BY E. C. STROUSS.
Recruits--Dangerous Picket Duty--Muster-out of Old
Regiments--Composition of the Brigade--Expedition Against the South
Side Railroad--Battle of Boydton Plank Road or Hatcher's
Run--Disguised Rebels Capture Our Picket Line--Election
Day--Thanksgiving Dinner of Roast Turkey--Change of Camp--Raid on
Weldon Railroad--A Hard March Returning--"Applejack"--General
Humphreys in Command of the Second Corps.
During the month of September the regiment received about one hundred
recruits, principally substitutes and drafted men. Their term of service
was one year. After they were fairly broken in, they made good and
reliable soldiers.
Picket duty during the month of October in front of Fort Alex. Hays was
quite frequent for both officers and men. It was also dangerous at
night, when picket firing was kept up all night by both sides. On our
side the picket posts consisted of five or six men and a noncommissioned
officer. These posts were protected by a small breastwork, in front of
which was a pit in which was posted a vidette, who was relieved every
hour or sometimes every half hour. These posts were about fifty yards
apart and were not connected by any works, which made it dangerous for
the officer in charge of the line, while making the rounds of the posts,
which he was obliged to do twice every night. On the part of the line
picketed by our brigade, the line was in the woods, but on our right in
the open ground the posts were connected by a deep trench. The woods in
which we were posted ran to a point where it met the open field. When we
quit doing picket duty on this part of the line, about November 30th,
the trees at this point of woods were so splintered with musket balls
that they resembled a lot of old fashioned splint brooms. Our lines were
relieved at dark, and from that time firing was kept up until daylight,
when it usually ceased until evening.
During the latter part of summer and early part of autumn of 1864, the
time of many of the old regiments (who had not reenlisted) expired, and
they were mustered out. In this way we lost in our brigade the 3d
Michigan and 63d Pennsylvania, both old and renowned regiments. The men
of the 63d who had reenlisted, and the recruits, were transferred to the
105th Pennsylvania and were mustered out with it at the close of the
war.
Our brigade now consisted of the 1st Massachusetts heavy artillery
(acting as infantry), 5th Michigan, 93d New York, 57th, 84th, 105th and
141st Pennsylvania, and 17th Maine, and three companies of the 1st
United States Sharpshooters. The brigade was commanded by Brig. Gen.
Byron R. Pierce, who retained command of it until the war ended.
About the 24th of October orders were issued and preparations made for
another movement by the left flank, this time the object being the
seizure of the South Side railroad. To assist this movement the Army of
the James was to make a demonstration against Richmond on the north bank
of the James. The expedition on the left consisted of Hancock's 2d and
Warren's 5th corps supported by the 9th corps under General Parke. On
the afternoon of the 25th, at 10 o'clock, our division was withdrawn
from the works at Fort Alex. Hays and vicinity and moved to the rear and
bivouacked for the night near the Southall house. At 2 p. m. on the 26th
we continued our march across the open country in rear of the
fortifications to the Weldon railroad and halted for the night, at 5 p.
m., near the Lewis house.
At 3:30 a. m. we resumed our march, going down the Halifax road to the
Church road, and on the latter past the Wyatt house to the Vaughn road,
and down this road to the Cummings house, where we were massed, while
the 2d division under General Egan drove the enemy from the ford on
Hatcher's run, which was soon accomplished and the way opened for the
crossing of the rest of the corps. Our division then crossed the run,
moved up the Vaughn road a short distance to the Dabney's mill road,
kept on this road until we reached the Boydton plank road, at a point
about a mile and a half south of Burgess' tavern. This old tavern is
located at the point where the plank road crosses Hatcher's run. A road
known as the White Oak road, coming from the west, intersects the plank
road at this point.
We moved up the plank road to near the tavern, where we entered a large
field surrounded on all sides by dense woods. Here our brigade formed a
line of battle facing north, and then stacked arms and rested. It
appears that we were waiting for the 5th corps under General Warren to
connect with our right before commencing our attack. A drizzling rain
had set in.
While we were waiting for Warren's approach, Generals Grant, Meade and
Hancock were in consultation in the field near the point where the left
of our regiment rested. For some twenty minutes we had a good view of
those famous men. General Grant, considering his high rank, was quite
plainly dressed, and no one would have taken him for the commander of
all the armies of the United States. General Meade, who wore glasses and
also was plainly attired, looked more like an old college professor than
like a soldier. General Hancock always looked the grand soldier which he
was, whether he appeared in dress or fatigue uniform.
