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 14
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Constant details were now made for duty on the skirmish line, and the men, who were already thoroughly wearied, had little opportunity for rest day or night. Although a general quiet prevailed, with the exception of occasional artillery firing, the rival picket lines watched each other closely. On the left, in the vicinity of the Bernard house, there was no firing, and as the lines were but a few yards apart, exchanges of papers, tobacco and coffee were occasionally made, till strict orders to the con- trary were issued by the Union officers. Toward Hazel Run, on the right, however, there had been sharp and incessant picket firing, in which the Confederates had the advantage. The buildings used as coverts by their riflemen were torn to pieces by the Federal artillery, without effect; but finally a detachment of the Second company of Massachusetts sharp-shooters, under Lieutenant L. E. Bicknell, were brought over to apply les talionis, which they did so effectually that the annoyance ceased. a flag of truce from the Confederates humbly asking for mercy.
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LEE AGAIN MOVES NORTHWARD.
Thus in a state of expectant and wakeful inaction the days passed till the evening of the 13th, when in a heavy rain the division recrossed to the north bank, climbed the Stafford hills out of artillery range, where with everything about them soaked by the incessant pouring, the men enjoyed the first unbroken sleep for nearly two weeks. The skirmish line had not been notified of the contemplated withdrawal till their companions were safely across and the bridges taken up, when they were quietly retired and taken over in boats. Scarcely a man was left behind, but Lieutenant Loomis had a very narrow escape from that unpleasant fate. He was posted at the extreme right in a secluded position near Hazel Run, and with one or two men was overlooked when the general retirement was made. Being missed he was sought for by one of General Newton's staff and discov- ered, but in the intense darkness the party missed the waiting boat and wandered about for a long time before finding means of crossing the river. On reaching his regiment about daylight, the lieutenant was greeted as one recovered from the dead.
A movement of the Union cavalry toward Culpeper by the way of Beverly and Kelly's Fords had encountered the Confederates in such strength as to convince Hooker that his suspicions of the rebel intentions were correct. The indecisive cavalry action at Beverly Ford, or Fleetwood, was followed by the advance of the Third Corps up the Rappahannock in pursuance of the positive instructions from Washington, insisting that in no event must the national Capital be uncovered. In the mean time, the Con- federate movement was being pushed with characteristic energy. Ewell's corps moved from Culpeper through the Blue Ridge at Chester Gap, thence by way of Port Royal toward Winchester, where on the 13th the advance confronted some 10,000 Federals under General Milroy. That officer, underestimating the strength of the force moving against him, hesitated at first to retire with- out offering battle, and when two days later he became convinced of the folly of resistance, a large part of his men were sur- rounded and captured in the effort to escape. On the same day that Milroy's force was demolished Jenkins's cavalry, feeling the way for the advance of the invaders, penetrated as far as Cham-
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bersburg, Pa., whence they fell back to Hagerstown and en- camped. The Washington government was now awake to the gravity of the situation, and President Lincoln called for 100,000 militia from the nearest states to repel the invasion. The response was so tardy and inefficient as to show the wavering condition of public sentiment. Well might Lee's battle-hardened legions ignore the militia of the northern states as a factor in the great problem they were to undertake. On the 21st Ewell crossed the Potomac at Williamsport and Shepardstown, and on the 27th his divided column had on the one hand pushed for- ward its advance to within four miles of Harrisburg, the Penn- sylvania Capital, while the division under Early had reached Wrightstown, opposite Columbia on the Susquehanna. A small force of militia was assembled at the latter place, and saved the . city by burning the railroad bridge across the river, a fine struc- ture over a mile in length. The village of Wrightstown was fired by the conflagration but the Confederates extinguished the flames and made no effort to cross the river. Hill, finding that he was relieved of the pressure of the Sixth Corps on his front, followed rapidly by the Shenandoah valley route, Long- street placing his corps on the east side of the Blue Ridge to guard the passes and protect the flank of the marching column, -then following in turn and forming the Confederate rear. A sharp cavalry fight at Aldie on the 17th had developed the rebel position sufficiently to give Hooker a clear conception of the purpose of his antagonist and his own army was moved promptly and efficiently to check and defeat the wily schemes of the Southern commander.
