USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 1 > Part 28
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of Butterfield's Brigade it was detached from the division to ac- company a force of cavalry and artillery under General Stoneman for the protection of the army supplies at White House. The ope- rations which followed were arduous, and demanded many of the best qualities of soldiership, but all were performed in a manner to win praise. The stores there having been destroyed in conformity with MeClellan's purpose to change base to the James river, the regiment embarked on transports, dropped down the river and finally by way of Fortress Monroe arrived at Harrison's Landing, where it debarked one day before the arrival of the rest of the bri- gade, which meantime had been fighting its way across the Peninsula.
With the rest of the army, the Eighteenth encamped at Harri- son's Landing till the 15th of August, the only movement of note during that time so far as they were concerned being a reconnais- sance to the Chickahominy the last of July, returning to camp the same day. Before the transfer to the vicinity of Washington, how- ever, various changes occurred among the officers. Colonel Barnes took command of the brigade, succeeding General Martindale, who was made military governor of Washington ; Lieutenant Colonel Ingraham had been made colonel of a new Massachusetts regiment, then being recruited ; Major Hayes having been prostrated by sick- ness was necessarily away from the regiment, and the command devolved upon Captain Thomas, under whom the march was made on the 15th to the Chickahominy, thence by way of Williamsburg, Yorktown and Hampton to Newport News, where on the 20th trans- ports were taken for Acquia Creek. Going from there by rail to Falmouth, the regiment marched to Rappahannock Station, where it arrived on the 23d. The next few days were devoted to maneu- vering and marchings to and fro, falling back on the 27th to War- renton, next day to Catlett's, and on the 29th to Manassas Gap. From this point it marched to the battle of Manassas, or the Second Bull Run, in which it was destined to take an important part.
As the brigade, temporarily under command of Colonel Charles W. Roberts of the Second Maine, came upon the field during the forenoon of the 30th it was formed in double line of battle with! supports in echelon, the Eighteenth forming the first line in rear of the skirmishers, two of its companies being deployed to extend the skirmish line so as to form connection on the right. An attempt was then made to advance across a field and through a piece of
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woods, by which it was hoped to flank a Confederate battery ; but the failure of troops to the right and left to advance rendered the attempt futile ; the brigade was soon obliged to halt and answer the fire which was poured in from front and both flanks, and after half an hour of this unequal contest the decimated regiments fell back to a less exposed position, Sykes's Division (Second) of the same corps covering their withdrawal. That night the regiment, which had won high praise for its gallantry during the day, retired with its corps to Centerville. It had lost in the engagement 40 killed, 101 wounded and 28 missing,-more than half of the number taken into action. Of the dead were Captain Charles W. Carroll, First Lieutenant Warren D. Russell and Second Lieutenant Pardon Almy, Jr. Previous to this two officers of the regiment had died from disease-First Lieutenant George F. Hodges on the 31st of January and Second Lieutenant John D. Isbell on the 16th of July.
Major Hayes returned to the command of the Eighteenth on the 1st of September. He was soon after promoted to the vacant lieu- tenant colonelcy, Captain Thomas being made major ; the commis- sions dated from the 25th of August, but it was some time later that the recipients were mustered to the new rank. During the night of the 1st and the following day the regiment marched to Chain Bridge, going on the 3d to Hall's Hill, where it rested till evening of the 6th. It then moved by night to Alexandria and staid till the 9th, thence to Fort Corcoran, opposite Georgetown, making another three-days' halt. Then began the march to the Antietam, where the Fifth Corps arrived on the 16th, but beyond supporting batteries on the east side of the creek the Eighteenth took no active part in the engagement. After the fighting was over the regiment was detailed for picket near the Burnside bridge, at the left, where it passed the 18th and the succeeding night, ad- vancing next day to the Potomac. It crossed that river on the 20th, leading its brigade, and opened the action of Shepherds- town, in which the two brigades commanded by Barnes and Sykes encountered four times their number of Confederates, and being unsupported were obliged to fall back. The Eighteenth retired in good order, having lost three killed, 11 wounded and one missing. Following this unsatisfactory experience, the regiment remained in camp near Sharpsburg for about six weeks.
