In and Out of Rebel Prisons Part 18

The author of this volume, Alonzo Cooper, was born in the town of Victory, Cayuga Co., N. Y., April 30th, 1830. His father John Cooper, who was born August 15th, A. D. 1794, enlisted from Scoharie County in the war of 1812-13-14, and during his term of service, was for a time employed on the construction of the famous 110 Gun, line of battle s.h.i.+p "NEW ORLEANS" at Sackets Harbor, which was built and all ready for caulking in six weeks from the time the first tree was felled. Abraham Cooper, an older brother of John, was also in the service during the war of 1812, serving as Captain in a Militia company.

The mother of the author, Amanda Cochran, was a daughter of John Cochran, a Revolutionary soldier. John Cochran was an Irishman by birth and as such was claimed as a British subject, and was arrested by the "press gang" as they were then called, and taken on board an English man-of-war to be impressed into the service of Great Britain.

The vessel was anch.o.r.ed about one and a half miles from sh.o.r.e, the better to prevent the escape of the impressed seamen; but, notwithstanding the strict surveillance under which they were placed, John Cochrane and a comrade one dark night, tied their clothing into a bundle, which they fastened on their heads and dropped into the water from the fore chains of the vessel where they were stationed, and swam to the sh.o.r.e and made good their escape. The story as frequently told me by my mother, is a long one and filled with thrilling incidents, as was also the military life of my father, John Cooper. My father died October 23d, 1831, when I was only eighteen months old, leaving my mother with a family of nine children, one of whom was a babe only a few weeks old. Her only income was the products of a farm of 25 acres, and the trifling wages as a carpenter's apprentice of my eldest brother, Lorenzo.

In the spring of 1836, my mother having sold her farm in Victory and bought fifty acres in Sterling, we moved into a new log house that my brother had built during the winter and early spring, and around which he had made a clearing of sufficient dimensions to avert the danger of the house being crushed by falling trees. This clearing was extended during the summer to ten or fifteen acres by cutting off the timber, and afforded us youngsters plenty of work, piling brush and burning them, and the log heaps which a bee of neighbors had constructed. The house had not been chincked, and the floor was made of split ba.s.swood slabs, hewn smooth and nicely fitted together, which if not as elegant as the more modern floors, at least possessed the elements of strength and durability. A large Dutch fire place, and a wide chimney built of sticks and mud, took up nearly half of the north side of the house, while at the right of the fire place was constructed a rude pair of stairs leading to the upper rooms. The lower part of the house consisted of this one room, about 16x18, which served as parlor, dining room and kitchen, and a bedroom and recess occupied the south side.

The upper rooms were two in number and were supplied with rough board floors, and with a window in each room. A cellar was dug under the front room for the storage of apples and vegetables during the winter, and was entered by a trap door near the center of the floor.

The district school was about half a mile north and was kept in what was called the VanPetten school house. Here it was that the author first attended school, which was taught that summer by Miss Rachel Lester--now Mrs. McFadden. For seven seasons I attended school there under the instruction of different teachers, among whom were, Miss Sarah J. McCrea, now Mrs. George Turner, Mr. Emerson Crane, Mr. Mathew B. VanPetten, Obediah Cooper, Dennis Cooper, John B. VanPetten, and others. Up to the time of my mother's death, which occurred January 17, 1845, just before I was fifteen years old, I had attended school summer and winter, with the exception of part of the last two summers, when I was obliged to stay at home to a.s.sist in the farm work, and being easy to learn, had acquired a fair education in the primary branches for a boy of my age--14 years.

At the death of my mother the only legacy I inherited was a robust const.i.tution, a cheerful and happy disposition, and the faculty of always looking upon the bright side of life. These characteristics were clearly inherited from my mother, to whom obstacles that would have seemed insurmountable to most women seemed only an incentive to more determined efforts.

To her household duties were added the work of the loom and the spinning wheel, and up to the time of her death there were very few clothes worn by the family that she did not weave and afterwards make up into garments.

The linen trowsers and s.h.i.+rts that were bleached to snowy whiteness for our summer wear, and the full suits of comfortable sheeps-gray for winter, were alike the production of her own toil. The dresses worn by the girls, especially those for Sunday wear, were also the production of her loom, and were dyed and pressed by herself. Besides all this, all the time that could be spared from the duties of her own household was employed in weaving for others.

Both she and my father were members of the old Reformed Dutch Church at Cato--now Meridian--that was at that time under the pastorage of the good old dominie Houghman, and her well worn Bible bore testimony to her faithfulness in her Christian duties. She was faithful in instilling into the hearts of her children the religion she practiced, but rather appealed to their sense of duty than to the fear of punishment.

After the death of my mother I followed the pursuit of a farmer, attending the district school during the winter, until I was 19 years of age, when I entered the employ of Mr. Charles Burnett, of Skaneateles, N. Y., in his dry goods and grocery store. I remained with Mr. Burnett one year and then, as he retired from business, I came to Oswego and entered the drug store of the late James Bickford, jr.

Not liking the drug business, I at the end of the first year entered into the employment of the late Worden Newkirk, as a dry goods clerk, with whom I remained three years, and was afterwards for a short time in the large dry goods house of Downs & VanWick, of Chicago.

