow requested a court of inquiry to try him on charges of insubordination that were made by Scott. The court was ordered, and he was honorably acquitted. After the Mexican War he resumed the practice of law in Tennessee, and was also largely engaged in planting. In the Nashville Southern Convention of 1850 General Pillow took conservative ground, and opposed extreme measures. He received twenty-five votes for the nomination for the vice-presidency at the Democratic National Convention in 1852. On 9 May, 1861, he was appointed by Governor Isham G. Harris a major-general in the provisional army of the state of Tennessee, and aided largely in the organization of its forces. On 9 July, 1861, he was made a brigadier-general in the provisional Confederate Army. He commanded under General Leonidas Polk at the battle of Belmont, Missouri, 7 November, 1861, and was second in command under General John B. Floyd at Fort Donelson in February, 1862. He declined to assume the chief command and to surrender the forces at this fort, so, turning the place over to General Simon B. Buckner, he escaped. He was now relieved from command, but subsequently led a detachment of cavalry, and served under Beauregard in the southwest. He was also chief of conscripts in the Western Department. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 20.


PILLOWVILLE, TENNESSEE, November 15, 1863. Detachment of 4th Missouri Cavalry. Captain Theodore W. Hencke, with 100 men. surprised a conscripting party of the enemy, 34 strong, at 10 a. m. The Confederates fled at the first fire, Hencke and his men pursuing for 3' miles, during which time they killed 5 and captured 3. There were no casualties on the Federal side. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 690.


PILLSBURY, Parker, 1809-1898, Concord, New Hampshire, reformer, newspaper editor.  Garrisonian abolitionist.  Wrote and published: Act of the Anti-Slavery Apostles, Rochester, NY, 1883.  Wrote: The Church as it is; or The Forlorn Hope of Slavery, Boston, 1847.  Agent for the Massachusetts, New Hampshire and American Anti-Slavery Societies.  Served as a Manager in the American Anti-Slavery Society, 1840-1853. 

(Drake, 1950, p. 177; Dumond, 1961, p. 268; Mabee, 1970, pp. 114-115, 123, 200, 206-208, 214, 215, 221, 223, 233, 250, 262, 297, 329, 333, 335-337, 361-363, 389, 371, 494n24; Sernett, 2002, pp. 213, 218; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 20; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 7, Pt. 2, p. 608)

PILLSBURY, Parker, reformer, born in Hamilton, Massachusetts, 22 September, 1809. He moved to Henniker, New Hampshire, in 1814, and was employed in farm-work till 1835, when he entered Gilmanton Theological Seminary. He was graduated in 1838, studied a year at Andover, supplied the Congregational Church at New N. H., for one year, and then abandoned the ministry in order to engage in anti-slavery work. He was a lecturing agent of the New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and American Anti-Slavery Societies from 1840 till the abolition of slavery, and edited the “Herald of Freedom" at Concord. New Hampshire, in 1840 and 1845–’6, and the “National Anti-Slavery Standard ” in New York City in 1866. In 1868–70 he was the editor of the “Revolution,” a woman suffrage paper in New York City. Afterward he was a preacher for Free religious societies in Salem and Toledo, Ohio, Battle Creek, Michigan, and other western towns. Besides pamphlets on reform subjects, he has published "Acts of the Anti-Slavery Apostles” ( New York, 1883). —His brother, Oliver, born in Henniker, New Hampshire, 16 February, 1817; died in Concord, New Hampshire, 22 February, 1888, was educated at Henniker Academy, taught in New Jersey in 1839–47, occupying a prominent place among the educators of the state, returned to New Hampshire with impaired health, and was a farmer for the next seventeen years. He served three terms in the legislature, was a state councillor in 1862 and 1863, displaying executive ability and energy in business connected with the New Hampshire quota of troops, and in 1869 was appointed the first insurance commissioner of the state, holding the office till his death. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 20.


PILOT KNOB, MISSOURI, September 26-27, 1864. (See Fort Davidson.)


