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 13
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As the Thirty-seventh charged up the slope in support of the advance regiments and reached the first line of fortifications, it paused for a moment to reform its line and change direction toward the left, where from a second series of defenses on still higher ground the flying Confederates were scampering forth and hurrying toward the Telegraph road, their forms outlined like dwarf silhouettes against the clear sky. Looking behind them the men saw the batteries which had thundered valiantly all the morning against the hights driving desperately up the plank road. the horses lashed to a gallop, the men and their beloved guns hidden from sight in the heavy clonds of dust. Here and there a blue line with the Stars and Stripes in the
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THE VICTORY OF THE MORNING.
center swept steadily up the slope, while an occasional farewell shot from the flying foe came back like a note of defiance. All these were elements of satisfaction, but there was a sadder feature comprised within the picture. All that green slope was dotted over with little points of blue, and those who looked back upon them knew that each represented a comrade who had fallen by the way. Brilliant as had been the success won. it had been achieved at the cost of over a thousand men killed and wounded on the Union side. Already the stretcher-bearers were hurrying over the field in quest of their ghastly burdens, under a system so perfect that within an hour every wounded man was sheltered in the hospitals which had been organized in the town.
Moving some distance to the rear of the fortified line, the Thirty-seventh halted till the other regiments of the brigade came up. Then with eager haste messengers passed back and forth between the different commands, to learn the fate of friends or the general fortunes of the various organizations. There was a brief respite, during which General Sedwick was busy with preparations to follow up his advantage. Gibbon's division was left in charge of Fredericksburg, the red crosses of the First Division moved out in advance along the plank road, the other divisions followed, and the hights of Fredericksburg were left behind.
It was a beautiful Sabbath day, the sun shining clear and warm; Nature was in her most charming dress. Beside the road as the troops advanced were fields of grain waving with promise. and bird-songs trilled forth to fall unheeded on the ears of men whose thoughts and senses were not for scenes of beauty or notes of joy. Presently the boom of cannon in advance is heard, and a few solid shots go over and uncomfortably near the marching column; the speed slackens somewhat, but there is no halt, and the men think little of the familiar greeting-probably some re- treating party is making a little stand somewhere to gain time.
Some miles have been passed and the afternoon is well ad- vanced when a small stream, tributary far below to Hazel Run, 's crossed. Here the brigade leaves the highway and halts upon the steep slope beside the streamlet in column by regiments, the
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Thirty-seventh, on account of its fuller ranks, being formed in two lines, the left wing under Lieutenant-Colonel Montague in rear of the right. Very soon, one by one, the regiments rise. but instead of returning to the plank road they advance in line directly up the hill and disappear. Close on the heels of its predecessor the Thirty-seventh climbs to the plateau and the mystery is solved. Not far in front there is a terrific fire of musketry, and as the regiment moves steadily forward toward the scene it encounters a spectacle to chill the stoutest heart. The Federal lines have broken and the horrible fragments are pouring to the rear. Some of the fugitives are bleeding from sickening wounds, others unhurt are seeking panic stricken for some shelter from the bullets which are still hissing sharply around them.
What was the matter? That may be briefly told. Wilcox's Confederate brigade, posted near Banks's Ford, had been sun- moned to assist Early in defending the hights, but had not arrived in time. It at once planted itself in front of Sedgwick to delay his march as much as possible, while news of the disaster was sent to General Lee-the news which had caused the post- ponement of his intended attack on Hooker. Four brigades under General McLaws were at once hurried down to Salem Church, midway between Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. to which point Wilcox fell back, and when Brooks's division reached that vicinity he found his advance checked. He attacked valiantly, won some success, but was driven back. As the Thirty-seventh gained the field it confronted the triumphant hosts of the foe pushing forward to flank the shattered Union lines. It was a moment of supreme importance. Colonel Browne had fallen with a severe wound, and the command of the brigade devolved upon Colonel Eustis of the Tenth. The command was scattered, the individual regiments being thrown in at the mos! important points. Williston's battery of brass guns comes np the road at a mad gallop, the captain riding on in advance. He shrinks from the prospect. "Captain, bring in your guns." exclaims Colonel Edwards in his most emphatic tones; " the Thirty-seventh is here!" The fierce gallop of the battery horses
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THE BATTLE OF SALEM CHURCH.
