CHAPTER VII.

DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH.

The appearance of the negro in the Union army altered the state of

affairs very much. The policy of the general Government was changed, and

the one question which Mr. Lincoln had tried to avoid became _the_

question of the war. General Butler, first at Fortress Monroe and then

at New Orleans, had defined the status of the slave, "contraband" and

then "soldiers," in advance of the Emancipation Proclamation. General

Hunter, in command at the South, as stated in a previous chapter, had

taken an early opportunity to strike the rebellion in its most vital

part, by arming negroes in his Department, after declaring them free.

Notwithstanding the President revoked Hunter's order, a considerable

force was organized and equipped as early as December, 1862; in fact a

regiment of blacks was under arms when the President issued the

Emancipation Proclamation. This regiment, the 1st South Carolina, was in

command of Colonel T. W. Higginson, who with a portion of his command

ascended the St. Mary's river on transports, visited Florida and

Georgia, and had several engagements with the enemy. After an absence of

ten or more days, the expedition returned to South Carolina without the

loss of a man.

Had there been but one army in the field, and the fighting confined to

one locality, the Phalanx would have been mobilized, but as there were

several armies it was distributed among the several forces, and its

conduct in battle, camp, march and bivouac, was spoken of by the

commanders of the various armies in terms which any class of soldiers,

of any race, might well be proud of.

General Grant, on the 24th of July, following the capture of Vicksburg,

wrote to the Adjutant-General:

"The negro troops are easier to preserve discipline among

than are our white troops, and I doubt not will prove

equally good for garrison duty. All that have been tried

have fought bravely."

This was six days after the unsurpassed bravery of the 54th Regiment

Massachusetts Volunteers--representing the North in the black

Phalanx--had planted its bloodstained banner on the ramparts of Fort

Wagner. It was the Southern negroes, who, up to this time, had reddened

the waters of the Mississippi. It was the freedman's blood that had

moistened the soil, and if ignorance could be so intrepid still greater

daring might be expected on the part of the more intelligent men of the

race.

The assault on Fort Wagner, July 18, 1863, was one of the most heroic of

the whole four years' war. A very graphic account of the entire movement

is given in the following article:

"At daylight, on the morning of the 12th of July a strong

column of our troops advanced swiftly to the attack of Fort

Wagner. The rebels were well prepared, and swept with their

guns every foot of the approach to the fort, but our

soldiers pressed on, and gained a foothold on the parapet;

but, not being supported by other troops, nor aided by the

guns of the fleet, which quietly looked on, they were forced

to retreat, leaving many of their comrades in the hands of

the enemy.

"It is the opinion of many that if the fleet had moved up at

the same time, and raked the fort with their guns, our

troops would have succeeded in taking it; but the naval

captains said in their defence that they knew nothing of the

movement, and would have gladly assisted in the attack had

they been notified.

"This, unfortunately, was not the only instance of a want of

harmony or co-operation between the land and naval forces

operating against Charleston. Had they been under the

control of one mind, the sacrifice of life in the siege of

Forts Wagner and Sumter would have been far less. We will

not assume to say which side was at fault, but by far the

greater majority lay the blame upon the naval officers.

Warfare kindles up the latent germs of jealousy in the human

breast, and the late rebellion furnished many cruel examples

of its effects, both among the rebels and among the

patriots. We have had the misfortune to witness them in

more than one campaign, and upon more than one bloody and

disastrous field.

"By the failure of this attack, it was evident that the guns

of Wagner must be silenced before a successful assault with

infantry could be made; and, in order to accomplish this, a

siege of greater or less duration was required. Therefore

earthworks were immediately thrown up at the distance of

about a thousand yards from the fort, and the guns and

mortars from Folly Island brought over to be placed in

position.

"This Morris Island is nothing but a narrow bed of sand,

about three miles in length, with a breadth variable from a

few hundred yards to a few feet. Along the central portion

of the lower end a ridge of white sand hills appear, washed

on one side by the tidal waves, and sloping on the other

into broad marshes, more than two miles in width, and

intersected by numerous deep creeks. Upon the extreme

northern end, Battery Gregg, which the rebels used in

reducing Fort Sumter in 1861, had been strengthened, and

mounted with five heavy guns, which threw their shot more

than half way down the island. A few hundred yards farther

down the island, and at its narrowest portion, a strong fort

had been erected, and armed with seventeen guns and mortars.

This was the famous Fort Wagner; and, as its cannon

prevented any farther progress up the island, it was

necessary to reduce it before our forces could approach

nearer to Fort Sumter.

"It was thought by our engineers that a continuous

bombardment of a few days by our siege batteries and the

fleet might dismount the rebel cannon, and demoralize the

garrison, so that our brave boys, by a sudden rush, might

gain possession of the works. Accordingly our siege train

was brought over from Folly Island, and a parallel commenced

about a thousand yards from Wagner. Our men worked with such

energy that nearly thirty cannon and mortars were in

position on the 17th of July. On the 18th of July the

bombardment commenced. The land batteries poured a tempest

of shot into the south side of Wagner, while the fleet moved

up to within short range, and battered the east side with

their great guns. In the mean time the rebels were not

silent, but gallantly stood to their guns, returning shot

for shot with great precision. But, after a few hours, their

fire slackened; gun after gun became silent, as the men were

disabled, and, when the clock struck four in the afternoon,

Wagner no longer responded to the furious cannonade of the

Federal forces. Even the men had taken shelter beneath the

bomb-proofs, and no sign of life was visible about the grim

and battered fortress.

"Many of our officers were now so elated with the apparent

result of demolition, that they urged General Gillmore to

allow them to assault the fort as soon as it became dark.

General Gillmore yielded to the solicitations of the

officers, but very reluctantly, for he was not convinced

that the proper time had arrived; but the order was finally

given for the attack to take place just after dark. Fatal

error as to time, for our troops in the daytime would have

been successful, since they would not have collided with

each other; they could have seen their foes, and the arena

of combat, and the fleet could have assisted them with their

guns, and prevented the landing of the re-enforcements from

Charleston.

"It was a beautiful and calm evening when the troops who

were to form the assaulting column moved out on to the broad

and smooth beach left by the receding tide.

"The last rays of the setting sun illumined the grim walls

and shattered mounds of Wagner with a flood of crimson

light, too soon, alas! to be deeper dyed with the red blood

of struggling men.

"Our men halted, and formed their ranks upon the beach, a

mile and more away from the deadly breach. Quietly they

stood leaning upon their guns, and awaiting the signal of

attack. There stood, side by side, the hunter of the far

West, the farmer of the North, the stout lumber-man from the

forests of Maine, and the black Phalanx Massachusetts had

armed and sent to the field.

"In this hour of peril there was no jealousy, no contention.

The black Phalanx were to lead the forlorn hope. And they

were proud of their position, and conscious of its danger.

Although we had seen many of the famous regiments of the

English, French, and Austrian armies, we were never more

impressed with the fury and majesty of war than when we

looked upon the solid mass of the thousand black men, as

they stood, like giant statues of marble, upon the

snow-white sands of the beach, waiting the order to advance.

And little did we think, as we gazed with admiration upon

that splendid column of four thousand brave men, that ere an

hour had passed, half of them would be swept away, maimed or

crushed in the gathering whirlwind of death! Time passed

quickly, and twilight was fast deepening into the darkness

of night, when the signal was given. Onward moved the chosen

and ill-fated band, making the earth tremble under the heavy

and monotonous tread of the dense mass of thousands of men.

Wagner lay black and grim in the distance, and silent. Not a

glimmer of light was seen. Not a gun replied to the bombs

which our mortars still constantly hurled into the fort. Not

a shot was returned to the terrific volleys of the giant

frigate Ironsides, whose shells, ever and anon, plunged into

the earthworks, illuminating their recesses for an instant

in the glare of their explosion, but revealing no signs of

life.

"Were the rebels all dead? Had they fled from the pitiless

storm which our batteries had poured down upon them for so

many hours? Where were they?

"Down deep beneath the sand heaps were excavated great

caverns, whose floors were level with the tide, and whose

roofs were formed of huge trunks of trees laid in double

rows. Still above these massive beams sand was heaped so

deeply that even our enormous shells could not penetrate the

roofs, though they fell from the skies above. In these dark

subterranean retreats two thousand men lay hid, like

panthers in a swamp, waiting to leap forth in fury upon

their prey.

"The signal given, our forces advanced rapidly towards the

fort, while our mortars in the rear tossed their bombs over

their heads. The Fifty-fourth Massachusetts [Phalanx

Regiment] led the attack, supported by the 6th Conn., 48th

N. Y., 3rd N. H., 76th Penn. and the 9th Maine Regiments.

Onward swept the immense mass of men, swiftly and silently,

in the dark shadows of night. Not a flash of light was seen

in the distance! No sentinel hoarsely challenged the

approaching foe! All was still save the footsteps of the

soldiers, which sounded like the roar of the distant surf,

as it beats upon the rock-bound coast.

[Illustration: AT FORT WAGNER.

Desperate charge of the 54th Mass. Vols. in the assault on Fort Wagner,

July 18, 1863.]

"Ah, what is this! The silent and shattered walls of Wagner

all at once burst forth into a blinding sheet of vivid

light, as though they had suddenly been transformed by some

magic power into the living, seething crater of a volcano!

