Including Richard H. Clow's Letters and Diary from the Civil and Indian Wars, 1865-1875
Review by Jim Gallen
Those who have an ancestor’s correspondence from the
front are blessed indeed. Richard McBee,
great-grandson of Union soldier Richard Clow, has made the most of his good
fortune. His book Rough Enough is the
product of Clow’s correspondence and diary and McBee’s research.
A late volunteer, Clow enlisted for 100 days in the 22nd
Massachusetts, followed by reenlistment in the 56th Massachusetts. Although his deployment was short, his
letters home include the soldier’s view of the assault on Petersburg and the
Grand Review in Washington, where he met up with his brother, a member of the 4th
Minnesota.
His eye-witness account relays details that cannot be recreated by later historians. Clow “saw the elephant” when he writes: “I was on picket the other night and how the balls did sing around the pit.” He also describes the sounds of battle: “We could hear each charge they made. The rebs (sic) would run with a kind of yelp like so many hounds and our boys would rush on cheer and shout which could be heard for many miles around.” And he experienced the pains of loss: “I lost my best chump (sic) in the battle of 2nd of April. He was hit in the left side of the neck and the ball lodged in the right lung.” Yet he still found joy in simple pleasures: “I am well and having a good time at foraging as the army has never been here before.”
Clow tried farming after the war, but found it too tame
for him so he reenlisted, this time for the Indian Wars of Montana. Eventually having had enough of military
life, he found love, a job, and a civilian life to his liking, and he moved
west, ending up in Oregon where he died in 1926.
Rough
Enough, like many books based on participant accounts, covers
details that would have been widely known at the time, but not now. These
include the fact that rations given to surrendering Confederates would cause
shortages for Union troops; that demobilized troops were given the opportunity
to buy their guns; and that Indian fighters in Montana during the winters would
freeze in uniforms made for combat in Virginia, Mississippi and Georgia.
Moreover, the book’s explanation of the protection afforded by Forts Ellis and
Shaw to settlers in Montana is an education in the nature and purpose of the
Indian Wars. Such facts are things that I would have never considered.
A most attractive feature of Rough Enough is author McBee’s ability to blend Clow’s writings
with his own research. I was amazed at
how well McBee unearthed the truths behind Clow’s references and the historical
acts in which he played his roles. Often
the combination of a veteran’s observations and a descendant’s writing leaves a
lot to be desired. That is not the case
with Rough Enough.
________
Jim Gallen is a St. Louis, Missouri attorney. He is Chairman of the Military History Club of the Missouri Athletic Club, a member of the St. Louis Civil War Roundtable (https://civilwarstlmo.org/), and member of the Ulysses S. Grant Camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
