USA > Connecticut > New London County > Norwich > The Norwich memorial; the annals of Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, in the great rebellion of 1861-65 > Part 16
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Saturday, the 13th of June, was marked by skirmishing and heavy artillery fire all along the line. Every one was satisfied that this presaged a more general and determined strife on the morrow. The men of the Twenty-sixth were in fine spirits, and confident of success in the coming charge. The expected orders came, and before day-break, Sunday morning, the 14th of June, the regiment was called out. After marching several miles to the extreme left of the line, it was massed with the division, preparatory to the ad- vance.
The following extract from a letter written on the field by Captain L. A. Gallup will give an idea of the charge, and the circumstances in which Lieutenant Jacobs received his wound.
" It is said that our brigade advanced splendidly, deploying under a galling fire of shell and shrapnel. The rebels handled their artillery admirably. Lieutenant H. F. Jacobs had been detached from my company, to command Company A, which is next on the right of Company F. As we were advancing up the main road in column by divisions, in easy range of the enemy, we were ordered to deploy the column. Soon after the line had been established and Lieutenant Jacobs had assumed command of his own company (A) a twelve pound shell exploded between the two companies, killing four and wounding sixteen men. Lieutenant Jacobs was among the latter. He was wound- ed by a ball from the shell, in the thigh, the bone of which was
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injured. I assisted him as well as I could to shelter, finding that he was not bleeding, ordered two men to take him from the field, when I bade him good-by, and advanced up the road."
The sad story of Lieutenant Jacobs' sufferings we may best gather from his own record. The following extracts are from his diary : -
" The morning I was shot, the regiment deployed from column by division into a line of battle. We were advancing steadily in front of the works, the rebels firing all the time. I called out to Company A, as I commanded it, 'Come on boys, we are going over the parapet,' and I thought so, when a ball brought me to the ground. I was wounded about six o'clock A. M. (14th June), and was carried from the field. I had to ride to the old cotton press, where my wound was dressed at seven P. M. I remained there till nine A. M., 15th, when I was carried to Springfield Landing, then by steamer to Baton Rouge. Was carried to Church Hospital ; wound very painful all night."
June 16, he writes : "Out of my head half of the time."
June 18. " Oh how I suffered last night. The pain from my head - my wound was almost more than I could bear."
Fune 19. " It seems to me this morning as though I could not survive but a few days ; strength all gone. Was fighting and building fortifications all night under heavy fire. Have suffered much to-day."
June 21. " In great pain all day."
June 22. "Woke up this morning feeling quite smart, but have since been quite sick."
June 24. " Kept quiet as possible all day. Pain unceasing. Cannot sleep. Head hot almost all the time."
June 25. " Moved this morning from Church hospital to the Officers' Hospital. Was carried in my bunk. Got along well till I was taken out and put upon an iron bedstead, when the pain was excruciating."
Func 26. " Am fast losing strength. Am conscious I must die. I wanted to live to get home, but it is all right. I have tried to do my duty here. I shall make arrangements to have
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my body embalmed when I am dead, and sent home, as I think it will be a consolation to all my friends to have it there. I have suffered much since I was wounded, as I have lain on my back all the time. I had as great prospects to live for, and as bright, as almost any one. I should like to live, but if it is designed to be otherwise I am reconciled."
June 27. " Feel quite smart this morning. Wound quite comfortable."
. June 28. "Took some morphine last night, and slept till this morning. This is the best sleep I have had since I was wounded. Feel quite like myself."
June 29. " Slept till ten o'clock last night. Feel better now I can sleep. Head continues to feel heavy and dull. Think wound is doing well."
June 30. " Get along very well."
[It is evident from the hand-writing, that he is fast de- clining, and is not getting along well.]
July 2. " Learned brother Wyman is sick with measles. Says will now go" - (unintelligible). "I expect to be on my way very soon."
This is the last date against which the dying soldier wrote. Poor fellow, he was on his way soon, yet not to the home, visions of which doubtless filled his troubled brain, but to another and better home, where is neither sorrow, nor crying, nor pain, nor death. Three days and his spirit re- turned to God who gave it.
