USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Essex > History of the town of Essex : from 1634 to 1868 > Part 34
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Andrews, Rufus -
363
ENLISTMENTS.
1861-1865.]
Lufkin, Alfred -
- Joined heavy artillery.
Lufkin, Sewall -
- Exempted.
Mckenzie, Jacob
Exempted.
Mears, Solomon P.
- Exempted.
Perkins, Gustavus S. -
Was in the navy at the time of the draft.
Perkins, Leverett
- Exempted.
Procter, John N.
- Exempted.
Reardon, Michael
- Hired substitute.
Story, Charles A.
Exempted. -
Story, Emri
- Exempted for diseased eye.
Story, Epes S.
- Exempted.
Story. Hervey -
- Hired substitute.
Story, John C. -
- Exempted.
Story, Newton, 2d
- Hired substitute.
Story, Pierpont -
- Exempted.
THIRD DRAFT OF THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND.
The President, by his order of October 17, 1863, called for three hundred thousand men, and unless raised as vol- unteers by the 5th day of January, 1864, a draft was to- take place. The quota of Essex was twenty-three. The sum of $2,600 was raised by subscription. The following named persons enlisted, but received none of the town's bounty :
Andrews, Rufus Chase, Lyman H.
Lufkin, Alfred
Andrews, Stephen P. Duggan, Daniel
Poland, Jeremiah, Jr.
Burnham, Abner
Howes, Edwin A. Prest, Robert
Burnham, Robert W., Jr.
Lufkin, Albert E. Swett, Simeon
The following named persons enlisted from Essex, under the President's call, and received the citizen's bounty of $125 each :
Burnham, Constantine
Burnham, Mark F. Haskell, William Fields, Charles II.
The following named men were hired by the citizens' committee raised for that purpose :
Berry, John Constantine, William Murray, John
Brabbury, Jacob Crawley, John
Peasley, Joseph
Butler, Thomas
Hubbard, William R. Sunbeig, John
Cobre, Henry
McDonnell, John
Travers, Charles
364
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
[CHAP. 7.
And the following is a list of strangers hired by the town, twenty-seven in all, viz .:
Anderson, Charles
Cummings, Philip
Power, James
Ayres, James
Dowley, Thomas
Reed, Francis
Bannan, Thomas A.
Duffy, George
Robinson, John
Beers, William
Goss, James P.
Smith, James
Bennet, James
Huntley, Loring
Sullivan, John
Brown, John
Mackay, William
Thomson, George
Callehan, George H.
Morris, Elisha C. Thomson, James
Collins, Richard T.
Morton, William F. Wenborne, Arthur J.
Creighton, Samuel
Murphy, Michael
Williams, Thomas
Under an order of the President for a draft issued May 4, 1864, to fill the quotas of different States that had failed to furnish their full number of men under previous calls, the number drafted from Essex was five, as follows, viz .:
Andrews, Zeno P.
- Hired substitute.
Boyd, Charles
- Hired substitute. .
Story, Charles O. -
- Paid commutation, $300.
Story, William H.
- Exempted.
Smith, Willard
- Hired substitute.
SKETCHES OF ESSEX SOLDIERS.
We now proceed to give a sketch of the Essex soldiers, officers and men. The apology for the length of the first article, if any such is needed, is, that the sketch may be said to apply to large numbers of the Forty-eighth, and although repeated attempts have been made to use the scissors, it has been found increasingly difficult to per- ceive where the work of retrenchment could most prop- erly be made. And for the extreme brevity of a portion of the sketches, as before intimated, our apology is the scantiness of the materials, which we deeply regret.
CAPTAIN CHARLES HOWES.
Capt. Charles Howes, was born at Chatham ; came to reside in Essex as a ship builder, in 1850 ; resides in a beautiful cottage built for himself in front of the Orthodox Church. The company (E), of which he was at first Lieutenant, and afterwards Captain, was raised in Salem and Essex, with a few exceptions. The first encampment was at the barracks in Wenham, and
365
1861-1865.] CAPTAIN HOWES' SKETCH.
