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 5
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the imprisoned men, captured in the battle of Winchester, who arrived from Camp Parole October third, 1863, and here it remained all winter, performing picket and other duty, until the opening of the Spring campaign in the Shen- andoah Valley under General Sigel (who was soon suc- ceeded by General Hunter).
Again it was put in motion, marching southward, over the ground where so many were captured a year before, to Winchester, and thence pushed forward towards New Mar- ket. Here it went into action, numbering about ten offi- cers and some three hundred and fifty men, after marching fifteen miles in a drenching storm, and fought with unques- tioned gallantry nearly five hours, standing in mud knee- deep. General Sigel was forced to retreat, being over- matched by superior numbers. Major Peale's report credits the regiment with effective and courageous conduct, while his own handling of it in this engagement brought out his admirable qualities as a commander. The Eighteenth was in the extreme advance, and suffered severely, while the exhausting demands of their forced march before the bat- tle, and their retreat after it, harassed by a pursuing enemy, told upon the men. At Cedar Creek General Hunter re- lieved General Sigel, and after a brief respite, the regiment, together with the army, moved forward by rapid marches towards Piedmont. Colonel Ely, who had been exchanged, now rejoined the regiment, and took the command in the battle of Piedmont, Va. In his report, he says, "Our troops fought with undaunted bravery, and at five, P. M. routed the rebels, captured two thousand prisoners and five thousand stand of arms. The Eighteenth was on the right of General 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 ban- ner riddled by minie balls and cannon-shot, and a loss of
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THE NORWICH MEMORIAL.
one hundred and twenty-seven in killed and wounded, tell our story." Among the killed was Adjutant E. B. Culver, an officer of great merit, an earnest patriot, and widely be- loved here by friends and citizens, who lamented his early death. Corporal J. F. Bradley and William H. Hamilton, who had left good situations in our city to enter their coun- try's service, were also among the slain. The regiment, greatly reduced in numbers and much exhausted, made its bivouac in the rear of the rebel position, and on the follow- ing morning, saddened by its losses, but rejoicing over its victory, pushed on with the army to Staunton. General Hunter in reviewing the regiments prior to the battle of Piedmont, had said to the Eighteenth, "he expected them to sustain the honor of Connecticut, and wipe out New Market." He was more than satisfied with the bearing of the regiment, and took occasion publicly to acknowledge its splendid conduct.
On the tenth of June, reinforced by the commands of Generals Crook and Averill, Hunter continued on his course southward, passing through Lexington, and destroying in his march considerable public property. Rations however began to grow scarce, and the army, two hundred miles from its base, began to experience the hardships incident to such an ill-planned state of things. On June fifteenth, the Blue Ridge was reached, and ascended near its highest point, - the peaks of the Otter. The weary march was still kept up, the men suffering for food, and obliged to be in readi- ness to encounter the rebels, who now began to show signs of an intention to oppose the advance on Lynchburg. All that night, the regiment lay on its arms, while its advance engaged the rebels within four miles of the city. On the eighteenth, an artillery duel continued through the day, and two unsuccessful charges were made on its line. The Eighteenth bore the brunt of this engagement, in which
yours truly John B. Dennis
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THREE YEARS' MEN.
Colonel Ely was wounded in the throat, and temporarily disabled, and eight'others suffered from the enemy's fire.
General Early had now reinforced the rebels, and they in turn prepared to make one of their forward movements, through what in waggish dialect had been christened " the back doah" of the Union. The regiment in consequence had before it ten days of incessant fatiguing retreat. Hunter had made what was called a " bold dash " at Lynchburg, had brought on an indecisive battle, and then was forced to hurry back across the mountains, his command arriving at Martinsburg jaded, ragged, and dispirited. The Chaplain of the Eighteenth wrote concerning these severest days in the regiment's history, " the scenes of that terrible march will never be recalled by any survivor without a shudder, the sufferings of the men were severe, yet they conducted themselves with soldierly manliness and propriety."
