AT SPOTTSYLVANIA.
Toward noon it became evident that a new movement was contemplated.
About one o'clock we marched by the flank to the rear, and halted near
the road for the rest of the brigade to withdraw, and concentrate. We
then moved rapidly to the open ground near the Old Wilderness Tavern,
where the Ninth Corps was massed. There we saw our immense artillery
and ammunition trains moving in the direction of Chancellorsville.
We remained at the tavern until dark, and had supper there. For
forty-eight hours our only food had been bread and water. As soon
as the trains were on the road we were ordered to follow them in
the direction of Chancellorsville. The march was very tedious and
vexatious, owing to the darkness and the slow movement of the wagons.
At every few rods we were obliged to halt, and the weary men threw
themselves upon the ground for a few moments' rest, only to be aroused
to move a little distance and repeat the same experience. At ten
o'clock the picket-firing ceased, and we lay down by the roadside for
the night. At daylight we resumed the march. At nine o'clock we reached
Chancellorsville, and halted in an open field, at the intersection
of the Gordonsville Plank and Orange County roads. Here stood the
ruins of the house used by General Hooker as head-quarters during the
great battle fought one year before, and all around us traces of the
bloody struggle could be seen. Without shelter from the scorching
sun, and covered with dust raised in great clouds by the passing
trains and troops, we remained at Chancellorsville during the entire
day. The Fifth and Second Corps had moved on the Brock road toward
Spottsylvania; the Sixth was with us. As the last division filed past
us down the Plank road, and the fire of the Wilderness died away, the
distant booming of artillery in our front announced that the enemy was
in position across the advance of the Fifth Corps.
The firing increased all the afternoon, and at sunset was very heavy.
The brigade bivouacked at Chancellorsville, and remained until nearly
noon of the next day, when orders were received to move down the Plank
road in the direction of the conflict. During the afternoon we moved
from one position to another, and at dusk were put in line of battle
upon a high crest west of the Richmond and Potomac Railroad, on the
extreme left of the army. We were not permitted to remain long in this
fine position, where we expected to pass the night, but were moved out
to the road again, and marched rapidly through deserted camps and past
smouldering camp-fires, until late at night we bivouacked near General
Burnside's head-quarters, and upon the left of the army of the Potomac,
which during the day had been closing around the strong position of the
enemy at Spottsylvania Court-House. Three divisions of our corps were
now concentrated at this point, the Fourth Division being detailed as
guard for the supply train of the army.
The 10th of May was clear and intensely hot. The burning sun drove us
from the open fields to seek the shelter of the woods. There we lay
during the long and tedious hours, listening to the sounds of battle on
our right, with orders to be ready to move at a moment's notice. Thus
far during the campaign but little artillery had been used, owing to
the nature of the country; but on this day the action was on more open
ground, and much of the artillery of both armies was brought into use,
the cannonading resembling one continuous peal of thunder.
Reports came to us that Lee's army was being forced from its strong
defences; in fact, rumors of the wildest description reached us. They
were soon to be dispelled, however, for, at four o'clock, marching
orders were received, and in another moment we were on the road,
marching in the direction of the conflict. The route lay over a good
road, through noble forests, until at length we reached the open
country along the banks of the Ny river. After halting at the Harris
house for the command to close up, the march was continued to the
river, which we crossed by the turnpike bridge. Here we filed to
the left into an open field, and the division was formed in line of
battle, and ordered to advance rapidly. On reaching a rise of ground
in our front we received a severe fire from the enemy's artillery;
but the advance was not checked. The troops on the right of the road
soon encountered the skirmishers of A. P. Hill's corps, and pressed
them back, our regiment threatening their flanks. The artillery was
now brought to bear on the enemy's line, and the whole division
advanced gallantly in face of a heavy fire, and continued until
darkness compelled a halt. This movement was made in support of the
famous charge of twelve picked regiments of the Sixth Corps, upon the
right centre of the enemy's position. The assault was made with great
gallantry, and the works were carried with a loss to the enemy of
six cannon and nine hundred prisoners; but the rebels were strongly
reinforced, and the great advantage which was gained could not be
secured. At nightfall the remnant of the noble column returned, leaving
their dead and wounded and the six pieces of cannon, which could not be
removed, in the enemy's hands.
