USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 1 > Part 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48
At midnight of June 1 the regiment with its column marched for Cold Harbor, which it reached late in the afternoon of the 2d, but during the operations there it was not actively engaged and did not suffer serious loss. It marched southward again on the 12th, crossed the James on the 14th, and at midnight of the 15th reached the scene of active operations in front of Petersburg. Toward evening of the 16th the command joined in an advance against the enemy's works, moving forward under fire till the crest of a range of hills was gained, where severe loss was met, but the position was held and after dark was securely intrenched, still under fire, some of the Sixteenth being wounded while thus engaged.
From this time till the 23d the regiment was actively occupied in the various operations of its corps, on the skirmish line. fortifying or engaged in movements for the extension of the Union lines or the strengthening of the positions already gained. It was almost
273
THIE SIXTEENTHI REGIMENT.
continually under fire, and constantly losing its best and bravest members. On the 23d it took position in tlie rear of works near the Strong house, which it had built two days previous, on the Jerusalem Plank road, and there it remained till the 11th of July, when its term of service having expired it set out on the return to Massachusetts, leaving behind a battalion of five officers and 196 re-enlisted men and recruits which was attached to the Eleventh Massachusetts Regiment and afterward made a part of that organi- zation. During the 1864 campaign the total loss of the regiment in action had been 23 killed, 78 wounded and nine missing-the losses in the several engagements cannot be apportioned. It reached . Massachusetts on the 22d of July and five days later was mustered out of service.
THE SEVENTEENTH REGIMENT.
T HE Seventeenth Regiment rendezvoused at Camp Schouler, Lynnfield, the camp being formed on the 10th of July, 1861, and placed under command of Colonel Dike of the Seventh Militia Regiment. Eight of the companies were from Essex county, the first-A-being mustered July 21 and the other nine on the following day. The regiment remained at the camp till the 23d of August, when, the officers having been mustered two days before, it received orders to report to Washington. The make-up of the regiment and the roster of officers follows :-
Colonel, Thomas J. C. Amory of Brookline; lieutenant colonel, John F. Fellows of Chelsea; major, Jones Frankle of Haverhill; sur- geon, Isaac F. Galloupe of Lynn; assistant surgeon, William H. W. Hinds of Boston; chaplain, William D. Haley of Rochester; adjutant, Barnabas N. Mann of Chelsea; quartermaster, Levi P. Thompson of Cambridge ; sergeant major, Henry Poor of Stoneham; quartermas- ter sergeant, Alfred G. Taggard; commissary sergeant, Henry T. Mer- rill, both of Haverhill; hospital steward, George O'Neill of Lynnfield; leader of band, Arthur Hall of Malden.
Company A, Newburyport City Grays-Captain, David F. Brown; first lieutenant, Thomas W. Foster; second lieutenant, Thomas W. Goodwin.
Company B, Foster Guards-Captain, Sidney C. Bancroft ; first lieutenant, Robert B. Bancroft, both of South Danvers; second lieu- tenant, John E. Mullally of Salem.
Company C, Danvers Light Infantry-Captain, Nehemiah P. Fuller; first lieutenant, William W. Smith; second lieutenant, Reuel B. Pray.
Company D, Wallace Guards - Captain, George II. Morrill ; first lieutenant, Jere A. Greeley, both of Salisbury; second lieutenant, Benjamin F. Chesley of Haverhill.
Company E, Haverhill-Captain, Michael McNamara ; first lieuten- ant, Henry Splaine; second lieutenant, James Maroney.
Company F, Haverhill-Captain, Luther Day ; first lieutenant, Enoch F. Tompkins; second lieutenant, William II. Turner.
Company G, Kimball Guard-Captain, George W. Kenney of Dan- vers; first lieutenant, George W. Tufts ; second lieutenant, Alfred M. Channell, both of Rockport.
275
THE SEVENTEENTHI REGIMENT.
Company H, British Volunteers of Boston-Captain, John K. Lloyd; first lieutenant, John S. Hammond; second lieutenant, Robert W. McCourt.
Company I, Saunders Guard-Captain, Thomas Weir; first lieuten- ant, Michael Burns, both of Lawrence; second lieutenant, Archibald Bogle of Melrose.
Company K, Malden Light Infantry-Captain, Joseph R. Simonds of Melrose; first lieutenant, Ivory N. Richardson; second lieutenant, Henry W. Oliver, both of Malden.
