USA > Connecticut > A history of Connecticut > Part 21
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The Second Connecticut Artillery, that had gained the reputation of being one of the best-equipped and best-drilled regiments in the service, was soon to prove its strength in battle. By a forced night-march, it had crossed the Pa- munky River, and joined the Union army, now within fifteen miles of Richmond. To them was assigned the head of the brigade of veterans who were ordered to attack the enemy at Cold Harbor, who held the line in front of the breastworks hidden behind a thicket of woods that could only be ap- proached by crossing an open plain several hundred yards in width.
Late in the afternoon (June 1) the command was given to charge ; and the regiment, fourteen hundred strong, with fixed bayonets, sprung forward. They were under a terri- ble fire, but they did not falter. The enemy were driven back from their first line, but within the second line they were sheltered by a strong abatis of pine-boughs. This arrested the forward movements of the two battalions that were leading ; and they were now not only under the musketry-fire of the rebel infantry, but also of the guns in the intrenchments, not more than five rods distant.
Colonel Kellogg, who was in advance of the line, fell dead, pierced by a dozen bullets.5 It was impossible to stand against such a fire; and as best they could, the brave men crept back to cover, where the other battalions were
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[1864.
lying, leaving nearly half their number dead or wounded on the field. The next morning the position of the Union forces were strengthened; and the Second advanced, and occupied the line from which the enemy had retreated.6
During the night (June 2), preparations were made for a general assault along the whole front of six miles. Before five o'clock in the morning the line was in motion, and within twenty minutes the Union forces were repulsed with a fearful loss of life. The Eighth, Eleventh, and Twenty-first Connecticut were in the charge with General Smith's Corps. Colonel Steadman, who led a brigade in this assault, in a let- ter written at the time, said, "We formed in the woods in solid columns. I gave the command 'Forward !' We started with unloaded muskets and fixed bayonets. I was the first to enter the open field, and see the enemy's lines, - a curve. I bade farewell to all I loved. It seemed impossible to survive that fire ; but I was spared, while the GENERAL G. A. STEAD- MAN. officers of my staff, who followed me closely, were struck down. We reached a point within thirty yards of the enemy's main works ; but the fire was too murderous, and my men were repulsed. We left the woods with two thousand men : in five minutes we returned, six hundred less."
This vivid narrative of the repulse at a single point tells the story of what was passing in those few moments all along the line. The Fourteenth was not in this des- perate charge ; but during the six previous weeks since leaving winter-quarters at Stony Mountain, it had lost nearly half its number in the battles of the Wilderness.
The attempt to break through the defences of Richmond on the north and east was given up; and Grant determined
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SIEGE OF PETERSBURG.
1864.]
to move his army across the James River, and attack the city from the south. This movement was successfully accom- plished, and the army swung around until it was in front of the fortifications at Petersburg. The attempt to carry this position by surprise was a failure. The summer months, during which the siege was in progress, were marked by con- stant casualties, and many of the brave sons of Connecticut lost their lives.7
1 THESE REGIMENTS were the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twenty-first.
2 BERMUDA HUNDRED is at the ex- tremity of the peninsula formed by the James and Appomattox Rivers.
3 COLONEL ARTHUR H. DUTTON was mortally wounded May 26. Graduating at West Point in 1861, he was placed on the staff of General Mansfield. He was afterwards put in charge of the defences at Fernandina, Fla., where he received his appointment as colonel of the Twenty first Connecticut. He won much credit as chief of staff, and at the time of his death commanded a brigade.
4 JOHN SEDGWICK was born in Corn - wall, Sept. 13, 1813. After graduating at West Point, in 1837, he served through the Seminole war, and was promoted for gallant action during the war with Mexi- co. In 1860 Major Sedgwick was engaged in the construction of Fort Wise, near Pike's Peak. He took an earnest stand for the Union cause, and was appointed to succeed Robert E. Lee as colonel of the Fourth Regular Cavalry.
5 ELISHIA S. KELLOGG was born in Glastonbury in 1824. IIe had been trained amid experiences that had de- veloped a somewhat rough exterior, but was a born soldier, and won a reputation as one of the best officers in the army.
