"I was never under such a terrific fire, and can hardly

realize how any escaped alive. Our loss was heavy. In the

Twenty-eighth (colored) for instance, commanded by

Lieut.-Col. Russell (a Bostonian), he lost seven officers

out of eleven, and ninety-one men out of two hundred and

twenty-four; and the colonel himself was knocked over

senseless, for a few minutes, by a slight wound in the head;

both his color-sergeants and all his color-guard were

killed. Col. Bross, of the Twenty-ninth, was killed

outright, and nearly every one of his officers hit. This was

nearly equal to Bunker Hill. Col. Ross, of the Thirty-first,

lost his leg. The Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth

(colored), all charged over the works; climbing up an

earthwork six feet high, then down into a ditch, and up on

the other side, all the time under the severest fire in

front and flank. Not being supported, of course the storming

party fell back. I have seen white troops run faster than

these blacks did, when in not half so tight a place. Our

brigade lost thirty-six prisoners, all cut off after leaving

the 'crater.' My faith in colored troops is not abated one

jot.'"

The Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War investigated the

affair, before which General Grant testified. He was severe upon General

Ledlie, whom he regarded as an inefficient officer; he blamed himself

for allowing that officer to lead the assault. General Grant also

testified:

"General Burnside wanted to put his colored division in

front; I believe if he had done so it would have been a

success."

On the morning of the 13th of August, 1864, a brigade of the Phalanx,

consisting of the 7th, 8th, 9th and 29th Regiments, crossed from Bermuda

Hundreds to the north side of the James river, on pontoons, near Jones'

landing, and bivouacked for the night. General Grant was led to believe

that General Lee had sent a portion of his troops, at least three

divisions of infantry, and one of cavalry, from the front of Petersburg,

to re-enforce Gen. Early, then operating in the valley. Consequently he

thought it a favorable opportunity to threaten Richmond, and ordered

Hancock with the 2nd, and Birney with a part of the 10th Corps, with

Gregg's Cavalry, to attack the confederate works on the north side of

the James. The object was two-fold: to prevent Lee from re-enforcing

Early, confronted by Sheridan's troops; and likewise to drive the

confederates from out their works. The troops crossed the James on the

13th, the 2d Corps going to Deep Bottom by transports, the other troops

crossing the river by pontoons, and advancing, found the enemy in force.

Several spirited engagements took place, after which the main forces

withdrew again across the river, to the front of Petersburg. The

following account applies to the brigade as well as the 7th Phalanx

Regiment, from whose record it is extracted:

"During the forenoon of the 14th the (7th) Regiment acted as

reserve, moving forward occasionally as the line advanced.

Most of the work of the day was done to the right, little

being done in the immediate front except skirmishing. About

5 P. M. a portion of the Seventh and Ninth, forming line in

the edge of some timber, moved across an open field and

charged upon reaching the farther side and captured the

enemy's line of rifle-pits. The companies of the Seventh

pushed on some distance further toward their second line,

but were met with so severe a fire that they fell back to

the captured line; which was held. This charge, known as the

action of Kingsland Road, was made in fine style. The

battalion of the Seventh was commanded by Capt. Weiss--Col.

Shaw having been detailed as Corps Officer of the day, and

Lieut.-Col. Haskell being temporarily in command of the

brigade. Our losses were two men killed, and one officer

(Lieut. Eler) and thirty-two men wounded.

"About 10 o'clock P. M., the troops moved down the road to

the right, and at 1 o'clock Col. Shaw withdrew the pickets

of the corps, re-crossed the pontoons, where we had crossed

in the morning, and moved down the neck. Then followed four

hours of the most wearisome night-marching--moving a few

rods at a time and then halting for troops ahead to get out

of the way; losing sight of them and hurrying forward to

catch up; straggling out into the darkness, stumbling and

groping along the rough road, and all the time the rain

coming down in a most provoking, exasperating drizzle. About

daylight crossed back to the north side and halted for

coffee, and then moved forward some four miles and rejoined

the corps, taking position behind the crest of a hill. The

Eighth and Twenty-ninth were left in a work on the hill.

"About 3:30 P. M. orders came to pile knapsacks and be ready

to march immediately. A little after 4 o'clock the brigade

moved to the right, some three-quarters of a mile, into an

open cornfield, and, after halting a few moments, turned

down a road through the woods to the left with Gen. Wm.

Birney, who ordered Col. Shaw to throw out skirmishers and

advance with his brigade down a road which he pointed out,

find the enemy and attack vigorously, and then rode away.

Finding the road turning to the left, Col. Shaw sent word to

Gen. Birney that the designated road would probably bring

him back on our own line. The order came back from Gen.

Birney to go ahead. The road still bearing to the left, word

was again sent that we should strike our own line if we

continued to advance in the direction we were going. A

second time the answer came to move on. A third messenger

having brought from Gen. Birney the same reply, Col. Shaw

decided to disobey the order and call in the skirmishers.

Before it could be done firing commenced and continued

briskly for several minutes, before the men recognized each

other, and it was discovered that we had been firing into

our own Second Brigade--Col. Osborn's. This sad affair,

which would not have occurred had Col Shaw's caution been

heeded, resulted in the killing of the lieutenant commanding

the picket-line and the wounding of many men on both sides.

After this _fiasco_ the brigade moved out into the

cornfield, where it had halted earlier in the day, and

bivouacked for the night. The regiment had been more or less

exposed all day to shell-fire, but lost from it only four or

five men wounded, in addition to the ten or twelve men

wounded in the skirmish with Osborn's brigade.

"Early on the morning of the 16th, the regiment marched back

to its knapsacks and halted for breakfast. About 10 o'clock

it was ordered out to support two batteries, and remained on

this duty until 3 P. M., changing position frequently, in

the meantime Gen. Terry, with the First Division of the

Tenth Corps, had charged the rebel line, near Fuzzel's

mills, and captured it, together with three colors and some

three hundred prisoners. But the enemy rallied, and with

reinforcements, soon compelled Gen. Terry to relinquish the

captured line. About dark Gen. Wm. Birney came up, and

taking the left wing of the Seventh--the right wing, under

Col. Shaw, was in support of a battery--and two companies of

the Ninth, placed them under command of Lieut.-Col. Haskell,

and ordered him with this handful of men to take an

earthwork in his front which a division a short time before

had failed to carry. The timely arrival of Gen. Terry put an

end to this mad scheme. The regiment lost during the day

eight or ten men wounded.

"The general results of the day's fighting had been

unsatisfactory, for not only had Terry's attack failed in

its object, but the advance on the right, along the Charles

City road, by the troops of the Second Corps and Gregg's

cavalry division, had been equally unsuccessful. The rebel

General Chambliss was among the killed.

"About 2:30 A. M. of the 17th, the left wing of the regiment

was sent back to a line of rifle-pits that had been thrown

up some two hundred yards to the rear, where it was joined

by the right wing in the morning after breakfast.

Picket-firing continued during the day and heavy artillery

firing was heard in the direction of Petersburg. At 4 P. M.

a flag of truce was sent out and two hours given to bring in

the dead from between the lines. Gen. Chambliss' body was

delivered, and we received that of Capt. Williams, of the

Thirty-ninth Illinois. Early in the evening the regiment was

ordered on picket. Considerable picket-firing occurred

during the night and day, the men being with difficulty

restrained from it. We were relieved about noon of the 18th

by the One Hundred and Fifteenth New York and Seventy-sixth

Pennsylvania. * * *

"Early in the morning the Eighth and the Twenty-ninth

Connecticut rejoined the regiment, and after the regiment

was relieved from picket, it, with the Twenty-ninth, fell

back a quarter of a mile, leaving the Eighth and Ninth on

the line. Rations having been drawn, the men got supper and

prepared for a good night's sleep. Suddenly a heavy musketry

fire broke out toward the left which rapidly extended to the

right and the entire line was soon under fire. The regiment

moved forward at double-quick, but by the time it reached

the front and formed line, darkness set in and the enemy

fell back. About 11 P. M. our forces were withdrawn, and,

after several hours spent in marching and halting, the

regiment went into camp two miles from the pontoons. Here it

lay all day of the 19th. The following congratulatory order

was received from corps headquarters, in which the brigade

was spoken of in very flattering terms by Maj.-Gen. D. B.

Birney, commanding:

"'HEADQUARTERS TENTH ARMY CORPS,

FUZZEL'S MILLS, VA., August 19, 1864.

"'_General Orders._--The Major-General commanding

congratulates the Tenth Army Corps upon its success. It has,

on each occasion, when ordered, broken the enemy's strong

lines. It has captured during this short campaign four siege

guns protected by formidable works, six colors and many

prisoners. It has proved itself worthy of its old Wagner and

Fort Sumter renown.

"'Much fatigue, patience and heroism, may still be demanded

of it, but the Major-General commanding is confident of the

response. To the colored troops, recently added to us, and

fighting with us, the Major-General tenders his thanks for

their uniform good conduct and soldierly bearing. They have

set a good example to our veterans, by the entire absence of

straggling from their ranks on the march.

"'By order of Maj.-Gen. D. B. BIRNEY.

"'E.W. SMITH,

_Lieutenant-Colonel and Assistant Adjutant-General._'

"The special correspondent of the New York _Tribune_ said:

"'Gen. Butler, in a dispatch to the Tenth Corps, on

receiving official report of its work, said: 'All honor to

the brave Tenth Corps; you have done more than was expected

of you by the Lieutenant-General.'