Soon after the regiment in Crook's column passed down the left bank of the Potomac, reaching Snicker's Ford July eighteenth. " The command forded the Shenandoah river on the same day, and participated in an engagement with the rebel army, which invaded Maryland and Pennsylvania during the early part of July, in which engagement the regiment acted well its part, and suffered severely." Thus ran the report of Lieutenant-colonel Peale, subsequently in charge, Colonel Ely having been assigned to the command of the Second Brigade. The regiment in falling back had a spirited engagement at Winchester, Va., but was forced to continue retreating as far as Martinsburg, Va.
It was not understood by the public generally, why the Eighteenth, and the Shenandoah Valley Army with which it was associated, were so often found contending against superior numbers, and obliged so repeatedly to fall back or retreat. The explanation is in the fact that they were set to watch this back way of getting into Pennsylvania and
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Maryland, through which the rebel General Early about twice a year attempted to penetrate with a force far ex- ceeding ours. As a consequence the fighting necessary to be done by our troops was exceedingly hard, and always against great odds. When General Sheridan came into the valley he admitted that his men had no such unequal- matched battles to fight, as in the previous years had made those in the Shenandoah, in which the Eighteenth par- ticipated, so sanguinary and disastrous. No regiment fought more bravely, but it uniformly had before it every time it went into action a force outnumbering its own. The Eighteenth was, soon after this, ordered to join the forces under General Sheridan, and under him took part in an engagement with the enemy at Berryville, Va., Sep- tember third, 1864, Captain Tiffany commanding in the absence of Lieutenant-colonel Peale. Colonel W. G. Ely, who of late had been in command of the Second Brigade, First Division, Army of Western Virginia, at this time re- signed, and received the appointment subsequently of Bre- vet Brigadier-general. He had served with courage and ability for more than three years, retiring with honor from the position his soldierly qualities had won him. The regi- ment had now become much reduced in numbers, owing to its constant fighting, and was sent to Charlestown, Va., to act as garrison for that place, - thence it went to Martins- burg, Va., performing picket and provost duty. At its sub- sequent head-quarters, in Hall-town, it remained, doing val- uable service until ordered to Martinsburg to be mustered out, June, 1865. Under command of Lieutenant-colonel Peale, who had been in constant service since the war broke out, it returned to Hartford, where it was awarded a public reception, bringing back from an arduous service a well-earned name for courage and fidelity.
In the next two regiments Norwich had no local interest.
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THREE YEARS' MEN.
Charles J. Arms, Adjutant of the Twentieth Regiment, is the only name on the original muster roll, and he was trans- ferred to the staff of Brigadier-general Harland.
The Twenty-first was the last of the seventeen regiments raised on the several calls of the President for three years' service or the war, and was the second regiment ordered to rendezvous at Norwich. Among the officers from the town was Hiram B. Crosby, appointed Major, who on the death of Colonel Dutton and Lieutenant-colonel Burpee, suc- ceeded to the regimental command. J. Hamilton Lee was made Assistant Surgeon, Christopher A. Brand Sergeant- major, being promoted subsequently First Lieutenant. J. D. Plunkett, at first Sergeant, rose to be Second Lieuten- ant ; with these were about thirty privates.
On Wednesday, September seventeenth, when the State and Regimental Flags from the ladies of Norwich and Stonington were presented to the Twenty-first, an immense crowd of visitors thronged the Camp. His Honor, Mayor Greene, made the presentation speech in behalf of the donors, from which we extract the closing passages :-
" Colonel Dutton, the ladies of Norwich and Stonington place this flag in your hands, and in those of the brave men under your command, fully persuaded you will never disgrace it, but will add new lustre to the brilliancy of its fame. Take it, and guard it as the most priceless treasure ever committed to mortal hands. With it they also give you the State Flag of the State of Connecticut, confident that your valor and skill will add yet more brightness to the star which represents her in the national flag.
"Take your flags, and, trusting in the holiness of your cause. and in your own strong arms, march on to victory and renown ; and when the conflict is over, and the victory won, - when free- dom's flag floats high and wide over all the land, - the ladies who present you to-day with these colors will welcome home with all honor the saviors of their beloved land."
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Colonel Dutton, receiving the flags, responded in words whose emphasis, his position, and the gleaming line of bay- onets borne by his men, drawn up behind where he stood, made memorably impressive : " Representing this regiment as its chief officer, I desire to thank the ladies of Eastern Connecticut for their magnificent present. At some future day - many months hence, perhaps - we hope to bring these colors back to you, time-worn, dust-covered, perhaps bullet-torn they may be, but polluted by the touch of a rebel - never !"
