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 4
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A law was passed at this session authorizing his Excel- lency, Governor Buckingham, to enlist, organize, and equip, according to his discretion, an unlimited number of volun- teers ; and providing for the expense by ordering an addi- tional issue of bonds of the State to the amount of two millions of dollars ; making a grand total for the year of four millions of dollars which had been raised in this way. The intrusting of the disbursement of this large sum to one man, evinced the marked confidence reposed in the judgment and integrity of the Executive. Orders were now issued by the Governor for the acceptance of all full companies offering for the war.
A fine company, called the " Harland Rifles," mainly recruited in Norwich, was mustered into the Eleventh Reg- iment. John H. Norris, G. W. Keables, and James E. Fuller, were appointed Lieutenants ; and Joseph H. Nickerson was subsequently promoted to be Captain in this regiment ; all of whom were from this city.
The Eleventh was in Burnside's Expedition to North
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THREE YEARS' MEN.
Carolina, and a portion of the command with Colonel Kings- bury was on the Voltigeur, when she stranded off Cape Hatteras, twenty-three days of great peril elapsing before the men could be got off.
In the renowned battle of Antietam, so destructive to human life, the Regiment suffered the most severely of any from Connecticut. Besides losing its Colonel, it was nearly halved, reporting out of a muster of four hundred and forty, ninety-seven killed, and one hundred and two wounded. In the battle of Cold Harbor, Va., where the Eleventh joined the army of the Potomac, it fought with signal bravery, losing heavily in officers and men. Before Petersburg it served with great faithfulness, and when mustered out in December, 1865, reported as the whole number of men connected with the regiment two thousand four hundred.
In the Twelfth Regiment Norwich had a few enlisted men and one commissioned officer, - Lieutenant A. Dwight McCall.
The Thirteenth Regiment was largely officered by Nor- wich men.
Colonel. HENRY W. BIRGE, Previously Major of the Fourth Regiment.
Adjutant. GEORGE W. WHITTLESEY.
Quartermaster.
JOSEPH B. BROMLEY.
Second Assistant-surgeon.
NATHAN A. FISHER.
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THE NORWICH MEMORIAL.
COMPANY F.
Captain. JAMES J. MCCORD,
Previously Second Lieutenant Company B, Second Regiment.
Second Lieutenant. JOHN C. ABBOTT.
COMPANY K.
Captain. ALFRED MITCHELL.
In addition to these, William P. Miner and Robert Rip- ley were commissioned Lieutenants, and upwards of half a hundred privates were also from this town, most of the lat- ter in Captain McCord's Company.
The Thirteenth was noted for its fine appearance and neat equipments, and was a favorite with General Butler. It had in Colonel Birge an accomplished officer, whose handling of a regiment was considered in the Gulf Depart- ment to be unsurpassed. Ordered at first to New Orleans, its entrance into that city May fifteenth, 1862, where it was assigned the post of honor, produced a marked sensation, and it was declared to be " the finest looking regiment that ever entered New Orleans." After performing garrison duty in the city for some time, the regiment was ordered to join the Reserve Brigade under General Weitzel, under whom it had a leading position in the battle of Georgia Landing, and by him was complimented for its bearing in this its maiden fight.
During the winter of 1862-63, it was engaged in the rou- tine life incident to its position. The humorous Quarter- master of the regiment, Joseph B. Bromley, beguiled the tedium of the camp life by his wit, and at the same time
Chaeste Coup
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THREE YEARS' MEN.
won an enviable reputation for his success in catering to the wants of the men. Colonel Sprague, in his history of the regiment, gives the following, as characteristic of the man : -
" The principal difficulty at this time was in getting wood. Our Quartermaster, never long at a loss for expedients, finally pro- ceeded to the depot of the Carrollton Railroad, and commenced loading his teams. The Superintendent is said to have come up, and to have held the following dialogue with Bromley :-
"' What are you going to do with that wood ?'
"'Cook rations. Go on with your loading, Corporal.'
" ' Who are you ?'
"' Bromley, Quartermaster of the Thirteenth Connecticut Vol- unteers. Allow me, sir, in turn to inquire whom I have the dis- tinguished honor to address.'
"'I'm Superintendent of this railroad.'
"' All right. Go on with your loading, Corporal.'
"''The wood belongs to the railroad.'
"' So I supposed ! '
"' But I forbid you to take it.'
"' Put your protest in writing, in red ink. Tie it with a piece of red tape. I'll approve it and forward it. You see we've got to have wood to cook with. Can't eat beans and pork raw. I'd prefer 'em raw, but the men are so unreasonable they want 'em cooked.'
