USA > Massachusetts > History of the Fifty-fourth regiment of Masachusetts volunteer infantry, 1863-1865 > Part 17
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DEAR GENERAL, - In behalf of the enlisted men of the Fifty- fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, I respectfully request you to receive the enclosed sum of money to be added to the sum subscribed by the freedmen of the Department for the
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purpose of erecting a monument to the memory of Col. Robert G. Shaw and those who died with him.
Thanking you for the interest you have always manifested in the cause which is so dear to us, and for the trouble you have taken to do honor to those who so nobly died in its support, I have the honor to be, General, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
E. N. HALLOWELL, Colonel Commanding Regiment.
HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES, DISTRICT OF BEAUFORT, Oct. 17, 1864.
MY DEAR COLONEL, - I have received your letter of the 7th, forwarding $1,545, as a contribution from the enlisted mnen of your regiment to the monument soon to be erected in memory of their former colonel, Robert Gould Shaw, and those who fell with him in the assault on Fort Wagner. Please inform the donors that their generous contribution with that contributed by the freedmen in this Department makes the fund now about $3,000. It is safely invested in Massachusetts interest-bearing bonds. The glorious work which our armies in the field and patriots at home are now doing means that the day is not far distant when a granite shaft shall stand unmolested on South Carolina soil, to mark the spot where brave men died, not, as recent developments have shown, alone as soldiers, but as mar- tyrs in the cause of Freedom. When for a month under my command, your brave regiment guarded so vigilantly and so soldierly six hundred Rebel officers near the spot where their colonel and comrades were massacred, it required but little faith to believe that the scales of justice were turning toward the right, aud that it was time to commence the monument.
I am, Colonel, with great respect, yours sincerely,
R. SAXTON, Brig .- Gen. Volunteers.
To COL. E. N. HALLOWELL.
Commanding Fifty-fourth Muss. Infantry.
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Further sums were subsequently sent by the Fifty-fourth, until, on the last of October, the total contributed by then was $2,832. A much larger amount would have been given had it been proposed to erect the monument else- where than near Fort Wagner. It was then seen that what has since occurred would take place, - the sea was gradually washing away Morris Island at that point. Be- sides, there was no confidence that a monument erected on South Carolina soil would be respected when the Union forces were withdrawn. Ultimately the project was given up and the money used to aid in establishing a free school for colored children in Charleston, bearing Colonel Shaw's name. Efforts were made in the North to erect some memorial to our colonel. One fund at least exists. To this day no object stands in public place to point the lesson of Shaw's life and glorious death. Nevertheless he lives in memory, and his work renders his name immortal.
A large steamer on the night of October 5, in attempting to run into Charleston, struck a wreck and sank, showing only her masts above water when daylight came. On the 8th the weather suddenly grew colder, with lower tempera- ture the next day, when a chilling northwest wind blew. We received forty-seven recruits on the 11th, who had looked forward to joining the regiment of their choice. As our rolls were full, they were transferred to the Fifty- fifth Massachusetts on Folly Island. Our musicians were made happy by the receipt of twelve brass drums. Still another change of post commander occurred on the 19th, when Colonel Hallowell relieved Colonel Van Wyck, who went North temporarily.
General Foster, when informed that the Union officers under fire in Charleston were removed elsewhere, ordered
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the Confederates on Morris Island to be conveyed to Fort Pulaski. Accordingly, on the 21st, Captain Emilio, with a battalion of the Fifty-fourth composed of Companies D, E, G, and K, escorted the prisoners to the landing and turned them over to Col. P. P. Brown and his One Hundred and Fifty-seventh New York. During the time they were in our charge not one had been injured by the artillery firing ; there was no disturbance, no complaint of ill usage or lack of medical attention. None had escaped. Only two cases of shooting by the guard occurred. In one instance two quarrelsome men engaged in a fight, and when warned by a sentinel to desist, failed to do so, were fired upon, and both were slightly wounded. The other case occurred at night, when a light being discovered, a sentinel fired as instructed, wounding an innocent man. In both instances it was a clear disregard of orders, involving a penalty known to the offenders and their comrades. The following official letter was received at headquarters and read as ordered, fitly elosing the record of the duty.
HEADQUARTERS NORTHERN DISTRICT, DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, MORRIS ISLAND, NOV. 2, 1864.
COL. E. N. HALLOWELL, Fifty-fourth Mass. Vols.
