USA > Massachusetts > History of the Fifth Massachusetts Battery : organized October 3, 1861, mustered out June 12, 1865, v.2 > Part 28
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Shackley, June 7th :- "Moved at sunrise and halted near Despatch Station. The enemy shelled us slowly all day till near midnight, but no great damage was done."
LETTER OF CAPTAIN PHILLIPS.
"ON THE CHICKAHOMINY NEAR SUMNER'S LOWER BRIDGE, June 8, 1864.
. . . Yesterday Griffin's and Cutler's Divisions marched at 33 a. m. for this place. General Bartlett's Brigade put pickets on the Chickahominy at Summer's Lower Bridge. after a little skirmishing, and one of Cutler's Brigades gained possession of one end of the R. R. bridge. While doing it the Rebs fired at them from a 5 inch rifled gun. mounted on an iron clad R. R. car. I saw one of the shells at General Griffin's Hd. Qrs., which weighed empty 573 pounds. We then went quietly into camp, and are now holding the banks of the Chickahominy. We occupy the ground occupied by the ad Corps before the battle of Fair Oaks, and General Griffin's Hd. Qrs .- close by us,-are in a house occupied by General Sumner 2 years ago. The rebels have some guns across the river, and occupy their leisure moments in shelling ns. However, as they cannot see us, their shells are rather a harmless kind of fireworks. We are very pleasantly placed now that we are attached to Griffin's Division. Griffin is a good general, and has one of the best Divisions in the Army; acknowledged to be by all odds the best Division in this Corps. General Griffin under-
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stands artillery, and I suppose selected the batteries to be assigned to him. Our Battery is very well liked in the Division, and all the officers I have scen seem well pleased at having us with them. I am now Division Chief of Artil- lery and command 3 batteries. I have had a captain as- signed to duty on my staff. I would be very willing to yield my position if Captain Martin would come back with a double-breasted coat and take it, as I hope he will.
June 9. 1864. P. S. I am sorry to have to add a list of killed and wounded after I finished yesterday June 8. Killed Charles P. Carling, Win. J. Sheergold. Wounded, Henry D. Crapo leg. will lose his leg, perhaps, and life, --- David McVey right side severely. Edward F. Smith neck and che-t severely, but not dangerously. The three last are from New Bedford. P. Emerson slightly.
P. S. Henry D. Crapo died on reaching the hospital."
From Phillips' Diary: "June 8. 1864. Carling and Sheergold were buried just across the road. June 9. Buried Crapo with the other two men."
Notes of Corporal Shackley: "June 8, 18644. While quietly eating our supper the Rebs run a car on the railroad out towards White House Landing, with a piece of artillery on the car, and without coming in sight of us fired three shells, one of which fell short of ns. the third passed beyond us, but the second fell right in our midst. ( Dyer says it was a ten pound Parrott shell) and exploded, killing Charles P. Carling. Wm. J. Sheergold. fatally wounding Henry D. Crapo, and seriously wounding. E. F. Smith, David McVey. Mortier Gale, Paesiello Emerson. The three dead were enclosed in boxes and buried under a large oak tree. Their names were placed over their graves, and all enclosed with a simple fence. Rev. Mr. Sage of the 4th Michigan Infan- try performed the funeral service."
In Q. M. Serg't. Peacock's Account Book is the following entry :--- "June 8, 1864. Make certificate for 41 havresacks
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unserviceable, and 33 canteens abandoned. 3 shelter ten;s destroyed by bursting of shell. John G. Hiller."
June roth received to new horses. Remained in camp all day. Grained horses twice during the day. The 4th Division Fifth Corps moved down on the left. Some shelling towards night. A hot day.
June II, 1864. Aroused at 5 o'clock. Fed, watered, grained. Laid out the camp in order and pitched the tents in line. String beans for dinner. The Fifth Corps moved by the left flank. Several deserters passed by from the rebel army. No picket firing between the Ist Division and rebel pickets. Dyer slept ou a bed of magnolias. At dark of June 12th the Division moved to Petersburg in the fol- lowing order :- 2d Brigade, Ist Brigade, Battery D, Ist N. Y. Art'y; Battery B, 4th U. S. Art'y; Battery E, Mass. Art'y, 3d Brigade.
