USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 1 > Part 21
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THE ELEVENTHI REGIMENT.
The camp on Shuter's hill, near Fort Ellsworth, was quitted on the afternoon of the 16th of July, when the forward movement to Bull Run began, the regiment marching with little more than an hour's rest till late the following day, though the way was so much obstructed that the bivonac was made near Sangster's Station, west of Fairfax. Starting late in the afternoon of the 18th and marching during the evening the brigade arrived at Centerville, where it re- mained till the morning of the 21st, when it moved through the . village and about noon reached the field of battle. After having been for a time under fire the Eleventh were ordered to the support of Ricketts's Battery, but the latter was soon disabled by the Con- federate fire. After its retreat the regiment took a position on a hill to which it had been directed, and remained till the general re- treat began, when it, too, was forced from the field, having suffered a loss of 88; 15 of whom were killed, six mortally wounded, 30 missing and 37 wounded. Most of the wounded fell into the hands of the enemy, including Lieutenant Bowden, who died of his wounds at Richmond. Captains Gordon and Allen, the former severely wounded, were also made prisoners.
After the battle the Eleventh returned to the camp at Shuter's hill, where it remained till the 9th of August, when it was ordered to Bladensburg, Md., and joined General Hooker's Brigade, the other regiments of which were the First Massachusetts, Second New Hampshire and Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania. At the reorganization of the Army of the Potomac into divisions, two months later, the First Michigan Regiment was added to the brigade, which became the First Brigade of Hooker's Division. About this time many changes occurred in the roster of officers. Colonel Clark resigned from the 11th of October, owing to ill-health, the lieutenant colonel and major being promoted in regular course and Captain Tripp be- coming major. Surgeon Bell having been promoted to brigade sur- geon, (in which capacity he died of disease February 11, 1862,) Ira . Russell of Natick was commissioned surgeon, dating from August 27, 1861. Late in October the regiment, with its brigade, marched to near Budd's Ferry, 45 miles below Washington on the Maryland shore of the Potomac, where in picket duty, watching the Confede- rate batteries on the opposite shore, and taking part in an occasional expedition of no great importance, the winter passed.
During a considerable part of the winter Colonel Cowdin of the
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First Massachusetts commanded the brigade, but on the 5th of April, 1862, when it embarked for the Peninsula, it was under command of General Henry M. Naglee, and known as the Second Brigade, Hooker's Division, Heintzelman's (Third) Corps. Gen- eral Naglee was soon succeeded in the command of the brigade by General Cuvier Grover, when it again became the First Bri- gade. The regiment encamped before Yorktown on the 12th of April, taking part in the siege which followed, and with Hooker's Division joining in the pursuit of the Confederate army on the 4th of May.
The Eleventh was one of the first regiments to become engaged in the battle of Williamsburg on the 5th. About 5 o'clock in the morning it took position on the right of the Second New Hamp- shire, and with two companies deployed as skirmishers advanced to short range of the enemy's works, holding the position till half- past 9. It was then withdrawn and with another regiment was moved to the right and rear through the woods in search of any bodies of the enemy which might threaten the flank in that direc- tion. Finding no foe, Colonel Blaisdell led his command back to its former position, and about half-past 3 was ordered to the left to meet a flanking movement in that direction. The regiment at once became engaged and held its position till relieved by fresh troops. Its loss in this battle was seven killed, 59 wounded and one miss- ing, and for its gallant conduct in the engagement it received from Governor Andrew a new regimental color.
At the battle of Fair Oaks the Eleventh were not engaged, but at Oak Grove, on the 25th of June, they performed valiant duty on the skirmish line, advancing in the face of a very heavy fire, but fortunately with a loss of only 18 wounded. In none of the re- maining battles of the Peninsular campaign did the regiment take a prominent part, though often under fire and having a few men wounded. It went into camp at Harrison's Landing after the battle of Malvern Hill, and took part in the reconnaissance of August 5 . to that point, and in the resulting skirmish. On the 15th it marched from Harrison's Landing for Yorktown, embarking thence for Alex- andria and reaching the latter place on the 23d. Encamping there till the evening of the 25th, the regiment took cars and early next morning reached Warrenton Junction, moving on the 27th to Cat- lett's Station, coming under artillery fire of the enemy who were
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being driven from that place, by which one man of the Eleventh was wounded while in support of a battery.
