USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Clinton > History of the origin of the town of Clinton, Massachusetts, 1653-1865 > Part 50
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After these few days of futile attempts to take the forti- fications of Petersburg by assault, the attack settled down into a siege. On the very day that the remnant of the Fif- teenth were captured, the Thirty-sixth began its work in the trenches, and before the day was ended one of our Clinton men, Abial Fisher, was wounded in the arm. A rebel ac- count of the siege of Petersburg says: "The enemy (the Union army) plied pick and spade and axe with such silent vigor that there arose as if by a touch of the magician's wand
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BATTLE OF THE CRATER.
a vast cordon of redoubts of powerful profile, connected by heavy infantry parapets, stretching from the Appomattox to the extreme Federal left-a line of prodigious strength and constructed with amazing skill." A man of the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts wrote: "Now commenced the terrible life in the trenches, and there were no places a man could choose for comfort." These trenches were shallow earthworks with parapets formed of the earth thrown out, with loop-holes made usually of sand-bags. They were generally provided with little canvas shelters to protect from the sun. In many cases, men dug caves in the earth which afforded protection against pieces of shell and other missiles thrown in the fre- quent artillery duels. In the trenches, officers and men lived for days, weeks and months. Food was brought to them by the company cooks. While our army occupied these trenches, the enemy occupied similar ones only a few rods away in front, and each lay watching the other, watching a chance to get a shot that would send some one to his death. To the end of August, the average number of wounded in the Eighteenth Corps was thirty per day, and ambulances were kept in constant readiness to remove the wounded or sick. Here, on June 25th, Herman Holman was wounded so that his left leg had to be amputated, and July 12th, Henry Linenkemper received a wound in the back.
On July 30th, the Ninth Corps took part in the "Battle of the Crater." A mine had been dug under one of the rebel forts called the Elliott Salient. Here, eight thousand pounds of powder were placed. The powder was carried into the mine by a detail of four men under charge of our townsman, Captain A. S. Davidson, then in command of Company G. It was exploded on the morning of the 30th, the fort was blown high in the air, and the Ninth Corps, led by Ledlie's Division, with the Twenty-first Massachusetts well to the front, charged through the crater thus formed, on to the lines of the enemy. They were poorly led and the rebels recovered from their confusion before any impression had
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been made on their lines, and poured down from front and sides a deluge of lead and bursting shells upon the mass of humanity struggling in the crater. The rest of the Ninth Corps, including the Thirty-sixth, followed up the attack, but as the troops were thus crowded more closely, and were trying to move in opposite directions, the confusion was only redoubled. When the men were at last withdrawn, nearly four thousand had fallen. The only victim in this " miser- able affair" among our Clinton soldiers was Sergeant Charles R. Renner, who received wounds from which he died August 22d. Edward M. Fuller (claimed by both Lancaster and Clinton), major of the Thirty-ninth United States Colored Troops, was wounded.
In August, the two Clinton men of the Twenty-first who still remained in the army, and who had not reënlisted, were ordered home to be mustered out. John Tracy was in the hospital from wounds, never to recover. The four who were left in active service were enrolled in the Twenty-first Bat- talion. On August 19th, this organization took part in the battle of Poplar Springs Church. Late in October, it was consolidated into the Thirty-sixth Massachusetts.
The Twenty-fifth Regiment was withdrawn from the siege of Petersburg and sent to the line at Bermuda Hundreds, and September 6th, it was sent to Newbern, N. C. But even here, death was lurking in wait for his victims. Yellow fever prevailed, and Samuel D. Champney contracted the disease, from which he died in quarantine in New York City, October 10, 1864. October 5th, those of the survivors who had not re-enlisted, started for home and were mustered out at Wor- cester, October 20th. In the four months in Virginia, out of the twenty-four that set out for that state with the regiment, one had been discharged for disability, four had been killed, two were still in rebel prisons, one never to return, and nearly all the others had been wounded, some, several times. As three had re-enlisted and one died on the way home, there were only thirteen left to be mustered out. The rem-
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ARMY OF THE SHENANDOAH.
nant of the regiment served in North Carolina to the end of the war, and was mustered out July 13, 1865.
Lieutenant Samuel M. Bowman of the Fifty-first Regi- ment was hit by a shell at Petersburg, and died July 26th. On the Ist of August, there were fourteen Clinton men left . in the Thirty-sixth, although not more than half of these could have been on regular duty in the ranks. These took part, August 19th, in the successful engagement by which the control of the Weldon Railroad was secured, and in the disastrous affair at Pegram Farm, September 30th. It is possible that Roger Eccles was one of those taken prisoner in this engagement, although his capture is given as at Petersburg, two days later. He was carried to Salisbury, N. C., where he died, January 9, 1865. The remainder of the autumn and winter were passed near Petersburg in compara- tive quiet.
