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COL GILMOR DEAD.
END OF HIS LONG SUFFERINGS.
He
Passed Away Peacefully and Quietly Last Night – Interesting Sketch of the Life
of a Brave Soldier – His Record During the War.
Colonel Harry Gilmor, the
celebrated Confederate cavalry officer, after a lingering and painful illness,
died at five minutes past 8 o’clock last night at his residence, No. 43 First
Street, just beyond the city limits.
Colonel Gilmor had been suffering acutely for several months past from a
cancerous affection[sic] in the left side of his face, which resulted from a
diseased jaw-bone. His right side was
paralyzed and the left side partially so on last Monday morning, and from that
time he gradually sank, until death brought relief. Several years ago the Colonel had a tooth extracted, the roots of
which had grown into the bone, and in the course of the operation the jawbone
was fractured at a point where it had been weakened by a pistol shot wound
received during the war. About two
years ago he began suffering intense neuralgic pains, and these continued until
last September. A consultation was held
at this time between Prof. Alan P. Smith and Dr. G. Halstead Boyland at the
office of Dr. T.C. Norton, when an exploring operation was performed, and a
malignant disease of the bone was discovered.
From that time the tumor began to grow, and assumed large
proportions. The growth had extended
throughout the left side of the face, and had forced the eye out of position,
thus rendering him blind; as he had lost the right eye years ago. Several weeks ago it was thought a climax
would be reached, and it was feared he would be unable to survive the crisis. He rallied, however, somewhat, and soon
afterwards was again in a critical condition.
About four weeks ago Professor Pancoast [sic], of Philadelphia, was
called in consultation with Prof. Smith and Dr. Boyland as to the advisability
of performing an operation to remove the whole of the jaw, but it was decided not
to risk it. Dr. C.C. Carroll, assisted
Dr. Boyland, performed an operation three weeks ago, and removed a portion of
the decayed bone and a large amount of cancerous growth. This, although a partial operation, was
quite successful, and restored the sight of the left eye. A few days ago a similar operation was
performed, and with good results. So
improved had he become that about a week and a half ago a carriage drive was taken,
and he expressed himself as much benefited with the trip. Yesterday one week ago he changed for the
worse, and the next morning came the stroke of paralysis. A consultation was had the following day
between Prof. F.T. Miles; Prof. Smith and Dr. Boyland, which resulted in the
decision that death was inevitable, and naught could be done but to alleviate
his sufferings. From that time up to 5
o’clock yesterday afternoon he had been gradually dying, surprising all with
the tenacity with which the vital spark clung to his body. Early yesterday morning the change was
noticed, and it was seen that the heroic man was fighting a lost battle, and
that his dissolution was shortly to be expected. During yesterday he bore his intense sufferings with that
indomitable strength and will-power which characterized him through life, and
he has a calm smile for all about his bedside.
At four o’clock yesterday afternoon he was visited by Rev. George T.
Purves, of the Boundary Avenue Presbyterian Church, who had been his attending
minister during his sickness. The
clergyman read several passages from the Scriptures and spoke in terms of
Christian fellowship and comfort. The
minister then left him, and about 5 o’clock the Colonel became unconscious, and
remained in that condition up to five minutes past 8 o’clock, when he
died. At the time of his death there
were gathered about the bedside his sisters, Miss Mary Gilmor and Mrs. G.
Halstead Boyland, his brothers, Charles and Graham; his brother-in-law, Dr.
Boyland; Detective Todd Hall, of the Mizpah Association, and his old colored
nurse, Angeline. His other brothers and
relatives were at once sent for, and arrived at the house soon after his
death. His brother William Gilmor, and
several cousins and Mr. George B. Brown were with him during the earlier part
of the day, but were not present at the death scene. During his long and continued sickness he had been the object of
much attention on the part of his numerous friends. Every night for the past month one of the Mizpah Association, of
which he was a member, sat up with him.
He was visited by many of his old comrades in arms and business and
social acquaintances. General Jubal A.
Early, in his recent visit to this city, called to see him, as Maryland Line
and the Confederate Association both recently passed resolutions of great
regard and respect for him. During his
long sickness Dr. Boyland, his brother-in-law, and other relatives faithfully
attended him.
As
soon as his death became known, Deputy Marshall of Police Jacob Feny directed
that the national flag should be deployed at half-mast from the various police
stations, to remain so until after the funeral.
The
Society of the Army and Navy of the Confederate States in Maryland and the
Association of the Maryland Line are called to meet this evening at [illegible]
Hall at 8 o’clock, to make arrangements to attend the funeral. The executive committee Confederate Society
and the governors of the Maryland Line will meet at 4 o’clock this afternoon at
No. 58 Lexington street, to take action on the death of Col. Gilmor.
The
arrangements for the funeral have not as yet been made, but the funeral will
not take place before Wednesday. The
interment will be made in Loudon Park.
It is expected the funeral will be a large one, as it is thought that
many of the United States authorities and all the state authorities, as well as
civic officials, will attend. There
will no doubt be tendered an escort of the Fifth Regiment and other military by
the Governor.
A
number of ex-Union soldiers will be present at the funeral, among them General
W. [illegible],
Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief of the Grand [illegible] campment of
the United States, G.A.R.; General Felix Agnus, General Adam [illegible]
King, Colonel John H. Butler, State Department Commander, G.A.R.; Dr. A.W.