The division passed the night in line of battle, without fires or
coffee. The picket line was attacked several times; but no serious
demonstration was made, and there were no casualties on our front. At
daylight of the 11th the line advanced to the crest of a ridge directly
in our front, from which we obtained a fine view of the enemy's
position. We were about a quarter of a mile from the Court-House,
around which stood the enemy's earthworks, bristling with cannon,
and surrounded by a formidable abatis and slashing of timber. They
seemed to be alive with troops, who, doubtless from our close advance,
expected an immediate attack. The enemy evidently desired our approach,
and were ready to give us a hot reception. The position was strong
naturally, and the fortifications and obstructions rendered it
well-nigh impregnable. Our pickets held a very advanced position and
kept up a lively skirmishing all the morning. Being seriously exposed,
we were ordered to build a line of breastworks along our whole front,
maintaining at the same time the utmost vigilance lest the enemy should
attack our left and flank. Notwithstanding a close and annoying fire
we were able to construct a strong line of intrenchments during the
forenoon; but we were not allowed the privilege of defending them,
for at three o'clock orders were received to withdraw with the utmost
speed and caution. This was a perilous undertaking in the face of a
watchful and powerful enemy. The movement was made against the earnest
remonstrance of the corps commander, and the mistake was afterwards
seen when too late to be corrected. The day had been intensely hot, and
now the sky was black with clouds. As the movement commenced the rain
began to fall. Soon it descended in torrents, and during the drenching
rain which followed, the works were evacuated without exciting the
attention of the enemy.
The brigade was now hurried to the rear, the direction of the march
being toward the right of our line, and in another hour the corps was
massed in a large open field near the Harris house. Here we remained
more than an hour, exposed to the full fury of the drenching rain,
which caused the men to shiver with cold. It was the first rain that
had fallen during the campaign, and, however welcome it might have
been in allaying the stifling dust and cooling the heated air, it was
decidedly unpleasant to be obliged to encounter its full force in
the open field, without shelter of any kind. Here the wearied men
partook of the first nourishment during the day. At dusk the corps
was again ordered forward to a new position in the advanced line,
more to the right of that occupied during the day. We crossed the
broad meadows bordering the Ny river, and as we moved forward an aid
reported to Captain Barker that, Colonel Bliss having been injured, he
had been directed to notify the senior officer to take command of the
brigade, and that Lieutenant-Colonel Pleasants, of the Forty-eighth
Pennsylvania, was in command. He was soon succeeded, however, by
Colonel Curtin, who had been temporarily absent.
The shower settled into a steady rain, and the night was cold and
cheerless. The advance was continued in the darkness until we
reached a line of breastworks around a deserted farm-house. Here we
remained during the night. The head-quarters of the regiment were in
a dilapidated barn, and nearly all the officers lay down upon the
wet ground, which constituted the floor. The place was filthy and
disagreeable; but any shelter was welcome on such a night. The hours
dragged drearily. The men were under arms, and the pickets, though
almost exhausted, were alert and vigilant. We were ignorant of the
enemy's position, yet conscious that the morning light would reveal it,
and be the signal for a determined assault.
The morning of Thursday (the 12th) dawned cold and dismal. A curtain
of gray mist enshrouded the earth as with a pall. The men shivered
as they awoke from unrefreshing sleep, and the order to advance was
promptly responded to. Without food we moved forward, continuing the
line of advance of the previous evening, and, after a short march,
reached a large opening in the forest, where a portion of the corps was
being massed in column by brigades in line of battle. During the night
the Second Corps had been massed on our right, and were ordered to
assault at daylight, with a portion of our corps to support the left.
We were to advance by brigade front, formed _en echelon_. The Second
Brigade was in front, the First Brigade had the second line, with the
Thirty-sixth again on the extreme left. The Second Brigade was ordered
to advance to the right, to uncover the front of our brigade, when we
were to advance rapidly to the front, connect our right with the left
of the Second Brigade, and push forward. While forming for the attack
we heard the loud cheers of the troops on our right, who were charging
the enemy, followed by the thunder of artillery. This was the signal
for our attack, and the division advanced rapidly toward the woods,
the brigades deployed to the right and left, and a heavy skirmish line
was thrown out. We drew the first fire from the rebel skirmishers at
half-past four o'clock.