Down came the whirlwind of destruction along the beach with

the swiftness of lightning! How fearfully the hissing shot,

the shrieking bombs, the whistling bars of iron, and the

whispering bullet struck and crushed through the dense

masses of our brave men! I never shall forget the terrible

sound of that awful blast of death, which swept down,

shattered or dead, a thousand of our men. Not a shot had

missed its aim. Every bolt of steel, every globe of iron and

lead, tasted of human blood.

"'Forward!' shouted the undaunted Putnam, as the column

wavered and staggered like a giant stricken with death.

"'Steady, my boys!' murmured the brave leader, General

Strong, as a cannon-shot dashed him, maimed and bleeding,

into the sand.

"In a moment the column recovered itself, like a gallant

ship at sea when buried for an instant under an immense

wave.

"The ditch is reached; a thousand men leap into it, clamber

up the shattered ramparts, and grapple with the foe, which

yields and falls back to the rear of the fort. Our men swarm

over the walls, bayoneting the desperate rebel cannoneers.

Hurrah! the fort is ours!

"But now came another blinding blast from concealed guns in

the rear of the fort, and our men went down by scores. Now

the rebels rally, and, re-enforced by thousands of the

chivalry, who have landed on the beach under cover of

darkness, unmolested by the guns of the fleet. They hurl

themselves with fury upon the remnant of our brave band. The

struggle is terrific. Our supports hurry up to the aid of

their comrades, but as they reach the ramparts they fire a

volley which strikes down many of our men. Fatal mistake!

Our men rally once more; but, in spite of an heroic

resistance, they are forced back again to the edge of the

ditch. Here the brave Shaw, with scores of his black

warriors went down, fighting desperately. Here Putnam met

his death wound, while cheering and urging on the

overpowered Phalanx men.

"What fighting, and what fearful carnage! Hand to hand,

breast to breast! Here, on this little strip of land, scarce

bigger than the human hand, dense masses of men struggled

with fury in the darkness; and so fierce was the contest

that the sands were reddened and soaked with human gore.

"But resistance was vain. The assailants were forced back

again to the beach, and the rebels trained their recovered

cannon anew upon the retreating survivors.

"What a fearful night was that, as we gathered up our

wounded heroes, and bore them to a place of shelter! And

what a mournful morning, as the sun rose with his clear

beams, and revealed our terrible losses! What a rich harvest

Death had gathered to himself during the short struggle!

Nearly two thousand of our men had fallen. More than six

hundred of our brave boys lay dead on the ramparts of the

fatal fort, in its broad ditch, and along the beach at its

base. A flag of truce party went out to bury our dead, but

General Beauregard they found had already buried them, where

they fell, in broad, deep trenches."

Colonel Shaw, the young and gallant commander of the 54th Regiment, was

formerly a member of the famous 7th N. Y. Regiment. He was of high,

social and influential standing, and in his death won distinction. The

confederates added to his fame and glory, though unintentionally, by

burying him with his soldiers, or as a confederate Major expressed the

information, when a request for the Colonel's body was made, "we have

buried him with his niggers!"

A poet has immortalized the occurrence and the gallant Shaw thus:

'They buried him with his niggers!'

Together they fought and died.

There was room for them all where they laid him,

(The grave was deep and wide).

For his beauty and youth and valor,

Their patience and love and pain;

And at the last together

They shall be found again.

'They buried him with his niggers!'

Earth holds no prouder grave;

There is not a mausoleum

In the world beyond the wave,

That a nobler tale has hallowed,

Or a purer glory crowned,

Than the nameless trench where they buried

The brave so faithful found.

'They buried him with his niggers!'

A wide grave should it be;

They buried more in that shallow trench

Than human eye could see.

Aye, all the shames and sorrows

Of more than a hundred years

Lie under the weight of that Southern soil

Despite those cruel sneers.

'They buried him with his niggers!'

But the glorious souls set free

Are leading the van of the army

That fights for liberty.

Brothers in death, in glory

The same palm branches bear;

And the crown is as bright o'er the sable brows

As over the golden hair.

* * * *

Buried with a band of brothers

Who for him would fain have died;

Buried with the gallant fellows

Who fell fighting by his side;

Buried with the men God gave him,

Those whom he was sent to save;

Buried with the martyr heroes,

He has found an honored grave.

Buried where his dust so precious

Makes the soil a hallowed spot;

Buried where by Christian patriot,

He shall never be forgot.

Buried in the ground accursed,

Which man's fettered feet have trod;

Buried where his voice still speaketh,

Appealing for the slave to God;

Fare thee well, thou noble warrior,

Who in youthful beauty went

On a high and holy mission,

By the God of battles sent.

Chosen of him, 'elect and precious,'

Well didst thou fulfil thy part;

When thy country 'counts her jewels,'

She shall wear thee on her heart.

The heroic courage displayed by the gallant Phalanx at the assault upon

Fort Wagner was not surpassed by the Old Guard at Moscow. Major-General

Taliaferro gives this confederate account of the fight, which is

especially interesting as it shows the condition of affairs inside the

fort:

"On the night of the 14th the monster iron-plated frigate

New Ironsides, crossed the bar and added her formidable and

ponderous battery to those destined for the great effort of

reducing the sullen earthwork which barred the Federal

advance. There were now five monitors, the Ironsides and a

fleet of gunboats and monster hulks grouped together and

only waiting the signal to unite with the land batteries

when the engineers should pronounce them ready to form a

cordon of flame around the devoted work. The Confederates

were prepared for the ordeal. For fear that communications

with the city and the mainland, which was had by steamboat

at night to Cummings' Point should be interrupted, rations

and ordnance stores had been accumulated, but there was

trouble about water. Some was sent from Charleston and wells

had been dug in the sand inside and outside the fort, but it

was not good. Sand bags had been provided and trenching

tools supplied sufficient for any supposed requirement.

"The excitement of the enemy in front after the 10th was

manifest to the Confederates and announced an 'impending

crisis.' It became evident that some extraordinary movement

was at hand. The Federal forces on James Island had been

attacked on the morning of the 16th by General Hagood and

caused to retire, Hagood occupying the abandoned positions,

and on the 17th the enemy's troops were transferred to

Little Folly and Morris Islands. It has been stated that the

key to the signals employed by the Federals was in

possession of General Taliaferro at this time, and he was

thus made acquainted with the intended movement and put upon

his guard. That is a mistake. He had no such direct

information, although it is true that afterwards the key was

discovered and the signals interpreted with as much ease as

by the Federals themselves. The 18th of July was the day

determined upon by the Federal commanders for the grand

attempt which, if successful, would level the arrogant

fortress and confuse it by the mighty power of their giant

artillery with the general mass of surrounding sand hills,

annihilate its garrison or drive them into the relentless

ocean, or else consign them to the misery of hostile

prisons.

"The day broke beautifully, a gentle breeze slightly

agitated the balmy atmosphere, and with rippling dimples

beautified the bosom of the placid sea. All nature was

serene and the profoundest peace held dominion over all the

elements. The sun, rising with the early splendors of his

midsummer glory, burnished with golden tints the awakening

ocean, and flashed his reflected light back from the spires

of the beleaguered city into the eyes of those who stood

pausing to gather strength to spring upon her, and of those

who stood at bay to battle for her safety. Yet the profound

repose was undisturbed; the early hours of that fair morning

hoisted a flag of truce between the combatants which was

respected by both. But the tempest of fire which was

destined to break the charm of nature, with human thunders

then unsurpassed in war, was gathering in the south. At

about half-past 7 o'clock the ships of war moved from their

moorings, the iron leviathan the Ironsides, an Agamemnon

among ships, leading and directing their movements, then

monitor after monitor, and then wooden flagships. Steadily

and majestically they marched; marched as columns of men

would march, obedient to commands, independent of waves and

winds, mobilized by steam and science to turn on a pivot and

manoeuvre as the directing mind required them; they halted

in front of the fort; they did not anchor as Sir Peter

Parker's ships had done near a hundred years before in front

of Moultrie, which was hard by and frowning still at her

ancient enemies of the ocean. They halted and waited for

word of command to belch their consuming lightnings out upon

the foe. On the land, engineering skill was satisfied and

the deadly exposure for details for labor was ended; the

time for retaliation had arrived when the defiant shots of

the rebel batteries would be answered; the batteries were

unmasked; the cordon of fire was complete by land and by

sea; the doomed fort was encircled by guns.

"The Confederates watched from the ramparts the approach of

the fleet and the unmasking of the guns, and they knew that

the moment had arrived in which the problem of the capacity

of the resistant power of earth and sand to the forces to

which science so far developed in war could subject them was

to be solved and that Battery Wagner was to be that day the

subject of the crucial test. The small armament of the fort

was really inappreciable in the contest about to be

inaugurated. There was but one gun which could be expected

to be of much avail against the formidable naval power which

would assail it and on the land side few which could reach

the enemy's batteries. When these guns were knocked to

pieces and silenced there was nothing left but passive

resistance, but the Confederates, from the preliminary tests

which had been applied, had considerable faith in the

capacity of sand and earth for passive resistance.

"The fort was in good condition, having been materially

strengthened since the former assault by the indefatigable

exertions of Colonel David Harris, chief engineer, and his

valuable assistant, Captain Barnwell. Colonel Harris was a

Virginian, ex-officer of the army of the United States and a

graduate of West Point, who had some years before retired

from the service to prosecute the profession of civil

engineering. Under a tempest of shells he landed during the

fiercest period of the bombardment at Cummings' Point, and

made his way through the field of fire to the beleaguered

fort to inspect its condition and to inspire the garrison by

his heroic courage and his confidence in its strength.

