USA > Massachusetts > Historical sketch of the old Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, during its three campaigns in 1861, 1862, 1863, and 1864 : containing the history of the several companies previous to 1861, and the name and military record of each man connected with the regiment during the war > Part 9
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1 By looking at the map, the reader will see the situation. We occupied
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CAMP LIFE COMMENCED.
Tuesday, September 16th, the routine of camp life commenced. The common " wedge" tents were received, into each one of which five soldiers were stowed, while the officers were comfortably quartered in " flies." Hardly were we domiciled, when, on the 17th, Gen. Terry notified his command that an attack was liable to be made, at any moment, by a rebel force of thirteen thousand men, reported as being in the neighborhood. At midnight, ammunition was received, and sixty rounds were delivered to each man ; and at four o'clock the next morning a line of battle was formed, waiting an attack, in vain. During the day, the men were engaged in ob- structing an artillery road, and were constantly ready to resist an assault. Gen. Dix, commander of the depart- ment, came up from Fortress Monroe, to view the dispo- sition of troops.
From this time, the men of the regiment were actively employed : some on picket, others in cutting trees, and others in constructing rifle-pits, forts, and other intrench- ments. During the more than eight months of our stay in Suffolk, a line of works, nine miles in extent, flanked by the Dismal Swamp, was erected; and the first spade-
the eastern bank of the Nansemond, and the rebels the western bank of the Blackwater. About two miles out, the two railroads that traverse Suffolk cross each other, - the Petersburg going northwest to the city of that name, and the Weldon southwest, to North Carolina. This belt of country is some twenty miles in width.
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ful of earth was thrown up by a working party under Lieut. Hadley, of the Sixth.
DEPORTMENT OF THE REGIMENT.
On Sunday, the 21st, divine service was celebrated for the first time in camp, the chaplain having arrived in the night of the 19th. Sunday was usually observed by the exhibition of a quieter demeanor than usual, on the part of the men, and by a general abstinence from the amusements and employments of camp life. For a few Sundays, a great deal of fatigue labor was ordered by the general in command, until after a memorial had been drawn and presented to him by the chaplain of the Sixth, signed by most of the chaplains of the post, when the custom was discarded.1 The regiment was true to its New England antecedents ; for, whenever the assembly was sounded, on Sunday, the men generally, though al- ways voluntarily, attended service. Several hundred usually formed a square in front of head quarters, the chaplain standing on a box, behind a pile of drums, and discoursing briefly, to an attentive audience, with singing of the first order. Worship was always had, when the
1 The chaplains at this post cordially united in consultation fo. che welfare of their large and precious flocks. They represented the Presby- terian, Lutheran, Universalist, Wesleyan, Episcopalian, and Methodist Episcopal Churches ; and on Monday of each week they held harmonious and profitable meetings, to consult concerning the wants and interests of their regiments. Their union of action and spirit gave a very good ex- ample to those of their profession out of the army.
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exigencies of the service could possibly permit. Two or three times, a chapel in the village, belonging to the Chris- tian Baptists, was used; but it was too small, and the open air was on the whole preferred. Beside the reg- ular services of Sunday, a prayer meeting was held on Sunday evening, and also on Wednesday, - sometimes in the streets, and at others in the post-office, chaplain's, or other quarters. Several men made a profession of religion during the campaign; and the opinion of those deeply interested in the moral welfare of the regiment was, that the habits and character of the men improved during the campaign. This was largely. due to the great number of letters constantly received from home. We were known in Suffolk as the " writing regiment." The mail-bag we regularly received was a wonder to other soldiers, for it often contained several hundred letters at a time. These gentle messengers from home kept alive and active the restraining influences of social life, and prevented many a one from relapsing into the rough hab- its too frequently found in camp. Religious papers and books were procured and distributed in large quantities, and cheap checker-boards, dominoes, and other amuse- ments, served to while away hours of leisure that might otherwise have been worse employed.1
CAMP LUXURIES !
Nor should the delightful society of several of the offi-
1 Ours was a writing regiment. I have counted two hundred and fifty letters of a morning in the mail-bag for home.
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cers' wives, who after a time joined the regiment, be omitted among the civilizing agencies that acted on the character and conduct of the men. Their very presence exerted an influence for good, and cheered the atmos- phere with social sunshine. A woman in camp, like " a babe in a house," is " a well-spring of pleasure."
