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 22
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WINTER ON THE RAPIDAN.
A considerable force had meantime been sent from Bragg's army under command of Longstreet to operate against Burnside, to prevent him from reaching Chattanooga and if possible to destroy or capture his command. The latter, making the best defense possible en route, fell back to his intrenchments at Knoxville. Longstreet made a sharp attack November 18, get- ting possession of some outposts and killing General W. P. Sanders, who with a small command had bravely defended the place till Burnside's arrival. Finding that the works were too strong to be carried by assault, Longstreet immediately began siege operations, hoping to bag the garrison before assistance should reach them, as he knew Burnside's stock of provisions to be small. While the siege was yet in progress the country was electrified by the tidings from Chattanooga.
Late in September General Sherman with the Fifteenth Corps had moved from Vicksburg by water to Memphis and thence by rail toward the Tennessee, in support of Rosecrans, but when Grant's plans for a campaign against Bragg were perfected he was ordered forward to Chattanooga and on his arrival opera- tions at once commenced, the first offensive movements being made November 23. On that day Sherman crossed the Tennes- see and the Chickamauga, after various demonstrations to mis- lead the enemy, and moved forward along the line of the latter stream against the Confederate right at the upper end of Mis- sionary Ridge, making his way slowly but holding tenaciously whatever ground was gained. On the afternoon of the same day General Thomas formed a strong line of his own command which was advanced against the Confederate center in front of Chattanooga, carrying everything before it as far as Orchard Knob, a minor elevation some distance in front of the Ridge but beyond the first line of rebel rifle pits. Here a battery was placed and intrenchments thrown up to hold the ground thus gained.
The first decisive blow was struck by Hooker on the 24th. From his position in Lookout Valley he was directed if possible to drive the Confederates from their occupancy of Lookont Mountain. The force at his command consisted only of Geary's
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"THE BATTLE ABOVE THE CLOUDS."
division of the Twelfth Corps, Osterhaus's of the Fifteenth and two brigades from the Fourth, -troops that had never fought together and whose numbers seemed wholly inadequate to the terrible undertaking ; but at 4 o'clock in the morning he reported readiness and shortly afterward the movement began. Almost from the brink of Lookout Creek the mountain side sloped upward so sharply that it seemed almost impracticable for the unimpeded foot of man, breaking finally into a perpendicular palisade from 50 to 100 feet in sheer ascent to the table land forming the summit of the mountain. At every available point below the palisade this slope was filled with abatis, rifle-pits, breastworks and epaulments defended by McLaws's veterans. The stoutest heart might well have shrunk from the struggle which must ensue, but Geary's division never faltered. Crossing the creek and extending its lines up the mountain side till the palisade protected the right flank it faced northward and assisted by the fire of the batteries from the valley began to press forward. A heavy mist hung over the face of the mount- ain almost concealing the struggling heroes from the sight of their anxious friends, but now and then through a rift their ad- vancing banners could be seen, the line of fire moved steadily forward with never a retrograde, and at noon the utterly de- moralized defenders were driven around the sharp northern end of the mountain and the pursuers looked over upon the lines of their fellow-Unionists in the Chattanooga Valley. Here Geary was directed to stop and reform his lines, but there were indica- tions that another stand would be mnade as the eastern face was turned, and his victorious command, necessarily broke into an exnltant rabble, rushed forward with never a pause and sent their antagonists in a mad scramble over the rocks and through the gullies into the valley beyond. Then the line was estab- lished, the right still resting against the palisade and the left reaching to near the mouth of Chattanooga Creek in the valley, facing and enfilading the Confederate position on the right of Thomas. During the night an attack was made on Hooker's right but it was easily repulsed, and at daylight next morning the Stars and Stripes waved from the summit of the mountain,
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which had been hastily abandoned, Bragg concentrating his en- tire force on Missionary Ridge, with his pickets still clinging to the eastern shore of Chattanooga creek.