COLONEL, - The brigadier-general commanding desires me, in the name of the major-general commanding the Department, to tender you his sincere thanks for the prompt and efficient manner in which you and the officers and men of your command discharged their duties while guarding the Rebel prisoners-of- war. Your close observance of orders and vigilance have at- tracted the attention of the major-general commanding. This letter will be read to your command on dress parade. I have the honor to be, Very respectfully, your obedient servant, THOMAS J. ROBINSON, First Lieutenant Twenty-First U. S. C. T. and A. 1. A. Gen'l.
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Nearly every night about this period escaped prisoners came into our lines at various points about Charleston. Each had a new and thrilling story to tell of trial and peril on the way ; but all united in acknowledging the kind- ness and assistance of their only friends, the negroes. Besides the departure of the One Hundred and Fifty- seventh New York, on the 21st, the Morris Island gar- rison was further reduced by the transfer of the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh New York to Beaufort. This necessitated the detail the next day of Lieutenant Leonard and Company K as provost guard, and Company A joined in that duty shortly after. At a meeting of the officers on the 24th the Rev. James Lynch, a colored man, was elected chaplain of the Fifty-fourth. He was subse- quently commissioned, but not mustered. Sergeant Cezar, of Company D, was appointed acting sergeant-major, and Wm. J. Netson, principal musician.
With a diminished garrison the duties bore heavily on the remaining troops. The Fifty-fourth began furnishing grand-guard details when relieved of the prisoners. It was nearly two miles from the camp to Gregg. Reliefs going beyond Wagner were exposed to the enemy's fire. On this service, after the pickets were established on posts about the works, and along the water-fronts, the reserves were held inside the forts, sheltered in the damp and vermin- infested bombproofs. The officers were generally the guests of the permanent officers in charge, and occupied tents. There were also the ceaseless calls for fatigue de- tails to land ordnance and other stores at the wharf, drag guns to the front, and return disabled pieces to the depot, besides constant work repairing the batteries damaged by the enemy's fire or the elements.
%
1
CAPT. EDWARD L. JONES. CAPT. FRANCIS L. HHIGGINSON.
CAPT. JAMES W. GRACE. CAPT. CHARLES G. CHIPMAN.
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SIECE OF CHARLESTON.
A large sidewheel steamer with smokestacks painted red and lead-color, called the "Flore," was chased ashore on Sullivan's Island during the night of the 22d, and was de- stroyed the next day by our guns. On or about the 29th, Brig .- Gen. Edward E. Potter assumed command of the dis- trict, relieving General Seammon. About this period our fire upon the city was stronger than for some time. No- vember 5, a small vessel was discovered ashore in front of Fort Moultrie. She seemed to be loaded with cotton and turpentine, for our shells soon set her on fire, and she burned until after dark. Colonel Mulford, our commissioner of exchange, had arrived at Hilton Head with 3,200 Con- federate prisoners. Hle met Captain Black, the Confederate agent, on the 11th, in the Savannah River, and arranged for exchanges at that point which took place soon after- ward. With November came colder and more stormy days, rendering it bleak and cheerless on Morris Island, exposed to the chilling winds and damp atmosphere. News of the re-election of President Lincoln was re- ceived with enthusiasm as a guarantee that the war would be vigorously prosecuted. Brigadier-General Hatch relieved General Potter on the 17th of the district command.
Some changes had taken place among the officers since the return from James Island. Lieut. Frederick H. Webster reported for duty July 16, and Asst .- Surg. Louis D. Rad- zinsky, August 16. Captain Jones departed North sick, July 29, and never returned. Lieutenant-Colonel Hooper, Adjutant Howard, Quartermaster Ritchie, and Captains Emilio and Tucker received leave of absence for short periods. Lieutenant Swails was furloughed to prosecute his claims for muster in the North. Captain Bridge was
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in command of the regiment during Lieutenant-Colonel Hooper's absence ; and Lieut. David Reid acted as quarter- master while Lieutenant Ritchie was away.
Thanksgiving Day, November 24, Colonel Hallowell as- sembled the regiment and conducted proper services. Af- terward there were foot and sack races on the beach, " Spanish horse," and various sports. In the evening the Shaw Glee Club gave a musical performance in the store- house of the post quartermaster.
