USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 1 > Part 23
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The brigade being out of ammunition was relieved by the First Brigade, commanded by General Paul ; but the exigencies of battle were so great that it was again placed in line to the left of its former position with empty guns and fixed bayonets, receiving the enemy's fire and holding its ground till the giving way of the flanks made its position utterly untenable, when it retired through the town to Cemetery Hill, where the Union line was reconstructed. The calling of the roll showed the heroic nature of the service ren- dered by the Twelfth Regiment during that day of trial. Taking about 200 into action, its loss up to that time had been nine . killed, 41 wounded and 61 missing. First Lieutenants Francis Thomas of Weymouth and Charles G. Russell of Boston were the officers killed. During the remaining two days of the battle what was left of the regiment was in support of various portions of the
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line, being ordered from Cemetery Hill on the last day to assist in the repulse of Pickett's charge and suffering a further loss of three wounded making the total casualties of the battle 114.
During the first day or two of the march from Gettysburg one company was absent from the regiment on detail, leaving a force of 70 men to accompany the colors. The route was by way of Emmitts- burg, Belleville and Boonsboro to Funkstown, which was reached on the 12th, skirmishing with the enemy being resumed on that day, with a sharp artillery duel the following morning. Then followed the retreat of Lee across the Potomac, and the march of the Twelfth to Williamsport and by way of Rohrersville to Berlin on the 16th. After a rest of two days the river was crossed and from that time till the 2d of August the record is one of almost incessant marchi- ing till the division reached and halted at Rappahannock Station.
While encamped there the regiment received the batch of con- scripts-176 in number-for which Colonel Bates had made a trip to Massachusetts; these were distributed to the various companies, and other squads were sent on during the fall, -- but many of the new men deserted at the first opportunity. On the 12th of Septem- ber Captain Cook received the commission of major and assumed command of the regiment in the absence of the colonel ; on the 16th the brigade crossed the Rappahannock and advanced to Cul- peper, marching to and across the Rapidan at Raccoon Ford on the 24th, retiring to Mitchell's Station on the 29th.
The northward movement of the Union army began on the 10th of October, Stuart's cavalry following the retiring columns closely, and the shots from his skirmishers frequently penetrated the Federal camps. In this movement the Twelfth reached the old Bull Run battle-field on the 14th, remaining near Groveton till the 23d when an expedition was made to the other side of Thoroughfare Gap, from which on the 26th the regiment returned to Bristoe's Station, where it remained while the railroad was being repaired, beginning its southward journey on the 6th of November. On the 8th the Rappahannock was forded at Kelly's Ford, bivouac being made at Brandy Station, from which on the following day the Twelfth re- turned to Bealton, a few miles north of the Rappahannock.
From this vicinity the command marched on the Mine Run cam- paign, from the 26th of November to the 2d of December, having their full share of the suffering from cold and storm, reaching
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THIE TWELFTHI REGIMENT.
Kelly's Ford on the return and fording it twice within 24 hours, the cold water waist deep, after which the order for winter quarters was promulgated. These were completed and occupied on the 13th, and ten days later marching orders came, taking the regiment to Cedar Run ; the 1st of January, 1864, it was shifted to Cedar Mountain, on the 5th to Culpeper, where it was quartered in some vacant warehouses ; on the 29th camp was located a mile and a half out on the Sperryville pike where the third winter quarters were built. This camp was occupied till the opening of the spring campaign, the only incident of note being the expedition of the corps to Raccoon Ford on the 5th of February, when the troops floundered through a sea of mud for three days to divert the enemy's attention from operations by the Union cavalry.
The First Corps organization was abolished on the 24th of March at the reorganization of the Army of the Potomac under direction of General Grant, General Robinson's Division unchanged being made the Second Division of the Fifth Corps, General Warren commanding, and General Newton, who had commanded the First Corps from the second day at Gettysburg, bade his faithful soldiers farewell. The white disk which the members of the Twelfth had worn on their caps was retained with the blue Maltese cross of the Fifth Corps resting upon it.
With their division the Twelfth marched into the terrible tangle of the Wilderness, and at the opening of the engagement were in support of the attacking divisions, but soon after the brigade joined Wadsworth's Division in seeking for the Confederate flank. Mov- ing to the left they advanced through the dense forest till the. enemy was encountered, or rather the flash and smoke of his rifles, for nothing else was visible through the thicket. A sharp musket fire was kept up till dark, when the opposing forces rested on their arms but a few yards apart. "The loss of the regiment through the day was 13 killed and 42 wounded, among the former being Lieu- tenant Colonel Allen, who was serving on General Robinson's staff.
