USA > Massachusetts > History of the Thirty-seventh Regiment, Mass., Volunteers, in the civil war of 1861-1865, with a comprehensive sketch of the doings of Massachusetts as a state, and of the principal campaigns of the war > Part 10
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115
THE FIRST WINTER QUARTERS.
recrossing the river in the face of the enemy I owe everything. For the failure in the attack I am responsible, as the extreme gallantry, courage and endurance shown by them was never exceeded and would have carried the points had it been possible. To the families and friends of the dead I can only offer my heartfelt sympathies; but for the wounded I can offer my earnest prayers for their comfort and final recovery." How far these facts and this utterance shall go to disarm criticism, each must decide for himself.
On the morning of December 18 the now familiar order to " Pack up and fall in!" was again heard, and this time there was no murmuring. Earlier in the autumn, when the long marches were wearing upon the men, they had often expressed a wish that instead they might go into battle. Now that they had scen something of the horrors of the field of strife, a different disposition prevailed. They were ready to endure the severest march and to accept it as a luxury in contrast with the seream- ing of shells, the hissing of bullets and the sight of dead or mangled comrades. Marching some two miles by the narrow roads, which seemed to run in every direction, the Thirty- seventh came to a halt beside a pine grove which might as properly have been called a thicket, moved by the right of com- panies to the rear, and was on the site of what was to prove the long talked of "winter quarters." The location was some three miles due east from the village of Falmouth, and was officially known as "Camp near White Oak Church"-the name coming from a small, plain wooden building still further to the eastward bearing that designation.
The trials of the march and the field now gave place to the ex- periences of the winter camp. The men were at once set at work " policing " the site, the ground to be occupied by the company streets being cleared of the undergrowth and comfort- able houses roofed with their rubber blankets built by the men from saplings and the mortar-like earth. The quarters of the company officers were at the rear of their respective commands. while the field and staff occupied a gentle elevation at the left of the line, sheltered by a knot of pines of moderate size. Here also
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the hospital was located, and it filled rapidly, for the exposure of the past two months, combined with other unfavorable influ- ences, continued to make sad havoc with the health of the regiment. During the weeks which followed, death came often to claim its victims, and it seemed that the more robust fell rather than men of feebler physique. This cause, in combina- tion with others, made the winter anything but a cheerful one to the majority of the army. There was another cause of dis- quiet, not previously referred to, which should not escape mention. The time was approaching when the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln was to take effect, and hand-bills were posted throughout the army calling attention to the fact. With the new year, the shackles of the bond man were to fall. While generally this act was hailed as one of justice too long delayed, and a wise and important military step, such was not the unanimous verdict. By a noisy minority the proclamation was derided, the war was declared to have changed into an abolition crusade, and there can be no doubt that many of the desertions from that class may be properly set down to this cause. Others who remained faithful to the flag saw in it a factor of gloomy import, felt that it was a mistake and an unnecessary complica- tion, and lost courage. Yet, while despondency and desertion seemed epidemic through the army, the former was by no means serious and the latter was almost unknown in the Thirty-seventh. From the time of joining the Army of the Potomac to the close of Burnside's command, but four desertions occurred from the regiment.
Gradually the weeks wore away. When the weather would permit the day was largely occupied with drilling and the duties of the camp and of guard, with an occasional tour to the out- posts for picket service, usually for three days at a time, and it was there that the new year of 1863 found the regiment. The 2d of January was marked by the occurrence of what proved to be a false alarm. The main body of the regiment, forming the reserve, were comfortably settled to sleep in such quarters as they had been able to improvise, when word came back from the river-side that the Confederates were laying ponton bridges to
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A FALSE ALARM ON PICKET.
cross the stream. In a very few moments the men had been roused, formed in column and were hurrying at the double- quick toward the river, a mile away. The incident was a memorable one. The night was clear and the air sharply cold, the ground being slightly frozen, so that the cadence of the foot-falls, uniform and perfect as on review, rang out with a sharp resonance. It was one of those sudden tests which mark the quality of the command, and riding beside their men the field officers of the Thirty-seventh had just cause for pride in the perfect response of the rank and file. However the alarm originated, it was carried back to the camps, the long roll broke the slumbers of the entire corps, the regiments were formed and stood for hours shivering in the cold, only to be told at last that nothing was the matter.