"'The loss in the four colored regiments is about three

hundred. The Seventh U. S. C. T. on the first day, carried,

with fixed bayonets, a line of rifle-pits, and carried it

without a shot, but with a loss of 35. It was one of the

most stirring and gallant affairs I have ever known'.

"It began to rain in the afternoon and continued during the

night and until nearly noon of the following day, 20th.

During the afternoon of the 20th, orders were received to

send all sick to the rear and be ready to withdraw quietly

at dark. The movement began at 7 P. M., both the Second and

Tenth Corps participating--the Second Corps and the cavalry

returning to the Petersburg line, and the Tenth to the

Bermuda Hundred front. The night was dark and the roads

muddy, and after various delays the pontoons were crossed;

and at 2 A. M., the regiment went into camp near the spot it

occupied the first night after its arrival in Virginia.

"An amusing incident occurred when we halted, after crossing

the river. When the fires were lighted our line presented

the appearance of a checker-board--alternate black and white

men. The latter belonged to the Second Corps, and having

straggled from their commands, and belonging to regiments

with the same numbers, had fallen into our solid ranks by

mistake. Their astonishment and our amusement were about

equal. Capt. Walker, having been asked if his men were all

present, replied: 'Yes, and about twenty recruits.'

"Thus ended a very hard week's work, during which the

regiment was almost constantly under fire; marching,

counter-marching, supporting a battery here or strengthening

the line there--duties which required almost constant

wakefulness and watchfulness. The losses of the brigade

footed up some two hundred and fifty.

"This movement, which had begun on the 12th by the

withdrawal of the Second Corps, Gen. Hancock, and Gregg's

cavalry division, from the Petersburg front to the north

bank of the James, to act in conjunction with the Tenth

Corps in an attempt to turn the left of the rebel line,

proved as abortive as the similar attempt made by the same

corps in the latter part of June; Gen. Lee, in both

instances, seeming to have received timely information of

our plans to enable him to transfer re-enforcements from the

Petersburg to the Richmond front. The Union losses during

the movement have been estimated at five thousand.

"Sunday, the 21st, was a day of rest. The men put up shelter

tents and made themselves as comfortable as circumstances

would allow. Gen. Birney resumed command of the brigade and

Col. Shaw returned to the regiment. About 6 P. M. orders

came to be ready to move during the night with one day's

rations. Moved out of camp at 2 A. M., 22nd, and reported at

Maj.-Gen. Birney's headquarters, where, after remaining a

short time, the regiment returned to camp. About 8 P. M.

orders were received to pack everything, and at 5 the

regiment marched to the front and went into the trenches

near Battery Walker, (No. 7), relieving a regiment of

hundred-days' men, whose time had expired.

"The 23d passed quietly. Tents were pitched, and in the

evening a dress-parade was held. Lieut. Mack returned to

duty from absent sick.

"Line was formed at dawn on the 24th, and again about

noon--rapid picket-firing in each instance rendering an

attack probable.

"About daybreak on the 25th, the enemy attacked toward the

left, drove in our pickets--Capts. Weld and Thayer in

command--but were checked before reaching the main line. The

regiment was placed in support of Battery England (No. 5).

Two men were wounded.

"Some changes in the division here took place--the

Twenty-ninth Connecticut was transferred to another brigade,

and the Tenth U. S. C. T. to ours, and Col. Duncan was

placed in command.

"About noon (25th) packed up everything, crossed the

Appomattox, and after a fatiguing march through the heat and

dust, reached the Petersburg front a little before sunset

and halted for orders. Soon after dark moved to the left in

a heavy rain squall, and lay down on a hillside as reserve

to the troops in the trenches. At 11 P. M. ordered to report

to Gen. Terry. Marched back a mile and reported. Another

mile's march in another direction brought the regiment,

about 1 A. M., to its position, where it lay down in the

woods, again as a reserve. A rattling fire of musketry was

kept up all night.

"On the 26th, a camp was selected and had been partially

cleared up, when orders were received for the regiment to go

into the trenches. Reported at brigade headquarters at

sunset, and soon afterward, through the mud and darkness,

the men silently felt their way into the trenches, which the

rain had reduced to the condition of a quagmire. It was a

slow process, and 10 o'clock came before all were in their

places.

"During the following day (27th,) the parapet was raised and

paths made through the muddier portions of the trenches.

Soon after dark a furious cannonade began which lasted for

several hours, and afforded to the spectators on both sides

a brilliant pyrotechnic display.

"Just after daybreak on the 28th, the enemy opened a heavy

musketry fire which lasted until after sunrise. He did not

leave his works, however, and our men remained stationary. A

man of Company B, while watching for a shot through a

section of stove-pipe, which he had improvised into a

port-hole, was struck and killed by a sharpshooter's bullet.

"Soon after midnight on the 28th-29th, the regiment moved

out of the trenches, and after daylight marched a quarter of

a mile to the right and rear and went into camp in a

cornfield. The men were at once put to work constructing

bomb-proofs, as the position was within sight and range of

the enemy's line. This occupied the entire day.

"Brig.-Gen. Birney's arrangement of the brigade did not seem

to have given satisfaction to higher authority, and it was

broken up, and the old brigade--Seventh, Eighth, Ninth U. S.

C. T., and Twenty-ninth Connecticut--were again united, with

Col. Shaw in command.

"From this time until the 24th of September, the Seventh and

Eighth alternated with the Ninth and Twenty-ninth for duty

in the trenches--two days in and two out; and on the 'off'

days furnishing details of officers and men for fatigue

purposes, in constructing new works and strengthening old

ones. The main lines at this point were scarcely over a

hundred yards apart, while from the advanced posts a stone

could almost be thrown into the enemy's works, and it was

considered the most disagreeable portion of the line.

"During the evening of the 4th of September, there was a

grand salute along the whole line, in honor of the fall of

Atlanta. At every battery the men stood at the guns, and

when the monster mortar--"The Petersburg Express"--gave the

expected signal, every lanyard was pulled. The effect was

exceedingly grand.

"At 9 o'clock on the morning of the 5th, the regiment met

with an irreparable loss in the death of Capt. A. R. Walker.

Capt. Walker, who was at the time in the trenches, had

raised his head above the parapet to observe the enemy's

movements, when he was struck in the head by a bullet, and

fell without speaking against the parapet. He was carried

back and laid upon the ground in rear of the trench, but all

efforts failed to elicit any token of recognition. He

breathed for a few moments and life was extinct. His body

was sent to the rear the same afternoon under charge of

Lieut. Teeple, upon whom the command of his company

devolved, who made the necessary arrangements for having it

embalmed and forwarded to his friends at Caledonia, New

York.

* * * *

"On the 14th Col. Howell, who was commanding the division in

the absence of Gen. Birney, who was absent sick, died of

injuries received from a fall from his horse, and the

command of the division devolved upon Col. Pond. Col. Howell

was highly esteemed, and was a thorough gentleman and a good

officer.

"On the 17th, Sergt. Wilson, Company F, color-sergeant, was

reduced to the ranks for cowardice, and Sergt. Griffin,

Company B, appointed in his place.

"On the 21st, Capt. Thayer resigned.

"On the 22d, Gen. Birney returned and resumed command of the

brigade; the division having been temporarily broken up by

the withdrawal of troops, and Col. Shaw returned to the

regiment.

"On the 23d, companies B and C were detailed to garrison

Fort Steadman.

"On the evening of the 24th, the regiment was relieved from

duty in the trenches by the Sixty-ninth New York, and moving

about two miles to the rear, went into camp with the

remainder of the brigade--some four miles from City Point.

Here regular drills and parades were resumed.

"At 3 P. M. on the 28th, camp was broken, and an hour later

the brigade followed the two divisions of the corps on the

road toward Bermuda Hundred. A tedious night-march followed,

during which the north side of the James was reached by way

of Broadway and Jones' landings. After an hour or two of

rest on the morning of the 29th, the brigade moved forward

as a support to the First Division (Paine's), the First

Brigade of which, under Col. Duncan, charged and carried the

enemy's works on Signal-Hill, on the New Market road, beyond

the line of works taken by the Seventh and Ninth on the 14th

of August.[32] [See foot-note next page.] * * * The

Eighteenth Corps at the same time charged and carried Fort

Harrison and a long line of rebel works. Soon after noon,

while the brigade, which had been moving by the flank down

the New Market road, had halted in the road, orders came to

form column of regiments, faced to the left, in the woods.

Scarcely had this been done when Gen. Wm. Birney, commanding

brigade, rode up to the right of the column and ordered the

Seventh to move off by the right flank. As it was crossing

the Mill road, Col. Shaw reached the head of the line and

received from him the order to "form on the right by file

into line, and charge and take the work that is firing," and

adding, "if that work is taken when you reach it, push right

on and take the next _before Gen. Foster can get there_." In

the meantime the Ninth had charged a work on the right and

had been repulsed, and the commanding officer of the Eighth

had been ordered to send four companies deployed as

skirmishers to take the work to the left, but when Major

Wagner found how strong it was he halted his line and

remained in advance as skirmishers. As the regiment was

forming for the charge, behind the crest of a knoll, Capt.

Bailey, Gen. Birney's Adjutant-General, rode up to Col. Shaw

with the order to send four companies deployed as

skirmishers to 'attack and take the work that is firing.'

