USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 1 > Part 17
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Company B-Captain, George F. Shattuck of Groton; first lieuten- ant, Joseph A. Bacon of Harvard; second lieutenant, William T. Childs of Groton.
Company C, Lowell-Captain, Benjamin F. Goddard; first lieuten- ant, William B. McCurdy; second lieutenant, John A. Richardson.
Company D-Same as 1862.
Company E, Acton-Captain, Frank II. Whitcomb; first lieuten- ant, George W. Knights; second lieutenant, Isaiah Hutchins.
Company F, Boston-Captain, Henry W. Wilson; first lieutenant, Edmund C. Colman; second lieutenant, Richard J. Fennelly.
Company G, Lowell - Captain, Nathan Taylor; first lieutenant, Charles II. Bassett; second lieutenant, Paul Paulus.
Company H-Captam, Moses E. Ware of Roxbury; first lieutenant, George L. Tripp of Boston; second lieutenant, Albert A. Chittenden of Chelsea.
Company I-Captain, Edward H. Staten of Salem; first lieutenant, Joseph H. Glidden of Salem; second lieutenant, George M. Crowell of Danvers.
Company K, Lawrence-Captain, Edgar J. Sherman; first lieuten- ant, Moulton Batchelder; second lieutenant, John D. Emerson.
The office of major being vacant, Adjutant Thomas O. Allen was elected and commissioned August 1, Lieutenant Colman of Com- pany F becoming adjutant and his place in turn being filled by the commissioning of First Sergeant Archelaus N. Leman. The regi- ment, with the others under the call, being intended to perform simple garrison duty till the arrival of more permanent troops, found the routine comparatively dull and eventless. Going by way
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THIE SIXTII REGIMENT.
of Groton, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore-again receiv ing at the latter place an enthusiastic welcome-it reached Waslı- ington on the 22d and next day reported to General De Russey at Fort Corcoran, who assigned the regiment a position in the rear of Fort C. F. Smith on Arlington Hights, about a mile from Aqueduct Bridge. There it remained without notable experience till the 21st of August, when three days' rations were drawn and the command made its way homeward as far as Philadelphia, going thence about 40 miles down the Delaware river to Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island, where it relieved the One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Ohio Regiment from guard duty over the 7,000 Confederate prisoners of war held there. General Alban Schoepf, a loyal Marylander and a good officer, commanded the post, and the location of the regiment was very comfortable, most of the married officers being accom- panied by their families, and the duties of the men being varied and sufficient to give the needed exercise.
The Sixth were relieved by a Delaware regiment on the 19th of October, and' set out for home by way of Philadelphia and New York, reaching Boston on the 21st. The men were then furloughed till the 24th, when the command gathered at Readville and on the 27th was for the third time honorably mustered out of the national service.
THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
T IIE Seventh Regiment was among the first of the three-years organizations, being composed almost entirely of Bristol County men recruited through the efforts of its first colonel, Darius N. Couch. Its rendezvous was Camp Old Colony at Taun- ton, where on the 15th of June, 1861, its ten companies were mus- tered into the United States service for three years, the officers being as follows :-
Colonel, Darius N. Couch of Taunton; lieutenant colonel, Chester W. Green of Fall River; major, David E. Holman of Attleboro ; sur- geon, S. Atherton Holman of Boston ; assistant surgeon, Z. Boylston Adams of Boston; adjutant, Othoniel Gilmore of Raynham; quarter- master, Daniel Edson, Jr., of Dighton; sergeant major, Edward L. Langford of Fall River ; quartermaster sergeant, Dan Packard of Abington; commissary sergeant, John B. Burt of Fall River; hospital steward, Horace B. Sherman of Boston; principal musicians, Robert Sheehan of Fall River and Thomas Dolan of Taunton ; leader of band, Zadoc Thompson, Jr., of Halifax.
Company A, Fall River-Captain, David H. Dyer; first lieutenant Jesse F. Eddy; second lieutenant, William H. Nye.
Company B, Fall River-Captain, John Cushing; first lieutenant, Jesse D. Bullock; second lieutenant, George W. Gifford.
Company C-Captain, Charles T. Robinson; first lieutenant, Edgar Robinson, both of Raynham; second lieutenant, George F. Holman of Cambridge.
Company D, Taunton-Captain, Joseph B. Leonard ; first lieuten- ant, William B. Stall ; second lieutenant, William M. Hale.
