History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 15

Author: J.W. Lewis & Company (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1532

USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > History of Litchfield county, Connecticut > Part 15

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

IIISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

been pushed well back, and here a stay was made of perhaps two hours. Col. Mackenzie rode slowly back and forth along the rise of ground in front of this position in a very reckless manner, in plain sight and casy range of the enemy, who kept up a fire from a piece of woods in front, which elicited from him the remark, 'I guess those fellows will get tired of firing at me by and by.' But the ground where the regi- ment lay was very slightly depressed, and although the shots missed Mackenzie they killed and wounded a large number of both officers and men behind him. Licut. Candec merely raised himself from the ground on his elbow to look at liis watch, but it was enough to bring his head in range of a sharpshooter's ball, and he was instantly killed. About three o'clock, an advance of the whole line having been ordered by Sheridan, the regiment charged across the field, Mac- kenzie riding some ten rods ahead, holding his hat aloft on the point of his sabre. The distance to the woods was at least a quarter of a mile, and was tra- versed under a fire that carried off its victims at nearly every step. The enemy abandoned the woods, however, as the regiment approached, in consequence of which the line obliqued to the left and halted. Companies F and D were here detached and taken off to the right on a small reconnoissance, but were soon brought back, and the regiment procceded to the right of the woods and partly through them, and ad- vanced to a rail-fence which ran along the side of an extensive field. Ilere, for the first time during the whole of this bloody day, did the regiment have orders to fire, and for ten minutes they had the priv- ilege of pouring an effective fire into the rebels, who were thick in front. Then a flank movement was mnade along the fence to the right, followed by a direct advance of forty rods into the field. Here was the deadliest spot of the day. The enemy's artillery, on a rise of ground in front, plowed the field with canister and shells, and tore the ranks in a frightful manner. Maj. Rice was struck by a shell, his left arm torn off, and his body cut almost asunder. Maj. Skinner was struck on the top of the head by a shell, knocked nearly a rod with his face to the earth, and was carried to the rear insensible. Gen. Upton had a good quarter pound of flesh taken out of his thigh by a shell, and was laid up for some weeks. Col. Mackenzie's horse was cut in two by a solid shot, which just grazed the rider's leg, and let him down to the ground very abruptly. Several other officers were also struck, and from these instances, as well as from the appended list of casualties, some idea may be gained of the havoc among the enlisted men at this point. Although the regiment had been under fire and losing continually from the middle of the forenoon until it was now almost sunset, yet the losses during ten minutes in this last field were probably equal to those of all the rest of the day. It was doubtless the spot referred to by the rebel historian Pollard when he says, 'Early's artillery was fought

to the muzzle of the guns.' Mackenzie gave the order to move by the left flank, and a start was made; but there was no enduring such a fire, and the men ran back and lay down. Another attempt was soon made, and after passing a large oak-tree a sheltered position was secured. The next move was directly into the enemy's breastwork. They had just been driven from it by a cavalry charge from the right and werc in full retreat through the streets of Winchester, and some of their abandoned artillery, which had done us so much damage, stood yet in position, hiss- ing hot with action, with their miserable, rac-a-bone horses attached. The brigade, numbering less than half the muskets it had in the morning, was now got into shape, and, after marching to a field in the east- ern edge of the city, bivouacked for the night, while the pursuit rolled miles away up the valley pike.

"Roll-call revealed the fact that the regiment had lost one hundred and thirty-six in killed and wounded, fourteen of whom were officers. Company A, out of its entire list of officers and non-commissioned officers, had left only First Sergt. Henry Williams, who had command of the company during nearly the whole of the fight, and two corporals. Company H had three noble officers killed, including Capt. Frederick M. Berry, of whom Col. Kellogg once said that he was the most perfect officer, gentleman, and man, all things considered, in the regiment. Companies A, B, and E suffered heavily ; C and G still more ; and D, F, and I most of all.

" But, unlike Cold Harbor or Petersburg, there was victory to show for this fearful outlay. And it was the first cup of palpable, unquestionable, unmistak- able victory that the Second Connecticut, with all its marching and fighting, had ever tasted.