Col. Shaw replied that he had orders to charge it with his

regiment, to which Capt. Bailey answered, 'well, _now_ the

General directs you to send four companies, deployed as

skirmishers, to take the work.' Lieut.-Col. Haskell, being

absent on leave, and Maj. Mayer sick, companies C, D, G and

K were placed under command of Capt. Weiss, who, when he

received the order to charge, replied, 'what! take a fort

with a skirmish line?' and then added, 'I will try, but it

can't be done.' What followed can best be described by

quoting his own words:

"Captain Weiss says: 'I at once, about 1 P. M., ordered the

four companies on the right of the regiment, C, D, G and K,

twenty-five or thirty paces to the front, where a slight

depression in the ground secured them from the eyes, if not

the projectiles, of the enemy. After being deployed by the

flank on the right of the second company from the right, the

command advanced in ordinary quick step against the

objective point. Emerging from the swale into view, it

became at once the target for a seemingly redoubled fire,

not only from the fort in front, but also from the one on

_its_ right. The fire of the latter had been reported

silenced, but instead, from its position to the left

oblique, it proved even more destructive than that of the

one in front.

"'Both forts were most advantageously situated for defense,

at the extremity of a plain, variously estimated at from 500

to 700 yards wide, whose dead level surface afforded at no

point shelter from view or shot to an assailing party. The

forts were connected by a curtain of rifle-pits containing a

re-entrant angle, thus providing for a reciprocal enfilading

fire in case either was attacked.

"'The nature of the ground and the small altitude of the

ordnance above the level of the plain also made the fire in

the nature of a ricochet.

"'As the party advanced the enemy's shell and schrapnel were

exchanged for grape and cannister, followed soon by a lively

rattle of musketry. When within range of the latter, and

after having traversed about three-fourths of the distance,

the order to charge was given and obeyed with an alacrity

that seemed to make the execution almost precede the order.

For a moment, judging from the slacking of their fire, the

enemy seemed to be affected by a panicky astonishment, but

soon recovering, they opened again with cannister and

musketry, which, at the shorter range, tore through the

ranks with deadlier effect. Capt. Smith and Lieut. Prime,

both of Company G, here fell grievously wounded, while forty

or fifty enlisted-men dotted the plain with their prostrate

forms.

"'In a few minutes the ditch of the fort was reached. It was

some six or seven feet deep and ten or twelve wide, the

excavated material sufficing for the embankments of the

fort. Some 120 men and officers precipitated themselves into

it, many losing their lives at its very edge. After a short

breathing spell men were helped up the exterior of the

parapet on the shoulders of others; fifty or sixty being

thus disposed an attempt was made to storm the fort. At the

signal nearly all rose, but the enemy, lying securely

sheltered behind the interior slope, the muzzles of their

guns almost touching the storming party, received the latter

with a crushing fire, sending many into the ditch below shot

through the brain or breast. Several other attempts were

made with like result, till at last forty or fifty of the

assailants were writhing in the ditch or resting forever.

"'The defense having been obviously re-enforced meanwhile

from other points not so directly attacked, and having armed

the gunners with muskets, it was considered impolitic to

attempt another storm with the now greatly reduced force on

hand, especially as the cessation of the artillery fire of

the fort was considered a sufficient hint to the commander

of the Union forces that the attacking party had come to

close quarters and were proper subjects for re-enforcements.

No signs, however, of the latter appearing, it was decided

to surrender, especially as the rebels had now commenced to

roll lighted shells among the stormers, against which there

was no defense, thus inviting demoralization. Seven

officers, Capts. Weiss and McCarty, Lieuts. Sherman, Mack,

Spinney, Ferguson and Eler, and from seventy to eighty

enlisted-men, delivered up their arms to an enemy gallant

enough to have fought for a better cause.

"'Many, in mounting the parapet, could not help taking a

last mournful look on their dead comrades in the ditch,

whose soldierly qualities had endeared them to their best

affections; and many, without for a moment selfishly looking

at their own dark future, were oppressed with inexpressible

sadness when reflecting on the immensity of the sacrifice

and the deplorableness of the result. It was a time for

manly tears.'

"Lieut. Spinney gives the following account of the charge

against Fort Gilmer:

"'The charge was made in quick time, in open order of about

three paces, until we could plainly see the enemy; then the

order was given by Capt. Weiss to 'double-quick,' which was

promptly obeyed, the line preserving its order as upon

drill. Upon arriving at the ditch there was no wavering, but

every man jumped into the trap from which but one man

returned that day (George W. Washington, Company D.)

"'Upon looking about us after getting into the ditch we

found there was but one face where the enemy could not touch

us, so all the survivors rallied at that face. Then

commenced a scene which will always be very fresh in my

memory.

"'Capt. Weiss gave orders to raise men upon the parapet,

which was done by two men assisting one to climb. Capt.

Weiss, having from thirty to forty men up, attempted to gain

the inside of the fort, but he with all of his storming

party were knocked back, either killed or wounded, into the

ditch. A second attempt was made with the same result,

Lieut. Ferguson being wounded by a bullet across the top of

his head. A third attempt was made with no better success.

"'The enemy during this time had been rolling shell upon us,

and calling upon us to surrender, which was answered by some

of the men in the words, 'we will show you how to

surrender,' at the same time rising and firing into the

fort. One of these men I remember to have been Perry

Wallace, Company D.

"'Upon a consultation of the officers who were in the ditch,

it was decided to surrender what was left of the command. I

was still upon the face of the parapet, when Lieut. Sherman

passed me a handkerchief which I raised upon the point of my

sword. But the rebels, fearing it was only done to gain a

foothold, would not take notice of it, but called upon me to

come in, which I did, and met with a warm reception at their

hands, being plucked of all they could lay hands upon. An

adjutant of an Alabama regiment coming up, ordered his men

to return to me what they had taken, but this was not done,

however. I stated that our men had disarmed themselves and

were ready to give up the hopeless struggle. Still they

would not believe me, but made me mount the parapet first,

when they had the courage to do so themselves, when the

remnant of the four companies marched into the fort.

"'The march to Richmond was one continued insult from the

troops that were hurrying to the front; one man being

determined to kill Capt. Weiss, whom he thought was not

humble enough. The female portion of the inhabitants were

also very insolent.

"'Upon arriving at Libby Prison the officer in charge asked

the commander of our guard if the 'niggers' would fight. His

answer was, 'by G--d! if you had been there you would have

thought so. They marched up just as if they were on drill,

not firing a shot.'

"'After being lodged in Libby, Salisbury and Danville

prisons, we were returned to Richmond about February 17th,

paroled on the 21st, and reached our lines on the 22d.'

"An article in the New York _Herald_ of November 4th, 1864,

copied from a rebel newspaper, arguing for the arming of

slaves, has in it the following passage:

"'But A. B. says that negroes will not fight. We have before

us a letter from a distinguished general (we wish we were at

liberty to use his name and influence) who says 'Fort Gilmer

proved the other day that they would fight. They raised each

other on the parapet to be shot as they appeared above.'

"The officer referred to was understood to be Gen. Lee.

"After the four companies had disappeared in the ditch of

the fort, Capt. Pratt, with Company F, was ordered to move

forward as near the work as he could get and keep down its

fire and cover their retreat. Capt. Smith and Lieut. Prime

came back, both severely wounded. Later in the day companies

A, B, E and I, under Capt. Spaulding, moved to the left and

relieved the four companies of the Eighth, who were out of

ammunition. Co. F lost two men killed and twenty-three

wounded, and the four companies under Capt. Spaulding had

eleven men killed and wounded. Lieut. Teeple, commanding

Company I, was wounded in the arm, but remained in command

of his company during the day.

"Four companies annihilated, 70 killed, 110 wounded and 129

missing tells the story of Fort Gilmer.

"The regiment, or what was left of it, remained at the front

until 9 o'clock P. M., when the wounded were gathered

together and it moved half a mile to the rear and slept on

its arms.

"This day proved the most unfortunate one in the history of

the regiment. The storming of a strong field-work, whose

garrison was on the alert, with a thin skirmish line without

supports, resulted as could easily have been foreseen.

First, the Ninth was sent unsupported to charge a work to

the left of Fort Gilmer, across an open field where its line

was enfiladed by the enemy's fire, and was repulsed; then

four companies of the Eighth, as skirmishers, were sent

against the same work, with no better success, and after

this bitter experience, four companies of the Seventh were

sent to their destruction on an errand equally hopeless. Had

the brigade been sent together, instead of its three

regiments in detail, the rebel line would have been carried

and the road to Richmond opened to us. This is no

conjecture. The testimony of a rebel staff-officer on duty

at Fort Gilmer, and that of our own officers who were

captured, fully substantiate the statement.

"About noon on the following day, the 30th, the regiment

moved a mile to the left and went into the rifle-pits to the

left of Fort Harrison. Soon after, the rebel Maj.-Gen.

Field, who had commanded the Ft. Gilmer line the day

previous, made a determined assault on Fort Harrison from

one side, while Hoke's division attacked on the other; but

the attack was not made simultaneously and was repulsed with

heavy loss. While this charge was being made, Col. Shaw was

struck on the head by a rifle bullet, but was uninjured. The

next morning the rebels opened their batteries on our line.