PILOT KNOB, TENNESSEE, August 20, 1862. (See Louisville & Nashville R. R-


PIN HOOK, LOUISIANA, May 10, 1863. (See Caledonia, same date.) Pink Hill, Missouri, March 31, 1862. Detachment of 1st Missouri Cavalry. Captain Albert P. Peabody with 30 men. while in pursuit of some guerrillas under Quantrill, scouted the country in the vicinity of Pink hill. While passing a double log house his command was fired upon. He immediately dismounted his men, deployed them and after firing at the house for an hour or more a charge was made which drove the enemy from cover. Six of the guerrillas were then killed, while but 3 of Peabody's men were wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 693.


PINCKNEY ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, August 21, 1862. Detachment of 3d New Hampshire Infantry. A party of 100 Confederates surprised the camp of a company of the 3d New Hampshire infantry just before daylight. The result was the complete rout of the Federals, with a loss of 4 killed. 2 wounded and 36 captured or missing. The enemy had 8 wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 690.


PINCHBACK, Pinckney Benton Stewart, governor of Louisiana, born in Macon, Georgia, 10 May, 1837. He is of African descent. In 1846 he was sent to school in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1848 his father died, and he became a boatman. In 1862 he ran the Confederate blockade at Yazoo City and reached New Orleans, then in possession of the National troops. He enlisted, and was soon detailed to assist in raising a regiment, but, owing to his race, he was compelled to resign, 3 September. 1863. He was subsequently authorized by General Nathaniel P. Banks to raise a company of colored cavalry. In 1867 he organized in New Orleans the 4th Ward Republican Club, became a member of the state committee, and was made inspector of customs on 22 May. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1867, state senator in 1868, and was sent to the National Republican Convention of the last-named year. He was appointed by President Grant, in April, 1869, register of the land-office of New Orleans, and on 25 December, 1870, established the New Orleans " Louisianian." The same year he organized a company for the purpose of establishing a line of steamers on Mississippi River. In March, 1871, he was appointed by the state board a school director for the city of New Orleans, and on 6 December, 1871, he was elected president pro tempore of the state senate, and lieutenant-governor to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Oscar Dunn. He was acting governor during the impeachment of Governor Warmoth from 9 December, 1872, to 13 January, 1873. He was nominated for governor in 1872, but withdrew in the interest of party peace, and was elected on the same ticket as Congressman. He was chosen to the U. S. Senate, 15 January, 1873, but after three years' debate he was disallowed his seat by a vote of 32 to 29, although he was given the pay and mileage of a senator. On 24 April, 1873, he was appointed a commissioner to the Vienna Exposition from Louisiana, and in 1877 he was appointed a member of the state board of education by Governor Francis P. Nichols. On 8 February, 1879, he was elected a delegate to the Constitutional convention of the state. Mr. Pinchhock was appointed surveyor of customs of New Orleans in 1882. and a trustee of Southern University by Governor McEnery in 1883 and 1885. He was graduated at the law department of Straight University. New Orleans, and admitted to the bar in April, 1886. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 21.


PINE BARREN BRIDGE, FLORIDA, November 17, 1864. Detachments of 2nd Maine and 1st Florida Cavalry. Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew B. Spurling, with 450 men, while on an expedition from Barrancas to Pine Barren bridge, captured the Confederate picket at the bridge, then charged across, surprised and captured the entire guard, 38 in number, with 47 horses, 3 miles and 75 stands of arms, w1thout firing a shot. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 690.


PINE BARREN CREEK, ALABAMA, Dec 17-19, 1864. (See Pollard, December 13-19 1864.)


PINEBERRY BATTERY, SOUTH CAROLINA, April 29, 1862. Crew of Gunboat Hale. Captain Alexander C. Rhind attacked the Confederate battery at Pineberry and after a spirited engagement succeeded in landing and destroying the 2 guns. While returning with the gunboat he was twice attacked, near Willstown and White Point, but got his command off without a casualty. The Confederate report makes no mention of any loss. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 691.


PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS, October 25, 1863. 5th Kansas and 1st Indiana Cavalry. Brigadier-General John S. Marmaduke, with some 2,500 Confederates, approached Pine Bluff on the morning of the 25th and after a demand to surrender had been refused drove in the Federal pickets. About 9 o'clock he approached the works, hastily formed by throwing up barricades of cotton-bales, but the Federal artillery was planted so as to command every street leading into the square, where Colonel Powell Clayton, commanding the post, had disposed his men to the best advantage. From 9 a. m. until 2 p. m. the fighting continued, the enemy meantime setting fire to some buildings in the vicinity, hoping to drive the Federals out, but the fire was quickly extinguished by a bucket brigade formed of the negroes in the town. Later in the day Marmaduke retired, having lost 40 killed and wounded. Clayton's casualties amounted to 16 killed, 39 wounded and 1 missing among the troops, and 5 negroes killed and 12 wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 691.


PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS, June 17, 1864. (See Monticello Road, same date.)


PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS, June 21, 1864. 27th Wisconsin. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 691.


PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS, July 2, 1864. 64th U. S. Colored Troops. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 691.


PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS, July 22. 1864. 9th Kansas Cavalry. Major-General Frederick Steele, commanding the Department of Arkansas, in his report of operations for the month of July, states that on the 12th "Major L. K. Thacher, 9th Kansas cavalry, while on a scout 15 miles northwest of Pine Bluff, surprised the camp of Captain Lightfoot, of Cabell's command, wounding 1 man, capturing 2 horses, 3 guns, and a large amount of provisions and medical stores, which he destroyed." The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 691.

PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS, July 30, 1864. Detachment of 13th Illinois Cavalry. A detail of 40 men, under Lieutenant James E. Teale, left Pine Bluff on the 29th to repair a break in the telegraph line between that place and Little Rock. The next day when about 10 miles from Pine Bluff, the advance, across a bayou from the main force, was fired upon from the woods. Teale immediately ordered his men to mount and follow him across the bridge. A heavy fire was poured into the column as it approached the bridge and when Teale reached the other side he discovered that only 2 men had crossed with him, the remainder having broken and fled. In attempting to recross, Teale. found he was cut off and made for the woods, finally reaching Pine Bluff. A detachment was immediately sent to the scene of the action, where 2 Union men were found dead, and 3 wounded. Of those not killed or wounded all but 5 succeeded in reaching Pine Bluff.


PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS, September 11, 1864. Detachment of the 1st Indiana Cavalry. This action was a part of the operations of an expedition sent out from Pine Bluff by General Powell Clayton. (See Brewer's Lane and Monticello.) Pine Bluff, Arkansas, January 9. 1865. Detachment of 7th Missouri Cavalry. As an incident of an expedition in the vicinity of Pine Bluff, _a detachment under Lieutenant Sanders came upon a band of guerrillas and immediately attacked. The enemy was forced back some distance to his reserves, which were in turn driven until reinforced, when the Union advance was for a time effectually checked. Subsequently, however, the Confederates were routed and driven for more than a mile, losing 4 dead and 4 wounded. Sanders had 1 man slightly wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 691-692.


PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS, March 4, 1865. Detachment of 13th Illinois Cavalry. The detachment, under Captain John H. Norris, was sent out to repair the telegraph line near Pine Bluff. Norris learned the whereabouts of a band of guerrillas and when within a short distance of the place he and 14 men dismounted, moved stealthily toward the camp and fired a volley into it. It was Norris' plan to draw the enemy's fire and then retreat to the main body, but the Confederates became so confused at the fire that he and his men charged and drove them out of the camp. None of the Union men were killed, while the guerrillas lost 5 killed and a number wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 692.


PINE BLUFF, TENNESSEE, August 20, 1864. Detachment of 83d Illinois Mounted Infantry. Captain William W. Turnbull with 11 men pursued 6 Confederates, said to be guerrillas, and captured from them a horse and a gun, when he was attacked by 110 men under the Confederate General Woodward. The enemy fired a volley at 20 yards and then charged, overpowering the Federals and killing Turnbull and 7 of his men. Of the others 2 were captured and 2 escaped through the timber. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 692.