lasted from the 15th of September until the 4th of December, 1862, when the regiment left for Readville. On the 27th of the same month the troops were ordered to New York, where they arrived on the 28th. From New York the regiment again embarked on the 2d of January, 1863, for Baton Rouge, where they arrived on the 4th of February, and encamped about one mile from the river, at Camp Banks. The regiment was brigaded with the One Hundred and Sixteenth New York, Forty-ninth Massachusetts, and the Twenty-first Maine, under command of Col. Chapin of the One Hundred and Sixteenth New York. The muskets were received soon after the arrival at the camp, and from that time the drilling became incessant. On Monday, March 9th, orders were received to be ready to march at a moment's notice. The large tents were struck, and the shelter tents pitched. These consist of two pieces of cotton cloth, each five feet square. Two of these are but- toned together, and form a tent under which two men can sleep. Each man carries one of these pieces, when on the march. On the night of Thursday, the 12th, at eight o'clock, orders were received to report next morning at the steamboat landing, at three o'clock, in light inarching order, and with one day's rations and sixty rounds of ammunition. Although these orders beto- kened a busy and perhaps a bloody day, yet the activity and desire of the troops to be there and to meet whatever might betide, is manifest from the fact that they were at the landing before the hour appointed, and immedi- ately embarked on board the " Sallie Robinson." Two other steamers took the Second Louisiana and two companies of cavalry, viz : McGee's and God- frey's, both Union troops.
Essex may well be proud of this specimen of her soldiers, for when it was first understood by the heading of the boat up the river, that their destination was Port Hudson, a long, loud shout, almost enough to shake the Sallie Robinson, rang from stem to stern. After steaming up eight miles, they ar- rived where the convoy were waiting, consisting of the famous gunboat Essex, as Capt. H. well designates her; the gunboat Albatross, the steam sloop-of- war, Hartford, also three mortar boats and one small armed steamer. When within five miles of Port Hudson, at a place called Springfield Landing, the troops disembarked. They took up their march at right angles with the river, and were obliged to cross a swamp half a mile in extent, appropriately called the Devil's Swamp, the water being to their waists in several places. The march was continued some seven miles into the interior, where they struck the great road from Baton Rouge to Port Hudson, and proceeded on to Baton Rouge. This seems to have transpired on Friday, the 13th of March, and the object, Captain Howes states, was to reconnoitre the road to Port Hudson, "to ascertain if any preparations had been made by the rebels to check the advance of our troops in that direction. During the excursion, several shots were fired by the rebel cavalry, damaging nothing, however, except a few of the horses." This enterprise was considered one of the most daring exploits made in that department. With a force numbering but little over one thou- sand men, cut off, as they were, from all support the moment they left the
366
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
[CHAP. 7.
river, it was surprising, as the Captain well observed, that they met with no more resistance. The result was sufficient to establish the character and mil- itary prowess of the Forty-eighth. It was a march of twenty-four miles, and the first raid they had then undertaken.
And no sooner were they arrived in camp, than they received orders to march again the next morning at four o'clock. So great, however, was the exhaustion that they were permitted to rest until eight o'clock, when they were detailed to guard the rear baggage train. They were ready on time, with full ranks, and took up their march over the same road as on the day before. Their first halt was at Montecino Bayou, a stream of water eight rods wide, crossing the Port Hudson road. Captain Howes was now in com- mand of four companies viz : Company E (his own), Company I, one com- pany of the Massachusetts Forty-second, and one of the native Louisiana (colored). The two first named were detailed to guard the bridges, and the two latter to repair them.
With these companies, Capt. H. established a line of pickets a mile in ex- tent around the bridges to guard against surprise, and the two companies above mentioned employed to repair the bridges, received orders from Capt. Howes where to form in case of an attack. At eight o'clock, Col. Clark, chief of Gen. Banks' staff, arrived in an ambulance, having been shot in the leg on the very road over which Capt. H. and his one thousand men had passed the day before. At the same time also, a message was received by Capt. H. from head-quarters, stating that there were from eight hundred to fifteen hundred rebel cavalry on his flank, and that they would probably at- tempt to destroy the bridges before morning ; the orders were imperative that the bridges must be defended at all hazards. Capt. Howes then caused ropes to be stretched across the road from tree to tree, and had the covering plank taken up from the centre of one of the bridges, so that it was impossible to cross it ; he also barricaded the other bridge (a pontoon) with carts, timber and other obstructions, so that the bridges might have been easily defended against almost any force. Our men, (says Capt. H.) "slept upon their arms until ten o'clock, when they were alarmed by the sound of approaching cav- alry. They were at their posts in a moment," thus showing themselves ready for any emergency. The alarm proved groundless, as the approaching troops were found to be a body of Rhode Island cavalry, which had been ordered back to Baton Rouge.