Hooker's command was now ordered forward across the valley to the Rossville Gap, which it reached and occupied about the middle of the afternoon, having been delayed on the way by sharp skirmishing and missing bridges. Then facing northward it advanced steadily till sunset, driving the enemy from one po- sition to another with resistless force. All day Sherman had been battling sturdily at the north end of the Ridge, with his face to the south, though making bnt little advance owing to the difficulty of the ground and the tenacity of the resistance. As the afternoon wore away without sufficient progress to satisfy General Grant he ordered Thomas to assault the enemy's center in front of Orchard Knob. The position here was very strong. At the foot of the ridge, half a mile from the Knob, was a strong line of works; half way up the ascent was a second, consisting chiefly of rifle-pits ; while the summit was very strongly fortifi- ed, with 50 pieces of cannon in position. The four divisions of Baird, Wood, Sheridan and Johnson were formed from left to right in the order given and at half-past 3, under orders to carry the first line of works if possible, advanced at the booming of six signal guns.
Through a terrible fire of shot and shell, grape, canister and musketry, the lines moved firmly across the plain to the base of the mountain, captured the works which were their objective point and sent such of the defenders as could escape rushing frantically up the hill. Then the victors endeavored to halt and lie down at the foot of the Ridge in obedience to their orders. but there was no shelter from the plunging fire rained on them from above, and presently detached groups following the lead of some dauntless standard-bearer began to climb the hill-side. The movement spread like wildfire. Officers cheered on their meu. color-bearers waved their flags and shouted back for their fellows. till presently a hundred detached groups with a common object went scrambling up the ravines and gullies, dodging from one partially sheltered covert to another, screaming, cheering, shout-
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CAPTURE OF MISSIONARY RIDGE.
ing like so many madmen. General Grant looking on from Or- chard Knob, was astonished. "By whose command is that movement ?" he asked the equally surprised Thomas. "It looks like a spontaneous advance," was all the reply that the latter could make. " All right if it comes out well ; if not some- body will suffer for it !" the chieftan growled as he watched the progress of the disorderly scurry up the hill.
Sheridan's men were the first to reach the summit, and for a time they found themselves with plenty of occupation, but soon a lodgment was made, some of the batteries captured and the guns turned upon the breaking lines of the Confederates. In one hour from the firing of the signal from the Knob the entire crest in their front was in possession of the Boys in Blue. Wood's division, to the left of Sheridan, met a more deter- mined opposition, and the struggle there continued till after dark, when the Confederates broke before the repeated assaults, the panic extending even to the troops in front of Sherman to the north, so that when night settled over the mountains it found Bragg's army in full retreat toward Dalton, while that officer himself barely escaped capture with the other generals at his head-quarters. This was the news which next morning was read to the Army of the Potomac as it set forth on its dismal pilgrimage toward Mine Run.
That night a force of 20,000 men under General Granger set out for the relief of Burnside at Knoxville, while Hooker, Sher- man and SIferidan pressed the retreating Confederates. Several sharp actions occurred between the pursuers and the rear guard, especially at the mountain passes near Ringgold where Hooker dislodged Cleburne after a very stubborn engagement, following which the pursuit was abandoned and the Union army concen- trated near Chattanooga, in the vicinity of which they enjoyed a a winter of well-earned rest. General Sherman joined Granger's column on the march toward Knoxville, taking command. On the 3d of December the advance entered the Union lines at Knoxville and the siege came to an end. Longstreet on hearing of the disaster to Bragg realized that time was becoming precious and resolved upon carrying the works in his front by assault,
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which was made and bloodily repulsed on the 29th of November. From Knoxville he retreated in the direction of Virginia, where we shall find him presently.
As the news of Grant's magnificent victory, following so closely upon his successes in Mississippi, was made known to the country, he became everywhere the hero of the year. Thanks and a gold medal were voted him by Congress, while the public and private expressions of appreciation were of the most flatter- ing nature. The finger of destiny seemed unmistakably point- ing to him as the chieftain ordained to lead the Union armies to triumph, and his subsequent promotion to Lieutenant-General, with command of all military movements, was everywhere re- garded as one eminently fitting.
The other military operations of the closing year were scarcely noteworthy. In North Carolina, General Foster as Burnside's successor was engaged in a more or less desultory strife with small bands of Confederates, with no important advantage accru- ing to either. In South Carolina all efforts were concentrated against Charleston harbor, and these under General Gillmore and Admiral Dahlgren, were of the most earnest nature and some progress was made. Morris Island was wrested from the Confederate grasp after the blood of Colonel Shaw and his col- ored troops of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, with others, had been poured out in vain in the ditches of cruel Fort Wagner : Fort Sumter had been pounded to a shapeless mass of ruins, and shells from the "Swamp Angel" had gone screaming into Charleston, " The Cradle of Secession." General Banks having restored a satisfactory degree of quiet in Louisiana had turned his attention to other points in his department, and had made some progress toward re-establishing the old flag in Texas, opera- tions in this quarter continuing while winter had locked up the armies in other sections.
On the whole the outlook had brightened wonderfully during the last six months of the year, and the improved military situa- tion was reflected in the autumn elections by a stronger expres- sion of confidence in the National government. Vallandigham, the opposition candidate for governor of Ohio, who from Canada
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BUILDING "CAMP SEDGWICK."
was posing as a martyr to military despotism, was buried under a loyal majority of a hundred thousand ; New York gave a sub- stantial Union majority, as did Maryland, where the question of emancipation caused sharp strife.
In the Confederacy, on the other hand, the outlook was con- tinually darkening. Following the, defeat of Lee and the losses in the Mississippi valley, President Davis had ordered the con- scription of all able-bodied men in the Confederacy between the ages of 18 and 45, and before the close of the year the latter limit was extended to 55. During the winter General Bragg was made general-in-chief of the Confederate armies by Davis, but the ap- pointment was not one to inspire hope or produce satisfaction. The pressure of the continually strengthening blockade was more and more crippling the southern resources, the hope of for- eign assistance was daily waning, the finances were becoming seriously crippled, and the abundant Confederate "paper money " had a varying specie value of from four to six cents per dollar.
To return to the winter quarters on the Rapidan ; directly after the Mine Run fiasco, the Thirty-seventh, as we have seen, selected the most favorable spot available and began the build- of their winter quarters-"Camp Sedgwick." The result was a model production, noteworthy among the multitude of camps which dotted the face of the country for miles around, though confessedly not so complete and perfect as its prototype of the previons winter, since the facilities for construction were by no means equal. Desirable material was scarce, having to be brought a considerable distance even at the beginning, and the entire work was done under the omnipresent feeling that the location of the army, or still more probably that of the regiment, might be changed at almost any hour. So while the camp was made complete and comfortable, more individuality was displayed in the construction of the different cabins and in their fitting up. The huts when completed and occupied on the 10th of December numbered 140, exclusive of officers' and other general quarters, 18 less than were vacated in May, showing the net decrease in the number of men to be provided for to have been over 20 since the building of "Camp Edwards; " and this despite the liberal
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number of new recruits received during the autumn, who had taken their initial campaigning experience in the very trying days of Mine Run.
. One very cold Sunday soon after the occupation of the camp the men were supplied with reading matter from the Christian Commission in lieu of religious services, and the colporteur thus interestingly writes of the tents visited :
It is a curious task to go through the regiment and call at every tent. The tents are made of logs with shelter tents for a roof. I commence at a company street, for instance, on the right. At the first tent I find a door rudely constructed from rough boards, through which I can pass quite readily by stooping low. At the next I find a handsome paneled door cut off at both ends and hewed at both sides, and having a beauti- ful glass knob attached ; taken probably from some secessionist's dwell- ing. These doors are at the end of the hut. At the next I find the entrance at the side, and made from the boards of a cracker box. At the next I find the door at the back end. and I get in by pushing aside a rubber blanket which is hung up to stop the opening. At the next tent I look for the door at one end, then at the other, then at each side, and I fail of finding any anywhere. Finally I call out to those inside, "Where do you get in?" And behold I get in as the sick man got in where Christ was, to be healed, that is through the roof. At another tent I find a door made of small round poles framed together and covered with an old grain sack. The tents inside present some attractive features. Among other things I saw to-day in the various tents a surveyor's rule, a cane-seat chair. a mahogany table. a drawer from a bureau, a rosewood box of small articles from a young lady's toilet, a pair of tongs, a spear for catching eels, and a great variety of articles which I cannot remem- ber. They are brought in by foraging parties from various places beyond our picket lines. * The moral aspect of the regiment is now very good. I have to-day spent about half the day in the regiment among the men, and I did not hear a single oath.
The winter on the Rapidan was marked by an unusual relig- ions interest throughout the Army of the Potomac. Apart from the earnest efforts put forth by the various chaplains for the spiritual and moral welfare of the men with whom they were associated, the Christian Commission had many agents actively at work in co-operation. One of their creditable efforts was the furnishing to each brigade in the army of a " fly" for covering a chapel tent. In Eustis's Brigade, as in some others, it was thought better to assign the gift to one of the regiments, the
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SPIRITUAL AND SOCIAL LIFE.
choice being made by the chaplains drawing lots. The Thirty- seventh was fortunate in securing the tent, and during the early part of January a chapel was erected and furnished, capable of seating about 150 persons. The structure was unique in con- struction, though answering admirably its purpose. The sides were built of split logs fixed upright in the ground, forming a stockade some six feet in hight to the eaves of the canvas. The crevices being closed by a liberal application of mud, the interior, 20 by 24 feet, could be comfortably warmed by the small store with which it was provided. - Seats were obtained by splitting logs, hewing the upper side to passable smoothness and mounting them upon legs ; while the desk was quite tastefully fitted up, bearing on its front the Greek cross of the corps in evergreens ; above it the state and national colors were draped, while in front were two crossed muskets, each bearing a small copy of the Stars and Stripes.
As soon as the building was habitable it came into use each Sabbath and nearly every evening in the week, prayer-meetings being held either there or in the chaplain's tent several times during the week; while a spelling-school and a lyceum attracted many who did not care especially for the religions gatherings. The latter, however, grew in interest, and during the winter a regimental church was organized, adopting a creed and a cove- nant suitable to the circumstances. This church, beginning with a few earnest members, grew continually, especially toward the close of winter, reaching a membership of 55. Baptism was performed on several occasions, and some notable conversions were made. The chapel was dedicated by quite impressive ser- . vices on Sunday, February ?, 1864, though it had been in use for some time previous. The chaplains of other regiments were in attendance, the regimental choir under the lead of Lieutenant Edwards sang appropriate hymns, and the dedicatory sermon was preached by Chaplain Beugless of the Second Rhode Island. Much reading matter was furnished by the friends of the regi- ment in Massachusetts. in addition to that provided by the Christian Commission, a box of books being sent to the Thirty- seventh by the Sunday-school of the Congregational church in
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Lee, and a large bundle by Mrs. E. L. Edwards of Springfield, among other contributions. In connection with the debating association, which was presided over by Corporal Shepardson of Company A with Sergeant Warner of Company E for secretary, a weekly paper called " The Reveille " and contributed by dif- ferent members of the regiment was read, thus reproducing some of the dearest features of New England village life and fur- nishing the men healthful mental discipline and moral training.
In connection with this mental exercise the members of the Thirty-seventh provided liberal physical recreation. Nearly every pleasant day in the intervals between drills a game of base- ball or "wicket " formed a center of attraction for the unem- ployed members of the brigade ; these games becoming largely inter-regimental, a variety of "teams" were organized through- out the brigade, some of which became very proficient. If a . fall of snow prevented the regular pastime, it only furnished the opportunity for another, and many a battle of snow-balls was conducted with an energy and skill worth of the more deadly conflict to which the combatants might at any time be called.
Yet with all these and many other alleviations of the hours which otherwise might have proved monotonous and demoraliz- ing, the lot of the soldier was by no means an enviable one. The season seemed unusually inclement. Storms were many and severe, and the cold often intense. At such times, especial- ly if a strong wind prevailed, even the most comfortable quar- ters did not suffice to prevent suffering on the part of the occu- pants. The supply of fuel was inadequate at the beginning of winter, and it became deplorably short as the months wore away. The region had been previously occupied by soldiers of both armies, who had cut off the best of the wood, but the stamps had been out so high and so much waste had been made in other ways that for a time a comfortable supply could be obtained by taking off another section from the stumps and otherwise glean- ing the field. But this soon exhausted the immediate vicinity, and then the men were obliged to bring all supplies from the distance of two or three miles. Very naturally no advance sup- ply was ever gathered, and when a long storm came on it inva-
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DESCRIPTIVE OF A COLD NIGHT.
riably found the occupants of a large proportion of the tents casting lots or taking turns in going forth through the inclem- ency with some wonderfully dull apologies for axes to obtain a supply of firewood. During February the trials in this respect were especially severe, the weather being piercing and the wood having to be drawn three miles, the companies being put upon an allowance of one small load each per day. Inadequate as was the supply in quantity, it was even more so in quality, being for the most part green pine, which only burned through perpetual coaxing. The discomfort of some of those cold nights is graphi- cally described in a letter written to a fellow-clergyman by Chap- lain Morse, which also shows that the misery was not all en- dured by the enlisted men, as they sometimes felt. Says the chaplain:
Imagine your humble servant sleeping on two horizontal poles with barrel staves laid across, with two thicknesses of blanket between him and the staves, with the wind blowing powerfully and the thermometer several degrees below zero. Add to this the constant fear that the tent would blow away. * I laid on one side, then on the other side, then on the upper side and then on the lower side; then I would bend myself up double and rub my feet with my hands, then stretch out again: then I would double up and undouble in rapid snecession and throw, myself into all sorts of spasmodic convulsions to get up a circulation. Well, I circulated myself pretty generally, and circulated the bed-clothes about the tent promiscuously. How patriotic I felt just then! I would have given three rousing cheers for the Union only I was afraid of waking up the quartermaster in the tent adjoining, who was snoring like an earth- quake. * * Finally I concluded to arise and so I proceeded to unbag myself, and presently "Chaplain 37th Mass. Vols." was emptied out on the floor. Dressing was a slow process. so I untied my tent and ont I went under flying colors to get some kindling wood. I came back again and hacked a full hour with an old dull hatchet. shivering in the mean time and suffering the most excrutiating agony. Finally I got a fire, and wasn't it a luxury? Then I bagged myself again and located myself longitudinally on the barrel staves. I rolled, tumbled. whined, sneezed. grunted, doubled up and undoubled and then did it again, and the third time. and kept doing it. I don't know how I got through the night, but I found myself here this morning in the body. I got breakfast, went to Brandy Station to chaplains' meeting, and as scarcely any one else canie I concluded the rest fared worse than I did, and I came back singing. " The soldier's life is always gay."
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With such uncomfortable experiences in camp, it scarcely needs to be said that the trials and sufferings of guards and pickets were much greater. But between the storms there were many bright and sunny days, which were fully occupied in drill; in addition to the usual routine, many of the non-commissioned officers laboring with the new recruits to bring them up to the high standard of the veterans of the regiment. Frequent and rigid inspections kept the standard of soldierly excellence high, while there was comparatively little sickness and few deaths from disease during the winter.
The inclement season was not to pass without more or less . rumors and attempted "movements " against the enemy. Early in the morning of February 6 the Thirty-seventh was roused with orders to be ready to march at 8 o'clock, but the entire day passed with nothing in addition except suspense and the sound of distant cannonading. It proved to be another " mud march," not quite so disastrous as that of the year previous, and in which fortunately the Sixth Corps was not called to take a part.
A few days before General Sedgwick, commanding the Army of the Potomac in the absence of General Meade, received a re- quest indorsed by the Washington authorities to make a demon- stration against Lee on the 6th to aid a scheme of General But- ler for making a dash on Richmond with the intention of freeing the Union prisoners confined there. The movement was a com- plete failure, the column which undertook the enterprise finding their advance confronted by a strong force and an important bridge gone. Sedgwick, however, knew nothing of this, and carried out his part of the programme as thoroughly as the storm which came on almost at the moment of moving would allow. General Kilpatrick was to demonstrate with his cavalry at Culpeper Mine Ford, General Merritt at Barnett's Ford, Gen- eral Warren with the Second Corps at Morton's Ford, and Gien- eral Newton with the First Corps at Raccoon Ford. The mud prevented getting forward the pontons and some of the half- dozen batteries of artillery which the two corps attempted to take with them, but the soldiers themselves reached the assigned positions: at Morton's Ford the enemy were surprised and Cald-
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