PINE ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, May 10, 1864. Lieutenant-Colonel J. Welsman Brown, commanding the Confederates at Secessionville, reported that 16 Federals landed on Pine island and immediately went to work cutting an opening in the timber. The Confederate batteries opened upon them, and the Federal artillery on Folly, Morris and Long islands replied. The firing was kept up until well along in the night. This report, which is the only official mention of the affair, says nothing of any casualties. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 692.


PINE MOUNTAIN, GEORGIA, June 9-14, 1864. Army of the Cumberland. Pine mountain, sometimes called Pine hill and Pine knob, is about 3 miles northwest of Kennesaw mountain. It was near the center of the Confederate line after General Johnston fell back from his position at Dallas and New Hope Church, and was occupied by Bate's division of Hardee's corps. On the 9th General Thomas began closing up his lines on the mountain and for the next three days there was almost constant skirmishing. On the morning of the 14th Thomas pushed Palmer's corps and the left of Howard's into the re-entrant angle between Pine mountain and the Confederate works farther east. Hardee, fearing that Bate was about to be cut off, asked Generals Johnston and Polk to go with him to reconnoiter the position. The Federal batteries had been ordered to open fire on any parties that might be seen on the heights overlooking the Union camps, and when the three Confederate generals were discovered on the summit of Pine mountain the 5th Indiana battery began shelling them. The second shot from one of the rifled guns killed General Polk, and Johnston, finding the position too exposed, ordered Bate to withdraw, the movement being executed the following night under cover of darkness. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 692.


PINE MOUNTAIN, TENNESSEE, August 17, 1862. Detachment of the 6th Kentucky Cavalry. General G. W. Morgan, commanding the Union forces at Cumberland gap, sent Captain Martin to make a reconnaissance toward Big creek and Rogers' gap. Martin left camp on the night of the 16th and the next day encountered Kirby Smith's advance near Pine mountain. In the skirmish which ensued Martin was routed and returned to camp with 60 of his men missing. The force opposed to him was Ashby's cavalry, and was estimated at 600 strong. The Confederate loss was not learned.


PINE MOUNTAIN, TENNESSEE, September 8, 1862. Detachment of the 25th Brigade, Army of the Ohio. Colonel J. A. Cooper, with 400 men belonging to the 3d, 4th, 5th and 6th East Tennessee volunteers, left camp at Cumberland gap on the morning of the 6th for a reconnaissance in the direction of Pine mountain. Early on the morning of the 8th he learned that some Confederate cavalry were moving by way of Big Creek gap toward Kentucky. Lieutenant Smith with 25 men was sent to Stinking creek; Lieutenant Dunn with 25 to the base of Pine mountain; Lieutenant Crudgington to a position near Archer's place on the north side of the mountain, while Cooper with the remainder of the detachment moved along the top of the mountain to where the Big Creek gap road crossed it. Smith became engaged with the Confederates about 10:30 a.m. and succeeded in forcing them back toward the mountain until he was joined by Dunn, when they were driven rapidly back upon the main body under Cooper. Here they were met by a destructive fire and fled in confusion down the mountain, only to be captured by Crudgington and his men near Camp Pine Knot. In this action not a single Union man was hurt. The enemy lost 7 killed. 13 wounded and 95 captured, together with 83 horses, 37 stands of arms, a number of saddles and equipments and a Confederate mail containing important letters. Cooper was congratulated by General Shields, commanding the brigade, for the masterly manner in which he handled his men and the success of the expedition. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, pp. 692-693.


PINEVILLE, MISSOURI, June 23, 1862. Detachment of 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry. Brigadier-General W. Scott Ketchum, acting inspector general of the department of the Mississippi; reporting from St. Louis on June 24, says: "Major Miller, 2nd Wisconsin cavalry, routed rebels under Major Russell at Pineville yesterday morning at 6:30, taking several prisoners, horses, mules, and other property. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 693.