During the cannonade, Lieut. Bjornmark was wounded in the

foot by the fragment of a shell.

"The following is the report of Capt. Weiss to the

commanding officer of the regiment, announcing his arrival

in Richmond:

"'LIBBY PRISON, RICHMOND, VA., September 30, 1864.

"'_Sir_:--I respectfully inform you that the following

officers of the Seventh U. S. C. T. are here, prisoners:

Capts. Weiss and McCarty, Lieuts. Mack, Sherman, Eler,

Ferguson and Spinney. Lieut. Ferguson and myself are wounded

in the head, but doing well.

"'Please inform our friends of the above, and oblige,

"'Yours, on the part of my associates,

"'JULIUS A. WEISS,

"'_Capt. Seventh U. S. C. T._"

"On the 5th of October, the regiment was relieved from duty

in the trenches by the Eight, and moving a short distance to

the rear, went into camp near division headquarters.

"On the 6th, Gen. Birney divided the regiments of his

command into two brigades. The First Brigade, composed of

the Seventh, Ninth and One Hundred and Twenty-seventh, was

placed under command of Col. Voris, of the Sixty-seventh

Ohio, although each regiment had a colonel serving with it;

and the Second, composed of the Eighth, Twenty-ninth and

Forty-fifth, under Lieut.-Col. Armstrong, of the Ninth.

Capt. Rice returned from sick-leave the same day and was

assigned to the command of Company A, his own company (K)

having disappeared in the _melee_ of the 29th of September.

"During the forenoon of the 7th, the enemy attacked in force

on the right, driving in Kautz's cavalry and capturing

Elder's battery of the First United States Artillery, but

was checked and driven back by the First Division of the

Tenth Corps. The regiment was moved to the right, and after

changing positions several times, went into the trenches

near the New Market road.

"On the afternoon of the 12th, orders came for the regiment

to be ready to move in light marching order, and later it

moved out about half of a mile to the front and right, and

deployed two companies as skirmishers. Shortly after dark it

was withdrawn to the position it held earlier in the day. A

cold rain was falling, and as the men were without

overcoats, they suffered considerably.

"About 3 o'clock on the morning of the 13th, our own

division (Third), together with the First, moved out of camp

and marched to the right until it reached the Darbytown

road. Here it formed line, and advancing through the thick

undergrowth finally lay down in front of the enemy's works

to await developments. At 10 o'clock the First Division,

which, with the cavalry, had gone to the right, charged the

enemy's line, but failed to break it and had to withdraw

with considerable loss. About noon the regiment relieved the

Eighth on the skirmish line. Capt. Dickey, of the Eighth,

was killed during the movement. Here it remained until about

4 o'clock, when, the remainder of the division having been

withdrawn, it fell back covering the movement of the corps

and returned to its old camp on the New Market road. * * *

"The regiment remained in camp until the 26th, furnishing in

the meantime a large picket detail, together with details

for fatigue, employed in the construction of earthworks,

abattis, etc. On this date Col. Voris was relieved from

command of the brigade by Col. Shaw, Lieut.-Col. Haskell

taking command of the regiment.

"On the evening of this day orders were received for the

regiment to be ready to move on the following morning, with

three days' cooked rations, and in light marching order. At

5 A. M. we moved out of camp and took the road toward the

right. The Eighteenth, as well as our own corps, was in

motion. The orders were for the Tenth Corps to threaten the

enemy's line near the Darbytown road, while the Eighteenth

moving by the rear to the right, was to strike their left

flank. If they weakened their line in its front, the Tenth

Corps was to advance. The whole movement being made to cover

the advance of the Army of the Potomoc against the rebel

lines covering Hatcher's run and the Boydtown plank-road.

"Marching about two miles to the right we struck the

Darbytown road, when line of battle was formed to the left,

and moved forward through the woods, and, in places, almost

impassable undergrowth--the Seventh having the left of the

division as well of the line. Our ears were soon greeted

with the scattering fire of our skirmish line, interspersed

by the crashing of an occasional shell through the

tree-tops. After an advance of half a mile the division

halted to await the result of the attack on the right. The

irregular skirmish fire soon swelled out into long, heavy

volleys, deepened by the hoarser notes of the artillery.

From 8 A. M. until 8 P. M. we lay and listened to this

concert of diabolical sounds, momentarily expecting the

order would be passed along the line to advance. About 11 A.

M. it began to rain, which continued until far into the

night. At 8 P. M. we fell back out of the woods, behind an

old line of rebel rifle-pits, and bivouacked for the night

near Kell's House.

"At 3 o'clock the following morning we were ordered in to

relieve the Twenty-ninth on the picket-line. The clouds had

cleared away and the air was keen and cold. We felt our way

through the dense, dripping undergrowth to the musical

accompaniment of rebel bullets singing above our heads. By

daybreak we were in position along the edge of a belt of

woods, something less than a quarter of a mile from the

rebel works. Their skirmishers kept up a lively fire all

through the forenoon, and as a consequence we lost some

thirty odd men, killed and wounded, from their fire. About 3

P. M. orders were given to fall back, but through some

misunderstanding, the two companies holding the extreme left

of the line failed to receive the order, and held their

ground until their retreat was nearly cut off by the rebel

advance, when they fell back without orders, meeting on

their way the remainder of the brigade coming to their

rescue. The same evening the troops returned to their camps.

"Here ended our fighting for the fall. * * *

"On the 28th, Gen. Birney returned and relieved Gen. Hawley

in command of the division, which he had held during the

absence of the former in Philadelphia, where he had gone

about the 21st to attend the funeral of his brother,

Maj.-Gen. D. B. Birney. Col. Shaw was placed permanently in

command of the First Brigade, and Col. Wright, Tenth U. S.

C. T., of the Second.

"About the 30th, a general order was received from Gen.

Butler thanking Capt. Weiss and the officers under him for

their gallant conduct on the 29th, and saying that their

absence in prison alone prevented their promotion.

"On the 1st of November, the division was reviewed by Gen.

Birney, and the proclamation of the Governor of Maryland,

announcing the adoption of the constitutional amendment

abolishing slavery in that State, was read to the command.

This paper, which conveyed to the men the knowledge that

their wives and children were no longer slaves, produced an

effect more easily imagined than described.

* * * *

"On the 5th, Capt. Cheney and Lieut. Teeple, with companies

H and I, were detached from the regiment to garrison Fort

'No. 3,' at Spring Hill--a work on the right flank of the

Army of the James--where they remained until the 6th of

December.

"On the 1st of December, the reorganization of the Tenth and

Eighteenth Corps was determined upon. The white troops of

the two corps were consolidated and formed the

Twenty-fourth Corps, under Gen. Foster; and the colored

troops of the Ninth, Tenth and Eighteenth Corps, with other

colored troops not assigned, formed the Twenty-fifth Corps,

under Gen. Weitzel. Its three divisions were commanded by

Gens. Wild, Birney and Paine, respectively. The First

Brigade of Birney's division was made up of the Seventh, One

Hundred and Ninth, One Hundred and Sixteenth and One hundred

and Seventeenth, under Col. Shaw. The Forty-first

Forty-fifth and One Hundred and Twenty-seventh had at

different times been attached to the brigade--_to learn our

ways_, as they said at headquarters. Eventually, however,

the One Hundred and Fifteenth was substituted for the One

Hundred and Seventeenth in the brigade.

"On the 4th, a general re-assignment of positions was made.

The Seventh moved from the New Market road to Fort Burnham

(Harrison), which was garrisoned by the First Brigade. The

Second Brigade, under Doubleday, was on our right, and the

Third on our left. The Second Brigade joined the

Twenty-fourth Corps, near the New Market road, and Paine's

division was on our left and extended to the river. The

other division was in reserve to the rear. The Seventh was

under command of Lieut.-Col. Pratt, and so remained during

the remainder of our stay in Virginia."

The prolonged but decisive struggle began to draw near. General Grant

had pushed the troops nearer and closer, at every opportunity, to the

beleaguered cities, until they were well-nigh completely invested.

General Sherman's splendid victories influenced the veteran corps lying

before these places, and filled them with the spirit of sure success.

The intrepid commander, having reached North Carolina, visited Grant at

the latter's headquarters at City Point, where he also found President

Lincoln, and received their congratulations for his successful march to

the sea, which achievement had not been surpassed by any of the

undertakings of either Hannibal or Bonaparte in point of daring and

strategy. An important conference then took place, and on the 28th of

March Sherman returned to his command.

[Illustration: GOVRNT. BLACKSMITHS' SHOP]

Grant throughout the winter had been preparing for the spring campaign.

The Phalanx regiments heretofore in the 9th, 10th and 18th Corps had

been consolidated, and formed the 25th Corps, under the command of

Major-General Godfrey Weitzel, who at New Orleans refused to command

negro troops. The Corps was divided into three divisions, with

Brigadier-Generals Wilde, Birney and Paine as commanders. Major-General

Ord had succeeded to the command of the Army of the James, then

numbering about 28,000 effective men, and was to take part with three

divisions of his command in the onward movement to commence on the 29th

of March, while Weitzel was to command the remainder of the troops north

of the James and at Bermuda Hundreds.