never ceases till the pieces are wheeled into position, and almost before the trails drop to the ground the gunners are sending storms of cannister into the faces of the enemy. Still the charg- ing line overlaps and the left is threatened. General Brooks, rough as a lion and as brave, gallops to the spot. "Is there a regiment here that I can have?" he demands. "Take my left wing; it's as good as a whole regiment!" says Edwards. The right wing advances close to the battery and gives it a steadfast support, while the left wing, led by the soldierly lieutenant- colonel, moves by the left flank through a bushy ravine under a shower of bullets, and occupies a commanding position beyond. As it halts the stream of fire which bursts out along its line shows the flanking column of graycoats that they are beaten at their own game, and in a few moments they go drifting back toward the woods from which they came. It is an exciting moment, and Lieutenant Loomis observes that some members of his command are firing at random. His men are brought to a "shoulder arms," drilled in the manual for a few moments till calm self-possession is restored, and then direct their fire once more upon the retreating foe. Nightfall comes on, the sounds of battle cease,-only the sad refrain from the hundreds of agonized ones stretched helpless on the field, and the low bustle of preparation among men and officers for the expected renewal of the struggle on the morrow.
In the establishing of the Union lines the Thirty-seventh was reunited and moved forward a short distance to a commanding position, where with the Thirty-sixth New York it formed three sides of a square at the most advanced angle of Sedgwick's lines. From that point the Third Division with one brigade of the First extended in a long, weak line to the river above Banks's Ford, fronting to the west; the remainder of the First Division- little more than a picket line in strength-faced to the south and extended eastward till it joined Howe's Second Division,.which was still in the rear of the Fredericksburg hights and facing them, its front being to the east. Thus disposed the Sixth Corps formed three sides of a vast, irregular quadrangle, with a total frontage of more than six miles.
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THE ARMY UNDER HOOKER.
Little sleep came to the men as they lay on their arms through the night. Early in the evening word was brought that the Thirty-sixth, who had thrown off knapsacks and haversacks to charge the hights in the morning, were still without food, and in a short time the well-filled haversacks of the Thirty-seventh had contributed a generous supply, and from the moment of that simple act the friendship between the two regiments was of the warmest nature. Directly in front, and some 500 yards dis- tant, were the woods into which the Confederates had retired, pursued by the fire of the Federal batteries, and which had been set on fire by the bursting shells. The cries of the wounded could be plainly heard, and the feeling that they had been burned in the flames haunted many a brain long after the last flicker had died away.
The morning of the 4th found the situation unchanged, and not till afternoon were there serious demonstrations on either side. Occasionally a rebel skirmish line would show itself from the edge of the woods, but invariably received a sharp greeting from the Union pickets and artillery, and once or twice when a line of battle also appeared a wave of fire burst from the rifles of the Thirty-seventh, and the shelter of the forest was promptly resumed. General Sedgwick had repeatedly acquainted General Hooker with his situation, and asked cooperation from the main army; but the only response was in effect that the Sixth Corps must take care of itself, and the Federal guns at Chancellorsville remained dumb, while reinforcements poured back from Lee's army and enveloped the isolated corps, threatening each moment to crush in its frail sides. Early's scattered division had been collected and reinforced, and had taken possession again of the hights ahove the city from which it had been driven. A deter- mined attempt to crush Howe's division and cut the corps off from the river followed, and Neill's brigade was broken, but the Vermont Brigade, with its accustomed bravery, saved the field.
As the day neared its close, the Thirty-seventh could hear the sullen mutterings of the battle-storm as it closed in around them, till they seemed to be surrounded by a vast circle of hostile fire. Beyond the woods in their front the arrival of rein-
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RETREAT OF THE SIXTH CORPS.
forcements could be constantly heard; cheer answered cheer, and a brass-band played the favorite Southern airs with an energy which left no doubt of the Confederate elation over the situation. The rank and file of that exposed quadrangle realized well the danger of their situation, but there was no uneasiness, no despair. They were in the hands of officers whom they could trust-whom they did trust implicitly on the field of battle, and many a man in his own way expressed the unwavering conviction that General Sedgwick would take care of the corps, and Colonel Edwards would be sure to do the best possible for his beloved regiment.