Company E-Captain, Horace Fox of Boston; first lieutenant, Hiram A. Oakman of Marshfield ; second lieutenant, William W. Carsley of Dorchester.
Company F, Taunton-Captain, Zeba F. Bliss ; first lieutenant, James M. Lincoln; second lieutenant, James R. Matthewson.
Company G, Easton-Captain, Ward L. Foster; first lieutenant, Augustus W. Lothrop; second lieutenant, Munroe F. Williams.
Company H-Captain, John P. Whitcomb of Mansfield: first lieu- tenant, John W. Rogers of Marshfield; second lieutenant, William F. White of Mansfield.
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TIIE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
Company I, Attleboro-Captain, John F. Ashley: first lieutenant, William W. Fisher; second lieutenant, Charles B. Desjardines.
Company K, Abington-Captain, Franklin P. Harlow ; first lieu- tenant, George W. Reed ; second lieutenant, Abijah L. Mayhew.
The regiment remained in camp at Taunton till the 11th of July, when it set out for Washington, reaching the capital on the 15tli and going into camp at Kalorama Hights, Georgetown, near Meri- dian Hill, some 2 1-2 miles from the Capitol. There it remained till the 6th of August, when it marched out of the city some four or five miles by the Seventh Street road and went into permanent camp, being brigaded with the Tenth Massachusetts, Second Rhode Island and Thirty-sixth New York. Colonel Couch, who on the 4th of September was commissioned a brigadier general of volun- teers, took command of the brigade, which with two others, under General L. P. Graham and General John J. Peck, formed soon after, constituted. General Don Carlos Buell's Division. The camp of the brigade was known as Brightwood, and was occupied without notable event till the following spring. Large details from the regiment almost immediately began the construction of a strong earthwork near the camp, at first known as Fort Massachusetts but later named Fort Stevens, in honor of General Isaac 1. Stevens.
The encampment at Brightwood saw many changes among the officers of the Seventh. Following the promotion of Colonel Couch, the regiment was commanded by Colonel Nelson HI. Davis, pro- moted from the regular army, in which he held a commission as captain in the Second Regiment. Colonel Davis vacated the colonelcy on the 18th of November, being promoted in the regular service and entering the inspector general's department. He was succeeded in the command of the Seventh by Colonel Joseph Whee- loek of Boston, who retained the command some two months, re- signing on the 30th of January, 1862. Captain David A. Russell of the Eighth United States Infantry succeeded him, being com- missioned colonel of the Seventh from the 31st of January and proving one of the ablest officers in the service. Lientenant Colonel Green resigned November 22, and the vacancy was filled by the commissioning of Charles Raymond of Plymouth. Major Holman, who was 55 years of age, resigned on the 1st of August, being succeeded by Captain Franklin P. Harlow. Several of the line officers, including Captains Dyer, Cushing, Robinson, Fox and
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
Ashley, resigned before the close of November. These vacancies were filled by promotion from the lower grades in regular order, which it will be observed had not been the case in filling vacancies of higher rank.
The location at Brightwood was a favorable one, and the health of the regiment during the winter was good, the brigade at the special report made February 1, 1862, having but two per cent. sick -the most favorable report made by any brigade in the army. As the time for the opening of the spring campaign drew near the Army of the Potomac was divided into five corps, the Seventh find- ing itself in the Third Brigade, First Division, Fourth Corps. Gen- eral Keyes commanded the corps and General Couch the division ; Colonel Briggs of the Tenth Massachusetts having temporary com- mand of the brigade, but being succeeded soon after the landing at Fortress Monroe by General Charles Devens.
Camp was broken at Brightwood on the 11th of March and the regiment crossed the Potomac into Virginia, marching as far as Prospect Hill. 12 miles from Brightwood, where the division halted in an open field, remaining there till morning of the 14th, when it marched back to Fort Marcy, bivouacking there in a severe rain- storm till near night of the 15th, when the column returned to the old camps. No further move was made till the 25th, when the regiment passed through Washington, embarked on the steamer Daniel Webster and sailed for Fortress Monroe, where it debarked on the 29th, marching some eight miles and halting at Camp W. F. Smith, near Newport News.