We left the Thirty-seventh regiment sleeping in their wet blankets on the water-soaked earth, enjoying a profound slumber which continued till bugle and drum sounded the signal for the march toward Washington. And such a march! Considerable rain had fallen, and over the muddy Virginia roads the great army had been moving with its multitude of horses, wagons, artillery and ambulances. Let the reader who does not realize from actual participation picture one vast expanse of mud, in the midst of which runs a poorly defined highway, for in the search
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A GLANCE AT THE LINE OF MARCH.
for better footing thousands of men and horses and wheels have made common way of the bordering lands. Far as the eye can reach a great blue throng surges hither and thither, but who can say whether it recedes or advances? No cavalry are there, for they are away on the outskirts, engaged in many a deed of daring, but infantry, artillery, ponton and wagon trains are mingled in one mass of confusion. The soft mud almost engulfs the heavily loaded wagons, and the ponderous wheels of the gun carriages sink deep in the mire. The drivers whip and scream and swear-principally the latter-and not infrequently the pressing infantry come in for a share of the maledictions. Nor are the latter backward in consigning to a place where no artil- lery could possibly be used the unwieldy vehicles which block the way. If the region is level and unobstructed the infantry take to the fields and make reasonable progress, but here is a defile through which all must pass, and the mud is especially deep. A great Parrot gun blocks the way, stuck fast in the slime. The horses and drivers and tugging artillerists who are striving to rescue their beloved piece occupy all the available room, and only now and then a common soldier can dodge past. Meanwhile the pouring infantry fill all the approaches, and when at length the cannon rolls on there is a rush from the im- patient mass. Fortunate, indeed, if some luckless comrade does not lose his footing and roll over and over in the half-liquid sea. A few pass, and then another gun or cassion or wagon lurches into the same slough, and the struggle is repeated as the long day wears itself away. But at such a time day and night are alike, in so far that they must be subordinated to the orders of the general commanding. The corps must be at a designated point at a specified time, whether five hours or twenty be required to make the distance.
At 5 in the afternoon, on that 14th of June, the corps reached Stafford Court House, and halted for five hours, when the tramp was resumed. All through the night the column crept on at a snail's pace, the men keeping ever a sharp lookout for the bright camp-fires which would announce the approaching bivouac. But no camp-fires were lighted that night, and morn-
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ing found the command at Aquia Creek, where a halt was made for breakfast. But not for rest! Not vet. Just a few moments in which to breathe after swallowing their coffee, and then " Forward!" once more on the interminable road.
The sun rose bright and clear and a sultry day ensued. Like magic the mud dried and crumbled under the multitude of feet. and a choking cloud of dust arose and settled in volume on every perspiring face and hand. It penetrated everywhere- eyes, nose, mouth and lungs, all were filled; thirst became in- tolerable, but water was not to be had. Even if by good fortune a little spring or stream was discovered, in a moment the banks were trampled and the water all too soon lost its purity and be- came mere liquid mud from the struggles of the rushing hun- dreds who swarmed about it, eager only to touch a finger's tip in the cool mass, if it was no longer possible to moisten the parch- ing throat with the undrinkable mixture.
Dumfries was reached at noon, and on a south-sloping hill- side, on the parched ground in the terrible glare of the sun, the men threw themselves to sleep, glad even of that opportuniry. At midnight the march was resumed, and with a brief halt in the morning for coffee it was continued till noon, when Wolf Run Shoals on the Occaquan was reached. There a halt was made of some three hours, and very grateful was even that brief breathing spell to the exhausted men. There was opportunity for bathing their blistered feet in the clear waters of the creek. for cooling the throbbing temples and drinking satisfying draughts. Here was the outer line of the Washington defenses. garrisoned at this point by the Vermont nine-months' brigade of General Stannard, who had succeeded to the command of Colonel Stoughton, captured in his bed a few months before. The two commands mingled with hearty good fellowship, for the common home in New England made them feel an addi- tional fraternity. Marching a few miles farther toward evening. bivouac was made near Fairfax Station, where the regiment remained all day of the Itth. the men generally making the most of their respite from the wearisome marches recently endured.