Lee, as though he had knowledge of Grant's intention and meant to

frustrate his plans by taking the initiative, attacked the 9th Corps at

Fort Steadman on the 25th, with signal success. He was finally repulsed,

however, and Grant began moving the Union troops. On the morning of the

29th, General Birney with the 2nd Division of the 25th Corps was near

Hatcher's Run, with General Ord's command. The division consisted of

three brigades of Phalanx Infantry, commanded by Colonels James Shaw,

Jr., Ulysses Doubleday and William W. Woodward. A brigade of artillery

commanded by Captain Louis L. Langdon was attached to the Corps; but,

owing to the country being wooded, it was of little use, and most of it

was left on the north side with General Weitzel.

On the same day Sheridan reached Dinwiddie, and the next morning he

encountered the confederates near the Court House. Here were W. H. F.

Lee's Cavalry, Picket's and Bushrod Johnson's divisions of Infantry, and

Wise's brigade. Sheridan made the attack. His men, on account of the

marshy ground, had to dismount. The confederates fought desperately, but

Sheridan's men contested every inch of ground, and at night fell back to

Dinwiddie Court House and bivouacked. The 5th Corps came up during the

night to attack the confederates in the rear; but at daylight it was

found that they had fallen back to Five Forks. Here was found the

cavalry of W. H. F. Lee and Fitzhugh Lee, with Ross', Picket's, Wise's

and Johnson's divisions of infantry. On the morning of the 1st of April,

Sheridan advanced the 5th Corps toward Five Forks. That afternoon it

fell upon Picket's rear, and now began the decisive battle. The roar was

deafening. Night was coming on, and Sheridan was anxious to carry out

Grant's order and "end the matter if possible to do so." He gave the

order, "Charge bayonets!" In five minutes Picket's outer line was in

possession of the federals. Crawford's division struck them in the

flank, and, with McKenzie's brigade, routed and sent the confederates

flying. The 5th Corps rallied and captured the enemy's entire force in

their front. General Sheridan says in report:

[Illustration: "YOU MUST THROW AWAY THAT CIGAR, SIR!"

A Phalanx guard refusing to allow General U. S. Grant to pass by the

commissary store-house till he had thrown away his cigar.]

"The enemy were driven from their strong line of works,

completely routed, the Fifth Corps doubling up their left

flank in confusion, and the cavalry of General Merritt

dashing on to the White Oak Road, capturing their artillery,

turning it upon them, and riding into their broken ranks, so

demoralized them that they made no serious stand after their

line was carried, but took flight in disorder."

The writer well remembers the eagerness of the Phalanx brigade of

Colonel Shaw, composed of the 109th, 116th and 7th Regiments, as they

waited orders near Hatcher's Run. The sound of distant guns fell upon

their ears; Colonel Shaw was impatient; all seemed to feel the end was

near, and wanted to lend a hand in the consummation. Oh, what suspense!

The brigade lay upon their arms in a state of great agitation, all that

night, waiting for orders to advance upon the foe. Who can tell the

thoughts of those brave black soldiers as thus they lay upon the

rumbling earth. Fathers, mothers, sisters, wives and children, yet

slaves, behind the enemy's guns: precious property they are, and guarded

like dearest treasure and even life itself, by an army of

slave-holders--Lee's men, who, with the desperation of demons, vainly

attempted to check the advance of the men of the North, who, with their

lives, defended the Union. The black brigade wanted to strike one more

blow for freedom--for the freedom of their wives and children--to make

one more charge, and the confederate banner should go down; one more

charge, and the light of Liberty's stars should blazon over the ramparts

of the confederate forts. At length, with the dawning of day, came the

order; then the black brigade went forward, but to find the enemy gone

and their works deserted.

The confederate lines were broken, and Sheridan's troopers, McKenzie and

Merritt, with their cavalry, although it was night, had followed up the

fleeing foe, capturing them by thousands. The brigade pushed on along

the captured works. The federal batteries, from every mound and hill,

were showering shot and shell into the enemy's inner works; while the

gleaming bayonets of the thousands of infantry could be seen as far as

the eye could reach, their proud banners kissing the stifling air, and

the bugles sounding the "forward march," leaving in their rear smoking

camps and blazing dwellings. What a Sunday morning was that, with its

thunders of terrific war, instead of the mellow chimes of church bells

and the repose of peace.

It was late in the afternoon, and huge, black clouds of smoke rolled up

out of the city of Petersburg, and then a loud report, told that the

confederates had evacuated it. Away to the left, the huzzas of Colonel

Doubleday's Phalanx brigade (2nd) were heard. Now came a race to reach

the city, between the 7th and 8th Phalanx regiments. No matter which was

first, they were among the troops which took possession of the city, and

gladdened the hearts of the negro population, as they marched through

the streets singing their battle song:

"We will hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple-tree as we go marching on."

It was a glorious victory, bringing freedom to thousands of slaves,

though it cost as many lives and millions of treasure. It was the

beginning of the end. The confederates deserted their army by thousands.

The South Side Railroad was in the hands of the federals, and starvation

threatened the enemy. Lee, says a historian, was no longer himself: he

rode wildly through his camps hither, and thither, trying to save his

shattered and routed soldiers from annihilation.

The defeat at Five Forks settled the fate of the Army of North Virginia.

Grant had almost the entire federal army actively engaged; he stopped

the exchange of prisoners, invited President Lincoln, then at City

Point, to come out and see the army advance, which he did. He met Grant

in the city of Petersburg, amid the exultations of the troops and the

joyous demonstrations of the negro population. General Lee made no stop

at Richmond; he had informed Jefferson Davis that he must give up the

city. The latter, with his aids and all the money he could collect,--not

the confederate paper, but the gold of the United States,--stampeded.

General Weitzel, with Kautz's division of the 24th Corps and Thomas' and

Ashborne's division of the 25th Corps, on the north side of the James

river, lay quietly upon their arms during the fight on the south side.

Grant kept Weitzel informed as to the results of the attack, and warned

him to be on the alert and take every advantage offered, to press the

confederates. General Longstreet's forces had been in Weitzel's front,

but were partly withdrawn to defend Petersburg; therefore the latter

kept unceasing vigil upon the fortifications before him.

Sunday evening the bands were ordered out to play, and it was late into

the night when their melodious strains ceased to float through the air.

It was a night long to be remembered, the hearts of the black soldiers

of the 25th Corps, gladdened by the reports of the victories of the

troops before Petersburg, were jubilant, and with vigilant watch each

looked for morning. They were impatient for the light, and ere it dawned

they were ready for the onset which they believed must come with it. The

enemy whom they supposed were preparing to give them battle, was

silently stealing away to the enchanting strains of the Federal

musicians. It was near the morning hours when a sudden report startled

the sleeping soldiers; an explosion, another, and yet another followed

in rapid succession.

General Weitzel soon became satisfied that the enemy was moving, the

continuous sound of distant cannonading away to the south, told that the

combat still raged. From the signal tower bright lights were

discernable at Richmond. The city appeared to be on fire; a confederate

picket was captured, but he knew nothing; he had got astray from his

comrades and command. A deserter came in with intelligence that the city

was being evacuated, and half an hour later a negro drove into camp and

gave information that the enemy was flying.

The ground in front was thickly set with torpedoes, and the troops dared

not move. Day came and Colonel Draper's black brigade of the 25th Corps

went forward. The road was lumbered with all manner and sort of military

gear and munitions of war. Keeping clear of the red flags which marked

the torpedoes, the troops pushed on; they soon reached the defences of

the city to find them untenanted; the negro had told the truth and the

Phalanx brigade entered the city welcomed by thousands of happy

kinsfolks. Badeau says:

"The sun was an hour up, when suddenly there rose in the

streets the cry of 'Yankees! Yankees!' and the mass of

plunderers and rioters, cursing, screaming, trampling on

each other, alarmed by an enemy not yet in sight, madly

strove to extricate themselves and make an opening for the

troops. Soon about forty men of the Fourth Massachusetts

Cavalry rode into the crowd, and, trotting straight to the

public square, planted their guidons on the Capitol.

Lieutenant De Peyster, of Weitzel's staff, a New Yorker

eighteen years of age, was the first to raise the national

colors, and then, in the morning light of the 3d of April,

the flag of the United States once more floated over

Richmond.

"The command of Weitzel followed--a long blue line--with

gun-barrels gleaming, and bands playing 'Hail Columbia' and

'John Brown's Soul Goes Marching On.' One regiment was

black.[33] The magistrates formally surrendered the city to

Weitzel at the Capitol, which stands on a hill in the centre

of the town, and overlooks the whole country for miles. The

national commander at once set about restoring order and

extinguishing the flames. Guards were established,

plundering was stopped, the negroes were organized into a

fire corps, and by night the force of the conflagration was

subdued, the rioting was at an end, and the conquered city

was rescued by the efforts of its captors from the evils

which its own authorities had allowed, and its own

population had perpetrated."

[Illustration: RECEIVING THE PRESIDENT.

Abraham Lincoln riding through Richmond, April 4th, 1865, after the

evacuation of the city by the Confederates.]

Lee and his famishing host were fleeing towards Danville, hotly pursued

by the Federal Army. Resting there until the 5th they resumed the march,

fighting and running, until, at Appomattox they gave up and surrendered.