The following day the regiment returned to camp, and the enlisted men were much gratified to find a supply of shelter tents awaiting them. Up to that time they had been obliged to make their rubber blankets serve as such, and despite many an ingenious makeshift, the deficiency had been the cause of much unnecessary exposure and suffering.
The winter was not to pass without another effort on the part of General Burnside against the enemy. Within two weeks of the retreat from Fredericksburg he had decided upon another plan and began arrangements for carrying it into execution, when he was dissuaded by the President from making the attempt on account, it would seem, of the disapproval of many of the subordinate officers. This plan contemplated the crossing the Rappahannock several miles below Fredericksburg and a movement against the Confederate right flank, while the Union cavalry were to operate in the rear of the enemy and, if possible, destroy his lines of communication. The cavalry was, in fact, on its way when the disapproval of President Lincoln necessi- tated its recall. General Burnside being thus made more fully than before aware of the distrust in the minds of his subordi- hates, felt the necessity of such immediate action as would re- store his waning prestige, and finally decided to once more cross the river and offer battle, intending to cross at one of the upper
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fords, move to the rear of the Fredericksburg hights, and strike Lee's army on the flank. Banks Ford was decided on as the point of crossing, but to deceive the enemy as to the real inten- tion, demonstrations were made at every other possible crossing, above and below, batteries were planted, roads prepared, and the bustle of preparation filled all the camps.
The Thirty-seventh were on picket when, on the morning of January 20, 1863, orders were received to repair to camp and prepare to march immediately, and at noon camp was broken. Many of the soldiers, thinking that they were in permanent winter quarters, had sent to their homes for various comforts and luxuries, and a quantity of express boxes containing them had just been received. How most of them were disposed of it would be difficult to say. What the possessor could not eat, wear or carry, he divided with others or abandoned on the spot, superfluous clothing and camp conveniences were discarded, the log huts were dismantled, and in some cases burned. After the regiment was well under way it halted to hear the reading of a general order from the commander-in-chief, announcing in the usual hopeful terms that the army was again to meet the foe. With the rank and file there was a mingling of doubt and hope. The weather was fine, the army strong in numbers and well appointed; but on the other hand there was the memory of Fredericksburg and the known want of confidence in the ability of Burnside to cope with the Southern commander.
It would be useless to speculate on what might have been. The weather-the factor apparently most favorable to the Fed- eral cause-was yet the one from which the disaster was to come. A good distance was easily covered during the afternoon. but just as the troops went into bivouac for the night the weather suddenly changed, and a gentle rain began falling. It continued all night with increasing intensity, and when the march was re- sumed in the morning the extent of the mischief became appar- ent. The clayey road-beds, indifferent at the best, were soaked to the extent that every passing regiment, every wagon, even, stirred the slippery depths and made them more treacherous. As far as possible, the roads were given over to the pontons and
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119
THE EXPERIENCES OF THE "MUD MARCH."
artillery, the infantry making their way through fields and across untraveled regions, partly that the men might have better foot- ing, but principally because it was impossible for them to go in any other way. The rain still poured down and the ground everywhere became a bottomless sea of mud. Soldiers carefully picking their way slipped and fell into the tenacious mass, carry- ing comrades with them, their ridiculous plight when extricated affording about the only relief from the somber gloom of the scene.