On the 28th the command marched to join in the impending Second Bull Run battle, and next morning confronted the enemy on the field where it had fought more than a year before. It was not called into action, however, till the middle of the afternoon, when Grover's Brigade was directed to charge the Confederate lines in front, the Eleventh being the battalion of direction. The regiment at once moved across a wide field and through a piece of woods beyond in which the enemy's first line was met and routed. The second line was encountered behind a railroad embankment some ten feet high, from which a deadly fire was delivered and the regiment hesitated, but a moment later climbed the embankment, fought hand to hand over its crest, and presently sent the defenders flying from that strong position. Still advancing, the regiment and the brigade encountered a strong line of rebels and an enfilading fire which threw the shattered line into confusion and rendered any further advance impossible. The entire brigade fought bravely and lost heavily. The Eleventh lost, out of 283 taken into action, ten killed, 77 wounded and 25 missing, all within 20 minutes. Among the slain were Lieutenant Colonel Tileston and First Lieutenant William R. Porter of Boston, and Captain Stone was mortally wounded, dying on the 10th of September. Most of the wounded and all of the killed were left behind when the regiment fell back to the position from which it had been ordered to charge many times its own number, strongly posted and awaiting the assault. During the next day the regiment moved to different points on the field, finally falling back to Centerville, where it remained till the 1st of September, when it marched to the vicinity of Fort Lyon and on the 3d went into camp. The vacancy caused by the death of Lieu- tenant Colonel Tileston was filled by the promotion of Major Tripp, Captain James W. MeDonald being commissioned major.
The regiment remained in its camp near Alexandria till the first of November, engaged in strengthening the Washington defenses. It then marched by easy stages to Warrenton Junction, where it arrived on the 9th and formed part of a provisional brigade, com- manded by Colonel Blaisdell. Remaining there till the 18th, it then moved back by way of Manassas and Fairfax, encamping on the 22d at Wolf Run Shoals. It joined on the 25th in the
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march to Falmouth, near which it arrived on the 28th. The bri- gade-to which the Eleventh New Jersey Regiment had been added- was at that time commanded by General J. B. Carr and the division by General Sickles. At the battle of Fredericksburg the Eleventh were not engaged, and suffered a loss of but two men wounded. Crossing at General Franklin's bridges at night of the 12th of December, they were detailed to guard the bridges for 24 hours, after which they rejoined the division at the front, remained there till the army recrossed to the Falmonth shore, and then returned to their old camp.
The regiment took part in the " Mud March " of January 20-23, 1863, and afterward reoccupied its former camp till the opening of the Chancellorsville campaign, with the exception of a detail Feb- ruary 5 to support a cavalry reconnaissance in the vicinity of United States Ford, some 17 miles up the Rappahannock. Camp was broken on the 29th of April, when the regiment accompanied its corps, first to the Franklin Crossing below Fredericksburg and then up the river to United States Ford, where it crossed and advanced to Chancellorsville. It reported to General Hancock on the morn- ing of the 2d of May, and was directed to reconnoiter the ground to the left of the Union line, which it did, becoming at once engaged and repulsing several attacks by the enemy. . The command was warmly thanked by General Hancock for its gallantry, and during the night rejoined the division. A sharp attack was made on the Union position next morning, and the regiment in defending itself against the repeated assaults suffered severely. When the fight- ing finally ended with the establishment of the Union lines, the Eleventh were found to have lost 11 killed, including First Lienten- ants John Munn and John S. Harris, 57 wounded, and 11 missing. The river was recrossed on the 6th, and once more the regiment encamped " near Falmouth " till the northward movement of Lee's army called the loyal army in the same direction.