The line of our advance to the woods lay over a steep knoll, which
descended into a swampy thicket just in front of the woods, and while
crossing this exposed ground the regiment encountered a very severe
fire of musketry at short range from the enemy posted in the edge
of the woods; but he retired rapidly before our advance, and, as we
entered the woods, attempted to swing around our left, with the evident
intention of outflanking us. To prevent this movement Companies C, B,
and K were deployed to the left of the line of battle, to cover the
flank and protect the rear. The division which had been expected to
prolong the line of battle on the left had not come into position, and
it seemed to us that the dire experience of the Wilderness was now to
be repeated. But the enemy suddenly fell back, and appeared to abandon
the attempt to double our left flank. By five o'clock the engagement
had become very hot, and as the division advanced the cheering on the
right was renewed, and the firing became terrific. The lurid flash of
musketry lighted up the dim woods, and the din of battle resounded on
every side.
Connection was established with Griffin's brigade, which joined the
left of the Second Corps near their point of attack at the famous
"death angle," thereby securing our right; but the left was badly
exposed, and the advance of the promised support in that direction was
anxiously awaited. We were in a dense forest, and it was impossible
to distinguish the position of the enemy or his approach, should he
attack, until the skirmishers should come in contact. The firing in our
immediate front was very sharp and close, indicating the presence of
a large force, and our skirmish line was reinforced preparatory to a
charge which we had been ordered to make, and also to resist any attack
of the enemy.
In a few minutes intelligence was passed along the line that Hancock
had just finished a successful charge on the right, carrying the
enemy's line, near the McCool House, capturing four thousand
prisoners and twenty cannon. Soon after, a large force of the enemy
was discovered moving from the right toward the left, in column,
across our front. The skirmishers opened a sharp fire, which was not
returned, but instead we heard the cry, "For God's sake, don't fire!"
At the same time word came from the right of our division, "Cease
firing! Hancock's prisoners are passing along your front." The firing
ceased, when in a few minutes a horrible cry came from the left of the
Thirty-sixth,--"The rebels are on our flank!" The fatal impression
seemed to prevail that this body of the enemy was the division just
captured by General Hancock. A sergeant came in from the skirmish
line and reported that a Union officer had ordered the line to cease
firing, and that the rebels carried a white flag; and the impression
was general that these were rebel prisoners moving toward the rear.
They were formed squarely across our flank, and Captain Buffum, Acting
Major, who had command of the left wing, walked out on the narrow
wagon-track which diagonally crossed our left, across which these
rebels had formed, and waving his sword toward them, cried out, "Come
in, Johnnies! We won't hurt you. Come in!" We could look into their
very faces. We could almost see the whites of their eyes. They were
the veterans of A. P. Hill, Lane's brigade,[13] of Heth's division.
As far as we could distinguish weapons they were standing at ordered
arms. Captain Buffum was but ten yards from them, and going toward
their line, when he was answered by a murderous volley, which will
never be forgotten by any who survived it. And never shall we forget
the splendid coolness and courage of Captain Buffum as he came back
to the line, and amid the confusion which followed this terrible
attack, calmly faced two or three companies to the left, and gave the
order,--"Let them have it!" Though suffering fearfully the regiment
behaved nobly. The attack was terrific. It was the most awful moment
of our history. Yet the regiment was equal to the emergency, and its
stand, it is believed, saved the division from panic or capture. The
left was gradually drawn back from the colors, and soon the entire left
wing presented a front to the enemy. Lying upon the ground, loading
and firing rapidly, pouring upon the enemy a low fire which was most
effective and deadly, they maintained the unequal contest until an
order came down from the right for the whole line to charge. Then,
rising to their feet in the midst of the awful fire, with an alacrity
and courage beyond this feeble praise, the regiment was rushing toward
the enemy, when loud cheers were heard upon our left, and in another
moment we were joined by the gallant Twenty-first Massachusetts,--the
right regiment of the First Division line,--which came up on the double
quick to prolong the line of battle. Cheer answered cheer, and both
regiments charged the enemy, who was driven back to his intrenchments
with great loss, leaving his killed and wounded in our possession. Two
lines of detached rifle-pits were taken, with some prisoners, and the
right brigade carried a portion of the enemy's main line and captured
two pieces of artillery; but in a little while the enemy made a most
furious attack, and the connection with the Second Corps on the right
was broken; the right was turned and forced out of the works.