The regiment had a good record for bravery and sol- dierly bearing, taking part in the battles of Fredericksburg, Suffolk, Drury's Bluff, Cold Harbor, before Petersburg and Fort Harrison. Of the conduct of the regiment in the severe battle of Drury's Bluff, a New York officer, who was an eye-witness of the scene, wrote : -
" Never shall I forget its splendid behavior on that terrible six- teenth of May, 1864, when the field at Drury's Bluff was covered with from eight to ten thousand men, killed and wounded from both sides. The Twenty-first, firm and fearless, stood the horri- ble charge, and repulsed it on their front. Many times, in the heat of that conflict, I looked towards the regiment, fearful that I should see it overwhelmed. It did its noble State immortal honor on that day, as it has in every battle in which engaged."
The regiment remained in front of Petersburg until the third of September, performing picket duty, and engaged in skirmishes with the enemy. It was then ordered within the line of defenses at Bermuda Hundred, and remained in that position until September twenty-eighth, when it was ordered to join the general advance of the Union army. It took up its march across the James river, and with its division shared in the assault on Fort Harrison. In this action the regiment fought with conspicuous valor.
With the First Connecticut Battery, and the Eighth Reg-
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THREE YEARS' MEN.
iment Infantry, it held a position in the advance into Rich- mond, on its evacuation by General Lee ; and when mus- tered out in June, 1865, brought home the following high testimonial from General Charles Devens, in whose division it served : " It is fully entitled to the honor of having served most faithfully, and as long as its services were needed ; and having done its duty most nobly under many most trying and dangerous circumstances. It has worthily maintained the honor of the State of Connecticut, her loyalty to the Union of our Fathers, her deep and stern attachment to the principles of popular government and of civil liberty." Such were the words of commendation that were addressed to the Governor. Colonel Crosby, while Major, was specially mentioned for his service at the battle of Fredericksburg, where, by his discretion and courage, he facilitated the retreat of a portion of the army. He proved himself a good officer, as capable as from the outbreak of the war he had been patriotic, resigning because of sick- ness, September, 1864.
Connecticut was the first State to fill her quota under the call of the President for three years' men. Within forty- five days, eight thousand and thirty-six men had volunteered, and were organized into eight full regiments, and one light battery.
General Daniel Tyler rendered great assistance in equip- ping these regiments, and preparing them for the field. The State was indebted to him for invaluable service, which only so accomplished a soldier as he was, could have ren- dered.
He had been, in March, 1862, re-commissioned Brigadier- general, and assigned to the command of a brigade, after- wards of a division, in the army of the Mississippi. While kept from that active service and promotion for which his military knowledge and experience fitted him, he was the true
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THE NORWICH MEMORIAL.
friend of his State and town, and to his personal supervision and instruction was owing the high military character which distinguished our soldiers. General Hawley ex- pressed the feeling of not a few Connecticut officers, when he said, " General Tyler is the father of us all."
The record of the State had thus far been remarkably creditable, while the popular enthusiasm manifested itself in local war-meetings, in generous pledges of assistance to volunteers and their families. The recruiting machinery was in the hands of men of energy and patriotic impulses, and the several towns and counties sought to emulate each other in the promptitude with which they raised their as- signed quotas.
V. I862.
NINE MONTHS' MEN.
"' Qui transtulit sustinet ? ' motto of light ! 'Neath the folds of that banner we strike for the right ; Connecticut's watchword, o'er hill and o'er plain,
' The Hand that transplanted, that Hand will sustain.'
" And now in the darkness of Treason's black night, 'Neath the folds of that banner we strike for the right ! For the Right ? 'tis our country we're marching to save, - The dear flag of the Union in triumph shall wave ! Faith swells in each heart ; Hope fires every vein !
' And Thou who transplanted, Oh ! always sustain.'"