PINEVILLE, MISSOURI, August 9, 1863. (See Garden Hollow, same date.)


PINEVILLE, MISSOURI, August 13, 1863. 6th Missouri State Militia Cavalry and 1st Arkansas Cavalry. Colonel Edwin C. Catherwood, reporting his operations in the pursuit of the Confederate leader Coffee, states that on the 13th he met the enemy at Pineville in McDonald county, and completely routed him, with a loss in killed and wounded of between 60 and 70 men. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 693.


PINEY BRANCH CHURCH, VIRGINIA, May 15, 1864. (See Spottsylvania.)


PINEY FACTORY, TENN., October 29, 1863. (See Centerville.) Piney River, Missouri, February 18, 1864. 8th Missouri State Militia Cavalry. Lieutenant W. T. Chitwood with a detail from the 8th Missouri militia was ordered to pursue a band of guerrillas which had robbed a stage. On his way to the guerrilla camp he overtook and killed 2 of the party, and upon arriving at the camp, containing 10 men, he attacked, killing 2 and wounding 1. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 693.


PINEY RIVER, VIRGINIA, June 12, 1864. (See Amherst Court House.)


PINK HILL, MISSOURI, June 11, 1862. 7th Missouri Cavalry Militia. A mail escort of 24 men under Captain J. F. Cochran was attacked near Pink hill by a band of Quantrill's men and 2 of the men were killed by the first volley. The remainder then charged the brush, driving the enemy from cover and either killing or wounding several. Besides the 2 Federals killed 3 were wounded later in the action. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 693.


PINKERTON, Allan, 1819-1884, Glasgow, Scotland, detective, Union spy, abolitionist.  Founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.  (Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p.   Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 7, Pt. 2, p. 622)

PINKERTON, Allan, detective, born in Glasgow, Scotland, 25 August, 1819; died in Chicago, Illinois, 1 July, 1884. He became a Chartist in early manhood, came to this country in 1842 to escape imprisonment, and settled in Chicago, Illinois. He was made deputy sheriff of Kane County in 1846, was subsequently deputy sheriff of Cook County, and in 1850 was appointed the first detective for Chicago. He also established Pinkerton's Detective Agency in that year, and from that date till the emancipation was largely engaged in assisting the escape of slaves. He was the first special U.S. mail agent for northern Illinois and Indiana and southern  Wisconsin, organized the U.S. Secret Service Division of the National Army in 1861, was its first chief, and subsequently organized and was at the head of the Secret Service Department of the Gulf till the close of the Civil War. He added to his detective agency in Chicago in 1860 a corps of night watchmen, called Pinkerton's preventive watch, Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 622


PINOS ALTOS, ARIZONA, February 25, 1864. Detachment of 5th California The Union Army Infantry. Learning that a band of Indians was about to return to Pinos Altos, Captain James H. Whitlock with a detail of men started for that place and about dusk of the 25th entered the town. The troops killed 13 of the 19 Indians present, without suffering any casualties themselves. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 693-694.


PINOS ALTOS MINES, NEW MEXICO, January 29, 1863. Detachment of 5th California Infantry. Indians attacked two companies of the regiment while hunting in the vicinity of the Pinos Altos mines. One soldier was killed and 1 wounded, while the Indians were driven off with a loss of 20 killed and 15 wounded. Pisgah, Missouri, September 10, 1864. Detachment of 4th Missouri State Militia Cavalry. Major George W. Kelly, reporting from Boonville, under date of September 11, says: "Lieutenant Kerr, with detachment 4th Missouri state militia, had a skirmish with 60 guerrillas, under Captain Taylor, some 5 miles northeast of Pisgah yesterday evening, killing 4 and wounding several; our horses being fatigued was all that saved the entire band from being broken." The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 694.


