USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Spencer > Historical sketches relating to Spencer, Mass., Volume III > Part 3
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DIARY OF THEODORE SARGENT
terfere with our vessels. We passed Fort Washington; then we came to Mount Vernon. Every man stood with uncovered head
Heads Uncovered as They Pass Mt. Vernon.
while the band played the Dead March. and we came to the City of Alexandria.
A few miles further We passed in sight of the Marshall house where Ellsworth was shot for tearing down the rebel flag. The flagstaff is in sight but no flag floats from it now. After passing Alexandria we were in full view of Wash- ington, which place we arrived at about noon. The left wing was landed at the arsenal and the right wing at the navy yard. We had a very pleasant voyage out here, no rough weather and so but a very few seasick. We had but little to relieve the mo- notony except to watch the porpoises. Yesterday one of the horses was found to have horse distemper and for fear that the rest of the horses would get it, he was thrown overboard and the last we saw of him he was swimming along in the wake of the steamer.
July 29th. Left Washington about noon, marched two and a half miles towards Kalorama Heights, when we stopped for the night. Just then there came up a shower and we huddled under our rubber blankets until the shower was over, then we pitched our tents and had to go to bed without any supper.
July 30th. Marched about one-half mile further and formed a camp. We are about three miles from the city, in a north- westerly direction. The Tammany regiment from New York lays near us.
July 31st. Wrote to mother today. Tom Murphy is in the hospital. He has got a slow fever. Charlie Browning is poorly yet. He has not got over the seasickness. Alonzo Ty- rell is sick with the measles.
Aug. 5th. Struck tents and marched four or five miles and formed a new camp. We are in a brigade now commanded by Gen. Couch. The brigade is composed of the 36th N. Y. (2 years men) 2d R. I. and 7th and 10th Mass.
Aug. 8th. Went on picket last night. John Graham was taken sick on the picket line. There was a good deal of excite- ment; guns were fired in all directions, but I guess there was no one hurt though there were some pretty badly scared.
Aug. 9th. Moved camp today. We have a splendid place now if they will only let us stay. We call the place Camp Brightwood.
Aug. 10th. Wrote to father today. He is in camp at Wor- cester in Co. C 21st regiment Mass. Vols.
Aug. 12th. Alonzo Tyrell has got his discharge and gone
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SKETCHES OF SPENCER HISTORY
home. "Joy go with him." He ain't worth a row of pins as a soldier.
Aug. 13th.
Aleck Webber has got his discharge. The
The Cannon Fever .*
cannon fever attacked him very hard so he thought if he should eat Lucifer matches it might help him. Well, it did, to the phthisic and a discharge. I hope he feels better now. He was going to bring Jeff Davis' head home on his bayonet ; or at least that was his talk before he left Spencer.
"Great cry and little wool."
Wrote a letter to mother and practiced target shooting a little while until we were driven in by the rain.
Aug. 26th. Luther Hill arrived in camp tonight. He brought us parcels from home. He also brought each one of the Spencer boys ten dollars in gold.
Aug. 27th. Went on picket today. We have some gay times on picket now ; green corn and peaches are just in their prime and we do more foraging than we do guarding I guess, but I don't care. They are most all Secesh at heart even if they do pretend to be Union. Some of them don't even do that.
Aug. 28th. Mason, Collier, Chamberlain, Conway and my- self took supper with one of the natives. We had biscuit and butter and coffee. We paid her 15 cents apiece ; not a very extensive supper, but it was a change from camp living and I presume it was the best they could do. Poor whites are poor enough in all conscience. We did not get in from picket until about 10 P. M.
Aug. 30. Wrote to mother today. Tom Carney and Oscar Bemis are both sick in the hospital. Carney has the typhoid fever. I don't think anything serious ails Bemis.
Sept. 15th. Received a letter from mother. We have to drill pretty steady now but we get a little leisure time once in a
Peaches for a Change.
while. Time enough to get a few peaches and such like. . We manage to have some pretty good times in camp.
Sept. 25th. Wrote a letter to mother. Tom Mccluskey
deserted while on picket. He was a good soldier when he was Tom, but when he was whiskey that was another story. He had some trouble with Lieut Johnson and during the night he went to the house near the picket post to get some water but did not come back. The next morning a nigger brought his gun and
*Sick with cannon fever was a name applied to soldiers whose fighting courage seemed to be well nigh exhausted.
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DIARY OF THEODORE SARGENT
equipments in to the post. They sent out scouts for him but did not hear anything of him.
