HISTORY
OF THE
THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT
MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS.
1862-1865.
_BY A COMMITTEE OF THE REGIMENT._
BOSTON:
PRESS OF ROCKWELL AND CHURCHILL.
89 ARCH STREET.
1884.
TO
Our Comrades
OF THE
_THIRTY-SIXTH MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS_
THIS RECORD OF A COMMON EXPERIENCE
IS
_AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED_.
_Ah, never shall the land forget_
_How gushed the life-blood of her brave,--_
_Gushed, warm with hope and courage yet,--_
_Upon the soil they sought to save._
_Now all is calm, and fresh, and still;_
_Alone the chirp of flitting bird,_
_And talk of children on the hill,_
_And bell of wand'ring kine, are heard._
_No solemn host goes trailing by,_
_The black-mouthed gun and stag'ring wain;_
_Men start not at the battle-cry;_
_Oh, be it never heard again!_
--WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.
PREFACE.
Not long after the close of the war a plan was proposed, by some of
the officers of the regiment, for the preparation of a history of the
Thirty-sixth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers; but the plan was
not carried into execution. At the regimental reunions, in subsequent
years, parts of such a history were read by Comrades White, Ranlett,
and Hodgkins, and the desire for a complete history of the regiment,
which found expression on these occasions, was so strong that, at the
reunion of the regiment at Worcester, in September, 1876, a committee,
consisting of Comrades White, Ranlett, Burrage, and Hodgkins, was
appointed to procure materials for a history of the regiment.
Some progress was made by the committee in the performance of the
work thus assigned to them; but it was not so great as they, or their
comrades of the Thirty-sixth, desired. At the reunion, September 2,
1879, the matter was again considered, and it was finally voted, "that
Comrades White, Ranlett, Hodgkins, Burrage, and Noyes, be chosen a
committee to have charge of the compiling, revising, and printing the
history of the regiment, to be ready for delivery at our next reunion;
and that the committee have power to procure any help they may need."
Many difficulties were encountered in the progress of the work, and it
was found that it would be impossible to prepare, within the limit of
time prescribed, such a history as would be worthy of the regiment. The
different members of the committee, amid the activities of busy lives,
could give to the work only such intervals of leisure as they could
find amid their daily tasks. At the annual reunions of 1880, 1881, and
1882,--testing the patience of their comrades who had entrusted to them
this important task,--they were compelled to report progress only. In
September, 1883,--the last reunion,--however, they were able to say
that the work was already in press, and would be ready for delivery in
the course of a few weeks.
In the table of contents will be found the names of the authors of
the different chapters. The work of Comrades White, Ranlett, Olin,
and Noyes, entitles them to the hearty thanks of all their companions
in arms. Especially, however, are such thanks due to Comrade W. H.
Hodgkins, not only for his own contribution to the history, but
also for his careful attention to the innumerable details which the
preparation of such a work required. Indeed, without his unwearied
endeavors in gathering materials, securing the coöperation of others,
and attending to the business of publication, the history would not so
soon, and might never, have been completed.
To the writer of these lines was assigned the editorial supervision
of the work. From the materials placed in his hands he arranged the
history of the regiment as it now appears. Two proofs of the entire
work have passed under his eye, and in this part of his task he has had
the invaluable assistance of Major Hodgkins. The history, of course,
is not free from errors of statement; and it will doubtless be found
that there are omissions which the writers of the different chapters,
as well as their comrades, will deeply deplore. Yet, with all its
imperfections, this volume is believed to be substantially a faithful
history of the part which the regiment had in the great conflict for
the preservation of the National Union, which was waged during the
years 1862-1865; and, as such, it is certainly a history of which all
those who participated in it may well be proud.
H. S. B.
PORTLAND, ME., Sept. 26, 1883.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. PAGE
ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT.--ALONZO A. WHITE 1-10
CHAPTER II.
TO THE FRONT.--ALONZO A. WHITE 11-18
CHAPTER III.
IN VIRGINIA.--ALONZO A. WHITE 19-36
CHAPTER IV.
THE KENTUCKY CAMPAIGN.--S. ALONZO RANLETT 37-48
CHAPTER V.
IN THE REAR OF VICKSBURG.--S. ALONZO RANLETT 49-57
CHAPTER VI.
THE MOVEMENT ON JACKSON.--S. ALONZO RANLETT 58-72
CHAPTER VII.