Finally the crisis came. It was almost dusk, and it was known that the line was to be evacuated as soon as darkness would cover the movement from observation. The pressure in front had been growing stronger and was applied more frequently. Again the Confederate skirmishers came out from their woody covert, and again they were met by a sharp fire, but this time they did not retire. On they came through the growing dusk, and behind them came line after line of battle, showing the purpose of MIcLaws to strike a crushing blow. The time had come to move! Fortunately dusk had come with it, and the enemy, checked by the admirable fire of the skirmish line, composed of Companies D and F, advanced so slowly that an orderly retreat to the vicinity of the bridge near Banks's Ford was made without loss, where the corps was concentrated to await permission from Hooker to recross the river.
The safety of the Thirty-seventh evoked the most lively satis- faction at corps head-quarters, since from its peculiarly exposed position it had been feared that it must be cut off, but the most remarkable fact was that the skirmish line had been able to do so valiant work in delaying the advance of the enemy and still bring away every man. The admirable steadiness and efficiency of Company F had been closely watched and warmly praised by their comrades in the regimental line, but the position of Com- pity D was not so favorable for observation. The latter. which lavl rejoined the regiment while waiting to cross the river three or four days before, had served at Sixth Corps head-quarters
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THE ARMY UNDER HOOKER.
after Franklin's retirement, and had been much flattered by warm compliments bestowed by General Hooker on one of his visits to General Sedgwick. Captain Flagg had given especial attention to the skirmish drill, and in recognition of this fact his command was deployed to cover the angle to the left of Company F's line on the regiment's front and right. After the line was established it was supported by Company H and rein- forced by four companies from other regiments.
No loss was suffered by the skirmishers in retreating, but as the first halt was made near the bridge a member of Company H,-Jonas H. Thayer of Belchertown,-died suddenly from ex- haustion. His comrades, much affected, prepared as suitable a grave in the bed of a gully as circumstances permitted, loosen- ing the earth with their bayonets and performing the last sad rites while the Confederate shells whistled savagely overhead and the moonlight struggled fitfully through the broken clouds.
Decidedly the most uncomfortable position of the entire call- paign was that of waiting in the darkness for orders to recross the river. The enemy, not quite daring to press the retiring corps in earnest, amused themselves by keeping up an artillery fire directed at the bridge, but a providential ridge of ground saved the pontons from being struck, and finally, long after mid- night, the disorganized column crept silently across to the Stafford side and the battle of Salem Church was ended.
In the matter of casualties, remarkably good fortune had at- tended the Thirty-seventh. Company K had lost Corporal Dennis Driscoll of Springfield and Private Michael Conway of Chelsea mortally wounded, besides which some 25 wounds, mostly slight, were reported.
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CHAPTER VIII.
TO GETTYSBURG.
AFTER THE DEFEAT .- THE SKIRMISH WITH A. P. HILL .- THE NORTHWARD MOVEMENT .- EXIT HOOKER, ENTER MEADE .- THE MARCH TO THE BATTLE-FIELD.
General Sedgwick, having safely crossed the Rappahannock, halted his corps near the river to await further developments- so near, in fact, that some of the men were wounded the follow- ing day by the scattering artillery fire from the other side. Rations and ammunition were supplied, mails were distributed and the usual quota of letters written to anxious friends at home, after which the soldiers shivered through a very uncomfortable storm for two days and blankly wondered "what next." The battle was not to be renewed. General Lee, having driven Sedg- wick from the dangerous position in the Confederate rear, once more consolidated his army in front of Hooker and on the morn- ing of the 6th of May his skirmishers pushed forward to develop the Federal position and renew the battle. They failed to find an active enemy-only the Union dead and wounded remained on that side the river. The swollen, discolored river once more rolled between the hostile armies, the Confederates reoccupied the old line of fortifications, and the loyal army was disposed practically as before.