Thrown out of employment in Chicago by the panic of 1856, and being fond of adventure, when the great "Lager Beer Riot," as it was called, broke out in that city in the spring of that year, I went to the city hall in response to a call for three hundred special police and was sworn in as a special to serve during the riot. The riot lasted three days and was a lively skirmish.

We took three hundred prisoners in the first three hours and there were a number killed and wounded.

The rioters marched across Clark street bridge in good order, armed with shot guns, pistols, hatchets and clubs, and were met by the police at the corner of Clark and Lake streets, where the first conflict took place.

Almost the first shot fired by the rioters wounded the man next to me in the arm near the shoulder, and he fell as though he had been knocked down by a powerful blow. I was too closely engaged to pay any attention to him and for a time it was pretty lively work for all of us.

I commenced business for myself in the spring or summer of 1857, by starting a fruit, confectionery and oyster store on West First street, about where the middle of the Lake Sh.o.r.e Hotel now is. I moved around on Utica street while the "Revenue Block" (now the Lake Sh.o.r.e block) was under process of construction, and upon its completion, took the store in the north end of that block, which I kept until after the war of the Rebellion broke out. Having served six years in the Old Oswego Guards, and become somewhat proficient in the drill, I was anxious to join one of the regiments then being raised. But the store could not be disposed of, and needed, at that time, my individual attention. Finally, without disposing of my store, I enlisted in the 12th N. Y. Cavalry, which was then being recruited in Oswego, by Major Ward Gasper; who intended at first to raise two companies of Cavalry for the "Harris Light," but subsequently went on and made the two companies, then raised a nucleus, from which the 12th was finally formed.

The two companies were taken to Albany, where we were again examined by a surgeon as to our fitness to perform military duty, and from there went to Staten Island.

Authorization papers having been procured for me I was sent on recruiting service, and was subsequently mustered as 1st Lieutenant of company "I"

Sept. 1st 1862.

We remained on Staten Island all winter perfecting ourselves in the Cavalry tactics and drill; but before spring the men had become so dissatisfied with the inactivity on the Island, that by desertions, our eight companies were reduced to four, and by order of General John E.

Wool, the eight companies were consolidated into four, thus rendering four Captains and eight Lieutenants supernumerary, who were ordered mustered out of the service as such. I was among the number so mustered out, but went to work immediately recruiting more men and was in due time again mustered in, this time as 2nd Lieutenant of Company "I." With this Company I joined the regiment at Camp Palmer near Newbern, N. C.

I was soon sent to Plymouth, N. C., on detached service, under General W.

H. Wessels.

On January 25th, 1864, I was promoted to 1st Lieutenant of Co. "F," but was not able to get to the mustering office, and was therefore not mustered as such until after my return from prison in 1865, and consequently could not be promoted to a Captain, as I otherwise should have been, when a vacancy occurred.

During my service I never lost a day's duty, except once, when I was disabled by having two of my ribs broken, and my back severely injured, and never applied for leave of absence, except as a paroled prisoner, as before stated.

The detachment to which I was a.s.signed were never defeated in any of the numerous skirmishes while at Plymouth, until the battle of Plymouth, which lasted four days and in which the enemy acknowledged a loss nearly equal to the whole number engaged on our side, and in which battle the enemies force amounted to 8000 and the Ram Albemarle, and ours less than 2000.

LIST OF OFFICERS CONFINED IN MACON, GA.

The following is a list of officers who were confined as prisoners of war at Macon, Ga., in 1864. I do not claim the list to be complete, but as nearly so as I can make it at this time:

BRIGADIER-GENERALS.

Wessels, Shaler, Seymour, Scammon, Hickman.

COLONELS.

Grove, Harrison, LaGrange, White, Brown, F. A. Bartleson, 100 Ill.

C. H. Carlton, 89 O.

P. D. Cesnola, 4 N. Y. C.

Wm. G. Ely, 18 Conn.

W. P. Kindrick, 3 W. T. C.

Hawkins, Lehman, Lee, Bollinger, Dana, R. W. McClain, 51 O.

W. H. Powell, 2 Va. C.

Tho. E. Rose, 77 Pa.

A. D. Streight, 51 Ind.

Chas. W. Tilden, 16 Me.

O. A. Lawson, 3 O.

H. LeFavour, 22 Mich.

J. H. Ashworth, 1 Ga. U. V.

T. H. Butler, 5 Ind. C.

S. J. Crooks, 22 N. Y. C.

J. Frasier, 140 Pa.

C. W. Fardella, 85 N. Y.

A. H. Tippin, 58 Pa.

W. T. Wilson, 123 O.

Pennock, Huey, 6 Pa. C.

F. C. Miller, 147 N. Y.

W. Shedd, 13 Ill.

Daniel White, 31 Me.

LIEUT. COLONELS.

Burnham, Bartholomew, d.i.c.kinson, Fairbanks, Higginbotham, Maxwell, Alcott, Rogers, Stewart, S. M. Archer, 17 Ia.

I. F. Boyd, 20 A. C.

T. F. Cavada, 114 Pa.

C. Farnsworth, 1 Conn.

W. A. Glenn, 86 O.

H. P. Hunter, 123 O.

A. P. Henry, 15 Ky. C.