THE RETURN TO KENTUCKY.--S. ALONZO RANLETT 73-78
CHAPTER VIII.
IN EAST TENNESSEE.--S. ALONZO RANLETT 79-87
CHAPTER IX.
THE RETREAT FROM LENOIR'S AND THE BATTLE OF CAMPBELL'S
STATION.--HENRY S. BURRAGE 88-100
CHAPTER X.
THE SIEGE OF KNOXVILLE.--HENRY S. BURRAGE 101-122
CHAPTER XI.
SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS IN EAST TENNESSEE.--HENRY S. BURRAGE 123-134
CHAPTER XII.
REORGANIZATION.--WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 135-145
CHAPTER XIII.
IN THE WILDERNESS.--WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 146-159
CHAPTER XIV.
AT SPOTTSYLVANIA.--WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 160-177
CHAPTER XV.
ON THE NORTH ANNA AND THE PAMUNKEY.--WILLIAM H.
HODGKINS 178-187
CHAPTER XVI.
AT COLD HARBOR.--WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 188-200
CHAPTER XVII.
THE MOVEMENT ON PETERSBURG.--WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 201-215
CHAPTER XVIII.
IN THE TRENCHES.--WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 216-222
CHAPTER XIX.
DIARY OF THE SIEGE.--WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 223-232
CHAPTER XX.
THE MINE AFFAIR.--WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 233-241
CHAPTER XXI.
THE SIEGE CONTINUED.--WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 242-252
CHAPTER XXII.
IN THE PINES.--EDMUND W. NOYES 253-257
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE ACTION AT PEGRAM FARM.--EDMUND W. NOYES 258-265
CHAPTER XXIV.
AGAIN IN THE TRENCHES.--EDMUND W. NOYES 266-275
CHAPTER XXV.
IN WINTER QUARTERS.--WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 276-281
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE FINAL ASSAULT AT PETERSBURG.--WILLIAM M. OLIN 282-291
CHAPTER XXVII.
CLOSING SCENES.--WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 292-311
CHAPTER XXVIII.
CONCLUSION.--WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 312-315
ROSTER AND RECORD OF THE THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT OF
MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS, COMPILED AND CORRECTED
BY WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 316
RECAPITULATION 385
NAMES OF MEMBERS OF THE REGIMENT WHO DIED IN REBEL
PRISONS 386
NARRATIVE OF ISRAEL H. SMITH 387
INDEX 391
THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT,
MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS.
CHAPTER I.
ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT.
Early in July, 1862, when the war of the rebellion had been in progress
a little more than a year, President Lincoln issued an order for three
hundred thousand volunteers, to serve three years, or during the war.
It was a time of sore discouragement and general depression throughout
the loyal States. Our army in Virginia, under General McClellan, during
a seven days' fight near the Chickahominy, had met with such reverses
that it had been compelled to "make a change of base," and fall back
to the James river, near Harrison's Landing. Nobly, however, and
cheerfully, did the people of the North respond to the President's call
for reinforcements. On every hand was heard the chorus:--
"We're coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more."
Massachusetts was not behind her sister States in raising her quota,
which was fifteen thousand men. In a general order, dated July 7, 1862,
Governor Andrew announced the call which had been made upon him by the
President, stated the number of men which every city and town would
be required to furnish, and closed with these words: "The government
demands new regiments, and our brave men who have so nobly upheld
the honor of Massachusetts call loudly from the battle-fields of the
South to their brethren at home to come forward at once and fill their
decimated ranks, and take the places of the brave men who have fallen
and suffered in the cause of the Union and of American Constitutional
Liberty." Like the blast of a trumpet this order stirred the hearts
of the people in all parts of the state, and cities and towns vied
with each other, in patriotic endeavors to hurry forward the work of
enlistment.
A subsequent order, dated July 16, 1862, containing instructions
relative to the new recruitment, designated Camp John E. Wool, at
the city of Worcester, as the general rendezvous for the counties of
Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester. Colonel George
H. Ward, of the Fifteenth Massachusetts Volunteers, who had lost a
leg at the battle of Ball's Bluff, and was now at home on account of
disability, was placed in command of the camp.
