USA > Connecticut > New London County > History of New London county, Connecticut : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 22
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On Saturday, June 13th, the Union pickets were driven towards Winchester, and brisk skirmishing ensued. Col. Ely, of the Eighteenth, was in charge of a brigade, and he immediately advanced upon the Front Royal pike with his regiment (under Lieut .- Col. Nichols) and the Eighty-seventh Pennsylvania
1 Condensed from Crofut's History.
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MILITARY HISTORY.
and a section of battery, to "feel for the enemy." The feeling was mutual. They had gone a little more than a mile from town when they were opened upon by a battery planted in the edge of a dense thicket on the opposite side of a deep ravine. The Union bat- tery was wheeled upon a knoll and opened briskly, the Eighteenth lying down in high clover closely in the rear, except Companies A and B deployed as skirmishers. The enemy played upon our regiments at a distance of not more than four hundred yards for an hour with six Napoleon pieces, and at last ex- ploded the caisson of the battery and silenced the guns, when the brigade fell back.
Nearer the city the artillery fight was resumed at long range. Meanwhile Early had thrown other brigades around on the west, and there had been severe fighting there. Night came on, and the city was besieged. Milroy ascertained that an overwhelm- ing force was in front of him and on his flanks. This was his opportunity to retreat under cover of the blinding darkness and the heavy thunder-shower, but some fatality detained him. The Eighteenth was stationed all night in rifle-pits just outside the city, wet through with the drenching rain. By midnight it was obvious that Early was closing in, and Ely's brigade of four regiments was recalled to the fort, but at sunrise was sent out again. The First Brigade, under Gen. Elliott, occupied the main fort; the Second, under Col. Ely, held the town and the space outside; the Third, under Col. McReynolds, was posted in the star fort.
The Second (Ely's) Brigade was now stationed near the cemetery, across which the principal firing took place. About four in the afternoon the rebel skir- mishers charged up to the very edge of the town, when a well-directed fire from our troops sent them back in confusion to their supporting line, which also caught the panic and rushed back to the very edge of the timber. Here several of the Eighteenth were killed and wounded.
About this time the rebels charged upon and cap- tured the important outworks held by an Ohio regi- ment on the other side of the main fort, and the Second Brigade fell back to the works northeast of the fortification, in which the principal part of our forces were now beseiged and subjected to a severe bombardment.
By sundown of the 14th the city was three-fourths invested. Early's right crossed the Berryville road on the northeast, and his left intersected the Front Royal, Strasburg, and Romney roads.
At one A.M. on the 15th the order was given for the silent evacuation of Winchester. The night was in- tensely dark, but the column moved with order on the road leading to Martinsburg due north, the Eigh- teenth Connecticut forming the advance of the centre brigade. The command had proceeded about four and a half miles when the head of the First Brigade suddenly encountered the right of the enemy, posted
in strong force in a piece of woods skirting the right of the road. The rebels threw forward with great rapidity a sufficient force to command the whole of the First Brigade and a large portion of the Second. One or more volleys were delivered by them and re- turned, but, owing to the extreme darkness of the morning, had little or no effect. At this time the First Brigade charged, and having partially driven back the force immediately in its front, the larger portion passed on and continued its flight to Harper's Ferry. The remainder of the First Brigade, together with the Second, fell back in a field to the left of the road and reformed their partially disordered ranks. A letter written by one of the regiment soon after gives the following account of the gallant part borne by the Eighteenth in the charge of the Second Brigade: " We charged into the woods, but in the gray dawn nothing could be discerned but the flash of their rifles, -we could not see a man ; and they had every advan- tage of us, as we charged from light into darkness, where they quietly awaited our coming. The crack of rifles was for a time terrific, but numbers and po- sition finally prevailed, and we were obliged to retreat. We formed again in perfect order in the open field, and prepared for a second charge. By this time we could form some idea of the rebel position, for we could see quite plainly. Gen. Milroy was behind us on his horse, and he told us to take that battery, that we could do it in ten minutes. Officers and men were cool again and in good spirits. Well, the order was given, 'Forward, Eighteenth! charge bayonets! double- quick ! march !' and away we went into those woods again. We were met with a murderous fire, but for- ward sprang the line with a yell. Up the cross-road we charged in point-blank range of the rebel battery.