Camp Smith was occupied till the advance against Yorktown, on the 4th of April, when two days' march took the regiment to War- wick Court House, not far from Lee's Mills, where camp was made and a month passed while General Mcclellan confronted the enemy's intrenchments, the encampment being known as Camp Winfield Scott. Leaving this place on the 4th of May,-the Con- federates having evacuated Yorktown, the Seventh led Devens's Brigade, following General Peck's, to the battle-lield of Williams- burg, which was reached about the middle of the afternoon of the 5th, when the fight was at its hottest. The regiment was moved forward through a sharp artillery fire, followed by the Second Rhode Island, at first to the support of General Peek's Brigade, relieving two regiments of that command a little later when their ammuni-
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THIE SEVENTII REGIMENT.
tion was exhausted. The loss of the Seventh was but one killed and two wounded. That night the regiment stood in line of battle through a drenching rain, and next morning a detachment sent out under Captain Reed confirmed the suspicion that the enemy had retired and occupied Fort Magruder. During the 9th and 10th the regiment marched some 20 miles to Roper's Church, advancing on the 13th to New Kent Court House. On the 16th a reconnaissance was made to Baltimore Cross Roads, seven miles, and the day fol- lowing to within three miles of Bottom's Bridge on the Chicka- hominy. The railroad from Richmond to York River was taken possession of on the 18th and next day the camp of the regiment was pushed forward a mile or so, the skirmish line under the able direction of Colonel Russell gradually feeling its way through the region. On the 20th a detachment under Major Harlow and Cap- tain Holman made a reconnaissance to the vicinity of the Bridge, finding the enemy posted on the opposite bank, the party losing one man wounded and a sergeant captured. Next morning Company F at the railroad and Company A at Bottom's Bridge crossed the river after some skirmishing, and the regiment following sent out a detachment which penetrated some two miles. On the 24th and ' 25th some eight miles more were made, bringing the brigade into camp at Fair Oaks.
Soon after the opening of the Battle of Fair Oaks, May 31, the Seventh were detached from their brigade and sent to reinforce General Birney's Brigade of the Third Division, Third ( Heintzel- man's) Corps. This brigade was advanced along the railroad to protect the right of Couch's Division, enabling that officer to extri- cate his command, which was nearly surrounded. This disposition of the regiment was made near evening of the 31st, and during the following day the Seventh took part in a decisive repulse of the enemy on that portion of the field, fortunately losing but four men wounded during the battle.
On the 2d of June the regiment moved some two miles to the right, near Golding's House, where it remained for five days, some of the time in support of a battery. It then encamped near Sar- age's Station, a short distance in rear of the Fair Oaks battle-field, till the 25th of June. On that day the brigade, now commanded by General Palmer, General Devens having been wounded at Fair Oaks, was ordered to report to General Heintzelman, in support of
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
the advance being made by Hooker's Division of his corps. The Seventh, taking position in the front line of battle, were somewhat engaged, losing two killed, including First Lieutenant Jesse D. Bul- lock, and 14 wounded.
The Seventh with the Second Rhode Island were detached from the brigade on the 27th, and reported to General Peck, command- ing the Second Division of the corps, with head-quarters at White Oak Swamp. The following morning, in preparation for the " change of base" of the army to the James river, General Peck took pos- session of the crossing of the Charles City, New Market and other roads at Glendale, with pickets well advanced, holding that position for two days, a skirmish with the enemy's cavalry occurring in which the Seventh met no loss. During the 29th and 30th the regiment led the way toward Turkey Island Bend on the James river, and being on picket the following day it had no part in the battle of Malvern Hill. On the 2d of July the movement to Harrison's Landing was made, General Peck covering the rear, the roads being 'in terrible condition from the heavy rain and their excessive use. On the 3d the regiment moved some miles up the river and rejoined its brigade, going into camp. Twice within a short time it was called to join in a reconnaissance-going on the 5th of August to Turkey Island Bend, returning the next day, and on the 8th ad- vancing to Haxall's Station, getting back to camp on the 11th.