The Twelfth deployed as skirmishers at daylight next morning, advanced at the double-quick closely followed by the rest of the brigade, and drove the enemy some distance, till a battery was en- countered which checked the Union advance with showers of canis- ter. So unfavorable was the ground for military operations that the regiment was divided into groups that were not reunited till
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dark near the Lacey house, when they were ordered into rifle-pits. The loss of the command during the day was four killed and 21 wounded. General Baxter was wounded, and was succeeded in the command of the brigade by Colonel Coulter of the Eleventh Penn- sylvania Veterans.
The enemy attacked the position of the Twelfth on the morning of the 7th, but were easily repelled by four companies under com- mand of Captain Hastings, whose loss was two killed and. four wounded. That night the march toward Spottsylvania by the Brock road began, and morning found the Twelfth at Todd's Tavern leading the corps. At this point the regiment deployed on the right of the road, with the Ninth New York on the left, and pressed vigorously forward for two miles when Merritt's cavalry were found checked by obstructions in the road, which proved so serious for the infantry as well that it was 8 o'clock when the head of the column reached the clearing at Alsop's Farm. There a sharp fire was received from the enemy's dismounted cavalry, but the Twelfth deployed a's skirmishers and after a sharp struggle drove them from the woods and back to the strong lines of Anderson's Corps. There a long and fierce contest ensued, with determined charges and counter-charges, neither side gaining any great advantage and both finally intrenching. General Robinson, division commander, was wounded at the opening of the struggle. The loss of the Twelfth was five killed and 11 wounded. Next day the division, owing to its heavy loss in both officers and men, was broken up, the Second Brigade being assigned to the Third Division-General Crawford's. On the morning of the 10th the brigade moved to Jones's Planta- tion, drove in the enemy's pickets at Laurel Hill and at 3 o'clock carried the position in their front, the Twelfth losing Captain John S. Stoddard of North Bridgewater, Second Lieutenant Edward J. Kidder of Boston and three others killed and 18 wounded.
After one day's rest in the rifle-pits the regiment took part in the assaults which were made by the Fifth Corps on the morning of the 12th, in conjunction with the successful attack by Hancock at the Angle; the part assigned to General Warren being simply diver- sion and resulting only in repulse and loss of life, the Twelfth hay- ing four killed and 13 wounded, First Lieutenant William Robinson of Charlestown being among the fatally hurt. The next day the regiment went on the skirmish line, Colonel Bates having command
THIE TWELFTHI REGIMENT.
of the corps picket line, and in the afternoon an attempt to with- draw provoked so sharp a pursuit by the enemy that the men were ordered into line of battle to repel the pursuit. No further casual- ties occurred in the regiment during the battle, though till the evacuation on the 21st it was moving from point to point, constantly exposed to hardship and the enemy's fire. On the 18th Colonel Coulter was wounded and Colonel Bates took command of the bri- gade, which he retained till the regiment left for home, Lieutenant Colonel Cook commanding the Twelfth.
The Fifth Corps began to move southward at 10 o'clock on the forenoon of the 21st, reaching Guiney's Station late in the after- noon, where the enemy's cavalry began to be encountered. The latter were forced back beyond the Matapony where the brigade in- trenched on favorable ground, the Twelfth going upon picket. Next morning Colonel Bates was ordered forward with his brigade on a reconnaissance, pushing back the Confederate cavalry three miles to the Telegraph road and obtaining from prisoners and from citizens such information in regard to the movement of Lee's army. as changed the entire plan for the Army of the Potomac, for which the command received special thanks in a general order.
The brigade rejoined the division that night and the next day pushed on to the North Anna, which was crossed at Jericho Ford. During the engagement at that point the regiment was constantly active and much of the time on the picket line, but met only the loss of one wounded and Captain Hastings captured while recon- noitering in front of the pickets, till the 25th, when the skirmish- ers were ordered forward and met with sharp opposition for two hours, during which First Lieutenant David B. Burrill of Weymouth was killed and several were wounded.