The order of July 7th contained this announcement: "The new regiments
now partly formed, and to be formed, are the Thirty-second,
Thirty-third, Thirty-fourth, Thirty-fifth, Thirty-sixth, and
Thirty-seventh. To complete these regiments to the maximum standard,
the Thirty-second regiment requires 300 men; the Thirty-third, 650
men; the Thirty-fourth, 800 men; and the Thirty-fifth, 850 men." It
was accordingly ordered that recruiting for the Thirty-sixth and
Thirty-seventh regiments should not commence until the four first named
were filled. The order, however, was not strictly observed.
The first detachment for the Thirty-sixth entered Camp Wool August 1st,
and was a part of the quota of the town of Fitchburg. This detachment
consisted of sixty-four men, under the command of Captain T. L. Barker.
Recruits for the regiment had been received at Camp Wool previous to
August 1st; but this was the first organized company in camp, and, in
the organization of the regiment, it was assigned to the right of
the line, and known as Company A. As early as August 6th this company
had its minimum number of recruits; and, in a few days, others, from
Fitchburg, Leominster, and adjacent towns, raised the number to the
maximum.
Company B, Captain John B. Norton, was recruited in Charlestown during
the month of July. It was at first intended that this company should
be attached to the Thirty-fourth Regiment as a flank company, and
the officers at first received commissions in that regiment; but the
requisite authority for such a company could not be obtained at the
War Department, and the company was transferred to the Thirty-sixth,
and the officers recommissioned. For a time, very naturally, it was
a disappointment to the members of this company that they could not
remain in the Thirty-fourth; but of the survivors there is, doubtless,
not one who is not satisfied that the record of the company was made
with the Thirty-sixth.
Recruiting for Company C was commenced in the city of Worcester, August
8th, and on the 12th the company was full. Eight days after, under the
command of Captain Arthur A. Goodell, the company entered Camp Wool. No
other company in the regiment was raised in so brief a space of time.
Company D was recruited principally in the towns of Templeton and
Winchendon. The first detachment entered Camp Wool, August 4, under the
command of Captain Amos Buffum, of Baldwinville, late second lieutenant
in the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts Volunteers. In a few days the ranks
of this company were full.
The men of Company E were recruited from the towns of Palmer, Monson,
and the western towns of Worcester County. The first detachment entered
Camp Wool, August 10th, under the command of First Lieutenant R. M.
Cross. Captain S. C. Warriner, who had been discharged from the Tenth
Massachusetts Volunteers, in order to accept a captain's commission
in the Thirty-sixth, arrived in camp about the 20th of August, and
assumed command of the company, and completed its organization.
Company F was formed principally of recruits from Milford and vicinity,
with a detachment from Sutton. The first detachment arrived at Camp
Wool August 10th, under the command of Second Lieutenant A. S. Tuttle.
He remained in command of the company until September 17, when Captain
William F. Draper, promoted from first lieutenant in the Twenty-fifth
Massachusetts Volunteers, joined the regiment then in the field, and
assumed command of the company.
Company G was organized from unassigned recruits, representing the
eastern towns of Worcester County. S. Henry Bailey, of Northboro', was
commissioned captain of the company August 22d.
Company H was formed by adding to the quotas of Gardner and Orange
the unassigned recruits then in camp; and Christopher Sawyer, of
Templeton, who had entered Camp Wool as first sergeant of Company D,
was commissioned captain of this company August 22d.
Company I was recruited in Berlin, Marlboro', Upton, Uxbridge, and
adjoining towns, and entered Camp Wool in the early part of August,
under the command of Captain Christopher Hastings, of Berlin. The
company was filled to the maximum a few days after entering camp.
Indeed, Captain Hastings recruited men enough nearly to fill two
companies.
Company K, like G and H, was formed of unassigned recruits from the
various towns whose quotas reported at Camp Wool. James B. Smith, late
first lieutenant in the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts Volunteers, was
commissioned captain of the company.
On the 27th of August these ten companies, constituting the
Thirty-sixth Massachusetts Volunteers, having completed their
organization, were mustered into the United States service, for three
years, unless sooner discharged.
The field, staff, and line officers were not mustered into the service
until September 2d, the day the regiment left Camp Wool for the seat of
war. Indeed, for the most part, the field officers were not appointed
until after the mustering in of the regiment.
