again back in Camp
Curtin, at Harrisburg, with nothing to do but to make out the necessary
muster rolls, turn in our government property,--guns, accoutrements,
blankets, etc., and receive our discharges. This took over a week, so
that it was the 24th of May before we were finally discharged and paid
off. Then the several companies finally separated.

If it had been hard to leave our comrades of the Army of the Potomac, it
was harder to sever the close comradeship of our own regiment, a
relationship formed and cemented amidst the scenes that try men's souls,
a comradeship born of fellowship in privation, danger, and suffering. I
could hardly restrain my tears as we finally parted with our torn and
tattered colors, the staff of one of which had been shot away in my
hands. We had fought under their silken folds on three battle-fields,
upon which we had left one-third of our number killed and wounded,
including a colonel and three line officers and upward of seventy-five
men killed and two hundred and fifteen wounded. Out of our regiment of
one thousand and twenty-four men mustered into the service August 14,
1862, we had present at our muster out six hundred and eighteen. We had
lost in battle two hundred and ninety-five in killed and wounded and
one hundred and eleven from physical disability, sickness, etc., and all
in the short space of nine months. Of the sixteen nine-months regiments
formed in August, 1862, the One Hundred and Thirtieth and ours were the
only regiments to actively participate in the three great battles of
Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, and we lost more men
than either of the others.

I should mention a minor incident that occurred during our stay in
Harrisburg preparing for muster out. A large number of our men had asked
me to see if I could not get authority to re-enlist a battalion from the
regiment. I was assured that three-fourths of the men would go back with
me, provided they could have a two weeks' furlough. I laid the matter
before Governor Curtin. He said the government should take them by all
means; that here was a splendid body of seasoned men that would be worth
more than double their number of new recruits; but he was without
authority to take them, and suggested that I go over to Washington and
lay the matter before the Secretary of War. He gave me a letter to the
latter and I hurried off. I had no doubt of my ability to raise an
entire regiment from the great number of