Escaping all the dangers of war, he fell a victim to yellow

fever in Charleston, beloved and honored by all who had

ever known him. The heavy work imposed upon the garrison in

repairs and construction, as well as the strain upon the

system by constant exposure to the enemy's fire, had induced

General Beauregard to adopt the plan of relieving the

garrison every few days by fresh troops. The objection to

this was that the new men had to be instructed and

familiarized with their duties; but still it was wise and

necessary, for the same set of officers and men, if retained

any length of time, would have been broken down by the

arduous service required of them. The relief was sent by

regiments and detachments, so there was never an entirely

new body of men in the works.

"The garrison was estimated at one thousand seven hundred

aggregate. The staff of General Taliaferro consisted of

Captain Twiggs, Quartermaster General; Captain W. T.

Taliaferro, Adjutant General; Lieutenants H. C. Cunningham

and Magyck, Ordnance Officers; Lieutenants Meade and Stoney,

Aides-de-Camp; Major Holcombe; Captain Burke, Quartermaster,

and Habersham, Surgeon-in-Chief; Private Stockman, of

McEnery's Louisiana Battalion, who had been detailed as

clerk because of his incapacity for other duty, from most

honorable wounds, acted also in capacity of aid.

"The Charleston Battalion was assigned to that part of the

work which extended from the Sally port or Lighthouse Inlet

creek around to the left until it occupied part of the face

to the south, including the western bastion; the Fifty-first

North Carolina connected with these troops on the left and

extended to the southeast bastion; the rest of the work was

to be occupied by the Thirty-first North Carolina Regiment,

and a small force from that regiment was detailed as a

reserve, and two companies of the Charleston Battalion were

to occupy outside of the fort the covered way spoken of and

some sand-hills by the seashore; the artillery was

distributed among the several gun-chambers and the light

pieces posted on a traverse outside so as to sweep to sea

face and the right approach. The positions to be occupied

were well known to every officer and man and had been

verified repeatedly by day and night, so there was no fear

of confusion, mistake or delay in the event of an assault.

The troops of course were not ordered to these positions

when at 6 o'clock it was evident a furious bombardment was

impending, but, on the contrary, to the shelter of the

bomb-proofs, sand-hills and parapet; a few sentinels or

videttes were detailed and the gun detachments only ordered

to their pieces.

"The Charleston Battalion preferred the freer air of the

open work to the stifling atmosphere of the bomb-proofs and

were permitted to shelter themselves under the parapet and

traverses. Not one of that heroic band entered the opening

of a bomb-proof during that frightful day. The immense

superiority of the enemy's artillery was well understood and

appreciated by the Confederate commander, and it was clear

to him that his policy was to husband his resources and

preserve them as best he could for the assault, which it was

reasonable to expect would occur during the day. He

recognized the fact that his guns were only defensive and

he had little or no offensive power with which to contend

with his adversaries. Acting on this conviction he had the

light guns dismounted and covered with sand bags, and the

same precaution was adopted to preserve some of the shell

guns or fixed carriages. The propriety of this determination

was abundantly demonstrated in the end.

"About a quarter past 8 o'clock the storm broke, ship after

ship and battery after battery, and then apparently all

together, vomited forth their horrid flames and the

atmosphere was filled with deadly missiles. It is impossible

for any pen to describe or for anyone who was not an

eye-witness to conceive the frightful grandeur of the

spectacle. The writer has never had the fortune to read any

official Federal report or any other account of the

operations of this day except an extract from the graphic

and eloquent address of the Rev. Mr. Dennison, a chaplain of

one of the Northern regiments, delivered on its nineteenth

anniversary at Providence, R. I. He says: 'Words cannot

depict the thunder, the smoke, the lifted sand and the

general havoc which characterized that hot summer day. What

a storm of iron fell on that island; the roar of the guns

was incessant; how the shots ploughed the sand banks and the

marshes; how the splinters flew from the Beacon House; how

the whole island smoked like a furnace and trembled as from

an earthquake.'

"If that was true outside of Wagner it is easy to conceive

how intensified the situation was within its narrow limits

towards which every hostile gun was pointed. The sand came

down in avalanches; huge vertical shells and those rolled

over by the ricochet shots from the ships, buried themselves

and then exploded, rending the earth and forming great

craters, out of which the sand and iron fragments flew high

in the air. It was a fierce sirocco freighted with iron as

well as sand. The sand flew over from the seashore, from the

glacis, from the exterior slope, from the parapet, as it was

ploughed up and lifted and driven by resistless force now in

spray and now almost in waves over into the work, the men

sometimes half buried by the moving mass. The chief anxiety

was about the magazines. The profile of the fort might be

destroyed, the ditch filled up, the traverses and bomb-proof

barracks knocked out of shape, but the protecting banks of

sand would still afford their shelter; but if the coverings

of the magazines were blown away and they became exposed,

the explosion that would ensue would lift fort and garrison

into the air and annihilate all in general chaos. They were

carefully watched and reports of their condition required to

be made at short intervals during the day.

"Wagner replied to the enemy, her 10-inch columbiad alone to

the ships, deliberately at intervals of fifteen minutes, the

other guns to the land batteries whenever in range, as long

as they were serviceable. The 32-pounder rifled gun was soon

rendered useless by bursting and within two hours many other

guns had been dismounted and their carriages destroyed.

Sumter, Colonel Alfred Rhett in command, and Gregg, under

charge of Captain Sesesne, with the Sullivan and James

Island batteries at long range, threw all the power of their

available metal at the assailants and added their thunders

to the universal din; the harbor of Charleston was a

volcano. The want of water was felt, but now again

unconsciously the enemy came to the assistance of the

garrison, for water was actually scooped from the craters

made in the sand by the exploded shells. The city of

Charleston was alive and aflame with excitement; the bay,

the wharves, the steeples and streets filled with anxious

spectators looking across the water at their defenders, whom

they could not succor.

"At 2 o'clock the flag halliards were cut by a shot and the

Confederate garrison flag was blown over into the fort;

there was an instant race for its recovery through the storm

of missiles, over the broken earth and shells and splinters

which lined the parade. Major Ramsey, Sergeant Shelton and

private Flinn, of the Charleston Battalion, and Lieutenant

Riddick, of the Sixty-third Georgia, first reached it and

bore it back in triumph to the flagstaff, and at the same

moment Captain Barnwell, of the engineers, seized a

battle-flag, and leaping on the ramparts, drove the staff

into the sand. This flag was again shot away, but was again

replaced by Private Gaillard, of the Charleston Battalion.

These intrepid actions, emulating in a higher degree the

conduct of Sergeant Jasper at Moultrie during the

Revolution, were cheered by the command and inspired them

with renewed courage.

"The day wore on; thousands upon thousands of shells and

round shot, shells loaded with balls, shells of guns and

shells of mortars, percussion shells, exploding upon impact,

shells with graded fuses--every kind apparently known to the

arsenals of war leaped into and around the doomed fort, yet

there was no cessation; the sun seemed to stand still and

the long midsummer day to know no night. Some men were dead

and no scratch appeared on their bodies; the concussion had

forced the breath from their lungs and collapsed them into

corpses. Captain Twiggs, of the staff, in executing some

orders was found apparently dead. He was untouched, but

lifeless, and only strong restoratives brought him back to

animation, and the commanding officer was buried knee-deep

in sand and had to be rescued by spades from his

imprisonment. The day wore on, hours followed hours of

anxiety and grim endurance, but no respite ensued. At last

night came; not however, to herald a cessation of the

strife, but to usher in a conflict still more terrible. More

than eleven hours had passed. The fort was torn and

mutilated; to the outside observer it was apparently

powerless, knocked to pieces and pounded out of shape, the

outline changed, the exterior slope full of gaping wounds,

the ditch half filled up, but the interior still preserved

its form and its integrity; scarred and defaced it was yet a

citadel which, although not offensive, was defiant.

"It was nearly eight o'clock at night, but still twilight,

when a calm came and the blazing circle ceased to glow with

flame. The ominous pause was understood; it required no

signals to be read by those to whom they were not directed

to inform them that the supreme moment to test the value of

the day's achievements was now at hand. It meant nothing but

assault. Dr. Dennison says the assault was intended to be a

surprise. He over-estimates the equanimity of the

Confederate commander if he supposes that that bombardment,

which would have waked the dead, had lulled him into

security and repose. The buried cannon were at once exhumed,

the guns remounted and the garrison ordered to their

appointed posts. The Charleston Battalion were already

formed and in position; they had nestled under the parapet

and stood ready in their places. The other troops with the

exception of part of one regiment, responded to the summons

with extraordinary celerity, and the echoes of the Federal

guns had hardly died away before more than three-fourths of

the ramparts were lined with troops; one gap remained

unfilled; the demoralized men who should have filled it

clung to the bomb-proofs and stayed there. The gallant

Colonel Simpkins called his men to the gun-chambers wherever

guns existed. De Pass, with his light artillery on the

traverse to the left, his guns remounted and untouched,

stood ready, and Colonel Harris moved a howitzer outside the

fort to the right to deliver an enfilade fire upon the

assailants.