"' But that wood 's necessary for the use of the railroad.'
""' It's necessary for the use of the Thirteenth Connecticut.'
"' I should like to know how a locomotive is going to run with- out wood.'
"' I've often wondered how a regiment could be run without wood.'
"' General Butler orders me to run this railroad.'
"' Colonel Birge orders me to run the Thirteenth Connecticut.
"' Who 's Colonel Birge ? '
"' Who's Colonel Birge? Why, the d- deuse ! don't you
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THE NORWICH MEMORIAL.
know Colonel Birge. If there's one man above another that everybody knows, it 's Colonel Birge.'
" ' Will Colonel Birge pay for the wood ?'
". Colonel Birge pay for the wood ? Why no ! It's a reflection on your sagacity to ask such a question.'
". Who will pay for it ? '
"' The Quartermaster's Department. If there's one thing above another that I admire in the Quartermaster's Department, it's because they'll always pay for wood. Now, my friend of the railroad persuasion, if you'll come and see me, I'll give you re- ceipts, and help you fix up the proper papers to present to the Quartermaster's Department.'
"' How long will it be before I get pay ?'
". It will be some future day, - the futurest kind of a day, I'm afraid.'
" The Superintendent posted off to see Colonel Birge. Bromley preceded him however, and cautioned sentinels to admit no citizen without a pass. 'Halt !" said the sentry ; and the Super- intendent gave up the pursuit in despair.'
"The instructions which Bromley gave to Corporal Strange, a member of his staff, as he termed him, were quite significant. 'Strange, we're going on an expedition. I want my staff to be on the lookout for turkeys, geese, pigs, and sheep. Don't be the aggressor in any contest. Stand strictly on the defensive ; but, if you're attacked by any of these animals, show fight, and don't forget to bring off the enemy's dead."
In the following spring the campaign was opened by the battle of Irish Bend, April fourteenth, 1863. In this en- gagement the regiment won new honors for its admirable discipline and coolness ; and among the spoils it bore away from the field was an elaborate and costly silk flag, bearing the inscription, " The Ladies of Franklin to the St. Mary's Cannoniers," a trophy which has found its way to the archives of the State. On the twenty-fourth of May fol. lowing, and again on the fourteenth of June, the regiment
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THREE YEARS' MEN.
was engaged in battle at Port Hudson ; on the latter oc- casion, though in the reserve, by sheer force of enthusiasm and stress of the emergency, it worked its way to the fore- front of the hottest battle. The assault on the Fort proved unsuccessful, and led General Banks, then in command, to call " for a storming column of one thousand men." To the lead of this forlorn hope Colonel Birge was assigned, at his own request, his splendid regiment furnishing one quarter of the desired number of stormers. It was a brave thing to do, and was the fruit of no sudden impulse, no wild thoughtless desperation. The gallant Colonel kept from his men, that he had by choice been appointed to lead the column, not wishing to influence any of them to volunteer, unless self inclined. When, however, it became known that he was to command the 'forlorn hope,' there were many accessions. Two hundred and forty-one of this noble regi- ment for days and wecks looked death in the face and offered all on their country's altar. They knew well the ground over which they would have to pass, and that the chances were against their ever returning. It was a volun- teer service, in a trying hour, and at the risk of life itself. Some of the officers wrote out their wills, transferred money and keep-sakes to comrades who were to remain behind, and wrote their last messages to loved ones at home. It was, as we now contemplate it, one of the most heroic in- cidents of the war, an imperishable memorial of the self- sacrifice and courage of the men, and their leader, of both of whom the country had every reason to feel proud. By request of the rest of the men, permission was obtained of Colonel Birge that the remainder of the regiment should follow immediately in rear of the stormers, as their first sup- port, a position only less perilous than that assigned to the storming column itself. This virtually brought the whole regiment into the assaulting force. Fortunately the rebels
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THE NORWICH MEMORIAL.
surrendered the post before the final assault was ordered. As a special mark of honor, the storming column was des- ignated to enter Port Hudson to receive the surrender ; this it did, the second position being given to the Twenty-sixth Regiment, under Lieutenant-colonel Joseph Selden of Nor- wich, the colors and band of the Thirteenth being selected from all others to grace the pageant. The regiment, after a return home for a "veteran furlough," took part in the Shenandoah campaign, and was actively engaged in the battles at Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek.