" A long line of fire streamed from thousands of rifles, interrupted now and then by the blaze of the battery ; trees were peeled in all directions. We charged up to the battery and silenced it, killing or wounding every man that stood by it; but they had plenty of artillery in reserve, so we saw it was useless to attempt to hold it. After fighting desperately for some time and losing many valuable men, the order to retreat was given and we again fell back. This was the first battle in which the Eighteenth had been engaged, and its behavior had deserved great credit. The above statement seems slightly colored by the interest which a participant would naturally feel, yet it is abundantly corroborated by the list of casualties, and by the ac- count given by the Confederates themselves."
The Eighteenth had lost thirty-one killed and forty- four wounded, including five commanders of compa- nies. After the last charge Col. Ely looked about him for support, and found that the Third Brigade had taken advantage of the fight to turn about and make its way across the country towards Pennsylvania. Milroy and Maj. Peale had already escaped with a few men, including thirty from the Eighteenth. Col. Ely and Lieut .- Col. Nichols were dismounted, and
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.
were immediately summoned to surrender. The rebels now occupied the road in both directions. The Fed- erals numbered but a thousand men, jaded by two days' sleepless service, and now badly cut up. Under the circumstances Col. Ely surrendered the command. The men were immediately placed under guard. Col. Ely's sword had been hit by a ball during the battle, shattering the blade near the hilt. When he delivered it to the rebel Gen. Walker, after the fight, that offi- cer asked, "When was this done, sir?" "This morn- ing." "You deserve to keep this," was the rejoinder. "I will direct it to be retained for you." It was sent to Gen. Early, by whose order it was finally forwarded through by flag of truce to the father of Col. Ely, while the soldier who had borne it gallantly was yet a prisoner. Within thirty minutes after Ely's sur- render Early's entire corps marched across the battle- field in swift pursuit of the fugitives. Many were captured.
The handsome regimental colors presented by the ladies of Norwich were not captured with the regiment. When they were inquired for the men would not or could not give any information as to their whereabouts, but in two days, after many "hair- breadth escapes," they crossed the Pennsylvania bor- der, wound about the body of Color-Sergeant George Torrey, of Woodstock, who had taken to the woods during the confusion. He was subsequently commis- sioned captain in the United States Colored Troops. About two hundred made good their retreat, and gradually gathered again at Maryland Heights, under Maj. Peale. H. H. Starkweather immediately went to the rendezvous, carrying food and other comforts from home, and sending back to the anxious relations news from the regiment. Capt. Thomas K. Bates, a brave officer, severely wounded, and a prisoner, was recaptured shortly after in a rebel hospital. The prisoners suffered from the first day of their captivity. They were hurried back to the fort, and next day were started for Richmond on foot. They made ninety-two miles in four days, arriving at Staunton on Monday, the 22d, and thence took the cars for Richmond. They reached the Confederate capital early next morning, and without making any triumphal entry, marched straight to Libby Prison. The food on the journey consisted of a pint of flour and a very small piece of pork to each man. The officers and enlisted men were in separate squads, and were not permitted to communicate. On the second day the privates were transferred from Libby to Belle Isle, in the James River, now so infamous in the annals of the war. Here they stayed a few weeks on scanty rations, when they were taken back to Libby, paroled July 2d, taken to City Point, released, and transported to Annapolis, having been under the "Stars and Bars" seventeen days. They remained at Camp Parole until the 1st of October, when they were duly exchanged and returned to the nucleus of the regiment, now in camp at Martinsburg, north of Winchester. The
officers were not so fortunate, they were detained at Libby through many weary months, hoping, fearing, expecting, and sometimes almost despairing. They had scarcely food enough to sustain life, but the mis- erable rations were supplemented with heavy boxes of succulent and nourishing food prepared with loving hands in Eastern Connecticut. Officers of other regi- ments brought away letters concealed in their buttons from Col. Ely, Capt. Davis, Lieut. Higgins, and others.
