Two Jessie Scouts Ride 145 Miles in Two Days to Deliver Sheridan’s Message to Grant at City Point One Was From 1st West Virginia Cavalry

We are quartered with Gen. Grant’s scouts. They think it is the biggest and boldest scout trip of the war.

Arch Rowand

Young Arch Rowand may have been in a cavalry company commanded by “Uncle Wes,” Captain Weston Rowand, who Arch’s mother might have expected to protect his nephew, but the young cavalryman had soon volunteered for “special duty” while wearing a Confederate uniform. In many ways, he was an ideal volunteer to operate while posing as a southerner. He was born in Philadelphia on March 6, 1845, but his Quaker father accepted a position as a bookbinder in Greenville, South Carolina, when his son was 2 years old and they remained there for five years before relocating to Pittsburgh . As a result, Arch was familiar with southern accents and was able to discuss southern topics. This allowed him to use a nearly unbreakable cover for status that he used up to the very end of the war when he was captured temporarily before escaping at Appomattox by one of John B. Gordon’s scouts while Rowand was wearing the uniform of a South Carolina cadet, a perfect cover for the 20-year old Quaker cavalryman.

The letter from Grant’s headquarters at City Point provided context for the distant and probably very worried mother:

“My Dear Mother,

“I suppose you will be surprised to receive a letter from me from this place.

“I arrived here yesterday afternoon from Gen. Sheridan’s raiding forces with dispatches for Gen. Grant. There were two of us. We left Gen. Sheridan at Colombia on the James River Canal, one hundred miles west of Richmond. At the time we left he had destroyed the Virginia Central Railroad between Charlottesville and Staunton; blew up both bridges of the Riviana River near Charlottesville. It will be impossible for the Rebels to rebuild their bridges during the war. We were forced to stay in Charlottesville two days on account of heavy rain. Leaving there, we struck out for Lynchburg, destroying the railroad as we went; burned the large bridge over the Tye River, eighteen miles from Lynchburg. By this time the Rebels had collected a large force of infantry and cavalry at Lynchburg. When Gen. Sheridan got all of the Rebels at Lynchburg he turned around and came north, destroying the canal beyond repair during the war. He burned and blew up every lock, culvert, and aqueduct to Colombia — a distance of forty miles”.

Horace Porter, Grant’s Aide-de-Camp, explained the anxiety felt in Grant’s headquarters over Sheridan’s location and activity. Loose on a massive raid across Virginia and having no contact with his base of operations, Sheridan had been ordered to capture Lynchburg and then to continue southward to unite with Sherman. The cavalry commander, however, had discretion in his orders that allowed him to change plans with no input from Grant’s distant headquarters. 

From Porter:

“Sheridan had started out from Winchester on the 27th of February with nearly 10,000 cavalry. On March 5 news was received that he had struck Early’s forces between Staunton and Charlottesville, and crushed his entire command, compelling Early and other officers to take refuge in houses and in the woods. For some time thereafter only contradictory reports were heard from Sheridan, through the Richmond papers which came into our hands; and as he was in the heart of the enemy’s country, and direct communication was cut off, it was difficult to ascertain the facts. General Grant felt no apprehension as to the result of Sheridan’s movements, but was anxious to get definite reports.” 

Rowand continued the letter to his mother in Pittsburgh:

“We left at one o’clock Saturday morning and came into our pickets near Harrison’s Landing on Sunday morning at eleven o’clock. Came from there here in a special boat under charge of Gen. Sharpe of Gen. Grant’s staff. On arrival at Headquarters, after delivering our dispatches, the Acting Adjutant-General took us around and introduced us to Mrs. Grant and several other ladies whose names I have forgotten. They had expressed a wish to see the two men that came through the Rebel lines in open day. General Grant was well pleased with our success in getting through. The staff was surprised at our getting through at all. They quite lionized us last night. Several of them invited us to drink with them last night. We took supper with them. Then the Sanitary Commission took charge of us. We had a nice bath, good underclothes given us, and a bed that felt better than all, considering we had no sleep for forty-eight hours. We rode one hundred and forty-five miles in thirty-six hours, and walked ten miles, and came north of Richmond. Of course we came a roundabout way, or rather a zigzag way.