The position across the North Anna was evacuated in the evening of the 20th, and the regiment marched almost incessantly till the morning of the 28th when it crossed the Pamunkey, intrenehing on the south bank that evening. After a day of marching and coun- termarching, the brigade was ordered on the 30th to report to Gen- eral Lockwood, whose division was in the advance of the Fifth Corps beyond Bethesda Church. They were soon called into action by the giving away of another brigade, when Colonel Bates led his command promptly into the gap and repelled the enemy after an hour's struggle. The Twelfth were not again severely engaged dur-
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ing the 12 days' contest about Cold Harbor, though in common with the other troops of the corps frequently changing position, often on the skirmish line, digging intrenchments or lying in them, with but occasionally a few hours of unbroken rest. The regi- mental loss was but a few slightly wounded.
The movement of the regiment toward Petersburg began early in the morning of the 11th of June, and continued without bivouac till afternoon of the 12th. On the morning of the 13th the brigade was sent forward to White Oak Swamp Bridge, where the enemy was found strongly posted on the other side and a sharp duel of rifles and artillery was kept up across the stream till dark, when the Twelfth Regiment quitted its customary place on the skirmish line and followed the army toward the James river, having lost four wounded in the engagement.
The regiment crossed the James on steamers the 16th, and marched to within two or three miles of Petersburg. The division supported the Ninth Corps in its engagement of the 17th, and the next day the Twelfth were again on the skirmish line, and under command of Lieutenant Colonel Cook drove the enemy from the railroad in fine style preparatory to the attack of the brigade in connection with Griffin's Division and the Ninth Corps later. A point within a hundred yards of the hostile works was reached, held and intrenched. There the regiment remained till the expira- tion of its term of service, lying in the trenches, extending the fortifications or constructing a covered way to the rear.
Colonel Bates returned to the regiment on the 25th, it moved to the rear for the last time, and prepared to return to Massachusetts and the pursuits of peace. The re-enlisted men and recruits, 241 in number, of whom 125 were present for duty,-were turned over to the Thirty-ninth Regiment and the remainder-85-marched to City Point and took steamer to Washington, whence they were forwarded to Boston by rail. Along the route invalids and absen- tees rejoined the command till it numbered 170 when Boston was reached on the morning of July 1. The reception at Faneuil Hall was worthy the proud record of the Twelfth, and at its conclusion the men were furloughed till the 8th, when they re-assembled on Boston Common and the " Webster Regiment " was formally mus- tered out of service by Lieutenant Moroney of the United States Army.
THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT.
T HE Thirteenth Regiment was the outgrowth of the Fourth Battalion of Rifles, of which organization two companies had been formed during the winter of 1860-61 and the other two directly after the attack on Fort Sumter. The battalion was com- manded by Major Samuel H. Leonard of Boston, who had been brigadier general of the Worcester Brigade, while most of the sub- ordinate officers had made their mark in the militia organizations of Boston. Having uniformed themselves and applied for any pos- sible military service, the four companies were on the 25th of May, 1861, sent with an additional company from Roxbury to garrison Fort Independence in Boston Harbor. The battalion remained at the fort on duty till the early part of July, when five other com- panies were added to complete the regimental organization which it had been decided to form. On the 16th of July the regiment was sufficiently complete to admit of muster, with the following roster of officers, Boston being the place of residence unless otherwise designated :-
Colonel, Samuel H. Leonard ; lieutenant colonel, N. Walter Batchel- der; major, J. Parker Gould of Stoneham ; surgeon, Allston W. Whit- ney of Framingham; assistant surgeon, J. Theodore Heard ; chaplain, Noah M. Gaylord ; adjutant, David H. Bradlee ; quartermaster, George E. Craig; sergeant major, Elliott C. Pierce of Weymouth; quartermaster sergeant, Thomas R. Wells of Cambridge ; commissary sergeant, Melvin S. Smith ; hospital steward, John H. White of Can- bridgeport ; leader of band, Thomas C. Richardson of Sudbury.
Company A, Boston City Guard-Captain, James A. Fox; first lieutenant, Samuel N. Neat ; second lieutenant, George Bush.
Company B-Captain, Joseph S. Cary; first lieutenant, John G. Hovey ; second lieutenant, Augustus N. Sampson.
Company C-Captain, John Kurtz; first lieutenant, William B. Jackson of Watertown ; second lieutenant, Walter H. Judson of Chelsea.