Sept. 29th. Marching orders. Everything in a hubbub. McClellan has taken Munson's Hills.
Everybody excited. Sept. 30th. Marched as far as Fort Slocum. Lay there all day and marched back to camp again for the night. We expect to have to go somewhere tomorrow and may be we shall go to- night. The orders are to be ready to go at a minute's notice.
Oct. 1st. Marching orders are played out for this time. Wrote a letter to mother.
Oscar Bemis has got his discharge. He has lost his voice. The rest of the boys are well except Car- ney. He is in the hospital at Washington.
Oct. 11th. I have been sick for a few days with inflamma- tion of the bowels. Have been in the hospital. I am feeling better now. Wrote a letter to mother.
Oct. 12th. Came out of the hospital today and feeling quite like myself again. Oct. 13th. Lucien Fogg was on guard last night at Fort
Massachusetts. The brigade officer came around to try Lucien to see if he understood his duty; he gave the wrong countersign and fired his pistol pretty closely to Lucien, when the latter returned the compliment by firing his musket at the officer's head. The bullet took a strap off his shoulder. It ought to have taken his head off. The officer was the Lieut. Col. of the 36th N. Y. Regt. and he thought it was some of his own men on guard and they did not have their guns loaded.
Oct. 14th. Wrote mother today. The boys are spending their spare time now playing ball and going up to Old Groves's. He keeps a kind of a tavern about a mile from our camp. Oct. 17th. We received a visit today from Gov. Andrew of Mass. and the Post Master General, Montgomery Blair. They expressed themselves very highly pleased with the appearance of the men.
Oct. 20th. Wrote mother today. Tom Carney is dead. He died in the hospital at Washington of a fever. Oct. 25th. Marched down to Columbia college, about four miles, and had a brigade drill.
Oct. 26th. Had a skirmish drill all round the neighborhood this forenoon ; wrote to mother, Charles and the girls. Henry Lyon has got his discharge and gone home to-day.
Nov. 16th. Received a box from home with boots, blankets, vest, gloves and goodies. The boys are all happy to-night. All have got something from home and those who have no near friends in Spencer are not forgotten, thanks to the generosity of the citi- zens.
Nov. 19th. Went down to Columbia College and were re- viewed by Gov. Andrew of Mass.
3
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SKETCHES OF SPENCER HISTORY.
Thanksgiving Celebrated in Camp.
Nov. 21st. Thanksgiving day. Beefsteak for our break- fast, cooked in camp ; for dinner we had roast beef cooked in the kitchen of Frank P. Blair ; for supper we had a roast pig, roast turkeys, cakes, pies, etc . sent us from Westfield.
Nov. 25th. Got a pass and went over to Annapolis to see father. I got there about night and found the boys well. Father and Alden Howes are doing the cooking for the company.
Nov. 26th. Went over and saw the 25th. Mass. Regt. Saw Joshua Prouty, Merrick Prouty and Ed. Townsend. They were in good health and appeared to be enjoying themselves very well. Went back to Camp Brightwood.
THOMAS HEFFRON
of Spencer, enlisted in Co. A. 154th New York Vol. at Randolph, Aug. 5, 1862. Killed in battle at Pine Knob, Georgia, June 15, 1864.
Nov. 28th. The weather is getting wet, cold and muddy. Dec. 2d. Brigade drill for today and guard duty tonight. John Hastings has got his discharge and is going home in a day or two.
Dec. 13th. Commenced work on our barracks today. We are going to have good board houses.
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DIARY OF THEODORE SARGENT
Dec. 15th. Two privates in the 36th N. Y. Regt. fought a duel today. One of them was shot in the right side, the ball passing through the lung. He was also hit in the arm with a buckshot. The other man was not hurt.
Dec. 16th. The man who was hurt in the duel yesterday died today. The other man is in close confinement. Dec. 17th.
Joe Wedge cut his foot very severely today in the woods while cutting timber for our barracks.
Dec. 18th. Was vaccinated today.
Dec. 26th. John Hastings has gone home. We had a visit from "California" Adams. He is brother to the famous bear hunter of the west called "Grizzly" Adams ; also a brother of Francis D. Adams of Spencer.
Dec. 27th. Our barracks fell down today when we had got them nearly done. There were a good many of the boys bruised, but no one seriously hurt.
Dec. 28th. Albert Snow of Westfield is dead and we sent his body home to-day.
Dec. 29th. Our barracks are all done.