The Thirty-seventh returned to Camp Edwards on the Sth, making a spiritless, wearisome march, though the distance was only some eight miles. The experiences of the ten days of reaseless activity and battle, followed by the drenching storm, had not been productive of exuberant physical energy. Fortu- uately the camp was found intact, the men having merely removed the canvas coverings of their huts; when these were replaced, with
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such new dispositions as the casualties of the campaign had ne- cessitated, the regiment immediately found itself very comfort- ably at home. The usual camp routine was at once resumed. the first battalion drill being varied by a short address from the colonel, warmly expressing his satisfaction with the 'conduct of his command during the recent experiences. Company 1) speedily provided itself with quarters the exact counterpart of the others, and evergreens were displayed in profusion in the different streets, though there was the ever-present likelihood that each day in the comfortable camp might be the last.
Severe as was the disappointment in the army over the out- come of the movement which had opened with so much of promise, there was nothing of demoralization manifest. Apart from the disaster to General Howard's command, the field had been bravely fought, and it was known that the victory had been won by the enemy at terrible cost. Naturally the Eleventh Corps received an unjust award of blame for their unfortunate defeat and dispersion. So intense was this feeling that for a time the mere sight of the crescent corps badge was hateful to the rest of the army. With the feeling that upon this one corps the onus of the defeat should be placed, and with especial pride in the work of the Sixth Corps in carrying the dreaded hights and making so gal- lant a fight in their effort to reach the main army, the soldiery settled down once more to the routine of camp life with their confidence in the final result unshaken. Chancellorsville had been a great improvement upon Fredericksburg-sooner or later the fortunes of war would bring the two armies together ou . equal ground, then should the true test of battle come. Thus feeling. the loyal army maintained its calm hopefulness.
On the Confederate side, while there was a sorrowful apprecia- tion of the cost in the loss of Jackson-Lee's most efficient lieu- tenant-and the sacrifice of the very best troops of the Confed- eracy in numbers so vast that the official report was never given to the world, there was much to be hoped from the moral effer: upon outside nations. Victory again wreathed the Confederate banners after a great battle, and the sympathy of the European governments for the Southern cause must be intensified. Already
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FOREIGN SYMPATHY WITH SECESSION.
this had reached a point intensely dangerous to the United States. While only the Pope of Rome had officially recognized the Confederate government, every considerable power in Europe with the exception of Russia, while nominally neutral, was act- ually in sympathy with secession. While British ports were sending out Confederate cruisers to destroy American commerce and blockade runners to supply the waning resources of the in- surgents, France, in the person of Maximilian, had planted the standard of monarchy on Mexican soil and was watering it with the blood of those who dared to oppose the propagation of des- potism. Surely it could not be long till this half-covert cooperation Inust break forth in public recognition, in which the nations of the world should join, and the success of the rebellion be won at last. Thus hoped the people of the South-thus feared those loyal to the Federal government. So general was this feeling of hope on the Southern side that the pickets could not refrain from shouting it across the river, coupled often with taunting inquiries as to the purposes of the Federal commander. "Say, Yank, when is Old Joe Hooker coming over the river again?' would be shouted across to the northern bank. "He isn't coming over next time," might be the quizzical reply; " he's only going to send Uncle John Sedgwick over with two com- panies of the Sixth Corps while the rest of us watch him clean you fellers out!" Not a little such badinage occurred between the opposing picket lines, generally ending good-naturedly as it began, but sometimes the whistle of a bullet would warn some sharp-tongued Yankee that he had touched a sensitive point in - his interlocutor's nature.
General Hooker's army was now much reduced in numbers. The total loss at Chancellorsville had been 17,197,-of which the Sixth Corps, leading all the others, had sustained 4,601. Some of these had been "missing" at the close of the battle and afterward returned, while others were but slightly wounded and soon reported for duty; but the permanent loss could not have been less than 15,000, while the term of service of the nine- months' and two-years' troops-the latter to the number of over 30,000 having been furnished by New York-was about expir-
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ing. From these two causes the Army of the Potomac had already lost or would within a few weeks lose considerably more than a third of its numbers. The army under Lee, on the con- trary, was at this time strengthened by reinforcements and es- pecially by the return of Longstreet. The latter had been dis- patched soon after the battle of Fredericksburg to operate against General J. J. Peek at Suffolk, who with a small force was protecting the land approaches to Norfolk. Disappointed in his hope of surprising that vigilant officer, and unable to carry his defenses by assault, Longstreet spent the winter and early spring in a series of siege operations which proved so inef- fective that they were finally abandoned on the 3d of May-the day of the fierce struggle between the rival armies on the Rap- pahannock.