It was not till the middle of October that the remains of Lieutenant Jacobs arrived in Connecticut, when funeral ser- vices were held in the church near his father's residence, on the 20th of that month.
" A large congregation evinced their deep sympathy with a most interesting family, in the great loss which they were called to deplore. The coffin and hearse were draped with war-worn flags of the Forty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteers, which were
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sent from Boston for the occasion, as a token of respect for a brave companion-in-arms. The pall was borne by the former commanders, teacher, and class-mates of the deceased. The ser- vices were conducted by the Rev. Messrs. Hawley and Dunning. The feeling incident to the occasion was greatly deepened by the fact that the same mail that brought the intelligence of the death of Lieutenant Jacobs, also brought the tidings of the death of a younger brother in the same department. Thus were the obse- quies of two brothers of hope and promise observed the same day. Lieutenant Jacobs left his home in the freshness and inno- cence of boyhood, and was carried back to it in early manhood, a voluntary offering to the welfare of his country."
At his grave, Eldridge Smith, his former teacher in the Norwich Free Academy, and Lieutenant-colonel Selden, of the Twenty-sixth Connecticut, bore their loving testimony to the worth of the departed.
A beautiful monument of Italian marble marks the spot where sleep the two patriot brothers. Military emblems - shield, sword, and musket - adorn two of its sides, while the remaining two are occupied with tablets, giving a short account of the departed. Beneath the record of the life of Lieutenant Jacobs are inscribed his last words : -
" I die at the post of duty." COMMUNICATED.
THEODORE BURDICK, Captain Company B, Seventh Reg- iment. He went out in Captain J. B. Dennis' Company, which was the first one recruited in Norwich for the war, holding the commission of First Lieutenant. He served with the regiment in the campaign in North Carolina, where it participated in the capture of Port Royal. Through the battles of 1862, he fought, receiving no injuries, and winning his promotion to the captaincy.
In July, 1863, the regiment took part in the attack on Fort Wagner, and in the charge made, which, for lack of support, was finally unsuccessful, Captain Burdick was killed, July 10, 1863. When last seen, he, with his gallant
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comrades, was bravely fighting on the edge of the parapet. Of the one hundred and ninety-one officers and men of the Seventh, only eighty-seven lived to return from this fatal charge. The regiment was commended for its courage, and Burdick personally did his part to sustain its honor in that terrible assault. While boldly leading his men, he met a soldier's death, and was among the numerous slain in that desperate encounter. He died in the very pride of his manhood, doing his duty ; and, like so many others, fell, with only a soldier's epitaph, -" Killed on the field of battle."
EDWARD PAYSON MANNING, Second Lieutenant Co. F, Twenty-sixth Regiment. Lieutenant Manning was born in Pomfret, Windham County, Conn., July 18, 1834. He was the youngest son of Deacon William H. and Lois P. Man- ning. His early life was not marked by any extraordinary experiences. The influences about him were calculated to develop the manly Christian character for which he was noted in after life. His education, though not collegiate, was liberal, and his natural abilities far more than mediocre. After finishing his studies, his inclination led him to mer- cantile pursuits, and for about three years he was associated with his brother, the Hon. James W. Manning, of Putnam, the present Comptroller of the State. In the Spring of 1859, he came to Norwich, and became connected with the well-known paper house of A. H. Hubbard & Co., in which he was engaged when the war broke out. His daily life and exemplary deportment, his integrity and business ability, his fine musical talents, and earnest labor in the church and Sunday-school, all served to gain for him many and val- uable acquaintances in Norwich.
By nature, Manning was not inclined to military pur- suits ; nevertheless, from the commencement of the war he was earnest in its support, and contributed to its progress.
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He was restless under promptings of duty, while so many of his associates were giving themselves to their country. His affection for, and duty to, his aged and widowed mother, who clung to him, her youngest boy, like the ivy to the rock, influenced him to defer his enlistment. But the pure and patriotic spirit that animated him would not be hushed to silence, and on the 30th of August, 1862, he enlisted in the company recruited by Joseph, afterwards Lieutenant- colonel Selden.