Lieutenant-Colonel John W. Kimball, of Fitchburg, then serving in the
Fifteenth Regiment,--a true and accomplished officer,--was commissioned
colonel of the Thirty-sixth, August 11th, and application was made
by Governor Andrew for his discharge from the Fifteenth, in order to
accept promotion. But, in the critical state of affairs at that time,
it was not deemed advisable by the authorities at Washington to grant
the governor's request. Consequently, on the 22d of August, Major Henry
Bowman, of the Thirty-fourth regiment, then at Camp Casey, on Arlington
Heights, was promoted to the colonelcy of the Thirty-sixth; and,
receiving his discharge from the Thirty-fourth, he at once joined his
command at Camp Wool.
Captain John B. Norton, of Charlestown, who entered Camp Wool as
captain of Company B, was commissioned lieutenant-colonel, August 28th,
and on the same day, James H. Barker, of Milford, was commissioned
major.
James P. Prince, of Lynn, was commissioned surgeon, with Warren
Tyler, of North Brookfield, and Albert H. Bryant, of Natick, as
assistant-surgeons. Rev. Charles T. Canfield, of Worcester, was
commissioned chaplain, and F. B. Rice, also of Worcester, as first
lieutenant and quartermaster. An adjutant was not appointed until a
later date.
The regiment was now nearly ready for the field. Most of the men had
been hurried into camp, with the promise of a few days' furlough
before leaving the State. Many of them had left their business affairs
unsettled and their families unprovided for. But all applications for
furlough were denied by the United States officer at Boston, who was
in charge of mustered regiments. Colonel Ward endeavored to secure
a furlough for the men; but his efforts proved unavailing. Colonel
Bowman, on joining the regiment, and learning the condition of affairs,
renewed these efforts, stating his unwillingness to leave the State
until the pledge which had been given to the men had, in a measure at
least, been redeemed.
On Saturday, August 30th, Colonel Bowman received orders to have
the Thirty-sixth Regiment ready to leave for Washington as early as
September 2d. At the same time he was given permission to grant to his
men furloughs for twenty-four hours, one-half of the regiment only to
be absent from camp at the same time. This order was not received by
Colonel Bowman until late Saturday afternoon. Accordingly, furloughs
were granted first of all to those men whose homes were at the greatest
distance from the camp. These were to return Monday morning, when the
rest of the men would receive their furloughs. This second half of
the regiment, by some mysterious process, became very small Saturday
evening and on Sunday. The sentinels paced their beats, but in some
instances so absorbed in their duties as seemingly to have lost the
sense both of sight and hearing.
A sergeant, with a comrade, making the rounds of his guard late on one
of these nights, found a faithful son of Erin walking his beat with
soldier-like precision. As they approached he promptly challenged:
"Who goes there?" and was as quickly answered, "Friend, with the
countersign." As they approached to give the countersign, the sergeant
asked, in confiding tones, "Could anyone get out here?" The sentinel,
as confidingly, asked, "Would ye bring a little whiskey? Be jabbers a
pint of whiskey might make a man both blind and _dafe_!" He then turned
his back, and marched away.
But while it was a great disappointment to the men to lose the few
days' furlough which had been promised to them, and especially to those
who had important business interests that demanded attention, leading
in some cases to a seeming disregard of discipline, yet all of the
companies were in camp on Tuesday morning. At an early hour on that
day the company commanders drew arms (Enfield rifles) and equipments
for their men, and these were at once distributed among them. All was
bustle and confusion throughout the camp. Few of the men had had any
experience as soldiers, and the selection and adjustment of their arms
and equipments, as well as the brief space of time allotted for these
and other preparations for moving, made it look still more difficult
and annoying.
Late in the forenoon the regimental line was formed, and a beautiful
national flag was presented to the regiment by Honorable P. Emory
Aldrich, Mayor of Worcester. In presenting the flag the Mayor said:--
"_Colonel Bowman_,--Your friends, and the friends of your command
in this city, have procured this beautiful banner, and requested me
to present it to you as the worthy commander of the Thirty-sixth
Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers for the war. It will be seen
that its azure fold is studded with the full constellation of
stars, representing the undivided Union, and that not one of the
original stripes is omitted or erased, showing that, however much
your friends may deplore the present unhappy condition of our
distracted and bleeding country, they still firmly believe that,
when the clouds of war that now lower upon us shall have passed
away, these stars will again shine as from a clear and cloudless
sky with none of their ancient lustre lost or obscured. And permit
me to say that this flag, still unchanged and radiant, signifies,
in the truest and highest sense, the kind of service expected
of you and this noble regiment you are about to lead from this
comparatively peaceful camp of preparation to the stern and heroic
duties of the field; that you are to aid, by force of arms, in
restoring the Union, which traitors have temporarily impaired, and
in reestablishing the supremacy of the constitution and laws over
every portion of territory lying within the acknowledged boundaries
of the Union, from the great lakes to the gulf, and from the
Atlantic to the Pacific oceans, so that, when you and your brave
comrades return, as we trust you will, with this flag, soiled and
rent it may be by the smoke and leaden hail of battle,[1] you
shall bring it back, not as the sign of a shattered constitution,
and dissevered Union, but as the proud emblem of a reunited and
indivisible republic, and then it shall continue to be known and
honored throughout the civilized world, and everywhere become a
free and safe passport to all men of every race who have the right
to claim protection beneath its ample folds.
