THE FINAL CAMPAIGN.
Sixth corps returns to Petersburgh--Condition of the
corps--Sheridan joins the grand army--Capture of Fort
Steadman--The last grand charge--The pursuit of Lee's
army--Tributes to the Sixth corps--Disbanding.
On the 9th of December, the Sixth corps was recalled to Petersburgh. We
need not describe the journey to Washington, nor the steamboat ride to
City Point; the scenes along this route have already been described.
We took our position on the Weldon railroad, erected more comfortable
huts than we had ever built before, our sick were placed in hospitals
fitted up with great taste, and everything which the government or our
friends at home, through the agencies of Sanitary and Christian
Commissions, could do for their comfort was gladly done.
During our absence in the Shenandoah Valley, the army under General
Grant had been making steady progress in the siege of Petersburgh, and
our war-worn brothers of the other corps showed upon their faces the
marks of overwork. We were in fresh vigor. We had marched through a
blooming valley literally abounding in milk and honey. The fruits of the
vine, the orchard and the fold had been ours, and our camps had been in
green fields and pleasant groves, we had marched over wide roads, and
through rolling meadows, and we had fought in the open field. We
returned to our old comrades, proud of our own achievements, and of the
praise we had won from the nation. We could point to the valley, and to
the memory of Early's army, now no more; and we proudly claimed that it
had been ours to rid the country of one of the most troublesome of the
rebel columns.
Now that we were again in the trenches, we felt a confidence in our own
valor which made our corps eminently fitted for the last grand duty, the
crowning act in the glorious history of this superb corps, the breaking
asunder of Lee's lines at Petersburgh, and as the result, the overthrow
of the rebellion.
Grant's army had, during our absence, extended the line much farther to
the west and south. When we left for Washington, our line extended only
a little beyond the Jerusalem plank road. Now, it crossed the Weldon
railroad, and reached Hatcher's Run, nearly eight miles from the
position occupied by us when we left the lines. The military railroad,
too, had been constructed, and now all supplies were brought from City
Point to the rear of our camps by rail cars.
The famous mine had exploded, and with it the project of taking
Petersburgh by surprise. Events of importance had transpired on the
north of the James, and the Dutch Gap canal was in progress. Yet, Lee's
army held us at arm's length, and Petersburgh was still to be taken.
In the latter part of February, our friend, Sheridan, was ordered to
leave the valley with his superb body of horsemen, and cross the country
through Lynchburgh, destroy Lee's communications with the west, pass
through Danville and join Sherman in his grand march to the sea. But the
James river, swollen by heavy rains, forbade a crossing, and Sheridan,
nowise disconcerted, turned the heads of his horses toward the White
House, and after many adventures, having wrought much mischief in the
rear of the rebel army, he joined Grant's army before Petersburgh, on
the 26th of March. The result was better than though he had been able to
accomplish the original design.
Now, the Army of the Potomac was one again. The Sixth corps, and
Sheridan with his cavalry, were important elements in that grand army;
and now, as the glorious spring-time was drying the depths of the mud,
and opening the way for a fresh campaign, we were in most superb
condition to administer the last blows to the already tottering fabric
of the rebellion.
We need not dwell long upon the particulars of this final campaign.
Lee took the initiative. Knowing that it would be impossible to hold his
present line much longer, he determined to retreat to Danville; but
wishing to cover his retreat by a bold movement in front, he sent a
strong column to attack Fort Steadman, a point toward the right of the
line where the two opposing lines were very close. The fort was guarded
by troops of the Ninth corps. The attack was made very early on the
morning of the 25th of March, and resulted in the complete surprise and
capture of the fort and of many of the men of the Ninth corps. It was a
short-lived triumph; the work taken was commanded by the guns of other
forts on either flank, and the enfilading guns with strong bodies of
infantry soon compelled a retreat of the enemy.
Meanwhile the opportunity had not been lost by General Meade for
advancing his line on the left. The Sixth corps was to do the work. The
Third brigade, Second division was sent forward to take and hold the
rebel picket line near the Squirrel Level road, for the double purpose
of withdrawing the attention of the enemy, and of advancing our line for
future operations. The brigade gallantly executed the order, and,
notwithstanding the rebels brought nine pieces of artillery to bear upon
it, and sent reinforcements to the point, the ground was held. Colonel
Dwight of the One Hundred and Twenty-second was killed; Captain Oakley
and Lieutenant Pierce lost their lives, and many others of the brigade
were killed or wounded.
The 29th of March was the day fixed for the opening of the grand final
campaign. The Twenty-fourth corps relieved the Second and Fifth corps
from the intrenchments in front of Petersburgh, and these two corps were
loose to join Sheridan in an expedition on our left with the view of
turning the enemy's right flank.