Just about this time, the bombardment of Port Hudson was conimenced by our fleet. Notwithstanding the intervening fifteen miles; the flashes of the guns could be seen and the reports heard. And as if to add to the sub- limity of the scene, the light of the ill-fated Mississippi steamer (Union), could be seen as she went down the river on fire. Her magazine exploded when nearly opposite our camp, with a crash which seemed to shake the earth to its center. Our troops returned from before Port Hudson on the next day. Eight companies of the Forty-eighth, before quite reaching their old camping ground, received orders to return and encamp near the bridges at Montecino
-
367
1861-1865.] CHARACTER OF THE ESSEX SOLDIERS.
Bayou, the stream before referred to, as crossing the Port Hudson road. Capt. Howes' company was detailed for picket duty on the Clinton road, run- ning parallel, as it does, to Port Hudson road and a half mile distant, a com- pany of the Twenty-first Maine being already there. These two companies relieved each other every four hours, thus giving a brief opportunity for sleep, which was taken under the piazza of a house near by. The company on duty, whichever it might be, was stationed in the forest. The night was one of the most rainy and disagreeable kind, and when it is recollected that the men were nearly exhausted, having been broken of their rest for the two previous nights, we begin to have some faint idea of the hardships of a sol- dier's life. After twenty-four hours of duty here, the company was relieved and returned to camp, where they learned that orders had been received re- quiring them to be ready to march at four o'clock next morning. "We were up at two A. M." says the gallant captain, and struck and packed our tents, and after waiting for marching orders until noon in vain, the tents were once more pitched and remained until Friday morning, when the whole army was ordered back to Baton Rouge, where they arrived at three P. M. In these perils, a few of the Essex men were unable to participate on account of sick- ness. Solomon A. Riggs and Horace Burnham, had been removed to the Hospital at New Orleans, some days before, while Ira F. Burnham and Charles P. Crockett were in the hospital at Baton Rouge. Two others, viz., Luther Hayden and John Kelleher, had been detailed for guard duty, and consequently did not go up the river on the occasion above described, but joined us the next day."
The testimony of Capt. Howes to the courage and soldier like qualities of our Essex men is of the most honorable kind. "I CAN SAY," he writes, " IN FAVOR OF THE ESSEX MEN, THAT NONE WERE MORE PROMPT AT THE CALL OF DUTY, NONE MORE OBEDIENT TO COMMANDS, NONE WIIO MADE LESS COM- PLAINT DURING THE FATIGUING MARCH."
To this it may be added, that Gen. Banks issued an order in which he stated that the troops had performed everything he wished, and that his ob- ject had been accomplished-as by sending the troops up by land the rebels took their field artillery from the river, so that it was an easier matter for our fleet to run by, in order to cut off the supplies which the rebels were daily receiving by the way of Red River.
This object, thus stated, affords a key to this dangerous but patriotic en- terprise. It was a key however, which even the officers in command were not allowed to have at the time. It seems to have been what is usually called a feint, indispensable in war, but of the object, and even of the perils of which at the time the troops knew almost nothing.
It may not have been distinetly stated as it should be to give a full under- standing of the facts in the case, that on the 14th of March, 1863, Com. Farragut made an attempt with eight gun-boats and steamers, to pass the rebel batteries at Port Hudson. They started about eleven o'clock at night. The rebels, by some means, discovered the movement, and opened upon our
368
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
[CHAP. 7.
ships. The Mississippi frigate being large, ran aground, and was abandoned and burned ; sixty-five of her crew having been killed, drowned, or taken prisoners. The Hartford and Albatross only succeeded in passing the fort, the remaining five having been repulsed.
On the 27th of March, Capt. Howes remarks, that the drilling of four hours each day, after their return to Baton Rouge, together with guard duty, left but a short time for rest, especially as they had no lieutenant on duty. In five days more, viz : on the 1st of April, he is suffering from an attack of fever; and is off duty, of course. On the 3d, we find him in the general hospital, one of the Essex soldiers, Albert F. Burnham being detailed to at- tend him as nurse. It was not until the 17th, that he was able to rejoin the regiment, which, by that time, had moved down near the hospital and was encamped upon a level, beautiful spot near the center of the city, con- sequently but a short distance from the Mississippi River.
The lamented F. Gilbert Mears, also rejoined the regiment the same day, having been quite sick at the arsenal hospital. There was an alarm at mid- night, between the 17th and 18th (April,) in consequence of an order from Col. O'Brien, requiring Capt. Howes to be prepared to form his company at a moment's notice, as it was announced that seven hundred rebel cavalry, outside of our pickets, were expected to make a raid into the city during the night. The alarm, however, proved groundless, and instead of a fight, the paymaster's arrival on the 23d, filled or might have filled their mouths with laughter, and their tongues with singing, and nobody have thought the worse of them for it.