On the 23d, a picket of eighty -our first detail - was sent out. A reconnoissance in force had gone from other regiments ; and our boys, under arms, distinctly heard the artillery engaged in a skirmish. It was the first sound of real war they had heard during the campaign, and they stood under arms during the afternoon with no little anticipation.
OUR BRIGADE.
On the 24th, Maj .- Gen. John J. Peck arrived, and took command of the forces stationed in and near Suffolk ; and the same day the regiment was brigaded with the Thirteenth Indiana, and One Hundred and Twelfth and One Hundred and Thirtieth New York, and placed under the command of Col. R. S. Foster,1 of the Thirteenth Indiana. We were afterwards brigaded with the New York One Hundred and Sixty-Ninth, and Pennsylvania
1 Col. Foster and staff were as follows: Colonel (now Major General Robert Sanger Foster of Thirteenth Indiana, Acting Brigadier General; Adjutant General, Samuel M. Zent, Thirteenth Indiana; Quartermaster, Geo. W. Rader; Commissary of Subsistence, W. G. Wise, of Massachusetts Sixth; Aide-de-Camp, George W. Wells.
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One Hundred and Sixty Fifth and One Hundred and Sixty Sixth.1 We always considered ourselves fortunate in being placed in such relations with these officers. With Gen. Peck and his staff, of which Major B. B. Foster, of the Maine Eleventh, was chief, all official intercourse was of the pleasantest character, and his opinion of the regiment will be seen by his parting order, at the close of the campaign, found at the end of this sketch. With Col. Foster our relations were more immediate and intimate ; and all, men and officers, en- thusiastically admired him. Gallant, generous, affable, a man, a gentleman and a soldier; his appearance was always the signal for hearty greetings from our boys. His opinion of us will be found in the order sent us at our departure, printed at the close of this sketch.
CAMP CHANGED, AND MADE COMFORTABLE.
On the 25th, we struck tents for a new camp-ground, previously occupied by Gen. Wessel's Brigade; - an eleva- ted and pleasant spot, on which we had "ample room and verge enough" for all the appointments of a perfect camp. The streets were wide, the various quarters were far apart, deep wells were digged, and health and regularity were consulted in as neat and perfect a camp as is usually
1 Our brigade was several times changed, but was chiefly comprised of the Thirteenth Indiana, One Hundred and Thirtieth and One Hundred and Twelfth New York, One Hundred and Sixty Fifth and One Hundred and Sixty Sixth Pennsylvania.
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seen. In a short time the boys began to stockade for cold weather ; and the various expedients devised for stoves, fire-places, and furnaces, were creditable to the ingenuity of the men. The mortar was Virginia mud, that " sticketh closer than a brother ; " the chimneys were barrels, or clay and sticks, or bricks in some instances ; while the walls were " daubed with untempered mortar," but were nevertheless tight and warm. The men's roofs were generally tents ; but the officers succeeded in ob- taining roofs of " splits," huge slabs of cedar, a sort of compromise between a shingle and a board, which kept out the rain, though not the wind, for often it was diffi- cult to keep a candle lighted.1
1 A great many accounts of the lack of comforts experienced by soldiers have appeared in the prints. Some have boasted that they were entirely destitute of the commonest conveniences of life, and seemed to take pride in relating the story of their deprivations. They had the bare ground as the floor to their tents; they sat on their haunches, without chair or seat; their beds were on the ground; they cooked without dishes, and ate with their fingers, and lived a la pig, generally. There are times, of course, on the march, when all this, or a part of this, is necessary. But if one is en- camped a week in a place, if he has any love for civilized life, and pos- sesses any gumption, he will begin to accumulate easy substitutes for past comforts. If he cannot find old boards, by reason of distance from houses or fences, and if unable to procure boxes with which to floor his tent, it does not take long to split sticks of wood in halves for a tolerable floor of puncheons; while a bedstead, chairs, table, and any other household con- venience, can easily be extemporized with an axe, and the wood of which Virginia forests are full. Our regiment had rough bnt convenient furni- ture, such as bedsteads, chairs, tables, and the like, and a large number of log-houses, with furnaces and chimneys, made of wood, clay etc .; and, though coarse and rough, our accommodations were really excellent. Yankce ingenuity always kept us comfortable.