The movement southward began on the 30th of October, when
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the column marched toward Harper's Ferry, crossed the Potomac there the following day and advanced by casy stages to Warrenton, where it went into camp on the 9th. During this time the brigade, still commanded by Colonel Barnes, had been enlarged by the ad- dition of the One Hundred and Eighteenth Pennsylvania Regiment; the division was at that time under General Charles Griffin and the corps was commanded by General Butterfield. Camp was broken on the 17th, the regiment moving by way of Elktown to Hartwood Church, encamping there from the 19th to the 23d and then ad- vancing to a position on the railroad near the village of Falmouth. It remained there, with the exception of a reconnaissance back to Hartwood Church on the 1st of December, till the 11th of that month, when it took position further down the river, opposite Fredericksburg, and remained in waiting there till afternoon of the 13th before it was called on to join in the battle.
The call to action came at 1 o'clock, when the regiment led its division across the river, being the first of the Fifth Corps to cross. The brigade at once went to the front and relieved a brigade of the Ninth Corps which had suffered severely in an attempt to reach the enemy's line of works. A charge was made soon after by the Eight- eenth, but it was not successful and cost the command heavily in killed and wounded. After falling back it was reformed and again took its place in the front of the Union line where it remained during the rest of the afternoon and in that vicinity till the even- ing of the following day, when it retired to the town and early the next morning as part of the rear guard covered the withdrawal of the troops from that side of the river. The loss of the regiment in this battle was 13 killed and 121 wounded ; among the former being Captain George C. Ruby and Second Lieutenant James B. Hancock of Cambridge, and of the nine officers wounded Captain Joseph W. Collingwood died on the 24th. Every member of the color guard was wounded, so severe was the fire upon the colors ; but it is worthy of note that not a member of the regiment was missing from his place save the killed and wounded when the ordeal was over.
The remainder of the winter and the early spring brought few events of importance to the Eighteenth Regiment, and on but two occasions did it quit camp for any extended operations. Marching up the river to Richards Ford with its brigade on the 30th of Decem- ber, it forded the Rappahannock next day, the water being waist
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deep, drove back the Confederate videttes on the southern bank, as- cended the stream to the next ford, recrossed to the northern shore and made its way back to camp on the 1st of January, 1863. It took part also in the "Mud March," three weeks later, and when that failed returned to the abandoned camp, remaining there till the spring suns had brought the roads into reliable condition and Gen- eral Hooker, who had succeeded to the command of the Army of the Potomac, had perfected his plans for the Chancellorsville can- paign. The Fifth Corps had now passed under the command of General Meade; Colonel Barnes had been commissioned a brigadier general of volunteers dating from the 29th of November previous, in consequence of which Lieutenant Colonel Hayes and Major Thomas had been advanced each one grade, dating from that time, and Captain William B. White was commissioned major from the 1st of March following.
The movement for the crossing of the river began on the 27th of April, when the regiment marched to Hartwood Church, advancing the next day to Kelly's Ford. On the 20th it crossed both the Rap- pahannock and the Rapidan, marching next day to Chancellorsville and on the 1st of May with its corps taking position at the left of the Union line near Banks Ford. The part taken in the battle by the Fifth Corps was not important, and the service of the Eighteenth was not exceptional. It was frequently under fire as demonstra- tions were made on that part of the line, and was drawn farther to the right during the course of the battle, its loss being Captain William G. Hewins killed on the 3d of May and 13 men wounded. When the conflict was over, the Fifth Corps formed the rear guard of the Army of the Potomac in its retreat across the river, the Eighteenth Regiment assisting in taking up the ponton bridges when the troops had crossed. Then it returned once more to the camp near Falmouth, where it remained till the 29th, moved to Hart- wood Church, Morrisville and Grove Church, and again halted for two weeks.
