Discharge of old members of the regiment. Attack at Chapin's
Farm. Partial success. Condition of the South. New recruits. In
winter-quarters. Thanksgiving Day. Resignation of Colonel Barton.
His long and faithful service. Tenth and Eighteenth corps united.
Expedition against Fort Fisher. Second expedition against Fort
Fisher. Gallant charge and capture of the fort. An important event.
Other successes. March to Wilmington. Pursuit of the Confederates.
Their surrender of Union prisoners. Their condition. On the march
to join Sherman's army. Sherman's grand march to the sea-coast, and
its results. Grant's operations ending in surrender of Lee and his
army. With Sherman's army on the march for Johnston. Announcement of
surrender of General Lee. Continued pursuit of Johnston. Lincoln's
assassination. Its effect on the army. Surrender of Johnston.
September 17, the old members of the regiment who had not re-enlisted
were honorably discharged, and started homewards. On the 28th, the 10th
and 18th corps left the intrenchments at Petersburg, and, crossing
the Appomattox, marched to the James River. The 10th corps, under
General Birney, was to attack the enemy at Deep Bottom, while to the
18th corps, under General Ord, was assigned the duty of taking the
Confederate works at Chapin's Farm. The 10th corps made an assault
early on the morning of the 29th, and were completely successful; but
the 18th corps, after gallantly carrying the outer works at Chapin's
Farm, and capturing fifteen pieces of artillery and many prisoners,
found the second line of defence so formidable that more careful
preparations were necessary before attempting its capture. In the
meantime, General Birney proceeded up the Newmarket road towards
Richmond, and established communication with the 18th corps. The delay
which followed the first assault at Chapin's Farm, gave time for
the enemy to call in re-enforcements, and the second assault proved
unsuccessful. The following day the enemy attempted to recover the
portion of the works which they had lost, but were repulsed with
considerable loss. In these engagements, the 48th lost a number of men,
in killed, wounded, and prisoners.
[Illustration: ARMY'S HUTS AT CHAPIN'S FARM.]
October 7, a vigorous effort was made by the enemy to drive us out of
our positions on the north side of the James, but, after a partial
success, they were driven back. This proved the close of active
operations for the year, as nothing further of importance took place
in this department. Our army was rapidly filling up from the recent
conscription, while the South had already reached its last ditch.
It had no reserve force to call upon, its resources were becoming
exhausted, and its army reduced to extremities.
About this time our regiment received some forty or more recruits,
and for the week that followed, until December 7, it remained in the
vicinity of Deep Bottom. Its routine of duties is indicated by a single
day's record, taken from the journal of Townsend--date, November 8. "In
the morning, at four o'clock, we were turned out, and went inside the
fort, and remained until seven o'clock, and were then dismissed. The
weather being clear, after breakfast we were all ordered on fatigue;
some building log huts, and the rest in the woods carrying logs. We
worked all day, and at six o'clock in the afternoon were dismissed."
On the 15th, the huts were completed, tents were taken down, and the
regiment went into winter-quarters.
[Illustration: OFFICERS' QUARTERS, CHAPIN'S FARM.]
The 24th was Thanksgiving Day, to be specially remembered by every
soldier on account of the abundant supply of turkeys, apples, and
other good things, furnished them by the people of the North, and
distributed through the agency of the two societies previously
referred to. Through this period, squad, company, and battalion drills
were kept up with as much regularity as relief from other duties
permitted. The size of the regiment may be inferred from the fact that
five companies were usually united for a company drill.
December 3, Colonel Barton, having reached the limit of his term
of service, was mustered out at his own request. The inconvenience
resulting from the wounds received at Fort Wagner and Cold Harbor, and
his general condition of physical prostration, demanded a rest. He had
proved an earnest, faithful, efficient, and intelligent officer, and
the regiment, under his command, attained a proficiency in drill and
a condition of general excellence that easily placed it at the head
of the troops with which it was associated. Often detached on special
important service, he filled every position with credit to himself
and satisfaction to his superior officers. His relations with the
commanding officers under whom we served in the several departments
were uniformly of an agreeable character, a circumstance from which
the regiment profited to no inconsiderable extent. His brevet of
brigadier-general was well earned, and he may well regard the years
of service which he gave to his country as entitling him to general
respect and esteem. On the 5th of December, all the white troops of
the 10th and 18th corps were consolidated and formed the 24th, and the
colored troops from the same formed the 25th corps.