The regiment left camp in the evening of the 23d, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Fellows,-Colonel Amory being at that time a captain in the United States Army, but soon after obtaining a leave of absence for three years to accept the commission tendered him by Governor Andrew. Passing through Boston that night and New York the following afternoon, the command on reaching Balti- more was directed to stop there and report to General Dix, com- manding the department. By his direction it went into camp near the city, forming part of the division under his immediate command, where it remained during the fall and winter. On the 14th of November, Colonel Amory with six companies of his regiment was detailed to accompany the expedition of General HI. H. Lockwood into the two East Shore counties of Virginia, to disperse the Con- federate organizations forming within the territory and if possible win the inhabitants back to their allegiance to the Union.
Returning from this worthy though bloodless enterprise, the regi- ment resumed its encampment near Baltimore and was only called on for routine duties till the following spring, when it sailed for Newbern, N. C., and joined the division of General Foster, becom- ing part of the First Brigade, First Division of Burnside's army, Colonel Amory commanding the brigade, the other regiments of which were the Twenty-third and Twenty-fifth Massachusetts and Sixth New Hampshire. The first active service of the regiment was in a night expedition intended to surprise and capture a detach- ment of the enemy at Trenton, which took place on the 15th of May, 1862. Owing to a late start, the Third New York Cavalry and a section of artillery that were to co-operate with the Seven- teenth and Twenty-fifth Regiments being delayed by a storm, the attempt at a surprise failed, the column being attacked five miles short of Trenton and a lively skirmish ensuing, in consequence of which Colonel Amory abandoned the undertaking and with his com-
276
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
mand returned to camp, the Seventeenth having met no loss. Some two months later the regiment took part in another expedition to ascertain the position of the enemy, meeting only parties of videttes. After this nothing occurred to break the routine of camp duties and outpost service till late in the autumn.
The force in the department had then been much strengthened by the arrival of numerous new regiments of nine-months' troops, largely from Massachusetts, and the brigades had been reorganized, Amory's consisting of the Seventeenth, Twenty-third, Forty-third, Forty-fifth and Fifty-first Massachusetts Regiments. The Goldsboro expedition set out on the 11th of December, and on the 14th when approaching Kinston encountered the enemy. Wessells's Brigade was first engaged, the Seventeenth being detached from their own brigade to its support, and afterward detailed to accompany the Ninth New Jersey, then acting as an independent command, with the Third New York Cavalry to feel the way for the main column. This arrangement continued till the return of the force to New- bern, and as a result the Seventeenth were among the first troops to enter Kinston after the Confederates left, the regiment being at once made provost guard. It remained on that duty till the march was resumed next day, when it took the advance, encountering the enemy at Whitehall on the 16th, and after several hours' skirmish- ing across the creek, which neither force could cross, the march was resumed toward Goldsboro. Approaching the railroad bridge leading to the town, on the 17th, the destruction of which was the main object of the expedition, a lively conflict ensued. The regi- ment having fought its way to the vicinity of the bridge, two vol- unteers were called for to join a like number from the Ninth New Jersey and fire the structure. Adjutant Mann was one of those who responded, and was wounded in the attempt. The effort was successful, however, and when it was assured that the structure was well ignited the Union forces proceeded to withdraw. After the regiment had started upon the return march it was called back by an attack from the Confederates on some of the troops at the rear, but the affair was over before it reached the scene and the march was immediately resumed. The loss of the regiment during the expedition was one killed, 29 wounded and two missing, 19 of the casualties occurring before Goldsboro.
After returning from Goldsboro the Seventeenth were engaged in
277
THE SEVENTEENTHI REGIMENT.
provost duty in the city of Newbern till January 26, 1863, when they were relieved by the Forty-fifth Regiment and took quarters in the barracks of the latter regiment on the Trent river, some two miles from the town. No duty of importance came to them till the 7th of April, when they formed part of the expedition under Gen- eral Spinola intended for the relief of Little Washington, then be- sieged by the Confederates. The enemy were found on the 9th in a strongly intrenched position at Blount's Creek, and after engaging them for a time General Spinola returned to Newbern, the Seven- teenth having eight wounded in the fight. On the 17th General Foster in person (having escaped from Little Washington) set ont with a larger force, of which the regiment formed part, to raise the siege, but found that Longstreet's troops had departed and the relieving column entered the town unopposed on the 20th; two days later the Seventeenth returned to Newbern by the steamer Escort.