Leaving camp early on the morning of the 29th, the two corps and the
cavalry proceeded to the southwest, crossed Hatcher's Run, and marched
toward Dinwiddie Court House, the infantry reaching the Quaker road, the
cavalry continuing the march to Dinwiddie. We had now an unbroken line
from the Appomattox to Dinwiddie Court House. The corps were posted from
right to left, as follows: Ninth, Sixth, Twenty-fourth, Second, Fifth,
and on the left of all, Sheridan with the cavalry.
On the morning of the 30th, the infantry and cavalry on the left were
ready for the grand blow upon the flank and rear of the enemy, but a
heavy rain storm set in, rendering the roads impracticable, and except
some maneuvering to get nearer the enemy's position, no movements were
made. On the following day, the rebels made a fierce onset upon the
corps of Warren, but failed to dislodge him. April 1st, Sheridan, with
infantry and cavalry, engaged the rebels at a place called Five Forks, a
position of vital importance to the enemy.
While Sheridan was thus dealing heavy blows upon the flank, we in front
were preparing for a general advance.
[Illustration: CHARGE OF THE SIXTH CORPS, WHICH BROKE THE REBEL LINES,
April 2, 1865.]
The position occupied by the Sixth corps formed a salient, the angle
approaching very near the rebel line. Here, in front of Fort Welch and
Fort Fisher, the corps was massed in columns of brigades in _echelon_,
forming a mighty wedge, which should rive the frame-work of the
confederacy.
The corps was formed in the rear of the picket line; the Third brigade,
Second division, being the point of the wedge. On the right of that
brigade was the First brigade of the same division, and on the left, the
Vermont brigade. The First division of three brigades was in _echelon_
by brigades on the right of the Second, and the Third of two large
brigades also in _echelon_. Each brigade was in column of battalions.
Axemen were ready to be sent forward to remove abattis, and Captain
Adams had twenty cannoneers ready to man captured guns. Every commanding
officer of battalions was informed what he was expected to do, and thus
all was in readiness.
At half-past four in the morning of April 2d, the signal gun from Fort
Fisher sounded the advance. Without wavering, through the darkness, the
wedge which was to split the confederacy was driven home.
The abattis was past, the breastworks mounted, the works were our own.
Thousands of prisoners, many stands of colors and many guns were our
trophies, while many of our friends, dead or wounded, was the price of
our glory. The rebel line was broken, and now the troops of Ord, and
those of the Ninth corps pressed on after us. Humphries, too, of the
Second corps, hearing of our splendid success, stormed the works in his
front away on the left and carried them. The confederate army gathered
close around Petersburgh, but we followed closely. We will not stop to
tell all the splendid achievements of that glorious day.
That night our corps rested on the Appomattox, just above Petersburgh,
and General Grant, of the Vermont brigade, had his head-quarters in the
house which General Lee had occupied all winter, and had left only a few
hours before. During the night Lee made his escape with his army. He had
already sent word to Richmond that he was to retreat, and the fatal
message reached Davis while in church.
We all joined in the pursuit next morning. The Second and Sixth corps
hastening to the help of Sheridan, who was following hard after the
flying army. We confronted Lee at Jetersville, and on the morning of the
6th we moved up to attack, but there was no army to attack. Why need we
tell of the forced march that followed; of the gallant fight at Sailor's
creek, where we whipped Lee's army; of the wild joy of the surrender?
These are all too well known to repeat, and the details would be
tiresome.
The grand old Sixth corps, the pride of the army and the delight of the
nation, had crowned all its former record of glory by breaking the
famous "backbone" of the rebellion, and all that follows is tame.
General Grant did us the credit to say, "General Wright penetrated the
lines with his whole corps, sweeping everything before him, and to his
left, toward Hatcher's run, capturing many guns and several thousand
prisoners."
General Meade, too, says: "Major-General Wright attacked at four A.M.,
carrying everything before him, taking possession of the enemy's strong
line of works, and capturing many guns and prisoners. After carrying the
enemy's lines in his front, and reaching the Boydtown plank road,
Major-General Wright turned to his left and swept down the enemy's line
of intrenchments till near Hatcher's run, where, meeting the head of the
Twenty-fourth corps, General Wright retraced his steps and advanced on
the Boydtown plank road toward Petersburgh, encountering the enemy in an
inner line of works immediately around the city."
The march and halt at Danville, the rapid journey through
Fredericksburgh to Alexandria, the separate review of the corps under
the scorching rays of one of the hottest days ever known even in
Washington, when hundreds of our men fell down from sunstroke and
exhaustion, the return to camp and the disbanding, finish the story of
the grandest corps that ever faced a foe.