"Nobly did the valiant regiment sustain itself in this sanguinary conflict, and, summing up his opera- tions in the Valley, Sheridan said,-

""At Winchester, for a moment, the contest was uncertain, but the gallant attack of Gen. Upton's brigade, of the Sixth Corps, restored the line of battle, until the turning column of Crook, and Merritt's and Averill's divisions of cavalry, under Torbert, "sent the enemy whirling through Winchester.""

"It would seem, from Sheridan's report, that the brunt of the fighting at Fisher's Hill did not fall on Wheaton's division. Nevertheless, the Second Con- necticut had five killed and nineteen wounded, while the entire loss of the Sixth Corps was only two hun- dred and thirty-seven. So that the loss in our regi- ment was fully eight per cent. of that of the entire corps, although the regiment probably did not con- stitute more than four per cent. of the corps,-perhaps less. Among the killed was Quartermaster-Sergt. David B. Wooster, of Company D, one of the best men that ever entered the service. The Nineteenth Corps lost sixty, and Crook probably less; so that the victory at Fisher's Hill was very easily and cheaply bought, in comparison with the price paid for some other victories.

MILITARY HISTORY.

"The regiment moved from bivouac near Win- chester before daylight on the 20th, and by the mid- dle of the afternoon encamped just south of Cedar Creek, remaining until the afternoon of the next day, when it moved off to the right of the pike, taking a circuitous route through wooded ravines and over wooded hills, and at length came out upon open fields about a mile and a half west or southwest of Strasburg. This was on the evening of the 21st. Here lines of battle were formed, and a stay was made of about two hours, after which the march was continued by the right flank, up a steep and winding hillside, until midnight, when the regiment halted under arms until daylight on the very top of a hill fully as high as Fisher's Hill, and separated from it by Tumbling River. The enemy's stronghold was on the top of the opposite hill, directly across the stream. In the morning breastworks were com- menced, part of the men building while the rest.re- mained in line of battle. Lively skirmishing was going on all day, and once or twice things were hastily put in readiness to meet an anticipated charge, which, however, did not come. About three o'clock in the afternoon orders were given to pitch tents, but while the men were at it a general advance was ordered. The regiment had but just commenced to move directly forward when the rebels (who knew every inch of the ground, and could tell where our lines ought to be, whether visible or not) began to drop shells into their new breastworks and upon the very spot where they had begun to pitch tents. The regiment moved down the steep hill, waded the stream, and moved up the rocky front of the rebel Gib- raltar. How they ever got up there is a mystery, for the ascent of that rocky deelivity would now seem an impossibility to an unburdened traveler, even though there were no deadly enemy at the top. But up they went, clinging to rocks and bushes. The main rebel breastwork, which they were so confident of holding, was about fifteen rods back from the top of the blutľ, with brush piled in front of it. Just as the top was reached the Eighth Corps struck the enemy on the right, and their flight was very disordered and pre- cipitate. The Second Connecticut was the first regi- ment that reached and planted colors on the works from the direct front." After firing until the rebels were so far off that it was n waste of powder, the pur- suit was resumed and kept up all night, although but little progress was made on account of the block- ade of the road both by the pursuing army and the property abandoned by the enemy. Although the regiment experienced considerable marching, nothing of especial importance occurred until October 10th, when the Sixth Corps left Strasburg and moved to Front Royal, on its way to Alexandria,-whenee it

was to embark for Petersburg. It was believed that the punishment inflicted on the rebels at Winches- ter, Fisher's Hill, and all through the valley would incline them to give up the project of carrying the war across the Potomac. This was evidently the opinion of Grant, Sheridan, and the authorities at Washington ; and thus it happened that we were on the way back to City Point, leaving the valley in the care of the Eighth and Nineteenth Corps and the cavalry. After resting near Front Royal until the morning of the 13th, the corps started to cross the Blue Ridge; but, instead of going through Manassas Gap, as was at first intended, the route was changed for the one via Ashby's Gap, a few miles farther north, and we moved in that direction. We had passed through White Post and Millwood, and the advance had almost entered the gap, when there was a sudden 'right about,' and the whole corps moved back and encamped at Millwood. 'What's up now?' was the universal question. And when the answer was given that Early, strongly reinforced, had followed us up again, and was in his Gibraltar at Fisher's Hill, and his outposts challenging another 'set-to,' the next universal and wondering question was, 'Hasn't ohl Jewball had drubbing enough yet ?'