The regiment formed part of a force under General I. N. Palmer which advanced to Core Creek on the 27th and next day to Dover Station, where a slight engagement took place, but without loss to the Seventeenth, and on the 1st of May the regiment was back again at Newbern. There it remained till the 4th of July, when it joined in a raid to Trenton, being detached there to hold the Kins- ton road while the main column went further, but was back in camp again on the afternoon of the 7th without having been engaged. On the 25th a more extensive movement took the regiment by steamer Peconic to Winton, on the Chowan river, where it joined a detachment from Portsmouth, Va., intended for a raid on Weldon. The Seventeenth led the way toward Murfreesboro, driving in the enemy's outposts, and at Mount Tabor Church captured the camp of the Twelfth North Carolina Battalion with 32 prisoners and a quantity of small arms. The regiment remained there while the cavalry of the expedition attempted to reach Weldon, but the enemy was found in force at Jackson and the enterprise was abandoned, the column returning to Winton where the Seventeenth re-embarked and reached Newbern on the 1st of August, having lost three wounded.
On the 1st of October the Seventeenth again took up provost duty in the city, relieving the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts, five companies of the regiment being quartered within the town and the remainder encamped outside near Fort Totten. There they re- mained at the close of the year. Meantime some changes had oc-
278
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
curred among the officers ; Major Frankle having been detached to raise the Second Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, the vacancy was filled December 29 by the promotion of Captain Luther Day. As- sistant Surgeon Hinds having been promoted surgeon of the Twelfth Regiment, George W. Clark of Boston was appointed to the vacaney, while during the previous year Charles G. A. Eayrs of Lowell had been added to the medical staff. Chaplain Haley had resigned and been succeeded by William P. Colby of Amesbury, who also left the position before the close of the year 1863.
Early in 1864 the Seventeenth met with its first serious experience in action. On the 1st of February an attack was made by the Con- federates under General Pickett on the Union outpost at Batchelder's Creek, some eight miles from Newbern, and Lieutenant Colonel Fellows with 115 members of the five companies located outside the city and a section of artillery set out for the support of the One Hundred and Thirty-second New York Regiment, then holding the threatened position. The bridge across the creek had just been carried by the strong force of the enemy when the Seventeenth de- taeliment arrived, but the intrepid Fellows placed his little command to the front and left of the New York regiment and stubbornly dis- puted the progress of the foe till the battery and the other regiment had left the field. The order was then given to fall back to the crossing of the Trent road to make another stand, but in the heavy fog which prevailed the Confederates flanked the party and cut off a large portion of them before the movement could be executed. Three had been killed and three severely wounded during the fight- ing, and 66 were made prisoners, including Lieutenant Colonel Fellows, Surgeon Galloupe and Adjutant Henry A. Cheever-the latter severely wounded. Such of the command as escaped made their way back to Newbern and assisted in manning the works and picketing the approaches while the city was threatened.
After three days of demonstration the enemy withdrew from the vicinity and the usual routine prevailed till the 18th of April, when six companies of the Seventeenth left in transports for Little Wash- ington, which was again threatened by the Confederates, and was besieged by them after the capture of Plymouth on the 20th. The place was evacuated on the 30th, the Seventeenth Regiment with the other troops returning to Newbern, having lost in the fighting about Washington two men killed. Two days later the companies on
279
TIIE SEVENTEENTII REGIMENT.
duty in the city were relieved by the Fifteenth Connecticut and the regiment encamped on the south bank of the Trent a mile from the city. From that time till the expiration of the original term of enlistment, the regiment was occupied with details on picket at out- posts in the vicinity, the only skirmishing with the enemy in that time being on the 5th of May, when Company B had a lively ex- change of shots with a force which had approached the defenses by way of the railroad.
On the 16th of July those whose term of service was about to expire took transports for Massachusetts, where they were mustered out on the 3d of August. The re-enlisted men and recruits were consolidated into a battalion of three companies, commanded by Captain Henry Splaine, who later received the commission of major. A fourth company was formed soon afterward, but was not filled for some time. The battalion was ordered to Newport Barracks, a few miles from Beaufort on the railroad, July 27, and remained there during the ensuing months. The re-enlisted men were granted a furlough of 40 days from the 23d of September, rejoining their comrades at the Barracks November 20. During the winter some 450 men were detached from the Second Massachusetts Heavy Artillery by Special Order from the War Department and transfer- red to the Seventeenth, making the latter an eight-company organi- zation, of which Major Splaine was commissioned lieutenant colonel and Captain William W. Smith major.