6 AMONG other officers and men of the
Fourteenth who lost their lives at Cold Harbor was CAPTAIN SAMUEL FISKE of Madison. A graduate of Amherst College, at the time of his enlistment he was pastor of the Congregational church in Madison. He had already become known, not only as a devoted and suc- cessful minister, but as a brilliant and witty writer. His letters written in field and camp, gathered in a volume entitled " Dunn Browne in the Army," are among the most graphic pictures we have of army life. Captain Fiske was struck down while leading his company. On the morning of his death he said to his sister, " To-day I shall get my marching. orders : well, I am ready."
7 THOMAS F. BURPEE of Rockville, who succeeded Colonel Dutton in com. mand of the Twenty-first, was mortally wounded at Cold Ilarbor, June 9, while going his rounds as brigade officer. Col- onel Burpee was a quiet, earnest Chris- tian man, faithful in all the duties of life.
GENERAL GRIFFIN A. STEADMAN. This gallant young officer, after having escaped death in many perilous scenes, was mortally wounded before Peters- burg, Aug. 5. His noble qualities of head and heart commanded universal re- spect; and his promotion was won by arduous service, in which he had shown both courage and military ability.
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[1864.
CHAPTER XLV.
1864-1865.
BATTLES OF WINCHESTER AND CEDAR CREEK.
THE defeat of Sigel and Hunter in Northern Virginia left the Shenandoah Valley unprotected. Lee at once sent Early, with a choice corps of twelve thousand men, with orders to pass down through the valley, and, if possible, attack Washington. Grant met this movement, not by rais- ing the siege of Petersburg, as Lee had hoped, but by send- ing Wright's Sixth Corps to defend the Capitol. The Second Artillery, still serving as an infantry regiment, was in this force.1
With the army that pressed forward under Sheridan to confront Early, there were also the First Cavalry in Wilson's division, the Eighteenth in Crook's Corps, and the Ninth, Twelfth, and Thirteenth, now returned from the Department of the Gulf, and connected with the Nineteenth Corps. In the memorable battles at Winchester and Cedar Creek, the regiments acted a noble part, and added to their well-earned reputation for valor in the hour of extreme danger.2
Near the end of September, Grant determined on a farther advance in the direction of Richmond. This movement called to the front many of the Connecticut men and officers connected with the Army of the James, whose service had been long and arduous at different points on the Atlantic coast. The capture of Battery Harrison was a gallant action, in which they gained deserved honor. On the 1st of October
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CAPTURE OF FORT FISHER.
1864.]
General Hawley's brigade moved forward on a march full of exposure and privation. A few days later, the enemy made a vigorous attack on the part of the line held by Terry's division ; and the failure of other troops to hold their ground would have led to a grave disaster, had not the Tenth firmly kept its position.
General Terry having been placed in command of a corps, an attack was made, early on the morning of Oct. 13, on the Confederate right ; but it was found impossible to carry the stronghold.3 The autumn passed, and winter opened ; and, while the lines of the enemy were unbroken, there were signs of weakness.
During December, Butler was ordered to join Admiral Porter in an attempt to capture Fort Fisher, at the mouth of Cape Fear River, on the coast of North Carolina. The assault proved a failure, much to the chagrin of Grant, who believed it was quite possible to gain possession of the place, and thus stop the blockade-running into the port of Wilming- ton. In seeking a leader for the second expedition, his choice fell upon General Terry. A part of the First Artil- lery, and the Sixth and Seventh Connecticut, were included in the force placed at his disposal.
On the morning of the 13th of January, 1865, Porter opened the bombardment, while the infantry landed, and threw up intrenchments. During the afternoon of the 15th, two storming-columns advanced ; and after a sharp and gallant fight, in which the marines and infantry were all called into action, the fort was captured. This brilliant victory was recognized by Congress and the country with enthusiastic praise ; and Terry was at once nominated and confirmed as major-general of volunteers, and brigadier-general in the regular army.
Two Connecticut regiments, the Fifth and Twentieth, were in the wonderful march made by Sherman's army to the sea ; 4 but most of the active service of her troops, after the opening
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of 1865, was confined to the neighborhood of Richmond. The early spring brought days full of toil and danger, but they were bright with hope as the signs increased that the enemy could not much longer hold the line of their intrench- ments.
On the first day of April, Sheridan fought and won the decisive battle of Five Forks, in which the First Connecticut Cavalry were actively engaged. At midnight the First Artil- lery opened a fierce cannonade, and Grant ordered an ad- vance of three corps of his army in the early morning. In the assault upon Fort Gregg, the Tenth came under a heavy fire in a hand-to-hand conflict ; and the Second Artillery was in the struggle which was driving the army of Lee, broken and dis- heartened, before it.