[13] Lane's brigade was composed of the Seventh, Eighteenth,
Twenty-eighth, Thirty-third, and Thirty-seventh regiments of North
Carolina troops. The operations of the brigade on the morning of the
12th are detailed in the "History of Lane's North Carolina Brigade,"
Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. IX., No. 4, pp. 146, _et seq._
Soon after, a general attack along the whole line was ordered, and the
regiment advanced; but the enemy's works at this point were too strong
to be carried. The rebels made several attempts to regain the ground
we had occupied, but were driven back each time with severe loss.
Several times orders were given from the right or left to attack, but
the assaults were successful only at isolated points. Along the Third
Division front the fighting was unusually desperate and bloody. Charges
and counter-charges were made and repulsed. In the "death angle" on
the right of our division the fighting was the most sanguinary of the
war. The enemy made the most desperate attempts to recover the works,
but every attack was repulsed with great slaughter. About noon we
strengthened our skirmish line, which was very close to the enemy's
position, and a temporary line of rifle-pits was thrown up, which
afforded partial shelter. Slowly the terrible day of Spottsylvania
dragged on. The mist of the morning was but the prelude to a heavy
storm; at times the rain fell in torrents.
After the excitement of the attack had somewhat subsided a spirit of
deep sadness pervaded the regiment. Comrades and friends had been
stricken in death. Those dismal woods had been the scene of their last
conflict; and many a companion of weary marches and lonely picket, many
a tried and trusted comrade, was sleeping in death. Of the commissioned
officers, Captain Bailey, the beloved commander of Co. G, had received
a mortal wound. Corporal Hall, of his company, was one of the first
to fall in our close conflict with the enemy, when we received the
volley with which the battle for us opened, and some of his comrades
carried him a few steps to the rear of our line of battle. Captain
Bailey moved at once to the spot, and as he was bending over the dying
corporal, a minie ball entered the captain's forehead, and he fell
forward upon the corporal's body. Some of his men carried him to the
field hospital; but nothing could be done for him. He breathed all
day; but consciousness did not return, and at nightfall he died. And
so we were called to part with a faithful officer and a noble-hearted
companion. He had entered the service with a patriotic desire to serve
his country; and his last words to those whom he loved, written after
the battle of the Wilderness, showed that he had counted the cost, and
was willing, if need be, to lay down his life in the endeavor to secure
the great objects for which on our part the war was waged.
Captain Morse, of Company C, and Orderly Sergeant White, commanding
Company I, had both been badly wounded, and taken to the rear. The
loss of the regiment in its non-commissioned officers was especially
severe. They were rising steadily from the ranks to fill the vacancies
in the line to which their bravery and capacity entitled them. These
men had conferred honor upon the regiment, and many of them had won
the highest respect and affection of their commanding officers.
Under any circumstances their loss to the regiment would have been
deplorable; at such a time it seemed to us irreparable. The day had
been to the regiment a literal baptism of fire and blood; but before
its close we were destined to sustain another severe loss in the death
of First Lieutenant Henry W. Daniels, commanding Company H. He had
been in command of the skirmish line all day, and toward evening came
in to report the condition of the line, get ammunition and receive
instructions for the night. He said he had fired considerably during
the day and had attracted the attention of the enemy. He left us
with the repeated caution from Captain Barker not to expose himself
unnecessarily. He had been at his post but a little while when
Sergeant Woodward, who was standing in the main line, saw him fall,
and cried out, "My God! the lieutenant is shot!" His head was pierced
by a minie ball, and he who but a few moments before had left us in
the full strength and courage of early manhood was brought back a
corpse. Comrade Bartlett, who was on the skirmish line, thus relates
the circumstances of his death: "I was on the line about two rods
distant from him. He had just come out with ammunition for us. A rebel
sharp-shooter in a tree on our right had troubled us exceedingly.
Lieutenant Daniels took a musket to bring him down, as he could see by
the smoke when he fired about where he was. After discharging the piece
without effect, he had reloaded and raised it to his shoulder to fire
the second time when he was shot by the sharp-shooter, and fell dead."
This event was a sad ending of a terrible day, and cast a gloom upon
all. We were pained at the recollection that the last days of his life
were saddened by the death of his brother Myron in the Wilderness, only
six days before, and our hearts went out in sympathy toward the kindred
of all our slain in northern homes; and, as we thought of the many
scenes of peril through which we must pass, and the certainty of death
which awaited many, we cried, in the anguish and bitterness of heart,
"How long, O Lord, how long?"
The loss in the regiment in this action, including the Twenty-ninth
men, was, killed, twenty-seven; wounded, seventy; missing,[14] ten;
total, one hundred and seven.