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COLONEL EDWARDS QUELLS A REVOLT.
Quite an exciting incident occurred during the day, which at one time threatened serious results, but through the good offices of the Thirty-seventh bloodshed was averted. Trouble had arisen in the camp of the Thirty-sixth New York, quite a num- ber of the members-dissatisfaction which had existed for some time being intensified by whisky which they had somehow ob- tained-refusing to do further duty, claiming that their time of enlistment had expired. The provost marshal was called upon and went among the men, striving to restore subordination, but he was promptly knocked down, when he called upon Colonel Edwards for assistance. The latter formed his regiment so quickly and silently that some of its exhausted members were left asleep on the ground but a few yards away, hastened to the scene and formed square about the revolters. They were then informed by Colonel Edwards that they would be required to serve till the expiration of the full two years of the last com- pany of their regiment mustered into the United States service, and were given the alternative of stepping five paces to the front in signification of acceptance or of being put under arrest. Without much hesitation the entire command stepped forward, though earnestly asserting afterward that they would have fought any other regiment than the Thirty-seventh.
Next day, the 18th, the regiment marched to Fairfax Court House, and tents were pitched on the battle-field of Chantilly. not far from the spot where the brave Kearney fell. The march. though little more than five miles, was very trying, the day being sultry and intensely hot, so that many of the men fell from the ranks with sun-stroke or exhaustion. The location was far from an agreeable one, since both fuel and water .were difficult to obtain, and the latter very poor when got, but six days were passed in this vicinity with slight changes of position, in perpetual suspense as to what the next hour might bring, and with no more exciting event than an assembly of the brigade on the 23d to witness the drumming out of camp of a worthless member of the Tenth regiment. During this time General Hooker had been anticipating an attempt on Washington from the west by the Confederates, but it was now evident that they were
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moving into Pennsylvania, and in that direction the Army of the Potomac began to seek them.
The Thirty-seventh marched to the vicinity of Centreville, some six miles, on the afternoon of the 24th, and the following day relieved a brigade, now ordered to join the Second Corps. which had for nearly a year, since entering the service, been very comfortably quartered there, enjoying all the luxuries of soldier life with few of its trials. While they had abandoned great quantities of camp conveniences, which the Thirty-seventh hastened to possess themselves of, it was remarkable to see the enormous knapsacks which the men started out with the inten- tion of carrying on the sweltering marches before them. Their burdens were very much lightened before many miles had been passed. In the course of the day the regiment was comfortably settled with tents pitched near the old earthworks, fitted up in many instances with the equipage abandoned by the departing troops. Every foot of the ground in the vicinity was historic, and the men inspected with much interest the weather-worn intrenchments and the numerous soldiers' graves near by. De- spite the rain which fell at night, a feeling of intense satisfaction prevailed. There was every indication that the regiment was to remain for a time in that place on permanent duty-which would be a very agreeable relief from active campaigning.
Alas for the soldiers' expectations ! At 2 o'clock that night the familiar tones of Adjutant Colt were heard as he stumbled through the darkness to the different company head-quarters, calling out as each in turn was reached : "Captain, wake up your men, have them pack everything, make their coffee and be ready to march at 4 o'clock!" There was many an exclamation of disgust as the command turned out into the drizzling rain. folded such of their possessions as it seemed best to take upon the march, destroyed everything else that was destroyable, and then waited till near 8 o'clock before the signal for departure was given. Dranesville, 20 miles away, was reached that night. after an exhausting journey; the gentle rain, while saving from the tortures of excessive heat, making the roads exceedingly slippery and difficult.
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THE FIRST RETURN TO MARYLAND.