Orders were received on the 24th for the Fifty-fourth to be prepared for moving at short notice. When the depart- ure took place, Colonel Hallowell remained in command of Morris Island with Captain Walton and Lieutenant Duren on his staff. Captain Bridge with Company F at Battery Purviance, Lieutenant Newell with Company B at Fort Green, and Lieutenant Edmands with part of Company F at Black Island remained at their posts. Companies C and I at Black Island were relieved by two companies of the Fifty-second Pennsylvania, under Capt. John B. Fisk, and reported at camp to proceed with the regiment. Lieutenant Littlefield was ordered to remain in charge of the camp and sick on Morris Island. Owing to the scarcity of transportation, the Fifty-fourth departed in detachments. Acting Major Pope, with Companies A, D, I, and K, crossed to Folly Island on the evening of the 26th, made a night march, and arrived at Stono about midnight. At dark the next day this force embarked with the Fifty-sixth New York and General Hatch and staff on the "Cosmopolitan," reaching Hilton Head on the 28th. Lieutenant-Colonel Hooper, with Companies C, E, G, and H, left Morris Island on the steamer "Gen- eral Hooker" on the 27th, arriving at Hilton Head about
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3 A. M. the next day. This departure from Morris Island was the final one for these eight companies and their officers. The companies of the regiment that remained held their several stations until Charleston fell into our hands.
CHAPTER XII.
HONEY HILL.
O UR arrival with other troops at Hilton Head was in consequence of General Foster's orders to co-operate with General Sherman in his " march to the sea," for the latter had telegraphed General Halleck from Kingston, Ga., November 11, -
" I would like to have Foster break the Charleston and Sa- vannah Railroad about Pocotaligo about the 1st of December."
A force of some five thousand men was gathered at Port Royal and organized as the " Coast Division," under com- mand of General Hatch. Gen. E. E. Potter's First Brigade was composed of the Fifty-sixth, One Hundred and Twenty- seventh, One Hundred and Forty-fourth and One Hundred and Fifty-seventh New York, Twenty-fifth Ohio, Thirty- second, Thirty-fourth, and Thirty-fifth United States Colored Troops ; Col. A. S. Hartwell's Second Brigade, of the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Massachusetts, Twenty-sixth and One Hundred and Second United States Colored Troops. Lieut .- Col. William Ames commanded the artil- lery, consisting of Batteries B and F, Third New York, and Battery A, Third Rhode Island. Capt. George P. Hurlbut, Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry, had a detachment of his regiment. Admiral Dahlgren formed a naval brigade of sailors and marines with some howitzers for duty ashore under Commander George II. Preble, and ordered the
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gunboats " Pawnee," " Mingoe," " Pontiac," " Sonoma," " Winona," and " Wissahickon " to take part.
Our regiment started on this expedition in light marching order, with Lieutenant-Colonel Hooper, commanding, Acting Major Pope, Surgeon Briggs, Assistant-Surgeon Radzinsky, Adjutant Howard, Quartermaster Ritchie; Company C, Captain Homans and Lieutenants Bridgham and Spear ; Company E, Lieutenant Chipman, commanding, and Lieu- tenant Cousens; Company G, Licut. David Reid, command- ing, and Lieutenant Webster ; Company H, Captain Tucker and Lieutenant Stevens ; Company A, Lieutenant Knowles ; Company D, Lieutenant Emerson, commanding, and Lieu- tenant Hallett ; Company I, Lieut. Lewis Reed ; Com- pany K, Lieutenant Leonard, commanding, and Lieut. Charles Jewett, - a force of twenty-one officers and 540 men. Captains T. L. Appleton and R. H. L. Jewett were on staff duty with General Hatch.
A large fleet was ready at Port Royal, the decks of the transports crowded with troops; and the pier at Hilton Head was full of stores and men awaiting transportation. During the 28th Captain Pope's companies were trans- ferred to the steamer " Golden Gate," on which was Colonel Hartwell. After Companies C and E under Captain Homans were taken upon the steamer "Fraser," General Hatch made the "General Hooker" his flagship.
Orders were issued that the fleet start before daylight on the 29th at a signal light ; but just as anchors were hauled up, a heavy fog came drifting in, preventing much progress. Owing to a mistake, the naval vessels did not move until 4 A. M., by which hour it was clear overhead, but the fog clung to the water below. However, they crept up Broad River, and at 8 A. M. entered a creek and were
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FIFTY-FOURTH MASSACHUSETTS INFANTRY.
soon at Boyd's, where a dilapidated wharf served as a land- ing; not an army transport was to be seen, for they had either run into the wrong estuary, grounded, or come to anchor in consequence of the thick weather.
As the naval vessels approached, loud " holloas " came from a picket of the Third South Carolina Cavalry through the misty atmosphere ; and their fires were seen burning in front of some huts. Soon uncultivated fields, stock graz- ing, and fine woodland about a plantation house were dis- covered as the fog lifted. From the landing a tortuous wagon-road led to Grahamville, - a village some eight or ten miles distant, near the Charleston and Savannah Railroad. Only a squadron of the Third South Carolina Cavalry and one field-piece were in the vicinity at this time. General Foster had selected this line of advance instead of the fortified roads leading to Coosawhatchie and Pocotaligo.
