USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 1 > Part 24
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
center regiment. The line advanced for some distance till it came under a heavy fire and was within a few hundred feet of the enemy when it opened fire and the action became deadly. The two right regiments of the brigade were after a stubborn contest obliged to fall back, having suffered severe loss ; another regiment took their places and that in turn gave way. The regiment at the left, the Eighty-third New York, was also obliged to fall back, so that before the order came to the Thirteenth to retire it was left alone of the brigade line. The few hundred men that remained of the division were reformed and placed in line, ready to respond to any call which might be made upon them, but they were not again sent into the fight. The loss of the Thirteenth Regiment during the two hours or less that it had been engaged reached 139, of whom 15 were killed, 120 wounded and four missing.
Following the battle the regiment remained in camp near the field till the 26th of October, when the march southward began ; the Potomac was crossed at Berlin on the 30th, and on the 1st of Novem- ber camp was pitched within a short distance of Warrenton. On the 8th the regiment marched to Rappahannock Station, on the 18th to Stafford Court House, and on the 23d to Brooks's Station, where it remained till on the 9th of December it began to feel its way toward what was to be the battlefield of Fredericksburg. The Thir- teenth still belonged to the same brigade and division, but not a few changes had occurred among the commanders. General Burnside had taken the command of the Army of the Potomac ; the First Corps was commanded by General Reynolds, the Second Division by General John Gibbon, and the Third Brigade by General Nelson Taylor. The Twelfth Massachusetts Regiment had been transferred to the Second Brigade of the same division, and the Ninety-seventh New York and Eighty-eighth Pennsylvania were added to the Third Brigade.
The Thirteenth with their division crossed the Rappahannock at Franklin's bridges, some three miles below the city of Fredericks- burg, early on the morning of the 12th, moving to the left near the river, where the regiment deployed as skirmishers, advanced to the Richmond stage road, and remained during the night which fol- lowed and next morning till the opening of the battle. The skir- mish line moved forward and engaged the enemy, keeping up a sharp fire till the division in line of battle advanced and passed to
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THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT.
the front. The eight companies of the Thirteenth which had been on the skirmish line for 24 hours then rallied on the two in re- serve and the regiment was sent to the rear for a fresh supply of ammunition. Before it was ready to resume active operations at the front the fight there had practically ceased ; General Meade's Division, the Third, had made its magnificent attack, supported by the Second (Gibbon's), and the shattered forces had fallen back with heavy loss. General Gibbon was wounded and General Tay- lor assumed command of the division, placing the Third Brigade in the hands of Colonel Leonard. Position was taken near the Richmond road, where the brigade remained during the night. It staid in that vicinity, in fact, till the withdrawal of the Federal troops from that side of the river, no further fighting of conse- quence taking place. Recrossing on the night of the 15th, the regiment at first bivouacked some two miles from the river, but on the 19th it moved to the vicinity of Fletcher's Chapel into a more permanent camp. The loss of the Thirteenth during the battle of Fredericksburg was but three killed and 11 wounded, its service on the skirmish line having saved it from the severe loss which had met the regiments forming the line of battle. At the close of the engagement, though the largest regiment in the brigade in num- bers, it had but 314 present for duty.
The Thirteenth shared in the Mud March of January 20, 1863, on which day it broke camp and advanced a few miles beyond Stoneman's Switch, where on the 21st it was obliged to halt owing to the impassable nature of the roads, returning to the old camps on the 23d. No other event of importance occurred till the open- ing of the Chancellorsville campaign under General Hooker, when on the 28th of April the First Corps marched toward the Rappa- hannock, taking position below Pollock's Mill, where bridges were thrown across the river and one division crossed to the Spottsyl- vania shore and established a line of battle covering the bridge heads. While lying near the river on the north bank on the 30th the regiment was fired upon by the Confederate artillery from be- yond the river, by which Company F suffered a severe loss, Captain George Bush and Second Lieutenant William Cordwell of West- boro being killed and Sergeant J. S. Fay losing an arm and a leg. Taking shelter behind the embankments of the highway, the regi- ment was protected from further loss, and remained in that vicinity
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till the 2d of May, when it was ordered to the right where the main battle was being fought under the immediate command of General Hooker. The First Corps crossed the Rappahannock at United States Ford and late that evening took position on the Ely's Ford road at the right of the Union lines, near Hunting Run. This position was intrenched and occupied by the corps during the two or three days following without engagement, the only active part taken by the Thirteenth Regiment being on the 4th, when with the Twelfth Massachusetts and a section of artillery it made recon- naissance to the right by the Ely's Ford road under direction of General Robinson, the division commander. Encountering the enemy's pickets and receiving their fire, the column returned to the main body, being under strict orders to bring on no engagement, the loss of the Thirteenth being seven men wounded. The regi- ment recrossed the river on the 6th, marched to Falmouth, and soon after moved to the vicinity of White Oak Church, where with two or three changes of camp it remained till the 12th of June.