The spring campaign of 1865, so far as the Seventeenth Regiment was concerned, opened on the 4th of March, when the command moved to Core Creek, where it was attached to the Third Brigade, Second Division, District of Beaufort, Major Smith commanding the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Splaine the brigade, and General S. P. Carter the division. On the 7th the division reached Wise's Forks, five miles from Kinston, and set about intrenching in antici- pation of an attack by the enemy under General Bragg. The ex- pected battle began next morning, the Second Brigade being ahnost annihilated by capture, after which the foe advanced upon the works of the Third Brigade. As they approached Companies _1, C and F of the Seventeenth, commanded by Major Smith in person, advanced at the double-quick to meet and retard them as much as possible, that the main line might the better be prepared for resist- ance. During the sharp fight which ensued Company A was at one
,
280
MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
time in possession of a piece of artillery which had recently been captured from the Second Brigade, but it could not be removed in time, and the gallant fellows were driven from it by overwhelming numbers. The fighting at this point continued for three days with varying success, but finally the Confederates were repulsed in an attack on the Union left, where they met such sturdy fighters as the Seventeenth and Twenty-fifth Massachusetts, Ninth New Jersey and Third New York Artillery, and the battle ended. The loss to the Seventeenth during the engagement was about 40 in killed, wounded and missing, ten of whom were killed or fatally wounded.
The regiment occupied Kinston from the 15th to the 20th of March, when it moved to Goldsboro, which was reached the next day, and possession of the place being assured returned on the 23d to Bear Creek, 15 miles, and rebuilt a railroad bridge, marching on the 25th to Goldsboro, where General Sherman's army had then arrived. The regiment accompanied Sherman's army for Raleigh on the 10th of April, reaching there on the 14th, and was detached from its brigade on the 5th of May to garrison Greensboro, 95 miles away. This duty it performed acceptably till the 11th of July, when it was mustered out of the United States service and started for Massachusetts, reaching Readville on the 19th and on the 26th being paid and discharged.
The total loss of the Seventeenth Regiment killed in action was - light compared with most of the three-years' regiments, being only 11, all enlisted men ; but some 50 died in Confederate prisons, in- cluding First Lieutenant Barnabas N. Mann, October 8, 1864. Three other commissioned officers died in the service,-Colonel (brevet Brigadier General) Amory, at Beaufort October 7, 1864, Captain Levi P. Thompson, September 20, 1862; First Lieutenant George W. Tufts, at Baltimore, October 27, 1861. Lieutenant Colonel Fellows while a prisoner of war was one of the Union offi- cers exposed to the fire of the Federal batteries at Charleston, S. C., but was exchanged in time to be mustered out August 9, 1864.
THE EIGHTEENTH REGIMENT.
T HIE Eighteenth Regiment gathered at Camp Brigham in Ded- ham, but left the state before its organization was complete. Five companies reached the rendezvous early in July, 1861, by direction of the governor, and up to the 20th of August three others had followed. Most of the line officers were mustered on that day, and the enlisted men in camp were sworn in four days later. Orders to report with the command at Washington were then received, and the journey began on the 26th. About a month later Company A joined the regiment, but Company C did not re- port for duty till the last of November, being sworn into the United States service January 14, 1862. The completed roster of officers was as follows :-
Colonel, James Barnes of Springfield; lieutenant colonel, Timothy Ingraham of New Bedford; major, Joseph Hayes of Boston; surgeon, David P. Smith of Springfield; assistant surgeon, Orlando Brown of Wrentham; chaplain, Benjamin F. DeCosta of Charlestown; adjutant, George F. Hodges of Roxbury: quartermaster, Sanford Almy of New Bedford ; sergeant major, Edward M. Onion of Dedham; quartermas- ter sergeant, John D. Isbell of Springfield; commissary sergeant, William M. Ingraham of New Bedford; hospital steward, Virtulan R. Stone of Dana; principal musician, Cyrus C. Vaughn of New Bedford; leader of band, Albert R. Davis of Somerset.
Company A-Captain, Lewis N. Tucker of Milton; first lieutenant, Joseph C. Ayer of Newtonville; second lieutenant, James D. Orne of Springfield.
Company B-Captain, George Charles Ruby of Taunton; first lieu- tenant, Cyrus M. Wheaton of Somerset; second lieutenant, Warren Dutton Russell of Brighton.
Company C-Captain, William S. McFarlin of Carver: first lieu- tenant, George M. Barnard, Jr .; second lieutenant, William Vincent Smith, both of Boston.
Company D-Captain, Stephen Thomas of Middleboro: first lieu- tenant, Woodbridge R. Howes of Mattapoisett ; second lieutenant, Charles F. Edson of Middleboro.