· Marched until 2 a. m. of the 13th and halted till sunrise. Crossed the Chickahominy on two bridges, one of four boats and one of two boats, and moved forward about three miles. Went into park in the rear of White Oak Swamp Bridge where there was cavalry fighting to retain posses. sion of the road. Later, about dark, came in sight of the James River with its gunboats and transports. June 4th. 1864. Marched at 5 a. m. for Charles City C. H., and arrived there about 7 o'clock. Halted till noon, and then marched up the road two miles. Marched past Grant's and Meade's Head Quarters. Reached Wilcox's Landing at 3 p. in., and went into position. The left of the Ist Division rested on the James River. the right on the road.
Phillips in his Diary of June 14th says :- "Placed Blake on the road. Stewart a little to the left." Were placed in position to guard the crossing of the James for the rest of the Army.
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1. First position of the 5th Mass. Battery June 17th. 2. Headquarters of General Warren. 3. Low ground. 4. High Ground. 5. Place where the 5th Mass Battery camped from June 24th th July 30th. 6. The place where the enemy's fortifications were destroyed by the mine of July 30%
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CHAPTER XXIV.
THE BATTLE OF PETERSBURG.
JUNE 18, 1864. "Over the camp-fires Drank I with heroes. Up to the star-roof Rang out their song." -Bollads, CHARLES KINGSLEY,
"It is the signal that demands dispatch." -- YOUNG, On the Value of Time to a Man. At Petersburg the enemy's lines consisted of redans occu- pying commanding positions, with rifle pits connecting them, and ditches in front of them. To the east side from the Appomattox the intrenched lines extended a mile, to the City Point railroad; another line south three miles to a point a mile west of the Weldon railroad, and from the Norfolk railroad west to the Jerusalem Plank Road, a mile and a half. The country surrounding the city was uneven, and extremely difficult ground for assaulting columns.
At 9 o'clock in the evening of June 15th General W. F. Smith with the Eighteenth Corps, had captured five of the enemy's redans, and the morning of the 16th Hancock with the Second Corps captured one. In the afternoon he took possession of one more, to their right, and two to their left ; all having guns in then.
On the 17th of June. 1864, the remainder of the Army of the Potomac had crossed the James River, and advanced upon Petersburg; the Fifth Corps on the left of the Nintli Corps.
Some of the intrenchments defending the enemy's interior
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lines, which had been captured by our forces, had been retaken by a charge from the Confederates. when an order was issued by General Meade, for an assault at 4 a. m. of the ISth by the Second, Fifth, and Ninth Corps. Brigadier General Lysander Cutler, with the 4th Division of the Fifth Corps, was sent to the extreme left, with orders to intrench. The 3d Division under General Crawford, formed in line of battle on the left of the Ninth Corps, while the remainder of the Corps was held in reserve. General Butler, at Ber- muda Hundred, was reinforced from the Sixth Corps and troops from the same corps were sent to the Eighteenth.
On the morning of the 18th it was found that the Con- federates had fallen back to a line of intrenchments, still nearer Petersburg, scarcely a mile from the city. General . D. B. Birney with the Second Corps was only 300 yards from this new line. The Ninth Corps, while covering the distance of a mile which they had to go, met a force of the enemy at a ravine near a cut on the Norfolk Railroad, over which the enemy had control by holding the northern end. The Fifth Corps also advanced over a greater distance broken by deep ravines, and the saine cut in the railroad. The assault was postponed to 12 o'clock noon, in consideration of these obstructions to a swift advancement, and the order was carried out by General Birney with one Division of the Second Corps which was nearest to the enemy, and which was repulsed, with great loss.
Then the order was given for all the corps to assault. and the Second Corps was again driven back, but the Ninth Corps drove the enemy out of the railroad cut, and began intrenchments within a hundred yards of the enemy's main line.
The Fifth Corps, exposed to a raking fire from the enemy. passed over every obstacle in the way, and approached : Within 20 feet of the enemy's works which had only hell a
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few troops until their commander Beauregard had been re- inforced by Lee's Army.
The men of ours who were in advance, were the Ist and 2d Brigades of the ist Division, and Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain, then in command of the ist Brigade, fell, desperately wounded, and was promoted by General Grant on the field.
General Grant in his reference to this in his Memoirs, says :--
"He had several times been recommended for a brigadier-generalcy for gallant and meritorious conduct. On this occasion, however, I pro- moted him on the spot, and forwarded a copy of my order to the War Department asking that my act might be confirmed and Chamberlain's name sent to the Senate for confirmation without delay."
