To Richmond.
Captured Flags.
Affair at Milford.
Hanover Junction.
North Anna.
Cold Harbor.
Tom Yowell's Yarn.
John A. Hale and His Prisoner.
Malvern Hill.
May 20 the brigade marched into Richmond, each of the regiments bearing
one of the captured flags taken in the engagement of Dreury's Bluff. In
the evening a portion of the command was placed on flat cars and
transported to Milford station, on the R.F. and P. railroad, a few
miles south of Fredericksburg, where on the next morning we were
attacked by the advance of General Grant's army, Torbett's cavalry.
The portion of our brigade present now numbered less than 500 men,
commanded by Major George F. Norton of the 1st regiment, with Sergeant
Major J. R. Pollock acting Assistant Adjutant General. After a spirited
contest of more than an hour, in which the repeated charges of the
Federal cavalry were repulsed, Major Norton ordered the men to retire,
and they withdrew across the river, the Mattapony, Captain Parr and I
dismantling the bridge by throwing the planks from the center into the
river, thus preventing immediate pursuit by the Federal cavalry. The
tough resistance given the Federal advance, together with the story of
Tom Yowell of the 7th regiment, given below, caused the Federal General
Hancock to halt his command, throw up intrenchments and prepare for an
attack. This halt gave General Lee time to reach Hanover Junction in
advance of the enemy.
A correspondent of a Northern newspaper with the Union army reported on
May 22, "The army under Hancock arrived at Milford yesterday and met a
force of the enemy said to be 13,000 strong, drove them through the
town and pursued them some distance." The only Confederate troops
Hancock met were the 500 above mentioned, and there were no others
within several miles.
Tom Yowell had been captured on the skirmish line and was taken to
General Hancock, who inquired to what command he belonged. Yowell with
much bravado told him we had given Butler the devil a few days before,
and that our brigade was the advance of General Lee's army from
Spottsylvania, and pointing south to a large white house a mile or
more away, said, "That is General Lee's headquarters." Yowell told
his story with so much apparent frankness that General Hancock believed
it. The Confederate loss in this affair was 70 men, mostly of the 11th
regiment, captured, some of whom were wounded. These were cut off from
the bridge by the rapid advance of the enemy, some of whom, with those
who were cut off, escaped by swimming the river.
Our force joined the main army en route from Spottsylvania to Hanover
Junction. Here we were also joined by a portion of Breckenridge's small
division from the valley, where a little more than a week before it had
defeated the Federal army under General Sigel. On this rapid march from
Milford to Hanover Junction, John A. Hale of Company D was unable to
keep up and to prevent capture took to the woods, following the line of
march, keeping the general direction. Going to a private house for
food, he found a Union soldier there on the same errand, whom he
captured and brought into our lines.
Held in reserve, we had little or nothing to do with the fighting at
the North Anna. On May 27 we made an all day march in the rain, going
into camp near Atlee's station. In the evening of the following day a
march was made twelve miles in the direction of Hanovertown, camping
three miles north of Mechanicsville, following General Grant around the
circle. On the evening of the 30th we reached our position in battle
line near Cold Harbor, being assigned a place on the left of Law's
Alabama brigade and Hoke's division.
At 4 o'clock, June 2, the battle of Cold Harbor began on our right,
raging furiously until sunset. By means of an improvised telegraphy,
information was received that the enemy had been repulsed. This
improvised telegraphy was nothing more than passing word from man to
man and on this occasion came, "Pass it along the lines that we have
whipped the enemy on the right." Early on the morning of the 3d the
battle of Cold Harbor was resumed, Hoke's, Breckenridge's and part of
Anderson's divisions being engaged on the right. When the battle ended,
we were informed by the same telegraphic line that the enemy had been
defeated. On our front had been nothing more than artillery fire, with
severe skirmishing. However, as the battle progressed, our division was
ordered to be ready to attack the enemy in front, and we were very well
satisfied when the order was revoked.
In Breckenridge's division, heavily engaged on the 3d, I had a
schoolmate, Lieutenant James K. Peck, of whom I was fond, and for whose
safety I was anxious. I was greatly distressed on learning a few days
afterwards that he was killed on the 3d.
The Federal casualties in the battle at Cold Harbor were over 10,000;
the Confederate 1500. I find no report of casualties in our division,
brigade or regiment; no casualties in Company D.
I had the opportunity to look at a portion of the battlefield in front
of the position held by General Hoke's division on the 3d. During the
war I never saw so many dead Union soldiers on any field. General
Hoke's division had not a man killed. The weather was oppressively hot.
The blood, burnt powder, and dead bodies produced a stench which cannot
be described, and not to be endured long by the living.
General Grant was again moving, not toward Richmond, but away from it,
toward the James river; we following, ten days after the battle,
crossing to the south side of the Chickahominy, keeping between the
Federal army and Richmond, and this tramp watching the movement of
General Grant was kept up until the vicinity of Malvern Hill was
reached.
I cannot well help breaking the thread of my narrative to tell a little
humorous camp story prevalent among our men just after the battle of
Cold Harbor. It was claimed to have been told by a Union soldier to
some of our men. It ran thus: A private Union soldier who had been in
the battle and saw the terrific slaughter, said to his captain, "We
have killed and had killed enough men and the war should end, and I
know what will end it." The captain inquired, "What?" "Take Richmond,"
was the response. "Yes," said the captain, "that is what General Grant
is trying to do." The soldier insisting that he knew how Richmond could
be taken, and the captain pressing him to know, he replied: "Swap
Generals!"