[14] Courtland A. Allen, of Company D, who was among the missing, was
wounded in the hand, and in going to the rear, as he supposed, was
captured. He was in several rebel prisons, and was in Andersonville
while Sherman was on his "March to the Sea." While being removed from
Andersonville, he with five or six others jumped from the railroad
train and escaped to the swamps, where they remained for several weeks
subsisting on roots and berries, and were on the verge of starvation,
when they found a _dug-out_, and made their way down the Altamaha river
to the blockading squadron, and were taken on board one of the vessels
about six weeks after their escape.
* * * * *
The list, as far as can be ascertained, is as follows:--
_Commissioned Officers._
_Killed._--Captain S. Henry Bailey, Lieutenant Henry W. Daniels.
_Wounded._--Captain Edwin A. Morse.
_Enlisted Men._
_Company A._ _Killed._--Privates James Alexander, Levi Chamberlain,
Franklin Howe. _Wounded._--Corporal Barney Sheridan, Privates
Frederick C. Battles, Andrew Coyle, John A. French, Francis A.
Perkins.
_Company B._ _Killed._--Corporal James N. Doughty, Private Obed R.
Davis. _Wounded._--First Sergeant Thomas H. Haskell, Sergeant Edwin
F. Crosby, Corporal George W. Paine, Private John T. Priest.
_Company C._ _Killed._--First Sergeant A. Fernando Bailey, Sergeant
George E. Freeman, Corporal Fanning T. Merritt, Private Michael
Loughlin. _Wounded._--Corporal Stephen F. Logee, Privates Luke K.
Davis, Edwin Searles.
_Company D._ _Killed._--Sergeant Stephen T. Brooks (commanding
Company), Corporal Alden J. Sawtell, Privates Samuel B. Hale, Peter
Breen, Dennis Hare. _Died of Wounds._--Private Sanford Giles.
_Wounded._--Corporal Courtland A. Allen, Privates John M. Demary,
Edwin W. Lund, Augustus S. Whitney, William L. Renouf.
_Company E._ _Wounded._--Privates William F. Whitney, Joseph B.
Wheelock.
_Company F._ _Wounded._--Corporals Ammiel Littlefield, Orrick H.
Adams.
_Company G._ _Killed._--Corporal William H. Hall. _Died of
Wounds._--Private John S. Emerson. _Wounded._--Private Andrew B.
Fletcher.
_Company H._ _Killed._--Sergeant Jerome Pierce, Private Lewis
D. Winslow. _Died of Wounds._--Private Eugene W. Hodgman.
_Wounded._--Sergeant John A. Fisher, Private Augustus F. Colburn.
_Company I._ _Died of Wounds._--Private Franklin Farnsworth.
_Wounded._--First Sergeant Alonzo A. White (commanding Company),
Privates Savillion Arnold, Luke Lavin, Hazen D. Leighton, John A.
Bosworth.
_Company K._ _Died of Wounds._--Private Samuel G. Vaughn
(wounded in Wilderness, but had returned to duty). Private
Matthew Hudson (captured and died in rebel prison at Florence,
S.C.). _Wounded._--Sergeant Edward Chamberlain, Privates Silas
Chamberlain, Henry Noi (wounded May 6, but had returned to duty).
Names of killed and wounded of Twenty-Ninth Massachusetts
Volunteers, serving with the Thirty-Sixth Regiment May 12th, 1864.
_Killed._--Sergeants Hamer and Mosher, Privates Alexander, Fisher,
Ward, Morton,[15] Murphy, and Mansfield. _Wounded._--Privates
Adams, Willett, Feeney, Little, Guiney, Mitchell, Hamlin, Parsons,
McAloney, Hoxie, Thresher, and Thompson.
[15] Lemuel Morton had a presentiment that he should be killed in this
battle. He had but two days more to serve to complete an honorable
record of three years. He was the first man killed in the engagement,
falling at the first fire, before the regiment entered the woods.
The most severe loss was sustained by Company D,[16] which lost seven
killed and nine wounded,--a total of sixteen. The loss in the brigade
in killed, wounded, and missing was four hundred and fifty-one; in the
division one thousand one hundred and ninety-three.
[16] In this action Captain Buffum acted as Major, and his Company [D]
was commanded by Sergeant Brooks until he was killed. The company was
then under command of Sergeant Liberty W. Foskett, until the arrival
of First Sergeant John A. Stearns, from recruiting service, May 15th.