"The dark masses of the enemies columns, brigade after

brigade, were seen in the fading twilight to approach; line

after line was formed and then came the rush. A small creek

made in on the right of the fort and intercepted the enemy's

left attack; they did not know it, or did not estimate it.

Orders were given to Gaillard to hold his fire and deliver

no direct shot. It was believed the obstacle presented by

the creek would confuse the assailants, cause them to

incline to the right and mingle their masses at the head of

the obstacle and thus their movements would be obstructed.

It seemed to have the anticipated effect and the assaulting

columns apparently jumbled together at this point were met

by the withering volleys of McKethan's direct and Gaillard's

cross-fire and by the direct discharge of the shell guns,

supplemented by the frightful enfilading discharges of the

lighter guns upon the right and left. It was terrible, but

with an unsurpassed gallantry the Federal soldiers breasted

the storm and rushed onward to the glacis.

"The Confederates, not fourteen hundred strong, with the

tenacity of bull dogs and a fierce courage which was roused

to madness by the frightful inaction to which they had been

subjected, poured from the ramparts and embrasures sheets of

flame and a tempest of lead and iron, yet their intrepid

assailants rushed on like the waves of the sea by whose

shore they fought. They fell by hundreds, but they pushed

on, reeling under the frightful blasts that almost blew them

to pieces, some up to the Confederate bayonets. The

southeast bastion was weakly defended, and into it a

considerable body of the enemy made their way but they were

caught in a trap, for they could not leave it. The fight

continued; but it was impossible to stem the torrent of

deadly missiles which poured out from the fort, the reflux

of that terrible tide which had poured in all day, and the

Federals retreated, leaving near a thousand dead around the

fort.

"There was no cessation of the Confederate fire. Sumter and

Gregg threw their shells along with those of Wagner upon the

retiring foe; nor was the conflict over in the fort itself.

The party which had gained access by the salient next the

sea could not escape. It was certain death to attempt to

pass the line of concentrated fire which swept the faces of

the work, and they did not attempt it; but they would not

surrender, and in desperation kept up a constant fire upon

the main body of the fort. The Confederates called for

volunteers to dislodge them--a summons which was promptly

responded to by Major McDonald, of the Fifty-first North

Carolina, and by Captain Rion, of the Charleston Battalion,

with the requisite number of men. Rion's company was

selected, and the gallant Irishman, at the head of his

company, dashed at the reckless and insane men, who seemed

to insist upon immolation. The tables were now singularly

turned; the assailants had become the assailed and they held

a fort within the fort, and were protected by the traverses

and gun chambers, behind which they fought. Rion rushed at

them, but he fell, shot outright, with several of his men,

and the rest recoiled. At this time General Hagood reported

to General Taliaferro with Colonel Harrison's splendid

regiment, the Thirty-second Georgia, sent over by Beauregard

to his assistance as soon as a landing could be effected at

Cummings' Point. These troops were ordered to move along on

the traverses and bomb-proofs, and to plunge their

concentrated fire over the stronghold. Still, for a time,

the enemy held out, but at last they cried out and

surrendered.

"The carnage was frightful. It is believed the Federals lost

more men on that eventful night than twice the entire

strength of the Confederate garrison. The Confederates lost

eight killed and twenty wounded by the bombardment and about

fifty killed and one hundred and fifty wounded altogether

from the bombardment and assault. Among the killed were

those gallant officers, Lieutenant Colonel Simkins and Major

Ramsey and among the wounded Captains DePass and Twiggs, of

the staff, and Lieutenants Storey (Aide-de-Camp), Power and

Watties. According to the statement of Chaplain Dennison the

assaulting columns in two brigades, commanded by General

Strong and Colonel Putnam (the division under General

Seymour), consisted of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, Third

and Seventh New Hampshire, Sixth Connecticut and One

Hundredth New York, with a reserve brigade commanded by

General Stephenson. One of the assaulting regiments was

composed of negroes (the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts) and to

it was assigned the honor of leading the white columns to

the charge. It was a dearly purchased compliment. Their

Colonel (Shaw) was killed upon the parapet and the regiment

almost annihilated, although the Confederates in the

darkness could not tell the color of their assailants. Both

the brigade commanders were killed as well as Colonel

Chatfield.

"The same account says: 'We lost 55 officers and 585 men, a

total of 640, one of the choicest martyr rolls of the war.'

By 'lost,' 'killed' is supposed to be meant, but still that

number greatly falls short of the number reported by the

Confederates to have been buried on the 19th by them and by

their own friends under a flag of truce. These reports show

that 800 were buried, and as a number were taken prisoners,

and it is fair to estimate that three were wounded to one

killed, the total loss of the Federals exceeded 3,000. The

writer's official report estimates the Federal loss at not

less than 2,000; General Beauregard's at 3,000. The Federal

official reports have not been seen.

"The limits prescribed for this paper would be exceeded if

any account of the remaining forty-eight days of the heroic

strife on Morris Island were attempted. It closes with the

repulse of the second assault, and it is a fit conclusion to

render the homage due to the gallantry of the contestants by

quoting and adopting the language of Dr. Dennison's address:

'The truest courage and determination was manifested on both

sides on that crimson day at that great slaughter-house,

Wagner.'"

It was no longer a question of doubt as to the valor of Northern

negroes. The assault on Fort Wagner completely removed any prejudice

that had been exhibited toward negro troops in the Department of the

South. General Gillmore immediately issued an order forbidding any

distinction to be made among troops in his command. So that while the

black Phalanx had lost hundreds of its members, it nevertheless won

equality in all things save the pay. The Government refused to place

them on a footing even with their Southern brothers, who received $7 per

month and the white troops $13. However, they were not fighting for pay,

as "Stonewall" of Company C argued, but for the "_freedom of our kin_."

Nobly did they do this, not only at Wagner, as we have seen, but in the

battles on James Island, Honey Hill, Olustee and at Bodkin's Mill.

In the winter of 1864, the troops in the Department of the South lay

encamped on the islands in and about Charleston harbor, resting from

their endeavors to drive the confederates from their strongholds. The

city was five miles away in the distance. Sumter, grim, hoary and in

ruins, yet defying the National authority, was silent. General Gillmore

was in command of the veteran legions of the 10th Army Corps, aided by a

powerful fleet of ironclads and other war vessels. There laid the city

of Charleston, for the time having a respite. General Gillmore was

giving rest to his troops, before he began again to throw Greek fire

into the city and batter the walls of its defences. The shattered ranks

of the Phalanx soldiers rested in the midst of thousands of their white

comrades-in-arms, to whom they nightly repeated the story of the late

terrible struggle. The solemn sentry pacing the ramparts of Fort Wagner

night and day, his bayonet glittering in the rays of the sun or in the

moonlight, seemed to be guarding the sepulchre of Col. Shaw and those

who fell beside him within the walls of that gory fort, and who were

buried where they fell. Only those who have lived in such a camp can

appreciate the stories of hair-breadth escapes from hand-to-hand fights.

The repose lasted until January, when an important movement took place

for the permanent occupation of Florida. The following account, written

by the author of this book, was published in "The Journal," of Toledo,

O.:

"The twentieth day of February, 1864, was one of the most

disastrous to the Federal arms, and to the administration of

President Lincoln, in the annals of the war for the union.

Through private advice Mr. Lincoln had received information

which led him to believe that the people in the State of

Florida, a large number of them, at least, were ready and

anxious to identify the State with the cause of the Union,

and he readily approved of the Federal forces occupying the

State, then almost deserted by the rebels. Gen. Gillmore,

commanding the Department of the South had a large force

before Charleston, S. C., which had been engaged in the

capture of Fort Wagner and the bombardment of the city of

Charleston, and the reduction of Sumter.

"These objects being accomplished, the army having rested

several months, Gen. Gillmore asked for leave to undertake

such expeditions within his Department as he might think

proper. About the middle of December, 1863, the War

Department granted him his request, and immediately he began

making preparations for an expedition, collecting

transports, commissary stores, drilling troops, etc., etc.

"About the 1st of January, 1864, General Gillmore wrote to

the General-in-Chief, Halleck, that he was about to occupy

the west bank of St. Johns river, with the view (1st) to

open an outlet to cotton, lumber, etc., (2d) to destroy one

of the enemy's sources of supplies, (3d) to give the negroes

opportunity of enlisting in the army, (4th) to inaugurate

measures for the speedy restoration of Florida to the Union.

"In accordance with instructions from President Lincoln

received through the assistant Adjutant General, Major J. H.

Hay, who would accompany the expedition, on the 5th of

February the troops began to embark under the immediate

command of General Truman Seymour, on board of twenty

steamers and eight schooners, consisting of the following

regiments, numbering in all six thousand troops, and under

convoy of the gunboat Norwich:

"40th Massachusetts Mounted Infantry, Col. Guy V. Henry.

"7th Connecticut, Col. J. R. Hawley.

"7th New Hampshire, Col. Abbott.

"47th, 48th and 115th New York, Col. Barton's command.

"The Phalanx regiments were: 8th Pennsylvania, Col. Fribley;

1st North Carolina, Lt.-Col. Reed; 54th Massachusetts, Col.