General Devens had now resumed command of the brigade, and on the 16th it began' the march to Yorktown, which place the Seventh passed through on the 20th, encamping two miles beyond on the Big Bethel road. Resting there till the 29th, they went aboard the bark Texas, arriving off Alexandria the 31st and debark- ing the 1st of September. At night a march of 15 miles was made to near Fairfax Court House, returning on the 2d to within four miles of Chain Bridge, and on the 3d camping near the bridge. The crossing to the Washington side took place on the 5th, and even- ing of the 6th found the regiment in bivouac near Orcutt's Cross Roads, Md., where a halt of two days was made. The onward movement in search of Lee's army was resumed the 9th and con- tinued by way of Poolesville, Jefferson and Burkittsville, through South Mountain Gap to a camp in Pleasant Valley which was reached on the 14th. Resuming the march on the 17th, the regi- ment reached the field of battle on the Antietam early next day,
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TIIE SEVENTII REGIMENT.
forming in the rear of the Fifth Corps, remaining there for some time and going on picket at the right of the Union lines, across the stream. On the 20th the regiment marched some nine miles in pursuit of the enemy, who had crossed the Potomac, and formed line of battle near St. James College on the Williamsport road. Bivouac was made in the woods next day, and on the 23d a pleas- ant camp was established near Downsville, where early in October the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Regiment joined the brigade.
The raid of the Confederate cavalry under General Stuart on the 10th of October to Chambersburg, Pa., and around the rear of the Union army called the brigade up the Potomac a few days later. Setting out near evening of the 18th, a forced march was made to Hancock, which was reached at night of the 19th. Stopping there for a day, the command started back soon after midnight of the 21st, halting at Cherry Run, ten miles below, where a week was passed. By this time preparations for the advance of the Union army into Virginia were about completed, the brigade returned as far as Williamsport on the 27th, and to the old camp at Downs- ville on the 29th. Marching orders came the following day, and on the 31st the regiment took its place in the column moving southward. Two days' marching brought it to Berlin, where a day was passed in rest, when the Potomac was crossed on the ponton bridge and a steady advance brought the brigade at night of the 6th of November to White Plains, where a snow storm and a scarcity of rations made the next few days uncomfortable. On the 9th a short march was made over horrible roads to New Baltimore.
General Burnside having succeeded General MeClellan in the command of the Army of the Potomac, a considerable reorganiza- tion was made, in which " Couch's Division " was attached to the Sixth Corps, with which it had acted for some months, becoming the Third Division, General Devens's command forming the Second Brigade. General W. F. Smith commanded the corps, which was part of General W. B. Franklin's left grand division, and General John Newton the division-General Couch having been commis- sioned a major general of volunteers and assigned to the command of the Second Corps. Lieutenant Colonel Raymond having resigned from the Seventh on the 24th of October, Major Harlow was ad- vanced to the place, and Captain Leonard succeeded the latter as major. Assistant Surgeon Adams being promoted to surgeon of
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
the Thirty -second Regiment, William H. Lincoln of Hubbardston and Arthur W. Cowdry of Stow had during the summer been made assistant surgeons. Second Lieutenant Peleg Mitchell of Fall River died of disease August 10. On the 11th the regimental band was mustered out of the service, pursuant to a general order from the War Department.
The movement toward Fredericksburg began on the 16th of No- vember, the regiment encamping near Stafford Court House on the 18th and remaining there till the 4th of December, when it marched toward the left, going into camp on the 5th near White Oak Church during a very disagreeable storm of rain and snow. The regimental camp was changed on the 9th, and carly in the morning of the 11th the Seventh with the brigade marched down to the plain beside the Rappahannock where it waited till nearly dusk for the order to cross the river. General Devens having vol- untecred his command for the duty, the brigade dashed across the ponton bridges at Franklin's Crossing, the Second Rhode Island de- ploying as skirmishers while the rest of the brigade stood in line of battle during the night a short distance out on the plain in guard of the bridges. During the afternoon of the 13th the regiment took a position at the left, where it was exposed to a sharp artillery fire, afterward moving to various points on that part of the field until the withdrawal of the army across the river on the night of the 15th, when with the other regiments of the brigade it covered the recrossing. Its loss had been but one killed and two wounded.
Winter quarters were established on the 18th, about half way between Falmouth and White Oak Church, and there the regiment remained for some months. On the 20th of January, 1863, it joined in the futile expedition directed by General Burnside toward Banks's Ford, known as the "Mud March," returning to its camp in an exhausted and bedraggled condition on the 23d. Colonel Russell, promoted to be brigadier general, had taken command of the Third Brigade, First Division, and the vacant colonelcy was filled by the commissioning February 22 of Thomas D. Johns of Pennsylvania, like his predecessors a graduate of West Point. Late in April General Devens bade adien to the brigade, having been as- signed to command a division of the Eleventhi Corps, and was suc- ceeded by Colonel W. H. Browne of the Thirty-sixth New York ..