General Hatch's flagboat, the "Fraser," flying a blue pennant with a single star, on which were Companies G and H, was the first army vessel to arrive. The Fifty-fourth men, headed by Lieutenant-Colonel Hooper, sprang ashore eagerly, and were the first troops to land. A skirmish line was formed, and advanced without opposition, though several of the enemy's cavalrymen were seen along the edge of the stream. Moving about half a mile, the com- panies were then halted and disposed to watch the enemy and resist attack. The Naval Brigade landed and advanced to the first cross-road, pushing a small foree farther to the right, which met a few of the enemy. It then moved to a second cross-road and halted. The Thirty-second United States Colored Troops, one of the first regiments to arrive, was sent to support the blue jackets.
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HONEY HILL.
Our companies on the "Golden Gate" started at the signal ; but about daylight the pilot admitted that he was lost. When the fog lifted and land was seen near by, a boat was sent ashore to obtain information. At last the proper course was ascertained, and the craft made Boyd's Landing, the fourth transport to arrive. Captain Pope landed his men on the rude wharf one at a time, and then joined Lieutenant-Colonel Hooper up the road. Captain Homans's companies on the " Fraser " moved on time, but the steamer grounded. After a while she floated, and this detachment also disembarked at the landing and joined the regiment.
In the afternoon the creek was crowded with craft. General Foster was there at 2 P. M., and General Potter at 3.30. The latter infused new life into affairs. Small boats were employed to put men ashore. General Potter moved out with the larger part of his brigade about 4 P. M. At the cross-road the general and Commander Preble had a consultation. Concluding that the map furnished was incorrect, and that the Naval Brigade was on the wrong road, General Potter moved the whole force back to the Coosawhatchie cross-road. There the Naval Brigade re- mained ; and Potter's troops, continuing on to Bolan's church two miles distant, marched to the left in the di- rection of Savannah, when they should have turned to the right at the church to reach Grahamville. It is said that the guide employed was either ignorant or faithless. Potter continued the march on the wrong road until after midnight, when he retraced his steps, going into bivouac about 2 A. M., on the 30th, at Bolan's church. About this rude structure painted white, the troops rested without fires, the pickets disturbed by occasional shots on the Grahamville road during the night.
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Our failure to seize the railroad on the 29th or very early the next morning was fatal to success, for the enemy took prompt and effective measures to oppose us. Their small cavalry force in the vicinity was collected ; word was sent in every direction of our landing, and that reinforce- ments must arrive the next morning or the positions would be given up. General Hardee could spare no troops from Savannah, but ordered two regiments from Charleston to Grahamville. But fortune favored the enemy by the op- portune arrival at Savannah at 2 A. M., November 30, of Gen. Gustavus W. Smith with a force of Georgia militia brought from Macon by a roundabout way. Governor Brown had refused to allow his State troops to serve else- where than in Georgia ; but General Smith permitted himself to execute the instructions of General Hardee, and the cars holding the Georgians were shunted from the rails of the Gulf to those of the Charleston and Savannah Railroad ; the leading brigade arriving at Grahamville about 8 A. M., on the 30th. With Smith's and the local force it was hoped to protect the railroad until the arrival of other troops later in the day.
Col. C. J. Colcock, the district commander, who was temporarily absent, arrived at Grahamville at 7 A. M. It was arranged that General Smith should advance about two miles to Honey Hill, which was already fortified for defence, and that Colonel Colcock should take some cavalry and one field-piece, and move in advance of that point to support his pickets and contest our advance.
Colonel Hartwell at the landing made his headquarters at Boyd's house, and saw to the disposition of the troops as they arrived. The regiments were bivouacked in the fields ; and the troops, not knowing how moments necessary for success were being lost, were in fine spirits.
Grona
APPROACH TO
HONEY HILL.
James B Gardner 44th Muss
ents when the battle
To Coosawhatchie
RR
Grahamsville
4
2
0
5
Sketch of map supposed tohave bien used by fren Hutch Roads 2 and 4 were probably disused Nood Rouds and could not be journ
BOYD'S LANDING
Broad Kiver
Boy's Landing
Our line o
BOLAN
SCHURCH
++ To Savannah
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HONEY HILL.
