IN THE WILDERNESS.
On the morning of the 4th all doubts as to our destination or the
length of our stay at this point were removed by the receipt of an
order from General Burnside for the corps to concentrate, and move
forward to the Rapidan. At ten o'clock that forenoon the tents were
struck, the line was formed, and we left our pleasant camp, little
realizing the terrible scenes immediately awaiting us. In our march we
followed the line of the railroad, and were joined at Catlett's Station
by the command of Captain Morse. At noon a halt was made at Warrenton
Junction, where the Second Division concentrated. Our brigade was now
commanded by Colonel Zenas R. Bliss, of the Seventh Rhode Island, as
Colonel Sigfried had been assigned to command a brigade of the colored
division. The march was continued all the afternoon, and at nightfall
we bivouacked at Bealeton Station, having marched thirteen miles.
On that day we received information of the resignation of our esteemed
commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Goodell, in consequence of the wound he
received at Blue Springs. His ability as a soldier and his reputation
as a man were well established in the corps, and recognized by its
commander, who desired him to remain in the service, and requested the
Secretary of War to assign him to special duty. But the nature of his
wound prevented him from rendering active service in the field, as he
desired, and he was compelled reluctantly to resign.
At daylight of the 5th the command was in motion. At nine o'clock we
crossed the Rappahannock on a pontoon bridge. Here we saw the monument
of wood, bearing the inscription, "Erected in memory of the brave sons
of Maine who fell while gallantly charging these heights, November 7th,
1863. Fifth, Sixth, and Twentieth Maine." The monument bore the names
of the fallen heroes, among which we read the names of several members
of the Twentieth,--our fellow-voyagers of the "Merrimac" in 1862.
As soon as the division had crossed the river the march was resumed
over fields, through forests, and along dusty roads. The halts became
less frequent, and the steadily increasing heat was severely felt. At
noon we ate our dinner amid deserted camps, which but a day or two
before were occupied by our comrades of the Army of the Potomac; and we
knew that the terrible struggles of the past were soon to be renewed.
Indeed, only an hour passed, and the deep booming of artillery was
heard beyond the Rapidan. The lagging pace was now quickened, and dull
hearts were stimulated to fresh life and courage. "Grant has found his
objective!" "Hark! There it is again!" "They're at it, boys!" "Grant's
found the Johnnies!" "Go it! We'll be in to-night!"--these and many
like expressions were uttered by the men, excited for a moment at the
sound of battle; while the clenched hands and compressed lips proved
that the hour of great endeavor--for victory or death--was near. No
lagging now; no more halting for rest; but on--forward! The sounds of
the battle grew louder and nearer, the din of musketry mingling with
the roar of artillery. As we neared the conflict the spirits of the men
seemed to grow lighter and more elastic and buoyant. The speed, of the
march was not abated until the Rapidan, at Germanna Ford, was reached.
There, in the confusion of trains, artillery, and massing battalions,
we were allowed a moment's rest. The halt, however, was brief. Soon
the order--_Forward!_ was given; and away we marched over the pontoon
bridge, which swayed beneath our tread, with the sound of battle more
appalling in front, and the apparent confusion more startling in
rear. As we crossed that sluggish stream, to many minds recurred the
well-known lines:--
"Part of the host have crossed the flood,
And part are crossing now!"
The regiment was now south of the Rapidan; and, upon halting, we had an
opportunity of looking about, and many and earnest inquiries were made
of every one coming from the front. We learned that the entire army
had crossed the river the day before,--the Fifth and Sixth Corps at
Germanna Ford; the Second Corps, and the immense supply train of more
than four thousand wagons, at Ely's Ford, six miles below; and that
the whole army had pushed southward on the two available roads leading
toward Spottsylvania,--Grant's plan being to avoid the intrenchments of
the enemy behind the Rapidan, turn his right, and by a rapid movement
get between him and Richmond, and force him to retire, or fight a
decisive battle on open and more advantageous ground.
Lee, from his signal-stations, observed the movement, offered no
opposition to the passage of the river, but, instead of falling back,
put his columns in motion by two parallel roads (the Orange and
Fredericksburg Plank Road and Turnpike), to strike the Army of the
Potomac at right angles with its line of advance, when it was well on
its march through the tangled Wilderness. He moved from his works over
roads and cart-tracks perfectly familiar to him, with the intention
of assailing Grant's flank, separating the several corps, and then
defeating them in detail.