The Eighteenth at Martinsburg .- After the unfortu- nate battle of Winchester about two hundred and twenty officers and men of the Eighteenth escaped in different directions towards the Potomac. Immedi- ately after the disaster to the Eighteenth, Henry B. Norton, a patriotic and liberal citizen of Norwich, went to the Potomac at the request of Governor Buck- ingham, and was of great assistance in collecting the remnants of the regiment and supplying their imme- diate wants. The Hartford Press said of him, "No gentleman in the State has been so indefatigable in labors of this kind for the comfort of our soldiers since the war began. He has steadily refused all compensation or remuneration of his expenses, and is so unostentatious that we fear to annoy him even by this brief and merited mention of his services." Maj. Peale, with thirty men, arrived the same day at Harper's Ferry, having had a very narrow escape. About two hundred others from Milroy's scattered army were put under Maj. Peale and led against the flank of Lee's army, now retreating from Gettysburg. They marched to Snicker's Gap and captured many of the fugitives. Maj. Peale was next ordered to Sharpsburg, where he took command of the remnant of the Eighteenth. Company B, Lieut. F. G. Bixby, being on provost duty, had escaped intact with others, and in a few days he was ordered to report for provost duty at Hagerstown to guard rebel prisoners. On September 30th, Maj. Peale brought the exchanged prisoners from Camp Parole at Annapolis, increasing the regiment to eight officers and six hundred men. On October 3d they forded the Potomac and advanced to Martinsburg, making camp about half a mile west of the town, on a wooded elevation, as pleasantly situ- ated for winter quarters as could be desired. Here, notwithstanding the insufficiency of officers, good order was maintained, and the regiment soon began to show improvement in drill and general discipline. Once during the winter a raid resulted in the capture of several rebels. Twice or thrice the regiment was in line of battle or on a reconnoissance, but the win- ter was rather uneventful, and the men contented themselves in completing the capture of Martinsburg. The general in command, notwithstanding his lack of great military genius, was always popular in his com- mand, and when he visited Martinsburg, ".Daddy Mil- roy" was heartily received by the Eighteenth. They ordered him out with an affectionate, if unmilitary, clamor, and he addressed them as follows:
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MILITARY HISTORY.
" SOLDIERS OF THE EIGHTEENTH :
"I am glad to see you once more, I am happy to see you looking 80 hearty and well, happy to welcome you back again beneath the folds of your own Stars and Stripes which you so nobly defended during the three days' fight at Winchester. Since I last saw you you have suffered cap- tivity in rebel prisons. We have been separated since then, but I have come to see you and to praise you for your gallantry. I saw you in the second day's fight as you charged the enemy from your rifle-pits and drove them back upon their reserves, holding them in check until night, when you fell back, but with your face to the foe. Again I saw you the next morning, facing as hot a fire as I ever witnessed in my life. I looked in vain to see you waver. Boys, it was a hot place, a hot place. I saw you go where none but brave men dare go, saw you make three succes- sive charges, preserving your line as well as if on dress-parade. I wit- nessed it all. I saw you as you broke the first line of rebel infantry and charged up their batteries, driving away their gunners, still pressing on, and breaking their reserves. Only then did you fall back, when your lines were broken and many brave Connecticut men lay bleeding on the field, but you only fell back to reform and give them another taste of your steel. I knew it was madness to order you forward again,-it was ordering you to death and annihilation,-for I well knew you would at- tempt anything for your general. Boys, I watched you with pride as you charged tho third time, but when I saw your ranks melting and your comrades falling it made my heart grow sad within me, and I or- dered you to fall back. You know the rest. You were surrounded and there was no escape. But I miss your noble commander, Col Ely. May he soon return to you. Boys, to your valor I owe my safety. You come from a State whose soldiers never disgrace themselves nor their flag. I am proud of you, and ever shall be of such soldiers, and now accept my wishes for your safe return to your New England homes when our flag shall wave in triumph over our whole country. Good-by."