1136355
Spencer Young Men Visit the Camp.
Jan. 9th. Joel S. Bullard, Joseph F. Ward and Rufus A. Sibley have come out to make us a visit. They have chosen a poor time as it rains most every day and is dreadfully muddy. Bony is in the hospital sick with a slow fever. The Captain's wife is visiting him. She is going to get up a dinner for us today.
Jan. 23rd. The boys from Spencer who have been visiting us start for home to-day. Mud is horrid deep.
Feb. 10th. Good news from Tenn. Com. Foote has taken Fort Henry. Gen. Stone has been sent to Fort Lafayette under arrest. It is thought that there was a little treachery at the Ball's Bluff fight last Oct. and that he was concerned in it.
Feb. 16th. Wrote to mother. Have heard that Gen. Burn- side has taken Roanoke Island. Have also heard good news from Ky. and Tenn. We had new over and under coats issued to us. Feb. 18th. Heard of the death of father. He was killed in the action of the 8th ult. at Roanoke Island. He was a member of Co. C 21st Mass. Father and George Henry were the only ones from Spencer that were killed.
Feb. 26th. I got a pass today to go outside in company with John Worthington, John Beaumont, Henry Jones, and Amasa Bullard. We went first to brigade headquarters but did not stop long as Joe Pierce, the one we wanted to see, was down in the city. We then went over to the 2d R. I. Regt.
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SKETCHES OF SPENCER HISTORY.
As they were preparing to go on knapsack batallion drill I saw some of the boys fill up air pillows and put into their knap- sacks instead of blankets and clothing. In that way they got the bulk without the weight. Let a Rhode Island Yankee alone for a trick of that kind. We next went to Fort Totten. It is situated on the top of a very high hill. It is garrisoned by the 76th N. Y. Regt., and has a number of heavy guns. There are rifle pits all round the side of the hill and abattis all around them. It would be a hard place to take by assault. As we were now but a short distance from the "Soldiers' Home " we thought we would pay that a visit. We did not enter the grounds as it was getting along towards night. The building is a very handsome brick house painted white, a cupola and signal station on top. The grounds are laid out with taste and are very beautiful. They are kept neat and clean. There are nice groves of evergreens around the house. It is intended as a home for aged and disabled soldiers who prefer a home here to a pension and bounty. Presi- dent Lincoln made it his home here during the warm weather There is also an extensive graveyard where soldiers who die in the camps and army hospitals this side of the river are buried. On the way home we stopped at one of the Pennsylvania batteries. Their guns are the same that formed Major Kingold's famous battery in the Mexican war. We returned to camp in season for dress parade, very well pleased with our day of recreation. Henry Slayton and a fellow by the name of Doane came to our camp to- day. Their home is in East Brookfield. They belong to the 15th regiment and were taken prisoners last October at Ball's Bluff. They have been in Richmond ever since and have just been paroled. The report in camp tonight is that Nashville is taken and that Gen. Beaureguard is taken prisoner. The last part of it sounds fishy.
March 10th. Broke camp this morning and started for Manassas. We crossed the Potomac at Chain Bridge at 110011, reaching Prospect Hill about six p. in. Prospect Hill was the country seat of the later Com. Jones of the U. S. Navy. When he died he left the place to his two sons and as they are both in the rebel army the Government took possession of it. It is a very large place; took 500 slaves to carry it on. It looks like war a little now. We have each 100 rounds of cartridges; every man with an extra pair of shoes.
March 14th. The rebels were so unmannerly that they would not wait for McClellan to come up and whip them, but fell back to Richmond. We waited at Prospect Hill until today when we marched back as far as the bridge. It is raining like fun.
March 15th. Rained all day as hard as it could pour. Had
R
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DIARY OF THEODORE SARGENT
orders just at dark to be ready to march at a moment's notice.
March 16. We started last night at seven o'clock for our old camp at Brightwood, distant about twenty miles by the way of
Wearisome Marching.
Georgetown, raining like fun and the mud from eight inches to three feet deep; every man for himself; any way to get to Bright- wood. It was terribly hard marching, but we managed to get into camp towards morning, tired, wet and hungry. Lieut. Chase of Co. K gave us a good drink of whiskey to warm us up. Some of the men did not get into camp for a day or two.
March 23rd. Received a letter from mother today. George Holden is here visiting the boys.
March 25th. Broke camp and marched down to Columbia College waiting for a chance to embark, but had to march back again.