The movement was a bold one, made with great celerity and with Lee's
entire army; and General Grant was forced to accept battle in this
unlooked-for place at the very commencement of the campaign. He
did not expect, or rather did not desire, to be attacked in such a
wilderness, and the order of march for this day, if executed, would
have carried his army beyond the Wilderness into the open country
around Spottsylvania Court-House. But with characteristic promptness
and resolution Grant faced to meet the enemy; the lines were pushed
into the dense forests, and the terrible battle which will live in
history as the "Battle of the Wilderness" now raged around us.
This region, known as the Wilderness, was densely covered by a second
growth of low, scraggy pines, scrub-oaks and hazel,--a wild, uneven,
tangled thicket, with but few openings that would permit the use of
artillery, or clearings for formation and movement of troops. It is
a region of gloom and the shadow of death. The advantage of position
was entirely with the enemy, who were familiar with every ravine and
ridge and cow-path throughout the dense jungle. Neither superiority
of numbers nor the most skilful generalship could counterbalance the
great advantages of the enemy. "In that horrid thicket lurked two
immense armies, and there came out of its depths the crackle and roll
of musketry like the noisy boiling of some hell-cauldron that told the
story of death."
General Burn side ordered the division forward. We were worn and weary.
Nearly twenty-five long miles lay between us and our resting-place of
last night. The march had been severe and tedious, and yet with willing
feet and hopeful hearts we pushed on, feeling the magic influence of
that presence which, at Antietam, Campbell's Station, and Knoxville,
had inspired the heroism of the men of the Ninth Corps. The march was
continued for two miles over the narrow, dusty road, now crowded with
wagons, guns, and troops; and just at dusk we filed to the right into
the woods, and, after receiving orders to be in constant readiness to
move, we stacked arms. Soon the groups gathered around little fires,
kindled marvellously quick, attested the sharp appetites of the men.
Although the march had been forced and exhausting but very few of the
men had fallen out. Major Draper's quarters were established on the
left flank, very near the road, in order that there should be no delay
in finding him should the regiment be needed in the night.
The night was passed in a state of anxious suspense. What a night!
The continuous fire of the skirmishers swelled now and then into a
crashing volley which extended along the lines, the shouts of teamsters
urging on their jaded beasts, the music of bands far in the rear, and
the tramp of passing troops,--all blended in one strange, discordant
strain. How many of our brave men sat by the smouldering fires,
thinking of the loved ones in homes they should never enter again! How
many lay down to catch the last few hours' sleep left for them on earth
before closing their eyes in the sleep of death! Thus the few weary
hours of the night dragged on.
Between one and two o'clock we were aroused, and before three o'clock
we moved out quietly by the left. Marching along the road in rear of
the line of battle, at daybreak we reached a clearing, within which was
situated the Old Wilderness Tavern. Here the brigade was halted, and
ordered to load and prepare for action.
The battle was renewed at quarter before five. Grant had ordered
an attack along the whole line to be delivered at five o'clock.
Lee anticipated him, and was fifteen minutes earlier. The battle
soon became general. Far on the left was heard the terrific fire of
Hancock's advancing line. On the right Sedgwick was beating back
the enemy's fierce attack; while in our front the fire raged along
the Fifth Corps line. Being ordered forward, we continued our march
toward the left of the Fifth Corps line, over a road leading in the
direction of Parker's store, the Second Brigade having the right of the
column. After marching about half a mile the men of the Forty-eighth
Pennsylvania were deployed as skirmishers, to cover the flank of our
brigade. After moving about half a mile further a line of battle was
formed, and here the regiment breakfasted. The enemy's skirmishers
soon opened fire, but retired before General Griffin's advance. In
moving forward we crossed a small stream called Wilderness Run, and
continued to advance until we encountered a brisk fire of artillery
from a rebel battery, and a sharp musketry fire at close range. The
line advanced to the edge of a small clearing, across which the enemy
was strongly posted with a battery. The Second Brigade was warmly
engaged, the action had become quite brisk, and General Potter was
making preparations to charge the battery, when orders were received to
withdraw, move farther to the left, and attack on the right of General
Hancock's line, near the Plank Road, that portion of the line being
then hard pressed.
Hancock's attack had been very successful. He had driven the
enemy fully a mile and a half back on the trains, artillery, and
head-quarters of the Confederate Army, which were in imminent danger
of capture; but in the rapid advance his line of battle had become so
broken in the dense forest as to require readjustment before he could
press forward and secure the prize almost within his grasp. While this
was being done the enemy was reinforced by Longstreet's troops, who had
been pushed forward rapidly to the threatened point. When, therefore,
Hancock's line advanced to resume the attack he was confronted by a
superior force, and was not only unable to make any impression on the
enemy, but was in turn pressed back over all the ground he had gained,
and was himself now in need of assistance.