The movement northward which was to end with the battle of Gettysburg began for the Eighteenth on the 14th of June, when the regiment marched to Catlett's Station. It reached Aldie on the 19th and two days later moved to Ashby's Gap in support of the cavalry engagement at Upperville, returning to Aldie next day and on the 26th advancing to Edwards Ferry ; thence by way of Frede-
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rick, Liberty, Unionville and Hanover to Gettysburg, Pa., which it reached on the morning of the 2d of July. During this time much change had occurred in the make-up of the Fifth Corps, now com- manded by General Sykes. General Barnes had been promoted to the command of the First Division, Colonel Tilton of the Twenty- second Massachusetts commanded the brigade, which had been re- duced to the two Massachusetts regiments, the One Hundred and Eighteenth Pennsylvania and the First Michigan. The part taken in the battle of Gettysburg by the Eighteenth was like that at Chancellorsville, not important, and by a coincidence the loss on the two fields was the same-one killed and 13 wounded. This loss occurred when two brigades of the First Division attempted
the assistance of De Trobriand's Brigade, which had been flanked from its position near the "wheat-field." Tilton's Brigade was itself speedily flanked and obliged to fall back, General Barnes, the division commander, being severely wounded at that time. Position was then taken by the brigade near Little Round Top, where it remained dur- ing the following day, and till the army moved from the field.
From this time till the close of the year the history of the regi- ment is similar to that of many other organizations in the Army of the Potomac, which shared in the various movements of that body. It left Gettysburg on the 5th of July, crossed the Antietam the 10th, and during the three days following was in line of battle before Williamsport ; thence after the retreat of the Confederate army into Virginia it marched down the river to Berlin, where it crossed the Potomac on the 17th and ten days later went into camp at War- renton. The location was changed to Beverly Ford on the 8th of August and on the 16th the column marched to Culpeper Court House, where the regiment under command of Major White (Colonel Hayes being in command of the brigade) was detailed as provost guard of the town, and remained on that duty till the 11th of Octo- ber. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas resigned from the 3d of Septem- ber, and the vacancy thus created was filled by the promotion of Major White, Captain Thomas Weston being made major-the com- missions dating from October 15.
On rejoining its brigade at Beverly Ford the regiment found the Army of the Potomac on the alert to meet the movements of the enemy. Some demonstrations across the Rappahannock followed, and then came the rapid movement of both armies back toward
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Washington, ending with another period of hostile array on the well-worn fields about Manassas, Fairfax Court House and Center- ville, but without engagement. Before the close of the month the command was again back near Warrenton. It joined in the brilliant capture of Rappahannock Station on the 7th of November, where it suffered the loss of two killed and 14 wounded-Second Lieuten- ant George F. Weston of Lincoln dying of his injuries January 5, 1864. The regiment remained in the vicinity of the Rappahannock till the 26th of November, when it advanced to the Rapidan with the corps, crossed that stream at Culpeper Ford and took part in the Mine Run campaign which followed, having two men wounded while confronting the enemy's position. On the 3d of December it once more reached Beverly Ford and encamped for the winter.
The months which followed were not a season of inaction, though regimental head-quarters remained at Beverly Ford; there were heavy daily details for duty along the railroad, in addition to the natural demands for guard and outpost. Yet the spirit of the organization remained admirable, and of its few remaining original members 139 re-enlisted for another term of three years, if their services should thus long be required for the redemption of their country. As spring approached the Army of the Potomac was re- organized into three corps, the Fifth being one of those retained, though largely changed in its make-up. By this change the Eight- eenth Regiment found itself a part of the Third Brigade, First Division, the regiments which composed the brigade being in addi- tion the Twentieth Maine, Forty-fourth New York, Eighty-third and One Hundred and Eighteenth Pennsylvania, First and Sixteenth Michigan. General Joseph J. Bartlett was the brigade commander, General Griffin was returned to the division and General Warren took the corps. By this arrangement Colonel Ilayes resumed com- mand of his regiment.
The Eighteenth began their part in the campaign on the 1st of May, when they crossed the Rappahannock and took position near Brandy Station, waiting for the moving of the army. This began on the 3d, when an advance was made to Culpeper, the Rapidan was crossed next day at Germania Ford, and that night the com- mand bivouacked near the Wilderness Tavern. Next morning in- telligence came that the enemy were advancing, and the Eighteenth with the Eighty-third Pennsylvania were sent out to investigate.