Dodge, Captain N.M. Rittenhouse, Capt. George W. Johnson and a number of
others. These gentlemen do not go in
their official capacity at all, but simply as individual friends of Colonel
Gilmor. “The war is over,” said one of
them; “we all admired his bravery during the conflict, and we learned to
appreciate him as a man, and to love and respect him in the recent years.”
INCIDENTS OF HIS
LIFE.
One
of the members of Harry Gilmor’s old command related an incident yesterday,
with tears in his eyes, that shows that the Major, while brave, daring and
careless of danger when in the field, had the biggest of hearts and the tender
sympathy of a woman. “I was but a
child,” said the gentleman, “when I enlisted under him scarcely eighteen years
old. He watched me all the while; tried
to keep me away from danger; tried to see that, boy as I was and unused to the
exposures of a campaign, I was, so far as possible, provided with the best of
quarters a private could have, and shielded from inclement weather. I, of course, at that time, thought myself
every inch a man, but cannot recall without a lump in my throat one
incident. He started off on a perilous
scout, which was to extend some distance within the enemy’s lines. He tried to dissuade me from going with him,
but I persuaded him to let me go. After
a long ride we camped in a drenching rain, weary and worn-out. I wrapped my rubber blanket about me and
laid down on the soaked ground and slept as best I could with a bitter storm
beating down upon us. I was aroused by
some one standing near and bending over me, and I recognized by the muttered,
‘Poor boy, poor boy’ that it was the Major, who, with all the cares and
troubles he had upon his shoulders, had come to look after the youngster. He turned away, but soon returned, and wrapping
around me his water-proof blanket – the only protection from the rain he had –
he tucked me in with all the gentleness of a mother, and left me without a
word, God bless him!”
Among
others who had a great respect for Colonel Gilmor, may be named General U.S.
Grant. Gen. Grant, upon returning from
the funeral of Garfield, met Colonel Gilmor in New York. The Colonel remarked, “General, you have
just returned from a sorrowful scene.”
“Yes,”
replied Grant.
“It
appears to me,” said Gilmor, “that nothing can destroy or disintegrate the
solidity of the Union.”
“No,”
said General Grant; “If you could not do it, no man can.”
A
short time afterwards, Colonel Gilmor met Gen. Grant in New York again, and
approaching the ex-President, saluted him and exclaimed, “General, I suppose
you forget me!”
“No,”
replied General Grant; “you are one of the hornets who stung us so badly during
the unpleasantness.”
A SKETCH OF HIS
LIFE.
Colonel
Harry Gilmor was born at “Glen Ellen,” the homestead of his father, the late Robert
Gilmor, in Baltimore county, January 24, 1838.
His mother was Miss Ellen Ward, daughter of Judge William Ward, of
Wilmington, Del. In early boyhood he
was engaged in work about the farm, and received a good education at the hands
of a private tutor from Harvard University.
He afterwards learned the trade of a machinist at the Vulcan Iron
works. When the war broke out he
immediately became a warm advocate of rebellion, and in August, 1861, together
with a number of other adventurous young Marylanders, went South and joined the
Confederate army. Young Gilmor, having
by his training at “Glen Ellen” become an expert horseman, elected to join the
cavalry. He accordingly proceeded to
Charlestown, West Virginia, and with two comrades who had formerly been, like
himself, members of Captain Charles Ridgely’s Baltimore County Horse Guards,
joined the company of Captain Frank Mason in the cavalry command of Col. Turner
Ashby. At the time Ashby was occupying
the south side of the Potomac, watching the Union forces on Maryland
Heights. For four months Mason’s
company was in active duty around Harper’s Ferry, and took prominent parts in
some heavy skirmishing, in which young Gilmor soon distinguished himself for
daring, not to say reckless bravery. He
was the principal in several exploits that attracted attention in the vicinity
at the time, and was soon appointed (in December, 1861) the sergeant major of
Ashby’s regiment. Until March, 1862, he
continued in service on the skirmish line between Maryland and Virginia, and
eventually gained such a reputation for energy and bravery that he was
commissioned a captain, and authorized by Col. Ashby to raise a company of
cavalry in the vicinity of Winchester.
He soon called around him about two hundred congenial, adventurous
spirits, mostly Marylanders, and with his brother William went into active
service under Lieut. Col. J.R. Jones, his command forming a part of the 33d
Virginia Cavalry. His first fighting as
a commanding officer was before Harrisonburg.
From this time he commenced a series of brilliant raids into his native
state, and soon became noted as a strategist of marked ability. His reputation, rendered widespread through
the depredations of some of the characters he had gathered around him, led to
repeated attempts being made to capture him by the Federals, who desired to rid
themselves of such a dangerous enemy, who, by his knowledge of the topography
of this state, operated almost with impunity.
Finally, in September, 1862, Gilmore [sic] made a raid in the direction
of Reisterstown, and leaving his command near that place, rode to the house of
a relative seven miles from Baltimore on the Reisterstown road.
BROUGHT A PRISONER
TO BALTIMORE.
Information
of his whereabouts was received in this city, and a strong force sent out,
which surrounded the house where he was staying on the 12th inst.,
and brought him a prisoner to Baltimore.
He was first taken to the Western Police Station, then on to Greene
street, and afterwards to Fort McHenry, where he remained a close prisoner for
three months. On December 21st
he was sent from Fort McHenry to Fortress Monroe, later to Fort Norfolk, and
finally was exchanged in February, 1863, returning to duty in Page Valley. In March following he participated in the
fighting around Culpeper Courthouse under Generals Fitz Lee and J.E.B Steuart,
where he won his majority. He next
served around Winchester in the following June, the fighting at that time being
participated in by many Maryland companies, including the Baltimore Light
Artillery. It was not until February of
the following year (1864) that Major Gilmor commenced his more noted raids into
Maryland, laying waste the federal property wherever found, and burning whole
towns and villages, as he always claimed, under orders from Gen.