Major Alexandria S. Johnson of the 116th Phalanx Regiment thus relates

the story in part which the Phalanx brigade took in the memorable

movement of the two armies to Appomattox. He says:

"As a participant in these events I will speak merely of

what came under my own observation. The One Hundred and

Sixteenth (colored) Infantry, in which I commanded a

company, belonged to the Third Brigade, Second Division of

the Twenty-fifth Army Corps, and during the winter of

1864-65 held the lines on Chapin's farm, the left resting on

Fort Burnham. The division was commanded by Major-General

Birney. The winter was passed in endeavoring to get the

troops in as high a state of discipline as possible by

constant drill and watchful training. When the spring opened

we had the satisfaction of feeling that they were the equal,

as soldiers, of most of the white troops. They were a

contented body, being well fed and clothed, and they took

delight in their various duties. The news of the capture of

Savannah by Sherman and the defeat of Hood at Nashville had

a cheering effect upon the whole command, and we looked

forward with confidence that the end was drawing near.

"On the night of the 26th of March our division silently

left the lines on Chapin's farm, and marching to the rear

some three miles went into bivouac. On the night of the 27th

we crossed the James on muffled pontoons, and after a weary

march arrived at Hatcher's Run at daybreak of the 28th.

Crossing the original lines of breastworks we built new

breastworks some two hundred yards in advance and bivouacked

in the pine woods awaiting events. Sheridan at this time was

operating on the Confederate right flank. The news of his

decisive victory at Five Forks and of the complete turning

of the enemy's flank was the immediate cause of a verbal

order, given to company commanders by our colonel on the

afternoon of April 1st, to advance on the lines in our front

at dawn on the following day. That night the Union artillery

opened along the whole line. Hissing and bursting shells

from Appomattox river to Hatcher's Run filled in a scene

never to be forgotten by those who witnessed it. It was as

if demons incarnate were holding a jubilee. As far as the

eye could reach there was one blaze of fiery shot. The world

has seldom seen its like. Where our brigade was to operate

was a dense wilderness of pines with matted underbrush, but

in the morning it looked as though a sirocco had kissed it.

"With the dawn of day the brigade was in line of battle. Not

a breath of air was stirring. A misty vapor shed its gloom

and hung like a pall among the tree-tops. The silk covers

were taken from our flags, but their folds hung lazily along

the staff when the command, 'Forward! guide centre! march!'

was given. At first slashed timber and brush obstructed our

way, but as the obstruction began to cease an obstacle in

the shape of a long line of abattis met our gaze. The dusky

line broke through the abattis, however, as if the stakes

had been so many reeds, and charged over the breastworks and

into the Confederate camp. The rush must have been a

surprise, as the enemy offered little resistance. In front

of one of the tents a Federal sergeant (white) lay dead, his

right arm extended to the full length, and firmly clenched

in his hand was a piece of fancy soap. A bullet had entered

his forehead, the blood from the wound was trickling down

his face, but the hue of health was still on his cheek. How

he came to be there is to me a mystery, as that part of the

line was forced by colored troops. Swinging by the right

flank we kept our way along the Boydton road. A Confederate

light battery in position alongside of a cottage, which

stood in a hollow, shelled the column as it advanced, and so

accurate had the gunners got the range that almost every

shell did damage. A couple of shells burst together above my

company. The flash blinded me for a few seconds. I heard a

scream of pain and just then was ordered to lie down. Not

twenty yards from me was a wounded soldier. His leg was

shattered badly. He prayed and sang hymns alternately, but

his voice gradually grew weaker until it ended in death. One

of our batteries was brought into position, and engaging the

Confederate battery, the latter was silenced, when the

column again resumed the march, arriving in front of

Petersburg about noon.

"It was the intention of General Birney to carry by assault

the main fort which commanded the city, and he deployed the

division in line of battle for that purpose, but General

Ord, coming up in time, ordered him to retire his division

out of range and await further orders. We went into bivouac

for the night, and at early dawn of the 3d we entered the

city, the Confederates having evacuated the forts during the

night. The field music played "John Brown's Body," and a

tiny Union flag in the hands of a girl of ten years waved us

a welcome. Resting an hour in the city the division started

in pursuit of the Confederates. For a mile or two outside of

the city the road was strewn with plug tobacco. Blood could

be seen also at intervals in patches along the road. We

bivouacked some fifteen miles from the city. A few of our

officers took supper in a house close to our camping ground.

Our fare was "corn pone," scraps of bacon, sorghum molasses,

and a solution of something called coffee, for which we each

gave our host, a middle-aged Virginian, one dollar. The

colored troops being encamped on his farm his indignation

was stirred and he exclaimed, while the tears trickled down

his cheeks, 'Poor old Virginia! poor old Virginia! that I

should have lived to see this day!'

"At dawn of the 4th the column resumed the pursuit. It is

needless for me to tell in detail how our cavalry destroyed

and burned over five hundred Confederate wagons on the 5th

and 6th, and how Ewell's command was defeated and captured

at Sailor's creek on the 6th. Our brigade having arrived at

Farmville on the afternoon of the 6th and encamped for the

night, some of the citizens poured forth pitiful tales to

our officers. They told how our cavalry had entered their

houses and ripped open their feather beds, how the rude

troopers had broken open bureaus and chests in search of

valuables, and how they had carried away with them what they

could find. Nothing of interest took place until the 8th,

which was noted for the forced march made by the brigade,

starting at daybreak and going into bivouac at twelve

midnight. The morning of the 9th broke calm and serene. It

was a lovely morning, the sun had not yet gotten above the

horizon when the brigade was on the march again, but it went

only a short distance when it was halted. To the right of

the road, in a clearing, was a portion of the Twenty-fourth

Corps, with arms stacked and the men cooking breakfast.

Sides of bacon at intervals hung from their bayonets.

Although the woods were full of our cavalry and three

divisions of our infantry were in close proximity, all was

as quiet as a Sabbath morning. One of our batteries, some

six hundred yards to the right, broke the stillness by

fitfully throwing a shell once in a while, but to a

looker-on all seemed inaction. Such was the situation at

Appomattox at sunrise on the morning of the 9th.

"Our brigade, after resting some thirty minutes, resumed the

march. It soon filed to the right. In a few minutes the

command was given--'Right shoulder, shift arms! double

quick, march!' Onward we went, the objective point being the

Lynchburg pike. Dismounted cavalry retreating from the front

broke through the column, saying as they passed us, 'Give it

to them, boys! they are too many for us!' In a few minutes

the head of the column reached the pike, when it halted and

faced to the front. The command--'Unsling knapsacks!'--was

given, and then we knew we were stripping for a fight.

Skirmishers were deployed on our front, and as we advanced

the Confederate skirmishers retired before us. After

advancing some eight hundred yards the brigade was ordered

to halt and form in line of battle. It formed into column of

companies. Some eight hundred yards away was the Army of

Northern Virginia, with its three lines of battle awaiting

us.

"We had not been at a halt more than twenty minutes when the

news of Lee's surrender reached us. Our brigade celebrated

the event by firing volleys of musketry in the air. Officers

hugged each other with joy. About four hundred yards to the

rear was a portion of the Twenty-fourth Corps, which had

been marching to our support. The men in that long line

threw their caps upwards until they looked like a flock of

crows. From wood and dale came the sound of cheers from

thousands of throats. Appomattox will never hear the like

again. The brigade moved forward a short distance and went

into camp some three hundred yards from the Confederate

camp. In the afternoon I strolled over the ground we had

traversed in the morning. I came across the body of a dead

Confederate soldier, covered with a blanket. Some one had

taken the shoes from his feet. Uncovering him I found that a

shot had pierced his right breast. His white cotton shirt

was matted with blood. A small bag was attached to the

button-hole of his jacket. Undoing the bag I found it

contained sixty ounces of corn meal. He was not over

twenty-six years of age, and was of fair complexion. Who

knows but he was the last soldier who fell belonging to the

Army of Northern Virginia?"

It was Palm Sunday, celebrated by many of the followers of Christ as the

day of his triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, a day of great rejoicing

among Christians, known in our annual calendar as the 9th day of April,

1865. The morning broke clear and bright in the neighborhood of

Appomattox Court House, and there was every evidence of spring. The

birds chirped in the trees half clad with the early foliage, which

trembled in the soft breeze. Along the roadside yet untrod by the

hostile feet of man or steed, the tiny floweret buds had begun to open

to the warmth of genial nature, and the larger roses, red and white,

cast their fragrance to the lingering winds. Here the half clad, sore

footed soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia, were trembling with

dread impatience for the onset,--the inevitable--which would decide

their fate and their prospect of reaching the mountains just beyond. In

front of them the federal cavalry awaited their coming.

It was yet grey in the morning when General Lee sent word to his

Lieutenant Gordon to cut his "_way through at all hazards_." With the

impetuosity of a cyclone, his shattered corps rushed upon the dismounted

cavalry in their front, the Federal line quivered, and bent to the gale.

On and on they came, pressing closer and closer upon the cavalry. The

struggle was becoming desperate, it was the last hope of the

confederates they must go through the lines, or perish in the attempt.

Again the confederate yell rose above the din of the battle's roar, and

soon the cavalry fell back. Where was their leader Sheridan? He came,

galloping at break-neck speed, his men cheering him as he rode to the

front. He had been to the rear some five miles away. He saw at a glance

the daring object of the foe, and ordered his men to fall back slowly.