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The quarters of the writer of this were a rustic cottage, in an ornamental style of architecture, constructed of red cedar and cypress, with the bark on, the interstices filled, and the inside plastered with mud, and lined with illus- trated newspapers and shelter tents, and the shingled roof covered with tent-flies, so that it was handsome, dry, and warm. The bricks were exhumed from an old cel- lar, on the principal street in Suffolk, the remains of a house destroyed by Cornwallis on his march to York- town, so that the little cabin, 20x20, was quite commo- dious and picturesque and historical.
FORAGING.
Anxious for the good name of his regiment, on reach- ing this ground the colonel made a little speech, - direct and to the point, - urging the boys not to maraud ; at the close of which he received hearty cheers, as an assent to his words, and a proof of the estimate in which he was held. I believe few acts of marauding were ever com- mitted by them, aside from that little foraging that the soldier feels entitled to, and that few officers care to treat harshly.
But it was on this day, the 25th, that the Confisca- tion Act took effect, - an extraordinary measure it was thought by many, - and when it was convenient to get a little pork or poultry, or a few vegetables, to eke out the proverbial " salt mule " that so many have spoken of but never seen, it was usually done. Should a stray pig
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come within reach, and refuse to give the countersign, he was brought to with a bayonet (a four-runner of the fate of the property of rebels), and soon after, the agreeable smell of roasting pork " wasted its sweetness on the Suf- folk air." About this time, I remember I saw a fellow enjoying some fine-looking sweet potatoes. "Do you draw those ?" said I. " Yes, sir," said he. " How do you do it ?" " Oh, easy enough, - by the tops !"
THE FIRST BLOOD SHED.
The first casualty in the regiment occurred on the last day of September, when Lieut. S. G. Blood, in practis- ing with his revolver, accidentally put a ball through his foot, which disabled him from duty for several weeks.
CAMP FARE.
The fare of camp was helped out considerably at this time by sweet potatoes, scuppernong grapes, persim- mons, chinkapin nuts, etc., which would find their way into camp from the surrounding country. To a New Englander, the vegetation presented a peculiar look. The cypress, gum, sweet bay, magnolia, rhododendron, holly, and laurel abound; and the air is constantly blotted by the buzzard or vulture, watching his prey from afar, or descending to regale himself on some animal abandoned by man.
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OUR POSITION.
At the close of the first month, we had seen nothing of war, having been, during that time, acting the role of Micawber, "waiting for something to turn up"; but we were consoled in our inactivity by remembering that
" They also serve who only stand and wait;"
for the force of which we constituted a part occupied a threatening attitude, at a position about equi-distant from Petersburg and Weldon, and thus co-operated with the army of the Potomac and of North Carolina. Though idle, we were not useless. As long as we lay inactive even, Petersburg and the line of the Blackwater must be well fortified, and held by rebel forces that would other- wise be able to act against McClellan and Foster.
COMPANY RATIONS AND SAVINGS.
During those days, the provisions served were ample in quantity, and generally good in quality. Obtained as they were, in such immense quantities, occasion_ ally an inferior article would of course come. But bread, or other vegetable or animal food, was speedily con- demned, if of an inferior character; and in quality, the rations averaged as well as the same articles in any New England village. That the quantity was ample will appear from the savings of the companies. Whatever a company was entitled to, and did not draw, was commuted, and returned to the company in cash. There were five
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companies from Lowell, and one each from Lawrence, Cambridge, Groton, Acton, and Chelmsford. During the month of September, the Lowell companies saved $305, or an average of more than $61. The Lawrence com- pany saved $60.92; Acton, $33.34; Groton, 47.36; Cambridge, $27.36 ; and Chelmsford, $74.53. The cost of a ration (the daily allowance of food) in Suffolk was seventeen cents.
AN ARRIVAL.
October 1st the regiment was gladdened by the arrival of the Seventh Mass. Battery, Capt. P. A. Davis, from Yorktown. This corps was the Richardson Light In- fantry, from Lowell, most of whom were old friends of many of ours; and, during the rest of our term of service, the pleasure of our stay was much increased by their location within a few rods of our camp.
THE CONTRABANDS.