Hallowell; 2d South Carolina, Col. Beecher; 55th

Massachusetts, Col. Hartwell, with three batteries of white

troops, Hamilton's, Elder's and Langdon's. Excepting the two

last named regiments, this force landed at Jacksonville on

the 7th of February, and pushed on, following the 40th

Massachusetts Mounted Infantry, which captured by a bold

dash Camp Finnigan, about seven miles from Jacksonville,

with its equipage, eight pieces of artillery, and a number

of prisoners. On the 10th, the whole force had reached

Baldwin, a railroad station twenty miles west of

Jacksonville. There the army encamped, except Col. Henry's

force, which continued its advance towards Tallahassee,

driving a small force of Gen. Finnegan's command before him.

This was at the time all the rebel force in east Florida. On

the 18th Gen. Seymour, induced by the successful advance of

Col. Henry, lead his troops from Baldwin with ten days'

rations in their haversacks, and started for the Suwanee

river, about a hundred and thirty miles from Baldwin

station, leaving the 2d South Carolina and the 55th

Massachusetts Phalanx regiments to follow. After a fatiguing

march the column, numbering about six thousand, reached

Barbour's Station, on the Florida Central Railroad, twenty

miles from Baldwin. Here the command halted and bivouaced,

the night of the 19th, in the woods bordering upon a wooded

ravine running off towards the river from the railroad

track.

"It is now nineteen years ago, and I write from memory of a

night long to be remembered. Around many a Grand Army

Camp-fire in the last fifteen years this bivouac has been

made the topic of an evening's talk. It was attended with no

particular hardship. The weather was such as is met with in

these latitudes, not cold, not hot, and though a thick

vapory cloud hid the full round moon from early eventide

until the last regiment filed into the woods, yet there was

a halo of light that brightened the white, sandy earth and

gave to the moss-laden limbs of the huge pines which stood

sentry-like on the roadside the appearance of a New England

grove on a frosty night, with a shelled road leading through

it.

"It was well in the night when the two Phalanx regiments

filed out of the road into the woods, bringing up the rear

of the army, and took shelter under the trees from the

falling dew. Amid the appalling stillness that reigned

throughout the encampment, except the tramp of feet and an

occasional whickering of a battery horse, no sound broke the

deep silence. Commands were given in an undertone and

whispered along the long lines of weary troops that lay

among the trees and the underbrush of the pine forest. Each

soldier lay with his musket beside him, ready to spring to

his feet and in line for battle, for none knew the moment

the enemy, like a tiger, would pounce upon them. It was a

night of intense anxiety, shrouded in mystery as to what

to-morrow would bring. The white and black soldier in one

common bed lay in battle panoply, dreaming their common

dreams of home and loved ones.

"Here lay the heroic 54th picturing to themselves the

memorable nights of July 17 and 18, their bivouac on the

beach and their capture of Fort Wagner and the terrible fate

of their comrades. They were all veteran troops save the 8th

Pennsylvania, which upon many hard-fought fields had covered

themselves with gallant honor in defense of their country's

cause, from Malvern Hill to Morris Island.

"It was in the gray of the next morning that Gen. Seymour's

order aroused the command. The men partook of a hastily

prepared cup of coffee and meat and hard-tack from their

haversacks. At sunrise the troops took up the line of march,

following the railroad for Lake City. Col. Henry, with the

40th Massachusetts Mounted Infantry and Major Stevens'

independent battalion of Massachusetts cavalry, led the

column. About half-past one o'clock they reached a point

where the country road crossed the railroad, about two miles

east of Olustee, and six miles west of Sanderson, a station

through which the troops passed about half-past eleven

o'clock. As the head of the column reached the crossing the

rebel pickets fired and fell back upon a line of

skirmishers, pursued by Col. Henry's command. The enemy's

main force was supposed to be some miles distant from this

place, consequently General Seymour had not taken the

precaution to protect his flanks, though marching through an

enemy's country. Consequently he found his troops flanked on

either side.

"Col. Henry drove the skirmishers back upon their main

forces, which were strongly posted between two swamps. The

position was admirably chosen; their right rested upon a

low, slight earthwork, protected by rifle-pits, their center

was defended by an impassable swamp, and on their left was a

cavalry force drawn up on a small elevation behind the

shelter of a grove of pines. Their camp was intersected by

the railroad, on which was placed a battery capable of

operating against the center and left of the advancing

column, while a rifle gun, mounted on a railroad flat,

pointed down the road in front.

"Gen. Seymour, in order to attack this strongly fortified

position, had necessarily to place his troops between the

two swamps, one in his front, the other in the rear. The

Federal cavalry, following up the skirmishers, had attacked

the rebel right and were driven back, but were met by the

7th New Hampshire, 7th Connecticut, a regiment of the black

Phalanx (8th Pennsylvania), and Elder's battery of four and

Hamilton's of six pieces. This force was hurled against the

rebel right with such impetuosity that the batteries were

within one hundred yards of the rebel line of battle before

they knew it. However, they took position, and supported by

the Phalanx regiment, opened a vigorous fire upon the rebel

earthworks. The Phalanx regiment advanced within twenty or

thirty yards of the enemy's rifle-pits, and poured a volley

of minie balls into the very faces of those who did not fly

on their approach.

"The 7th Connecticut and the 7th New Hampshire, the latter

with their seven-shooters, Spencer repeaters, Col. Hawley,

commanding, had taken a stand further to the right of the

battery, and were hotly engaging the rebels. The Phalanx

regiment (8th), after dealing out two rounds from its

advanced position, finding the enemy's force in the center

preparing to charge upon them, fell back under cover of

Hamilton's battery, which was firing vigorously and

effectively into the rebel column. The 7th Connecticut and

New Hampshire about this time ran short of ammunition, and

Col. Hawley, finding the rebels outnumbered his force three

to one, was about ordering Col. Abbott to fall back and out

of the concentrated fire of the enemy pouring upon his men,

when he observed the rebels coming in for a down upon his

column.

"Here they come like tigers; the Federal column wavers a

little; it staggers and breaks, falling back in considerable

disorder! Col. Hawley now ordered Col. Fribley to take his

Phalanx Regiment, the 8th, to the right of the battery and

check the advancing rebel force. No time was to be lost, the

enemy's sharpshooters had already silenced two of Hamilton's

guns, dead and dying men and horses lay in a heap about

them, while at the remaining four guns a few brave

artillerists were loading and fixing their pieces, retarding

the enemy in his onward movement.

"Deficient in artillery, they had not been able to check the

Federal cavalry in its dash, but the concentrated fire from

right to center demoralized, and sent them galloping over

the field wildly. Col. Fribley gave the order by the right

flank, double quick! and the next moment the 8th Phalanx

swept away to the extreme right in support of the 7th New

Hampshire and the 7th Connecticut. The low, direct aim of

the enemy in the rifle-pits, his Indian sharpshooters up in

the trees, had ere now so thinned the ranks of Col. Hawley's

command that his line was gone, and the 8th Phalanx met the

remnant of his brigade as it was going to the rear in

complete disorder. The rebels ceased firing and halted as

the Phalanx took position between them and their fleeing

comrades. They halted not perforce, but apparently for

deliberation, when with one fell swoop in the next moment

they swept the field in their front.

"The Phalanx did not, however, quit the field in a

panic-stricken manner but fell hastily back to the battery,

only to find two of the guns silent and their brave workers

and horses nearly all of them dead upon the field. With a

courage undaunted, surpassed by no veteran troops on any

battle-field, the Phalanx attempted to save the silent guns.

In this effort Col. Fribley was killed, in the torrent of

rebel bullets which fell upon the regiment. It held the two

guns, despite two desperate charges made by the enemy to

capture them, but the stubbornness of the Phalanx was no

match for the ponderous weight of their enemy's column,

their sharpshooters and artillery mowing down ranks of their

comrades at every volley. A grander spectacle was never

witnessed than that which this regiment gave of gallant

courage. They left their guns only when their line officers

and three hundred and fifty of their valiant soldiers were

dead upon the field, the work of an hour and a half. The

battery lost forty of its horses and four of its brave men.

The Phalanx saved the colors of the battery with its own.

Col. Barton's brigade, the 47th, 48th and 115th New York,

during the fight on the right had held the enemy in the

front and center at bay, covering Elder's battery, and nobly

did they do their duty, bravely maintaining the reputation

they had won before Charleston, but like the other troops,

the contest was too unequal. The rebels outnumbered them

five to one, and they likewise gave way, leaving about a

fourth of their number upon the field, dead and wounded.

"Col. Montgomery's brigade, comprising two Phalanx

regiments, 54th Massachusetts and 1st North Carolina, which

had been held in reserve about a mile down the road, now

came up at double-quick. They were under heavy marching

orders, with ten days' rations in their knapsacks, besides

their cartridge boxes they carried ten rounds in their

overcoat pockets. The road was sandy, and the men often

found their feet beneath the sand, but with their wonted

alacrity they speed on up the road, the 54th leading in

almost a locked running step, followed closely by the 1st

North Carolina. As they reached the road intersected by the

railroad they halted in the rear of what remained of

Hamilton's battery, loading a parting shot. The band of the

54th took position on the side of the road, and while the

regiments were unstringing knapsacks as coolly as if about

to bivouac, the music of the band burst out on the

sulphurous air, amid the roar of artillery, the rattle of

musketry and the shouts of commands, mingling its

soul-stirring strains with the deafening yells of the

charging columns, right, left, and from the rebel center.