The story of the Battle of the Wilderness is one of the most intensely
interesting of the war; but it will be referred to in this record
only to describe intelligibly the action taken by the regiment in its
relation to the engagement as a whole. We received the orders to retire
about ten o'clock in the forenoon, and moved by the left flank through
the dense forest and underbrush, which were almost impenetrable,
through swamps deep with water, back to the clearing, to the assigned
position, which was in rear of a gap said to exist between the left of
the Fifth Corps and the right of the Second. Our position was about a
mile and a half in front of the Old Wilderness Tavern, facing nearly
south, and not far from the Plank Road which runs south-east from
Germanna Ford. Our division was ordered to advance and fill the gap,
and to attack the enemy as soon as found. Each regiment was to skirmish
along its own front. On our right was Wadsworth's division of the Fifth
Corps, and it was expected we would connect our left with Barlow's
division of the Second Corps. With a detail from each regiment, Captain
McKibben, of General Potter's staff, rode into the woods to establish a
skirmish line. He had not proceeded far when he was fired upon by the
enemy, and his horse was killed.
It being evident that the enemy was in strong force along our immediate
front a general advance was ordered. The regiments were ordered to
advance as rapidly as possible, keeping close connection on the right
and left, and to attack without delay. The Fifty-first New York was
formed on our left; the Forty-fifth Pennsylvania joined our right;
beyond this we could not see the brigade line and knew nothing of its
formation. A strong skirmish line was sent out from our front, under
Captain Bailey, of Company G, and when all was in readiness the line of
battle pushed forward into the dense forest. The heat was intense; the
men were almost exhausted from their long march of the previous day,
were famished and weary; but the thought of the burden of battle borne
thus far by our brave comrades caused them to march with steady tread
as they moved onward toward the foe. In a few moments the line received
a tremendous volley, and the advance was checked for an instant, but
only long enough for us to ascertain the exact position of the enemy
and strengthen the skirmish line. This being done, Captain Bailey
advanced very rapidly, driving the enemy's skirmishers through a swampy
ravine into his entrenchments. The line of battle halted and closed up,
while the Thirty-sixth and Forty-fifth made nearly a half wheel to the
right, in order that our line might conform more nearly to the line
of the enemy, which, as far as we could determine, crossed our line of
battle diagonally.
During all this time the fire from the rebel line was very sharp and
close, but the casualties were few. The left flank was found to be very
much exposed, and the Fifty-first New York was drawn back to cover the
flank and rear, leaving the Thirty-sixth on the extreme left of the
division line of battle.
In front of our line, across the swampy ravine, on the crest of a
wooded slope, were the breastworks of the enemy, made of felled trees
and brush and the bodies of their dead. Behind these rude intrenchments
stood Anderson's brigade, Field's division (Hood's old division) of
Longstreet's veteran corps. It was composed of troops from South
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Texas. Surely they were no mean foe.
At Antietam Bridge, on the Heights of Fredericksburg, at Campbell's
Station, and in the defences of Knoxville, the Ninth Corps had engaged
with them in deadly conflict, and knew full well the devotion of these
men to their cause, and the desperate valor with which they would
defend their works. Once more these old antagonists stood face to face,
about to renew the fearful struggle of other days on bloody fields. The
foeman was worthy of our steel. The order, "Forward, double quick!"
was shouted, and with loud and ringing cheers our lines advanced. The
enemy poured in terrific volleys; their bullets whistled around us and
thinned our ranks; but the advance was not checked. The left of our
regiment first struck the rebel line, and received the severest fire,
but pressed on through it, and the Thirty-sixth and Forty-fifth broke
the line, went over the breastworks with a rush, and drove out the
enemy in our front. The attack had been most determined and successful,
and the regiment had complete possession of the rebel works in its
front. Thus far all had gone well. The Fifty-first New York, however,
had broken in the attack and failed to carry the line with which it
was confronted, and, in a brief time, though to us it seemed an age,
the enemy rallied, moved upon our left flank, swept round toward our
rear, and we were subjected to a fearful fire of musketry at short
range. Having no supports, and being outflanked and overpowered on
the left, that portion of the line was unable to hold the position,
and began to retire in some confusion. The position was too valuable
to abandon without a desperate struggle, and Major Draper leaped
upon the log breastworks in the centre, and endeavored by words and
motions to turn back the left wing, in order to present a front to the
enemy attacking on that flank. Captain Barker, in command of the left
wing, vainly endeavored to persuade a regiment of the Third Division
sent forward to support the attack, to swing to the left and attack
the enemy. In the most critical moment of the fight, while gallantly
rallying the line, Major Draper was shot through the shoulder and
carried senseless from the field.[12] The regiment was loth to give
up the great advantage it had gained, and the fighting was hand to
hand,--terrible and bloody. The men fought gallantly; but the force
upon our left was too strong, and our line was compelled to retire.