On the 9th of April, Lee signed terms of surrender at Appomattox Court-House, that virtually ended the war.5 The rebellion was crushed, and the life of the nation saved. In his annual message, at the meeting of the Legislature in May, Governor Buckingham said, " It is gratifying that our volunteers, from the gallant major-general who distinguished himself by storming and capturing Fort Fisher, down through the various grades of heroic officers, to the less conspicu- ous, but equally meritorious, privates, have not been sur- passed by any soldiers in the service of any government in patient endurance on the field and in the hospital, in fortitude under imprisonment and starvation, and in valor and intre- pidity in battle. Their record furnishes strong evidence that they entered the service under a deep conviction that it was a duty they owed to their country, to humanity, and to God." 6
After the surrender of Lee, General Terry was placed in command of the Department of Virginia, with headquarters at Richmond ; and General Hawley was called from the com- mand of the forces in and about Wilmington, N.C., to be his chief-of-staff. In this important position, these men, whose
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CLOSE OF THE WAR.
1865.]
names are now so widely known and honored throughout the country, did a work that required rare qualities of executive ability and wise judgment. During the summer months, most of the Connecticut regiments returned home, and were mustered out. Their well-worn uniforms, thinned ranks, and flags torn and scorched in many a storm of battle, were the silent witnesses of the experiences through which they had passed. With the exception of Iowa and Illinois, Connecticut had sent more men into the field, in proportion to her popula- tion, than any other State. The whole number of soldiers enlisted was over fifty- GIDEON WELLES. four thousand. A very large proportion of these men were. sprung from ancestors who fought in the war of the Revolu- tion, and could trace the line of their family inheritance from the little company of Puritans who laid the foundation of the commonwealth. They proved them- selves worthy of the honor put upon them in the hour when the life of the nation was threatened.
Not less, probably, than three thou- sand men from Connecticut enlisted in the naval service. Gideon Welles 7 of Hartford was the honored and efficient secretary of the navy in the War Cabi- net, and the name and services of Admiral Andrew H. Foote & recall ADMIRAL ANDREW H. FOOTE. some of the most important and thrill- ing incidents of the war. The lifetime of a generation has almost passed away since the struggle for the preservation of the Union came to a victorious close. While we rejoice in the present prosperity of our great Republic, and in the spirit of peace and good will that is fast
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[1865.
obliterating all sectional lines, let us not forget the work and sacrifice of the loyal and patriotic men who made these blessings possible.
Of those who returned to their homes at the close of the war, many have been called to occupy positions of honor and trust in business and civil affairs. As governor of the State, president of the Centennial Commission of 1876, and now senator of the United States, Joseph R. Hawley has won an enviable position among the leading statesmen of the country. Full of years and honors, the beloved " war governor," Wil- liam A. Buckingham, ceased from his earthly labors, Feb. 4, 1875. Noble in character, earnest in purpose, and Christian in spirit, he seemed to have been providentially raised up to guide the public sentiment, and conduct the affairs of the State, in the dark and uncertain hours that tried the courage and faith of the stoutest hearts.
1 JAMES Q. RICE, major in the Sec- ond Artillery, was instantly killed by a grape-shot in the battle of Winchester. Major Rice was a graduate of Wesleyan University, and at the time of his enlist- ment was in charge of a flourishing academical school at Goshen, Litchfield County. In the company which he recruited, were many of his old pupils. The writer of these lines cannot re- frain from a personal tribute to the noble Christian character of this gifted teacher of his boyhood days. Some- what stern in manner, but gentle in spirit, he exerted an influence upon all with whom he came in contact that was both helpful and inspiring.
2 COLONEL FRANK H. PECK of the Twelfth was struck by a shell at the bat- tle of Winchester while leading the regi- ment in a charge, and died the following morning. Colonel Peck was born in New Haven in 1836. IIe graduated at Yale in the class of 1856. He was study- ing law when the war broke out, but at once enlisted, and most of the time was
in command of the Twelfth. His last message to his family was, " Tell them I die cheerfully in the performance of my duty at the front."