McCausland. In February of this year,
by order of Gen. Steuart, he made a rapid descent on the line of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad near Kearneysville, a short distance from Harper’s Ferry, and
[error in the original newspaper article.]
OUT THE BALTIMORE
AND OHIO RAILROAD.
While
doing this he captured two passengers prisoners for several hours, until his
men had completed the work for which they had made the raid. Afterwards the passengers made general complaint
of having been robbed by the raiders, and the Northern papers a few days later
contained violent attacks on Major Gilmor, who was held responsible for the
depredations of his men. The outcry
occasioned by this raid was so general and prolonged that General Lee ordered
Major Gilmor, who had with his force returned to Page Valley, under arrest, and
had him tried in court martial. The
evidence produced by Major Gilmor proved to the satisfaction of the court martial
that he had positively forbidden his command, under pain of death, to molest
the personal property of the passengers, and was not responsible for the
depredations. He was accordingly
acquitted and restored to duty, and early in April went again into active
service around Staunton, being in command of the Second Maryland
Battalion. He received a slight wound
near Hawkinstown in May, which laid him up for a few days.
HIS FAMOUS RAID
INTO MARYLAND.
When he burned the P.W.
& B.R.R. bridge and cut the line at the Gunpowder river, took place the
following month (July, 1861). This raid
was always regarded as one of the most daring ever attempted by detached
cavalry on either side during the war.
To accomplish it Major Gilmor was compelled to cross the entire state of
Maryland, get around Baltimore at the risk of being annihilated by the Union
forces occupying the city, perform his work, and then probably have to fight
every step of his way back into Virginia.
He came up the Green Spring Valley, by forced marches, with incredible
rapidity, and almost before his intention was known or suspected, had reached
Belair, having first visited Glen Ellen, his family homestead, where he had a
short interview with his mother and sisters.
While passing along the Fork Meeting-house road, in the Thirteenth district
of Baltimore county, Gilmor’s band passed the residence of the late Ishmael
Day, a few miles from Fork Post-office, as it is now called. The only advance guard which the command had
was two men, one of them being Sergeant Field, the color-bearer, whom Gilmor
regarded as one of his best men. When
Field and his companion reached the Day mansion, they found that Mr. Day,
knowing of their coming, had put out an immense United States flag, which
extended over the road. They halted and
demanded that the flag should be pulled down, swearing that their company
should not pass under it. Mr. Day
refused to comply, and threatened to shoot the first man that touched it.
ISHMAEL DAY’S
FATAL SHOT.
The
writer, who was a resident in the locality at the time, became acquainted with
the details of the incidents which ensued, which are now printed for the first
time. When Mr. Day refused to pull down
the flag, Sergeant Field commenced to dismount, announcing that he would remove
the objectionable banner himself. Mr.
Day again warned him to desist, and as Field made a step towards the house,
fired at him with a shot-gun heavily charged with buckshot. The report alarmed Major Gilmor and his
command, who were about a quarter of a mile distant, and they were rushing to
the scene at full gallop when they met field’s companion hurrying to meet
them. The shooting of his color-bearer,
which Gilmor always denounced as wholly unwarranted and a cowardly act, so
enraged the entire command that there is no doubt they would have killed Day
could they have found him. Major Gilmor
stated at the time that if he could capture Day he would “hang and quarter
him.” When the command reached the
house Field was found lying where he had fallen in the road, his face and chest
thickly peppered with the buckshot, while the flag, which had occasioned the
trouble, waved sullenly in the wind. A
search was instantly made for Day, but without success, as he has escaped and
fled from the vicinity, as Gilmor and his men supposed. They gave his family five minutes to leave
the house, and then burned it with all its contents. Day had meanwhile slipped over into his orchard and crawled under
a cider press, where he remained for several days, not daring to leave his
concealment. While here he was supplied
with food by friends, and after Gilmor’s men had left he escaped to this
city. Major Gilmor had his wounded
color-bearer removed to Wright’s Tavern (now [illegible]) at Fork on
the Harford road, where field was tenderly nursed by the ladies in the
vicinity, all of whom were Southern sympathizers. His injuries were fatal, however, and he soon expired. Gilmor’s men, meanwhile, were scouring the
country in search of Day, but without success, and the nature of their
expedition prevented a long stay in the vicinity. They accordingly pressed on to Belair and thence to Havre de
Grace, where they took possession of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore
Railroad. Two passenger trainer bound
from Baltimore to the North were captured, one after the other, and as a result
of the treatment of the passengers, charges of robbery were again made against
“Gilmor’s Raiders.”
BURNING THE
GUNPOWDER BRIDGE.
In
one of the trains was General Franklin, a prominent federal staff officer, whom
Major Gilmor made a prisoner of war.