The Confederate army, augmented in numbers and elated over the recent victory, was now organized into three corps under Lieutenant-Generals Longstreet, A. P. Hill and Ewell respect- ively. Each corps consisted of 13 or 14 brigades in three divisions, the major-generals commanding the divisions being: In Longstreet's corps, McLaws, Pickett and Hood; in Hill's corps, Anderson, Heth and Pender; in Ewell's corps, Early, Rodes and Johnson. The eight brigades of cavalry formed a corps under the command of General J. E. B. Stuart. This was the army with which Lee was to make the most important mili- tary move in the history of the rebellion,-ably officered, admi- rably organized, inspirited by a long series of victories, supreme- ly confident as to the future. Clearly it was not the policy of the commander of such an army to act on the defensive. The foreign sentiment, from which so much was expected, would look for vigorons efforts on the part of the Confederacy to win a place among the nations of the carth. The apathy, the dis- couragement, the secession sympathy at the North might by a single brilliant stroke be so intensified as to paralyze the national government and foree the abandonment of the war for the Union. It needed no prophet to show that before the harvest came the Confederacy would be in serious need of supplies, while the ric !! farming lands of Maryland and Pennsylvania, only a few days
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ONCE MORE ACROSS THE RIVER.
march away, abounded in food for man and beast. Here were three good reasons for the invasion of the North, and there were possibilities behind them which the eye of faith could easily discern of dazzling brightness. An offensive campaign was decided upon.
As early as the 20th of May the authorities at Washington were warned of the intended invasion, and General Hooker sus- pected the purpose of his antagonist on the 28th, but it was not till the 3d of June that the mutual watchfulness changed to ac- tivity. On that day Ewell's corps of the Confederate army began to move toward Culpeper Court House, where Stuart's cavalry covered Lee's left, and General Hooker at once set about penetrating the design of his adversary.
In the camp of the Thirty-seventh that peculiar activity which had come to be recognized by the dullest intellect as the prelude to " marching orders," had been noticed for some time. On the 2d and 3d of the month the brigade had been drilled by Colonel Edwards, and at 2 o'clock of the morning of the 4th the regi- ment was called from slumber to pack up everything and be ready to leave camp at 5 o'clock with eight days' rations. The preparations were promptly made and the order to move awaited, but it did not come till early morning of the 6th, when camp was finally broken. "The model camp of the Army of the Potomac," it had often been called,-to which memory would often turn, but which was never again to be visited by the departing braves! The line of march was once more to the. familiar "Franklin's Crossing," below. Fredericksburg, where the command halted along the Riverside road.
Howe's division had already crossed the Rappahannock, the carthworks on the opposite bank being swept with such a can- nonade that not a head could be raised above them to offer opposition till the bridges were completed and the Federal soldiers rushed across and captured the demoralized post with scarcely the firing of a shot. A rapid advance of the skirmish line, while it showed that the enemy was wholly unprepared for the visitation, also revealed him in what seemed full force, and this being the object of the reconnaissance, the two commands
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assumed a defiant attitude and waited. A heavy thunder-storm in the afternoon drenched everything effectually. and through the night and the following day only an occasional picket shot or a brief artillery duel broke the monotony.
A detail of a thousand men was made from the brigade on the evening of the 7th to cross the river and construct intrench- ments, of which number the Thirty-seventh furnished 350, following this detail by that of 100 more to support a battery. The fatigue party worked faithfully, though very silently, through the night, and morning light showed to the surprised Confederates a line of earthworks extending from the Bernard ruins far above the bridge head. These works were continually strengthened during the day, notwithstanding the artillery pro- tests from the hights, which did no material damage. Thus far, and for three days following, the regimental head-quarters were on the north bank of the river, though the men were almost in- cessantly on duty. On the evening of the 10th the brigade crossed the bridges, taking up a position in the rear of the en- trenched line, relieving a portion of the troops who had been doing service there.
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