Large numbers of contrabands were continually com- ing into our lines ; and all told one story, and that was, that there was a universal desire for freedom among the colored people of the South, and a general expectation that the hour of their deliverance from slavery was about to dawn. They always told that their owners assured them that lean fare and cruel treatment were meted to the black people by the Yankees, and that the Southerners were their only friends. We listened to many a story of
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wrong and outrage ; and day by day the long files of dusky pilgrims came in, with nondescript vehicles, harness- es and animules, as the travellers styled them ; sometimes a horse, but as often a mule or a cow, dragging the house- hold penates ; and while the men were set at work on the fortifications, -for then we had not risen to the sensible position. of colored soldiers, - the women and children were supplied with rations and clothing, and soon their lit- tle settlements sprang up, neatly laid out, and filled with a happy populace. Simple-minded, good-natured, patient, and possessed of a certain natural shrewdness, we gener- ally found them as intelligent as, and every way the equals, and in ability to take care of themselves the superiors of, the white people left in our neighborhood.
I wrote at the time in the Boston " Journal" : -
" The contrabands continue to come in here, from North Carolina mostly, in schools, if such a term is allow- able to such a poor, ignorant race. They tell but one story. Scarcity at home, long-cherished desires for freedom, willingness to work for hire, love of the Union troops, and hatred of secession. But alas, poor souls, they little know what to do with themselves, or what is before them ! I have no doubt that their condition will be improved, when these troubles are over ; but there is a transition period between now and then, during which these poor victims of generations of oppression must ex- perience much less physical comfort than they yet have done. Government sees that they do not want ; and the
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able-bodied men among them - which are few - are em- ployed wherever they can be made useful. God help them ! "
At first their treatment by Union officers and men, was in many instances, most brutal ; but in a short time a better policy was pursued.
Among the "contrabands " in our mess, first and foremost stood the major's boy, Tom Jones, the concen- trated essence of Africa ; and after him were Clem, John, Willis, Lam Babb, and others, whose comicalities helped the mess far more than any other service they rendered, and whose principal effort seemed to be always to be present when they were not wanted, and always absent when needed. Such was the force of their bringing or com- ing up. A volume could be filled with reminiscences of our sooty attendants, some of whom - at least Clem and Lam - have since done good service for the country in the army. Our only reliable information of the enemy's movements was derived through them; and the com- manders of our scouting parties often assured me that they never were deceived or betrayed by a negro. Some- times they exaggerated numbers ; but they rarely mistook a fact, and never betrayed a trust.
CONTRABAND MEETINGS.
There was a singular attraction in the religious meet- ings of the colored population of Suffolk ; and, fond of a new sensation, I several times entered their assemblies
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when they were engaged in worship. At the time, I wrote an account of my impressions for the Boston " Trum- pet and Freeman," an extract from which here follows.
I never wanted the pen of a Dickens and the pencil of a Hogarth, combined in one magic instrument, as I have since I have been here, in Suffolk, Va., when attending the prayer and praise meetings of the negroes of the Afri- can Methodist church.
Fancy a plain, common-looking meeting-house, very much like one of our own poorest New England country chapels, "a little back from the village street," with a sprinkling of army uniforms in the audience, but other- wise crowded, below and in the gallery, with "God's image carved in ebony," mahogany, and even lighter shades ; for that horrible " amalgamation," which has been so great a possible bugbear at the North, is here a patent reality. Both sexes and all ages are present. And the styles of costume are a wonder. Many of them are ex- quisitely neat; but I never knew what extravagances of rags and ribbons combined ; what tawdry finery ; what model dilapidations in the way of hats and garments, - can be made to adhere to the " human form divine," until I saw the hats, caps, bonnets, and other garments, in such a meeting. That, however, by the way.
The utmost decorum pervades the congregation, till at length the preacher, an intelligent-looking mulatto, enters the pulpit, and begins the services of the evening. He reads a hymn, " deaconing " the words off, - a line read
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at a time, and then sung, - so that his illiterate hearers can keep the connection ; and the reading is of a kind not taught in any school of elocution, while the singing is really superb. The different parts are not given ; but the soft, mellow voices of the women, and the clear, rich voices of the men, all in unison, render the air with a power and effect seldom heard.
The prayer is an earnest utterance of unfeigned de- votion, characterized, perhaps, with some marked depart- ures from the President's American, but, on the whole, it would do no discredit to any Christian, or any church.