In February of 1864, Col. Ely, with one hundred and eight other officers, escaped through the famous tunnel. They had obtained entrance through a hole in the floor to an unoccupied basement, and thence had dug straight out under Twentieth Street, loosen- ing the earth with an old hinge and removing it in a broken sugar-scoop taken from the hospital ; the sand was then drawn out in a carpet-bag and secreted about the cellar. They were at work upon the tunnel for fifty-five days when the pioneer, Capt. J. N. John- son, of the Sixth Kentucky Cavalry, struck daylight and came up under an old shed across the street. That night at nine o'clock the first man left, at five next morning the last. About fifty were at last re- captured by the cavalry, who scoured the State in all directions, among them Col. Ely, in a state of great exhaustion ; he was taken by cavalry forty-two miles out, after being absent four days. In March, 1864, Col. William G. Ely, Lieut .- Col. Monroe Nichols, Capt. G. W. Warner, Lieuts. I. N. Kibbe, M. V. B. Tiffany, J. P. Rockwell, and John A. Francis were paroled and returned to the North, their exchange following. The rest of the Eighteenth were on May 7th sent to Danville, Va., and after a few days trans- ferred to the new stockade prison at Macon. In De- cember, Capts. D. W. Hakes and Charles D. Brown, with Lieuts. A. H. Lindsay, George Kies, and A. G. Scranton, were paroled and went North. In February, 1865, the rest of the officers of the Eighteenth were sent to Charlotte. Lieut. Henry F. Cowles jumped from the cars, was secreted by the negroes, and joined Sherman's advance cavalry. Lieut. Ezra D. Carpen- ter escaped from the hospital and occupied Columbia the day before Gen. Sherman. The remaining officers 7
were paroled at Williamstown, N. C., in March, 1865, having been in captivity twenty-one months without the loss of a man. After a pleasant winter in Mar- tinsburg, Va., the Eighteenth Regiment was ordered on March 7, 1864, to proceed to Harper's Ferry ; here it was encamped for a time on Bolivar Heights, de- tached companies doing provost duty in Maryland. On March 28th the regiment was given a furlough, and the men started for Connecticut in high glee. The fact that the State election was on the tapis at this precise time and that a majority of the members were voters was suspected to have some influence in procuring the visit home. A few pleasant days in Norwich, almost a solid vote for Buckingham, an- other good-by, and back to Bolivar Heights on April 9th. After a harmless scout up the Loudon Valley, they arrived at Martinsburg on the 28th. Next day the regiment, now numbering ten officers and six hundred men, still under Maj. Henry Peale, started with a large force under Gen. Sigel. A rapid move to Bunker Hill and Winchester, and the regiment marched over the ground where so many were cap- tured a year before,-there the gallant Porter fell ; there the charges were made; there the surrender ; there the captivity in the fort. They encamped two miles below town and tarried nine days, while Sigel reviewed his troops and the rebels. counted them and reported to Richmond. Before moving again it was doubtless definitely known at the rebel capital about how many men and guns Sigel had and how many would suffice to crush him. On May 9th they pushed forward towards New Market, the Eighteenth being detached on the 14th and sent to Edinburgh to sup- port the Twenty-eighth Ohio, where they had a slight skirmish. At three o'clock next morning these regi- ments were pushed forward to New Market, and ar- rived at ten . A.M. in a drenching rain. The Eigh- teenth was inarched into a piece of woods northwest of the town, and while partaking of a breakfast of coffee and hard-tack the men were ordered into line of battle to the support of a battery. The enemy was shelling the position from a wooded eminence. After an hour's cannonading the three regiments that had come up advanced a short distance in line, the Eighteenth on the right, and came to a halt. Com- panies A and B of the Eighteenth were deployed as skirmishers under Capt. William L. Spaulding. Firing began briskly. The skirmishers of the enemy advanced rapidly, driving ours back to the lines. At this time Capt. Spaulding was mortally wounded in the abdomen, and died an hour later in an ambulance at the rear. The rebels soon came down in three strong lines of battle, with a reserve of seven thousand men. Sigel's main force was still far behind. The enemy took advantage of this, rushing in with great vigor and driving the regiments back to an eminence. Here a stand was made. The official report of Maj. Peale says,-
The skirmishers of the enemy now appeared on the
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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.
brow of the hill, and rapid firing ensued, in which Capt. J. Matthewson, Company D, was wounded, as also several men of his company. As our skir- mishers retired around our flank the line fired several volleys, when, it being apparent that the line of the enemy greatly outnumbered our own, and that further stay in that position was worse than useless, the commanders of regiments on left of brigade gave the order to retreat, which movement was followed by the Eighteenth. The regiment marching by the flank at double-quick, on emerging from the lane found itself some distance in rear of the retreating line, and was thereby thrown in some confusion, but, with some exceptions, the men were rallied and were reformed with the rest of the first line in rear of the second line, which now awaited the shock. The cannonading was at this time extremely rapid, the rebels shelling our position with great accuracy. While the batteries of our first and second lines poured grape and canister into their infantry, which came on in spendid line, as they drew near our second line fired and charged, partially checking their advance, but, having suffered severely, was forced to retire. For the same reason the enemy contented itself with sending forward strong lines of skirmishers to harass our now retreating force, himself advancing very slowly. Desultory fighting was continued for three hours by our first and second lines alternately, when, two fresh regiments arriving, the broken forces were assembled in rear of them and marched on the pike to the north bank of the Shenandoah, from whence it continued to march until within two miles of Woodstock, where it halted at five A.M., having marched nearly thirty-five miles in twenty-six hours, in addition to that incident to its participation in the action.