3 HENRY W. CAMP, major of the Tenth, was killed while leading the regi- ment in the charge made on the afternoon of Oct. 13. The life of this noble young officer is told in a volume entitled " The Knightly Soldier," written by his inti- mate friend, HI. Clay Trumbull, D.D. His pastor, the Rev. Horace Bushnell, D.D., said ofhim, " I have never known so much of worth, and beauty, and truth, and massive majesty, - so much, in a word, of all kinds of promise, - em- bodied in a young man."
+ WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN is a direct descendant of the family, many of whose members have acted an important part in Connecticut history. His grand- father, Hon. Taylor Sherman, for a long time held the position of judge in Con- necticut. While these pages were pass- ing through the press (April, 1887), Gen- eral Sherman, in company with his
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WELLES AND FOOTE.
brother, Senator John Sherman of Ohio, visited the early home of his ancestors at Woodbury.
5 THE FIRST CONNECTICUT CAV- ALRY, under Colonel Ives, acted as an escort to General Grant when he met General Lee.
G THE CHAPLAINS of the Connecti- cut regiments deserve mention in this roll of honor. Many whose names are now widely known, not only performed faithfully the duties of their office in camp and hospital, but did gallant ser- vice in the field. The officers of the third brigade, at the close of the war, asked that Rev. H. Clay Trumbull, chap- lain of the Tenth Connecticut, might receive the brevet rank of major " for distinguished services in camp and on the field." This request was indorsed by Generals Terry and Hawley in the strongest terms, but the rules would not permit the War Department to grant the honor.
7 GIDEON WELLES was a native of Connecticut. He was editor of the Hart- ford Times 1826-1837, and served in the Legislature 1827-1835. He was comp- troller of the State 1842-1846, and joined the Republican party upon its founda- tion. He was at the head of the delega- tion in the convention that nominated Lincoln for President. From 1861-1869 he was secretary of the navy. On his retirement, in 1869, he resumed his resi- dence in Hartford, where he died, Feb. 11, 1878, aged seventy-six years.
8 ANDREW HULL FOOTE was born in New Haven, Sept. 12, 1806. He entered the navy as a midshipman in 1822, and in 1833 was flag-lieutenant of the Mediter- ranean squadron. In 1856 he commanded the " Portsmouth " on the coast of China, and arrived at Canton just in time to pro- tect Americans and their property in the war then beginning between England and China. His ship was fired upon by the Canton forts, and the apology which he demanded refused. He at once attacked the forts, and captured the strongest by storm. When the civil war broke out, he was in charge of the navy-yard in Brooklyn, from which he was soon called to the command of the fleet intended to operate in the Western waters. From Cairo, Ill., he sailed Feb. 4, 1862, with seven gun-boats, to attack Fort Henry on the Tennessee, and two days after took the fort in an hour. On the 14th of Feb- ruary he made an unsuccessful attack on Fort Donelson on the Cumberland. Although suffering from a severe wound, he went down the Mississippi, and opened the siege of Island No. 10, which was quickly reduced. He was now pro- moted to be rear-admiral, and was re- called to the East. Having been assigned to the command of the South-Atlantic squadron, he was on his way to discharge this duty, when overtaken by sickness in New-York City, where he died, June 26, 1863.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
CHAPTER XLVI.
1818-1887.
THE ERA OF INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS.
F TROM the time when the United States entered upon its independent life as a nation, a new impulse was given to the development of home industries, the restraints which had hampered them during the colonial period being now removed. With the growth of population, the increase of
FITCH'S STEAMBOAT.
wealth, and the fostering care of the Government, the energy and resources of active minds were encouraged to undertake the development of manufacturing interests. The period of renewed business activity following the close of the war of 1812, was the beginning of an era of industrial progress, that has continued ever since, and made Connecti- cut a veritable workshop of the Union.
In the long list of inventors whose genius and skill have added to the comfort and happiness of mankind, the name of John Fitch ought to stand among the first. The disappoint-
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THE ERA OF INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS.
ment, suffering, and tragic end of his life should make us more anxious to do honor to this son of Connecticut. Others reaped the benefits of his inventive skill, and it has some- times seemed as if he was to be robbed also of the credit due his genius. In 1788 he obtained a patent for the ap- plication of steam to navigation. A boat was built in 1787 which was able to make eight miles an hour. The times were unfavorable ; and although much interest was ex- pressed, the gifted inventor was unable to secure the money necessary to carry out his plans. In a letter written at this period, he says, "This will be the mode of crossing the
FIRST PROPELLER : INVENTED BY FITCH.