He immediately gave all his influence and time to re- cruiting, and secured several enlistments from adjoining towns. The company was rapidly filled to the maximum, and on its organization, Manning was appointed Second Sergeant The regiment proceeded to the Department of the Gulf, and joined the Banks' expedition against Port Hudson. At various times he was detailed as Acting Quartermaster and Adjutant, both of which positions he filled with honor to himself, and to the satisfaction of the regiment. On the death of Lieutenant H. F. Jacobs, of Company F, who was mortally wounded in the charge upon Port Hudson, June 14, 1863, Governor Buckingham appointed Manning to fill the vacancy. Wherever duty called him, he was faithful and cheerful. In all the en- gagements in which the Twenty-sixth participated, while he was Commissary sergeant, he was conspicuous for his bravery in caring for the wounded and dying upon the field. Whether on the march or in camp, whether on garrison duty or in the trenches, the commissariat of the Twenty- sixth was well and punctually supplied, which contributed to the efficiency of the regiment.
After the surrender of Port Hudson, the regiment was ordered home, by way of the Mississippi River, to be mus- tered out, by reason of expiration of term of service. On his arrival in Norwich, Manning received the congratula-
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tions of his friends on his safe return, and apparently per- fect health.
But he was almost immediately prostrated by malarious fever, which proved fatal to so many who had bravely faced bayonet and cannon on the bloody plains of Port Hudson. During his brief illness he was surrounded by the kindest friends, while for him the best medical attendance was se- cured. In his delirium his mind was with the Twenty-sixth in its journeyings, and with his friends who could not arrive in time to be present when the Master called him home.
When told that death was approaching, his delirium gave way to reason, and with a cheerfulness that could only spring from Christian faith, he said, " It is well ; all is bright before me. Do all you can to comfort my mother." These were his last sane words. He sank rapidly, and on the morning of the 17th of August, 1863, the very day the muster-out papers were dated, he was summoned to the Army of Heaven, to answer the roll-call in the presence of the King of kings.
He was deeply lamented by all who knew him, and those unused to weep gathered to do the last honors to the dead, and shed tears of grief over the departed. The place made vacant in society, church, and Sunday-school, and in many hearts, is vacant still, and his fragrant memory will ever be fondly cherished. L. A. G.
FREDERICK E. SCHALK, First Lieutenant Fourteenth Regiment, was born January 6, 1838, at Monsheim, Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. The date of his removal with his parents to America we do not learn, but only know that it was at an early age ; that prior to his residence in Norwich he lived for a time at Uncasville, in the same county. For some years before the war he resided in Norwich, as a clerk in a grocery store. At the beginning of the war he enlisted with young Nickels, of whom he was ever a close
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friend, in Captain (now General) Harland's company of the Third Connecticut. He served very creditably in the three months' campaign, and then returned to his old employer in Norwich. Soon after his return he joined the Broadway Congregational Church in Norwich. He was one of the first to enlist in the Fourteenth, - May 27, 1862, - still ac- companying Nickels, who came into the same company - E. Just before the regiment marched he was married to a lady in Lebanon, Connecticut. He was made a Sergeant before the company left the State, promoted to be Second Lieu- tenant May 16, 1863, and to a First Lieutenancy November fifth.
In all the battles, skirmishes, and marches of the regi- ment, he bore his part honorably and well, never flinching from any post of honor or danger. Of vigorous constitu- tion and energetic yet cheerful disposition, he was ever ready for duty, for danger, or for fun and frolic. These qualities made him a great favorite, and somehow it seemed as if harm could never come to him. Yet in the terrific carnage of Spottsylvania, where the dear old Second Corps, to which the Fourteenth was attached, covered itself with glory by its brilliant charges, Schalk was stricken down by a bullet. He was removed to the Second Corps Hospital, at Fredericksburg, where, in plain view of the old battle- field of December 13, 1862, he ebbed away his life-blood and died, May 21, 1864 ; dying cheerfully and calmly, de- spite the absence of the dear ones at home for whom he longed. Perhaps, as he heard the little birds singing in the beautiful May morning, and looked out upon that bloody battle-field of six months before, where the rapidly spring- ing up green grass showed that Nature speedily repaired man's devastations, the roll of the guns of the contending armies a few miles away ceased to echo in his ears, and with the recollection of those divine words, "Not even a
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sparrow falleth to the ground without his knowledge," fears for the future of his dear wife passed away, and his spirit fled to the land "where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest."