Falling back slowly, with their faces toward the enemy, the regiment
preserved a good line, returning the enemy's fire, and retired but a
short distance. Sergeant Henry Todd, who bore the State color, although
wounded in the arm, refused to the last to fall back, and received a
bullet in the head, which laid him low in death. The flag was seized
from his dying grasp by Corporal Michael Long, of Company A, who
himself was wounded a moment later, and before it reached the ground
was seized by Sergeant Gilbert Rawson, who bore it through the battle,
and the subsequent campaign.
[12] Sergeant Kimball, of Company F, saved Major Draper's life during
the battle. One of the enemy, a soldier of the South Carolina Rifles,
was lying behind a log, and had deliberate aim on Major Draper, who
was standing exposed to his fire, and was in the act of firing when
Sergeant Kimball struck up the musket with his own, and the ball passed
through the Major's hat. Soon after this Major Draper received a wound
from a rebel sharp-shooter.
In the midst of this terrific fight Colonel Curtin, of the Forty-fifth
Pennsylvania, assumed command of the brigade. Hartranft, with his
brigade of the Third Division, came up at the same moment, when the
whole line advanced in the face of a furious fire; and although the
enemy was severely handled, and his line forced at several points,
yet the opposition was so determined as to prevent complete success.
Through all these trying scenes the regiment behaved with great
gallantry, and held its position to the last moment. The brigade now
retired a short distance, re-formed, and corrected the line. Here
Lieutenant Marshall, of Company A, was badly wounded and carried to the
rear. During this temporary lull, amid the cries of the wounded, and
the burning undergrowth that added horror to the scene, our comrades
of the Forty-fifth struck up the chorus: "We'll rally round the flag,
boys, rally once again." The Thirty-sixth took up the strain, and made
those smoking woods ring with the chorus and cheers of the undaunted
men.
During the afternoon new dispositions were made for a third attack.
As our ammunition was exhausted we were relieved in the front line by
the Third Division, and closely supported its attack, which was made
with great vigor soon after five o'clock. The charge was gallant and
determined, and they who heard that terrific musketry will never forget
it. The enemy's skirmish line was driven in, and their main line of
battle, which had come out of the works, was broken and forced back. A
portion of the line on the left was again carried, but it could not be
held. The enemy's fire was of the heaviest; but the main line held the
ground up to the teeth of the enemy until dusk, when our division took
position to the right of the Third Division in the front line, within
close musket range of the enemy. A strong skirmish line was deployed,
and the regiment intrenched.
While these changes of position were being made it became necessary to
leave many of our wounded between the opposing lines, and volunteers
were called for to go out under the enemy's fire, and bring in such
as could be removed. Several gallant men of the Thirty-sixth offered
to perform this perilous service. While thus employed, Corporal
George E. Nourse, of Company I, was struck by the fatal bullet of a
sharp-shooter, and was himself borne away upon the stretcher with which
he had assisted to carry others to the rear. He was buried near the
spot where he fell, and sleeps, like many of his comrades, in that
far-off grave in the lonely Wilderness, or in the National Cemetery at
Fredericksburg, where so many of our comrades buried on the Wilderness
battle-ground have since been laid to rest.
Thus closed in blood and gloom the second day of the sanguinary battle
of the Wilderness. When darkness settled on those smouldering forests
the roll-call bore witness to the sacrifice we had offered that day
on the altar of Freedom. Eighty-five were absent. Of this number,
twelve were known to have been killed, fifty-three wounded, and of
the twelve reported "missing in action" several were supposed to have
been killed or wounded, and consumed in the burning of the underbrush
between the contending lines. The brigade lost five hundred and four
in killed, wounded, and missing; the heavy loss of the Thirty-sixth
being occasioned by our great exposure, and the severe fire on our
left flank and rear. The scenes and events of the day were recounted,
and entrusted to the keeping of faithful memories. Sergeant Rawson had
his story to tell of the coolness and thoughtfulness of Color-Sergeant
Todd. As they were about to enter the battle he said to Rawson, "If
anything happens to me, take good care of the State color." But for
this timely charge the flag might have fallen into the enemy's hands,
for Rawson, deeply impressed with the words of his friend, was near him
when he fell, ready to take the flag from Todd's dying grasp.