Before daybreak on November 30, the regiments of Pot- ter's brigade at the landing moved to join him, followed by Colonel Hartwell, with the Fifty-fifth Massachusetts and the remaining artillery. The Twenty-sixth and One Hun- dred and Second United States Colored Troops had not arrived at that hour. At about 7 A. M. our cavalry be- yond Bolan's church reported the enemy advancing down the Grahamville road. General Hatch moved his column at 7.30 A. M., preceded by the One Hundred and Twenty- seventh New York, skirmishing. For half a mile the road was bounded by dense woods, then a cotton-field, beyond which were thick woods reaching to a creek crossed by a causeway. Across this field our skirmishers at 8.15 A. M. met the enemy's light troops, who retired slowly.
Our advance had crossed the field, when, at 8.30 A.M., the first cannon-shot was heard, coming from the enemy. General Hatch formed line of battle, and Lieut. E. A. Wildt's section, Battery B, Third New York, shelled the Confederates. Then our skirmishers entered the woods, and Col. George W. Baird's Thirty-second United States Colored Troops, moving along the causeway by the flank at the double-quick, through a severe fire which wounded Lieut .- Col. Edward C. Geary and killed or wounded a num- ber of men, cleared the head of the causeway. Before this retirement the enemy set fire to the dead grass and stubble of an old field beyond the swamp which delayed our pro- gress as intended, and they continned to annoy our ad- vance with occasional shots. Over part of the way still farther onward the troops were confined to the narrow road in column by woods and swamps, while the skir- mishers and flankers struggled through vines and under- brush. At a point where the road turned to the left, Col-
16
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FIFTY-FOURTH MASSACHUSETTS INFANTRY.
cock made his last stand before seeking his works at Honey Hill; and in the artillery firing that ensued the brave Lieutenant Wildt received a mortal wound.
General Smith was in position, protected by the earth- works at Honey Hill. In his front was a swamp thick with underbrush and grass, through which flowed a sluggish stream. This stream was about one hundred and fifty yards in front of the earthwork, and was crossed by a bridge, the planks of which were torn up. Bushes and trees covered the slight elevation occupied by the enemy. Their left reached into pine lands ; the right along a fence skirting the swamp. The enemy's position and the bridge were concealed from our troops, coming up the road to the turn, by a point of woods. Just before the turn was reached, as one came from Bolan's church, a wood-road ran from the main road to the right, with an old dam between it and the creek.
General Smith's force engaged in the battle is given as about fourteen hundred effectives, and consisted of the First Brigade of Georgia Militia, the State Line Brigade of Georgia, Thirty-second and Forty-seventh Georgia Volun- teers, Athens Battalion, Augusta Battalion, detachments from four companies Third South Carolina Cavalry, and two guns each of the Beaufort Artillery and De Pass's Bat- tery, and three guns of the Lafayette Artillery. It is be- lieved, however, that this force exceeded the total as given. General Smith posted his main body at the earthwork sup- porting the guns in position, a heavy line of skirmishers on either flank and a small reserve, giving Colonel Colcock the executive command.
Our skirmishers, on turning the bend of the road, were at once met by a heavy fire which drove them to cover.
-
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HONEY HILL.
General Hatch, perceiving that the enemy held a strong position, directed General Potter to put his troops into line, and the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh New York formed on the left of the road, then the Fifty-sixth New York and the One Hundred and Fifty-seventh New York on the extreme left. To the right of the road he sent the One Hundred and Forty-fourth New York and Twenty-fifth Ohio. Lieut. George H. Crocker, with the section of Bat- tery B, Third New York, was ordered into battery at the turn. Although it is difficult to establish the relative time of events, it is believed that these dispositions having been made, the Thirty-fifth United States Colored Troops, Col. James C. Beecher, charged up the road. It went forward with a cheer, but receiving a terrible fire, after severe loss, was forced to retire and form in support of the artillery.
Colonel Hartwell, commanding the Second Brigade, with eight companies of the Fifty-fifth Massachusetts under Lieut .- Col. Charles B. Fox, hearing volley firing breaking the pervading stillness, moved rapidly to the front. There the leaders filing along the wood-road, three companies became separated from the regiment when Colonel Hart- well ordered a charge in double column. Twice forced to fall back by the enemy's fire, their brave colonel giving the command, "Follow your colors !" and himself leading on horseback, the Fifty-fifth turned the bend, rushed up the road, and in the face of a deadly fire advanced to the creek. But it was fruitless, for the pitiless shot and shell so decimated the ranks that the survivors retired after losing over one hundred men in five minutes, including Color Sergeant King, killed, and Sergeant-Major Trotter, Sergeant Shorter, and Sergeant Mitchell, wounded. Colonel Hartwell, wounded and pinned to the ground by his dead
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