Lieut. Sanders was detailed with twenty men on the morning of the 24th, for an expedition up the river to capture some cattle, which was in part a failure, as they obtained but four cows with a few horses and mules.
Capt. Howes' journal of the 5th of May, has the following painful entry : " F. Gilbert Mears was taken sick quite suddenly yesterday, and was taken to the hospital. He appears to be failing fast. Visited Mr. Crockett at the arsenal hospital. He is very sick and cannot live long. Wilkins James of Company D is quite sick in the hospital.
May 7th. Mr. Crockett died suddenly yesterday, and we have buried him under arms to-day at the cemetery. Sergeant Mears is no worse, and the surgeon thinks he may recover ;" an expectation, which, alas ! was never to be realized, except to be again disappointed. On the 9th of April, we find Wilkins James " not so well," though Mr. Mears seemed somewhat improving. Four others came on the sick list the same day, viz : John Kell- eher, Morty Duggan, Aaron Low, and Leonard Burnham. It was also on this same 9th of May, that the mortar boats began bombarding Port Hudson. The reports could be heard distinctly. Capt. Howes' company made choice of John F. Ford of Salem for second lieutenant, in the room of Lieut. Lee, resigned. Lieut. Sanders was at the same time sick, and off duty. Orders were received on the 12th of May, to cook two days' rations and be ready to march at half an hour's notice. On the 13th, one of the partially recovered
1861-1865.]
FIRST BATTLE OF COMPANY E.
369
soldiers, Solomon A. Riggs, came up from the hospital at New Orleans, and joined the company, though unable to do duty. As an offset to this gratify- ing announcement, however, we learn that on the same day, the 13th of May, Wilkins James died, and was buried the day following.
.
In obedience to orders received on the 18th inst., Capt. Howes took up the march for Port Hudson at half-past two o'clock, leaving twenty-four of his company behind, however, sick. " At dark they halted and encamped on Merritt's plantation, and near Dudley's brigade, which, however, had been there some days. The heat of the day, together with the dusty state of the roads, made the march one of great fatigue. As soon as the muskets could be stacked, the men threw themselves upon the ground and soon knew the blessings of sleep. Marching orders were received next day, (19th May,) at noon. A march of three miles on the Port Hudson road brought them to a plain on which the whole force was brought into line of battle. This was five miles from the Port Hudson entrenchments. Our batteries shelled the woods, says the gallant captain, but we could not tempt the rebels out to a fair stand-up-fight. Three prisoners were brought in on the 20th inst., who reported that there were seven thousand troops inside the entrenchments. Capt. H. was detailed as officer of the picket guard. Early on the morning of the 21st, he received orders to report to the regiment with the picket guard. The troops were then falling in for the march, and at eight o'clock it was commenced. After a march of about four miles, the rebel artillery opened on our advance. Our artillery was now sent to the front and forced the rebels back, though slowly. Our advance was hotly contested. At three o'clock, our regiment was ordered to the front to support a battery then in position. Companies B, D and E, of the right wing, under command of Lieut. Col. O'Brien, were stationed in the woods on the right of the road, and about fifty yards in rear of the battery. The left wing were stationed on the left of the road. Capt. Howes proceeds to say, " the rebels opened a ter- rific fire on our battery, and we were obliged to lie down to escape the terrible shower of shot and shell that was flying about us. One of our company, Benjamin Crowell of Lynnfield, was killed by a cannon ball. After lying in this position nearly an hour, the rebel infantry charged on the left wing of our regiment, and compelled them to fall back. The right wing sprang to their feet and were in line in a moment. The rebels came up to a fence on the road, and poured a volley of musketry into our ranks. As we were out- . flanked, the lieutenant colonel ordered us to fall back and rally on the colors. We fell back about seventy-five yards, formed our line again, (being all the time under their fire,) and opened on them with our musketry. The rest of the brigade came up at this time and charged on them, taking sixty-two pris- oners, besides killing and wounding quite a number. The loss of our regi- ment in this battle was two killed, seven wounded, and eleven prisoners. Company E lost one killed, Crowell, above mentioned, and three prisoners, one of whom was James B. Kimball of Essex."