Having set fire to one of the trains, and the engineer having fled,
Major Gilmor with his own hands backed the blazing train onto the Gunpowder
bridge under the fire from a Federal gunboat in the river. The train was run to the middle of the
structure, and soon burned its way through and fell into the river, compelling
the gunboat to retire out of range. The
bridge was destroyed, and having cut the telegraph, Gilmor had succeeded in
interrupting communication in accordance with his instruction. Hastily resuming the saddle, which they had
not left two hours in forty-eight, the command commenced to retrace its way to
Virginia, carrying General Franklin with them as a prisoner of war. Major Gilmor frequently spoke in after years
of the fatigue of the homeward journey, which was made without a stop until the
command reached Towson. At this point a
company of cavalrymen sent out from Baltimore attacked the raiders, and a hot
and determined fight took place on the York road. The Federals were defeated, and were pursued as far as Govanstown
on the way to the city. Gilmor used to
say that if his men had not been so exhausted from fatigue and loss of sleep,
he would have run the flying cavalrymen into Baltimore and taken possession of
the city. There is no doubt that he
would have made the attempt, under other circumstances, daring as it would have
been. Fearing an attack from an
overwhelming force, Gilmor and his men retreated at break-neck speed through
the Green Spring valley to the Craddock farm, where, before the fighting, he
had sent Gen. Franklin under guard, to prevent the possibility of a
rescue. When they reached this point
tired nature succumbed, and man and beast could go no further. It was found that the guard having fallen
asleep from exhaustion, Gen. Franklin had escaped. After a few hours’ rest the command, which by this time found the
whole country aroused, passed on, and succeeded in crossing the Potomac into
Virginia and rejoining Gen. Early, having lost only one man (Field) during the
expedition. A week or two later found
Gilmor again in Maryland, and acting under instructions from General
McCausland, he burned Chambersburg. He
was next heard of around Cumberland and Old Town, and later in August returned
with his command into Virginia, going into service around Martinsburg under
Gen. Lomax.
THE WOUND THAT
CAUSED HIS DEATH.
While
in a desperate cavalry skirmish near Darkesville, Major Gilmor received the
wound which was destined to cause his death, in the manner already shown,
nearly twenty years later. In his book
“Four Years in the Saddle,” published after the war, Major Gilmor thus
describes the manner in which he received the wound: “I gave the order to charge
…. A bullet struck me on the left shoulder,
broke the blade near the joint, and, passing through, fractured the collar
bone. It entered the neck, coming out
under the jawbone, directly over the [illegible] artery, which it only
missed severing by an eighth of an inch.
I nearly fell from the horse, but dropping my saber, I clasped his neck
and drew myself back into the saddle.”
He was sent to the rear, in charge of two cavalrymen, and after the
fight, was removed to the York Hospital, in Winchester, where his injuries were
pronounced serious, and probably fatal.
A FLIGHT IN AN
AMBULANCE.
While
lying in the hospital he received a commission as colonel, but never went into
service under his new rank. On
September 18th, when his system was greatly emaciated and his
condition was still critical, the Confederates were beaten before Winchester
and he was compelled to flee with the defeated army. He rode as far as Kernstown in an ambulance, when his strength
became exhausted and had had to take rest.
The advance of the Federal forces compelled him to resume his flight,
however, and he next took refuge in a relative’s house in Newtown. In a few days, however, when almost
senseless from exhaustion, his friends had to place him in an ambulance, and he
was sent on a journey of over fifty miles over rough mountain roads to
Woodstock, Mount Airy, and finally into Nelson county, when he found a
temporary refuge at the home of Mr. Samuel Wood, on Rockfish Run. In October, when he had somewhat
recuperated, he went to Staunton and served as one of General Early’s staff,
until he resumed command of his battalion.
He then went into active service in Hardy county, where, on February 4th,
1865, he was again captured, this time by Major Young, of Sheridan’s
staff. Colonel Gilmor was sleeping with
his cousin, also in the Confederate service, in the bedroom of a farm-house,
when the door was burst open and Maj. Young dashed in, seized the weapons of
the two officers, and, presenting his own, informed them that they were
prisoners. As about one hundred
cavalrymen surrounded the house at the time, escape was impossible, and Col.
Gilmor was soon on his way North in charge of Major Young. When they reached Harper’s Ferry an attempt
was made to mob the prisoner, and they would doubtless have been successful had
not his captors protected him with a cocked pistol in each hand. The same trouble was anticipated on reaching
Baltimore, and a squad of soldiers, under Major Weigel, was at Camden Station
to protect him. The prisoner was taken
out of the depot by the back way and reached Boston February 10. He was confined in Fort Warren until the
fall of Richmond, and was released on parole July 25, 1865.
HIS REPUTATION AS
A SOLDIER.
As
a soldier Col. Gilmor’s reputation for bravery and daring was widespread. He was generally known as being what
military men termed “a hard fighter.”
It has frequently been asserted that he killed more men with his own arm
than any other officer in Confederate service.
As a marksman with the pistol he was unexcelled, and frequently shot tin
cups from the heads of his men. On one
occasion, for a wager, he put five shots into five successive telegraph poles
along a road-side while riding at full gallop.
His immense strength and power of endurance peculiarly fitted him for
the life of a cavalryman, and integrity of purpose and devotion to the cause of
the rebellion.
Col.
Gilmor returned to Baltimore after the war and entered into business until
1872, when he was elected a police commissioner for this city, his term
commencing in 1873. During his service
he was mainly instrumental in introducing military tactics and discipline into
the city police force. The good effects
of this innovation are seen in the efficiency of the force at this time and during
the labor riots in 1877, when Col. Gilmor’s bravery and coolness contributed
much towards protecting property and life from the mob. He served until 1878, when he resigned, and
was succeeded by Mr. Milroy, one of the present commissioners.
Col.