PIONEERS. Soldiers sometimes detailed from the different companies of a regiment and formed under a non-commissioned officer, furnished with saws, felling axes, spades, mattocks, pickaxes, and bill-hooks. Their services are very important, and no regiment is well fitted for service without pioneers completely equipped. PISTOL. Horsemen have one or two pistols furnished them. General, field and staff officers also carry pistols in their holsters. Colt's pistol is a revolver composed of a cylinder containing six charges, a rifled barrel, and a handle or stock. The length of bore (navy) 9 in.; weight 2.40 lbs.; weight of projectile 125 grs.; weight of powder 14 grs.; initial velocity 760 feet. (See ARMS for Pistol-Carbine.) (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 463).


PITCHER, Thomas Gamble, soldier, born Rockport, Spencer County, Indiana, 23 October, 1824. He was graduated at the U.S. Military Academy in 1845, and was and assigned to the 5th Infantry, with which he stationed for several years in Boston, where he is served in the military occupation of Texas. He was transferred to the 8th Infantry in 1846, and fairly with the people in their disputes with the during the war with Mexico took part in the soldiery. He took part in the expedition that was engagements at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, San Antonio, Contreras, and Churubusco, for which he was sent in advance was brevetted 1st lieutenant, Molino del Rey, Chapultepec and the capture of the city of Mexico. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant, 26 June, 1849, and was on duty at posts in Texas and Arkansas until the Civil War, serving as depot-commissary at, San Antonio in 1857–'9, and receiving his promotion, 19 October, 1858. He served in the defence of Harper's Ferry in June 1862, and in the Virginia Campaign of that year, being brevetted major for services at Cedar Mountain, where he was severely wounded. He was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers on 29 November, 1862, but was disabled by his wound till 10 January, 1863. He was on duty as commissary and provost-marshal was during the rest of the war, attaining the rank of major on 19 September, 1863, and receiving all brevets up to and including brigadier-general in the regular army on 13 March, 1865. He was made the colonel of the 44th Infantry, 28 July, 1866, served as superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy till 1 September, 1871, and was governor of the Soldiers' Home at Washington, D.C., in 1871–’7. He was then on special duty or leave of absence till his retirement on 28 June, “for disability contracted in the line of duty.” From 1 March, 1880, till 15 October, 1887, he was superintendent of the New York State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 31.


PITMAN, Benn, stenographer, born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, 22 July, 1822. He was educated in his native town, and in 1837 assisted his brother in perfecting the latter's system of phonography. From 1843 till 1852 he lectured on the system throughout Great Britain, and had a large share in compiling his brother's text-books. At Isaac's request he came to the United States in January, 1853, to give instruction in phonography, and settled at Cincinnati, where he has since resided. In 1855 he discovered the process of producing relief copper-plates of engraved work by the galvanic process known as electrotypes, for which he was awarded a silver medal by the Cincinnati Mechanics’ Institute in 1856. The following year he succeeded, in connection with Dr. J. B. Burns, in producing stereotype plates by the gelatin process in photo-engraving. From his arrival in this country until 1873 Mr. Pitman was chiefly engaged in reporting. In 1865-'7 he acted as the official stenographer during the trials of the assassin of President Lincoln, the “Sons of Liberty,” the “Ku-Klux Klan,” and other similar government prosecutions. He also edited and compiled the printed reports of these trials. In 1873 he abandoned reporting and became connected with the school of design, now the Art Academy, of the University of Cincinnati. His object was to secure the development of American decorative art and to open up a new profession for women. The display of wood-carving and painting on china sent to the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition was the first attempt to give the public an idea of what had been over one hundred pieces were exhibited, including elaborately decorated cabinets, base-boards, bedsteads, doors, casings, mantels, picture-frames, and book-cases—all the work of girls and women. Mr. Pitman still (1888) lectures and teaches in the same institution. Besides many elementary books of instruction on phonography, he has published “The Reporter's Companion” (Cincinnati, 1854); “The Manual of Phonography.” of which 250,000 copies have been issued “Trials for Treason at Indianapolis” and “The Assassination of President Lincoln, and the Trial of the Conspirators” (1865); and, with Jerome B. Howard, “The Phonographic Dictionary” (1883).  Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 33.


