IN THE PINES.
The excitement and activity caused by the successful operations at the
Weldon Railroad subsided in a great degree by the 22d, the enemy having
abandoned the futile task of striving to regain his lost ground, and
we were left in quiet and complete possession of this important line
of communication. The regiment was leisurely employed during the day
in strengthening the intrenchments, and skirmishers were advanced for
half a mile or more into the wooded swamp in its front, but without
developing the rebel position.
On the 23d the whole division line was drawn back a short distance, and
works of a more permanent character than those first thrown up were
begun.
The camp sheltered by these defences became known as that "In the
Pines," and deserves more than passing notice. The Ninth Corps now
held that part of the line which extended from the right of the Fifth
Corps on the Weldon Railroad to the left of the Second Corps, near the
Jerusalem Plank road,--a distance of about four miles. At the point
occupied by the regiment the line ran along the edge of a belt of
pine timber fronting an open field of varying width, which separated
it from a deep, swampy forest, the trees in the border of which were
felled at random, forming with their prostrate trunks and interlacing
branches that formidable barrier known as a "slashing." Through this
maze were narrow winding paths for the passage of the pickets who were
posted in the standing timber beyond. The breastworks were higher than
was customary, the earth being thrown up from the front, leaving a
ditch, just outside of which was planted a bristling abatis. Well-built
earthworks for artillery were thrown up at available points, the open
ground in front of the regiment being swept by an enfilading fire
from two. An observer standing upon the works in front of the tents
of the Thirty-sixth commanded a far-reaching view of the defences,
which, as they stretched away on either hand until hidden by the trees,
presented one of the best specimens of entrenchment to be seen on that
wonderful line, which extended for more than thirty miles, and which,
with the opposing works of the enemy, nearly as long, made the greatest
achievement in field fortification the world ever saw.
This position was held by the regiment from August 23d until September
25th; and relieved from the harassing duty in the trenches to which
we had been so long subjected, and confident in the security of our
defences, we joyfully improved a period of needed and grateful rest.
The regimental camp was laid out in an orderly manner, the absence of
underbrush and large size of the pine growth giving it the appearance
of a picnic grove, and was in striking contrast to the dusty and
sun-scorched quarters it had frequently been our lot to occupy.
The weather, although cool at times, was generally delightful, and the
duties were light. Beyond the regular details for picket and police,
and an occasional bloodless reconnoissance, there was little call for
service, and the men at their leisure washed and mended their war-worn
garments, and dealt out long-deferred vengeance to predatory vermin;
guns were cleaned, and brasses polished; barbers' chairs of marvellous
construction, attended by thrifty veterans, were well patronized;
long-absent sutlers returned with their wagons groaning beneath heavy
burdens; in short, we were once more "in camp."
The terrible losses sustained by the Ninth Corps during the bloody
campaign of the summer had sadly thinned its once crowded ranks.
Regiments, that in April marched from Annapolis in all the pride and
confidence which strength inspires, now mustered around their tattered
colors meagre and skeleton battalions. The loss in commissioned
officers was especially large, and the need of a reorganization of
the corps was painfully apparent. In furtherance of this object
General White, commanding the First Division, was relieved, by orders
dated September 1, and the regiments composing that division were
transferred to the Second and Third Divisions. On the 13th of September
the designation of the several divisions of the corps was changed as
follows: the Third to be First, under command of Brigadier-General
O. B. Willcox; the Second to remain unchanged, under command of
Brigadier-General R. B. Potter; the Fourth (colored) to be the Third,
under command of Brigadier-General Edward Ferrero. The corps was under
the command of Major-General John G. Parke.
This change strengthened our brigade by the addition of the
Twenty-first (now a battalion) and Thirty-fifth Regiments Massachusetts
Volunteers.
The following is a list of the regiments composing the brigade after
the reorganization, with the number (commissioned officers and enlisted
men) present for duty in the latter part of September:--
Fourth Rhode Island Volunteers 217
Seventh Rhode Island " 165
Forty-eighth Pennsylvania " 491
Forty-fifth Pennsylvania " 291
Fifty-first New York " 368
Thirty-sixth Massachusetts " 228
Fifty-eighth Massachusetts " 123
Thirty-fifth Massachusetts " 514
Twenty-first Massachusetts " 102
Soon after its arrival at the pines the Thirty-fifth Massachusetts
received over three hundred and fifty recruits, entirely made up
of substitutes from Germany. The camp of these exiles was near that
of the Thirty-sixth, and their ignorance of the language and queer
foreign manners caused an amused interest in them; but when at night,
as became their custom, they gathered around the camp-fires, and, in an
isolation almost pathetic, sung the songs of _Faderland_, the effect
was striking, and we could not but listen with feelings of sympathy and
sadness as the grand old chorals resounded through the solemn pines.
September 14th, First Lieutenant Henry S. Burrage, who was wounded at
the battle of Cold Harbor, returned to the regiment, and was mustered
in as Captain of Company D.
During this peaceful month the ornamental duties of a soldier assumed
prominence, and the frequent sharp command "Fall in!" became more
suggestive of a drill and dress-parade than of hurried march or
wearisome watch in the trenches. On the 15th the regiment paraded for
brigade inspection, and on the 21st participated in a review of the
brigade by General Potter, presenting on both occasions a steady and
soldierly appearance that cast no discredit on its past record.
Lieutenant-Colonel Draper, as President, and Captain Smith, as
Judge-Advocate, of a court martial convened at division head-quarters,
gave attention to the trial of deserters, most of the cases being those
of either ignorant foreign substitutes or unscrupulous bounty-jumpers.
On the morning of the 16th the prevailing quiet was broken by the
unusual sound of firing in our front, followed by the hasty falling
back of a portion of the picket line. The breastworks were hurriedly
manned in anticipation of an assault; but after some desultory firing
the enemy prudently withdrew, evidently satisfied as to the strength of
our position, for no further attempt was made to disturb the line at
this point. In the forenoon of September 25th the Third Division was
reviewed, and a large number of interested spectators from our regiment
were in attendance, criticising with veteran keenness the military
bearing of the "colored troops."
But the easy life in which the luxury of idleness was broken only by
the routine of camp duty was to be rudely ended; the friendly shelter
which for a while we had enjoyed was to be exchanged for the deadly
exposure of the battle-field. It was our last day "in the Pines."