Gilmor, in 1875, lost one of his eyes, the eyeball being excised without
chloroform by Drs. Chisholm, A.P. Smith and G. Halstead Boylan. During the long and painful operation the
patient showed great nerve, never wincing while under the lancet. He leaves three children and two sisters –
Mrs. Dr. G. Halstead Boylan and Miss Mary Gilmor. His brothers living are ex-Judge Robert Gilmor, Jr., Graham
Gilmor, Meredith Gilmor, Charles Gilmor, William Gilmor and Richard
Gilmor. He was a member of the Army and
Navy of the Confederate States, the Maryland Line, Knight of Pythias, Masonic
fraternity, Mizpah Association, Corn and Flour Exchange and St. Andrew’s
Society. He was at the time of his
death the colonel commanding of all the cavalry in the state.
From the Baltimore Sun, March 5, 1883.
COL. GILMOR AT REST.
BURIED WITH UNUSUAL HONOR.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Impressive Service at the Church – A Funeral Sermon by Rev. Mr. Purves – The Escort of Militia and Veterans of the War – Services at Loudon Park.
The remains of Colonel Harry
Gilmor were yesterday laid away in their last, silent resting-place. As was eminently proper, the funeral was
conducted with military honors, and friend and foe, forgetting the [illegible],
and remembering only the friendships of the past, joined hands to do him
honor. According to the program
arranged for the funeral, as given in The American of yesterday, the
remains were removed from the residence, on Denmead street, shortly after
twelve o’clock, noon, and conveyed to the Boundary Avenue Presbyterian Church,
of which he had been a member during the last years of his life. The remains were enclosed in a very elegant,
cloth-covered casket, trimmed in gold fringe upon the sides and ends, with
heavy oxidized gold furnishings. The
plate bore the inscription:
Harry Gilmor, born 24th
of January, 1838.
Died 4th of
March, 1883.
Upon the casket reposed numerous
and beautiful floral tributes, and partially draping the casket was the flag of
the Maryland line, furnished by General Bradley T.J. Johnson, and the same as
used on the occasion of the funeral of General Winder, of Richmond, in August,
1862.
The
floral offerings were a large bunch of beautiful lilies (the first offering
sent) from Miss Kate McLean, an anchor from Mr. E.J. [illegible], Jr., cross
from Mr. And Mrs. Robert Johnson, mounds from Mrs. S. Wilson and Mrs. Isabella
Brown, anchor from Mr. And Mrs. Fred Tyson, combined cross and crown from Mr.
And Mrs. Oliver Hoblitzell, single crown from Colonel A.D. Brown, anchor from
Mr. B.F. Ulman, and pillow from Union soldiers. The offerings of Mr. And Mrs. Hoblitzell and that of the Union
soldiers were very costly and beautiful.
The first-mentioned was a combined cross and crown, formed of
calla-lilies, japonicas and tea roses principally, resting upon a background of
royal purple velvet, which, in turn, was edged with sprays of emilax [sic], the
whole forming a design about two feet wide and three feet long. The tribute of the Union soldiers consisted
of a very large floral pillow, composed of lilies, japonicas, Marenal Neil
[sic] and tea roses, etc., with the word “Peace” in blue immortelles. Attached to this tribute were the names of
Generals Felix Agnus, W.E.W. Ross and Charles E. Phelps, Colonel Adam E. King,
A.W. Sheldon, M.W. Locke, John H. Suter, A.W. Dodge, N.M. Rittenhouse, George
B. Creamer, Samuel Henry, George W. Johnson and George P. Mott.
SERVICES AT THE
CHURCH.
The
remains were taken from the residence and borne to the hearse in waiting, and
into the church, by the immediate pall-bearers, and only accompanied by the
immediate family and intimate personal friends. Upon the arrival of the remains at the church they were taken up
the main [illegible] and placed immediately in front of the pulpit, the
organ meanwhile playing a dirge. Within
the church, which was crowded to its utmost capacity, were many well-known
citizens, among whom were Messrs. George S. Brown, Henry D. Harvey, John L.
Bead, Alexander Murdoch, Henry Selm, Adjutant General Watkins, George Brown, Chas.
B. Latrobe, T.B. Mackall, Hon. J.V.L. Findlay, Randolph Mordecai, Walter S.
Wilkinson, J.H. Sirich, Andrew J. Guise, William B. Phillips, Hugh Gatchell,
A.A. Hasson, A. C. Barkley, Col. Theo. Lang, Dr. James A. Steuart, Dr. R.H.
Goldsmith, Caleb S. Taylor, Bishop J.A. Latane, of the Reformed Episcopal
Church, Rev. J. Wynne Jones, Rev. Theo. J. Holmes, G.T. Sadtler, Judge J.D.
Watters, State’s Attorney Col. D.G. McIntosh, ex-Judge C.W. Pinkney, Robert
Garrett, Major McDonald, Dr. J.H. Parker, Benjamin Price, G.W. Washburn, S.G.
Boyd, Milton Y. Kidd, Col. Clarence Peters, S.P. Morton, R.S. Albert, Frank
Albert, H. Guinaud and many others. The
services began with, an organ voluntary [sic] by Mr. Thomas S. Callis, organist,
after which Rev. George T. Purves, pastor of the church, read the customary
Scriptures, closing with prayer.
THE FUNERAL
SERMON.
Rev.