Meantime it had been transferred to the First Brigade of the same division, the division having been reorganized into two bri- gades. The brigade commander was General Gabriel R. Paul, and the regiments composing the brigade, in addition to the Thirteenth, were the Sixteenth Maine, Ninety-fourth and One Hundred and Fourth New York and One Hundred and Seventh Pennsylvania, to which at the time of the battle at Gettysburg the Eleventh Penn- sylvania was added by transfer from the Second Brigade. Break- ing camp on the 12th, the regiment marched northward till the 15th, when it reached Bull Run where the corps formed line of battle facing nearly north, but soon marched to Centerville, where one day's rest was had. The 18th and 19th took the regiment to Guilford Station, 20 miles northward, where it rested with the ex- ception of picket duty till the 25th, when the movement northward was resumed with great energy. The Potomac was crossed that day at Edwards Ferry, the Monocacy next day at Greenfield, and by daily marches the corps moved forward till on the 30th its lead- ing division encountered the pickets of the enemy and line of battle was formed.
The brigade formed the rear of the corps next day, July 1, as it marched to Gettysburg, and when it passed the village and moved out to the vicinity of the Seminary the First and Third Divisions
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THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT.
were already desperately engaged. Robinson's Division at first took position as a reserve force and threw up light intrenchments, but presently Baxter's (Second) Brigade was sent to take position on the right of the two divisions already engaged, and not long after Paul's Brigade followed in the effort to establish connection between the First Corps and the Eleventh, the latter being posted north of the town with a considerable gap between its left and the right of the First Corps. After being in action for some time, dur- ing which Colonel Leonard was wounded and retired, leaving the regiment in charge of Lieutenant Colonel Batchelder, the Thir- teenth made a successful charge upon a force of the enemy posted behind a road and captured seven officers and 125 enlisted men who were sent to the rear. But the Eleventh Corps gave away before the determined charges of the Confederates, exposing the flank of the brigade, the Thirteenth holding the extreme right of the First Corps, General Paul had been shot through both eyes and his troops sadly decimated-there was nothing possible but retreat or anni- hilation for the organizations which still held their ground, and the Thirteenth Regiment with the others fell back through the town and was rallied on the hights of Cemetery Ridge-what was left of it. Some 280 officers and men had been taken into action, of whom 17 had been killed or mortally wounded, dying during the day, while the wounded and captured brought the total loss to 189, about 100 unwounded being made prisoners in the town during the retreat.
The remnant of the regiment remained on Cemetery Hill in sup- port of the Federal batteries during that night and the following day till the attack by General Longstreet on the Union left, when it moved over to that part of the field, but finding the repulse of the enemy already effected returned to its former position, whence it was soon after advanced in front of the batteries, occupying a position near the outskirts of the town. It retired again to the crest in the morning, and during the day changed position several times. It went to the support of the Second Corps when the great attack of the war was made by General Pickett, but did not reach the scene of conflict till the fighting had practically ceased, when it relieved a portion of the line, threw out skirmishers, built cartlı- works and bivouacked for the night, expecting a renewal of the bat- tle in the morning. But the battle was ended. On the morning of the 5th it was discovered that the Confederates had retreated, but
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
it was not till next morning that the First Corps began its march in pursuit. On the 8th the regiment reached South Mountain, where it intrenched and halted till the 10th, when it continued the march to Beaver Creek, built more works and remained till the 12th. Then came another movement forward, this time to Funkstown, where line of battle was formed, and, as the two armies were in proximity, more works were thrown up and another wait ensued. Morning of the 14th showed the Confederates in Virginia, and with the rest of the disappointed Army of the Potomac the Thirteenth Regiment began the march down the river, crossing on the ponton bridge at Berlin the 18th and advancing, now leisurely and now with great energy, till it brought up at Rappahannock Station on the 27th.