The confederates followed up the wavering line with brightened hopes,

but hopes that were to be dissipated; soon the bristling bayonets, and

glistening musket barrels of the Army of the James gleamed in their

front; then the pressure ceased, and Sheridan's bugle sounded the order

to mount, and his troopers dashed themselves against the enemy's left

flank. Then, one bearing a white flag--a flag of truce, rode to the

front of the confederate lines. Capt. J. D. Cook of General Mile's staff

went forward to meet him. It was Colonel Taylor of General Lee's staff;

he bore a note from Lee, asking a suspension of hostilities, and an

interview with General Grant. Now let us go back to the night of the

6th, and trace the flying columns to this point. Badeau says:

"That night once more the rebels evacuated their works, this

time in front of Meade, and when morning dawned were far on

their way, as they fondly thought, to Lynchburg, and Lee

defiantly informed his pursuer that the emergency for the

surrender had not yet arrived. But he reckoned without his

host. He was stretching, with the terrific haste that

precedes despair, to Appomattox for supplies. He need hardly

have hastened to that spot, destined to be so fatal to

himself and his cause. Grant's legions were making more

haste than he. The marvelous marching, not only of Sheridan,

but of the men of the Fifth and Twenty-Fourth Corps, was

doing as much as a battle to bring the rebellion to a close.

Twenty-eight, thirty-two, thirty-five miles a day in

succession these infantry soldiers marched, all day and all

night. From daylight until daylight again, after more than a

week of labor and fatigue almost unexampled, they pushed on

to intercept their ancient adversary, while the remainder of

the Army of the Potomac was at his heels.

"Finally Lee, still defiant, and refusing to treat with any

view of surrender, came up to his goal, but found the

national cavalry had reached the point before him, and that

the supplies were gone. Still he determined to push his way

through, and with no suspicion that men on foot could have

marched from Rice's Station to his front in thirty hours, he

made his last charge, and discovered a force of infantry

greater than his own before him, besides cavalry, while two

corps of the Army of the Potomac were close in his rear. He

had run straight into the national lines. He was enclosed,

walled in, on every side, with imminent instant destruction

impending over him. He instantly offered to submit to Grant,

and in the agony of alarm, lest the blow should fall, he

applied to Meade and Sheridan also for a cessation of

hostilities. Thus in three directions at once he was

appealing to be allowed to yield. At the same moment he had

messengers out to Sheridan, Meade, and Grant. The emergency,

whose existence he had denied, had arrived. He was

out-marched, out-fought, out-witted, out-generaled--defeated

in every possible way. He and his army, every man, numbering

27,516, surrendered. He and his army, every man, was fed by

the conqueror."

From the date of Lee's surrender, the confederates, from Virginia to the

Mississippi, began to lay down their arms. Howell Cobb surrendered at

Macon, Ga., on the 21st; Johnston surrendered to General Sherman on the

26th, in North Carolina; Dick Taylor, east of the Mississippi, on the

4th of May, and on the 26th Kirby Smith surrendered his forces west of

the Mississippi. Jeff. Davis had been captured, disguised as a woman,

and thus the cause, which originated in treason, based on the

enslavement of a race, and which derived its only chance of success from

men who were false to their oaths, collapsed. The mightiest blow given

the confederacy was struck by the immortal Proclamation of Emancipation,

giving freedom to four millions of slaves; more than two hundred

thousand of whom, with dash and gallantry excelled by no other race,

tore down the traitor's banner from their deemed impregnable breastworks

and planted in its stead the national flag. That emblem, whose crimson

folds, re-baptised in the blood of liberty's martyrs, invited all men,

of all races, who would be free, to gather beneath the effulgent glare

of its heaven-lighted stars, regardless of color, creed or condition.

The Phalanx nobly bore their part all through the long night of

war, and at last they occupied Charleston,--the traitors'

nest,--Petersburg,--their eastern Gibraltar,--and Richmond--their

Capitol. They marched proudly through the streets of these once

impregnable fortresses, in all of which many of the soldiers of the

Phalanx had been slaves. Oh! what a realization of the power of right

over might. What a picture for the historian's immortal pen to paint of

the freemen of America, whose sufferings were long, whose struggle was

gigantic, and whose achievement was a glorious personal and political

freedom!

At the close of the war, the government, anticipating trouble in Texas,

ordered General Steele to the command of the Rio Grande, under these

instructions:

"WASHINGTON, May 21st, 1865.

"MAJ. GEN. F. STEELE, Commanding Rio Grande Expedition.

"By assignment of the President, Gen. Sheridan takes general

command west of the Arkansas. It is the intention to

prosecute a vigorous campaign in that country, until the

whole of Texas is re-occupied by people acknowledging

allegiance to the Government of the United States. Sheridan

will probably act offensively from the Red river. But it is

highly important that we should have a strong foothold upon

the Rio Grande. You have been selected to take that part of

the command. In addition to the force you take from Mobile

Bay, you will have the 25th Corps and the few troops already

in Southern Texas.

"Any directions you may receive from Gen. Sheridan, you will

obey. But in the absence of instructions from him you will

proceed without delay to the mouth of the Rio Grande and

occupy as high up that river as your force and means of

supplying will admit of.

"Your landing will probably have to be made at Brazos, but

you will learn more fully upon that matter on your arrival.

We will have to observe a strict neutrality towards Mexico,

in the French and English sense of the word. Your own good

sense and knowledge of international law, and experience of

policy pursued towards us in this war teaches you what will

be proper.

"Signed, U. S. GRANT, _Lieutenant-General._

"Official: Signed, GEO. K. LEET, A. A. G."

In the meantime General Grant sent the following dispatches to Generals

Halleck and Weitzel:

"WASHINGTON, May 18th, 1865, 12.40 P. M.,

"MAJOR-GENERAL H. W. HALLECK, Richmond Va.

"Please direct Major-General Weitzel commanding 25th Army

Corps to get his corps in readiness for embarkation at City

Point immediately upon the arrival of ocean transportation.

He will take with him forty (40) days rations for twenty

thousand men, one-half of his land transportation and

one-fourth of his mules with the requisite amount of forage

for his animals. All surplus transportation and other public

property he may have he will turn over to the depots at City

Point.

"By command of Lieutenant-General Grant.

"Signed, JOHN A. RAWLINS,

"_Brigadier-General and Chief of Staff._

"Official. Signed, GEORGE K. LEET, A. A. G."

* * * * *

"WASHINGTON, May 21st, 1865.

"MAJOR-GENERAL G. WEITZEL, Commanding 25th A. C.

"As soon as your corps is embarked you will proceed with it

to Mobile Bay, Ala., and report to Major-General Steele for

further orders.

"In addition to rations, ammunition, and other articles

which you have received directions to take with you, you

should take a fair quantity of intrenching tools.

"Signed, U. S. GRANT, _Lieutenant-General._

"Official, Signed, GEORGE K. LEET, A. A. G."

On the 24th of May the 25th Corps began embarking for Texas by way of

Mobile Bay. The troops, however, occupied Texas but a short time, the

confederate forces there surrendering upon the same terms as those of

General Lee. All fears having been dissipated, the troops were slowly

mustered out of the United States service. The men returned to their

wonted fields of labor to provide for their long-neglected families,

upon a new career of peace and happiness, rising, Phoenix like, from

the ashes of slavery to join the Phalanx of industry in upbuilding the

greatness of their country, which they had aided in saving from

desolation and ruin.

Such is the history of the negro in the wars of the United States.

Coming to its shores in the condition of slavery, it required more than

two centuries for the entire race to reach the estate of freedom. But

the imperishable records of their deeds show that however humble and

despised they have been in all political and social relations they have

never been wanting in patriotism at periods of public peril. Their

devotion has been not only unappreciated, but it has failed to receive a

fitting commemoration in pages of national history. It has been the

purpose of the writer of this volume to relate herein the patriotic

career of the negro race in this country in an authentic and connected

form. In the time to come the race will take care of itself. Slavery is

ended, and now they are striking off link by link the chains of

ignorance which the servitude of some and the humility of all imposed

upon them. If the past is the story of an oppressed race, the future

will reveal that of one uprisen to great opportunities, which they will

improve from generation to generation, and guard with the same vigilance

that they will the liberties and boundaries of the land.

FOOTNOTES:

[31] The reader will bear in mind that there were several changes in the

command of these troops during the campaign, on account of promotions,

but the troops remained in the Department and Army of the James. See

Roster, for changes.

[32] THE PHALANX AT NEW MARKET HEIGHTS.[A]

"On the 29th of September, 1864, Gen. Grant ordered Gen. Butler to cross

the James River, at Two Points, and attack the enemy's line of work, in

the centre of which was Fort Harrison; on the left, at New Market

Heights, was a very strong work, the key of the enemy's flank on the

north side of the river. It was a redoubt built on the top of a hill of

some considerable elevation, then running down into a marsh. In that

marsh was a brook--then rising again to a plain, which gently rolled

toward the river. On that plain, when the flash of dawn was breaking,

Butler placed a column of the black Phalanx," [which consisted of the

5th, 36th, 38th and 2nd Cavalry Regts.], "numbering three thousand, in

close column, by division, right in front with guns at 'right shoulder

shift.' The center of the line was given to the eighteenth corps

composed of white troops, under Gen. Ord, and they drove the enemy from

a very strong work, capturing several pieces of cannon.

"Gen. Butler had been severely criticised by officers of the regular

army for organizing twenty-five regiments of negroes. 'Why.' said they,

'they will not fight' In contradiction of this assertion Butler made up

his mind to prove the worth and value of the black Phalanx.