S. S. WELD.
O N the fourth of August, 1862, appeared President Lin- coln's proclamation for three hundred thousand troops to serve nine months, - with orders for a draft to be made, if the quotas of the different States were not filled with volunteers, by the fifteenth of the month. In Norwich it only served to intensify the war spirit, and made all citizens feel that it was no time to despond or slacken in efforts that hitherto had reflected such honor upon the town. The " Daily Bulletin," from the first, pronounced in its patriotic utterances, and eager to second every movement for the raising of the called for troops, - spoke out in bold and earnest tones, -- " There is not a loyal heart in these United States who will not rejoice on seeing the President's procla-
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THE NORWICH MEMORIAL.
mation. .. . It is an indication of earnest work. It proves that the administration will not suffer this Republic to perish because it hesitates to put forth its full strength. We can- not doubt of the hearty approval and willing response of the people to this new call upon their patriotism. There are many among us who could hardly determine their duty. On the one hand, were the sweet endearments of home, - the wife and children to be provided for, the anxious care for them, which pleads strongly ; and on the other hand, the call for soldiers, which comes home to every man's heart who loves his native land. To them the draft will be welcome."
It was a dark hour in the history of the war, perhaps the darkest that was known at any time during our long strug- gle. The Peninsular campaign had resulted most disas- trously to our arms, though never did troops fight more bravely. The stubborn heroism of our splendid Potomac army, led by such war-worn veterans as Sumner, Kearney, Heintzelman, Hooker, and others, had made its retreat a costly one to the rebel forces, and might even have turned its sad retirement from the advance on Richmond into vic- tory, if there had been the requisite courage and skill on the part of the then commanding general. Following this great failure came the short and unfortunate campaign of General Pope, and the triumphant advance of General Lee into Maryland. The need of more men by the government was urgent in the extreme, and the President's call appeared just at the time when national reverses had produced wide- spread discouragement and solicitude, and yet, as we shall see, the people met the crisis with undaunted faith, and re- sponded with reasonable promptness to the appeal made to them for more troops.
Going back a little in our regimental history, we find that in January of this year, the Fourth Regiment of In- fantry was by order of the War Department converted
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into the First Artillery. It received two additional com- panies, and was recruited to eighteen hundred men, and placed under command of Colonel Robert O. Tyler. In a few months, it attained a remarkable degree of efficiency, and was soon after " ranked by military judges as the best Volunteer Regiment of Artillery in the field, and consid- ered equal in all respects to any regiment of the same arm in the regular service."
On the promotion of Colonel Tyler, Henry L. Abbott was appointed to the command, and under him the regi- ment served until the close of the war. It constituted, dur- ing a portion of this period, the basis of an Artillery Brigade, which sometimes exceeded an aggregate of thirty-five hun- dred men, and had in charge the entire siege train in use in the final siege of Petersburg and Richmond.
From this regiment, after the transference of Major H. W. Birge to the colonelcy of the Thirteenth Infantry, Nor- wich was represented by Dr. Edwin Bentley, Assistant Sur- geon, promoted to the position of Brigade Surgeon ; John H. Tingley, Second Lieutenant, Company A, who had with a noble patriotism served in the ranks as a private dur- ing the three months' campaign ; Bela P. Learned, Second Lieutenant, Company D, who also served two years with honor as a field-officer on the staff of General Abbott, transacting with rare efficiency the complicated office dutics of the command. Subsequently promoted Captain, he re- ceived the appointment of Brevet Major before he was mus- tered out with the regiment ; Edwin L. Tyler, Second Lieutenant, Company G; Frank J. Jones, Second Lieu- tenant, Company L.
On the regimental rolls appear the.names of about sixty privates, some of whom were non-residents, and are credited to the town as substitutes. The regiment served . through the Peninsular campaign under General McClellan, where
6
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THE NORWICH MEMORIAL.
its discipline and splendid equipment were severely tested. At the battle of Malvern Hill its guns were served with great rapidity and accuracy, and for its efficient services the names of " Siege of Yorktown," " Hanover Court House," " Chickahominy," " Gaines' Mills," and "Malvern," were ordered to be emblazoned on its colors. When garrisoning Washington, subsequent to this, it was awarded a position of supreme importance, and in the advance under General Grant, the regiment again had a distinguished part, the gal- lantry of its officers and men attracting attention. Through- out the final campaign against Richmond, it continued to hold the high reputation it had gained, in the earlier one during this year, under McClellan. In the siege of York- town in 1862, when the Regiment had been but few months in service, and had received comparatively little exact train- ing, the report of the ordnance officer of its siege-train, Ma- jor Doull of the Second New York Artillery, said, "Its labors will compare favorably with anything of the kind that has been done before." It manned the long line of guns in front of Petersburg in 1864 and '65, while eight companies served on the lines in front of Richmond.