March 26th. Marched down to Washington and embarked on board the steamer "Ariel"' bound for Fortress Munroe. We have bidden goodbye now to old Camp Brightwood. We set our barracks on fire this morning, where we have had some jolly good times. There were one or two of our boys got acquainted with some woodchoppers who had a hut in the woods and after dark they used to run guard and get whiskey. They had to cross a large brook on an old log. One night two of the boys fell off into the brook. They came near getting drowned, but they hung to their whiskey and got into camp all right but a little damp. Old Mrs. Johnson, a nigger woman, used to bring canteens of whiskey into camp under her petticoats. Nearly every company had two or three negroes. They used to run away from their masters and come into camp, and when their owners came after them we would hide them, and sometimes when Old Nolan used to come after his he would get stoned off. Things got so hot after a while that the Col. gave orders to give up all the slaves in camp and not receive any more, but we could not see the point. We let some of them go. The rest of them we were bound we would not let go and we did not. Nolan, who owned most of them, did not get any of his. He talked pretty saucy to some of the boys and as they were not in the habit of being talked to in that way they thought they would give him a lesson that would cause him to remember the 10th Mass. So after the roll call at night about 200 of the regiment guided by "George" one of his slaves paid him a visit. They took him and after threaten- ing to hang him and shoot him and otherwise pretty thoroughly frightening him, they made an old nigger woman get down on all
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SKETCHES OF SPENCER HISTORY.
New Way of Taking the Oath.
fours; then they took a Bible and put it on that part of her that was the most prominent and made Nolan get down on his knees, take the oath of allegience and kiss the Bible. They then took all his geese, turkeys and chickens and let him go, telling him that if he was ever caught in the camp of the 10th regiment he would get served worse. He never was seen again in the camp so we concluded he thought discretion the better part of valor. He was a
... .
LEROY HAWES Co. E. 34 Mass. Vol. Born at New Braintree, Sept. 24. 1839. Died on hospital transport Apr. 3, 1865.
rank rebel, and was afterwards a captain in the rebel army. What exasperated the boys was that when he came into camp after his slaves he used very obscene language and even went so far as to draw a revolver and threaten some of the boys, but he soon found several rifles very near him and he thought he had better go home, which he did, closely followed by stones thrown by the boys.
There were a number of houses in the vicinity of the camp where we used to go and pass away some of our spare time. We were encamped on the land of Frank P. Blair. We used to visit him; we were always well received, as we were also at his
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DIARY OF THEODORE SARGENT
brother's, Montgomery Blair. We have been in camp here about seven months and they have been very pleasant ones. We expect that the next seven months will show a different state of things and I think that it ought to. There are over 200,000 men who have lain idle here all winter but there is a prospect now of work and although not over and above anxious to fight, I want to see this war ended and the boys think now it will be soon. We are now on board the "Ariel" bound down to Fortress Munroe. We shall probably sail in the morning.
March 27th. Left the wharf and steamed down the river; stopped at Alexandria and took two schooners loaded with cav- alry in tow. We passed Mount Vernon and Fort Washington and lower down the river passed the rebel batteries, or rather where they had been last July when we landed at Washington, for they evacuated them in a hurry last winter with some gunboat shells close by them. Sickle's brigade was lying on the opposite shore of the river. The next place of interest was "Aquia Creek." The rebels were evacuating. They had set fire to the wharf and storehouses the night before. It is a most beautiful day and we have enjoyed our ride down the Potomac very much indeed.
March 28th. We passed Cape Charles and Cape Henry about ten o'clock this morning. Shortly after the shipping in Hampton Roards appeared in view and the walls of Fortress Munroe were seen looking grimly around the harbor. We came to anchor about noon opposite the fort. There are a large num-
That Wonderful Little Monitor.
ber of transports here loaded with troops and a number of ships of war, and among the rest was the little "Monitor." At night we moved up to Hampton City and made fast to the wharf and stayed aboard the boat for the night.
March 29th. Came ashore this morning. A dismal looking place, not a house left standing, nothing but blackened ruins. The place was burned by order of the rebel General Magruder when the rebels were shelled out of the town last summer. This makes three times that the place has been burnt ; the first time by the Indians, and the next time by the English in 1812. It was one of the first places settled. Here stood the oldest church in the United States. It was saved at the two first conflagra- tions, but it was burnt this last time.
March 30th. We are now about four miles from Hampton on the Yorktown road. Yorktown is probably our destination. The rebels have got a line of fortifications extending from York- town on the York river across the peninsular to the James river.