Every road was blocked. The immense weight of the artillery, ammunition wagons and pontons, sunk them hopelessly in the mire. In vain the efforts of the drivers, profanity included. Their animals sank bodily from sight in the sloughs or dropped dead in their places. Long ropes were rigged, and great details of men put to the task of assisting them. Sixteen horses and 50 soldiers pulled a 10-pounder Parrott gun along only by spas- modic jerks. A regiment with 50 horses could not move one of the boats. Humanity can do no more; flesh and blood have been struggling with the elements and their struggle proves vain. Burnside has wrestled with fate for many long hours since all hope of success had gone, and the unequal contest is finally given over. The infantry could possibly move, but noth- ing on wheels; the river is too deep to be forded; the intention of the Federal army has been penetrated, the opposite fields are being filled with entrenchments, and many a sarcastic jest is thrown across the stream by the exultant Confederates. A large board is erected on which has been rudely scrawled, "Burnside stuck in the mud!" "Come over, Yanks, as soon as you can," cries a picket with a loud voice; " Old Stonewall is right back here and wants to see you!" "Wait till to-morrow," suggests another, "and we uns will come over and help you bring up the bridges." Not a shot is fired by either side, for the men have no desire to indulge in wanton murder, and it would be no less than that to shoot each other under such circumstances.
It was about noon that the Thirty-seventh abandoned the attempt to proceed farther, and turned into the woods beside the road. A pitifully bedraggled and mnddy lot of men they were, yet others who had floundered through vaster depths,
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manning the ropes and lifting the bemired carriages, had fared far worse than they. After a short respite for food, rest and a general cleaning up, the regiment moved a little distance to : steep hill-side, and the men were urged to make themselves "as comfortable as possible." Comfortable! The storm showed no sign of abatement, and all through the night it raged on, seen- , ing each hour to increase in force. The slope was so steep that many of the men were obliged to sleep with their feet against logs or rocks to prevent slipping away with the rivulets that trickled down the hill-side in every direction, and not a few awoke in the night to find that the foothold had given way and they had rolled out into the pelting storm.
The following day the rain ceased, and a spark of comfort came to the miserable host from the realization that matters could become no worse, and that in their demoralized condition there was no possibility of their being forced into battle-which, under the circumstances, all felt would prove only a useless slaughter. They also realized as never before, from generals to privates, the madness of an overland winter campaign. To imagine the army many miles advanced and dependent upon wagon trains for its supplies, was to picture an ignominious retreat toward the base of supplies as an alternative to starva- tion. Even now that was almost the condition. The rations with which the men had started were nearly exhausted, and no wagon train could reach them.
That evening the wooded slopes occupied by the army pre- sented a picturesque scene. The various organizations were compactly massed, and now that the rain had ceased a multitude of fires were ablaze, drying the garments and blankets and warming the chilled limbs of the men. Opposite to the slope occupied by the Thirty-seventh rose another, similar but less abrupt, and through the evening its surface was lighted up with hundreds of fires, ranged with almost mathematical accuracy. the red light of each disclosing groups of men in blue, and the whole forming a picture upon which hundreds of those across the ravine gazed with a sort of fascination, and from which they drew what seemed an inspiration of cheer and fresh courage.
121
THE DARK SIDE OF CAMP LIFE.
The return to the old camps took place on the next day, the 23d, and it is probably safe to say that the like march was never seen in the Army of the Potomac. The men were without food and in every way demoralized. Obliged to pick their way as best they could, it was not long till the regiments dwindled to skele- tons of the most meager dimensions, and a mixed throng repre- senting everything and nothing scrambled through fields and along the roadways as best it could. The old quarters were reached at length, the stragglers came in singly and in groups, the old huts were reoccupied, those that had been burned or destroyed were rebuilt, and the campaign under Burnside was at an end.
The regimental reports at this time, with one company on de- tached service, show a total present for duty in the regiment of 368. A few had been discharged for disability, 17 had died, 110 had been sent to general hospital, and as was inevitable, a fresh outbreak of sickness followed the experience just ended. The regimental hospital was soon filled, and the death-roll rapidly lengthened.