Some of the Clinton men of the Fourth Cavalry were doing service all the time from May 8th through the summer and fall, in the Army of the James, or, after the consolidation, in the Army of the Potomac. They took part in various engagements, and performed such duties as were required of them, but such was their good fortune that they did not lose a man or suffer any serious casualties during this bloody struggle, and the close of the year saw all the thirteen men, who had enlisted January 6, 1864, still on duty.
We have yet to follow the history of the Army of the Shenandoah under General Sigel, which was to cooperate with Grant in his movement on Richmond. Clinton was represented in this force at first by the Thirty-fourth Regi- ment alone. This regiment, which we have seen on guard duty about Washington and Harper's Ferry, had known little fighting previous to the opening of this campaign. On the 18th of October, 1863, it had a running fight, as it pursued for some six miles the fleeing rebel cavalry under Imboden, but no Clinton men were injured. In the winter, it had
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received six recruits, who were mustered in December and January, 1863-4. As one man had been discharged and one transferred, there were in May, 1864, fifteen Clinton men in the regiment.
May 2d, the Thirty-fourth was at Winchester ; May 9th, it moved to Cedar Creek; May 14th, to New Market. Here, the next day, it met the enemy. Company B, in which most of the Clinton boys had enlisted, acted together with Com- pany I as a skirmish line. Later, the regiment received and checked a charge of the rebels. Then they made an un- successful counter-charge, with great loss. Horatio E. Turner was wounded and taken prisoner. He died in Andersonville, September 8, 1864. May 22d, Sigel was succeeded by General Hunter. A forward movement was made, in which the first decided resistance was met at Pied- mont, on June 5th. One, who was present at the battle, states :
"Upon nearing the enemy, the Thirty-fourth was de- tached from its brigade, and ordered to move, by left flank, through the fields to a hollow, then to advance in line, facing the woods occupied by the enemy. This movement threatened the enemy's flank. As we. having gained the hollow, raised the crest of the hill beyond, a volley was poured into us which killed four and wounded others. Here, at a scant twenty rods distance, we delivered our fire, and rushed on. The enemy broke back into the woods in some confusion ; our line advanced, cheering, and the day was seemingly ours. But the enemy rallied, and renewed his fire with great fury. Here, we had a fair stand-up fight for about twenty minutes, when suddenly a heavy fire broke out on our left, against which a strong force was being brought forward. This was the enemy's reserve. Approach- ing down an open road, it poured a withering fire into our very faces. In less than five minutes, we lost our major, adjutant, senior captain, and fifty-three men killed or wounded." The victory finally, however, rested with our
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THE THIRTY-FOURTH AT NEW MARKET.
troops, but it was purchased at a heavy cost to the regiment. which lost thirteen killed and ninety-seven wounded. Thomas J. Burns received a wound in the breast of which he died, June Ioth, at Piedmont. James A. Needham was wounded.
Colonel Wells of the Thirty-fourth being called to the command of the First Brigade, took with him his own regi- ment. An advance was made to Lynchburg, and on the ISth, the intrenchments of the enemy were attacked without success, and the rebels were driven back when they tried to break our line. The engagement lasted two hours, and was without any decided advantage to either side. As the rebels received reinforcements at night, the Union troops with- drew. John Bell was among the wounded, and Enos Messier was taken a prisoner, to die at Andersonville, September 23d.
As General Early had received a great accession to his numbers, he commenced an aggressive campaign, with the hope of calling troops from Grant to the defence of Wash- ington. The Union forces were obliged to flee before the overwhelming force of their opponents. Early gained con- trol of the whole Shenandoah Valley, but failed to accom- plish his main purpose. At the beginning of August, General Sheridan took command of this department. The Third Massachusetts Cavalry, which had taken part in the Red River expedition, was ordered to the north, and having been dismounted, was joined to Sheridan's forces. In this regiment, there were at this time ten Clinton men. As twelve remained in the Thirty-fourth Infantry, there were twenty-two Clinton men in all in Sheridan's army.