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SKETCHES OF SPENCER HISTORY.
We hear there are but 15,000 rebs there now, but more are oIr the way from Richmond.
April 4th. We marched about twelve miles today towards Yorktown. About noon we passed Young's mills. There was a rebel fort there and about 300 men in it, but they did not stop to give us any trouble. We took an orderly Sergt. and a Lieut. Col. prisoners.
April 5th. We marched about six miles today and here we are at Warwick Court House, the county seat of Warwick County. There is an old court house, jail and tavern and one or two old dilapidated houses. It is a forsaken looking place.
April 11th. Went on picket today. We are having a gay time, pleasant weather and no rebels near and good officers with u.s.
April 13th. Came in from picket this morning. We had preaching by the chaplain in the woods today. Wrote to mother and the girls.
April 16th. Was ordered to fall into work on the road but the order was countermanded and we went back to camp. We had hardly got there, however, when we were ordered to fall in again with guns, equipments and day rations. We hear fir- ing up to the front. I guess there is going to be a little fun. We have lain in the woods all day supporting Mott's battery and are detailed for picket tonight.
April 17th. We had quite a job to get on picket last night. We had to go about two miles and then it took until after eleven o'clock before we got posted. At one time we had to cross a road in full view of a rebel fort and they sent us a compliment in the shape of two ten pound shells, but they shot over our heads and did not hurt us any, but it frightened us a little as we were not
Whistling of Shells.
used to the sound of shells whistling over our heads. We got posted at last and as we were so near them we kept pretty quiet. At half past three this morning they were up and formed a line. We could see them very plainly after it got to be daylight. The pickets exchanged a few shots but there was no one hurt on our side. We were relieved about eight o'clock this morning and went back and laid in the woods with the rest of the regiment.
April 18th. We were called up twice last night ; once at half past twelve and again at half past two. The pickets were having it hot and tight, trying to see which could shoot the fastest ; that. was about all that it amounted to I guess as I have not heard of anybody being hurt.
April 19th. Laid in camp and rested all day.
April 20th, Sunday. Last night we were up pretty much all night. We were called up at eleven o'clock and had to stand
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DIARY OF THEODORE SARGENT
in line of battle all night. The pickets were firing on each other all night and to make it more pleasant it rained, a cold northeast stormn. We were somewhat mad to have to stand there in the rain but we could smoke, that was one comfort. The firing ceased about daylight and we then went back to camp and got our breakfast ; then we had to go to the extreme front and work on a fort. We were just 550 yards from a rebel fort and in plain sight of them, or would have been if they had dared to have looked but Ber- dan's sharpshooters were scattered around behind casks, trees and everything that would hide them, and if a rebel showed his head he was pretty sure to get a ball through it. We worked until four p. m. ; then we came back to the regiment and moved our camp a little way.
April 21st. Rained all day and we have laid and slept all day. At night we had orders to be ready to march at a mo- ment's notice. The Captain called on us to lay in line and told us to get all the sleep we could as we would be wanted at twelve o'clock:
April 22nd. We were not called up last night but today we had an alarmı but it was a false one. We went out and deployed or skirmished to see if the enemy had advanced any but we found their pickets in their usual places so we did not disturb them. We then took the back track and left the Johnnys to the care of the 2nd corps.
May 4th. The rebels evacuated Yorktown last night and we started after them today. They left a large amount of stores and a good many heavy guns. They buried torpedoes in the road and around the doors of the magazines. One of them was ex- ploded by a caisson driving over it and it killed two or three
Rebs Do the Dangerous Work.
men. We found some prisoners in the town and the General made them remove all the stuff from the magazines and store- houses so if there was anybody hurt it would be rebs. We only marched about six miles today and stopped for the night at a place called Lebanon Church. We slept in a cornfield.
May 5th. It began to rain last night about twelve o'clock and it has rained all day too. We followed on in the rear of the rebels about six or seven miles when they made a stand at Wil- liamsburg. Gen. Hooker and Gen Kearney were having a hard fight and Gen. Hooker was taking them on their left flank and he wanted some reinforcements as he was getting pretty sorely pressed and our regiment was sent up to support him, but the road was so muddy and the distance so far that we did not get there until it was too late to be of any service, but luckily we
42
SKETCHES OF SPENCER HISTORY.
were not needed as Hancock had succeeded in doubling up their left flank. It was now dark and the fighting was all done. The rebels had retreated, and our company was put on picket. Still raining-always our luck.
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