Thus far the weather had been moderate and comparatively comfortable, and the rigors of winter had not made themselves felt to a serious extent, but now a marked change was noticed. Storms were frequent, the ground was alternately a mass of tenacious mud and frozen. When in the latter condition, the cold winds which swept over it chilled the men through, render- ing every outdoor duty of fatigne, guard or picket a severe tax. And there was no lack of such duty. Every fall of snow neces- sitated the clearing up of the company streets, and when thaw- ing and freezing had produced a compound of snow, ice and frozen mud, the task was no slight one. Much labor was neces- satry, too, in providing the fuel essential to comfort. The hundreds of fires necessary in officers' quarters, cook-houses and the tents of the rank and file, rapidly exhausted the wood in the vicinity, and it became necessary to transport it long distances on the shoulders of the men. Every morning. regardless of cold or storm, squad after squad could be seen emerging from the quar- ters of the different companies, each group in possession of a
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single dull ax in the hands of the man best skilled in its use. Presently the procession would come staggering back, each in- dividual bending under a stick of oak or walnut as large as he could carry, having learned by unpleasant experiences to dis- criminate against those soft, sappy varieties which nothing could coax into a flame. As the vast stretches of beautiful forest melted away before the incessant attacks of the axmen, many an exclamation of regret went up from sincere hearts over the necessary devastation. Not even Virginians themselves could have felt more keen regret than did the New Englanders at the unceasing destruction.
The picture of gloom which hung over the camps of the great army was not unbroken. Here and there were agencies and in- fluences which brightened it all with a better and purer than earthly light. While such efforts were put forth for the physical well-being of the men as no similar army had ever before ex- perienced, their spiritual care was not forgotten. Six stations were opened by the Christian Commission from which not only food for the sick suitable to their needs was distributed, but earnest endeavors were made to improve the moral condition of the well and to awaken a religious interest. Papers and tracts were distributed to the soldiers directly as well as through the chaplains of the regiments, prayer-meetings were established in many places through the assistance of the Christians in the ranks, and often the voice of supplication, the hymn of praise, and the avowal of consecration to a nobler life were hcard above the camp jest and thoughtless song.
Such was the case in Captain Flagg's Company D, which had been detailed at the time of the advance into Virginia for guard duty at General Franklin's head-quarters. The use of a large tent had been procured for the holding of meetings, which were carried on by the devout members of the company, assisted and strengthened by an occasional visit from Chaplain Morse and others from the regiment, much good and great enjoyment re- sulting. "The praying captain and his company of Chris- tians," was the remark of more than one as they returned to the regiment. From no lips did such words fall mockingly.
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SICKNESS AND DEATH İN CAMP.
However lightly the speaker might himself regard religious matters, he could but respect a consistent Christian life in others, and nowhere was this respect more perfectly shown than in the regard of the men for their chaplain.
The duties of that officer, as he saw and interpreted them, were of no trifling nature. Serving as the postmaster of the regiment, much of his time was consumed in the duties of that place. To secure the mail for the Thirty-seventh as soon as it should arrive at brigade head-quarters, day or night, and see to its proper distribution to the several companies, had its counter- part in the reception of the letters written from the regiment, and the seizing of every opportunity to send them forward whenever a mail was to leave the army. The postal laws at that time required the prepayment of letter postage, but an excep- tion was made in the case of soldiers in the field, whose letters were forwarded when certified, and as the soldiers were seldom provided with postage stamps, the familiar inscription was to be written, in cold or storm or darkness, hundreds of times daily, "Soldier's Letter. F. C. Morse, Chaplain 37th Reg't Mass. Vols." During the winter inactivity it was the custom of Mr. Morse to daily visit the hospital, reading the Scriptures, praying and conversing with the inmates, experiencing often most touch- ing scenes, and in the evening to pay an informal visit to one of the companies, talking with the men, distributing tracts and papers, greeted everywhere with the most hearty welcome.
Despite all sanitary efforts in behalf of the army, the most painstaking medical care and attention to all camp details, the health of the regiment failed to improve, it rather grew worse; fevers prevailed, and they were not confined to the enlisted men; the officers began to fall victims, and as a last resort a change of camp was decided upon. The location selected was some half a mile southeast of the original site, and covered a well-drained platean, sloping gently toward the south, from which the wood had recently been cut.