“Several times we were within ten miles of Richmond and talked to some fifty Rebels; gained valuable information. We had quite a confab with four of Gen. Lee’s scouts; passed ourselves off for Gen. Rosser’s scouts. Being dressed in gray, they never suspected until we were within two miles of the Long Bridges, where suspicion was raised, and we were forced to leave our horses at the Bridges and paddle across in a small boat to the south side. When we came to the river there was a small boat floating down the river. I swam with my horse to the boat, got off my horse into the boat, and went back for my partner. We left our horses and made quick time across these swamps. We got into the woods before the Rebels got to the river. They, of course, got our horses — the two best in the Sixth Cavalry. The fleetness of our horses alone saved us, as we had time to get across the river before the Rebels got to the bank. Although we could see them coming down the road, they did not follow us further than the bank of the river, as there is no boat, and they could not swim their horses across. Then we got from there to our pickets, most of the time being in the woods; the compass father gave me has done me great service, as I have a military map of Virginia. With both, it is not difficult to go the nearest way to any point. When I swam my horse I got my clothes wet and boots full of water. When I got to our pickets I was perfectly dry, but was so crippled in my feet I could scarce walk. I am all right today.

“We are quartered with Gen. Grant’s scouts. They think it is the biggest and boldest scout trip of the war.

“We will start back in a couple of days. We are to be sent to the White House on the York River gunboat, and with good fast horses start for our command again.

“Love to all, hoping that these few lines will find you in good health, I remain,

“Your Affectionate Son,

“Archie H. Rowand” 

Grant’s Aide-de-Camp, Horace Porter, described the two scout’s arrival at Grant’s headquarters:

“On Sunday evening, March 12, the members of the mess sat down to dinner about dark. Mrs. Grant and Mrs. Rawlins, who was also visiting headquarters, were at the table. Toward the end of the meal the conversation turned upon Sheridan, and all present expressed the hope that we might soon hear something from him in regard to the progress of his movements. Just then a colored waiter stepped rapidly into the mess-room, and said to the general: “Thah ‘s a man outside dat say he want to see you right away, and he don’t ‘pear to want to see nobody else.”

“What kind of looking man is he?” asked the general.”

“Why,” said the servant, “ he’s de mos’ drefful-lookin’ bein’ I ebber laid eyes on; he ‘pears to me like he was a’ outcast.”

“With the general’s consent, I left the table and went to see who the person was. I found a man outside who was about to sink to the ground from exhaustion, and who had scarcely strength enough to reply to my questions. He had on a pair of soldier’s trousers three or four inches too short, and a blouse three sizes too large; he was without a hat, and his appearance was grotesque in the extreme. With him was another man in about the same condition. After giving them some whisky they gathered strength enough to state that they were scouts sent by Sheridan from Columbia on the James River, had passed through the enemy’s lines, bringing with them a long and important despatch from their commander, had ridden hard for two days, and had had a particularly rough experience in getting through to our lines.

“Their names were J. A. Campbell and A. H. Rowand, Jr. As Campbell had the despatch in his possession, I told him to step into the mess-room with me, and hand it to the general in person, so as to comply literally with his instructions, knowing the general’s anxiety to have the news at once. The message was written on tissue paper and inclosed in a ball of tin foil, which the scout had carried in his mouth. The general glanced over it, and then read it aloud to the party at the dinner table. It consisted of about three pages, and gave a vivid account of Sheridan’s successful march, and the irreparable damage he had inflicted upon the enemy’s communications, saying that he had captured twenty-eight pieces of artillery, destroyed many mills and factories, the James River Canal for a distance of fifteen miles, and the bridges on the Rivanna Biver, and stating that he was going to destroy the canal still further the next day, and then move on the Central and the Fredericksburg railroads, tear them up, and afterward march to White House, where he would like to have forage and rations sent him; and notifying the general that his purpose, unless otherwise ordered, was then to join the Army of the Potomac. The general proceeded to interrogate Campbell, but the ladies, who had now become intensely interested in the scout, also began to ply him with questions, which were directed at him so thick and fast that he soon found himself in the situation of the outstretched human figure in the almanac, fired at with arrows from every sign of the zodiac. The general soon rose from his seat, and said good naturedly: “ Well, I will never get the information I want from this scout as long as you ladies have him under cross-examination, and I think I had better take him over to my quarters, and see if I cannot have him to myself for a little while.”

“By this time the dinner-party was pretty well broken up, and by direction of the general several members of the staff accompanied him and the scouts to the general’s quarters. It was learned from them that Sheridan, deeming it very important to get a despatch through to headquarters, selected two parties, consisting each of two scouts. To each party was given a copy of the despatch, and each was left to select its own route, Campbell and Rowand started on horseback from Columbia on the evening of the 10th, following the roads on the north side of Richmond. They were twice overhauled by parties of the enemy, but they represented themselves as belonging to Imboden’s cavalry, and being in Confederate uniforms and skilled in the Southern dialect, they escaped without detection. When they approached the Chickahominy they were met by two men and a boy, with whom they fell into conversation, and were told by them that they had better not cross the river, as there were Yankee troops on the other side. Before the scouts were out of earshot they heard one of the men say to the other, “ I believe those fellows are d — d Yankees,’’ and soon they found that the alarm had been given, and the Confederate cavalry were pursuing them.