The Union troops, with enlarged forces and a new com- mander, assumed the aggressive. After various rapid move- ments, they engaged the Confederates at Opequan, and after a sharp battle drove them from the field. Although the Thirty-fourth was closely engaged, we have no record of any casualties that befell the Clinton men, but the Third Cavalry was not so fortunate. Three times did that regiment
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share in a determined charge, and the final victory was due in no small part to its valor. The regiment lost one hundred and four officers and men, among whom were Benjamin Davenport and John Gately, killed, and George O. Howard, wounded in the right shoulder, and Robert King, wounded in the knee. It may be that Francis Lovell was taken prisoner here, or, perhaps, a month later at Cedar Creek. All that is known is that he was taken somewhere in this campaign, and that he died, February 21, 1865, in a rebel prison. On September 22d, the retreating rebels made a stand at Fisher Hill and were again defeated, and Sheridan again pursued.
In October, Sheridan began to withdraw his troops to the upper part of the valley, and on the 13th, two brigades were ordered out to drive off what was supposed to be a small reconnoitering body of the enemy. They found the rebels in force, and a withdrawal was ordered, but as the aide who carried the order was shot after he had given the order to a part of the troops, but before he had reached Wells' brigade, and as an intervening ridge prevented Wells from seeing the withdrawal of the other brigade, his brigade was nearly cut off and its leader mortally wounded. James A. Needham and Thomas Gallagher were wounded and taken prisoners. The latter was taken to Libby Prison, Richmond, where he stayed until he was paroled, in April, 1865. James A. Need- ham escaped.
Again, at Cedar Creek, October 19th, the Union troops were surprised by the enemy, who crept upon their flanks in the mist and darkness, while Sheridan was "at Winchester, twenty miles away." The Union troops retreated to Middle- town before the flight was stayed. There, Sheridan met them, and led them back to victory. The Third Cavalry was not among those troops who were surprised, but it fought continually during the day, and participated in the final victory. We have no record that any Clinton men suffered in the engagement. The campaign ended with this battle. The Third Cavalry saw no more important active service.
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IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY.
The Thirty-fourth was ordered to the Army of the James, which was under command of General Ord. It reached this army December 25th, with the names of ten Clinton men on the rolls.
When the spring campaign opened, the Clinton men of the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-sixth Infantry, and the Third and Fourth Cavalry, were all actively engaged in the closing scenes of the war. In the final movement on Petersburg, April 2d, the Thirty-fourth took part in the attack, but no casualties are recorded in the case of any Clinton man. The Thirty-sixth was in one of the forts, and was not engaged in the fighting. The next day, it was found that all the Confederate troops had withdrawn from the city. It was a joyous day for the men who had endured so much for the ten long months during which the city had been be- sieged. The joy of the occasion was emphasized by the information that Richmond was also in the possession of our army and by the arrival of President Lincoln, who received a grand ovation.
Then came a few days of rapid movement to cut off the retreat of Lee. The Thirty-fourth was among the regiments that stood planted in his path at the time of his final surrender on the 9th of April, at Appomattox. It is doubt- fully asserted that John W. Holbrook of the Thirty-fourth, was killed in a skirmish with the enemy, April 6th, but it is probable that he was captured before this time. The Fourth Cavalry, as a whole, did effective work during this pursuit, though it was not the fortune of our Clinton boys to be in those companies which fought so heroically at High Bridge. John Gibbons of this regiment died July 15, 1865, in Rich- mond, while still in service.
When it was known that Lee had surrendered, the exul- tation of the soldiers knew no bounds. Only the men who had suffered the hardships of war could appreciate the value and joy of victory. One moment the hardened cheeks of the veterans were moistened with tears, as they grasped each
42
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other's hands with sobbing words of joy, the next the air was filled with delirious cheers. Not alone in the army, but at Clinton and throughout the North the glad bells were ringing, hearts were tumultuously beating and hosannas were rising to the God of Battles who had given the victory. Six days later, joy was changed into mourning by the sad intelligence that the nation's chief had fallen by the hand of an assassin. It is unnecessary for us to enter into the details of the next two months, or to describe the return of the regiments, since all the particulars can be learned from the individual record.
The return of soldiers discharged or mustered out was of common occurrence during the last years of the war. Such soldiers were always sure of a warm welcome, whether they came as individuals or in organizations. Those, who had returned before July 4, 1865, were invited to a reception in Worcester on that date. This invitation was quite generally accepted. Before these veterans started for the city, a public breakfast was given them at sunrise by the citizens of Clinton. Among the exercises there was a flag raising on the Common, at which an address was delivered by Hon. Charles G. Stevens. As his eloquent words so truly express the feelings which were present in the hearts of all his fellow citizens, they may fitly close this record of what Clinton did for the country against the armed hosts of the rebellion :
"Soldiers: You who have opposed your bodies as a living rampart against the attack of foes who in the blind- ness of insane fury would tear it (the flag) to the ground; you who have left all the delights of home, the comforts and luxuries earned by your own strength in the pursuit of peaceful industry, and have bravely encountered and en- dured the hardships, the perils and the sufferings of the camp, the march and the battle, with the horrors of the prison-house, that your eyes might not behold a dishonored flag, a dissevered country, a government broken, shattered and destroyed, and upon its ruins erected a tyranny beneath
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WELCOME HOME.
whose despotic arms no freeman could breathe in safety; you who have returned with laurels of the conqueror upon your brow, who can now rejoice over ' the battle fought and the victory won,' and forgetting the long, tedious months and years of anxiety and dread, can now securely rest in the knowledge that through your patient persevering and un- dying courage the contest has ended in the complete over- throw of the rebellion and the enforced submission of the whole band of traitors ;- to your hands has it been entrusted to raise this glorious banner on high,-to you has it been committed to signalize the celebration of this day-a day doubly to be hallowed in the future-by tossing to the breeze, to float in triumphant freedom, the flag for which, and under which, you have so nobly battled. To you and to your children, and to your children's children, may this day ever be one held in fond remembrance. Ever will it be one of your proudest boasts that you were of that army of citizen soldiery that fought so gallantly for the right; and as the years roll on, and the recollection of hardships and suffer- ings dims with fleeting time, the glorious results achieved by your labors will cause a thrill of joy to course through your veins, and more and more will it be to you a cause for satis- faction that you were enabled to share with that heroic band the honor of so mighty a contest.
"The battle over, the strife ended, your labors done, we welcome you to your honors! We saw you go forth to the fight with hearts full of fear for your safety, and the many brave hearts who so gallantly buckled on their armor with you, whom you left behind, attest how terribly our fears have been realized. We have followed you step by step through all your perilous march and life of danger; we have wept for your suffering and prayed for you, and with equal joy shared your success. The little we could do for those you left at home, and for your own comfort in camp and hospital and prison, has been done as a cheerful duty to you and a relief to us. Through all the fortunes of war, our con-
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fidence in your manly courage and fortitude has never faltered. We could not believe, we never did believe that you would return finally otherwise than as victors. Though at times the heavens seemed hung. with blackness and terrible doubts were whispered in our ears, we never lost our trust in the good God who holds the destinies of nations in his hand, and at length has He given you the victory! May your future days be full of peace, prosperity and happiness. The debt the country owes your patriotism is too large ever to be fully paid; but a nation's gratitude is yours, and millions of grateful hearts will ever remember your priceless services.
"While with heartfelt joy we welcome you to home and friends-while we drop the tear of sympathy for all those who have sent to the battle-field loved ones whose forms they may never again behold-today, here and now, we can- not regret your hardships, nor can we hardly show a single tear of sorrow for those whose bones lie beneath the blood- stained sod. True patriots, they have given to their country the fullest evidence of their love. Martyred heroes! their memory will ever be cherished; and when in this our good time a merciful Providence shall have healed the wounded hearts now stricken, mother, wife and sister will so rejoice over the manner of their death that all cause for mourning and sorrow will be forgotten, and loving children now weep- ing in desolate orphanhood will glory and boast over their descent from those who have dared even to die for their country."
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CLINTON SOLDIERS' INDIVIDUAL RECORD.
MASSACHUSETTS REGIMENTS- (THREE YEARS).
CONTRACTIONS .- capt., captain; lieut., lieutenant; sergt., sergeant; corpl., corporal; Co., company; m., mustered; m. out, mustered out; dischd, discharged; dis., disability; w., wounded; expr., expiration.
First Regiment.
BROTHERS, HIPPOLYTE P., musician, 26. Mustered May 25, '61; dischd. with band July 27, '62; re-enlisted in Forty-seventh, Co. E, Nov. 6, '62, as a soldier, credited to Charlestown; m. out Sept. I, '63; re-enlisted Jan. 4, '64, in Regular Army as musician; m. out June 30, '65.
BROWN, EDWIN J., 35. Co. K; m. Sept. 2, '63; m. out June 22, '65.
Second Regiment. Date of muster, May 25, 1861.
BARTLETT, ANSON B., 18. Co. D; corpl .; transferred Jan. 26, '63, to U. S. Army; assigned to Co. D, First Battalion, Sixteenth; re-enlisted Feb. 29, '64; dischd. as sergt. Feb. 27, '67, at expr. of service.
CHENEY, GILBERT A., 23. Co. D; w. at Antietam Sept. 17, '62; died Oct. 18, '62. (Credited to Newton.)
HAYES, EDWARD K., 21. Co. A; missing from July 27, '63; afterwards in Second N. Y. Cavalry.
ORNE, DAVID J., 23. Co. D; m. out May 24, '64.