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Reaching the picket line, Colonel Hayes sent out two companies of liis regiment under Captain Bent as skirmishers. They advanced, driving back the Confederate skirmish line till it was ascertained that the rebel army was in force, when they returned, having lost one man killed, who was believed to be the first infantryman to fall in the campaign. Taking position in the front line of battle, the regiment joined in the advance which immediately followed . and was successful in breaking and forcing back the opposing line till the failure of troops in co-operation to maintain the advance ex- posed the flank of Bartlett's Brigade and necessitated its with- drawal for some distance. During this charge Colonel Hayes was badly wounded in the head, and after the return Major Weston was severely sun-struck, which necessitated his absence for some weeks. The regiment was not again actively engaged till the morning of the 7th, when it was placed on the skirmish line, and fought sharply during the morning. Soon after noon it led forward a line of battle to feel the Confederate position ; finding them strongly posted the Union troops retired and the Eighteenth were relieved, having lost in the various operations during the battle seven killed and 19 wounded.
All of the night which followed was consumed in the slow move- ment to the left, morning finding the corps near Laurel Hill. Grif- fin's Division took the right hand road at the fork near Alsop's, Bartlett's Brigade leading in double line of battle, the Eighteenth holding the right of the second line. The enemy's works were soon reached and attacked, but the defenders were in force and the as- sault failed, the division being reformed and holding a position near the farthest point of advance. The loss of the regiment in this engagement was one killed and nine wounded. While on picket during the night of the 10th the command suffered a further loss of three wounded. These experiences ended the actual fighting of the regiment in the battles before Spottsylvania, though it took part in all the movements of its division and had a full share in the in- cessant hardships of the occasion. After the tedious night march to the left, and spending some days there in the vain effort to find an unguarded spot in the line of intrenchments, the field was evacuated, as that in the Wilderness had been, and the army moved by the left flank once more. The 23d of May brought the command to the North Anna, where in the early part of the afternoon it waded the river at Jericho Ford, the Eighteenth being placed in an
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important position near the Fountain homestead, to prevent its oc- cupation by the enemy. There was a lively engagement between the skirmishers at this point before the main attack on the hastily established Union lines which followed, but the only loss of the regiment-and that a serious one-came from the wounding of Lieutenant Colonel White, Captain Messervy succeeding him as regimental commander.
During the time that the armies confronted each other the Eight- centh occupied various positions, now in reserve, then assisting in destroying the railroad and again on the picket line, but without further casualty. After dark on the night of the 26th the entire picket line fell back cautiously and finally crossed the river, the movement to the left being resumed. Next day the regiment guarded the ammunition train, crossed the Pamunkey river on the 28th and rejoined its brigade, advancing on the 30th by the Shady Grove road and in the skirmishing of the day having three men wounded. The position being intrenched next day, another ad- vance occurred on the 1st of June, when the line moved forward some distance, the Eighteenth on the right and in front, being separated from the Ninth Corps by a ravine. Work on intrench- ments was at once begun, but had not progressed far when the enemy suddenly emerged from the ravine, drove the pickets in and attempted to route the Eighteenth ; but the regiment received the assailants with so bitter a fire that they hugged the earth till dusk and then withdrew. The Eighteenth, having exhausted their am- munition, held the line for some time before being relieved, with no reliance in case of a renewal of the attack but their bayonets. Their loss in the encounter was six killed and nine wounded. Some adjustment of the corps was made during the next two days, and the withdrawal and advancement of the lines clicited prompt atten- tion from the watchful Confederates. In the attendant fighting the regiment lost two men wounded on the 2d, and the next day had six killed and seven wounded-among the slain being Captain Charles F. Pray of Quincy.
In pursuance of General Grant's plan to move his army beyond the James river, the Fifth Corps was withdrawn from its position on the right and moved to the left of the line at Cold Harbor, where it took position in the rear of the Second Corps on the morning of the 6th. Very early on the 7th Griffin's Division moved still fur-
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ther to the left, the Eighteenth in advance, to Sumner's Bridge on the Chickahominy. The hostile pickets being found on the hither side of the stream were driven across by skirmishers from the regiment, after which a picket line was established covering the bridge, the rest of the command in reserve. This was done at a cost of three wounded-two mortally. The command remained in that vicinity till the 12th, when it moved down the Chickahominy to Jones's Bridge, crossed the next day by the ponton bridge, was ferried across the James on the 16th, and marched at once toward Petersburg. In the fighting of the first few days before that city the Eighteenth were not engaged, their division forming a part of the reserve.