" He doubtless had. But Mr. Davis' government was in a fearful strait, and the suddenness and vigor of Early's return to the 'scratch' proved that even before the roar of battle at Fisher's Hill had died away it had been decreed that one more desperate attempt should be made to defeat Sheridan in the Shenandoah valley.

"The corps moved westward carly in the morning, t struck the valley pike at Newtown, rejoined the Eighth and Nineteenth Corps at Middletown, and the whole army eneamped between Middletown and Strasburg, along the northern bank of a tributary of the Shenandoah called 'Cedar Creek.' The Eighth Corps was on the left, the Nineteenth in the centre, and ours on the right, and somewhat in the rear. For the next few days there was much quiet, and a good deal of speculation among the troops as to what wouldl be the next shift in the scenes. The enemy was closo in front, just as he had been for weeks preceding the battle of Winchester ; but this attitude, which might once have been called defiance, now seemed to be mere impudence, and it was the general opinion that Early did not wish nor intend to fight again, but that he was to be kept there, with a small force, as a standing threat, in order to prevent Sheridan's army from returning to Grant. And yet there was some- thing mysterious in his conduct. Ile was known to be receiving reinforcements, and his signal-tlags on Threetop Mountain ( just south of Fisher's Hill) were continually in motion. From the top of Massanutton Mountain-the peak at the north end of the range that separates the Luray from the main valley-his

* The men were so bewildered by the dally and nightly marching and fighting that some of them fost their reckoning, and there has ever since been a dispute whether the Fisher's Ilil' affair came off on tho 21s1 or 221. It was on the 22d, al about five o'clock in the afternoon.

+ Oct. 14, 1804.

HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

videttes could look down upon the whole Union army, as one can look down upon New Haven from East Rock; and there is no doubt that the exact location of every camp and the position of every gun and every picket-post were thoroughly known to him. Nevertheless, it seemed the most improbable thing in the world that he could be meditating either an open attack or a surprise. One would have supposed that the more he saw of our camp, the less inclined he would have been to disturb it. The position was strong, the creek and its crossings in possession of our piekets, both along the front and well out on either flank.

" Mr. Greeley, in his ' American Conflict,' thus de- scribes the surprise :

"'Our forces were encamped on three creste or ridges : the Army of West Virginia (Crook's) in front; the Nineteenth Corps (Emory's) half A milo behind it; the Sixth Corps (Wright's) to the right and rear of the Nineteenth. Kitching's provisional division lay behind Crook's left; the cavalry, under Torbert, on the right of the Sixth. It is & fact, though no excuse, that they had no more apprehension of an attack from Early than from Canada.

"'Early hnd arranged his nrmy in two columns, in order to strike ours at once on both flanks. Ile had of course to leave the turnpike and move over rugged paths along the mountain-side, climbing up and down steep hills, holding on by bushes, where horses could hardly keep their feet, and twice fording the north fork of the Shenandoah,-the second time in the very face of our pickets. For miles his right column skirted the left of Crook's position, where nn nlarm would have exposed him to utter destruction. So imperative was the requirement of silence that his men had been made to leave their canteens in camp, lest they should clatter against their muskets. The divisions of Gordon, Ramseur, and Pegram thus stole by our left, those of Kershuw and Wharton simultaneously flanking our right.

"" At two A.M. the pickets of the Fifth New York Heavy Artillery (Kitching's division) heard a rustling of underbrush and n sound as of stealthy, multitudinous trampling, and two posts were relieved and sent into enmp with the report. Gen. Crook thereupon ordered that a good lookont be kept, but sent out no reconnoitring porty; even the gaps in his front line cansed by detailing regiments for picket-duty were not filled; and, when the crash came, the muskets of many of our men were not loaded. There was some suspicion and uneasiness in Crook's command, but no serious preparation.

"'An hour before dawn the rebels had all renched, without obstruc- tion or mishap, the positions severally assigned them, and stood shiver- ing in the chill mist, awaiting the order to attack. No sound of slarnı, no hum of preparation, disquieted theD). At length, as the gray light of dawn disclosed the eastern hilltops, a tremendous volley of musketry, on either flank and awny to the renr, startled the sleepers into bewil- dered consciousness ; and the next moment, with their well known bat- tle-yell, the churging lines come ou.