Four o'clock next morning saw the command again under way, the day being cloudy and quite comfortable for marching. In the early part of the afternoon a halt for a couple of hours was made overlooking Edwards Ferry, where the troops in ad- vance were crossing the Potomac once more into Maryland. Far as the eye could reach vast wagon trains wound over hill and through valley, or were parked beside the road waiting their turn to join. the procession, and the vivid panorama gave to many a beholder a truer realization of the magnitude of that branch of the army service. Finally the tired infantry started forward once more, crossed the pontons on to loyal soil, made some three miles more, and at dusk turned into some vast clover fields, where the weary soldiers were not long in providing them- selves with luxurious couches, on which they slept soundly till the shary notes of the reveille broke through the darkness of the waning night. The day which was dawning when the tired column resumed its way at 4 o'clock in the morning of Sunday, June 28, brought little likeness to the quiet New England Sab- bath of which many in the regiment could not help thinking by way of contrast as the tedious hours wore away. The line of march was through a fine agricultural region, where the thrift of the Maryland farmers contrasted sharply with the indifferent methods of Virginia, especially as the latter had been aggravated by two years of desolating warfare. Cherries were now ripening, and it was one of the relieving features of the march that the soldiers were occasionally able to spring into a tree loaded with the luscious fruit and gather a few handfuls, adding a delightful relish to the not especially appetizing army rations.
Very early in the morning the regiment went through Pooles- ville and later reached Barnesville, a pretty little village whose charm to the soldiers was enhanced by the fact that there for the first time since crossing into Virginia the previous Novem- ber they were greeted by smiling faces and words of sympathy. Plainly they were now in the land of friends once more, and their hearts beat with fresh courage. Hyattstown was passed in the afternoon, and some distance beyond, five miles short of its destination, the exhausted corps halted for the night.
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That evening the fact became generally known throughout the army that General Hooker was relieved of the command and succeeded by General George G. Meade, the commander of the Fifth Corps. The change produced scarcely a ripple of excite- ment among the rank and file or the minor officers. For many reasons which have been already suggested General Hooker had won the enthusiastic approval of his men; at the same time. it is but truth to say that his capacity to manage so vast a trust had come to be doubted, hampered as he was by the never coincident supervision of General Halleck. This divergence of views had culminated in outbreak when Hooker asked to have the garrison of Harper's Ferry, some ten or eleven thousand men under Gen- eral French, added to his advancing columns. This demand Halleck refused, Hooker asked to be relieved and the request was granted. The troops in question were at once placed under the command of General Meade, who was given entire control of the movements of the army. That General Hooker continued to do valiant battle for his country sufficiently attested his pa- triotism-his bravery friend nor foe ever questioned.
The promotion of General Meade placed the Fifth Corps under command of General Sikes, at the head of its three division- being Generals James Barnes, R. B. Ayres and S. W. Crawford. Other changes in important commands had meantime occurred. When Lee's purpose was divined, and it was hoped to raise : strong militia force to oppose him, General Brooks, commanding the First Division of the Sixth Corps, had been placed in com- mand of the Department of the Monongahela, with head-quarter- at Pittsburg, and was succeeded in the corps by General Horate G. Wright. General Couch was also taken from the Second! Corps and placed in command of the Department of the Sus- quehanna, with head-quarters at Harrisburg, General Hancock taking charge of the corps, with its three divisions commanded by Generals J. C. Caldwell, J. Gibbon and Alexander Hays. Th Third Corps was consolidated to two divisions under General- Birney and A. A. Humphreys, the latter transferred from the Th !!! Division, Fifth Corps. General Francis C. Barlow had sneccede : General Devens in the command of the First Division, Elevent !.
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THE ARMY UNDER GENERAL MEADE.
Corps, and the cavalry corps, which had been placed in charge of General Pleasonton on the return of Stoneman from his com- paratively unsuccessful raid in early May, had its three divisions commanded by Generals Buford, Gregg and Kilpatrick. In the Sixth Corps, Colonel Burnham's Light Division had been abol- ished and the regiments composing it assigned to the First and Third Divisions.
The change in commanders caused not the slightest interrup- tion to the movements of the army, nor were the plans under which Hooker had been operating essentially modified. Those plans may be in a few words thus outlined: The Union army, marching by way of Frederick, would thence be moved rapidly northward covering all the available roads to the eastward of the South Mountain range, till the line of its march should inter- sect that of the Confederates. Then, on Freedom's soil, with no advantages save those which Nature had provided and which the genius of the respective commanders might seize upon, the mo- mentous battle would be fought.