Atlantic in time, whether I shall bring it to perfection, or not : steamboats will be preferred to all other conveyances, and they will be particularly useful in the navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi. The day will come when some more potent man will get fame and riches for my invention." In this age of steam, John Fitch, the forerunner of Robert Ful- ton, ought not to be forgotten.
The history of the great and successful manufacturing establishments of Connecticut, as a rule, goes back to a day of small beginnings. About the time of the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, Eli Terry of Windsor was making a few clocks of wood, that could be hung up against the wall. A few years afterwards he removed to
1
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Plymouth, and continued in the same business. In 1800 his working-force consisted of two young men besides himself. The wheels were marked out on the wood with a square and compass, and then cut out with a fine saw and jack-knife. Twice a year Mr. Terry would start with a wagon-load of these clocks, and sell them at the scattered farmhouses and settlements west of the Hudson. He did so well, that, with the aid of several persons in Waterbury, he bought an old mill, introduced some new machinery, and turned out five hundred at one time. This overstocked the market, and the price was reduced more than one-half. In 1810 Mr. Terry sold his factory to Mr. Seth Thomas and a Mr. Hoadley. Three years after this, Mr. Thomas, with a capital of a few hundred dollars, started alone in the business in that part of Plymouth that is now known as the town and village of Thomaston. With quiet sagacity and indomitable industry the young clockmaker guided his affairs with consummate ability, and laid the foundations of what has become, under the guidance of his sons and successors, the largest clock- manufactory in the world.
Mr. Terry, after selling out his business, resumed it again in time. Among his apprentices was a lad named Chauncey Jerome. As soon as Jerome came of age, he started a clock-factory on his own account. His principal shop was at New Haven ; and he showed great ingenuity and inven- tive skill in his work, which was marked in its financial conduct with many vicissitudes. The use of brass instead of wood in the manufacture of clocks made it possible to pro- duce them more cheaply ; and the demand, not only in this. country, but from foreign nations, constantly increased. The establishments of Thomas and Jerome were the pioneers of many others that have made Connecticut famous for its production of clocks. Hundreds of thousands of these time-keepers are sold from her factories annually, and it is safe to say there is scarcely a home in the United
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THE ERA OF INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS.
States where the tick of a Connecticut clock cannot be heard.
The old proverb, "There's nothing like leather," was especially true in early colonial times. The production of leather and the manufacture of shoes increased so rapidly, that, within nine years from the settlement of New Haven, shoes were made for export. The fact that the dress of servants, and other laborers, was often made of leather, in- creased the demand for its production. Both at Hartford and New Haven the court took care to see that the quality was the best. Again and again those who sought to palm off a poor article were fined or otherwise punished for their misdemeanor.
After the Revolution, the tanning and manufacture of leather was an industry that began to thrive, and this busi- ness was for many years a growing source of prosperity in Connecticut. In later times the making of boots and shoes has fallen more largely into the hands of other States, but in certain lines the manufacture of leather is still an important factor in our industries. The belting-manufactory of P. Jewell & Son's of Hartford is one of the largest, if not the largest, in the world. The oldest, and one of the most extensive, saddle and harness manufactories in the country is in the " Charter-Oak " city. Workers in leather have made an honorable record in the civil as well as busi- ness affairs of the State. Roger Sherman, the statesman of Revolutionary times, was a shoemaker by trade. Marshall Jewell, governor and cabinet minister, was a member of the firm of P. Jewell & Sons ; and our present worthy governor, Phineas C. Lounsbury, won a reputation first as the manu- facturer of good boots and shoes.
Prior to the Revolution, such a thing as a pleasure-car- riage was scarcely known. Times have changed ; and to-day the making of carriages is the leading industry of New Haven, the largest city of our Commonwealth. Coaches
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
and gigs were made here late in the last century, but it was not until about the time of the war of 1812 that four- wheeled carriages were introduced. In 1809 a young man named James Brewster, while on his way to New York, was detained in New Haven by the breaking down of the coach in which he was travelling. Strolling about the town, he came to Cook's carriage-shop, on Orange Street, and there a conversation with the proprietor took place which induced him to locate in New Haven. Mr. Brewster was careful to secure the services of first-class workmen, and soon built up a large trade. The firm which he founded, and its suc- cessors and branches, have constructed a greater variety of carriages than probably any other in the country.
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