The remains were taken home and the funeral held from the Baptist Church in Lebanon, on Sunday, June fifth. There was a very large attendance from the town, the sur- rounding country, and from Norwich, including some of the officers of his regiment. The funeral sermon was de- livered by Rev. Mr. Cunningham, from Genesis v. 24, and was pertinent and applicable. The remains having been embalmed, his friends were enabled to gaze upon the face of the young hero ere his coffin was closed. His sword rested upon the coffin, surmounted by wreaths of flowers. The body was escorted to the grave by the Norwich Light Infantry, his fellow-officers acting as bearers. The farewell volleys having been fired over the grave of him who had given his life so cheerfully for the cause of freedom in an adopted country, we left him " with his young fame about him for a shroud." H. P. G.
ALFRED M. GODDARD, First Lieutenant Eighth, Regi- ment, was born in Marietta, Ohio, June 19, 1836. His parents removed to Norwich when he was quite young, and here he grew up, developing a character of rare beauty and force. Leaving his home at an early age to commence life for himself, he for that reason was less generally known than otherwise he would have been. Yet in the home where a peerless devotion to those he most deeply loved distinguished him, and by friends who were aware of his noble nature, he was held in reverent and affectionate es- teem. None knew him but to admire his earnestness of spirit, his commanding self-reliance, his determined energy ; and all this tempered by a refinement and gentleness, which gave to his character unusual completeness.
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He was one of those choice spirits whose career is in- vested with all that can stimulate and instruct. Immersed, when quite young, in the cares and 'duties of a responsible business, he yet displayed a culture ordinarily looked for only in the man of letters. His criticisms on books that chanced to pass under his notice, betray a fine taste, united with unusual analytic power. His journal while in the Pacific abounds in the most graphic portrayal of life on ship-board, and on the Islands. Susceptible to all that was grand and beautiful in Nature, his descriptions of scenery in the Tropics and of the changeful ocean, near and upon which so much of his life was spent, can hardly be sur- passed.
Entering, when still under age, the employ of Williams & Haven, of New London, Connecticut, he was by them sent out to the Sandwich Islands, and in connection with a branch house, resided about five years at Honolulu. Dur- ing that period he made several voyages to the Arctic Ocean, passing two years on Mckean's Island, in the Southern Pacific. At the breaking out of the war, he was about leaving Honolulu for Mauritius. When the news reached him that hostilities had actually commenced, he was eager to leave at once for home, that he might enroll himself among those hurrying to the government's defense, but such were his business engagements, that fidelity to his employers required the prosecution of the voyage. So, with a disappointed heart, he endeavored to do the work to which he was committed, though his thoughts were with the brave men who were already marshalled for deadly con- flict with our foes.
He writes in his journal as he started on this voyage, " I have been reading the ' Atlantic Monthly.' It is all war. How is this ? I am trying to do my duty, and yet a deathly sickness comes o'er me when I think what a feeling of joy
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it would have given me could I have gone home and given up all for my country." At a later date he adds, " All my hope now is, that having chosen this path I may command myself and give my thoughts to the present, trusting that through some great good luck I may yet find myself among the New England heroes." Who of us imagined that on the far Pacific main there was a heart beating with such lofty patriotism ; reckoning as its chiefest trial that it could not share in our struggle for national existence. And yet, like thronging doves to their windows came the patriots of our land, travelling homeward from every quarter of the globe that they might swell the hosts who battled for truth and freedom.
He speaks at this time of the change in his views of life, - " It is so real, so earnest, and can be so noble." Then reverting to his country, he remarks, "I begin to think the war is the best thing which could have happened to us. I know it must stir up our young men to action and fill their veins with new life. I honor the brave fellows and am proud of dear old Connecticut. The spirit of our Puritan Fathers is not yet dead."