282
MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
Company E-Captain, Thomas Weston of Middleboro; first lieuten- ant, William Henry Winsor of Plymouth; second lieutenant, John E. Bird of Boston.
Company F, Dedham-Captain, Henry Onion; first lieutenant, Charles W. Carroll; second lieutenant, Fisher A. Baker.
Company G-Captain, William B. White of East Abington; first lieutenant, James N. Sparrell of South Scituate; second lieutenant, William G. Hewins of Dorchester.
Company H-Captain, Joseph W. Collingwood; first lieutenant, Charles Henry Drew, both of Plymouth; second lieutenant, Horatio Nelson Dallas of Boston.
Company I-Captain, Frederic D. Forrest of Wrentham; first lieu- tenant, Alvin E. Hall of Foxboro; second lieutenant, Samuel HI. Bug- bee of Wrentham.
Company K-Captain, John L. Spalding of Boston; first lieuten- ant, Benjamin F. Messervy of Quincy; second lieutenant, Pardon Almy, Jr., of Cambridge.
Going by way of New York, Baltimore and Harrisburg, the Eight- centh reached Washington May 30, and next day reported to Colonel E. D. Baker, going into camp about a mile to the west of the Capitol, the location being called Camp Massachusetts. The regiment was ordered on the 3d of September to cross the river and report to General Fitz John Porter, commanding a division, by whom it was assigned to General Martindale's Brigade, its fellow- regiments being the Second Maine, Thirteenth and Forty-first New York. The regimental camp was located near Fort Corcoran, on ground recently occupied by the Sixty-ninth New York, and the Eighteenth began to see actual service in fatigue duty and on picket. The division was moved to the front on the 26th and went into camp near Hall's Hill, then the outpost of the Union army. This posi- tion was occupied during the winter, the regiment giving much at- tention to drill and discipline, so that at a review held at Bailey's Cross Roads it was especially complimented for excellence by the commander in chief, and as a mark of appreciation received new uniform and camp equipage imported from France and modeled on that of the French chasseurs a pied. Before the opening of the spring campaign some changes were made in Martindale's Brigade, the Forty-first New York giving place to the Twenty-second Massa- chusetts and Twenty-fifth New York Regiments, while the Second Company of Massachusetts Sharpshooters was attached to the bri- gade, which was known as the First Brigade, Porter's Division, Third (Heintzelman's) Corps.
283
TIIE EIGIITEENTII REGIMENT.
The winter camp was vacated March 10, 1862, and the regiment marched to Fairfax, stopping there till the 16th, when it was ordered to Alexandria to embark for the Peninsula. Transports were taken on the 21st, and two days later the command debarked at Old Point Comfort, encamping at Hampton for two days and then at New- market Bridge, where it remained till the Federal army was ready for the forward movement. This began on the 4th of April, and early on the afternoon of the following day the defenses of York- town were reached, before which the Army of the Potomac came to a halt and remained for a month. The Eighteenth took active part in the earlier operations by which the enemy's line was located, and three of its companies were at once placed on the skirmish line,. while the remainder of the regiment formed a portion of the main line of battle, but no casualties were suffered. Later the command went into camp near by and daily furnished heavy details for out- post and fatigue duty till the evacuation of Yorktown. Immediately on that event Porter's Division took transports and landed on the 8th of May at West Point, near the junction of the Matapony and Pamunkey rivers. Up the south side of the latter the division marched, setting out on the 13th, going first to Cumberland, thence to White House, moving on the 19th toward Richmond as far as Tunstall's Station, and on the 26th to Gaines Mills.
During this time the Fifth (Provisional) Army Corps had been formed, of which General Porter was given command. It was com- posed of his own division, the command of which was taken by General Morell, and another under General Sykes. The brigade to which the Eighteenth belonged was strengthened by the addition of the First Michigan Regiment, and was known as the First Brigade, First Division. About the same time the regiment exchanged the smooth-bore muskets with which it had thus far been armed for the Springfield rifled pattern. Early in the morning of the 27th the division set out for Hanover Court House, but as the Eighteenth Regiment had been on picket during a heavy storm it was not in condition to march at once; and though it followed a few hours later it was not in time to take part in the brilliant action by which General Porter defeated the Confederate force under General Branch. It assisted in burying the dead left upon the field by the enemy and on the 29th returned to its camp at Gaines Mills. There it re- mained till the 26th of June, when with the Seventeenth New York
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.