In the line the severest loss was sustained by Company I, commanded by
Orderly Sergeant White, losing three killed and ten wounded (three of
them mortally) out of thirty-five taken into action.
The following is the list of casualties:--
_Commissioned Officers._
_Wounded._--Major William F. Draper, Lieutenant Joseph A. Marshall.
_Enlisted Men._
_Company A._ _Killed._--Corporal Albert H. Carter. Wounded.--Corporal
Michael Long, Private Henry A. Thompson.
_Company B._ _Killed._--Color-Sergeant Henry Todd, Private Charles M.
Westcott. _Wounded._--Sergeant John Lamont, Privates Louis P. Abbott,
Daniel Lamont, James H. Robertson, James E. Spear.
_Company C._ _Killed._--Private Myron M. Daniels. _Died of
Wounds._--Private Frank S. Kelley. _Wounded._--Corporal Walter
Chisold, Privates Jacob W. Bixby, Frederick S. Gates, William Harty.
_Prisoner._--Private Hartwell C. Twitchell (died August 21, 1864, at
Andersonville).
_Company D._ _Killed._--Privates Frank M. Fenno, Andrew J. Morgan.
_Wounded._--Privates James H. Day, George L. Chase (died of wounds).
_Company E._ _Wounded._--Sergeant Lucius L. Merrick, Privates Josiah B.
Davis, F. Daniel Hadley.
_Company F._ _Wounded._--Sergeant Daniel Wright (taken prisoner),
Corporal Lucius Lowell, Private Chester J. Smith (died of wounds).
_Company G._ _Killed._--Corporal Edward W. Stacy. _Died of
Wounds._--Corporal Joseph L. Haskell. _Wounded._--Privates James A.
Dadman, Aaron M. Williams, Emory Winchester.
_Company H._ _Killed._--Corporal Joshua Rich. _Died of
Wounds._--Corporal Henry H. Mayo, Privates Luther P. Reed, Edward O.
Young (captured). _Wounded._--Corporal William N. Smith, Privates
Joseph F. Hayward, John W. Pratt, Henry W. Wetherbee.
_Company I._ _Killed._--Corporals Isaac R. Patten, George A. Nourse,
Private Daniel V. Childs. _Died of Wounds._--Corporal William H.
Coburn, Privates Josiah Houghton, George W. Bardwell, Julius N.
Bellows. _Wounded._--Corporal James H. Barry, Privates Oscar H. Brown,
Truman Marble, Charles H. Wheeler, Israel F. Carter.
_Company K._ _Died of Wounds._--Private Algernon S. Mandell.
_Wounded._--Privates Robert Stevens, Silas J. Howell, Jr., Henry Noi,
Samuel G. Vaughn.
_Twenty-ninth Massachusetts._ _Wounded._--Privates Rawson, Swift,
Alexander, and Leavitt.
With the first ray of daylight on the 7th the men were astir, in
expectation of orders for a general advance. The skirmishers exchanged
a few shots with the enemy at daybreak, but neither party manifested
any disposition to attack. The firing along Hancock's front, on our
left, was very severe at times, and word was passed down the lines that
his corps was to make an attack at right angles with our front; but the
morning wore away and no attack was made. A death-like quiet pervaded
our lines. The silence of the enemy was considered ominous, and the
picket force under Captain Morse was doubled, and then cautiously
advanced toward the enemy's skirmish pits, but only to find them
deserted. The enemy had withdrawn.
Small parties were now sent out to remove the wounded lying in our
front, and to recover the bodies of the dead. As the sad procession
moved to the rear the hearts of many were made sad in recognizing
among the mangled dead and wounded the forms of dear comrades whom
we fondly hoped had met the less sad fate of capture. The dead were
carefully buried, and their graves marked. While this sad work was
being performed the regiment erected a strong breastwork of logs, and
every precaution was taken to guard against a sudden attack of the
enemy. Here we were visited by Colonel Morrison, of the Seventy-ninth
New York,--our former brigade commander,--who was about to be mustered
out of the service, the term of his regiment having expired. He had
been wounded in the arm the day before, but refused to go to the rear.
He came over to say good-by to his former "pets" before leaving for his
home.