Harvard memorial biographies ...

66

Harvard Memorial Biographies.

to bring him a horse, and morning found him at Savage's
Station, at the head of the remnant of the regiment.
But he took no part in the seven days' campaign. There
is a limit to the power. of strong will, of enthusiasm, even of
frenzy; and for Vincent to command his regiment, or do
any duty whatever, was now beyond this limit. He was put
into an ambulance; and of what followed he afterwards remembered nothing, until he woke up half-way down James
River on board a sick transport. It was like awakening in
a tomb. It seemed still to be a dream. He raised himself
up, and saw in the long hull two hundred other cots, each
with its burden. He saw the attendants gliding noiselessly
about. He lay back upon his pillow again to hear unconscious mutterings and deep groans, and breathe that air
known only to those who have breathed it, and by them
never forgotten. It seemed as if it could not be true.
Vincent remembered always with the greatest gratitude
the attentions of a kind lady upon this boat; and through
measures taken by her, he found his wife and father ready
to receive him on landing at New York. They soon took
him to Erie, where he remained till the ist of October, returning then to the scene of war. He found his regiment
doing picket duty on the Potomac, near the mouth of Antietam Creek. It was his regiment now. He had been
chosen and commissioned Colonel during his absence.
Both commander and men were rejoiced to be together
once more; though sorrow was mingled with Vincent's joy
as he looked upon the thinned ranks and war-worn flags.
The regiment was soon strengthened by the arrival of recruits and convalescents, and during the pleasant October
weeks he brought it up to its old standard of excellence.
The i th of December found Vincent about to take his part
in the battle of Fredericksburg. Before the battle the men of
his regiment believed that he would prove a good leader.
After it there was scarcely any position to which in their enthusiasm they would not have raised him.
He did not become actively engaged till the i3th. Lying