In the Battle of Winchester, September, 1864, and the actions that followed in quick succession, the Thirteenth had a leading part. General Birge's division was in the advance, he himself directing and joining in the charge, which resulted in the utter route of General Early's army. Having meanwhile been promoted to be a Brigadier-gen- eral, during this Shenandoah campaign and subsequently, General Birge commanded a division. For his gallant service at Cedar Creek he was recommended by General Sheridan for a brevet commission of Major-general, which he received while in the field, winning thus the highest brevet rank gained by any army officer from Norwich.
IV.
1862.
THREE YEAR'S MEN, CONTINUED.
" Listen, young heroes ! Your country is calling ! Time strikes the hour for the brave and the true ; Now, while the foremost are fighting and falling, Fill up the ranks that have opened for you !
" Stay not for questions while Freedom stands gasping ! Wait not till Honor lies wrapped in his pall !
Brief the lips' meeting be, swift the hands' clasping, - Off for the war, is enough for them all.
"Never or now ! cries the blood of a nation, Poured on the turf where the red rose should bloom ; Now is the day and hour of salvation, - Never or now ! peals the trumpet of doom."
O. W. HOLMES.
D URING the early part of this year the Union forces made steady progress, and it seemed for a while as if the war was to be brought to a speedy close. All loyal hearts were encouraged, and as it was supposed there would be no more calls for troops, enlisting quite generally ceased. The War Department issued orders April third, discontinu- ing the recruiting service in every State. The requisition upon the Governor in May by the authorities at Washing- ton for six hundred men to fill up the Eighth, Tenth, and Eleventh Regiments, met with feeble response in Norwich
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THE NORWICH MEMORIAL.
and vicinity. This led to the call for another regiment, and a company was begun in the city for the Fourteenth, but enlistments came in slowly.
On July first President Lincoln issued his third procla- mation, calling for three hundred thousand volunteers to serve or three years or the war. Governor Buckingham earnestly seconded this call by an appeal to the State on the third of the month, to furnish promptly its quota of men. " Close your manufactories and workshops, turn aside from your farms and your business, leave for a while your families and your homes, and meet face to face the enemies of your liberties ! Haste, and you will rescue many noble men, now struggling against superior numbers, and speedily secure the blessings of peace and good govern- ment." These were the closing words of the appeal that again helped to arouse the war spirit of the town. The disheartening result of McClellan's campaign before Rich- mond caused new solicitude, and though the loyal citizens
"Bated no jot of heart or hope,"
it brought them to realize the need of stronger determina- tion and greater sacrifices, if they would do their part in putting down the still regnant rebellion. One of those stirring war meetings, which from time to time had been held for the purpose of helping forward enlistments, was called for Friday, July eleventh. His Excellency, W. A. Buckingham, presided. Breed Hall was tastefully deco- rated with flags and bunting, and crowded to its utmost ; the enthusiasm and intense feeling of the occasion were not in vain. Besides the most earnest protestations on the part of leading citizens to sustain the war till the rebellion was crushed, a number came forward, and amid the cheers of the multitude enrolled their names among the new re- cruits now imperatively needed. The meeting spoke the
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THREE YEARS' MEN.
sentiment of Norwich in the following spirited resolu- tion, --
Resolved, That in common with the people in other parts of the State, we agree to stand by the flag of the Union, and to put forth all our energies for the suppression of the Rebellion, be- lieving, as we do, that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and must be maintained in every State of the Union at all hazards ; and in furtherance of these sentiments the following committee is hereby appointed, - James Lloyd Greene, John T. Wait, Amos W. Prentice, William M. Converse, J. F. Slater, H. B. Norton, J. W. Stedman, Charles Johnson, James S. Carew, Lorenzo Blackstone, Charles A. Converse, N. C. Brakenridge, H. B. Crosby, - whose duty it shall be to take such measures as may be necessary to procure the speedy enlistment of troops."
This Committee decided at once to offer as bounty to those volunteering from Norwich thirteen dollars, making, together with what the State and Government offered, a total amount of one hundred dollars to each recruit. Again, on Thursday, July twenty-fourth, a County mass meeting was held on Franklin Square, presided over by Hon. J. T. Wait, where the enthusiasm of the town and county flamed forth, roused as it was by the speeches of patriotic citizens and soldiers temporarily home. Among the episodes of this monster meeting was the introduction of fourteen members of a Greeneville company now almost full, who sang with thrilling effect a song composed for the occasion. The key-note of the speaking was struck in the repeated and earnestly presented question, “ What can I do to aid the Government ?" The kindled excitement and interest of this meeting were carried over into a second gathering in Breed Hall in the evening, where representative gentlemen of the County spoke. The enlistment books were kept open on the platform, and during the continuance of the meeting numbers came forward amidst prolonged and
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THE NORWICH MEMORIAL.
hearty cheering, and enrolled their names. As the result of these popular demonstrations, enlisting, and persuading others to enlist, became the business of the hour. Love of country asserted itself once more above every personal and partisan feeling.