It was not later than 3 o'clock in the morning of June 29 that the slumbering regiment was aroused, the few preparations nec- essary for another day's tramp hastily made, and then for long hours they waited expectant while brigade after brigade and division following division filed steadily past. Eustis's Brigade was to form the rear guard of the corps that day, and it was after 10 o'clock when the scene of bivouac was left. The long wait had worried the men not a little, as they knew that a late start meant a still later reaching of bivouac in the evening and greater personal weariness, since the rear of the column is ever the mnost trying position in a march. "Why couldn't we have spent some of these seven hours in rest ?" many a poor fellow asked. " Because it wouldn't have been military!" some philosopher in the ranks was ready to reply. " Yon don't suppose old cares whether his men live or die!" the officer animadverted on ranging from the colonel of the regiment to the new com- mander-in-chief, according to the speaker's dislike or distrust.
A few miles brought the regiment to the village of New Market, where a little incident lightened the spirits of the men
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wonderfully. Before reaching the place cheers were heard in advance, and on entering the town two or three young ladies were discovered standing in front of their home waving small Union flags. It was an electrifying sight, and the enthusiasm ยท which had pervaded the troops in advance was emphasized from the strong throats of the Thirty-seventh. There was no ques- tion now that they were in the land of friends. A little further on the traditional town pump was encountered, but not as had often occurred in Virginia dismantled to prevent the thirsty sol- diers from obtaining a drink of water. Its long handle was swung unceasingly up and down by a tall, tattered negro, his homely lineaments beautified by a smile of supreme happiness as he watched the surging throng before the pump, and caught their hurried words of heartfelt thanks. The sweat coursed down his massive features, for he had been thus engaged from early morning, declining all offers of assistance. "No, sol- diers," he responded, " I don' wan' no help. Put yo' cup right under there and git some water-I'll gib yo' all you want it I hab to pump up de bottom ob dis yer well!" Bless his kind heart! No man in Maryland did nobler service for the cause of his country that day.
The afternoon was more or less rainy, and the progress of the column slow, so that the 28 miles which made the day's march were not completed till considerably past midnight for the regi- ments in the rear, after which, according to the custom General. Hooker had instituted some time before, a day's rations were drawn from the supply wagons and distributed before the men slept. With morning light of the 30th the men were again aroused, poorly prepared by the few hours' rest for another tedious day's march, and at 8 o'clock, after the distribution of a mail and ti ... preparation of such food as they possessed, their onward way was resumed. There was a heavy rain-fall during the forenoun, wetting everybody completely and making the roads quite ditli- cult, though the afternoon was pleasant and comparative !: comfortable for marching. Soon after noon the beautiful villa .. of Westminster was passed through, where in the mornin. Gregg's cavalry had skirmished with a small force of Stuar: >
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A CHEERLESS NIGHT MARCH.
Confederate horsemen, where the Thirty-sixth New York regi- ment also left the brigade and started for home. That night the Sixth Corps bivouacked near Manchester, about 20 miles from the starting point of the morning.
General Sedgwick had now reached the right of the position in the rear of Pipe Creek, a tributary of the Monocacy, where General Meade's plan contemplated the fighting of the decisive battle, and the following day was given to inspection and pre- paration for the expected strife. The other corps, covering the ground for thirty miles to the westward, were feeling for the enemy under instructions to fall back with a show of resistance when he should be struck, and take up position behind Pipe Creek. The opening blows of the great conflict were indeed struck while the men of the Sixth Corps were cleaning their weapons, sleeping or eating cherries about Manchester, but the outcome was so different from the anticipation that instead of remaining to fight in the position they had reached by such in- tense effort, they were called to still greater exertions in order to reach the field-to make, in fact, one of the most famous marches known to military history; and it must be borne in mind that they were not fresh for the effort, but already sadly exhausted by nearly a month of continual skirmishing and marching, having for five days made an average of 25 miles per day through alternate rain and intense heat, followed by 24 hours of comparative rest.
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