Owing to the wooded nature of the country and the bad roads, General
Warren did not get up to join us on the right before we were attacked by
the enemy under General Mahone. Picket firing had begun in the woods on
our right and growing heavier, General Pierce ordered the 5th Michigan
and the 105th Pennsylvania into the woods to support the pickets. The
two regiments had been in the woods but a short time when they were
fiercely attacked by the enemy in overwhelming numbers in front and on
both flanks. The men of Michigan and Pennsylvania were of the best there
were in the army, but they could not withstand the great odds against
them. They were obliged to fall back, leaving many of their dead and
wounded, and both regiments lost their colors, although they were two of
the best regiments in the division. When this attack began the rest of
the brigade tried to change front, but the enemy were too close upon us
and for a while considerable confusion existed. The greater part of our
brigade fell back a short distance, to the woods on the west side of the
plank road, where it reformed and drove the enemy back into the woods
from which they had emerged. In this we were greatly assisted by our 2d
division under General Egan. Egan had been engaged with the enemy near
Burgess' tavern, and was about to storm the bridge which crosses
Hatcher's run at that place when Mahone made his attack on our position.
Egan promptly sent part of his command to our support and his men
attacked Mahone's troops in the right flank and caused them to fall back
into the woods with great loss, and also recapturing several of our guns
which had fallen into the enemy's hands.
General Mahone, who made this attack which frustrated our designs on the
South Side railroad, was an old resident of Petersburg, and was
thoroughly acquainted with all the roads in that section, which enabled
him to discover the gap in our lines between Hancock's and Warren's
corps, so he "sailed in," with the result above stated. The rebel
cavalry under Wade Hampton at the same time attacked our left and rear,
but was kept in check by our cavalry under Gen. D. M. Gregg.
We remained on the field until 11 p. m., when we withdrew and marched
back by the same road over which we had advanced in the morning. About
daylight we halted for a while near the Wyatt house and later on resumed
the march and occupied our old camp near Fort Alex. Hays.
Our regimental loss in the action of October 27th was 5 men wounded and
5 men missing or captured. The fight is generally called the "Battle of
Boydton Plank Road" or "Hatcher's Run." By the men of our division it
was generally spoken of as the "Bull Pen" fight.
About dark on the evening of October 30th a number of rebels, disguised,
wearing our uniform, began to relieve our pickets in front of our 1st
division on that part of the line held by the 69th and 111th New York
volunteers. It was customary at the time to relieve our pickets at dark,
and the enemy took advantage of that circumstance by dressing themselves
in our clothes, which they had taken from some of our deserters, and
began to relieve our pickets. In this way they captured a good portion
of the line assisted by other men from their works which were close by.
But fortunately the regular relief from our side was approaching and
after a little skirmishing succeeded in reestablishing the line, but not
before great commotion was caused in our camps by the report that the
picket line had been captured. All the regiments were ordered out under
arms and manned the breastworks for an hour or so, when quiet reigned
again and the men were sent back to their tents.
The 57th, however, was ordered to the extreme front to support the
picket line. At this point in front of Fort Hays our picket line was
about a mile in front, the intervening space being mostly covered by a
broad slashing and a strip of woods. Through this we marched and
stumbled until we reached the picket line, where we were posted in a
deep trench or covered way. There was a parapet at the top of the
trench, behind which our pickets were stationed, and these, and the
enemy's pickets kept firing at each other all night, as was usual at
that time, on that part of the line. The night was quite chilly, and as
but small fires could be built in the trenches we passed a very
disagreeable night. We were relieved next morning and went back to camp,
where we spent most of the day in sleeping.
Tuesday, November 8th, was election day. President Lincoln was the
Republican, and Gen. George B. McClellan the Democratic candidate for
the office of President. Most of the Northern states had enacted laws
that soldiers in the field should be entitled to vote if they were of
lawful age, the same as if they were in their respective states. The
different states had appointed commissioners whose duty it was to
furnish the regiments with the necessary election papers and tickets.
The vote of the 57th stood 95 votes for Lincoln and 33 for McClellan.
The regiment was recruited in those parts of Pennsylvania which were
strongly Republican and it was but natural that the regiment was the
same. The vote, however, in the entire army was for Lincoln by a large
majority.
In the fore part of the war it was thought at headquarters of the army
that political discussions among the soldiers should be discouraged, or
prohibited. But what could keep an army of freeman from discussing
political questions? Discussions of that kind were as frequent around
our campfires in front of Petersburg in the fall of 1864, as they were
in any ward meeting or country store in the North.
Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1864, will long be remembered by the
soldiers of the various Union armies, when instead of the usual dinner
of pork and beans, hard tack, etc., they were, thanks to the loyal
ladies of the North, treated to a genuine Thanksgiving dinner of roast
turkey and other good things. Communication by steamer with the Army of
the Potomac was handy to all the principal ports in the North, and for
several days the wharves at City Point on the James river were piled
with boxes and packages containing good things for the "boys" at the
front. There was more than enough and all was in good condition. Some of
the boxes contained the names of the fair donors, with the request that
the parties receiving the same should acknowledge the receipt thereof.
This in many instances led to a correspondence between the parties which
ended in marriage, and the unions thus formed proved to be happy ones as
far as the 57th boys were concerned.
During the month of November the terms of service of many of our
officers expired, and they were accordingly mustered out of the service.
