Buell, The Cannoneer

They used to tell about headquarters an anecdote of Gen. Gregory, who had been a minister of the Gospel, and who used generally to be called, in the slang of the Fifth Corps, "The Fighting Parson." At the Weldon Railroad, or in some of those battles near Globe Tavern or Ream's Station, Gregory had behaved with unusual bravery, involving most reckless expo- [page 321] sure. I think he lost two horses. Griffin, though not by any means a "Christian soldier" himself, was fond of Gregory, and had great faith in him as a brigade leader. So when Griffin heard of this affair he said that Gregory had a great advantage over most of the other officers in that the others had to fear both the Rebels and hell, whereas Gregory was in danger only from the Rebels!

The brigade commanders of Griffin's Division at this time were Joseph J. Bartlett, of New York; Edgar M. Gregory, of Pennsylvania, and Chamberlain, of Maine. Bartlett was the senior Brigadier-General, though his [page 322] brigade was numbered the Third Brigade of the division. Chamberlain was a professor in Bowdoin College, who had come out as Colonel of the 20th Maine, and had been promoted for gallantry at Gettysburg and elsewhere. Gregory had been a Philadelphia preacher, and had made his debut in the army as Colonel of the 91st Pennsylvania, a most gallant regiment, and one that made a record second to no other. These three men were a curious study to me from day to day in the discharge of my messenger or Orderly duties. Bartlett was the beau ideal of a soldier. On horseback, in full uniform, he was the most perfect picture of the ideal officer that I ever saw. Dealing with officers he was sometimes pretty tart, and occasionally a bit emphatic, but always kind, gentle and comrade-like toward the enlisted men. It was a pleasure to a mounted Orderly to be sent with a message to Gen. Bartlett. He would look at his watch, ask what time we left the division or corps commander with the message, and then say: Report that you delivered this to me at such and such an hour and minute, whatever it might be, which we would always note carefully in our little Orderly books. Chamberlain was a cold, unlovable man, very brave and all that, but not dashing either in appearance or manner. He always reminded me of a professor of mathematics we had in college. Still, he was a gallant officer, and had more than once been desperately wounded while leading his troops in the most deadly assaults.

Gregory was a solemn, serious man, but he always spoke to us in kind, gentle tones, and we all liked him. He was a fighter in battle, but in camp he used to have prayer meetings and all that sort of thing, and I am afraid that the wicked boys about division headquarters used to make ribald, and sometimes blasphemous, comments on "Parson Gregory," whom, despite his kindness to us, we used to call with great irreverence the "Bible-banging Brigadier!"

I must say that among the unregenerate boys about Griffin's headquarters, the dashing, handsome and wicked Bartlett was much more ardently admired than the scholarly Chamberlain or the pious Gregory! And I also fear that candor compels me to add that there was not much religion in the moral atmosphere of Griffin's headquarters in front of Petersburg.

When Griffin went away on leave about Christmas, 1864, Bartlett took command of the division. At this time Gregory had a number of recruits in his brigade who had enlisted (for large bounties) out of some theological seminary in Western New York. I think they were in the 189th New York, a new regiment. They had a large hospital tent fitted up as a meeting house, and used to hold prayer meetings there. Bartlett thought they ought to have more brigade drill, even at the expense of less psalm singing. So he took Gregory to task about it one day. Not long after Gregory wanted Bartlett to approve details of a lot of men from his brigade as division train teamsters. Upon investigation Bartlett discovered that these men were the theological student recruits before mentioned, whereupon he refused to approve their details, saying that as these men were all ready for Heaven they would be put to the front; and if any men were to be detailed as teamsters [page 323] they should be the tough, wicked old fighting veterans who were sure to go to hell if they got killed! I do not know how Gen. Gregory took this rebuff, but so long as Bartlett commanded the division all the details for duty in the rear were made from among the "wicked old veterans," and the pious recruits had to remain at the front."