""" Tell the brigade commanders to move their men into the trenches," said Gen. Grover, calmly ; and the order was given; but it was already too late. The rebels, disdaining to notice the picket-fire, were them- selves in the trenches on both flanks before our soldiers could occupy them in effective force. On our side, nll was amazement and confusion; on theirs, thorough wakefulness and perfect comprehension. In fifteen minutes the Army of West Virginia was a flying mob; one battaliou of its picket-line had lost one hundred killed and wounded and seven hun- dred prisoners. The enemy, knowing every foot of ground as familiarly ne their own door-yards, never stopped to reconnoiter or consider, but rushed on with incredible celerity.'

" The Second Connecticut had its full share of the varied fortunes of that wondrous day. The exact number present for duty on that morning cannot he given,-for there was no time for roll- calls,-but the morning report of a day or two pre- vious showed

Officers.

Eulisted Men.

Present, 25

Present, 708 Absent, 648

Absent, 25

1356

"These six hundred and forty-eight absent men were scattered all over. Every hospital at City Point, Alexandria, Washington, Baltimore, Annapolis, Sandy Hook, Georgetown, Philadelphia, Newark, New York, and New Haven had a share of them, sick, wounded, convalescent, or on duty as nurses : besides which, there were prisoners, stragglers, men on sick furlough, men absent without leave, and men on detached ser- vice. Of the seven hundred and eight reported pres- ent, probably not more than two-thirds were ' pres- ent for duty,'-that is, there were not more than four hundred and seventy-two muskets-probably not so many-that went into the fight. The remaining two hundred and thirty-six are to be accounted for in va- rious ways. They were detailed in the medical, com- missary, quartermaster, and ordnance departments ; also as pioneers, blacksmiths, butchers, cattle-drivers, stretcher-bearers, teamsters, ambulance-drivers, offi- cers' cooks, guards, and orderlies at brigade, division, and corps headquarters. Some were sick in the field hospital. Compauy L and part of Company E were on picket. Then there were the drummers, fifers, and band. Nor were all the twenty-five 'present' offi- cers available for action with the regiment. Out of that number must be deducted Lieut. Cleveland, who was on duty as inspector-general on the staff of Gen. Hamblin, the brigade commander; Surgeon Plumb and Assistant Surgeons Hassard and Andrews, all of whom were sure to have a multitude of new patients on their hands in a few minutes; Quartermaster Hux- ley and Chaplain Phelps ; and Lieuts. Henry Skinner and Austin P. Kirkham, both of whom were on picket, and were taken prisoners early in the morning. The appended list of casualties will show, therefore, that our losses at Cedar Creek were greater, in proportion to the number engaged, than in any other fight, not even excepting Cold Harbor.

"On the morning of the 19th most of the regiment were up long before reveille, and many had begun to cook their coffee, on account of that ominous popping and cracking which had been going on for half an hour off to the right. They did not exactly suppose it meant anything, but they had learned wisdom by many a sud- den march on an empty stomach, and did not propose to be caught napping. The clatter on the right increased. The musket-shots reverberated through the fog, and at last, 'Whang! ng-ng-ng' ! went a piece of artillery. And then another. And then a smart cannonading, and more musketry. It began to be the wonder why no orders came. But suddenly every man seemed to lose interest in the right, aud turned his inquiring eyes and ears towards the left. Rapid volleys and a vague tumult told that there was trouble there. 'Fall in !' said Mackenzie. 'Shoulder ! Arms ! Battalion !

MILITARY HISTORY.