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
Company D-Captain, Augustine Harlow ; first lieutenant, Charles H. Hovey ; second heutenant, William H. Cary.
Company E-Captain, Charles R. M. Pratt ; first lieutenant, Joseph Colburn ; second lieutenant, Edwin R. Frost, all of Roxbury.
Company F-Captain, Henry Whitcomb of Boston ; first lieutenant, Abel H. Pope ; second lieutenant, Charles F. Morse, both of Marlboro.
Company G, Grey Eagles-Captain, Eben W. Fiske ; first lieuten- ant, Loring S. Richardson ; second lieutenant, John H. Foley all of Stoneham.
Company H, Mechanic Riflemen - Captain, William L. Clark of Dorchester ; first lieutenant, Perry D. Chamberlain ; second lieuten- ant, Francis Jenks, both of Natick.
Company I-Captain, Robert C. H. Screiber of Boston; first lieu- tenant, Moses P. Palmer ; second heutenant, David L. Brown of Marlboro.
Company K, Westboro Rifles-Captain, William P. Blackmer of Westboro ; first lieutenant, William B. Bacon of Worcester ; second lieutenant, Charles B. Fox of Dorchester.
The regiment left Fort Independence July 29, taking cars by way of Worcester and Norwich, halting in New York a portion of the following day, going thence by the Camden and Amboy railroad via Philadelphia and Harrisburg to Hagerstown, Md., where it ar- rived on the 1st of August. Resting there a day, it made a con- tinuous march of 26 miles to within a short distance of Harper's Ferry, but two days later retraced its steps some 15 miles and crossed the mountains to Sharpsburg, where it was ordered to guard the fords in that vicinity, forming a part of General Charles S. Hamilton's (afterward Stiles's) Second Brigade, Banks's Division. The other regiments of the brigade were the Ninth New York Militia (Eighty-third Volunteers), Twenty-ninth Pennsylvania and Third Wisconsin.
Four of the companies were placed on duty at head-quarters in Sharpsburg, two each at Antietam Ford, Shepardstown Ford and a point some miles up the river. These positions were held till the 21st, when the command re-assembled at Sharpsburg and set out for Sandy Hook, opposite Harper's Ferry, having during its picket duty taken part in several skirmishes across the Potomac, in which some men had been wounded, and one or two killed. Two companies were now put on guard at the river, the rest of the regiment bivou- acking near by till the 3d of September, when it was ordered to General Banks's head-quarters at Darnestown, one company being sent to Monocacy Junction to inspect the railroad trains passing
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THIE THIRTEENTII REGIMENT.
that point. Colonel Leonard with his seven remaining companies was on the 10th of October ordered to Williamsport, 60 miles up the river, where he arrived on the 14th, and was assigned to the com- mand of the district between Harper's Ferry and Hancock. The . regiment remained on duty in the vicinity of Williamsport during the balance of the year, making excursions to other points as raid- ing forces of the enemy appeared, and engaged in picket and other service, enduring much hardship, but maintaining a health record surpassed by very few regiments in the army. The three detached companies rejoined the main body the last of October. Late in November, and again early in January, 1862, four companies were sent to Hancock, in response to calls for reinforcements, and on the latter occasion the detachment remained there till the end of the month, when it rejoined the regiment at Williamsport, where it had gone into "winter quarters."
The winter camp at Williamsport was occupied till late in Feb- ruary, 1862, the regiment furnishing frequent details, many of them of a permanent nature for duty in the neighborhood; but on the 24th of that month the detachments had all been called in and marching orders were received, though the command did not move till the 1st of March. It then crossed the Potomac and marched till far into the night, when it reached Martinsburg and was quartered in some vacant buildings. After remaining there till the 6th, another march was made, taking the regiment to Bun- ker Hill, where it joined its brigade and was quartered in a church and some neighboring buildings. It left Bunker Hill on the 11th, having been assigned to another brigade, and reached Winchester on the 12th, being made provost guard in that city, but on the 20th it was relieved and joined the Second Brigade of Banks's Division, commanded by General Abercrombie, to which it had been assigned. Its associate regiments were the Twelfth Massachusetts, Twelfth and Sixteenth Indiana and Eighty-third New York.