The Eleventh set out on the afternoon of June 11, marching to Ilartwood Church, thence by way of Beverly Ford and Gum Springs, stopping at the latter place five days, across the Potomac at Edwards Ferry, by way of Frederick, Taneytown and Emmittsburg to Gettys- burg, where they arrived on the night of July 1. In that battle the regiment was still a part of the First Brigade, Second Division, Third Corps. General Carr's brigade had been changed somewhat,
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TIIE ELEVENTII REGIMENT
comprising at that time the First, Eleventh and Sixteenth Massa- chusetts, Twelfth New Hampshire, Eleventh New Jersey, Twenty- sixth and Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania Regiments. General A. A. Humphreys commanded the division, which formed the right of the line of battle of the Third Corps, and was not at first involved by the attack of Longstreet on the afternoon of July 2; but when the regiment, commanded during the action by Lieutenant Colonel Tripp, became involved it suffered terribly, losing more than half the number taken into action. Captain Edwin Humphrey and 25 enlisted men were killed, 93 wounded and ten missing, a total of 129.
The regiment remained on the field till the 7th, when it joined in the pursuit of the defeated Confederate army, moving by way of Frederick to Williamsport, thence following Lee's army into Vir- ginia and reaching Warrenton on the 26th. On the 1st of August it marched to Beverly Ford, where it remained till the 15th of September, when crossing the Rappahannock at Freeman's Ford it advanced to Culpeper and there eneamped till the 8th of October. The regiment then formed part of the force sent to the support of the cavalry at James City, returning to Culpeper at night of the 10th and next morning recrossing the Rappahannock. The regi- ment remained on guard at the fords of the river till the army had passed, when it followed and resuming its place in the colunm took part in the strategic movement north to Centerville, and after the retiring of the Confederate army without risking a battle marched back as far as Catlett's Station, where it went into camp on the 21st. On the 30th it moved south to near Bealton, and on the 7th of November crossed the Rappahannock again at Kelly's Ford. The leading division of the corps had engaged the enemy at the Ford, but the Eleventh were not called upon to participate, and marching next day to Brandy Station went into camp.
The " Mine Run" campaign began on the 26th of November, when the regiment with its corps crossed the Rapidan at Jacob's Mills Ford, encamping that night a few miles beyond and the fol- lowing afternoon joining battle with the enemy, the regiment suf- fering a loss of four killed, 17 wounded and eight missing. Next morning General French, the commander of the Third Corps, suc- ceeded in extricating his troops from the wilderness and joining the other corps near Robertson's Tavern, going into position that night near Mine Run,-whence after two days of indecision, the
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idea of a battle having been abandoned, the regiment joined Gregg's division of cavalry to serve as rear guard during the retreat, and on the 3d of December, well exhausted by the fruitless exposure and hardships, reached its former camp. Winter quarters were established, and the opening of another campaign was awaited.
In the reorganization of the army, the Eleventh was made part of the Second Brigade, Fourth Division, Second Corps. The bri- gade was commanded by Colonel William R. Brewster, and besides the Eleventh consisted of the five regiments of the New York " Ex- celsior " Brigade, numbered from the Seventieth to the Seventy- fourth inclusive, the One Hundred and Twentieth New York and Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania Regiments ; General Mott commanded the division and General Hancock the corps. In the winter and early spring preceding the campaign the Eleventh lost several of its officers from dismissal, the list including the chaplain, two captains and some lieutenants. In this respect the regiment was unfortunate, the records showing that it suffered heavier loss of officers than any other from Massachusetts, the total being ten, with one cashiered.
The camp at Brandy Station was broken just before midnight of May 3, 1864, and the following noon the regiment crossed the Rapi- dan at Ely's Ford, bivouacking that night on the old field of Chan- cellorsville. The Wilderness was reached in the middle of the after- noon of the 5th, and as fighting was already in progress the regi- ment soon found itself advancing and encountering the enemy. The contest, with varying advantage, continued till darkness ended it, and was resumed next morning, Brewster's Brigade advancing against the enemy in the front line. Once during the contest the position of the brigade was flanked, and it became necessary for it to fall back, when it took position behind intrenchments and re- pulsed the final attack of the Confederates. There the command remained till night of the 7th, but there was no more fighting and at evening the Eleventh went on picket while the army moved away to meet their wily antagonists again at Spottsylvania. The loss of the regiment in the battle of the Wilderness amounted to nine killed, 54 wounded and 12 missing.