The first regiment to feel the effect of this new awaken- ing of the war spirit was the Fourteenth, to which Norwich contributed as follows : -
COMPANY E. Captain.
WILLIAM H. TUBBS.
First Lieutenant. MORTON F. HALE,
Promoted Brigade Commissary of Subsistence, December, 1862.
Sergeants. JAMES R. NICKELS, Promoted Captain.
FREDERICK E. SCHALK, Promoted First Lieutenant. HENRY C. MILLER.
In Company K, Lieutenant James B. Coit, afterwards promoted Captain and Major ; H. P. Goddard, Sergeant- major, afterwards promoted Captain ; and Lieutenant George C. Ripley, together with about forty enlisted men. The regiment left camp in Hartford August twenty-fifth, and without being allowed time for necessary instruction, was ordered at once into the hard-fought battle of Antie- tam, September, 1862. Here it suffered severely, and though a new regiment, bore itself with great merit. It had been hurried by forced marches to the battle-field,
6I
THREE YEARS' MEN.
without knapsacks, or regimental baggage, and was thirty- six hours under fire at Antietam, with scarcely anything to eat or drink during all this time. From this time onward it was kept in almost constantly active service, and was em- phatically a fighting regiment. At the battle of Fredericks- burg it continued in the Second Corps, which, with the Ninth Corps, formed the right grand division under General Sumner. It was the only Connecticut regiment warmly engaged, and was in the division that opened the battle. After making three separate charges under severe artillery fire, it fell back only when the division was retired, bearing with it the body of the brave Lieutenant-colonel Perkins, who had been severely wounded. The aggregate loss of the reg- iment was one hundred and twenty-two. At the battle of Chancellorsville the Fourteenth was actively engaged, fight- ing with great coolness, its brief experience having made it among the most reliable of Connecticut regiments ; here its losses were again heavy, and the splendid regiment which left the State August, 1862, ten hundred and fifteen strong, was already reduced, by reason of its constant fight- ing, to two hundred and nineteen men in service. At Get- tysburg, July, 1863, the conduct of the regiment is spoken of in the highest terms. It was one of the most trying battles in which it had been engaged, yet one in which it distinguished itself by a number of effective charges, cap- turing five regimental flags and over forty prisoners, and sustaining a loss in the aggregate of sixty-six. In the Vir- ginia campaign under General Grant it also shared, partici- pating in the terrible battles of the Wilderness, and a Spottsylvania winning new laurels, losing here a brave Nor- wich officer, Lieutenant Schalk. At the battle of Reams' Station, August, 1864, Captain Nickels was killed. Both these young men were from Norwich, and had served with credit to themselves and the country for which they had
5
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THE NORWICH MEMORIAL.
cheerfully periled their lives. James B. Coit, who was spe- cially mentioned for his gallantry, was also wounded, and thus forced to resign, having been promoted from a First Lieutenancy to be Major, and afterwards was brevetted Brigadier-general. The regiment was present at the surren- der of Lee, and was mustered out May, 1865, with the con- sciousness of having had a severe service, and of having won its proud title, - the "brave Fourteenth."
In the next three regiments of the six that the Governor had called for under the President's proclamation of July first, Norwich had no official representation, and therefore no special local interest. At the patriotic mass meeting of the county nothing had contributed more to arouse through- out the town an ambition to maintain its eminence for de- votion to the National Cause, than the announcement that orders had been issued for a New London County Regi- ment to rendezvous at the Fair Grounds near the city. It was the first regiment that was mustered into service from Norwich. For this reason the Eighteenth Regiment was regarded by our citizens as peculiarly their own. The five county companies were recruited in town, and the costly colors, National and State, were the gift of the Norwich ladies. The roster of officers of this favorite regiment from the town was as follows, and accounts for the deep interest our community took in it from the beginning of its exist- ence clear through its eventful history : -
Colonel. WILLIAM G. ELY, Previously Lieutenant-Colonel of the Sixth Infantry, subsequently brevetted Brigadier-general.
Quartermaster. DWIGHT W. HAKES, Afterwards Captain, and Brevet Major.
THREE YEARS' MEN. 63
Surgeon. CHARLES M. CARLETON.