Among these were Lieut. Col. W. B. Neeper, Capt. A. H. Nelson, Capt.
Sprague Hill, Capt. H. H. Nelson and First Lieut. A. B. McCartney.
Dr. John W. Lyman, a resident of Lock Haven, Pa., who was appointed
surgeon of the 57th when the regiment was organized in 1861, and had
been with it constantly, resigned September 16, 1864, in order to accept
the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 203d Pennsylvania volunteers. While
serving with that regiment he was killed in the attack on Fort Fisher,
North Carolina, January 15, 1865. Dr. Lyman was an excellent surgeon,
kind and genial, and had endeared himself in the hearts of the men of
the 57th, who were deeply grieved when they learned of his death.
Col. John W. Moore, of the 203d, had long been connected with our
division, having entered the service as captain in the 99th
Pennsylvania. As captain and major he had served on the staffs of
Generals Kearny and Birney, and was an accomplished soldier. He met his
death in the same action, with Dr. Lyman.
The 2d corps moved from its camp near Fort Hell and Fort Hays on
November 30th, and took up a position farther to the left on the Peebles
farm, between Forts Sybert and Emory. Our old camping grounds were now
occupied by the 9th army corps.
On the morning of the 7th of December the regiment again broke camp to
take part in the expedition to destroy the Weldon railroad. The road had
been destroyed, during the summer and fall, as far south as Stony creek,
some twenty miles south of Petersburg. As the enemy was still using the
road and hauling provisions, etc., by wagon from Stony creek to
Petersburg, General Grant determined to have the road destroyed as far
south as possible.
For this purpose an expedition was sent out under General Warren,
consisting of his own, the 5th corps, Mott's division of the 2d corps,
and Gen. D. M. Gregg's cavalry, in all a force of about twenty thousand
men. Our division (Mott's) broke camp at daylight on December 7th and
marched via the Globe tavern and Gurly house to the Jerusalem plank, and
following the 5th corps on this road, we arrived at the Nottoway river
about dark, after a march of twenty miles. We crossed the river the same
evening and bivouacked for the night. We resumed our march at daylight
on the 8th, passing through Sussex Court House, and halted for the night
about three miles from Jarrett's station on the Weldon railroad.
Early on the morning of the 9th, the work of destroying the railroad
commenced. A brigade would stack arms near the road, then each man
taking hold of the end of a tie, the road would be turned over as a plow
turns over a furrow. Then axes were used to loosen the rails from the
ties; the latter were placed in piles and the rails put on top. Then dry
wood, from the fences nearby, was added and the piles set on fire. The
rails becoming red hot in the middle would bend in a semicircular form
from their own weight, which rendered them useless for relaying. Oft
times the men would take a rail from the fire and twist it around a
tree, which of course could not be removed without cutting down the
tree. Travelers in that section often noticed these rails around the
trees long after the close of the war.
We worked at tearing up the road until 4 o'clock p. m., when we were
ordered to encamp. Two hours later our brigade, in light marching order,
was sent to within one mile of Belfield on the Meherrin river. Here we
again began to destroy the railroad, back in the direction in which we
came. Belfield is about ten miles from the North Carolina line, and is
the furthermost point south ever reached by the regiment. This march of
about five miles was made in rain and sleet, with the weather rapidly
growing colder. It began to snow during the night, and in the morning
every tree, twig and shrub was covered with ice.
On Saturday, December 10th, we started on our return march. The roads
were in a terrible condition, which made the march very fatiguing,
especially to the new recruits, of which there were many in every
regiment. Crawford's and Ayer's divisions had some skirmishing to do
while we moved to the rear, but on our part we were not molested and
reached the vicinity of our old camps about 2 o'clock p. m. on December
12th. We laid out a new camp in front of the rear line of entrenchments,
west of the Halifax road, where we remained until the 5th of February.
It was reported that many of our soldiers who had straggled from their
regiments during our advance in the Weldon raid, were found during our
retreat, lying in the woods, killed by rebel guerrillas, some with their
throats cut. Be this as it may, it is certain that many of these
stragglers never returned to their regiments. Many of the houses that
stood near the road were burned on our return march in retaliation for
the murder of our men.
On account of the abundance of the liquor called applejack the Weldon
raid was generally spoken of by the men as the "applejack raid." As our
division had the rear of the column in the advance we did not get hold
of much of the liquor. There is no doubt that many of the men who
straggled had tasted too much of the fiery stuff and became too tired to
march, and lay down to rest. In the 57th we had some who had taken "as
much as was good for them," and they became rather hilarious, but none
of them straggled from the ranks.
General Hancock bade farewell to the 2d corps on November 26th. He had
been appointed to raise and organize a new corps, to consist of
veterans, and of which he was to have command. He was succeeded in
command of the 2d corps by Gen. A. A. Humphreys, an able general, who
for a long time had been chief of staff to General Meade.