In 1862 the first battalion of the regiment entered on active service in the Mississippi valley. It engaged in the Yazoo expedition under Sherman, who was by that time a major-general of volunteers, and took part later in Grant's operations around Vicksburg. The battalion won for its colors the proud inscription, "First Honor at Vicksburg," and lost 43.3 per cent of its force in the attack on the Confederates. Among the dead was its then commander, who died on the parapet. Sherman's nine-year-old son, Willie, who was with his father at Vicksburg, was playfully christened a "sergeant" of the Thirteenth battalion, and his death of fever in October, 1863, called forth a sorrowful letter from General Sherman to the commander of the Thirteenth. "Please convey to the battalion my heartfelt thanks," he wrote, "and assure each and all that if in after years they call on me or mine, and mention that they were of the Thirteenth regulars when Willie was a sergeant, they will have a key to the affections of my family that will open all it has; that we will share with them our last blanket, our last crust!"
After the war the regiment was transferred to the West. It was employed in Kansas, Montana, Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and elsewhere until 1874, for a large part of the time serving almost continuously against hostile Indians. In 1874 it was moved to New Orleans, and was engaged on duty in the Department of the South for six years. During the labor riots of 1877 all but two companies were on duty at Pittsburg, Scranton, Wilkesbarre and other points in Pennsylvania. Then back to the West it went again, and, with some slight vacations, remained on the frontier until October, 1894, when it was transferred to various posts in New York State.
CHAPTER XL.
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS TERMINATE.
Grave Responsibilities Bravely Met—The Ultimatum to Spain—The
Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Sends Minister Woodford His
Transports—Our Consuls in Cuba Leave the Island—Fate of
Americans Left Behind—Spanish Spies at Work—Playing a Desperate
Game.
None but those who were close to the men at the head of our Government just prior to the commencement of the war with Spain can realize with what solicitude they watched the development of the preliminary proceedings.
With full appreciation of their grave responsibilities, knowing the power inherent in their positions to effect results, and yet cognizant as the days went by of their inability to prevent the fulfillment of fate, they endeavored to guide events so far as they could in a course which will hold them and the people blameless in the sight of the world for whatever might follow. That they withstood the strain so well bears testimony to their mental poise and strength of character.
The President's demeanor underwent a noticeable change. The affable, cheery mood which formerly characterized him, gave way to a sternness of manner which befits a humane but just judge called upon to execute a righteous sentence. A curious illustration of Mr. McKinley's temperament was shown in the difference in his bearing after the passage of the resolutions which made war inevitable. So long as there was the slightest chance for peace the pressure of uncertainty bore heavily upon him, and his face assumed a wan and haggard look. That look did not entirely disappear, but it was no longer marked by anxiety. From the moment the decision was reached which imposed upon him the leadership of a nation at war, he seemed to have experienced a sense of relief, for he saw his pathway straight before him, no matter how rough it might be.
Immediately after signing the resolutions declaring for intervention by our Government, the President sent an ultimatum to Spain, quoting the act of Congress, and notifying her that her army and navy must be withdrawn from Cuba by noon of April 23.
The Spanish Minister, Polo y Bernabe, at once applied for his passports, and left the country. The Spanish Government, without waiting for Minister Woodford to deliver the ultimatum of the United States Government, sent him his transports, thus taking the initiative and practically declaring war against this government. The official notification to General Woodford, from the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, was as follows: