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 7
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The appearance from the road was such that I had no desire to go into the field on either side to examine particularly. I could count de:d horses by the scores. There were graves and trenches almost innumera- ble in every direction. All the single graves appeared to have a board at the head with a name written on it. Some of the trenches had numer- ous boards adjoining each other. Some graves looked rough and cart- lessly filled, and others appeared rounded with care. Some had an inclosure around them of rails put together in the form of a cob-hou». There were fragments of broken wagons and gun carriages lying about profusely. The fences that remained standing were completely perfora- ted with bullets. The woods presented a strange appearance. Som- trees as large as my body were completely cut off 20 feet high. Limbs were cut off and strewn upon the ground, and others were lopped at left hanging. The corn-field looked as if a large drove of cattle ha! foraged through it. All along the road for miles there were indication of a terrible carnage. If the appearance be such three werk- after an engagement I almost shrink from the thought of beholding tis bodies of dead and dying men covering the ground and of witnessing the terrible carnage of battle.
Marching leisurely a distance of some ten miles, the com- mand observed indications of the presence of large bodies o. troops. Through the trees glimpses of tents could be seen. an. curious-eyed knots of soldiers were assembled at intervals besid the road. Presently from the head of the column a strong. hearty cheer rang out, and traveled quickly from company !" company, taken up by many who only guessed the cause. "It- the Tenth regiment!" ran from file to file, and the cheers wer redoubled. The marching column halted and the two commat' mingled. They were brothers, schoolmates. friends. The hi !:- of Berkshire and the valley of the Connecticut were the home-
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CAMP DODGE AT DOWNSVILLE.
of each. The older regiment had given some of its best material toward the formation of the new. Their fortunes were hence- forth to be identified; their banners to go side by side into the supreme test of battle. Yet there was a marked contrast in the two bodies as they thus came into association. Exposure, dis- case, the march and battle had wasted the Tenth to a remnant of its original self; its banners and clothing gave unmistakable testimony to the arduous service through which it had passed. The Thirty-seventh, on the other hand, had full ranks, bright banners, fresh uniforms; but the hearts which beat along the different lines were filled with the same love of country, the amne consecration to principle, the same devotion to "the old dag" as the emblem of national unity.
Turning to the left from the road on which they had come, the Thirty-seventh filed into a magnificent open grove of oak and walnut, in the midst of which their camp was made and christened " Camp Dodge," in behalf of the quartermaster. The spot was one of the most charming that could be imagined. The trees had many of them grown to giant proportions, but the ground beneath them was covered with a soft carpet of grass, quite unknown to New England forests, and overlooking this »'ne of beauty the tents of the "field and staff" were pitched upon a smooth, round eminence near by. The men were with- wat tents, but the weather was warm and delightful, and very -atisfactory shelters were speedily constructed from their rubber blankets. Thus pleasantly began the life of the regiment as a factor of the Army of the Potomac.
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CHAPTER V.
THE ADVANCE TO FALMOUTH.
THE EXPEDITION TO HANCOCK AND CHERRY RUN .- INTO THE LAND OF SECESSION. - A CHANGE OF COMMANDERS .- INCI- DENTS BY THE WAY .- WHITE PLAINS AND " CAMP MISERY." .
The Army of the Potomac, at the time it was joined by the Thirty-seventh regiment, was undergoing something of a recon- struction; or, it might be more accurate to say that the reorgan- ization attempted by General McClellan, and which had been partially accomplished with his army on the march in pursuit of Lee, was not yet completed. Changes were continually occurring in the make-up of brigades and divisions, especially in those corps which had suffered most severely at Antietam. In some in- stances the reinforcements of new regiments were organized into brigades by themselves, but more generally they were incorpor- ated in those already formed and decimated in the field. The army was now composed of three principal divisions, designated as the right and left wings and the center, each under a com- mander. The right wing under Major-General Burnside con- sisted of the First Corps, Major-General Hooker, and the Ninth, Brigadier-General O. B. Willcox. Each of these corps com- prised three divisions, those of the First commanded by Brigadier-Generals A. Doubleday, James B. Ricketts and George G. Meade; those of the Ninth by Brigadiers W. W. Burns, S. D. Sturgis and George W. Getty. The center, under Major- General E. V. Sumner, consisted of his own Second Corps, its divisions commanded by Brigadier W. S. Hancock, Major- General John Sedgwick and Brigadier W. HI. French, and the Twelfth Corps, Brigadier-General A. S. Williams, with its two divisions (five brigades) under Brigadiers S. W. Crawford and
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THE ASSOCIATES IN THE BRIGADE.
George S. Greene. The left wing, under Major-General William B. Franklin, consisted of his own Sixth Corps and General Fitz John Porter's Fifth Corps, the two divisions of the latter led by Brigadiers George W. Morell and George Sykes. The Sixth Corps proper at that time consisted of two divisions commanded respectively by Major-Generals H. W. Slocum and William F. Smith, cach of three brigades. Attached to the corps, and Afterward consolidated with it. was Major-General Darius N. Couch's division of the Fourth Corps, composed of the First Brigade, General Charles Devens, Second, General A. P. Howe, and Third, General Jolin Cochrane.
With General Devens's First Brigade the Thirty-seventh regi- ment was to be henceforth identified, and its fellow-regiments were found to be the Second Rhode Island, Colonel Frank Wheaton; Seventh Massachusetts, Colonel David A. Russell; Tenth Massachusetts, Colonel H. L. Eustis; and Thirty-sixth New York, Colonel W. H. Browne-a regiment enlisted for two years. This brigade had already made a record highly credit- able to both officers and men. The Second, the senior regiment, ingan its service on the bloody field of Bull Run, where it lost more than a hundred men, among the killed being Colonel Slocum and Major Ballou, and faithfully from that time onward it had responded to every call for service. The Seventh had early given its first colonel, Darius N. Conch, to a broader field. and the Tenth had yielded to higher claims its loved and gallant Colonel Briggs, who so bravely led it in its first baptism of fire at Fair Oaks. These officers in accepting promotions had left their commands in able hands-Wheaton, Russell, Browne, Enstis and Edwards-what brigade could boast an abler list .of regimental commanders? And the men whom they commanded were worthy of such leadership.
Six weeks of inactivity followed the exhausting contest on the Antietam, General Lee's army resting in the Shenandoah valley "jear Winchester. The Fifth Corps had made an effort directly ster the Confederate retreat to pursue across the Potomac, but 1. reception met with was so warm as to discourage the Federal commander from a more vigorous movement. After a month
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THE ADVANCE TO FALMOUTHI.
of recuperation, finding he was not likely to be disturbed, Ler ventured to send his daring cavalry leader, General J. E. B. Stuart, on one of his characteristic raids. The latter, crossing the river at the fords above Williamsport with something less than 2,000 men, dashed across Maryland and penetrated Penn- sylvania as far as Chambersburg. Some 300 sick and wounded Union soldiers in hospital there were captured and paroled, and considerable public stores destroyed. Thence the slender column swept swiftly around in the rear of MeClellan's army, and re- crossed the Potomac into Virginia at White's Ford, below the Monocacy, without the loss of a man. Stuart was closely pur- sued all the way by a body of Pleasonton's cavalry, but though the latter rode nearly 80 miles in 24 hours, they were unable to come up with the raiders.
This raid by Stuart, though not of great importance from a national stand-point, proved of especial interest to the Thirty- seventh, as one result thereof was their first experience in active campaigning. As early as the 10th of October, marching orders were promulgated, and it was known that there was intense anxiety at Washington and through the country that the army should move against the enemy while the weather and roads were favorable. But nothing came of these orders, and on the 15th they were repeated, followed the next day by considerable can- nonading in the direction of Harper's Ferry, to which the newer troops listened with much interest. These orders having been countermanded almost as soon as promulgated, the enlisted mnen, especially, had come to look upon them as a part of the school of the soldier, and were quite surprised when late in the after- noon of the 18th the call came for an immediate departure. It afterward appeared that at the first summons, on the 10th. Howe's brigade had marched up the Potomac in the hope of in- tercepting Stuart on his return, but that wily commander, as already noted, had moved in quite a different direction. Now a fresh alarm came from the same direction and the balance of Couch's division was hurried that way with all possible celerity.
With whatever they chaneed to have in the way of rations and blankets the command hastily formed, and at 5 o'clock the
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PREPARING TO FORD THE POTOMAC.
march began. It was soon dark, but the column pressed reso- lutely forward, through Williamsport, across Conococheague Crock to Clear Spring, which was reached after midnight, some 13 miles from the starting point. The men, unused to such " forced marches," were sadly exhausted before the bivouac was reached, but the novelty of the event gave them inspiration, and the regimental pride, which was in many a trying place to bring them credit and renown, was already pleasantly manifest. Scarcely a straggler fell from the ranks, in pleasing contrast to the experi- ence of some, if not most, of the older regiments in the column.
A laughable incident occurred near the close of the night's jaunt. The regiment was plodding wearily along its way, unable to see through the darkness what was before it, when suddenly there came a swashing, rustling, indefinable sound from a point just in advance, and extending some distance away. At once the suggestion was offered that the leading regiments were ford- ing the Potomac, and apparently the sound was recognized as coming from the splashing of shallow water through which men and horses were passing. There were no signs of a halt to pre- pare for the crossing, and immediately the roadside was lined with soldiers stripping off their shoes and stockings and rolling up their pants. Meantime the rustling became each moment nearer and louder as the column advanced, what appeared to be the smooth, shining surface of the stream could be dimly seen, and the officers were already riding into-not the Potomac, but an immense corn-field, in which the bivouac was to be made! The troops in advance, on halting, had begun to pull down the great shocks of harvested corn to serve them for bedding, caus- ing the sound which had been so ludicrously misinterpreted. .As the bare-footed stragglers came tenderly picking their way and looking for the " ford," they learned the truth at the cost of many a henty jest.
Morning found the command lame and weary, and not in the best of humor, for the night had been quite too chilly for com- fort. A listy breakfast of hard bread was swallowed, and at an arly hour the march was resumed. Some two miles beyond Clear Spring was Fair View Inn, a humble hostelry beside the
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THE ADVANCE TO FALMOUTH.
highway, and "fair " indeed was the view which opened before the gaze of the delighted soldiers, as they paused for a moment to feast upon its beauties. The stand-point was the summit of North Mountain range, which there breaks and slopes on either shore toward the Potomac. The river was but a few miles away, and it seemed even nearer in constrast with the magnificent ex- panse of the Shenandoah valley, which stretched far to the southward, mountain-bound on every side. . A continuation of the range upon which he stood, but seeming to the beholder an independent conformation. Little North Mountain swept away toward the southwest, boldest and clearest defined of all the wide panorama, because the nearest. Far in the dim blue to the southward Massannutten Mountain bounded the view, while to the left the far-reaching Blue Ridge, softened by the distance. stood in everlasting grandeur. What a magnificent prospect! what historic ground was embraced in that outlook! With many an exclamation of appreciation, the sturdy New Englanders feasted their eyes upon the scene, and forgot for a time their weariness.
Some 20 miles still remained between the division and its destination, and it was not till about sunset that the weary force halted near Hancock village. A picket line was established along the river, between it and the canal, to which unpleasant position Company F was assigned. An uncomfortable night followed, as a cold wind swept down the river, chilling the men to the bone, whether on outpost, crowded around the insufficient fires, or wrapped in their blankets to sleep. The day following. October 21, was eventless till midnight, when orders were re- ceived to change the location of the brigade to Cherry Run Ford, some ten miles down the Potomac. Colonel Edwards at once issued the necessary directions for the moving of his com- mand, and by the time Company E, which had relieved F on the picket line, could hurry into camp the column was formed and at once moved away.
Steadily through the night the brigade plodded along, and at daybreak met its supply trains-a very welcome meeting, since the rations taken from Downsville were wholly exhausted, and
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SOME DAYS NEAR CHERRY RUN.
not a few had gone supperless to sleep the previous evening. With the wagons had also come a mail, and in the shelter of a. noble forest the men gathered about the cheerful camp-fires to enjoy the warmth, prepare a hearty meal and read over and over the news and words of cheer from friends and home.
From this point it was only some half a mile to the river, in the vicinity of which the brigade went into temporary camp. Across the Potomac were commanding hights from which an aggressive enemy might have made the position very uncomfort- able, and there were unquestionably fears among both officers and men that the first night would be broken by the rude howl- ing of solid shot or shell; but nothing of the kind occurred, and a cavalry force, supported by the Second Rhode Island, was pushed across to look for signs of the foe.
Early on the morning of the 23d the regiment was roused with the announcement of marching orders, and at sunrise the road was taken. Less than a mile had been made when the brigade halted in the forest, and after waiting there till well into the afternoon returned to the camp just vacated. One or two sad incidents which occurred about this time deeply touched the members of the Thirty-seventh, for they had not yet become familiar with death in its more appalling forms. On the way to Cherry Run, at the foot of a sharp hill they passed the remains of a broken wagon, with a dead man lying beside the ruins. In the darkness the wagon had left the road and rolled down the -teep bank, carrying down and killing a sick soldier who was riding in it, and it was no discredit to the soldierly qualities of the men that in looking upon the spectacle they gave utterance to many a word of sorrow for his sad fate. But the interest in this event was not so close as in the death of a member of the Tenth regiment during the halt beside the highway on that 23d of October. He had but just returned to duty after an illness, complained of exhaustion when the halt was made, and died in a few minutes, to be buried in that lone spot with the last honors of his comrades in arms.
Four days more were passed at Cherry Run, and they were days of discomfort, a cold rain-storm setting in and continuing
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THE ADVANCE TO FALMOUTH.
most of the time. . The officers were far from comfortably pro- vided for, while the inen were without tents, and not a few without woolen blankets, though nearly all had rubber blankets. and these were forced to do duty as tents, for outside protection for those on guard, and in many another way. Of course a single rubber was wholly inadequate to so many uses at the same time. and as a consequence every man was soaked early in the storm. But with an occasional exception the spirits of the soldier. seemed to rise in proportion as the external circumstances were disheartening; the unpleasant situation was cheerfully accepted. exhibitions of selfishness were rare, and everywhere was mani- fested the utmost consideration for the welfare of the ill and the less robust.
On Monday morning, the 27th, definite orders came to march, and night found the command at Williamsport, where it bivou- acked. The storm had just ceased, the ground was still soaked. and everything about the soldiers wet, heavy to carry upon the march and uncomfortable. But in knots of from one to four. according to circumstances, the weary men spread their rubbers upon the damp earth, drew the wet woolen blankets over them. and slept soundly, despite the sharp cold which followed the storm. In the morning many of the damp blankets were so stiffly frozen that they could be lifted by a corner, but blazing fires were soon aglow in every direction, before which they were thawed and dried and everything put in the best possible condition for the continuance of the march.
No movement was made during the 28th, however, though there was a bustle of preparation going on throughout the Sixth Corps, the removal of all the siek to permanent hospitals having been ordered, with other measures indicating an impor- tant movement. In fact, General Mcclellan had already begun his long-expected crossing into Virginia, the advance of the army having passed over the ponton bridges at Berlin on the 26th. On the afternoon of the 20th the brigade returned to the old camp at Downsville, and the ensuing forenoon was de- voted to a thorough inspection, followed by fresh marching orders for the next day.
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MORNING AMONG THE MOUNTAINS.
Very early in the morning of the 31st the regiment stood in line beside the road waiting to take its place in the long column which moved past in ceaseless procession, and finally the word was spoken that bade farewell to the pleasant camp and its sur- roundings. The line of march led back along the route fol- lowed by the Thirty-seventh in going to Downsville, across the Antietam and through Koedysville, turning thence more toward the south and reaching the end of the day's journey near Rohrersville. But no stop was to be made there, and before the coming of light next morning the camp was astir. The scene was an impressive one to all who looked upon it in the darkness of that fading night. Here and there the ruddy gleam of a vamp-fire could be seen, and every moment the number in- creased. One after another was added as the awakening soldiers began to stir, and then more rapidly they flashed up adown the valley, along the slopes of the hills and far up to the summit, where they seemed to mingle with the fading stars. Here a bright flame would shoot up clear and radiant like a beacon light, revealing the merry group beside to the casual gaze of those far away; close by a heavy, uncertain column of smoke would indicate the unsuccessful efforts of some less fortunate squad, forced by circumstances to use inferior fuel, or per- chance wanting in the experience and tact necessary to win the best results. Finally the light of day came in its full splendor, the camp-light faded, the pillars of smoke died away; from behind the hills, out of forest recesses, almost from the bosom of the earth, it seemed, came the long columns of men in blue, moving steadily away to the southward till lost among the hills and swells of the South Mountain range.
The journey of that day was very wearying, as the route led over hills and mountains, not in gradual ascent but with much "limbing and descending, and all concerned were heartily glad to reach the shore of the Potomac near the village of Berlin a little ifter noon, with the prospect of a few days' rest and a supply of bthing which the increasing severity of the weather and the yar and tear of the march had made necessary.
The regiment encamped somewhat below Berlin, on low
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THE ADVANCE TO FALMOUTH.
ground between the railroad and the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, and there the following day, Sunday, November 2, was passed. It was a day of thoughtful rest. Far off over the Virginia hills could be heard the constant booming of caunon; troops were continually moving; the head-quarters of the commander-in- chief were in the little village just above; the massive stone piers of what had been a great bridge rose in desolate blackness at intervals across the river, all showing the grim presence of dread war in a manner to impress the Massachusetts soldiery to whom, generally speaking, these sights were new and interest- ing. Everywhere the pen was busy, officers and men alike em- bracing what might be the last opportunity for a long time to respond to the missives which had just come to hand; for that great bond of union between home and camp, the mail, followed the army wherever it went-on the march or into the battle.
The 3d of November was a memorable one to the Thirty- seventh. From early in the morning a ceaseless procession had been moving across the long ponton bridge, but it was not till about noon that Colonel Edwards led his command into its place in the column and across the historic river on to the "sacred soil." Anticipation and a mild excitement filled every frame with an unwonted thrill. The impatient demands for a forward movement of the army were answered at last, and every develop- inent was followed by the keen-eyed men of New England with the utmost interest. The ponton bridge itself came in for no little share of admiration-the heavy boats anchored upon the bosom of the river, supporting the timbers upon which the planks were laid and firmly held in place by binders across the ends-the whole so simple and meeting the requirements so per- fectly. Then as they gained some commanding hight, what a view it was to look back and beholdt the long lines still moving toward the river, while on the other hand they stretched away farther than the eye could reach, one unbroken thread of blue winding through the brown and goldl of the landscape, the after- noon sun glancing back from tens of thousands of shining muskets and polished breastplates. It was indeed a sight to fill the patriotic heart with pride and hope. It could not be that
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SCOWLS AND SMILES IN VIRGINIA.
such a magnificent army could be marching but to victory ! Alas, the subordinate knew but little how much jealousy and incompetence in high places were doing to make of that mag- nificent army a weakling !
It was at once evident that the country through which the army marched was not pervaded by love for the old Union. In Maryland the people met with had been mostly friendly to the soldiers, and were glad to show them little favors as opportunity presented. That disposition was no longer manifest, but every- where secession was freely talked and defended; the able-bodied men were almost without exception absent with the Confederate armies, or at home recovering from sickness or wounds resulting from their service in such armies; any application for food was enrtly dismissed; and in not a few cases the buckets were taken from the wells and hidden, that the Union soldiers might not obtain water as they passed. From only a single class was there ever kindness and frankness-the numerous blacks, of all ages and both sexes, who swarmed about the more well-to-do places, were ever ready to aid the soldiers, and to convey such limited knowledge as they might possess. And the passing Yankees, to whom the institution of slavery and its belongings was a new spectacle, were never weary of listening to the droll fancies and rude conceptions of the colored people whom they encountered. " Where is your master?" was asked of one aged man whose life had been worn out in unpaid servitude. " He is in de Southern army, sah." "Do you suppose he would like to have you talk- ing with the Northern soldiers?" " No, sah, I don't think he would like dat!" "Perhaps he may whip you when he learns of it." The bent form straightened with the assertion of a manhood that felt the day of its redemption at hand. " No, sah; he neber did that, and he don't dare try it now." Not always was the purport of a question framed from a New England stand-point comprehended by the dusky chattel of a different civilization. " What town is this?" asked a file-closer, for the twentieth time, on a long march. as a group of slaves appeared at the roadside. " Dis?" was the response, with a nod toward the great " master's house," standing a few rods back ; " dis is no town, dis is a
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