Purves then made an address, in which he spoke as follows:
I
need but few words with which to utter the esteem for our departed friend,
which is expressed by our presence in this house to-day. The regret of the community is seldom called
forth by the death of a single individual, and cannot in this case be wholly
explained either by the power of past associations, or by the sympathy for his
recent sufferings, which has deeply touched all hearts. There must have been something in our
friends character which won regard to an unusual degree, and hence it is a real
pleasure to be allowed to add a few flowers of praise to those which the
affection of many and the good will of all have already cast upon his [illegible].
Colonel
Gilmor had a marvelous power of [illegible] toward himself the love
of his fellow man. He seemed born to
lead them, and that not by virtue of any quality so much as by his hold on their
affections. This was largely due to his
own enthusiasm. He had the gay heart of
a boy down to his latest years.
Whatever he undertook he did with genuine zeal. Others caught the contagion of his
enthusiasm. Whether as a gallant
officer, leading his command through the smoke of battle, or as a prominent
figure among the people of this city; or, in later life, as a believer avowing
publicly his faith, he drew others after him by the force of a nature which
overflowed with so much kindly earnestness that few were able to resist
it. To those who knew him he was a
magnetic man. One did not have to be
long in his company or often hear his ringing laugh, without feeling the heart
grow warm toward such a genial character and without being moved in spite of
itself, to a similar glow of enthusiasm.
He also won the love of his fellows by his generosity. I do not merely mean that he was ever ready
to aid those who were in want. This he
was always and to the utmost extent of his ability. He would share his last dollar with a friend, and break his last
crust with the hungry. He was sometimes
too prodigal in giving. He sometimes
seemed generous to a fault. But he did
so because it was an instinct of his nature.
He was generous in the broader sense of not cherishing mean or hostile
thoughts towards anyone. He was
generous because he was chivalrous. A
fallen foe was often as much the object of his care as a fallen friend. He was singularly able to rise above the
limits of what is selfish and partisan, and let his kindness and courtesy go
forth to any fellow whom he could help and serve.
And
to this I would add that he had a certain simplicity of character which was
peculiarly attractive. Profound natures
evoke our reverence; men who are learned awaken our admiration, but we probably
all feel that no traits appeal so persuasively in the heart as honest, genuine
simplicity. Our friend was just what he
seemed to be. His faults and his
virtues were open and manifest. He was
a man of action rather than of thought.
What he believed he was ready to at once confess; what he confessed he
endeavored to put at once into practice.
If ever he failed, he was willing to at once acknowledge, and, if
possible, correct it. It was, I
suppose, part of this simplicity of character that he was so free from either
pride or fear. I need not say that he
was a brave man. His courage has made a
name for itself which all classes willingly recognize. It could be daring. It could smile at odds before which others
would have trembled. But greater than
the courage shown on the field of battle or in the romantic exploits of past
years was that with which in later life, in spite of many inward misgivings and
much sense of weakness, he took up the service of the Army of Christ. Here he did tremble. Here he had sometimes need to fear. Moral courage is always nobler than
physical, and men who would march boldly to a cannon’s mouth will often cower
before a sneer or criticism directed against their efforts to do right. But his courage did not quail. He showed his colors openly; and, through
good and ill, through success or failure, cast in his lot with the people of
God. And therefore it is not surprising
that men came to love him. He was
honest and true; he was inspiring and he was gentile; he had the strength of a
giant, but he could be as tender as a woman; his soldiers made an idol of him,
and his children loved to play over his sturdy frame. These were merely natural qualities, and they made such a
combination that few men enjoyed so much the luxury of the love of his friends
and comrades. But I wish to speak not
merely of these traits, which are known to all who at all knew him, or of those
famous features of his life which are part of history and which his own
companions can better tell at the proper time, but rather of the man whom we
have watched during these past few months struggling for life, hoping against
hope; and, finally, with the same cheerfulness, with which he had faced so many
other dangers, welcoming the approach of death. It was a privilege to be with him day by day. It was marvelous to see his fortitude under
agonizing pain. It was delight to mark
the calmness which seldom forsook him, and to see him yield one by one the
interests most dear to him on earth into the keeping of a Sovereign God; to
hear him say with evident sincerely, “Thy will be done.”
The
simplicity which was part of his natural character was here also shown in his
simple faith in the Word of God. He
received it as a little child. I do not
know that he ever doubted, as others do.
He doubted himself, but not God or the Bible. He read therein the words of Christ, “Whosoever believeth in Me
hath everlasting life,” and that was his faith. He read, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God,
believe also in Me,” and that was his comfort.
He read, and how often he did repeat, these words of Isaiah, “Fear thou
not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen
thee; yes, I will help thee; yes, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My
righteousness,” and they were the ground of his courage and hope. He took these words as directly sent to him
individually from Almighty God; and, therefore, he enjoyed to a rare degree the
consolation and power of the Gospel.
And
truly marvelous was his patience. Oh!
it is a sight to see a strong frame quiver with agony and to hear scarcely a
cry, and not a word of repining escape the lips, and that is the case of one
whose life’s sun seemed to be at bright noonday. Under such circumstances we would excuse much. It would seem but natural for some
complaints to find expression. We are
not surprised if men rebel against such unkind fortune. But he did not even think that Providence
was unkind. He thanked God for his many
mercies. He did not murmur. He was still bright and cheerful. He could even seek and find the divine
meaning of his sufferings. He said to
me a few weeks ago: “It seems to me that the Lord says I will first give you
pain enough to bring you wholly to my feet, and then I will take you to myself,
away from pain and sorrow and temptation.”