When not serving their guns, the greater part of the regiment would act as guards for the reserve artillery, or would be ready to accompany assaulting columns, in order to use without delay any captured artillery upon the retreat- ing enemy. In the assault of the lines of Petersburg, April second, 1865, by the Ninth Corps, a detachment of the regi- ment joined the assaulting column, and entered among the first the enemy's works, serving instantly four captured light twelve-pounder guns upon the retreating masses of the enemy. Two more were afterwards taken, when the six guns were served gallantly all day and during the night, contributing greatly to the success of the charge, and re- pulsing the rebels in their desperate efforts to retake the works.
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NINE MONTHS' MEN.
Always to be relied on, its superb discipline jealously maintained by Colonel Abbott, and kept in the best fighting trim, it was a regiment that commanders came to be proud of, the achievements of which brought honor to the State, that through it won a good name for what it furnished in this arm.
On reading over the exact orders issued by Lieutenant Learned, when serving as Acting Assistant Adjutant-gen- eral, in which the number of shots fired by each gun, the kind of ammunition used, kind of projectile preferred, and other similar details were required to be reported by the battery commanders to him, the secret of its efficiency is in part disclosed.
When scattered over a front extending many miles, fre- quently subdivided into smaller companies, the regiment on coming together again exhibits the cleanliness and sol- dierly appearance, which gave it such brilliant presence when on garrison duty. When it was mustered out, Sep- tember twenty-fifth, 1865, Major-general Barry, one of the ablest artillery officers in the country, bore this testimony to the character of the regiment : "As chief of Artillery successively of the two principal armies of the United States, during the four years of war, now happily ended, I have enjoyed unusual opportunities for observation. You will on this account value my opinion when I assure you that the First Connecticut Artillery, in intelligence, and the acquirements and services of its special arm, stands unrivaled in the armies of the United States."
We have thus far noted the representatives of our town, in the infantry regiments formed, and in the other arm, of heavy artillery. We come, now, to the cavalry. Into the First Regiment, there went from Norwich Charles Farns- worth, Captain of Company B, who was subsequently pro- moted Lieutenant-colonel ; Henry T. Phillips, Second Lieu-
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THE NORWICH MEMORIAL.
tenant, afterward First Lieutenant ; Joab B. Rogers, Ser- geant, promoted to Captain Company A ; and seventy-nine privates. Originally a battalion, it left the State in January, 1862, performing arduous service during the first year in the mountain department of Virginia, under Generals Schenck, Fremont, and Milroy.
In April, 1862, Captain Farnsworth was attacked, while on a scouting expedition with only twelve men, and se- verely wounded. He was passing at the base of a hill so thickly overgrown with brush and small trees that it was impossible to distinguish a man two rods distant. At this point two volleys were fired at him from behind, from the brow of this hill, by concealed rebels. One ball passed through his arm, another through his side. He promptly halted his men, formed them into line, so as to be prepared to receive the rebels if disposed to come to close quarters, when fainting from the loss of blood, he was safely brought into camp. Recovering from the illness this occasioned, he soon rejoined his command, and took part with the regi- ment in the service demanded of it during the rest of the campaign.
In July, 1863, Captain (at this date Major) Farnsworth, with a command of fifty men, was ordered out by General Naglee to reconnoitre the enemy's position beyond Bolivar Heights, and to ascertain his strength. Coming upon a strong cavalry picket, they charged on them and drove them back on their reserve, two hundred strong. Not halting at this, the gallant Major charged on the whole body of the enemy, and at first with success, capturing many prisoners, but the rebels, seeing the disparity of the attacking force, rallied, and a hand to hand fight occurred, in which Major Farnsworth's horse was shot, and he, with twenty-six of his men were compelled to surrender. Taken at once to Libby Prison, he endured there a weary con-
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