General Cutler with the 4th Division of the Fifth Corps secured a redoubt which the enemy had abandoned, and brought his left up into line with the other corps.
The result of the three days' operations was the capture of two lines of intrenchments, four guns, four colors, and about 500 prisoners.
LIEUT. GEN'L GRANT TO MAJ. GEN'L MEADE.
CITY POINT, VA. June 18, 1864. IO p. in.
MAJOR GENERAL MEADE:
I am perfectly satisfied that all has been done that could be done. and that the assaults today were called for by all the appearances and information that could be obtained. Now we will rest the men, and use the spade for their protection until a new vein can be struck. .. .
U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant General.
It was thus determined to settle down for a siege of Petersburg in the same manner as the investiture of York- town was carried on, with long lines of breastworks, mortar batteries, redoubts and field works of every kind, the bomb- proof, the covered way, the countermine and a mine the
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story of the explosion of which has been, like a famous shot, "heard round the world."
The engineers called it the "Investment of Petersburg" as it was not strictly speaking a siege any more than the invest- ment of Yorktown was a siege, but General Grant, while carefully explaining the distinction, invests the movement with the title by courtesy, and constantly refers to it as the "Siege of Petersburg."
When the siege commenced the Ninth Corps was placed upon the right, the Fifth next, the Second next, and then the Sixth Corps.
In order to completely encircle Petersburg it was neces- sary that the Weldon and the Lynchburg railroads should be controlled by the Union forces. The Sixth Corps was ordered to perform that duty, and the Second and Fifth Corps being in line, the left of the Second Corps was ex- peeted to swing around and connect with the Sixth Corps, but delay was caused by a change of orders, and the rebels taking advantage of the space between, prevented the com- pletion of the cireuit and frustrated the attempt of the Sixth Corps to take possession of the Weldon railroad. So the Sixth Corps intrenched themselves facing the railroad and watched it; the corps piekets being stationed on the railroad itself.
In the direct front of Petersburg were pressed the Fifth and Ninth Corps clear up to the Confederate works. The and there was the Fifth Corps again reorganized. It was still to be commanded by General G. K. Warren and the Ist Division was still to be commanded by General Charles Griffin, but there were important changes in the Divisions. and several additions were made to the Artillery Brigade with Colonel Charles S. Wainwright still in command. It consisted of 13 batteries. all light: 2 regular, and the re- mainder from New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. The Third Mass. Battery was commanded by Lieut. Aaron
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F. Walcott, the Fifth Mass. Battery by Lieut. J. E. Spear, the Ninth Mass. Battery by Captain Jolin Bigelow.
The Fourth of July, 1864, was celebrated by the playing of the bands and the firing of salutes. At night the first ground was broken by the pioneers of the ist Brigade for the work afterwards known as Fort Sedgwick and called by the men "Fort Hell" on account of the continual burst- ing of the enemy's shells within the enclosure. It was built under the supervision of an engineer officer; the execution of the work being under a field officer detailed daily for this purpose. The working parties consisted of three hundred or four hundred men who practically completed it in about three weeks. It consisted of a large redan, a portion of fortification included in a single salient angle, with another smaller redan at its right, connected by curtains with front and flanking ditches: the larger had eighteen enibrasures, the smaller four. It was connected with the rear by a zig- zag covered way, and had bombproofs and traverses, --- masses of carth thrown up at short distances to screen the troops from shot and shells fired in ricochet .- to complete the work.
Orders were given on the 9th of July to the Fifth and Ninth Corps. to conduct regular siege operations under di- rection of the chief of engineers and the chief of artillery for the Army. The Rebel and Union lines were here but about 100 yards apart. the pickets but fifty yards, but our men walked behind the breastworks in perfect safety.
On the night of July 13th the number of batteries of light artillery was increased on the line near the Jerusalem Plank Road, to which the Fifth Mass. Battery marched on the 21st of June. The lines of the Second and Sixth Corps had been destroyed, and our lines made shorter. The siege of Petersburg was actively begun. Working parties of the Fifth Corps were building two strong redoubts, defensible
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on all sides, on the line running south on the Jerusalem Plank Road. One of these was the aforementioned Fort Sedgwick, the other Fort Davis. They were about a half- mile apart. The batteries furnished many working parties. As time passed many covered ways were construeted for the use of our trains, six feet deep, 12 feet wide with a barricade of logs four feet high and four feet thick. From our fort : we could see the effect in the city of the bombs thrown by our mortars and hear the ringing of the fire alarm bells.