Sergeant Foskett was wounded at Petersburg, June 17th, 1864.
During the entire night of the 12th the men were hard at work
felling trees and erecting breastworks, and by daylight we had a
strong defensive line. The 13th passed without special incident. The
skirmish-firing was sharp and unremitting, and one man, Private William
H. Doyle, Company B, was badly wounded. A feeling of dread uncertainty
pervaded the troops. An assault upon the enemy's works was ordered, but
before any movement could be made the order was countermanded. At times
the rain fell in torrents, and our position was very uncomfortable.
On the 14th the men belonging to the Twenty-ninth Massachusetts,
whose term of service expired that day, were sent to the rear to be
transported to Washington for muster-out. They were followed, on the
16th, by the remainder of that regiment, seventy-six in number, whose
terms of service expired at various dates between the 14th and 21st of
May. Immediately after the action of the 12th the attention of General
Burnside was called to the circumstances of the case, and he at once
ordered that the survivors should now have their discharge, and caused
them to be sent to Washington. The departure of these comrades caused a
material reduction of our effective strength; but we rejoiced in their
good fortune, and bade them God-speed homeward. We regarded them as
brothers, and parted from them with deep regret. They were transferred
to our regiment on the 30th of January, 1864, while in Tennessee, under
circumstances of peculiar hardship, owing to what has always been
considered a too literal interpretation of a general order. For more
than three months they had been identified with our command in all the
hardships and privations of the spring of 1864. They evinced the spirit
of true Massachusetts soldiers, and nobly performed their duty to the
last hour of their service. Their courage and devotion at Spottsylvania
are worthy of the highest praise. Eight of these men, Sergeants Mosher
and Hamer, Privates Mansfield, Alexander, Fisher, Ward, Morton, and
Murphy, having but a few, some of them only two, days longer to serve
to complete the honorable record of three years' service, went into
that battle and sealed their devotion by pouring out their blood and
dying in defence of the nation's honor. To us it seemed hard, indeed,
that these men could not have been sent to the rear on the morning of
that day, or assigned to some duty whereby that sacrifice need not have
been extorted. But, like good soldiers, they went forward as ever under
the folds of the flag that before nightfall was to be crimsoned with
their blood. All honor to the noble band, also, twelve in number, who
were wounded on that day; and all honor to the gallant regiment in
which they were trained to such performance of duty!
The storm continued throughout the 14th. In the night the enemy drove
in our pickets three times, and the men were under arms, hoping that
the enemy would attack the main line. This, however, they declined to
do. Sunday, the 15th, was stormy and dismal. The long rain rendered our
position very trying and uncomfortable. We had but little shelter, and
the exposure to the constant bad weather, the scarcity of food, the
want of sleep, and the mental strain, now began to have perceptible
effect. Many cases of sickness were reported, and Assistant-Surgeon
Bryant, the only medical officer with the regiment, afforded what
relief the limited means at hand would permit. The supply of ammunition
was replenished, and the lines were thoroughly inspected by General
Potter, who ordered a traverse built in rear of our regiment. Although
the weather was dark and gloomy, and there were many discouraging
circumstances, the day was rendered comparatively happy by the arrival
of Captain Smith, First Lieutenant Brigham, and nine non-commissioned
officers, who had been absent since February on recruiting service in
Massachusetts. They received a soldier's welcome, and proved to be a
timely and valuable reinforcement.
On the 16th Captain Buffum, in charge of the skirmish line, advanced
the pickets, and strengthened and improved the front line. This was not
agreeable to the enemy, who made several ineffectual attempts to force
us back. A strong demonstration was made on our part, and the firing
was severe. The enemy was found to be in full force, and no attack was
made. Cannonading and skirmishing continued through the 17th, and the
position of some of the corps was changed. The Fifth and Sixth Corps
moved to the left, leaving only Birney's division of the Second Corps
on the right of the Ninth. Corporal Marcus Keep, of Co. E, was mortally
wounded. During the night it became evident that a new movement was on
foot. Troops were in line of battle in our rear, and we were ordered
to be in readiness to move in any direction at a moment's notice. At
four o'clock, on the morning of the 18th, the artillery opened along
the entire line, under cover of which a portion of the Second Corps,
with the Second Brigade of our division, made a vigorous attack upon
the enemy's line. The enemy had slashed timber along his front, and
the abatis was almost impenetrable, and by eleven o'clock, after
three attempts to storm the works, the effort was abandoned, although
considerable ground was gained, and a good position secured. The
enemy's artillery fire was very severe, and directed especially against
our division; but the loss in our brigade was very slight. Toward
evening the attacking column was withdrawn, and the Second Brigade was
massed in our rear.