Such patience we do not often find in the ripest and oldest saints, and
in him it seemed simply wonderful.
Often and often did he exclaim, “When I think of what Christ suffered
for me how trivial do my sufferings appear.”
And so his life ebbed away. The
end came slowly, but he was patient and hopeful to the last. He made no boasts; there was much in his
past life which he would like to have effaced, but he simply waited. He seemed to be in perfect peace of
mind. He had thrown entirely off the
cares of life, and as the disease advanced he became still quieter. Slowly and painfully his feet touched and
entered the dark waters. The clouds
began to rise over his clear mind. To
those who watched him he seemed to be still in pain, but when asked if he had
anything upon his mind he quickly answered, “Nothing.” Then he slept away. They all tell me that he could once ride
with a merry shout into the hottest fray; that in the old days he feared
nothing and cared nothing for danger or death.
I can well believe it. But
surely he was a better soldier and a braver man when in his sick room he let
himself be borne along to death with his eye fixed on an invisible glory and the
sword of the spirit in his hand.
Therefore,
death, which is always eloquent with some particular message to mankind, seems
to utter from these closed lips a dirge over the vanity of human life. How much has he not forgotten now in the
rest and peace of eternity! Old feuds
have passed away, and are not to be named in the presence of his silent
form. Old plans have come to naught,
but Providence has brought better ones to their accomplishment. Old temptations, old sorrows, old struggles
have ceased forever. Life was a
battle. Life was toil and strife. Death is rest and peace.
“Brief life is here our
portion,
Brief sorrow, short-lived
care;
The life that knows no
ending,
The tearless life, is
there,”
And
we rejoice to believe that, as after the fierce fight with pain he sank at
length quietly to rest, so, after the fitful and varied scenes of his whole
earthly lot, his soul at last rested in the saving love of God. And I should feel myself false to the wish of
my dead friends heart if I did not say over him that what saved him was, as he
used to call it, the “wonderful grace” of God.
His hope was solely on the faith that what he could not do for himself
the Saviour [sic] had done for him. No
man felt more than he the importance of man’s efforts to merit Divine favor; no
man knew more the need of a sinner’s refuge; and if he could speak to-day it
would be, I doubt not, to simply repeat his favorite lines:
“Jesus paid it all,
All the debt I owe,
Sin had left a crimson
stain,
He washed it white as snow.”
And so we bid him farewell. Our hearts ache rather for those who are
left than for him. But “a father of the
fatherless and a friend of the orphan is God in his holly habitation.” For our friend himself, we have only gratitude
that he has found the liberty he craved, and I doubt not each one of us is glad
by our presence here to say that we always found him a true and loving friend,
and of late in many ways, an inspiration to a noble life. Let such lives be our tribute. Let us be soldiers of Jesus Christ. Let us hate and resist sin to the
uttermost. If we fail, let us rise
again, humbled but hopeful. Let us,
too, ask to “be kept by the power of God through faith unto the salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last day.”
At
the close of the address, Mr. Purves announced that by the particular request
of Colonel Gilmor, as expressing his entire reliance upon the Saviour, the hymn
would be sung, which begins ---
I hear the Saviour say,
Thy strength indeed is
small;
Child of weakness, watch and
pray,
Find in Me thine all in all,
Chorus – Jesus paid it all,
All to him I owe,
Sin had left a crimson
stain!
He washed it white as snow.
Mr.
T.B. Hall, another member of the Mizpah Association, led the singing. At the close of the hymn Mr. Purves
pronounced the benediction, which closed the services at the church.
THE MILITARY
ESCORT.
While
the services were being held in the church the military escort was forming upon
Boundary avenue, near by, to be in readiness for the reception of the
remains. The procession was formed on
Boundary avenue, the right resting on St. Paul street in front of the church,
and was headed by a battalion of the city police, commanded by Deputy Marshall
Jacob Frey, and comprising squads of 24 men each from several districts, in
charge of the following: Northwestern District, Captain Earhart and Sergeants [illegible]
and Scott; Western District, Captain Leport, Sergeants Fullam and Minor;
Central District, Captain Lannan, Sergeants Schimp and Barker, with Sergeants
Harvey and Shumack bearing the national flag and Maryland colors; Southern
District, Captain Delanty, Lieut. Farnan, Sergeant Blackston and Collins;
Eastern District, Captain Kenny, Sergeants Buckless and Langley; Northeastern
District, Lieut. Barber, Sergeants Schaefer and [illegible]. Then came the Fifth Regiment, I.M.M.G.,
headed by full band and drum corps, and in command of Col. Stewart Brown and
staff. The regiment mustered about 200
muskets, the men being in full-dress uniforms and overcoats. Following was the colored militia company,
Baltimore Rifles, about 40 in number, commanded by Capt. George M.
Mathews. The hearse bearing the remains
and carriage with the members of the family followed, and behind them walked
Gen. Bradley T. Johnson, president of the Society of the Army and Navy of the
Confederate States in Maryland. In
company with Governor Hamilton and the following gentlemen acting as staff
officers to the General: Col. R. Snowden Andrews, Major W. Stuart Symington,
Capt. George W. Booth, Corporal R.M. [illegible], Surgeon J.N. [illegible],
Privates J.F.C. Talbott, John Gill, Wm. T. [illegible], George C. Jenkins and
Raleigh C. Thomas. In turn came the
Mayor and members of the City Council and other city and government officials,
some in carriages and some on foot, and a delegation of ex-Union officers and
soldiers, including Gen. Felix Agnus, Gen. W.E.W. Ross, Gen. Charles E. Phelps,
Gen. Adam E. King, Col. John H. Suter, Dr. A.W. Dodge, Capt. N.M. Rutenhausen,
Col. Robert G. King, George B. Creamer, Capt. John [illegible], G.W. F.