THE MINE.
The design of undermining a confederate fort known as "Elliott's Salient" in front of the Ninth Corps, originated with a lieutenant colonel of a regiment composed of miners. the 48th Pennsylvania, of the name of Henry Pleasants. He was encouraged to undertake it, and an assault was ordered to follow the explosion of the mine which was set for the 30th of July. It was ready to be charged on the 23rd and several eight and ten ineh siege guns had been placed so as to secure a eross-fire and keep down their flank fire. On the night of the 29th, the day the Fifth Mass. Battery was placed in Battery Number Eight, the troops were at work all night getting ready for the bombardment. Gen- eral Warren's orders were to concentrate his troops on his right and prepare to support the assault of Burnside and the Ninth Corps. Pioncers and intrenehing tools were t be ready to follow up the advantage gained. The artillery was to be held in readiness to move, with pontoons at hand for crossing the Appomattox River, with good supplies of faseines,-bundles of long twigs,-to make firm footing on marshy ground. The ist Division under command of General J. J. Bartlett, in the absence of General Griffin a: home sick, was to hold the intrenehments in front, and keep up a continuous fire of musketry. The gallery to the mine was over 500 feet long, with a eross gallery of over So feet.
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There were S chambers, requiring a tun of powder each to charge them.
The mine was to explode at break of day, but the fuze was wet by water from the bed of a small creek, unde" which the gallery was built, and it did not go off till it was broad daylight.
The explosion was eminently successful, throwing every- thing within reach of the blast high into the air, and open- ing a space in the ground about 150 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 25 feet deep. Following the explosion Ito cannon and 50 mortars went off at the right and left of the position which the infantry were to cross. The surprise was mostly on the Confederate side but the effect of the shot was shared by the attacking party, for the assault did not take place as ordered, nor was the crest of the hill commanding the city of Petersburg seized, but some rifle pits were taken by our troops before the enemy got his guns planted in a posi- tion to rake the ground over which our men had to pass. They were afterwards retaken notwithstanding the heavy fire of our batteries, for after our first attacking party our infantry refused to advance. For various reasons relating to the orders given and to the difficulty of carrying them out, time enough was lost to enable the Confederates to train their guns on the pit, which made an advance impos- sible. The moment for successful action was that imme- diately following the blast and with the loss of that moment the entire plan failed.
AS RELATED BY MEMBERS OF THE BATTERY
LETTER OF CAPTAIN PHILLIPS. "CAMP ON THE JAMES RIVER, 2 MILES ABOVE CHARLES CITY C. H. June 15, 1864.
Our Battery is on the road from C. C. C. H. to
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Har. Ldg. Part of the Army is over the river, and I sup- pose the whole will cross. General Meade's Hd. Ors. are between us and the Court House. As we passed themi yesterday I counted 33 tents in the front row, which does not look as if our generals were reducing their baggage to the famous tooth-brush we hear so much of in the Vicksburg campaign. . . . I hear indirectly that Lieut. Appleton's wounds are turning out worse than was expected.
Rifle pits are dug all along our front, and I do not think there is much chance of the rebels coming down here to attack us. Grant has an interesting way of putting the bag- gage wagons about 20 miles in the rear and keeping them there. I have seen my valise once since the 6th of May."
Dyer's Notes: "June 15, 1864, we were still in position. The team went to Harrison's Landing after forage. Several gunboats passed up and down the river. General Ewell's Corps made great preparations to receive us at Malvern Hill, but was mistaken in our destination. A splendid day. June 16th. Aroused at IJ o'clock. Broke camp at 23. Marched down the bank of the river 6 miles, crossed it, and went in park 6 miles beyond. At 9 a. m. left camp, marched till 9 p. m., and went in park for one hour. Got supper, then marched to near Petersburg, and went into camp at 10 p. m. Found the 9th and 2d and ISth Corps en- gaged with the enemy."
Shackley's Notes: "June 16, 1864. Moved at daylight, crossed the James River at Powhattan Point, over a pon. toon bridge (made of 101 pontoons) and marched towards Petersburg, coming near that place a little past midnight." They crossed with the Fifth Corps, and landed on the Point opposite Fort Powhattan, not far below Windmill Point. Roads very dusty. Serg't. Peacock's account book has the entry June 16th: "I caisson stock broken by turn
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over the carriage. Ordnance lost in Battle; spurs, straps, and belts."
