Judson and Company Move Out

Judson Cheney
Born: May 11, 1838, Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: September 29, 1864, Chaffin Farm, Virginia
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

When we last left our hero, he was arriving in Washington, DC. Since then, he has been drilling twice a day, six days a week, with inspections on Sunday, under General Casey.  They, "spent much time loading and firing blank cartridges," and also had target practice. Here is more from Kreutzer:

While at Washington, we had a review and several brigade drills at the old Georgetown racecourse. Distinguished, wealthy, patriotic citizens, ladies, and gentlemen, visited us every pleasant day. They watched our [maneuvers], rode through our camps, and sought our acquaintance. Off duty, we in turn, strolled through the city, the department buildings, the capitol, and attended the president's levees. One day we looked in upon the senators, representatives, the Supreme Court...

One thing to keep in mind though is that this book is written by one of the officers. It is unclear if the enlisted men - including Judson - were able (or chose) to do all of those things.

On the 28th of March, at 2:00pm, Judson and the 98th Regiment were ordered to move out. They were now one of 14 regiments in Casey's division (in the third brigade), consisting of 12,000 men. They marched through Washington and then headed south to Alexandria. Kreutzer tells us that there were large crowds gathered to watch them march and a dozen regimental and brigade bands playing martial music.

They reached Alexandria after 11:00pm - roughly a 10 mile hike - and tried to sleep with only blankets wrapped around them. However, a cold wind prevented much sleep. There they stayed for a few days until a boat could take them down the Potomac. They camped a 1/2 mile into the woods without even tents to cover them. Instead, "We buttoned our rubber blankets together, and stretched them on frames or sticks cut with our knives and hatchets. A cold storm of rain and snow set in, and continued for several days. The snow on the morning of [March 30th] was four inches deep, and at nine o'clock our camps were one expanse of mud and water."

So on this day 150 years ago, Judson is camped near Alexandria in mud, snow and water, with no tent. He has left the drills in Washington, DC and is marching with the Army of the Potomac, under General McClellan. Judson is now headed to war.