While at Mauritius, hearing of his father's sudden death, young Goddard hastened back with the utmost expedition that he might visit his bereaved mother and mingle with the afflicted family. Taking the East India route through the Red Sea and Europe, he arrived at his home in the fall of 1862. He hoped then to enter the army and gratify thus the deepest longing of his heart. But his business engagements compelled him to go back once more to the Sandwich Islands, and with great reluctance he turned his face toward the Pacific. He seemed at this time keenly sensitive lest his absence from the country while in so critical a condition should not be understood. Many are the journal entries which betray this fear. "If my choice
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could be recalled," he writes in one place, "I would go through anything to get upon the battle field." He speaks also of the moral issues of the conflict, demonstrating his ardent love of liberty for all classes -" It seems strange the country should have been ruled so long by this small party. (Slaveholders.) But the time for a change has come, and I think the curse of slavery will now be removed from our beautiful land."
Dispatching with promptness his business at the Islands, and closing his connection with the firm he had served so long and well, he was enabled to return home in May, 1863. Then the cherished purpose of his soul seemed at length possible to be carried out.
On the following July, he received a commission as First Lieutenant in Company B of the Eighth Connecticut Regiment, but was at once detached for duty on the Staff of General Harland, the former Colonel of the Eighth Regiment. In this capacity he rendered faithful service until March, 1864, when, at the request of officers and men, he rejoined his regiment. " It is a hard thing to do," says his diary, " but I am sure it is right." His associates on the Staff parted with him, not without the greatest reluc- tance and the most genuine regret. To General Harland he was strongly attached, and by him in turn was esteemed as an able officer and a personal friend. The heart which had chafed so when business prevented his connection with the army, was still dissatisfied with the less arduous duties of staff officer, so he took his place in the ranks, and the long yearning of his soul seemed about to be appeased when the hardships and dangers of the field were to be his.
March 13, 1864, the regiment, under command of Col. J. E. Ward, left its old camp at Portsmouth, Va., and marched to Decp Creek, where it performed outpost and picket duty until April 13. Thence it was ordered to Yorktown, and
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was assigned to the Second Brigade of the Eighteenth Corps. Forming part of General Butler's command, it was engaged in a reconnoisance of the enemy's lines before Petersburg. On the morning of May 8, the regiment led the advance in an attempt to press back the enemy. Forming in battle line, it repeatedly charged the foe, driving him before them, and continued fighting till the ammunition was exhausted and the regiment was relieved by order, receiving, as it returned from the bloody field, the cheers of the whole brigade. It was in this action that the fatal bullet struck Lieutenant Goddard. While bravely fighting and cheering on his men in this his first battle, he fell, mortally wounded.
The day before, his entry in his diary, when it was ap- parent an engagement was imminent, was both touching and significant, - " And the children of Israel prevailed, because they trusted in the Lord God of their Fathers." The day of the battle, Saturday, May 7, he wrote : ' 7 A. M. we go to the front with only arms and ammunition." Be- fore sundown he was borne from the field, and ere another day had gone, the knightly youth of high hopes and un- flinching courage passed away. Of his carriage on the day of battle, his Captain writes : " He was so thoughtful and considerate, not rash or impetuous, but cool and collected, ready for any emergency, willing for every duty. While most bravely fighting and cheering on our men, the fatal bullet struck him, and he was taken from the field. As he was carried past me, he said that he was wounded, but that he had done his duty. Most truly can I echo those last words." He had won in no common degree the esteem of officers and men, and his loss was felt by all.
Upon the examination of his wound, he asked the regi- mental surgeon whether it was likely to prove fatal, adding, at once, that he thought it must ; in which opinion the sur-
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geon was obliged to concur. Immediately he added : " Tell my mother that I die in the front, that I die happy." Re- moved to the Chesapeake Hospital at Fortress Monroe, he lingered for little more than a day, suffering intensely but patiently.
Writes one who knew him well : "He was one of the few men whom I have known in my life whose steadfast honesty was proof against all temptations, and his varied life ex- posed him to not a few." Another friend, intimately asso- ciated with him while in the army, wrote when the news of his death was received : " May God rest the soul of our martyr- hero. He is no more. But the memories which the thought of him suggests, are of the most tender and pleasing char- acter. How kind and unselfish he was. What a sturdy champion for everything just, noble, and right. How he loathed oppression and injustice. How he loved his coun- try."
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