Thus on the very edge of the battle, nay, in the battle, the

Phalanx band poured out in heroic measures 'The Star

Spangled Banner.' Its thrilling notes, soaring above the

battles' gales, aroused to new life and renewed energy the

panting, routed troops, flying in broken and disordered

ranks from the field. Many of them halted, the New York

troops particularly, and gathered at the battery again,

pouring a deadly volley into the enemy's works and ranks.

The 54th had but a moment to prepare for the task. General

Seymour rode up and appealed to the Phalanx to check the

enemy and save the army from complete and total

annihilation. Col. Montgomery gave Col. Hallowell the order

'Forward,' pointing to the left, and away went the 54th

Phalanx regiment through the woods, down into the swamp,

wading up to their knees--in places where the water reached

their hips; yet on they went till they reached terra firma.

Soon the regiment stood in line of battle, ready to meet the

enemy's advancing cavalry, emerging from the extreme left.

"'Hold your fire!' the order ran down the line. Indeed, it

was trying. The cavalry had halted but the enemy, in their

rifle-pits in the center of their line, poured volley after

volley into the ranks of the Phalanx, which it stood like a

wall of granite, holding at bay the rebel cavalry hanging on

the edge of a pine grove. The 1st Phalanx regiment entered

the field in front, charged the rebels in the centre of the

line, driving them into their rifle-pits, and then for half

an hour the carnage became frightful. They had followed the

rebels into the very jaws of death, and now Col. Reid found

his regiment in the enemy's enfilading fire, and they swept

his line. Men fell like snowflakes. Driven by this terrific

fire, they fell back. The 54th had taken ground to the

right, lending whatever of assistance they could to their

retiring comrades, who were about on a line with them, for

although retreating, it was in the most cool and deliberate

manner, and the two regiments began a firing at will against

which the rebels, though outnumbering them, could not face.

Thus they held them till long after sunset, and firing

ceased.

"The slaughter was terrible; the Phalanx lost about 800 men,

the white troops about 600. It was Braddock's defeat after

the lapse of a century."

The rout was complete; the army was not only defeated but beaten and

demoralized. The enemy had succeeded in drawing it into a trap for the

purpose of annihilating it. Seymour had advanced, contrary to the orders

given him by General Gillmore, from Baldwin's Station, where he was

instructed to intrench and await orders. Whether or not he sought to

retrieve the misfortunes that had attended him in South Carolina, in

assaulting the enemy's works, is a question which need not be discussed

here. It is only necessary to show the miserable mismanagement of the

advance into the enemy's country. The troops were marched into an

ambuscade, where they were slaughtered by the enemy at will. Even after

finding his troops ambuscaded, and within two hundred yards of the

confederate fortifications, General Seymour did not attempt to fall back

and form a line of battle, though he had sufficient artillery, but

rushed brigade after brigade up to the enemy's guns, only to be mowed

down by the withering storm of shot. Each brigade in turn went in as

spirited as any troops ever entered a fight, but stampeded out of it

maimed, mangled and routed. At sunset the road, foot-paths and woods

leading back to Saunders' Station, was full of brave soldiers hastening

from the massacre of their comrades, in their endeavor to escape

capture. At about nine o'clock that night, what remained of the left

column, Colonel Montgomery's brigade, consisting of the 54th and 35th

Phalanx Regiments, and a battery, arrived at the Station, and reported

the confederates in hot pursuit.

[Illustration: CHARGE OF THE PHALANX.]

Instantly the shattered, scattered troops fled to the roads leading to

Barber's, ten miles away, with no one to command. Each man took his own

route for Barber's, leaving behind whatever would encumber him,--arms,

ammunition, knapsacks and cartridge boxes; many of the latter containing

forty rounds of cartridges. It was long past midnight when Barber's was

reached, and full day before the frightened mob arrived at the Station.

At sunrise on the morning of the 21st, the scene presented at Barber's

was sickening and sad. The wounded lay everywhere, upon the ground,

huddled around the embers of fagot fires, groaning and uttering cries of

distress. The surgeons were busy relieving, as best they could, the more

dangerously wounded. The foot-sore and hungry soldiers sought out their

bleeding and injured comrades and placed them upon railroad flats,

standing upon the tracks, and when these were loaded, ropes and strong

vines were procured and fastened to the flats. Putting themselves in the

place of a locomotive,--several of which stood upon the track at

Jacksonville,--the mangled and mutilated forms of about three hundred

soldiers were dragged forward mile after mile. Just in the rear, the

confederates kept up a fire of musketry, as though to hasten on the

stampede. It was well into the night when the train reached Baldwin's,

where it was thought the routed force would occupy the extensive work

encircling the station, but they did not stop; their race was continued

to Jacksonville. At Baldwin's an agent of the Christian Commission gave

the wounded each two crackers, without water. This over with, the train

started for Jacksonville, ten miles further. The camp of Colonel

Beecher's command, 2nd Phalanx Regiment, was reached, and here coffee

was furnished. At daylight the train reached Jacksonville, where the

wounded were carried to the churches and cared for. The battle and the

retreat had destroyed every vestige of distinction based upon color. The

troops during the battle had fought together, as during the stampede

they had endured its horrors together.

The news of the battle and defeat reached Beaufort the night of the 23rd

of February. It was so surprising that it was doubted, but when a boat

load of wounded men arrived, all doubts were dispelled.

Colonel T. W. Higginson, who was at Beaufort at the time with his

regiment, (1st S. C), thus notes the reception of the news in his diary,

which we quote with a few comments from his admirable book, "Army Life

in a Black Regiment":

"'FEBRUARY, 19TH.

"'Not a bit of it! This morning the General has ridden up

radiant, has seen General Gillmore, who has decided not to

order us to Florida at all, nor withdraw any of this

garrison. Moreover, he says that all which is intended in

Florida is done--that there will be no advance to

Tallahassee, and General Seymour will establish a camp of

instruction in Jacksonville. Well, if that is all, it is a

lucky escape.'

"We little dreamed that on that very day the march toward

Olustee was beginning. The battle took place next day, and I

add one more extract to show how the news reached Beaufort.

"'FEBRUARY 23, 1864.

"'There was a sound of revelry by night at a ball in

Beaufort last night, in a new large building beautifully

decorated. All the collected flags of the garrison hung

round and over us, as if the stars and stripes were devised

for an ornament alone. The array of uniforms was such, that

a civilian became a distinguished object, much more a lady.

All would have gone according to the proverbial marriage

bell, I suppose, had there not been a slight palpable shadow

over all of us from hearing vague stories of a lost battle

in Florida, and from the thought that perhaps the very

ambulances in which we rode to the ball were ours only until

the wounded or the dead might tenant them.

"'General Gillmore only came, I supposed, to put a good face

upon the matter. He went away soon, and General Saxton went;

then came a rumor that the Cosmopolitan had actually arrived

with wounded, but still the dance went on. There was nothing

unfeeling about it--one gets used to things,--when suddenly,

in the midst of the 'Lancers,' there came a perfect hush,

the music ceasing, a few surgeons went hastily to and fro,

as if conscience stricken (I should think they might have

been),--and then there 'waved a mighty shadow in,' as in

Uhland's 'Black Knight,' and as we all stood wondering we

were aware of General Saxton who strode hastily down the

hall, his pale face very resolute, and looking almost sick

with anxiety. He had just been on board the steamer; there

were two hundred and fifty wounded men just arrived, and the

ball must end. Not that there was anything for us to do, but

the revel was mis-timed, and must be ended; it was wicked to

be dancing with such a scene of suffering near by.

[Illustration: PHALANX RIVER PICKETS DEFENDING THEMSELVES.

Federal picket boat near Fernandina, Fla., attacked by Confederate

sharpshooters stationed in the trees on the banks.]

"'Of course the ball was instantly broken up, though with

some murmurings and some longings of appetite, on the part

of some, toward the wasted supper.

"'Later, I went on board the boat. Among the long lines of

wounded, black and white intermingled, there was the

wonderful quiet which usually prevails on such occasions.

Not a sob nor a groan, except from those undergoing removal.

It is not self-control, but chiefly the shock to the system

produced by severe wounds, especially gunshot wounds, and

which usually keeps the patient stiller at first than at any

later time.

"'A company from my regiment waited on the wharf, in their

accustomed dusky silence, and I longed to ask them what they

thought of our Florida disappointment now? In view of what

they saw, did they still wish we had been there? I confess

that in presence of all that human suffering, I could not

wish it. But I would not have suggested any such thought to

them.

"'I found our kind-hearted ladies, Mrs. Chamberlin and Mrs.

Dewhurst, on board the steamer, but there was nothing for

them to do, and we walked back to camp in the radiant

moonlight; Mrs. Chamberlin more than ever strengthened in

her blushing woman's philosophy, 'I don't care who wins the

laurels, provided we don't!'

"'FEBRUARY 29TH.

"'But for a few trivial cases of varioloid, we should

certainly have been in that disastrous fight. We were

confidently expected for several days at Jacksonville, and

the commanding general told Hallowell that we, being the

oldest colored regiment, would have the right of the line.

This was certainly to miss danger and glory very closely.'"

At daybreak on the 8th of March, 1864, the 7th Regiment, having left

Camp Stanton, Maryland, on the 4th and proceeded to Portsmouth, Va.,

embarked on board the steamer "Webster" for the Department of the South.