[Illustration: PONTOON BRIDGE AT JONES' LANDING, NEAR DEEP BOTTOM.]
On the evening of the 6th, orders were received to pack up and be ready
for a march, but the movement did not take place until the afternoon
of the 7th, when the 2d division, to which our regiment was assigned,
formed in line and started for Jones' Landing, near City Point,
where they arrived on the morning of the 8th. Here they embarked on
the steamer Perritt, and proceeded to Fortress Monroe, the point of
rendezvous of the expedition. On the 13th they left Fortress Monroe,
and for much of the time until the 30th were steaming up and down the
coast. For several days they were at Beaufort, N.C., taking in supplies
of coal and water, and from there proceeded to Cape Fear River, and
landed near Fort Fisher, intending to make an assault; but General
Weitzel, who had immediate command of the troops, declared it would
be suicidal to make the attempt, and the men re-embarked, and the
transports returned directly to City Point.
General Butler, who had charge of the land forces, conceived the
idea of sending in near to Fort Fisher a vessel loaded with powder,
expecting that by its explosion the fort would be materially damaged.
The plan was carried out, but no visible effect followed the explosion,
and the expedition, which was based upon the success of the plan,
proved a failure. From City Point the regiment returned to its old
position at Chapin's Farm. The men had suffered from their long
confinement on the dirty steamer. The food was insufficient and the
vermin intolerable, and it was a blessed relief to get back where they
could cleanse and purify themselves and clothing.
From December 30 to January 3 they were allowed to remain in camp,
enjoying quiet and rest. On that day everything was packed and made
ready for a change, in obedience to orders, and on the evening of the
3d they started for Bermuda Hundred. On the 4th, they embarked on the
steamer Tonawanda, and the next day were at Fortress Monroe. On the
8th they were in Hatteras Inlet. On the 9th, they joined the fleet off
Beaufort, N.C. On the 12th, they were in Cape Fear River, and on the
13th moved farther in, and nearer Fort Fisher.
A change had been made. General Butler had been relieved on his return
from the former expedition, and General A.H. Terry was now in command
of the troops, while Admiral Porter commanded the naval forces, as
before. At ten o'clock on the morning of the 13th, a landing was
effected in small boats, and the troops formed on the beach and stacked
arms, and proceeded to throw up intrenchments from Cape Fear River to
the beach. During the 13th and 14th, a heavy bombardment was kept up on
Fort Fisher by the navy, and on the 15th our division, which had been
working round to the rear of the fort, prepared for an assault.
Having left behind knapsacks and all other encumbrances, about two
o'clock in the afternoon the first charge was made, which resulted
in securing the outer section of the fort. At the same time, the
naval brigade charged in front. Charge succeeded charge, until ten
o'clock in the evening, when the garrison, having been driven into our
bastion, surrendered. The fighting on both sides was very stubborn.
From the description of the fort, which I gather from those present
at the assault, it was composed of detached mounds. When one was
taken, our men gathered behind it for a short halt and rest. And then,
with a sudden rush and bound over and around this mound, another was
taken, until at last the whole was captured, with twenty-five hundred
prisoners and sixty guns. Our losses were quite severe. Captain Dunn,
my old orderly sergeant, who behaved so well at Chester Heights, was
killed; and many names in our regiment, as well as in the others
engaged, were added to the long list of martyrs. Everything had been
arranged to blow up the fort, rather than surrender it; but the wires
connecting the batteries which were arranged to effect the explosion
were cut off from their connections with the magazines by the shot and
shell from the navy. A slight explosion did take place, late at night,
after our regiment had been withdrawn. Several other small forts in the
vicinity were blown up by the Confederates, but the garrison of Fort
Anderson, some little distance up the river, remained in possession
until February 19, when the disposition of our troops was such that
there could no longer be any hope of being able to hold it, and it was
evacuated.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF FORT FISHER.]