Sergeant-major. JOSEPH P. ROCKWELL, Promoted Adjutant and Captain.
Quartermaster-sergeant. WILLIAM CARRUTHERS, Promoted First Lieutenant.
Commissary- sergeant.
HENRY HOVEY.
COMPANY A. Captain. HENRY C. DAVIS. Lieutenants. ADAM H. LINDSLEY, JAMES D. HIGGINS.
COMPANY C.
Captain.
ISAAC H. BROMLEY.
First Lieutenant.
SAMUEL T. C. MERWIN, Promoted Captain.
Second Lieutenant.
HENRY F. COWLES, Promoted First Lieutenant.
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THE NORWICH MEMORIAL.
COMPANY E.
Captain. ISAAC W. HAKES, JR.
First Lieutenant. FREDERICK A. PALMER. Promoted Captain.
COMPANY F.
Captain. HENRY PEALE.
Promoted Major and Lieutenant-colonel.
Second Lieutenant. JOHN A. FRANCIS.
COMPANY I.
Captain. SAMUEL R. KNAPP.
First Lieutenant.
JOHN H. MORRISON, Promoted Captain.
Second Lieutenant. MARTIN V. B. TIFFANY, Promoted Captain.
Of the enlisted men, over two hundred and fifty are cred- ited to Norwich on the rolls of the Adjutant-general. The colors were publicly presented to the regiment in the after-
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THREE YEARS' MEN.
noon of the twenty-second of August, by Governor Buck- ingham in behalf of the ladies, and received by Colonel Ely with fitting words of acknowledgment. Then forming into line, the regiment marched to the city to embark for its destination. Norwich had previous to this time sent forth single companies amid inspiriting cheers and tender farewells, but this was the first regiment it had seen depart for the seat of war. It was not strange, therefore, that the city put on its holiday attire, that ladies filled the windows and balconies along the line of march to wave their adieus, and that the streets were thronged with those anxious to have a last look at the brave men who were justly the pride of the district, and bid them as they went forth a hearty God-speed. Public and private buildings were gay with flags, and the national colors floated from the shipping in the river ; the whole city was in a tumult of excitement as it parted from the regiment in which it had so large an in- terest, and for which it had done so much.
Stationed at first near Baltimore, it was ordered, in May, 1863, to Western Virginia. On the thirteenth to the fif- teenth of June it took a prominent part in the battle of Winchester, where a large proportion of men and officers were taken prisoners. During the night of the fifteenth the order for the silent evacuation of Winchester was given. The First and Second Brigades were intercepted in this retreat by a superior force of the enemy, and after two gallant charges the Eighteenth became separated from the main body, and in a final charge alone was repulsed by the enemy now greatly outnumbering it, a part of the regiment being captured, including Colonel Ely. This was the first battle in which the Eighteenth had been engaged, and its behavior reflected credit on both officers and men. The total loss of the regiment was five hundred and sixty-seven, thirty-one being killed, forty-four wounded, including five
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THE NORWICH MEMORIAL.
commanders of companies, which witnesses to the severity of the fighting, and the desperateness of these successive charges. The " Richmond Whig," commenting on the lat- ter, says, "the Yankees charged our battery three times, and got within a few yards of it, but were driven off. So many were killed at gun Number One, that it had to be abandoned, and we had fired every round of ammunition from gun Number Two. Then they made a final charge and got nearer than before, and we thought we were about to be captured, . . . . but finding a few rounds of ammu- nition in the caisson of Number One, and putting them in gun Number Two, we drove them back for the last time." Most of the privates captured in this engagement were sub- sequently paroled, but the officers were confined for nine months in Libby and Belle Island prisons. Colonel Ely was one of a party that escaped from Libby in February, 1864, by tunneling, but was recaptured, and carried back into close confinement. The handsome regimental colors presented by the ladies of Norwich were preserved, being carried for two days wound round the body of the color- sergeant, George Torrey of Woodstock, who escaped cap ture. While the arrangements for the surrender made by Colonel Ely were pending, Major Peale, with upwards of thirty men, got away ; and Company D, which had been detailed for provost-guard duty, escaped intact. About two hundred of the regiment finally were gathered together at Maryland Heights, where Major Peale took the command, setting himself earnestly at work to reorganize the regi- ment, and put it immediately into fighting trim. Ordered to join General French of the Third Army Corps, the reg- iment, now led by Major Peale, had severe fighting and marching, in connection with the Army of the Potomac, which was then following up General Lee. The regiment was soon ordered to Martinsburg, Va., where it received back
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