[1] "Soiled and rent," its staff shattered, this flag, which was
carried by the regiment throughout its entire period of service, is
now preserved in the State House, in Boston, with the flags of the
Massachusetts regiments.
"In delivering this proud ensign of our nationality into your
hands, your friends know they are entrusting it to one who is not
only familiar with the ordinary duties of the soldier, but to one
who has been tried and not found wanting amidst the perils and
carnage of the battle-field, and who has suffered what is more
intolerable to every true soldier than any dangers of field or
camp, and that is captivity and confinement for weary months in
the loathsome prisons of the enemy; and now, after protracted
and vexatious delays, you have but recently been relieved from
your parole, so that you can, without dishonor, enter again the
military service of your country; and, having availed yourself
of the earliest opportunity to return to avenge your own and
your country's wrongs, may a propitious Providence and all good
influences attend you, and protect you, and your command in every
hour of trial and danger.
"Yours is the fourth regiment which has been organized within
this enclosure, which may now very properly be called our _Campus
Martius_, and the fifth that has gone out from our city within
the last twelve months. The Fifteenth, beginning its brilliant
career at Ball's Bluff,--where, indeed, it encountered a repulse
for which neither its officers nor men were responsible,--has
with signal gallantry fought its way over many a bloody field
to a high position on the roll of fame. And the Twenty-first
and Twenty-fifth, being with each other in the performance of
patriotic duty, and in the memorable race for military renown, have
made Roanoke and Newberne, and other fields, wherein they have
exhibited the highest qualities of the soldier, ever memorable both
to friend and foe. And it is not altogether improbable that the
Thirty-fourth, which took up its line of march but a few days since
from this camp, under the accomplished Wells,[2] may have already
found itself involved in the smoke of its first battle, and taking
its first lesson in the art of war. And scarcely will your regiment
have left our presence, before another will encamp within the
limits of the city. And we bid you tell our brethren in the field
that thus shall regiment after regiment, in endless succession,
be sent to their aid until this accursed rebellion is utterly
extinguished.
[2] Colonel Wells was killed near Cedar Creek, Va., Oct. 13, 1864.
"The lateness of the hour, the necessity of your moving at once,
admonish me that I should omit a portion of what I had proposed to
say on this occasion; but this is of little account, and I would
not delay your march for a single moment to listen to any poor
words of mine. Words in this hour are simply air. Action--instant,
resistless, heroic action--is the only thing that can avail us
in this perilous crisis. And I can only add that, while you and
these brave men who are to follow you, will do your full duty in
upholding and restoring the authority of the constitution and its
laws, you can never fail in loyalty, and the great idea of liberty
which now inspires the hearts and nerves the hands of all the loyal
men of the land; and that, when you have marched through rebel
districts, none but loyal and _free men_ shall be found. And now
accept this standard, proffered by friendly hands, and let it be
borne in your regiment as the emblem of liberty and law. And should
you or any of those, your comrades in arms, fall in its defence,
your memories shall be held in grateful remembrance, and history
will preserve their names among those of heroes and martyrs who
have died to defend or consecrate a great and noble cause. Remember
that the life is longest which best answers life's great end, and
that to die upon the battle-field in defence of the liberties of
mankind is the most cherished road to immortality."
The band played the "Star-Spangled Banner," and Colonel Bowman
responded in patriotic terms.
The several companies of the regiment then marched to Agricultural
Hall,--a large building on the camp ground,--where a bountiful
collation had been provided by the friends of the regiment. Then
followed the filling of haversacks, the packing of knapsacks, and all
were soon in readiness for the order to move.