During the interval, our forces had been strengthened, by the arrival
of the 23d army corps, under General Schofield, and many new recruits
had arrived from the North, our regiment receiving on the 7th of
February two hundred and ten.
The capture of Fort Fisher was an important event. By it one of the
worst points on the southern coast was shut up, for, in spite of
the utmost vigilance on the part of our navy, immense quantities of
supplies had been brought in, through the several entrances of Cape
Fear River, by blockade-runners. But a much more important service was
rendered to our cause by its capture than in cutting off supplies. For
at this time General Sherman, having completed the wonderful march from
Atlanta to the sea-coast at Savannah, had now turned northward, and
was on his way to co-operate with the Army of Virginia, in that final
struggle which ended the rebellion; and the capture of Fort Fisher, and
the other defences on Cape Fear River gave a new basis of supplies and
military operations, which materially aided Sherman.
[Illustration: PLAN OF LAND AND NAVAL OPERATIONS AT FORT FISHER.]
General Terry, having succeeded in capturing these forts, disposed
his forces, which consisted of about eight thousand men, in such
a manner as to be secure from attacks, and awaited the action
of General Schofield, who had been assigned the command of the new
department of North Carolina. No time was wasted. New and more
favorable positions were taken from time to time, and on the 20th a
general movement was made towards Wilmington.
On the 21st, our regiment, which, with the other troops under General
Terry, was advancing towards this city on the east side of the river,
suddenly came upon a strong force of the Confederates, who opened
a heavy fire, by which two men were killed, and Major Elfwing and
seventeen others wounded. The enemy were driven within their works
and held there, until a division under General Cox, by threatening to
cross the river above the city, compelled a general retreat, which was
effected after the burning of the steamers at the wharves, and the
destruction of the military stores and cotton in and near the city.
On the 22d, Washington's birthday, Wilmington was occupied by our
troops, and perhaps no result of this occupation was of as much
interest to the soldiers as the fact that by it they secured a supply
of tobacco, of which they had been deprived for several weeks. In the
recent operations, the loss to the Federal side was about two hundred
in killed, wounded, and missing; and the Confederate loss, about a
thousand, in killed and wounded, while a large number of prisoners,
with thirty pieces of cannon, and an immense quantity of ammunition,
had fallen into our hands.
General Schofield's next movement was against Goldsboro, to open a
communication with General Sherman; and a large force was sent to
Kingston, to secure and repair the railroad. These troops advanced by
way of Newbern. Our division was allowed no rest, but on the afternoon
of the 22d started in pursuit of the retreating enemy. So sharply
was this kept up that on the 27th a flag of truce was proposed by
the Confederate commander, for the purpose of transferring the Union
prisoners, so much did they encumber his movements. Accordingly, we
received into our lines nearly ten thousand, officers and privates,
some of whom had been captured from our regiment at Olustee and Cold
Harbor. All were in the most deplorable condition, half clothed and
almost wholly starved. These were conveyed to Wilmington, to which city
our regiment returned March 2.
[Illustration: MOUND BATTERY, NEAR FORT FISHER.]
New recruits arrived from time to time, and were instructed in their
duties, and, with the exception of one short expedition to guard
wagon-trains, the regiment remained near Wilmington until the 15th.
March 12, General Sherman, who had arrived at Fayetteville, sent
despatches to General Schofield, directing him to march at once to
Goldsboro, and to order General Terry to do the same. Accordingly, on
the 15th they broke camp, and started to join Sherman. That night,
before they lay down, they had marched twenty-five miles. The following
day the march was resumed, and, although the roads were very heavy,
they moved rapidly, and day after day continued on, with no special
accident, or incident, until the 21st, when signs of Sherman's bummers
began to appear, and in the afternoon there was heavy cannonading on
our left.
At this time, and for some time previous, our troops had subsisted
largely by foraging. Sugar and coffee were almost forgotten luxuries.
