Page 462. Kady Brownell. On April 25, 1861, the New York "Herald," in referring to the passage of the second detachment of Rhode Island troops through New York city, said: "The volunteers bring along with them two very prepossessing young women, named Martha Francis and Katey Brownell, both of Providence, who propose to act as 'daughters of the regiment,' after the French plan."
Page 467. The Cruise of the Monitor. The contract for the construction of the Monitor was given to John Ericsson, of New York, on October 4, 1861. It was to be an iron-plated raft, 172 feet over all, 41½ feet beam, and 11⅛ feet depth of hold, carrying a revolving iron turret containing two 11-inch Dahlgren guns. The ironclad was launched January 30, 1862, an extraordinary feat in naval construction, and was handed over to the government February 19, its cost being $275,000. At eleven o'clock on the morning of March 6, the queer craft started for Hampton Roads, to meet the Merrimac, word of whose completion had reached the United States government. That the vessel did not founder on the voyage was little less than a miracle, but at nine o'clock on the evening of March 8, the Monitor reached Fort Monroe, her progress up the bay being lighted by the burning frigate Congress.
Page 468. Bold Worden. The Monitor was commanded by Lieutenant John Lorimer Worden, while the Merrimac was in charge of Lieutenant Catesby Jones, his superior. Captain Franklin Buchanan, having been wounded by a rifle bullet the day before. Worden was injured during the action by a shell exploding against the sight-hole of the pilot house, and was succeeded by Lieutenant Samuel Dana Greene.
Page 468. The River Fight. The fleet which Farragut took upon this desperate venture consisted of nine gunboats and eight sloops of war. The defences of New Orleans were of the most formidable kind, the river being guarded by Forts Jackson and St. Philip, mounting 116 guns, and by a strong fleet of gunboats and ironclads, under command of Commodore J. K. Mitchell. The river was also barred by a great raft thrown across it under the guns of the forts, and a large number of long flatboats, filled with pine knots, were held in readiness by the Confederates to be fired and sent down the swift current into the midst of the Union fleet. In spite of all this, after the terrific fight was over, it was found that the Union loss was only thirty-seven killed and one hundred and forty-seven wounded. The Confederate loss was never accurately determined.
Admiral Farragut was so impressed with Brownell's poem that he sought out the author and a warm friendship followed. When Mobile was captured, Brownell was a guest of the Admiral on board his flagship, the Hartford, and the result was another spirited poem, "The Bay Fight," which appears elsewhere in this collection.
Page 471. Our fair Church pennant waves. The church pennant is made of white bunting on which is sewn a cross of blue.
Page 478. Beside me gloomed the prison-cell. The reference is to Dr. Reuben Crandall, of Washington, who, in 1834, was arrested and confined in the old city prison until his health was destroyed, his offence having been in lending to a brother physician a copy of Whittier's pamphlet, "Justice and Expediency."
Page 483. Stonewall Jackson's Way. "These verses," according to William Gilmore Simms, "were found, stained with blood, in the breast of a dead soldier of the old Stonewall Brigade, after one of Jackson's battles in the Shenandoah Valley." Though widely copied, their authorship remained unknown for nearly a quarter of a century.
Page 493. John Burns. John Burns was seventy years of age in 1863. He had been among the first to volunteer for the War of 1812, and was present at the battles of Plattsburg, Queenstown, and Lundy's Lane. He served through the war with Mexico, and volunteered promptly for the Civil War, was rejected because of his age, served for a time as a teamster, but was finally sent home to Gettysburg, where his townsmen made him constable to keep him busy and contented. When, in June, 1863, the Confederates occupied the town, Burns had to be locked up for asserting his civil authority in opposition to that of the Confederate provost guard. As soon as the Confederates left the town, Burns busied himself arresting Confederate stragglers. When the preliminary skirmishing at Gettysburg began, Burns borrowed a rifle and ammunition from a wounded Union soldier, went to the front, and offered his services as volunteer. The colonel of the Seventh Wisconsin loaned him a long-range rifle, which he used with deadly effect all day, but he was badly wounded when the Union troops were forced back, was captured by the Confederates, and narrowly escaped being hanged as an un-uniformed combatant. He lived in his little home on the battlefield until 1872, and was visited by thousands and thousands of pilgrims to the scene of the great struggle.
Page 500. The Battle-Cry of Freedom. The popularity of the songs sung by the armies of both North and South seems to have been in direct ratio to their maudlin sentimentality. Most popular of all was the song known as "When this Cruel War is Over." It was heard in every camp, north and south, many times a day, the Southern soldiers inserting "gray" for "blue" in the sixth line of the first stanza with a cheerful disregard of the rhyme. It was sung in public gatherings, in the home—in fact, it is doubtful if any other song was ever upon so many American tongues. This wide appeal gives it, in a way, a historic interest, which warrants its inclusion here.