The battle here described took place, it should be remembered, on the 21st
47
370
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
[CHAP. 7.
of May, 1863, and was the first that Company E had seen. A mark of honor was put upon this company at the close of the fight, well understood and appreciated by military men, of however doubtful significance it might seem to others, viz : they were put on picket duty the night following the bat- tle, after having done the same duty the very night before ; thus showing that the company had acquired a reputation for courage and endurance, not al- ways secured by nine months' men.
A rebel flag of truce was sent in next morning, 22d inst., asking permis- sion to take away their dead, their prisoners having been sent down to Baton Rouge under guard. On the 23d, our regiment were sent a mile to the rear, where they remained that day. They received orders at ten o'clock in the evening to cook two days' rations, and be ready to march at day-light next morning. The cooks were busy all night, of course ; but all was ready at the hour, and at sun-rise they were on the march for Port Hudson. Before starting they heard the welcome rumor that Gen. Banks had crossed the river above Port Hudson with his forces, and would join them the next day. The great heat of the day compelled the troops to cast off all superfluous clothing ; and overcoats, blankets, etc., lined the road over which they marched.
While on the march to Port Hudson, and within about two miles of it, a long, loud cheering from the regiments in the rear announced the arrival of Gen. Banks. The glorious Forty-eighth were not slow in giving him three tremendous cheers. When within about one mile of the Port Hudson works, the troops halted, and established picket lines. Gen. Sherman, it was ascer- tained, had arrived from New Orleans, and had formed his forces on the left ; while Gen. Banks encircled the right, leaving ours (says Capt. H.) under Gen. Augur, in the centre, thus making a chain seven miles long around the rear of Port Hudson, the right and left of which rested on the Mississippi. Nothing of moment was done that day ; one of our batteries indeed, opened fire on the works of the enemy, and it was responded to. Our troops slept quietly by the side of their stacked arms. Slight firing upon the pickets in- deed, occasioned the forming of the men into line a few times, through ap- prehension of an attack.
May 25th, no fighting except with artillery ; on the 26th, Capt. H. was detailed as officer of the picket-guard (about sixty men), thus relieving the old guard, which had been stationed one-fourth of a mile in advance of our forces. He had a reserve of fifteen men, who remained with him a short dis- tance in rear of the line. No firing that night.
On the morning of the 27th, the scene changed, and the quiet of the two preceding days gave way to rapid artillery firing all the forenoon, the dis- charges averaging, as Capt. H. judged, twenty per minute. Our troops were passing through the picket line to the front all the forenoon. A charge was made on the rebel works, about noon, which was unsuccessful. At noon, the officer of the day ordered Capt. H. to post his reserve on a road leading to the front, and to permit none but wounded men to pass to the rear. Some attempted to pass through, on pretence of being wounded, but as every man
371
DUTIES OF COMPANY E.
1861-1865.]
was examined, many were ordered back to their regiments. Ambulances were constantly passing to the rear, filled with the wounded and dying. It was ascertained on the next day that the Forty-eighth lost seven killed and forty-one wounded in the attack on the 27th. Lieut. Col. O'Brien was killed at the head of the storming party. Five commissioned officers were wounded, and the Acting Brigadier General, Col. Chapin of New York, fought his last fight on that memorable though unsuccessful day.
Capt. H. was, shortly after, detailed to take command of twenty-five men belonging to the Forty-eighth, to go out under a flag of truce to bury the dead, lying near the rebel works. Each of the three other regiments in this brigade also detailed twenty-five men, making one hundred in all, under com- mand of Col. Johnson of the Twenty-first Maine, for the same melancholy duty. We found, says Capt. H., sixty-three bodies, which we took a short distance to the rear, and buried in trenches. Two were found living but badly wounded, who were removed to the hospital at the rear. A fact is here stated by the Captain, going to show that some sparks of humanity still linger in human bosoms, where we should otherwise suppose them to be utterly extinct. " Many of the rebels came out of the fort, and joined us while we were collecting the dead. They brought out beer for us to drink, and joined freely with us in conversation."
On the 31st of May, Capt. H. was detailed as captain of the skirmishers consisting of forty men, and stationed in the edge of the woods, about four hundred yards from the rebel works, and was ordered to hold that portion, if attacked, until reinforced from the rear. He stationed two men in the tops of the trees to watch the movements of the enemy. Seven volleys of mus- ketry were received from the rebels during the day, but no one was injured, and the fire was not returned, for the reason that it was thought unadvisable to betray the strength, or rather the weakness, of the Union force. The captain might well say they found themselves much exhausted when relieved next morn- ing, having been on duty, and without sleep, five of the thirteen nights since leaving Baton Rouge. One alarm only disturbed the rest of the following night.
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