On being relieved from duty in the city the regiment began a march toward Washington, the column crossing the Blue Ridge. retracing its steps from Aldie through the Gap on the supposition that General Banks needed reinforcement, then facing about and continuing eastward till on the 2d of April the main body of the regiment had reached Warrenton Junction, Company A having been left at Manassas Junction. During the seven weeks which
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
followed the Thirteenth remained on duty along the railroad in that vicinity, its brigade connections being again changed by the consti- tuting of the forces under General Banks a corps, known at that time as the Fifth. The Thirteenth was made part of General Hartsuff's Brigade of Williams's Division, and associated with it were the Fifth Connecticut, Twenty-eighth New York, First Mary- land, Forty-sixth Pennsylvania and Twelfth Indiana Regiments.
This arrangement lasted but a short time, as the establishing of the Department of the Rappahannock, under command of General McDowell, called for a reorganization, and Hartsuff's Brigade was reduced to four regiments, comprising besides the Thirteenth the Twelfth Massachusetts, Eleventh Pennsylvania and Eighty-third New York. It was designated as the Third Brigade, Second Divis- ion, McDowell's Corps; General E. O. C. Ord was the division com- mander. On the 12th of May the regiment began the march toward Fredericksburg, halting at Falmouth on the 14th and remaining there with some changes of camp and short excursions in the vicin . ity till the 25th. It then marched to Acquia Creek and on the fol- lowing day went by transport John Brooks to Alexandria, whence it was taken by rail to Thoroughfare Gap and marched on the 31st to Front Royal, passing on to Strasburg and beyond in the next few days, but returning to Front Royal on the 4th of June, with the loss of two members of the pioneer detail drowned. Remaining there till the 17th, the regiment took cars back to Manassas, where a further halt was made till the 4th of July, when the location was changed to near Gainesville where the month passed.
The regiment took part in the advance to Cedar Mountain, August 9, but was not actively engaged and met with no loss. It had part in the subsequent strategic movements preceding the Second Bull Run battle, the division, at that time under the command of Gen- eral Ricketts, marching to Thoroughfare Gap on the 28th, and though it arrived late in the day serving to delay the march of Long- street's Corps, which was coming down that way to unite with Jack- son. The Thirteenth lost two members of Company F killed. The division fell back at night to Bristoe Station, a movement which took it out of position for the fighting of the next day. During the early part of the 30th, the final day of the battle, the division was massed as support to the Union right, and moved to various points in that capacity ; but in the afternoon it was ordered to the
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THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT.
left, where General Longstreet was making great efforts to gain possession of the Centerville turnpike. Hartsuff's Brigade (com- manded by Colonel John W. Stiles, Hartsuff being ill) moved in the rear of the front line then in action and took position in support of the left, the Thirteenth being the extreme left regiment of the line, near the Henry House. The front line soon gave away, when the Thirteenth opened fire, and though exposed to an enfilad- ing fire of musketry and artillery fought gallantly for some time, though constantly losing heavily. While the regiment was attempt- ing to execute an order to occupy a piece of woods a short distance at the left, which the enemy had already gained, the whole Union left gave way, and the Thirteenth with other troops were obliged to fall back, rallying in the rear of the hospitals, and at night-fall re- treating still further, continuing the retrogade movement to Center- ville next morning. The loss of the Thirteenth in the battle was 193, of whom 19 were killed, 108 wounded and 66 missing.
The battle closed an unfortunate campaign, so far as the Federal . leaders were concerned, only to open it immediately under new management. General Lee, at the head of the victorious Confeder- ates, turned toward Maryland, hoping to win that commonwealth to the cause of secession and wishing to carry the field of strife away from Virginia. General Pope was relieved from command, the Army of Virginia with which he had been operating ceased to exist as such, but was consolidated with the Army of the Potomac, and General MeClellan, the restored commander-in-chief, marched in pursuit of the enemy, reorganizing his army as he went. By this change the Thirteenth Regiment found itself designated as belong- ing to the Third Brigade, Second Division, First Corps. General Hooker commanded the corps, but the division and brigade com- manders were unchanged.
The regiment was with its division in support and not actively engaged at the battle of South Mountain, September 14, but in the fierce battle of the Antietam, three days later, it had its full share. Near night of the 16th, Hooker's Corps crossed the creek and took position well up to the left of the Confederate line of battle, after some fighting in which the Thirteenth did not take part. Ricketts's Division had the left of the corps, and when the advance was made next morning Hartsuff's Brigade had the center of the division, with the other two brigades in echelon, the Thirteenth being the left
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