Left ! Face! File Left ! March ! Double Quick ! March !' The brigade moved briskly off towards the east, crossing the track of other troops and batteries of artillery which were hurriedly swinging into posi- tion, while ambulances, orderlies, staff-officers, camp- followers, paek-horses, cavalrymen, sutlers' wagons, hospital-wagons, and six-mule teams of every de- scription came trundling and galloping pell-mell to- wards the right and rear, and making off towards Win- chester. It was not a hundred rods from our own camp to the place where we went into position, on a road running north. Gen. Wright, the temporary commander of the army, bareheaded, and with blood trickling from his beard, sat on his horse near by, as if bewildered, or in a brown study. The Sixty-fifth New York was on our left, and then came the Second Division. The First Brigade* (Penrose's) was on the right of ours, and then came the Third Division. The ground was cleared in front of the road, and sloped off some thirty rods to a stream, on the oppo- site of which it rose for about an equal distance, to a piece of woods, in which the advance rebel line had already taken position. Truly does Pollard say that 'a heavy fog favored them.' The newly-risen sun, huge and bloody, was on their side in more senses than one. Our line faced directly to the east, and we could see nothing but that enormous disk rising out of the fog, while they could see every man in our line, and could take good aim. The battalion lay down, and part of the men began to fire, but the shape of the ground afforded little protection, and large numbers were killed and wounded. Four-fifths of our loss for the entire day occurred during the time we lay here, which could not have been over five minutes, by the end of which time the Second Connectieut found itself in an isolated position, not unlike that at Cold Harbor. ' Go and ask Penrose where he's going with that bri- gade,' said Col. Mackenzie to the writer hereof. (The Jerseys had withdrawn from our right, and were mov- ing directly across our rear to the left, with Penrose on foot, some distance alread of his line.) 'Col. l'en- rose, Mackenzie wants to know where you are going with that brigade.' 'I'm not going anywhere. I'm wounded,' was the energetic reply, which was carried to Col. Mackenzie. Just then Lieut. Cleveland rode up on a keen jump and said, 'Col. Mackenzie, Gen. Wheaton wants you to move directly to the rear by right of companies.' Mackenzie replied, 'My God ! I cannot! This line will break if I do.' 'Well,' said Cleveland, pointing to the left, 'there goes the Sixty- fifth, and the First Brigade is gone.' A few seconds Inter, Mackenzie's horse, ' Old Pop,' was struck square in the head, and after spinning around two or three times on his hind-legs went down dead ns a stone; and the colonel, who had previously got a shot through the heel, went off' over his head. The fog had now thinned away somewhat, and a firm rebel line, with

colors full high advanced, eame rolling over a knoll just in front of our left, not more than three hundred yards distant. 'Rise up! Retreat !' said Mackenzie; and the battalion began to move back. For a little distance the retreat was made in very good order, but it soon degenerated into a ront. Men from a score of regiments were mixed up in flight, and the whole corps was seattered over acres and aeres, with no more organization than a herd of buffaloes. Some of the wounded were carried for a distance by their comrades, who were at length compelled to leave them to their fate in order to escape being shot.

" About a mile from the place where the retreat commeneed there was a road running directly across the valley. Here the troops were rallied, and a slight defense of rails thrown up. The regimental and bri- gade flags were set up as beacons to direct each man how to steer through the mob, and in a very few min- utes there was an effective line of battle established. A few round shot ricocheted overhead, making about an eighth of a mile at a jump, aud a few grape were dropped into a diteh just behind our line, quickly clearing out some soldiers who had crawled in there, but this was the extent of the pursuit. Mackenzie and Hamblin now left for the hospital to have their wounds dressed, and the whole brigade (and a very small brigade it was!) was deployed as skirmishers under Col. Olcott, of the One Hundred and Twenty- first New York. Three lines of skirmishers were formed, and each in turn constituted the front line, while the other two passed through and halted; and so the re- treat was continued for about three miles, until a halt was made upon high ground, from which we could plainly see the Johnnies sauntering around on the very ground where we had slept.

" It must have been after noon when we left that position, and moved eastward through the wood, by Sheridan's order, to join the Second Division and meet the enemy.

" About two o'clock we were posted, in two lines, in the southwestern edge of a piece of woods, in front of which was an open, side-hill field, at the top of which, along a stone wall, was the rebel skirmish-line, while the main line was not a great distance back of it. Their assault had already been made, and repulsed by the Nineteenth Corps. About three o'clock we could hear the cheering to the right as Sheridan rode along the line, but that personage did not get within sight of our regiment. By this time Hamblin and Macken- zie had returned to take part in the 'left half-wheel' which had been ordered. The lines moved forward over the ascending ground, under a galling but not very destructive fire from the rebel skirmishers, who soon gave up the stone wall to us and retrented on their main line. A square musketry fight was kept up here for ten minutes, when the enemy left, not, however, before intlicting considerable damage on us. Here Col. Mackenzie was again struck by a solid shot or shell which just grazed his shoukler. A remarka-

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Litchfield county, Connecticut, Part 15

Author: J.W. Lewis & Company (Philadelphia, Pa.) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1532

Author: J.W. Lewis & Company (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1532