The retreat was continued by Sigel until he reached the east side of Cedar Creek, where the Eighteenth went into camp on May 17th. The regiment had lost one killed, thirty-six wounded, and nineteen missing, as reported by Adjt. G. B. Culver, from Strasburg, but several of the missing were dead in the enemy's hands. At this point Col. William G. Ely, after a long imprisonment, returned to the regiment and resumed command. He was very warmly wel- comed, and responded to the demonstration of his men in a pleasant address. Capt. G. W. Warner and Lieuts. M. B. V. Tiffany, J. T. Maginnis, I. N. Kibbe, and others returned at the same time. Lieut .- Col. Monroe Nichols, on being released from his terrible captivity, resigned on account of protracted ill health. On May 27th the little army started again up the Shenandoah, which a waggish soldier with the Vir- ginian dialect now wrote of as " the back-doch of the Union." They waded through Woodstock in the mud, ate supper in the mud, slept in the mud, rose and set out again in the mud; remained in New Market four days and advanced; crossed the Shen- andoah at Port Republic on a pontoon-bridge. May
4th, marched two miles towards Staunton in the even- ing and bivouacked, the enemy making demonstra- tions in the front. Next morning the column was early on its march, but the rebels skirmished spirit- edly, and on arrival at Piedmont they were found posted advantageously on elevations, prepared to re- ceive battle. Hunter passed his regiments in rapid review; and said to the Eighteenth that he expected them to sustain the honor of Connecticut. Here was an opportunity to wipe out New Market. Strong lines of skirmishers were thrown out by both armies. The lines advanced under a severe fire of shell and musketry, and drove back the rebel skirmishers to- wards their main force. It was all open ground, and the enemy had the advantage of cover and fired rapidly, but the Union skirmishers never wavered. Soon the order, Forward, double-quick, march ! was given, and was followed by an impetuous charge by Hunter's whole force. The rebels stood a few mo- ments, straggled, turned, and fled to their principal breastworks just in the rear. The ground thus gained gave our men much encouragement, but repeated at- tempts to dislodge the enemy again were not so suc- cessful. Finally a battery was ordered up, which fired rapidly and accurately, driving the rebels from a portion of their works.
The Eighteenth was on the right, fighting most gal- lantly under Col. Ely, giving and taking a severe fire. Lieut. Maginnis had received a bullet in his brain and fallen, his face to the foe; Adjt. Culver was dying ; enlisted men lay on every hand. About 5 P.M. the regiment was ordered forward, simultaneously with a charge by a flanking force at the left, and moved calmly up to a last furious attack. The rebels fought desperately for a few minutes, but finally broke in a total rout. Several pieces of artillery were captured and fifteen hundred prisoners, exclusive of wounded. The Eighteenth had conducted itself splendidly this day, and was thanked by Gens. Hun- ter and Sullivan. The bearing of Col. Ely and Maj. Beale was calculated to inspire the men with courage. Col. Ely in his report said, "Our troops fought with undaunted bravery, and at 5 P.M. routed the rebels, captured two thousand prisoners and five thousand stand of arms, and found a large number of severely wounded among the rebel dead. The Eighteenth Connecticut Volunteers was on the right of Gen. Hunter's line of battle ; its colors took the lead in the first charge, and floated defiant till we triumphed. All of the color-guard were wounded except one. Our banner, riddled by MiniƩ-balls and cannon-shot, and a loss of one hundred and ninety-seven in killed and wounded tell our story. Officers and all men behaved most gallantly, obeying orders with alacrity even in the thickest of the fight." The regiment had lost nineteen killed and one hundred and fifteen wounded. Among the wounded were Lieuts. Hinck- ley, J. P. Rockwell, and John Lilley, the last se- verely. Among the killed were Lieuts. Culver and
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