The picket was relieved at 10 o'clock next morning, and the Eleventh rejoined the brigade at Todd's Tavern, where it remained two days, when it moved five miles toward Spottsylvania, and on the afternoon of the 10th with its division joined in an attack upon
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the Confederate position in concert with another by Colonel Upton commanding a brigade of the Sixth Corps. Owing to the difficult nature of the ground and an enfilading fire from the hostile artillery, General Mott's attack amounted to nothing, and the troops after attempting an advance fell back to their former position. During the night of the 11th the Second Corps was massed in front of the part of the Confederate line known as the Angle, and at daybreak charged with fine success, making heavy captures. This triumph was followed by the desperate attempt of the enemy to regain the lost works, and in the stubborn contest which ensued the Eleventh suffered a loss of five killed, 35 wounded and four missing.
The regiment took part in no further important conflicts while the armies confronted each other there, and on the 21st, after re- ceiving 45 enlisted men transferred from the First Massachusetts, joined in the march toward the North Anna. That stream, across which the Confederates were again waiting for the coming of the Union army-General Lee having secured an especially impregnable position-was reached on the afternoon of the 23d. and next morn- ing the regiment crossed at the Telegraph Road bridge, from the immediate vicinity of which the enemy had fallen back though still maintaining a heavy fire over that part of the field. The Eleventh at once went into position and remained there till night of the 26th, meeting a total loss of seven-one of whom was killed and two were missing.
In the operations preceding and during the struggle for Cold Har- bor, the Eleventh were not heavily engaged, though in various skir- mishes a loss was sustained of one man killed and nine wounded. On the 12th of June the term of original enlistment of the regi- ment expired, and while the Army of the Potomac was preparing to move across the James and operate against Richmond from the south, 304 members of the command, including 14 officers, turned their faces toward Massachusetts after three years of honorable service. Eight officers and 336 enlisted men remained, who were formed into a battalion of five companies, retaining the original regimental name. That evening the march toward Petersburg be- gan, and three days later the command bivouacked within two miles of the city. On the four ensuing days the battalion was under fire and skirmishing, losing one man killed and 19 wounded. On the 23d a sad loss befell the battalion and Massachusetts in the death
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of Colonel Blaisdell, who was killed before Petersburg while in command of the Corcoran Legion.
On the 27th the command was moved some distance to the left and occupied works vacated by the Sixth Corps, where the battalion remained more than two weeks engaged in picket and other duties. During this time it was joined by two additional companies, made up of members of the Sixteenth Regiment, whose term had not ex- pired-five officers and 194 enlisted men. The Eleventh marched to a reserve camp to the rear of the general line of works July 13, where they remained till the 26th, cutting sunken roads and per- forming other work of a similar nature. That evening the battalion marched to the James river, crossed it next morning and took posi- tion in the woods near Deep Bottom. After a day passed in that location a long march took the command back again to the south of Petersburg, in rear of the lines held by the Eighteenth Corps, a portion of whom in the front lines the Eleventh relieved on the night of the 29th, maintaining that position the following day under heavy fire during the battle of the Crater-loss, one man wounded.
That night the battalion returned to its reserve camp and re- . mained there till the 12th of August, when it marched to City Point, went by transport next day to Deep Bottom and on the following morning was again in front of the enemy at that point. On the 16th it was pushed forward alone to develop the location of the enemy, which was done at a loss of two wounded, when the Eleventh rejoined the brigade, and on the 18th the command returned to the south side of the James, crossing at Point of Rocks. A position was taken in the front line of the Ninth Corps on the 19th, but dur- ing the afternoon the battalion was relieved and marched to the vicinity of Fort Davis, where it remained till the 1st of October, being engaged in several demonstrations and under fire on the picket line, meeting a total loss of two killed and four wounded.
The battalion marched five miles to the left, to Poplar Grove Church, on the 1st of October, and next morning formed line of battle, being presently detached from the brigade and moved still further to the left, along works formerly occupied by the enemy, meeting the Confederate fire and losing two men killed and one wounded. After skirmishing in the locality through the day the Eleventh rejoined the brigade at night and remained with it near the church, fortifying and on picket till the 5th, when the column
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THIE ELEVENTII REGIMENT.