“They rode forward to the Chickahominy as rapidly as they could proceed in the jaded condition of their horses, and when they reached the stream they took off everything except their undershirts, tied their clothes on the pommels of their saddles, and swam their horses across the river. Campbell had taken the roll of tin-foil which contained the despatch from the lining of his boot, and put it in his mouth. On the other side of the stream they found a steep, muddy bank and a row of piles. As the horses could not struggle out, the men abandoned them, and got into a canoe which providentially happened to be floating past, and by this means got ashore. The Confederates by this time had opened fire on them from the opposite bank.

“The scouts made their way on foot for eleven miles, in their almost naked condition, to Harrison’s Landing on the James River, where they met a detachment of our troops. The soldiers supplied them with trousers and blouses such as they could spare, and took them by boat to City Point. They had ridden one hundred and forty-five miles without sleep and with but little food. The second pair of scouts sent by Sheridan made their way by canal and on foot to the south of Richmond. After six unsuccessful attempts to get across the lines, one of them reached headquarters several days later.

“The scouts were given a meal of the best food of which the headquarters mess could boast, and put into a comfortable hut, where they lost no time in making up for lost sleep. The next day General Grant made all preparation for sending supplies and troops to meet Sheridan at White House. The general complimented the scouts warmly upon their success, directed that they be supplied with two good horses and an outfit of clothing, and sent them around to White House on a steamer to await Sheridan there; but on their arrival they could not restrain their spirit of adventure, and rode out through the enemy’s country in the direction of the South Anna River until they met their commander.

“Campbell was only nineteen years of age. Sheridan always addressed him as “Boy,” and the history of his many hairbreadth escapes that year would fill a volume. Campbell has always remained a scout and is still in the employ of the government in that capacity at Fort Custer; Rowand is now a prominent lawyer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.”

Sheridan didn’t forget Arch Rowand’s service and recommended him for the Medal of Honor:

Headquarters Military Division of the Missouri

Chicago, Illinois, February 26th, 1873.

To the Adjutant General of the Army,

Washington, D.C.

Sir:

I respectfully recommend that a medal of honor be given Private Arch H. Rowand, Jr., 1st West Virginia Cavalry, for gallant and meritorious service as a scout in the Army of the Shenandoah during the late war.

During the James River raid in the winter of 1864-’65, Private Rowand was one of two men who went through from New Market, Va., to General Grant, who was then encamped at City Point.

He also gave information as to the whereabouts of the rebel scout, Harry Gilmore, and assisted in his capture, besides making several other daring scouts through the enemy’s lines.”

His address is So. 13 224 Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania.

I am, Sir.

Very respectfully,

Your Obedient servant,

(Sd) P.H. Sheridan

Lieut. General, U.S.A.

Arch later corrected the error that left Jim Campbell without a similar award:

May 4, 1897

Gen. Russell A. Alger,

Secretary of War

Washington, D.C.

Dear Sir:-

On Sunday morning, I met my old companion scout James A. Campbell, who is now on his way to Ft. Custer. Campbell informed me that Gen. Horace Porter had written a letter to you recommending a medal of honor for Campbell. I was surprised when I met Campbell three years ago to learn that he never received his medal. I told him there was a mistake someplace, as I am satisfied Gen. Sheridan intended him to have one. I enclose a copy of the letter that I sent to Gen. Porter. Gen. Sheridan in his memoirs pages 119, 120, 121 speaks of the services rendered by Campbell and myself in taking the dispatch from Sheridan to Grant, requesting that forage and rations be sent to White House, on Pamunkey River, to his command. Gen. Grant also spoke of the valuable services of the scouts who brought the dispatch, Sheridan’s Memoirs page 127. So you will note that it is a matter of record so far as Sheridan and Grant’s Memoirs are concerned that entitles Campbell to this honor from the government.

I may say that when Gen. Sheridan delivered these dispatches to Campbell and me, at Colombia, he gave us the substance of them, and told us to go through, if captured, eat the dispatches. At the time than Campbell and I made this trip, we were both under twenty-one years each of us having two years experience as scouts. And I may say that we are both hard shelled republicans. I voted for Abe Lincoln, in 64, at Martinsburg, when I was nineteen, and I have never strayed from that path since.

Sincerely yours,

Arch Rowand