"On the 17th ( Dyer ) turned out at 53 o'clock. The men ied and watered the horses, and then went to sleep again. In the afternoon and evening heavy firing was heard in our front and on our left, which we afterwards learned was the Ninth Corps taking the rebel pits. As we turned in, orders came to be ready to move at a moment's notice. it was presumed to assault the works. A hot day. At night the rebels abandoned their lines, and fell back about a mile. The Second Corps had captured 17 pieces of artil- lery."
THE ASSAULT.
June 18, 1864, at daylight Griffin's First Division marched from Windmill Point to the front, and carried the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad. The three light batteries attached to the Division advanced in an open field and si- lenced the rebel guns. Earthworks had been thrown up for the guns at 500 yards from the enemy. Shot and shell were fired. The Battery was under heavy artillery fire all the afternoon.
Private Benjamin S. Kanuse of New Bedford, was killed by a shell, and about 5 o'clock p. m. Lieut. Peleg W. Blake was killed by a rifle shot. Private Alexander N. Atwood of Fairhaven, Joseph L. Knox of Boston, and John G. Hiller of Marblehead, were wounded.
The Report of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts for 1864. has the following in relation to the action of the Battery in this assault :
"Heavily engaged in front of Petersburg. The batteries of Grif- fin's Division as at Bethesda Church. advanced 'by battery,' and engaged the Rebel batteries in their works. We lost quite heavily, our greatest loss being in the death of First Lieutenant Peleg W. Blake, a brave and efficient officer, who was instantly killed by a rifle-shot late in the after- noon."
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Dyer's Notes :-- "June 18, 1864. Hitched up at 5 o'clock. Advanced with the Ist Division about 13 miles, when the Rebs opened upon us. Went in position under a terrible fire. Soon advanced, and within an hour we advanced 3 times. Having gained the Norfolk and Petersburg railroad we established our lines. We lost Lieut. Peleg Blake and Benjamin Kanuse killed. Joseph Knox badly wounded. Alex. Atwood, Henry Fitzsimmons and Atkins slightly wounded."
FROM "THE CANNONEER," BY AUGUSTUS BUELL,
Historian of Battery B, 4th U. S. Lieut. James Stewart commanding, attached to the Ist Division, Fifth Corps :-
"During the night (of June 17th) General Griffin got his batteries up into the Norfolk Railroad cut, which at that point eurved to the north, and ours was disposed so that we could rake the eut for a con- siderable distance. Richardson's took position to our right. and near the Avery house. while Phillips came up on the left. This position was about 600 yards from the enemy's main works at that point. These were new works in a second line, and the outer intrenchments that he had abandoned on the day before. ran along near our position. As far as we could see to the right were long lines of infantry toward the works. The ground was much broken. and as the lines conformed to the ground, it had the appearance of great waves of men.
In our front the infantry had farther to go than those to the right of us, but we were too busy to see much of it.
As both our guns and the Rebel works were on the highest ground, we could easily fire over the heads of our infantry until they got pretty elose up. The Rebel infantry in the works reserved their fire, and only a few guns that they had back of their trenches replied to us slowly ; but we fired very fast, and our practice was the best in our history. Our work here was literally that of an artillery skirmish line. as we first opened the assault, and then covered the retreat of the infantry when repulsed. Nearly every shot grazed their works, and we knocked off a good many of their head logs. But the ammunition was some that we had got out of the barges at Windmill Point and . . . not more than half of our case exploded, though the common shell did better. How- ever. our three batteries soon sileneed the guns the enemy had in his works. The practice of Phillips' Battery .- three inch rifles,-w75 superb on this occasion. Twice in succession he hit their guns phun
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entre, by firing into the embrasures, and the way his percussion shell stade the sand bags fly was a caution. Of course our smoothbores ( !!!! not compete with Phillips's ritles, but we kept our little end up mnchow. As they had made these works hastily, and there was little or to brush in the neighborhood, they were not much abatised ; but the infantry said the ditches were unusually wide and deep. The last shot s . fired could not have cleared Bartlett's men's heads by more than 20 fet. if that, which is pretty risky practice with smoothbore guns. Wc remained silent here for nearly an hour, when the infantry having been repulsed and taken cover in the ravine and the low ground in our front. we commenced a slow cannonade which we kept up till near dark. The infantry meanwhile straightened out the old rebel works, refaced them. and by midnight were securely established in the lines which we held at that point during the whole siege that followed.
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