PITMAN'S CROSS-ROADS, KENTUCKY, October 19, 1862. 19th Brigade, Army of the Ohio. During the pursuit of the Confederates from Perryville to London, the 19th brigade, under Colonel William B. Hazen, after removing fallen trees from the road for some distance reached a point within half a mile of the cross-roads before dark. A sharp skirmish was there engaged in, but no casualties were reported. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 694.


PITMAN'S FERRY, ARKANSAS, October 27, 1862. Detached Troops. At 6 a. m. on the 25th Colonel William Dewey, of the 23d la. infantry, with part of his own regiment, portions of the 24th and 25th Missouri infantry, 1st Missouri state militia infantry and Stange's battery, left Camp Patterson under instructions to march to Pitman's ferry on the Current river. A few miles out he was joined by part of the 12th Missouri cavalry and about 8:30 a. m. on the 27th, when within a mile of the ferry, learned that the enemy was forming line of battle on the other side of the river. The artillery was sent forward at the gallop, the infantry followed on the double-quick and went into line of battle on each side of the road about 100 yards from the ferry. A few shots from the battery served to start the enemy in retreat, followed by Lieutenant Millar's company of the 25th Missouri, supported by Captain Houston with Company A of the 23d la. These two companies returned about noon with the information that the Confederates had outrun them and could not be overtaken. No casualties were reported. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 694.


PITMAN'S FERRY, ARKANSAS, November 25, 1862. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 694.


PITT RIVER, CALIFORNIA, August 5. 1861. 1st U. S. Dragoons. As an incident of a scout from Fort Crook, California, a detail under Lieutenant John Feilner came upon a party of Indians driving stolen cattle in the Upper Pitt river valley, Feilner at once attacked, 1 Indian was killed and 3 wounded, while the soldiers had but 1 man, Feilner, wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 694.


PITTENGER, William, soldier, born in Knoxville, Jefferson County, Ohio, 31 January, 1840. He studied in the county schools until he had reached the age of sixteen, and enlisted as a private in the 2d Ohio Volunteer Infantry on 17 April, 1861. He served in the battle of Bull Run, and took part in the noted Andrews Railroad raid which began on 7 April, 1862. He escaped execution as a spy, was imprisoned until 18 March, 1863, received the medal of honor, was promoted lieutenant, and returned to the army, in which he served until impaired health forced him to resign in August, 1863. In 1864 he entered the Pittsburg conference of the Methodist Church, and in 1870 was transferred to the New Jersey Conference, in which he now (1888) labors. Since 1878 he has been a professor in the National School of Elocution and Oratory in Philadelphia. He is the author of “Daring and Suffering, a History of the Great Railroad Adventurers” (Philadelphia, 1863; enlarged ed., New York, 1887); “Oratory, Sacred and Secular” (Philadelphia, 1881); and “Extempore Speech” (1882). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. V, p. 34.


PITTSBURG, TENNESSEE, March 1, 1862. U. S. Gunboats Lexington and Tyler and Illinois Sharpshooters. Under cover of the fire from the gunboats some sailors and two companies of the sharpshooters landed near Pittsburg and destroyed a house where a Confederate battery was stationed. The enemy received reinforcements and compelled the Federals to return to the gunboats with a loss of 2 killed, 6 wounded and 3 missing. No Confederate casualties were reported. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 694.


PITTSBURG LANDING, TENNESSEE, March 16, 1862. 5th Ohio Cavalry. A cavalry detachment sent out on a reconnaissance from Pittsburg landing by General William T. Sherman, returned about 1 a. m. of the 17th and reported the Memphis road occupied by the enemy. A skirmish had resulted in driving back the enemy about a mile, taking 2 of them prisoners. Four of the cavalrymen were wounded. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 6, p. 694.


PITTSBURG LANDING, TENNESSEE, April 6-7, 1862. (See Shiloh.)


PIVOT. That officer or soldier upon whom the company wheels. The pivot flank in a column is that which, when wheeled up, preserves the proper front of divisions of the line in their natural order. The opposite flank of the column is called the reverse flank. (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 463).