Arriving at Hilton Head, the regiment went into camp for a few days,

then it embarked for Jacksonville, Fla., at which place it remained for

some time, taking part in several movements into the surrounding country

and participating in a number of quite lively skirmishes. On the 27th of

June a considerable portion of the Regiment was ordered to Hilton Head,

where it arrived on July 1st; it went from there to James Island, where

with other troops a short engagement with the confederates was had.

Afterwards the regiment returned to Jacksonville, Fla., remaining in

that vicinity engaged in raiding the adjacent territory until the 4th of

August, when the regiment was ordered to Virginia, to report to the

Army of the Potomoc, where it arrived on Aug. 8th. The 55th

Massachusetts Regiment was also ordered to the Department of the South,

It left Boston July 21st, 1863, on the steamer "Cahawba," and arrived at

Newbern on the 25th. After a few days of rest, to recover from the

effects of the voyage, the regiment was put into active service, and

performed a large amount of marching and of the arduous duties required

of a soldier. Many skirmishes and actions of more or less importance

were participated in. February 13th, 1864, the regiment took a steamer

for Jacksonville, Fla., and spent considerable time in that section and

at various points on the St. Johns river. In June the regiment was

ordered to the vicinity of Charleston, and took part in several of the

engagements which occurred in that neighborhood, always sustaining and

adding to the reputation they were acquiring for bravery and good

soldierly conduct. The regiment passed its entire time of active service

in the department to which it was first sent, and returned to Boston,

Mass., where it was mustered out, amid great rejoicing, on the 23rd of

September, 1865.

The battles in which the 54th Regiment were engaged were some of the

most sanguinary of the war. The last fight of the regiment, which, like

the battle of New Orleans, took place after peace was declared, is thus

described by the Drummer Boy of Company C, Henry A. Monroe, of New

Bedford, Mass.:

BOYKIN'S MILL.[27]

One wailing bugle note,--

Then at the break of day,

With Martial step and gay.

The army takes its way

From Camden town.

There lay along the path,

Defending native land;

A daring, desperate band

Entrenched on either hand

In ambuscade.

A low and dark ravine

Beneath a rugged hill,

Where stood the Boykin Mill

Spanning the creek, whose rill

Flows dark an deep.

Only a narrow bank

Where one can scarcely tread:

Thick branches meet o'erhead;

Across the mill-pond's bed

A bridge up-torn.

One single sharp report!

A hundred muskets peal,--

A wild triumphant yell,

As back the army fell

Stunned, bleeding, faint.

As when some mighty rock

Obstructs the torrent's course,

After the moment's pause

Twill rush with greater force

Resistless on.

A moment's pause and then,

Our leader from his post,

Viewing the stricken host.

Cried 'Comrades, all is lost

If we now fail!'

Forming in single file.

They gaze with bated breath,

Around--before--beneath--

On every hand, stern Death

His visage showed.

'Forward!' They quickly spring

With leveled bayonet;

Each eye is firmly set

Upon that pathway wet

With crimson gore.

That 'Balaklava' dash!

Right through the leaden hail.

O'er dyke mid timbers frail,

With hearts that never fail

They boldly charge.

Facing the scathing fire

Without a halt or break;

Save when with moan or shriek,

In the blood-mingled creek

The wounded fall.

What could resist that charge?

Above the battle's roar,

There swells a deafening cheer

Telling to far and near,

The Mill is won!

The slaughter was terrible, and among the killed was young Lieutenant

Stevenson, a graduate of Harvard. The affair was an unnecessary

sacrifice of human life, for the war was over, peace had been declared,

and President Lincoln had been assassinated; but in the interior of the

Carolinas, the news did not reach until it was too late to prevent this

final bloodshed of the war. Perhaps it may be regarded as a fitting seal

of the negro to his new covenant with freedom and his country.

The very large number of negro troops which General Gillmore had under

his command in the Department of the South, afforded him a better

opportunity to test their fitness for and quality as soldiers, than any

other commander had. In fact the artillery operations in Charleston

harbor, conducted throughout with remarkable engineering skill,

perseverence and bravery, won for General Gillmore and his troops the

attention and admiration of the civilized world, and an exceptional

place in the annals of military siege. Such fame is sufficient to prompt

an inquiry into the capacity of the men who performed the labor of

planting the "Swamp Angel," which threw three hundred pound shot into

the heart of Charleston, more than four miles away, and also mounted the

six 200-pound cannons which demolished the forts in the harbor two miles

distant. The work of mounting these immense guns in swamp and mud could

only be done by men who feared neither fatigue, suffering nor death.

After the accomplishment of these worlds, wonders, and the subjugation

of "arrogant" Wagner, the following circular was addressed to the

subordinate engineers for information regarding the negro troops, which

drew forth explicit and interesting answers:

"COLORED TROOPS FOR WORK.--CIRCULAR.

"HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH,

"ENGINEER'S OFFICE, MORRIS ISLAND, S. C., Sept. 10th, 1863.

"As the important experiment which will test the fitness of

the American negro for the duties of a soldier is now being

tried, it is desirable that facts bearing on the question be

carefully observed and recorded.

"It is probable that in no military operations of the war

have negro troops done so large a proportion, and so

important and hazardous, fatigue duty, as in the siege

operations on this island.

"As you have directed the operations of working parties of

both white and black troops here, I respectfully ask, for

the object above stated, an impartial and carefully prepared

answer to the following inquiries, together with such

statements as you choose to make bearing on this question:

"I. Courage as indicated by their behavior under fire.

"II. Skill and appreciation of their duties, referring to

the quality of the work performed.

"III. Industry and perseverence, with reference, to the

quantity of the work performed.

"IV. If a certain work were to be accomplished in the least

possible time, _i. e._, when enthusiasm and direct personal

interest is necessary to attain the end, would whites or

blacks answer best?

"V. What is the difference, considering the above points

between colored troops recruited from the free States and

those from the slave States?

"Very respectfully your obedient servant,

"T. B. BROOKS,

"_Major, Aide-de-Camp and Ass't Engineer._"

_Six_ replies to these enquiries were received from engineer officers

who had been engaged in the siege, the substance of which is embraced in

the following summary, following which two replies are given in full,

"1. To the first question all answer that the black is more

timorous than the white, but is in a corresponding degree

more docile and obedient, hence more completely under the

control of his commander, and much more influenced by his

example.

"2. All agree that the black is less skillful than the white

soldier, but still enough so for most kinds of siege work.

"3. The statements unanimously agree that the black will do

a greater amount of work than the white soldier because he

labors more constantly.

"4. The whites are decidedly superior in enthusiasm. The

blacks cannot be easily hurried in their work, no matter

what the emergency.

"5. All agree that the colored troops recruited from free

States are superior to those recruited from slave States.

"It may with propriety be repeated here, that the average

percentage of sick among the negro troops during the siege

was 13.9, while that of the white infantry was 20.1 per

cent.

"The percentage of tours of duty performed by the blacks as

compared with the white infantry, was as 56 to 41. But the

grand guard duty, which was considered much more wearing

than fatigue, was all done by the whites.

"The efficiency and health of a battalion depends so much

upon its officers, that, in order to institute a fair

comparison, when so small a number of troops are considered,

this element should be eliminated. This has not, however,

been attempted in this paper."

[_Reply in Full No. 1._]

"MORRIS ISLAND, S. C., Sept. 11th, 1863.

"MAJOR:--In answer to your several queries as per circular

of September 10, 1863, requesting my opinion as to the

relative merits of white and black troops, for work in the

trenches, I have the honor to make the the following

replies:

"I. 'Their courage as indicated by their behavior under

fire.' I will say, in my opinion, their courage is rather of

the passive than the active kind. They will stay, endure,

resist, and follow, but they have not the restless,

aggressive spirit. I do not believe they will desert their

officers in trying moments, in so great numbers as the

whites; they have not the will, audacity or fertility of

excuse of the straggling white, and at the same time they

have not the heroic, nervous energy, or vivid perception of

the white, who stands firm or presses forward.

"I do not remember a single instance, in my labors in the

trenches, where the black man has skulked away from his

duty, and I know that instances of that kind have occurred

among the whites; still I think that the superior energy and

intelligence of those remaining, considering that the whites

were the lesser number by the greater desertion, would more

than compensate.

"II. 'Skill and appreciation of their duties referring to

the quality of the work.'

"They have a fair share of both; enough to make them very

useful and efficient, but they have not apparently that

superior intelligence and skill that may be found largely

among the non-commissioned officers and privates of the

white regiments.

"III. 'Industry and perseverence with reference to the

quantity of the work done.'

"I think they will do more than the whites; they do not have

so many complaints and excuses, but stick to their work

patiently, doggedly, obediently, and accomplish a great

deal, though I have never known them to work with any marked

spirit or energy. I should liken the white man to the horse

(often untractable and balky), the black man to the ox.

"IV. 'If a certain work were to be accomplished in the least

possible time, _i. e._, when enthusiasm and direct personal

interest is necessary to attain the end, would whites or

blacks answer best?'

"I cannot make up my mind that it is impossible to arouse

the enthusiasm of the blacks, for I have seen enough of them

to know that they are very emotional creatures; still though

they might have more dash than I have seen and think

possible, it is unquestionable to my mind that were the

enthusiasm and personal interest of both aroused, the white

would far surpass the black.

"It seems to me that there is a hard nervous organization at

the bottom of the character of the white, and a soft

susceptible one at the bottom of the character of the black.