Then followed on the part of both armies some months of maneu- vering for position, with repeated efforts on both sides to catch the adversary at a disadvantage, during which the soldiers moved back and forth over the well-worn ground. On the 1st of August the Thirteenth covered the crossing of Buford's cavalry near the Station and followed it across the Rappahannock, where the brigade in- trenched and remained for a week, being relieved on the 8th and recrossing the river. After a few days of inaction the Union army moved southward, and the Thirteenth again crossed the river, halting at Culpeper on the 17th, camping there till the 24th and then advancing to the Rapidan at Raccoon Ford, in which vicinity it remained till the 10th of October. On that day it moved early toward Morton's Ford, and finding that the Confederate army was making a flank movement, the regiment with the other Union troops began a rapid march northward. This ended soon after noon of the 14th at Centerville, when the regiment was deployed as skirmishers and advanced to Bull Run, bivouacking that night near the Stone bridge and next day falling back again to Centerville, where the command remained till the 19th. It then advanced to Haymarket and next day to Thoroughfare Gap, where it encamped, having met slight opposition from the enemy. While there Colonel Leonard returned to duty and took command of the brigade.
While the main body of the Army of the Potomac had gone south once more, following the retiring Army of Northern Vir- ginia, the First Corps was assigned to the duty of guarding the railroad from Alexandria over which General Meade's supplies must be forwarded, and the Thirteenth marched on the 24th of
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· THIE THIRTEENTHI REGIMENT.
October to Bristoe Station in a cold rain-storm, remaining there till the 5th of November. Then came an advance to Catlett's Station and a stop of a day or two ; but on the morning of the 7th the regiment broke camp and marched toward the Rappahannock, crossed it next day at Kelly's Ford and advanced as far as Brandy Station following the retiring Confederates. Late on the 9th the regiment returned across the river at Rappahannock Station and marched through a severe snow-storm till after midnight, when it bivouacked at Licking Run, where it remained till the opening movements of the Mine Run campaign.
These began on the 23d, when the regiment left camp and marched toward the Rappahannock, but the preparations for the. advance were not completed till the 26th-Thanksgiving day in Massachusetts-when the Thirteenth crossed the Rappahannock and the Rapidan at Culpeper Ford, halting for the night just south of the latter river. In the operations which followed the regiment took an active but a bloodless part, having its full share of the marching and maneuvering, picketing and suffering from the severe cold, and when the campaign was abandoned and the various corps of the Army of the Potomac cautiously withdrew from confronting the enemy and made their way back across the Rapidan, the Thir- teenth was one of the First Corps regiments which covered the recrossing at Germania Ford, afterward going into camp near Kelly's Ford on the Rappahannock. Here the regiment remained for some time, but about Christmas it moved some 20 miles to the front and took position at Mitchell's Station, the most advanced post occupied by the army in its winter quarters.
It remained there through the winter and till the opening of the campaign in the spring of 1864, being engaged in picket duty along the Rapidan, the north bank of which was occupied by the Union soldiers, while the Confederates picketed the south side. Numerous changes occurred in the make up of the army and in the regimental roster as the time for resuming active operations drew near. The First Corps was discontinued as an organization and its divisions were transferred to the Fifth Corps, so that the Thirteenth found itself a part of the First Brigade, Second Division. General War- ren commanded the corps, General Robinson the division and Colonel Leonard the brigade, which in addition to the Thirteenth contained the Thirty-ninth Massachusetts, Sixteenth Maine and
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
One Hundred and Fourth New York Regiments. Soon after the middle of April Lieutenant Colonel Batchelder resigned and Major Gould was commissioned colonel of the Fifty-ninth Massachusetts Veteran Regiment,-the first changes which had occurred in the field officers of the Thirteenth, though Colonel Leonard had much of the time served as brigade commander. To fill these vacancies Captain Charles H. Hovey was commissioned lieutenant colonel and took command of the regiment, while Captain Elliot C. Pierce was made major. At about the same time Surgeon Whitney re- turned to the regiment after having been for six months or more an inmate of Libby Prison. The command had long been with- out a chaplain, Chaplain Gaylord having resigned in March, 1863.