Vernon, C.A. Newcomer, J.W. Horn, Gen. Richard N. Bowerman, Col. W.H. Boyd,
Twenty first New York Cavalry; and Major Bailey, of Washington, and others, the
Union officers being under the escort of Capt. Winfield S. Peters, of the
Maryland line. The second division,
composed of the ex-Confederate soldiers and sailors, the officers and men of
Gilmor’s Second Maryland Cavalry was [illegible] by Charles Band and
commanded by Major General Isaac R. Trimble and the following staff: Major N.S.
Hill, Major R.T. [illegible], Capt. Randolph Barton, Lieut. Skipwith Wilmer,
Lieut. McHenry Howard and Private George T. Holliday. The Society of the Army and Navy of the Confederate States in
Maryland had the right of [illegible] division and turned out
a large number of men, in command of Brigadier General George H. Steuart, with
the following staff: Major J. [illegible] Wigfall, Capt. J.W.
Torsch, Lieut. J.S. Maury, Capt. A.J. Smith, Private George Savage and Capt.
F.M. Colston. The Association of the
Maryland Line came next, in command of General James R. Herbert, with staff of
Major Frank A. Bond, Capt. T.B. [illegible], Capt. W.P. Zollinger,
Lieut. [illegible], Capt. W.L. Ritter, Dr. Wm. H. Cole and Private
Lamar Holliday. Nearly all the members
of the association were present, and borne in the line were a number of [illegible]
Confederate battle-flags, including the colors of the Second Maryland Infantry
and Admiral Semmes’ flag.
Adjutant
Frank Tormey and Surgeon George W. Benson, members of Col. Gilmor’s staff of
Maryland Cavalry, were in line in uniform.
The Mizpah Association, headed by T.B. Hall, also marched in the
procession, together with delegations from the other associations of which Col.
Gilmor was a member. When the line had
formed the military and police came to a battalion front, the military
presented arms, and the bands played the funeral march from sonata 26,
Beethoven, as the remains were borne from the church and placed in the hearse,
and the members of the family entered the carriages. The solemn procession, to the sound of muffled drums, then
proceeded to Charles street avenue [sic], to the entrance of the Union Station. Passing through the carriage gate-way, the
military and the other societies formed on the lawn in the depot yard, and
saluted the remains as they were borne through to the cars. All of the flags carried in the procession
were tied with crape, and the sergeants of police had crape on their [illegible],
and the ex-Confederates and many others wore the emblem of mourning on their
arms. In all there were about 1,500 men
in line.
There was a special escort to
the remains, consisting of ten men, under Lieut. Col. J. Lyle Clarke, from the
Army and Navy Society, and a like detail from the Maryland Line, under Lieut.
Col. R. Carter Smith. The policemen,
with the exception of a squad of eight men, under command of Sergeant George
Schafer, of the Eastern District, were dismissed at the depot.
THE SERVICES AT
THE GRAVE.
The
military escort, including the Fifth Regiment, the Baltimore Rifles and the
Confederate Societies, accompanied the remains to Loudon Park. A special train of seventeen cars, in two
sections, under charge of Conductors Miles and Ferguson, was provided by Mr.
George C. Wilkins, the first section conveying the military escort, and the
second body, the family and immediate friends, and a portion of the Confederate
societies. The Union soldiers drove to
the cemetery in carriages.
The
train left Union Depot at 2:30 o’clock, and about twenty minutes later arrived
at Frederick Road Station, where the disembarkation for the cemetery was
made. The column reformed in its former
order and passed to the cemetery, the Fifth Regiment Band playing “In the Grave
is Rest,” from Nelbig. The grave of
Col. Gilmor had been opened by the side of the grave of his wife, who died a
few years ago. It is located across the
ravine from the National Cemetery, and near the line of the Baltimore and
Potomac Railroad. As the procession
reached its destination the escort formed about the grave so as to allow the
remains to pass between the ranks of the military and the Confederate
Societies, the former coming to a present arms, and the latter uncovering as
the remains passed. The remains were
then lowered into the grave, the family gathering in immediate proximity, while
the command was given by Colonel Brown, “Rest on arms.” Rev. Mr. Purves then recited the last
portion of the burial service and offered a fervent prayer. The assembled friends respectfully uncovered
their heads, and so remained during the service, which closed with the band
playing the funeral march from Mendelssohn and “Nearer My God.” One of Col. Gilmor’s children silently
dropped a full-blown rose upon the casket, as it was about to be hid forever
from her sight. The grave being
refilled, and the floral tributes placed thereon, the last office of the living
soldier to the dead comrade – that of firing a salute over the grave – was them
performed, companies [illegible], K, I, O, [illegible]
of the Fifth Regiment being selected for this service.
The
flag upon the City Hall and those at the police stations were displayed at
half-mast during the day, and the City Hall bell was tolled during the passage
of the remains from the church to the depot.
Quite a number of persons who saw the remains thought that they were
dressed in Confederate uniform. This
was not so. The uniform was that of the
state of Maryland. Superintendent
O’Brien, of the National Cemetery, displayed the national colors at half-mast
while the funeral portage was passing the cemetery wall.
From
the Baltimore Sun, March, 1883.