The sermon is peculiar. Its construction is not artistic. Its drift is frequently varied by eddies,-very considerable eddies ; but its allusions are quaint ; its appeals power- ful ; its utterance full of devout, if homely unction ; and it has the greatest apparent effect on its hearers, if one can judge by the constant ejaculations from all parts of the audience, of such expressions as "Dat's 80!" " De Lord knows dat are!" " Bless God, yes!" and the like, amount- ing at times to a perfect fusillade of comments, accom- panied by grotesque words, and all sorts of gestures, not even excepting hearty laughter as some point is well clinched.
The sermon finished, the preacher descends to the altar- rail; and this is the signal for several of the leading " brethren " to approach him, and for such as have been pricked in the conscience by the sermon, to come forward and kneel around the altar, as " mourners." Immediately
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one of the best singers strikes up a devotional song, or, as they prefer to call it, a " spiritual jig," usually to a most lively air, and with words such as I am unable to find in print, and suppose to be purely traditional. I have taken down several from their own lips. Here is one: -
" Blow, Gabriel, blow !
Oh, how loud shall I blow ? Loud as seven peals of thunder From ebery church-yard. We'll see him as he is In dat eternal day, From ebery church-yard !
" We'll try on de long white robes, We'll wear a starry crown, Walk up and down de golden streets. From ebery church-yard, We'll see him, &c.
" You'll hear King Jesus say, Oh, Father, these are they Who've come up through tribulation. From ebery church-yard ! We'll see him, &c."
Here the whole audience drop on their knees, and a fervent prayer is offered, the words of which, though shouted at the top of powerful lungs, are not distinguish- able amid the shouts, groans, ejaculations, and sometimes shrieks of the excited multitude. Such expressions as these are heard : "Don't 'top yet !" "Pray away!" "Pray away !" " Bear down, bear down, brudder!"
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When the prayer is finished, all rise, and another "jig" is snug. Here is one : -
" Go seek him early in the morning, Go seek him early in the morning, Go seek him early in the morning, I hope I shall join dat band. I hab a little time, it is not long,
I hab a little time, it is not long,
I hab a little time, it is not long, I hope I shall join dat band."
Other verses follow, ad libitum, by substituting "Pray- ing soon, early," &c. ; or " Religion soon, early," &c. ; or any other words that strike the fancy of any of the worshippers ; and then comes another prayer, perhaps as excellent as would be heard in almost any social religious gathering, with the accompaniment already referred to.
Sometimes some well-known hymn would be sung, al- most solus, such as " Come, ye that love the Lord," &c., with a chorus like this : -
" Brethren, move round de altar, Brethren, move round de altar, De Lord will answer prayer."
One very lively song was usually sung when some soul among the mourners had been made happy. It ran on this wise : -
" Oh, mourner, whar was you, Oh, mourner, whar was you, Oh, mourner, whar was you, .
When de Lord was passin' by ?
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He's bin hyar, he's bin hyar, He's blest my soul and gone ! He's bin hyar, he's bin hyar, And dare's glory in my soul !"
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Substituting the word seeker, brother, sister, sinner, ยท or any other word, for mourner, gives any number of stanzas that the enthusiasm of the meeting can sustain. I was very much interested in the fact that the worshippers would pray with great fervor for our soldiers. One elo- quent petition referred to them as dashing through the " roar of cannon, the smoke of battle, and the flash of the rifle," and supplicated the Divine protection for them, in terms that would have done honor to any prayer. I re- call some of the words of one of their freedom songs : -
" Go down, Moses, Way down Egypt's land, Tell King Phar'oh Let my people go. *
" De Lord told Moses what to do : Go away down Egypt's land, Lead the children of Israel through Way out of Egypt's land."
And much more of the same irregular structure, but to the same purpose.
During the singing of these songs, the whole congre- gation was thoroughly alive. Some were keeping time by a constant tramping of their feet ; others would raise
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and let fall both hands as far as they could ; others would bow the head in keeping with the time ; while some would leap back and forth in the aisle, or, if the crowd was too dense, up and down, as though striving to go over the heads of the rest ; and one girl sprang into the pulpit, with her hands swinging above her head, and body and head swaying, and feet moving in the precise attitude of a waltz ; while one venerable old lady, " darkly, deeply, beautifully " black, seized a gallant New York colonel near me, and spun him round and round before he could extricate himself, dashing me from their swift and eccen- tric orbit ; while others meanwhile were shaking hands, laughing, slapping shoulders, and in general ecstasy. It was a scene not soon to be forgotten.
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