"V. 'What is the difference, considering the above points,

between colored troops recruited from the free States and

those from the slave States?'

"I should say that the free State men were the best; they

have more of the self-reliance, and approximate nearer to

the qualities of the white man in respect to dash and

energy, than those from the slave States.

"_Summary._--To me they compare favorably with the whites;

they are easily handled, true and obedient; there is less

viciousness among them; they are more patient; they have

great constancy. The character of the white, as you know,

runs to extremes; one has bull-dog courage, another is a

pitiful cur; one is excessively vicious, another pure and

noble. The phases of the character of the white touches the

stars and descends to the lowest depths. The blacks

character occupies the inner circle. Their status is

mediocrity, and this mediocrity and uniformity, for military

fatigue duty, I think, answers best.

"I am respectfully your obedient servant,

"JOSEPH WALKER.

"_Captain New York Volunteer Engineers._

"Major T. B. BROOKS,

"_Aide-de-Camp and Ass't. Eng. Dept. of the South."_

[_Reply in Full No. 2._]

"MORRIS ISLAND, Sept. 16th, 1863.

"MAJOR T. B. BROOKS, _Ass't. Engineer Dept. of the South._

"SIR: I have the honor to state that I received from you a

circular of inquiry respecting the comparative merits of

white and black soldiers for fatigue duty, requesting my

opinion as derived from observation and actual intercourse

with them, on several specified points, which I subjoin with

the respective answers.

"I. 'Courage as indicated by conduct under fire.'

"I have found that the black troops manifest more timidity

under fire than the white troops, but they are at the same

time more obedient to orders, and more under control of

their officers, in dangerous situations, than white

soldiers.

"II. 'Skill and appreciation of their duties with reference

to the quality of the work performed.'

"White soldiers are more intelligent and experienced and of

course more skillful than the black ones, but they have not

generally a corresponding appreciation of their duties. As a

consequence I have found in most cases the work as well done

by black as by white soldiers.

"III. 'Industry and perseverence with reference to the

amount of work performed.'

"White soldiers work with more energy while they do work

than the black ones, but do not work as constantly. Black

soldiers seldom intermit their labors except by orders or

permission. The result, as far as my observations extends,

is that a greater amount of work is usually accomplished

with black than with white soldiers.

"IV. 'If a certain work were to be accomplished in the least

possible time, when enthusiasm and direct personal interest

is necessary to the attainment of the end, would whites or

blacks answer best?'

"Whites. Because though requiring more effort to control,

they possess a greater energy of character and

susceptibility of enthusiasm than the black race, which can

be called into action by an emergency or by a sufficient

effort on the part of their officers.

"V. 'What is the difference, considering the above points,

between colored troops recruited from the free States and

those from the slave States?'

"I have observed a decided difference in favor of those

recruited from the free States.

"The problem involved in the foregoing investigation is more

difficult of a solution than appears at first sight, owing

to the fact that the degree of efficiency peculiar to any

company of troops depends so much on the character of their

officers, an element that must eliminate from the question

in order to ascertain the quality of the material of which

the troops are composed.

"I have the honor to be your obedient servant,

"H. FARRAND,

"_1st Lieut. New York Volunteer Engineers._"

In his report to Major-General Gillmore, dated "Morris Island, Sept.

27th, 1863," Major Brooks, his Assistant Engineer, says: "Of the

numerous infantry regiments which furnished fatigue details, the Fourth

New Hampshire Volunteers did the most and best work. Next follow the

blacks, the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteers, and Third United

States Colored Troops."

Annexed to these reports is also a statement of the labor days of the

troops.

"WORKING PARTIES AND HEALTH OF TROOPS.

"The total number of days' work, of six hours each, expended

in Major Brooks' operations was, by engineers, 4,500, and by

infantry 19,000, total 23,500; of the 19,000 days' work by

infantry, one-half was performed by colored troops. In

addition to the above, 9,500 days' work was expended in

preparing siege materials for Major Brooks' operations. The

infantry soldiers' days' work is about one-fifth what a

citizen laborer would do on civil works. Of my work, over

eight-twentieths was against Wagner, about seven-twentieths

on the defensive lines, and nearly five-twentieths on the

batteries against Sumter.

"The approximate amount of labor actually expended on the

more important works is as follows: One emplacement for a

siege piece, 40 days; one emplacement for a heavy breaching

gun, 100 days; one bomb-proof magazine, 250 days;

construction and repairs of each yard of approach having

splinter-proof parapet, 2 days; a lineal yard of narrow

splinter-proof shelter, 4 days; a lineal yard of wide

splinter-proof shelter, 8 days; to make and set one yard of

inclined palisading, 2 days.

"At least three-fourths of the manual labor was simply

shoveling sand; one-half of the remainder was carrying

engineer material. The balance was employed in various kinds

of work.

"About three-fourths of this work was executed in the

night-time, and at least nine-tenths of it under a fire of

artillery or sharpshooters, or both. The sharpshooters

seldom fired during the night. The artillery fire was most

severe during the day. Thirty-five projectiles fired by the

enemy at our works per hour was called "heavy firing,"

although sometimes more than double that number were thrown.

"In the order of their number the projectiles were from

smooth-bore guns, mortars, and rifled guns.

"The James Island batteries were from two thousand to four

thousand yards from our works; Fort Sumter and Battery Gregg

were respectively about three thousand five hundred and two

thousand one hundred; Fort Wagner was from thirteen hundred

to one hundred yards.

"The total number of casualties in the working parties and

the guard of the advanced trenches, (not including the main

guard of the trenches), during the siege, was about one

hundred and fifty. When it is considered that on an average

over two hundred men were constantly engaged in these

duties, being under fire for fifty days, the number of

casualties is astonishingly small.

"The camp at which the fatigue parties were quartered and

fed were, in order to be beyond the reach of the enemy's

fires, two miles from the centre of the works; hence the

distance of four miles had to be marched each tour of duty,

which required nearly two hours, and added greatly to the

labor of the siege.

"This siege has been conducted through the hottest part of

the season,--July, August and September,--yet the troops

have suffered but little from excess in heat, on account of

the large proportion of night work, and the almost continual

sea-breeze, which was always cool and refreshing.

"The amount of sickness was great, the large amount of duty

being the probable cause. On the 7th of August the

percentage was the smallest observed during the siege, being

18.6. At this date the aggregate garrison of Morris Island

was 9,353, of which 1,741 were sick. On the 17th of August

22.9 per cent. of the whole garrison were on the sick list.

This was the most unhealthy period of the siege.

"The average strength of the command on Morris Island during

the siege was, of all arms, 10,678 men, of which the average

percentage sick was 19.88. The number of black troops varied

from 1,127 to 1947.

"Average percentage of sick in Artillery, 6.2; ditto, in

Engineers, 11.9; ditto, in Black Infantry, 13.9; ditto, in

White Infantry, (excluding one brigade), 20.1.

"This brigade consisted of the Ninety-seventh Pennsylvania,

Twenty-fourth Massachusetts and Tenth Connecticut

Volunteers. It averaged thirty per cent sick. This was due

to the fact that these three regiments had been stationed,

before moving to Morris Island, on Seabrook Island, which

proved very unhealthy. The engineers and black infantry were

employed exclusively on fatigue duty. The white infantry

served as guard of the trenches, as well as for work in the

same.

"Details from the troops on Folly Island took part in the

operations on Morris Island.

"It was found by experience that men under these

circumstances could not work more than one-fourth the time.

A greater amount at once increased the sick list. Eight

hours in thirty-two, or eight hours on and twenty-four off,

was found to be the best arrangement, as it made a daily

change in the hours of duty for those regiments permanently

detailed for work.

"The organization found most advantageous in working a

command permanently detailed for fatigue duty, was to divide

its effective force into four equal detachments, on duty

eight hours each, relieving each other at 4 A. M., 12 M. and

8 P. M. The large number of extra troops employed in the

trenches each night were usually changed daily.

"The engineer officers in charge of the works were divided

into corresponding groups, four in each, relieving each

other at 8 A. M., 4 P. M., and 12 midnight, four hours

different from the time of relieving the troops. This

difference enabled the engineer officers to carry the work

through the period of relieving the fatigue details.

"One engineer officer, having from two to four different

kinds or jobs of work to superintend, was found to work

advantageously in the night, with the help of

non-commissioned officers of engineers, from one hundred to

two hundred men.

"The working parties of engineers and black infantry seldom

carried their arms into the trenches, while the white

infantry fatigue parties usually did."

FOOTNOTES:

[27] NOTE.--Boykin's Mill, a few miles from Camden, S. C, was the scene

of one of the bloodiest skirmishes that the 54th Regt. ever participated

in. We had literally fought every step of the way from Georgetown to

Camden, and the enemy made a last desperate stand at this place. No

better position could be found for a defense, as the only approach to

it, was by a narrow embankment about 200 yards long, where only one

could walk at a time. The planks of the bridge over the mill-race were

torn up, compelling the troops to cross on the timbers and cross-ties,

under a galling fire which swept the bridge and embankment, rendering it

a fearful 'way of death.' The heroes of Wagner and Olustee did not

shrink from the trial, but actually charged in single file. The first to

step upon the fatal path, went down like grass before the scythe, but

over their prostrate bodies came their comrades, until the enemy,

panic-stricken by such determined daring, abandoned their position and

fled.