The newly commissioned chaplain, Rev. Nathaniel Richardson, reported
on the 18th, and was assigned to duty in the Field Hospital, among the
sick and wounded.
At midnight the regiment was aroused by an aide-de-camp, and ordered to
move silently and rapidly to the rear. Upon reaching the open ground,
where we formed on the morning of the 12th, we filed toward the left of
the line, and after a very tedious march, over rough corduroy, stumps,
and fallen timber, halted at daylight near the Anderson house, where
a large portion of the army was massed. At eight o'clock the corps
marched by the flank toward the left, in a southerly direction, and
while on the march were passed by Generals Grant, Meade, and Burnside,
who were greeted with loud cheering. It soon became evident that a
general movement was in progress. After marching three or four miles
a halt was ordered, and the division filed into a large open field,
and went into line of battle on the left of the corps; afterwards the
division was faced to the left, and formed in two lines of battle,
the First Brigade in front. The brigade was then formed in column by
regiments, the Thirty-sixth being in front, and moved forward across
the field to the edge of a forest, where companies A and G were
deployed as skirmishers under the eye of General Potter. We moved
through a belt of fine woods, and halted in front of a broad, open
plain, at a point where three roads intersected. Here we were ordered
to intrench. A high rail fence formed the basis of the line, and in a
little while we had a strong defence. Jones' Eleventh Massachusetts
Battery was put in position on our left, and by noon the line was
firmly established, and the men lay down to enjoy the much-needed rest.
That afternoon we received the first mail since leaving Catlett's,
fifteen days before; and many hearts were made happy by loving words
from home. The dangers and fatigues of the past two weeks were soon
forgotten or transcribed to paper, for we now had our first opportunity
for writing as well as receiving letters. Scattered through the woods
in all directions could be seen the brave soldiers, who but yesterday
were engaged in deadly conflict, recounting to the loved ones at home
the story of the marches, bloody battles, and sad losses of the past
two weeks. Ours was, proverbially, a "letter-writing" regiment, and the
mail for our single regiment often exceeded that of the remainder of
the brigade.
The camp at this place was greatly enjoyed. Baggage was brought up from
the rear, shelter tents were pitched, and the men improved all the
opportunities for rest. A strong force reconnoitred toward Stannard's
Mills, on the Po river, and returned safely, having found no enemy
within five miles of our position. Heavy firing continued on our right,
and an attempt of Early's corps to turn the right flank, and seize the
Fredericksburg road, was splendidly repulsed by a division of heavy
artillery regiments on their way to the front to reinforce the army.
But, like all other pleasant experiences in a soldier's life, this rest
was soon to end. At half-past three o'clock, on the afternoon of the
21st, we received orders to break camp, and the brigade, with Jones'
battery, was ordered to take possession of the crossing of the Po river
at Stannard's Mills. After marching about five miles the Forty-fifth
Pennsylvania, which was in the advance, encountered the enemy's
pickets, and after a lively fight drove them across the river. Upon our
further advance we uncovered a battery of three guns, posted near the
river, which opened upon us with a heavy fire of shell and canister.
Colonel Curtin formed his line of battle in the woods near the river,
and the skirmishers became briskly engaged along the river's banks.
General Potter came up at this time to examine the position of the
enemy, which was found to be strongly intrenched. While searching for
a ford by which to cross and attack, orders were received to suspend
the attack, and our brigade and Jones' battery were left in position,
to prevent the enemy from crossing, while the remainder of the column
moved, by way of Smith's Mills, to Downer's bridge.
The day had been pleasant and very hot; but at dusk, just as we had
completed our movement, a heavy rain set in. We were in close proximity
to a watchful enemy, and were obliged to maintain the utmost vigilance
and quiet. We had no blankets nor shelter of any kind, and were not
allowed to kindle fires, and, in consequence, passed a most dreary
and uncomfortable night. Troops were marching in rear of our line all
night, and before daylight our brigade was withdrawn and moved forward
on the Telegraph road southward.