to have an oil portrait of Governor Tod hung in the Executive Chamber. He had not forgotten how his predecessor made him second lieutenant of Company D, in his regiment, the commission dating September 23, 1862.

We have still another account of McKinley's action on that day of stress and strife, written by General J. L. Botsford, quartermaster of his regiment. The General states:

ANOTHER ACCOUNT OF THE SAME INCIDENT

"At the battle of Antietam McKinley was the commissary sergeant of the Twenty-third Regiment, O. V. I., and his duty was, of course, with the commissary supplies, which were at least two miles from the battle-field proper.

"As you no doubt are aware, in all battles, whether large or small, there are numerous stragglers who easily find their way back to where the commissary supplies are. This was the case at Antietam, and McKinley conceived and put into execution the idea of using some of these stragglers to make coffee and carry it to the boys in front. It was nearly dark when we heard tremendous cheering from the left of our regiment. As we had been having heavy fighting right up to this time, our division commander, General Scammon, sent me to find out the cause, which I very soon found to be cheers for McKinley and his hot coffee. You can readily imagine the rousing welcome he received from both officers and men.

"When you consider the fact of his leaving his post of security and driving into the middle of a bloody battle with a team of mules, it needs no words of mine to show the character and determination of McKinley, a boy of, at this time, not twenty years of age. McKinley loaded up two wagons with supplies, but the mules of one wagon were disabled. He was ordered back time and again, but he pushed right on."

After the battle of Antietam the Twenty-third Ohio returned to its former work of Confederate hunting in the mountains of

West Virginia. After many marches they were ordered to Clarksburg in the middle of October. Several changes were here made in the command. Colonel Scammon was appointed brigadier-general; Lieutenant-Colonel Hayes was made colonel, and Comly became lieutenant-colonel. On November 18th the regiment went into winter quarters at the Falls of the Great Kanawha, having during the campaigns of 1862 marched over 600 miles.

The coming winter brought lighter duty, and the regiment did not resume its activity until March 16, 1863, when it was ordered to Charleston. There it lay in camp until July without seeing much field service. Next it was hurried to the Ohio River to help capture Morgan's raiders, whose escapades in the Buckeye State had given rise to much excitement.

Reaching Buffington Bar, on the Ohio River, they succeeded in heading off Morgan's band and picked up a number of his men. They remained in camp at Charleston, W. Va., during the rest of 1863, and up to the preparations made by Grant in the Spring of '64 for the final crushing of the Confederacy.

During this interval McKinley gained a second promotion, being made first lieutenant of Company E, in February, 1863, and serving with that rank during that year. After Hayes was made colonel and placed in command of the first brigade of the Kanawha division, he took the young officer on his staff as brigade quartermaster. He had been very friendly to him from an early period of his service.

CHAPTER V

In the Shenandoah Valley

N the year 1864, the military affairs of the Union, the conduct of which had been in many respects unsatisfactory, were entrusted to a new hand and took on a new form. General Grant, whose remarkable success in the West had made him famous, was appointed to the command of all the armies of the Union, and laid his plans for a systematic advance from all quarters. The Army of the Potomac, which he joined in person, was to cross the Rapidan River, on the overland route from Washington to Richmond. Sherman received orders to set out simultaneously from Chattanooga, and various contemporary movements were planned. Among the latter was a movement against Lynchburg, Virginia, entrusted to General David Hunter. The Kanawha division, under General Crook, of which the Twenty-third Ohio formed a part, was ordered to join Hunter; but, before doing so, General Crook made a movement of his own against the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad. The column took to the road on April 29, 1864, and, after ten days of hard marching, with an occasional skirmish, Crook's command found itself in front of the enemy at Cloyd's Mountain.

Whitelaw Reid's history of the Ohio volunteers, from which we have already quoted, furnishes the following account of the sharp encounter that took place:

"In this engagement the Twenty-third was on the right of the first brigade. About noon they were ordered to charge the enemy, who occupied the first crest of the mountain with artillery and infantry, behind rudely constructed breast works. The hill itself was thickly wooded, steep and difficult of ascent, and was skirted

by a stream of water from two to three feet deep. The approach was through a beautiful meadow five or six hundred yards in width. At the word of command the regiment advanced at double-quick across the meadow, under a very heavy fire of musketry and artillery, to the foot of the mountain across the stream. The regiment advanced steadily to this point without returning the fire of the enemy, and after a short pause a furious assault was made upon the enemy's works, carrying them and capturing two pieces of artillery, which were brought off the field by Lieutenant Austin. The enemy fell back to the second crest or ridge of the mountain, where a determined attempt was made to form a line, but after a short struggle he was driven from there in full retreat. Reinforcements arriving on the field, a third attempt was made to make a stand, but unsuccessfully. The struggle at the guns was of the fiercest description. The rebel artillerymen attempted to reload ther pieces when our line was not more than ten paces distant. Private Kosht, Company G, a recruit, eighteen years of age, was the first to reach the guns. With a boyish shout he sprang from the ranks and hung his hat over the muzzle of one of the

MCKINLEY IN THE RETREAT AT LYNCHBURG

guns.'

This affair was followed by several brisk skirmishes and further hard marching, and on June 8th, the column returning, the Twentythird Ohio joined Hunter at Stanton. On the 11th of that month the three years' service of this regiment expired, but its patriotic members had not yet had enough of war, and most of the men re-enlisted. Hunter's Lynchburg expedition, of which the regiment formed a part, proved a failure. On reaching the vicinity of Lynchburg he found his command heavily outnumbered, and threatened with a serious repulse. The only thing to be done was to retreat with as little loss as possible. The direct route down the valley, however, was not available, and Hunter's only safe way out of his difficulty was to march westward, making his way back to the valley by a long detour along the Kanawha River and up

the Ohio.

Crook's command took the lead in this difficult movement through a mountainous country. During the long retreat Lieutenant McKinley acted as a staff officer, and took part in all the perilous duties of the march. In truth, Hunter's command had no small difficulty in extricating itself from the situation. This is shown by the diary of an officer which is quoted in Mr. Reed's work.

"June 19.-Marched all day, dragging along very slowly. The men had nothing to eat, the trains being sent in advance. It is almost incredible that men should have been able to endure so much, but they never faltered and not a murmur escaped them. Often men would drop out silently, exhausted, but not a word of complaint was spoken. Shortly after dark, at Liberty, had a brisk little fight with the enemy's advance; reached Buford's Gap about IO A. M. of the 20th. General Crook remained here with Hayes' brigade, holding the Gap until dark, inviting an attack. The army was, however, too cautious to do much skirmishing. After dark we withdrew and marched all night to overtake the command in advance. Reached Salem about 9 A. M. Hunter had passed through Salem, and a body of the enemy's cavalry fell upon his train and captured the greater part of his artillery.

INTENSE TOIL AND SUFFERING

"About the same time Crook was attacked in front and rear, and after a sharp fight pushed through, losing nothing. Heavy skirmishing all day, and nothing to eat and no sleep. Continued the march until about 10 P. M., when we reached the foot of North Mountain and slept. At 4 A. M. next morning (22d) left in the advance, the first time since the retreat commenced. By a mistake a march of eight miles was made for nothing. Thus we toiled on, suffering intensely with exhaustion, want of food, clothing, etc. Men all crazy. Stopped and ate; marched and ate; camped about dark and ate all night. Marched 180 miles in the last nine days, fighting nearly all the time, and with very little to eat."