On the 23d, the 17th corps of Sherman's army passed near our troops,
and the motley procession which accompanied them showed how successful
they had become as foragers. Goldsboro had been taken by General
Schofield's troops on the 21st, and Johnston had massed his army at
Smithfield. General Sherman had now a large force under his command,
and, with several good safe bases of supplies, and uninterrupted
communication with the coast, was prepared to perform his part in
these final struggles of the rebellion. His march from Savannah had
resulted in the loss to the Confederates of all the fortified points
along the coast, with the immense quantities of supplies and materials
of war which they contained. A tract of fifty miles in width, along
his whole route, had been stripped of all kinds of provisions, and the
richest portion of the South had been devastated. The great system of
internal communication and supply, which had afforded them such great
advantages in the movements of their armies, was either destroyed or
fatally disarranged.
By this time General Grant was ready for that final movement against
Lee which resulted in the surrender of his army. This movement
commenced on the 29th, and, after repeated attempts upon the enemy's
right, a general assault, along the whole line, on April 2, resulted in
complete success, and on the morning of the 3d it was discovered that
Lee's army had fled, and on that day our troops, under General Weitzel,
occupied Richmond. The principal part of Grant's army passed on after
Lee. Sheridan, with his whole force of cavalry, by rapid marches,
finally succeeded, on the 9th, in intercepting Lee's retreat, and,
by a vigorous attack, held him in check until the arrival of several
corps of infantry made escape impossible; and on that day Lee, and
what remained of his army, fell into our hands. The principal army now
remaining to the Confederates was that commanded by Johnston.
General Sherman, while these operations were going on, was resting at
Goldsboro; but on the 11th orders came from General Grant to move
against Johnston. As late as March 28, new recruits were received from
the North, nearly a hundred and fifty being assigned to our regiment;
and when, on the 11th, General Sherman broke camp and started for
Johnston, it was with an army invigorated, strengthened, and refreshed,
and stimulated to unbounded enthusiasm by the success of the Army of
Virginia. April 6, general orders had been promulgated to all the
troops at their evening parades, stating that Petersburg and Richmond
had been taken, and that Lee was retreating.
April 7, another despatch was read, announcing that General Sheridan
had captured twelve thousand prisoners and fifty pieces of artillery.
On the 10th, two divisions of the 10th corps, which had again been
reunited under General Terry, started on the march towards Raleigh. On
the 11th, the march was continued rapidly, our brigade being in the
advance. Frequent halts were necessary, on account of the destruction
of the bridges by Johnston's army. On the 12th, while resting and
waiting for a wagon-train, for which they were to be escort, a
despatch was read from General Schofield announcing the surrender of
General Lee. This had been known by other portions of the army, which
had passed on from other points, and had already driven Johnston's army
out of Smithfield.
[Illustration: M'LEAN'S HOUSE, THE PLACE OF LEE'S SURRENDER.]
The forward movement was resumed by our brigade on the afternoon of
the 12th, but the roads continued very heavy, and the men were often
compelled to wade through swamps, and at night slept on the ground
with scarcely more than the sky for a covering. On the evening of
the 14th, they arrived in the vicinity of Raleigh, and established
camp a short distance outside the city. The Confederate army had made
no stop here, and General Sherman continued the pursuit some twenty
or twenty-five miles, to a point called Durham Station, when, the
hopelessness of further resistance being apparent, a request was sent
to General Sherman by Johnston, asking for a truce, with a view to
arranging the terms of surrender of his army. This occurred on the
15th, and as the fact became generally known on the 16th, that night
was given up to rejoicing, for it was felt that the war was now over.
This, however, proved premature, for the terms proposed, and which were
evidently dictated by Davis and other leaders of the rebellion, who
were known to be in the vicinity, although accepted by General Sherman,
when submitted to the authorities at Washington, were unhesitatingly
repudiated as dealing with questions which were beyond the province
of military commanders; and orders were issued to resume operations
at once. General Grant was despatched to Raleigh, where he arrived
on the 24th, and notice was sent to Johnston demanding an immediate
surrender, on the same terms given to General Lee. The troops were put
in motion, and preparations were made to reopen the campaign; and it
is safe to say that no order was ever issued to our troops which was
received with such universal satisfaction as that to prepare to march
against Johnston. News had been received of the assassination of
President Lincoln, and, had our troops encountered Johnston's army, no
quarter would have been given, so terribly were they exasperated. But,
fortunately for Johnston and those under him, wise counsels prevailed
in his camp, and on the 26th his whole army was surrendered, and the
war was virtually over.