Major Weston returned and resumed command on the 20th, the corps being next day moved, further to the left where it intrenched and remained till the 20th of July, when those whose terms of en- listment were about to expire were ordered to Washington for mus- ter out. The recruits and re-enlisted men were temporarily formed into a battalion, the officers being Captain Luther S. Bent of Quincy, commanding, with the following first lieutenants as line officers : George W. Smith of Cambridge, John A. Walch of Wareham, Amasa Guild, James M. Pond and William C. Coburn, all of Ded- ham. This battalion, during the time that it maintained its organi- zation, well upheld the reputation of the regiment whose name it inherited. In addition to the duties of the siege, of which it bore its full share, it had part in two important actions at the left of the lines of investment. The first of these was on the 21st of August, when it assisted in repelling the attack of the Confederates at the Weldon railroad, the battalion capturing 50 prisoners and a flag of the Twenty-seventh South Carolina. On the 30th of September, at Peebles Farm, the detachment won additional credit, Captain Bent commanding the skirmish line on that occasion and winning the brevet of major for "gallant and distinguished services." During October the battalion was consolidated with the Thirty-second Mas- sachusetts Regiment, most of the officers being discharged, and the Eighteenth ceased to be an organization, the original members hav- ing been mustered out on the 2d of September.
THE NINETEENTH REGIMENT.
T HE Nineteenth Regiment was organized at Camp Schouler, Lynnfield, the nucleus being the three companies of the First Battalion of Rifles, to which other Essex county organi- zations were added. The regiment had not, however, reached the maximum number when the call of the secretary of war for all available regiments and detachments to be hurried forward at once caused its muster and departure for Washington, August 28, 1861. The field officers were commissioned August 3 and the staff and line on the 22d, the roster following :-
Colonel, Edward W. Hincks of Lynn; lieutenant colonel, Arthur F. Devereux of Salem; major, Henry J. Howe of Haverhill; surgeon, J. Franklin Dyer of Gloucester; assistant surgeon, Josiah N. Willard of Boston ; chaplain, Joseph C. Cromack of Worcester ; adjutant, John C. Chadwick of Salem; quartermaster, Levi Shaw of Rockport; sergeant major, Samuel Baxter of Newburyport; quartermaster ser- geant, Oliver F. Briggs of Boston; commissary sergeant, Elisha A. Hinks of Orrington, Me .; hospital steward, William E. Barrows of Andover; principal musician, Joseph L. Kendall of Lynnfield; leader of band, John A. Spofford of South Reading.
Company A-Captain, Moses P. Stanwood of West Newbury; first lieutenant, Charles M. Merritt of Lynn; second lieutenant, Isaac II. Boyd of West Newbury.
Company B-Captain, Elijah P. Rogers of Newbury; first lieuten- ant, John Hodges, Jr., of Salem; second lieutenant, James 'T. Lurvey of Lowell.
Company C-Captain, Joseph Scott Todd of Rowley; first lieuten- ant, George W. Batchelder of Salem ; second lieutenant, Samuel S. Prime of Rowley.
Company D-Captain, James D. Russell of Boston; first lieutenant, Moncena Dunn of Roxbury; second lieutenant, John P. Reynolds, Jr., of Salem.
Company E-Captain, Andrew Mahoney of Boston; first lieuten- ant, David Lee of Lancaster, Pa. ; second lieutenant, George M. Barry of Boston.
Company F-Captain, Edmund Rice of Cambridge; first lieuten-
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ant, James H. Rice of Brighton; second lieutenant, James G. C. Dodge of Boston.
Company G-Captain, Harrison G. O. Weymouth of Lowell; first lieutenant, Samuel D. Hovey of Cambridge; second lieutenant, Dud- ley C. Mumford of Medford.
Company H-Captain, William H. Wilson of Boston; first lieuten- ant, Henry A. Hale of Salem; second lieutenant, William H. LeCain of Boston.
Company H. (2d)-Captain, Charles U. Devereux of Salem; first lieutenant, Albert Thorndike of Beverly; second lieutenant, Charles B. Warner of South Danvers.
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