The Sixth Corps broke camp to participate in the Chancellors-
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THIE SEVENTHI REGIMENT.
ville movement on the 28th of April, the Seventh on the following morning marching down near the Franklin Crossing of the Rap- pahannock, where it remained with some changes of position and minor demonstrations till the evening of May 2, when it crossed the river and during the night moved up to the city of Fredericks- burg. During the morning of the 3d the regiment with the Thirty- sixth New York was selected to form a storming column for the capture of the hights in the rear of the city. Colonel Johns com- manding the column, the regiment was led by the gallant Lieuten- ant Colonel Harlow. At the command both regiments advanced nobly, the Seventh moving by the flank up a stony road which was little more than a gully, and meeting a deadly fire which tore the head of the column to fragments. Colonel Johns rallied the men and pressed on till he was severely wounded, when Colonel Harlow with a handful of brave followers made a lodgment in the hostile works, that officer being shot by a Confederate at short range but miraculously only slightly hurt. The hostile line being broken, the enemy were soon driven from Marye's Hights, the Seventh captur- ing two pieces of artillery.
After a short rest the corps pressed forward in the direction of Hooker's main army, with which Sedgwick, commanding the Sixth Corps, was under orders to form an immediate junction. As the Seventh approached Salem Church they found a battle in progress at that point between the First Division of the corps and the enemy under General MeLaws, in which General Brooks's division was being forced back. The brigade was at once put into action, the Seventh forming the center of the line, with the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-sixth detached to the left and the Tenth and Second soon going into position on the right. A severe conflict ensued for a short time, during which Colonel Browne was badly wounded, Colonel Eustis of the Tenth succeeding to the command of the brigade, when the Confederates were checked and driven back to the forest. The position thus secured was held during that night and the fol- lowing day, with some skirmishing during the latter part of the time, as the enemy gathered reinforcements, but at dusk the Union forces were skillfully extricated from the enveloping lines of their opponents and during the night the regiment with the rest of the corps recrossed the river at Banks's Ford and bivouacked near by. The Seventh took into the battle about 500 officers and men, losing
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
23 killed, including Captain Prentiss M. Whiting of Attleboro and First Lieutenant Albert A. Tillson of Mansfield, and nine officers and 105 men wounded.
The regiment returned to the old camp on the 8th, selecting a new location near by, which it occupied till the 6th of June when the corps was again marched to the crossing of the Rappahannock below Fredericksburg, where in fortifying, skirmishing and demon- strating against General A. P. Hill's corps the regiment remained till the 13th, when the river was recrossed and next morning the march northward on the Gettysburg campaign began. Fairfax Sta- tion was reached on the 16th and one day given to rest, when the command moved to Fairfax Court House, at which point it remained till the 24th, when it marched to Centerville, stopped there for a day, and on the morning of the 26th set out toward Pennsylvania ; about 120 miles were made in the next five days, and night of the 30th found the regiment with the rest of the corps at Manchester, Md. At night of July 1 orders were received to report at Gettys- burg, where the battle had that day begun. Marching during the night and next day till 4 o'clock, the field was reached, and the brigade was at once sent to the left to the support of General Sick- les's hard pressed corps, where line of battle was formed near Little Round Top. This position was held during the night, and next day the regiment moved from point to point with its brigade, often under fire, but fortunately escaping without loss. On the 4th it occupied a position in the front line, throwing up in a rain-storm such in- trenchments as could be constructed without tools.
The pursuit of the retreating southern army began on the 5th, and was continued daily through storms and over mountains that were terribly taxing to the soldiers till on the 10th, five miles be- yond Boonsboro, the regiment formed line of battle confronting the enemy, remaining in that position during the following day. On the 12th, Lee having changed his location somewhat, the Seventh advanced to Funkstown, where line was again formed and intrenched during the following day. The morning of the 14th found the hostile troops across the river in Virginia once more ; the regiment followed them to Williamsport, starting next morning toward Ber_ lin, which was reached on the 16th. Stopping there till the 19th, the regiment crossed the river and proceeded southward in its place in the column, diverging from the direct route on the 24th to visit
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THIE SEVENTII REGIMENT.
Ashby's Gap, where there was promise of a fight, returning that day to its position near Orleans and on the 25th marching to near Warrenton, where it went into camp.
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