The winter quarters were abandoned on the 26th of April, the regiment camping near by for a few days, and on the 3d of May, with the rest of the brigade which had been stationed at Mitchell, it retraced its way seven miles to Culpeper, where its division had wintered. That night the movement of the army began and next afternoon the Rapidan was crossed at Germania Ford, near which the regiment passed the night. The part taken in the battle of the Wilderness by the Thirteenth was not important, its loss being ten wounded, Second Lieutenant Joseph II. Stuart of Natick mortally, dying on the 10th. His wound was received while the regiment was intrenching in the vicinity of the Brock road, whither the divis- ion had been sent to support the Second Corps ; the others were received during the first day's fighting. Colonel Leonard being ill, the command of the brigade passed to Colonel Peter Lyle.
The Fifth Corps, General Warren, led in the movement toward Spottsylvania in the evening of the 7th, and at daylight next morn- ing, after an all-night march through dark forests, paused near Todd's Tavern to rest, while the cavalry were engaged with the Confederates in front. The infantry were soon ordered into action, however, the nature of the ground being unfavorable for cavalry operations, and the enemy were speedily driven out. It is believed that the colors of the Thirteenth were the first planted on the hos- tile works, and the staff was cut off by a solid shot from the rebel artillery. An advance was then made to Alsop's, where the foe was found in force and an attack was made by the division which failed to dislodge him. In this engagement the regiment had two killed, including First Lieutenant Charles W. Whitcomb of
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THIE THIRTEENTHI REGIMENT.
Brookline, N. H., 15 wounded and 12 missing. General Robinson losing a leg and many of his general and field officers having been disabled, the division, after being commanded for a short time by Colonel Leonard, who was the senior officer left on duty, was divided on the 9th among the other three divisions, to each of which a bri- gade was assigned. The First Brigade was attached to what had been the Fourth Division, commanded by General Cutler since the death of General Wadsworth in the Wilderness.
In the engagement of the 10th of May the regiment proper was curiously enough composed of only a handful of commissioned and warrant officers in charge of the colors, every private being detailed for skirmish duty or in carrying ammunition to the front line. Of those on the picket line, three were wounded. A movement to the left was made by the corps on the 13th in which the regiment took part, but the hoped-for opening for an attack was not found, and from that time till the close of the operations before Spottsylvania the position at the left was occupied, with many changes of loca- tion and numerous exciting episodes, but little actual conflict. The regiment withdrew on the 21st for the march to the North Anna, leaving a part of its number on picket, of whom Captain William S. Damrell and three enlisted men were made prisoners. The North Anna was crossed by the Thirteenth at Jericho Ford on the 23d, and the regiment had part in the repulse of the Confederate attack that was made soon after, its casualties being five wounded.
Finding the position of the enemy at the North Anna apparently impregnable, the Union commanders continued the movement to- ward Richmond by the left flank, and the Thirteenth Regiment shared in the marching and skirmishing which ensued till Bethesda' Church was reached on the 1st of June. Something of a contest took place there, in which two members of the regiment were wounded, one mortally. On General Grant's deciding to move the Army of the Potomac south of the James river, the Fifth Corps was withdrawn from its position at the right and moved to the left at Cold Harbor, being extended to the Chickahominy. There for the first time in more than a month the Thirteenth enjoyed a few days of comparative rest, the loss of the command since the first of the monthi having been one killed, six wounded and two captured, all on the skirmish line.
The James river was crossed by transports at Windmill Point on
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
the 16th, and two days later the regiment took position before the Confederate works at Petersburg, where for four weeks it re- mained under command of Major Pierce-Lieutenant Colonel Hovey being disabled by illness-either serving on the skirmish line, in the trenches or building earthworks, their severest labor being in the building of Fort Warren. During this time the loss of the command was two killed and 17 wounded. On the 13th of July the re-enlisted men and recruits were transferred to the Thirty- ninth Massachusetts and the following day the remaining members of the Thirteenth withdrew from the line and marched to City Point. Transports were taken there next morning for Washing- ton; on the 21st Boston was reached and the war-worn band of some 280 members received a warm welcome, being mustered out and disbanded on the 1st of August.