Notwithstanding their gallantry at Petersburg and on the Fredericksburg

road, the metal of the 25th corps of the Army of the James was to be

tried; so Butler took command of the Phalanx himself with a

determination to set at rest forever the question of the fighting

capacity of a portion of his command. Addressing the Phalanx, he said,

pointing to the works on the enemy's flank, 'those works must be taken

by the weight of your column; not a shot must be fired. In order to

prevent them from firing he had the caps taken from the nipples of their

guns. 'When you charge.' he said, 'your cry will be 'Remember Fort

Pillow.'

"'Twas in the early grey of the morning, ere the sun had risen. The

order 'forward' set the column in motion, and it went forward as if on

parade--down the hill, across the marsh, and as the column got into the

brook they came within range of the enemy's fire, which was vigorously

opened upon them. The column broke a little, as it forded the brook, it

wavered! What a moment of intense anxiety? But they formed again, as

they reached the firm ground, marching on steadily with close ranks

under the enemy's fire until the head of the column reached the first

line of abatis, some one hundred and fifty yards from the enemy's work.

Then the axemen ran to the front to cut away the heavy obstacles of

defense while one thousand men of the enemy with their artillery

concentrated poured from the redoubt a heavy fire upon the head of the

column of fours. The axemen went down under that murderous fire; other

strong black hands grasped the axes in their stead and the abatis was

cut away. Again, at double-quick, the column went forward to within

fifty yards of the fort, to meet there another line of abatis. The

column halted and there a very fire of hell was poured upon them. The

abatis resisted and held the head of the column which literally melted

away under the rain of shot and shell; the flags of the leading

regiments went down, but a brave black hand seized the colors. They were

soon up again and waved their starry light over the storm of battle.

Again the axemen fell, but strong hands and willing hearts seized the

heavy sharpened trees and dragged them away, and the column rushed

forward and with a shout that rang out above the roar of artillery went

over the redoubt like a flash, and the enemy did not stop running within

four miles, leaving the Phalanx in possession of their deemed

impregnable work, cannons and small arms. The autocrats of the regular

army could croak no longer about the negro soldiers not fighting.

"This gallantry of the Phalanx won for them and the negro race the

admiration of the man who supported Jeff Davis and the slave power in

the Charleston convention in 1860. Ten years after this splendid victory

of the Phalanx, in support of their civil rights, General Butler then a

member of congress, made an eloquent appeal in behalf of the equal civil

rights of the negro race. In it he referred to the gallant charge of the

Phalanx. He said: "It became my painful duty to follow in the track of

that charging column, and there, in a space not wider than the clerk's

desk and three hundred yards long, lay the dead bodies of five hundred

and forty-three of my colored comrades, fallen in defense of their

country, who had offered up their lives to uphold its flag and its

honor, as a willing sacrifice: and as I rode along among them, guiding

my horse this way and that way, lest he should profane with his hoofs

what seemed to me the sacred dead, and as I looked on their bronzed

faces upturned in the shining sun, as if in mute appeal against the

wrongs of the country for which they had given their lives, whose flag

had only been to them a flag of stripes, on which no star of glory had

ever shone for them--feeling I had wronged them in the past and

believing what was the future of my country to them--among my dead

comrades there, I swore to myself a solemn oath--'May my right hand

forget its cunning and my tongue cleave to the roof my mouth, if I ever

fail to defend the rights of those men who have given their blood for me

and my country that day and for their race forever, and God helping me,

I will keep that oath."

* * * * *

"NEW MARKET HEIGHTS.[B]

"'Freedom their battle cry, freedom or leave to die.'--_Boker._

At New Market Heights, there Afric's lineage stood,

And poured out copiously its best blood;

Of them I would sing, my lyre's restrung,

And allures not diffidently to the song,

Paternal muse with thy patriot valor reign

Supreme, and the brightness of ages regain,

In the deep recess of the past

Lower me, to where the battle's blast

Has been given to oblivion, the sigh

Of dying patriots let greet me nigh.

And my thoughts waft on memory's wing,

To where their charging shouts yet ring.

If mine the task indulgent muse vouchsafed,

Whilst I commune 'mongst bones that paved,

And flesh that bridged the chasm o'er,

Where Butler numbered five hundred and more

of Afric's sons, who for liberty fell.

In the corridors of a stockaded hell.

I'll essay their deeds of valor done,

By which the nation its victory won.

'Twas early in the grey September morn,

Ere the suns fulgent light had shown,

Whilst departed patriots looked out from above,

Emitting their twinkling silvery light of love,

Upon the silent bivouac of freedom's sons,

Weary and resting upon their bayonetless guns;

Quite near the bank of the James,

Just above where their own fathers' names,

Were first enrolled as ignoble slaves.

_The Second Brigade_, valiant men and braves,

Saw a meteor like rocket burst high,

High up in the dewey morning sky.

Then came the summons prepare to away,

Butler leads to New Market heights at day.

Beat the long roll, sound the alarm,

Break the monotone and the dead calm,

And the bugle's clarion notes aroused, awoke,

The host that waited ere day broke;

Infantry, cavalry prepared to make away,

Butler leads to New Market heights at day.

From rank to rank the summons ran,

Bayonets rattle and clank of sabres began.

With whetted steel the sturdy axe-men,

Capless riflemen, horseless cavalry men.

Formed on that plain in battle array,

Butler leads to New Market heights at day.

When the flash of dawn was breaking,

Their leader rode in front, and speaking,

Gave the charging shout '_Remember Fort Pillow_,'

And their banners brightened in the mellow

Light of heaven; '_Forward_,' they marched away,

Following Butler to New Market heights that day.

Went down the hill across the marsh,--

Into the brook--there halted--ah! how harsh

The rebels' fire opened upon them, artillery

Hail swept the run, and the infantry

Broke, the column wavered tho' not in dismay,

Following Butler to New Market heights that day.

Again the shattered columns form and again advance

To firmer ground, tho' the redoubt hurl'd like an avalanche

In quick succession, bursting bombs and canister shot,

But with closed ranks the column, fearing not

Unheedful of the iron hail bent its way,

Following Butler to New Market heights that day.

Now the head of the column of fours go down

Under the murderous fire and the hissing song

Of the enemy's shells, now the axe men spring

To the _abatis_ high and long, now their axes ring

Out on the morning air, they were swept away.

Following Butler to New Market heights that day.

The flags are where, do they kiss the morning light,

Do they wave in the battle's gale, are their stars bright,

Illumining the path of the brave? riddled and torn,

With the dead they lay. Soon again they shone,

In the first gleam of the rising-sun's ray,

Following Butler to New Market heights that day.

Upon the brigade each felt that all was placed,

Their race and country's future honored or disgraced,

Hence with Spartan courage they the charge renewed,

And in hot haste the Nation's enemy pursued,

And sweat and blood from pore and wound inveigh,

Following Butler to New Market heights that day.

'_Forward, forward!_' rung the command, the flags are up again,

The axe-men grin, and with a shout go over the slain,

To a second line of _abatis_. The welkin's aglow.

The advancing brigade shouts, '_Remember Fort Pillow_!'

And with a will and spirit they clear the way,

Following Butler to New Market heights that day.

Down the dismounted cavalrymen fall by ranks,

The Infantry an adamantine wall on the flanks,

Close up briskly on right and left receive

The enflading fire from the brazen crest, breathe

They not a word in complaint, freedom's impulse obey,

Following Butler to New Market heights that day.

Mow the black axe-men tear from the sod the huge logs

Which science and treason placed deep in the bogs,

Skill gave way to freedom's might in the dastardly fight,

And the black brigade, with capless rifles and starry light,

Go through the gap to the Rebel's hell in gallant array,

Following Butler to New Market heights that day.

Volley after volley poured, cannon after cannon roared,

Like reapers in a field a thousand artillerists mowed

In the gap, the brigade's advancing files of four,

Yet on through the flood of death still the brigade pour.

Their battle cry, _Remember Fort Pillow_, the enemy dismay,

Following Butler to New Market heights that day.

Hark! above the raging carnage swells the shout,

'_No quarter to Niggers_,' with hope of a rout,

But the brigade was not deterred, they retaliate

The defiant yells, _Remember Fort Pillow_, the fate

Of its garrison how it fell, on through the fray,

Following Butler to New Market heights that day.

On for the _redoubt_ over the rampart they go,

Not a rifle was fired, not a shot at the foe,

By the weight of the column the _redoubt_ is theirs,

And the enemy routed, the chivalry scattered everywhere

Victorious shouts the empyrean ring in repay,

Following Butler to New Market heights that day.

In the track of the brigade lay the loyal dead,

Afric's hecatomb, her lineage's pyre to liberty wed,

Their upturned countenances to the burning sun,

Were appeals to Mars for their race's freedom won,

Five hundred lives on the patriotic alter lay,

Following Butler to New Market heights that day.

No marble shaft or granate pile mark the spot

Where they fell--their bones lay harvested from sun-rot,

In the Nation's cities of the dead. Hannibal led

No braver than they through Alpine snow, nor wed

To freedom were Greece's phalanx more, who o'er gory clay

Followed Butler to New Market heights that day.

[A] (Author in the N. Y. _Globe_.)

[B] (Author in "_Voice of a New Race_.")

[33] See report of 29th Regiment Connecticut Colored Volunteers in

appendix.