Seventh Regiment. Date of muster, June 15, 1861.
SHAW, JOHN, 39; Co. A; dischd. for dis. July 20, '62.
SHAW, JOHN, JR., 18. Co. A; missing from Oct. 10, '62.
(Entered on rolls as from Somerset, but not enrolled there in 1863. They were residents of Clinton.)
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SOLDIERS' INDIVIDUAL RECORD.
Ninth Regiment.
Date of muster, June 11, 1861.
DUNCAN, CHARLES, 28; born in Scotland. Co. C; killed July 1, '62, at Malvern Hill.
GATELY, MARTIN, 31. Co. K; dischd. Dec. 22, '62. for dis.
MCNAMARA, MICHAEL J., 18. Co. C; w. July 1, '62, at Malvern Hill; dischd. Jan. 16, '63, for dis.
O'TOOLE, MICHAEL, 21. Co. C; w. June 22, '62, at Gaines' Mill; dischd. June 21, '64, at expr. of service.
Eleventh Regiment. Date of muster, June 13, 1861.
GRADY, THOMAS, 18. Co. B; dischd. June 24, '64, at expr. of service as corpl.
HOBBS, CHARLES P., 17. Co. B; missing from Nov. 18, '61.
Fifteenth Regiment.
Mustered July 12, 1861. Company C, unless otherwise stated.
BOWMAN, HENRY, 26. Mustered Aug. 1, '61; capt .; prisoner at Ball's Bluff, Oct. 21, '61, confined in Richmond; paroled Feb. 22, '62; ex- changed Aug. 2, '62; major Thirty-fourth, Aug. 6, '62, declined; colonel Thirty-sixth, Aug. 22, '62; commanded brigade in Mississippi; resigned July 27, '63; re-commissioned Oct., '63; unable to muster as regiment was below minimum; on special duty as chief of staff of General Wilcox, commanding at Cumberland Gap and in East Tennessee, Nov. 21 to Dec. 25, '63; appointed assistant quartermaster U. S. Vols., Feb. 29, '64; on duty in Virginia in '64, afterwards in Baltimore and Philadelphia; m. out Aug. 15, '66.
WHEELOCK, WILLIAM R., 39. Sergt; Ist lieut. Oct. 10, '62; capt. Co. G, July 5, '63; dischd. July 28, '64, expr. of service.
BUSS, ELISHA G., 26; born in Sterling, Mass. Ist sergt .; 2d lieut. Nov. 14,'62; Ist lieut. March 15, '63; w. at Gettysburg July 3, and died of wound at Clinton, July 23, '63.
COULTER, WILLIAM J., 20. Corpl. Nov. 12, '62; sergt. Dec. 10, '62; Ist lieut. Nov. 21, '63; prisoner at Petersburg, June 22, '64; confined in Richmond, Va., Macon, Ga., Charleston and Columbia, S. C .; ex- changed March 1, '65; transferred to Twentieth, July 28, '64; declined commission; dischd. March 12;'65.
FREEMAN, JOSHUA, 40. Sergt .; 2d lieut. March 19, '63; Ist lieut. Sept. 20, '63; dischd. July 28, '64, expr. of service.
FULLER, ANDREW L., 37. Mustercd Aug. 1, '61; Ist lieut .; resigned Oct. 7, '61, from ill-health. (Died Sept. 10, '67.)
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FIFTEENTH REGIMENT.
WATERS, WILLIAM G., 23. Mustered July 24, '61; commissary sergt .;
Ist lieut. Oct. 27, '62; dischd. March 14, '63, for dis. (Name on the rolls as of Gorham, Maine, but commissioned as from Clinton.)
FRAZER, CHARLES, 23. Sergt .; 2d lieut. Aug. 6, '62; refused commis- sion; w. in hand at Antietam, Sept. 17, '62.
BENSON, EDWARD W., 25. Corpl; sergt .; taken to hospital July, '62; died from relapse of fever while on furlough, in Clinton, Aug. 3, '62. BRIGHAM, JOHN D., 27. Corpl .; sergt .; w. and prisoner at Ball's Bluff, Oct. 21, '61, confined in Richmond; dischd. Dec. 10, '62, for dis.
CAULFIELD, THOMAS, 24. Corpl .; sergt .; w. and prisoner at Antietam, Sept. 17,'62; confined in Richmond; paroled and dischd. about Dec. I, '62, for dis .; re-enlisted in Second Light Battery, Jan. 16, '64; w. and prisoner at Sabine Cross Roads, April 9, '64; confined at Mansfield, Texas; exchanged June 20, '64; m. out Aug. 12, '65.
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