THE FOURTEENTH REGIMENT.
T' HE Fourteenth Regiment was made up of Essex County com- panics which enlisted and organized soon after the call for three-months' troops, but whose services could not be im- mediately accepted. On the 25th of June, 1861, however, they were ordered to Fort Warren and the regimental organization was com- pleted, the command being mustered into the national service on the 5th of July, with the following roster :-
Colonel, William B. Greene of Haverhill ; lieutenant colonel, Samuel C. Oliver of Salem ; major, Levi P. Wright of Lawrence ; surgeon, David Dana, Jr., of Lawrence ; assistant surgeon, Samuel K. Towle of Haverhill ; chaplain, Stephen Barker of Andover; adjutant, Charles F. Simons of Boston ; quartermaster, Andrew Washburn of Newton; sergeant major, Amos Henfield of Salem; quartermaster sergeant, William Glass of South Boston; commissary sergeant, Arthur Lee Drew; hospital steward, John M. Pillsbury; leader of band, Isaac A. Boynton, all of Haverhill.
Company A, Heard Guards of Ipswich-Captain, Nathaniel Shats- well; first lieutenant, Milton B. Shattuck; second lieutenant, Lee R. Worcester.
Company B, Methuen-Captain, Leverett Bradley; first lieutenant, Jeremy B. Wardwell; second lieutenant, Christopher S. Heath.
Company C, Mechanic Phalanx of Lynn - Captain, Alonzo G. Draper; first lieutenant, Archelaus C. Wyman; second lieutenant, Josiah H. Sparks.
Company D, Essex Cadets-Captain, Seth S. Buxton; first lieuten- ant, James Pope, both of Salem; second lieutenant, Frank W. Tag- gard of South Danvers.
Company E, Amesbury-Captain, Joseph W. Sargent; first lieuten- ant, William F. Martins; second lieutenant, Benjamin C. Atkinson.
Company F, Scott Guards-Captain, Samuel Langmaid; first lieu- tenant, Joseph W. Kimball, both of Lawrence ; second lieutenant, Richard P. Cushman of Haverhill.
Company G, Marblehead-Captain, Benjamin Day; first lieutenant, Charles P. Noyes; second lieutenant, Benjamin F. Martin.
Company H, Andover Light Infantry-Captain, Horace Holt; first lieutenant, Charles H. Poor; second lieutenant, Moses W. Clement.
.
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
Company I, Putnam Guards of Danvers-Captain, Arthur A. Put- nam ; first lieutenant, Charles H. Adams, Jr. ; second lieutenant, William J. Roome.
Company K, City Guards of Lawrence-Captain, Frank A. Rolfe; first lieutenant, William Preston ; second lieutenant, Albert A. Davis.
Colonel Greene was a West Point graduate, who in the regular army had seen active service in Florida and elsewhere, but at the opening of the war had for some years been living in Paris. He at once hastened to his native land to offer his sword in behalf of the government, and on receiving the commission of colonel set about perfecting his command according to the standard of his rich and valuable experience, at home and abroad. The result was that when his regiment was ordered to the front, August 7, it had already at- tained a great degree of efficiency. Setting out at night in a heavy rain-storm, the Fourteenth departed under orders for Harper's Ferry, but on reaching Baltimore found other orders, directing the command to Washington. On reaching the national capital, after marching about the city in a storm and a night's bivouac on the wet ground without shelter, the regiment went into eamp at Camp Kalorama, Meridian Hights, near the city.
After remaining there for about a week, Colonel Greene was di- rected with his command to garrison Fort Albany, a strong earth- work on the Virginia side of the Potomac commanding Washing- ton. So acceptably was this service rendered that not long after- ward Fort Runyon, three-quarters of a mile distant, the works guarding the head of Long Bridge, and the Virginia end of the bridge itself were added to the regiment's guard and garrison duty. So efficient did the command prove in the position that after several months had passed it was decided to change the regiment from an infantry to a heavy artillery organization, and at the beginning of the year 1862 the transformation was made. The regiment was therefore recruited to the required numbers, officered and modeled on the standard of the United States Heavy Artillery regiments. (See First Heavy Artillery.)
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