returned to its position before Petersburg. At night of the 24th the battalion was drawn to the rear in preparation for a contemplated movement to the left by a considerable part of the Second and Fifth Corps with cavalry, and began the march on the afternoon of the 26th, passing the night near the Weldon railroad and next morning continuing the movement toward the Boydtown Plank road, eight miles distant through a difficult country. On reaching the road, line of battle was formed, but the enemy were soon found to be in the rear and the line faced abont and charged back in the direction whence it had come. The Eleventh soon met the foe and captured 20 prisoners, though at considerable loss. Following this engage- ment, the battalion fell back to the crest of a hill over which it had charged, where line was formed, and later position was taken in the vicinity of the plank road, where the command remained till night, when it reported to the field hospital to assist in carrying the wounded to the rear. After two hours in this sad duty the Eleventh rejoined the brigade and began the return march to the vicinity of Petersburg, where they arrived on the 29th. The loss of the bat- talion on the 27th was three killed, nine wounded and 12 missing- supposed to have been wounded and fallen into the hands of the enemy. Among the killed was Captain Alexander McTavish; Cap- tain David A. Granger being mortally wounded and left on the field.
At the close of the month the battalion moved into the front line ยท near Fort Morton, where it remained on duty for more than four weeks. A considerable part of the command was engaged in re- pulsing an attack on the pieket line on the night of the 5th of November, the loss to the Eleventh being two men wounded and Adjutant Michael Boucher captured. On the night of the 29th the battalion was withdrawn and next day marched to Poplar Grove Church, where it remained on picket for a week and then joined in an expedition to destroy the Weldon railroad to the south. This was done from Jarratt's Station to the Meherrin river, when the column returned to the main body and the battalion went into posi- tion near the left of the army at Yellow House Station, where the close of the year found it attached to the Third Brigade, Third Division, Second Corps. Lieutenant Colonel Charles C. Rivers was in command of the Eleventh, and Colonel McAllister of the brigade.
The first important movement of the year 1865 was that to Hatch- ers Run, February 5, in which the Eleventh took part, suffering
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from the inclement weather but rendering valuable service in repuls- ing an attack by the Confederates and afterward in fortifying the ground gained. These new works the battalion assisted in manning till the opening of the final series of operations on the 26th of March. From that time till the surrender of Lee's army the command was almost incessantly under arms, contributing valiantly to the final result. In a charge on the enemy's works on the 29th of March, Cap- tain William R. Bennett and First Lieutenant Henry Harrington with a number of men were separated from the main part of the battalion and made prisoners, but the loss in killed and wounded was not serious.
The Army of Northern Virginia having surrendered, the Eleventh with the rest of the Second Corps moved to the vicinity of Washing ton and encamped, performing only camp duty till ordered home for muster out. Lieutenant Colonel Rivers resigned on the 15th of June, and was succeeded by Major Thomas H. Dunham, promoted. The command reached Readville on the 13th of July, and was mus- tered out the following day. Of its officers, in addition to those men- tioned heretofore, several died in the service, including Captain Albert M. Gammell, accidentally killed on the Eastern railroad De- cember 17, 1863 ; First Lieutenants Alonzo Coy and William B. Mor- rill died of disease, dates unknown; Second Lieutenant William B. Mitchell died at the Massachusetts General Hospital July 30, 1863 ; and Second Lieutenant Peter T. Gouldie died of wounds September . 13, 1864, after having been commissioned first lieutenant.
THE TWELFTH REGIMENT.
T' HE Twelfth or Webster Regiment took its title from its first colonel, Fletcher Webster, by whom it was organized. Mr. Webster, then the only surviving son of Daniel Webster, was at the outbreak of the war surveyor of the port of Boston. Receiv- ing from Governor Andrew permission to recruit a regiment, he issued a call for a mass-meeting on Sunday, the 21st of April, 1861, in front of the Merchants' Exchange on State street. A vast con- course was assembled, the enthusiasm ran high, and while enlist- ment papers were prepared and rapidly filled, the business men of the city contributed generously to equip the embryo regiment in a worthy manner. It is a matter of record that within three days 16 full companies were enlisted in the city, but only five of them formed part of the Webster Regiment. The regular militia regi- ments were being reorganized, and needed recruits to bring them up to the national standard, but the people everywhere were ready to fill the ranks, and within two weeks Mr. Webster was duly com- missioned colonel of a complete and well-equipped regiment.
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