The regiment returned March 1 from three days' duty on the picket line, and the following day every able-bodied man save a camp guard was set to work in the preparation of the new quar-
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ters. Three axes were provided for each company, and the work was systematized and supervised so perfectly that on the 9th the old camp was quitted and the Thirty-seventh removed to what may properly be designated as the model regimental camp in the Army of the Potomac, named " Camp Edwards," in compli- ment to the colonel. The work had been carefully laid out in advance, and not only were the company streets uniform, but every hut was built to a common plan. There were 158 of them. each intended for four occupants, built of small pine logs, either whole or split according to size, interlocked at the corners, with a door-way in front, a fire-place and chimney at one side, and two bunks built of poles and covered with boughs, elevated a certain distance from the ground, at the rear. Each house was eight feet by twelve, five feet high at the eaves and nine at the ridge-pole, the roof being formed by four sections of shelter tent. The crevices were stopped and the chimneys lined by a liberal application of clay, a floor made of small poles, and thus a habitation was created quite as comfortable as the dwell- ings of the poorer classes of Virginians. After its occupation the camp was decorated with arches of evergreen across the company streets, and as uniformity was not required a brisk rivalry developed in this respect which had the effect of bring- ing forth a profusion of neat designs, the whole giving the camp a considerable fame throughout the army. But best of all, the good effect sought in a sanitary way was fully realized; there were few additional cases of sickness, the hospital patients gen- erally improved, and from that time forward the Thirty- seventh may properly be spoken of as enjoying exceptionally good health. In front of the parade a small stream flowed, giving an abundance of pure water, aud on the eminence beyond. opposite the right of the regiment, were the head-quarters of Colonel Edwards and his staff, with the hospital adjacent. From the little cluster of tents the officers could look out upon a beau- tiful and animated scene, and may well have indulged feelings of pride at the spectacle.
Important changes among the officers had taken place during the winter. The first following those noted at the close of the
CAMP EDWARDS, Near Falmouth, Va.
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MORE CHANGES IN THE ROSTER.
previous chapter was the resignation from December 29, 1862, of First Lieutenant J. Milton Fuller of Company I. The va- cancy was filled by the promotion of Second Lieutenant Charles Phelps and of Orderly Sergeant F. Edward Gray of the same company to first and second lieutenants respectively. The res- ignation of Lieutenant-Colonel Alonzo E. Goodrich* took effect January 16, 1863, Major George L. Montague advancing and Captain Eugene A. Allen becoming major. First Lieutenant Mason W. Tyler of Company F in turn became its captain, and in consequence Second Lieutenant George H. Hyde of Company D was promoted, but was assigned to Company B, taking the place of First Lieutenant Thomas F. Plunkett, Jr., who after having commanded Company E for a time was detailed as an aide on the staff of General Devens. First Sergeant George N. Jones of Company F was commissioned second lieutenant and filled the vacancy in Company D's roster. Quartermaster Daniel J. Dodge resigned January 28, and his place was filled by the promotion of Second Lieutenant Edward Bridgman of Company G; First Sergeant John S. Bradley of Company B becoming second lieutenant in Company G. First Lieutenant Joshna A. Loomis of Company H was on the 25th of February assigned to the command of Company E, which had thus far in its history been unfortunate in having a succession of tem- porary commanders in the absence of Captain Hopkins on staff duty. It may not be amiss to say that under the firm and skill- ful hand of Lieutenant Loomis the command improved rapidly in efficiency and morale. March 9 Captain Peter Dooley of Company K was discharged. Previous to this he had from November 20 been absent from the regiment on account of an injured ankle, though much of the time on duty in charge of convalescents reported to their regiments. In 15 trips between the hospitals and the front, often in charge of detachments numbering hundreds, he did not lose a man by desertion or
"Mr. Goodrich was a substantial and respected citizen of Pittsfield. In every relation of life he was enthusiastic, patriotic, loyal. To his native town, which was his hie-long home, l.c Have liverally of his service and his counsel. Chosen selectman in they, he was annually re-elected to that position by an appreciative constituency as long as he lived, the last 12 years of his life being devoted to the service of the town. He died February 25, 188t, after a long illness, at the age of 66, deeply mourned by a wide circle of personal friends. Truthfully might it be said vi him that he was "a faithful and zealous public servant, a true friend and an upright man,"
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