USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 1 > Part 31
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THIE TWENTIETHI REGIMENT.
left bank of the Chickahominy, near the Tyler mansion, where it en- camped till the opening of the battle of Fair Oaks on the 31st called a portion of Sumner's Corps across the Chickahominy. Sedgwick's Division alone succeeded in crossing that night, and but two regi- ments of Dana's Brigade-the Twentieth and the Seventh Michi- gan-were taken to the battle-field. Arriving on the double-quick, the Twentieth being the rear regiment of the column, the brigade was at first ordered to form a support to the first line, which was actively engaged ; but before the disposition could be made it was found that the flank needed extension and the two regiments were moved up to prolong the line and at once advanced, driving back the enemy and holding the ground gained. The Twentiethi took a considerable number of prisoners, mostly wounded, among them General Pettigrew. The loss of the regiment was two killed and 18 wounded. In the fighting of the following day it took no part, but after the close of the battle went on picket where it remained for almost two weeks, encamping afterward near Fair Oaks till the beginning of the movement to the James river.
The regiment began this movement on the morning of the 29th of June, being called in from picket, and marching to Allen's Farm where it took position in a line of woods, remaining under fire for some hours, when the division was ordered forward to Savage's Sta- tion. During the battle at that place, which lasted during the after- noon and into the evening, the Twentieth were in support, and lost but six wounded. The enemy having been repulsed and forced back into the forest from which they had emerged, the retreat of the Federal column was continued under cover of darkness, and at daybreak the regiment halted at Nelson's Farm or Glendale, two or three miles beyond White Oak Swamp. About noon the battle at White Oak Swamp opened, and soon after General Dana with two brigades was ordered back to the assistance of General Frank- lin-his own brigade during the remaining operations of the day being under command of Colonel Lee and the Twentieth Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Palfrey. Dana's troops were not engaged at the Swamp, and were still lying there in support when the ont- break of furious conflict at Glendale was heard, and the two bri- gades were summoned back at the double-quick. Colonel Lee on reaching the scene and finding the Union forces being driven back led the three regiments under his command into the fight, placing
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them far in advance under a severe fire, where the Twentieth fought gallantly at great odds. The giving way of a regiment on its flank finally necessitated its falling back, which it did in good order, to a forest in its rear, where the line was maintained until dark, the Confederates having been effectually checked. In this engagement the loss of the Twentieth was serious, seven men being killed and 63 officers and men wounded. Of the injured, Colonel Lee was badly hurt by an artillery horse falling upon him, Lieutenant Colonel Palfrey was slightly wounded, and First Lieutenant James J. Lowell died of liis wound in the hands of the enemy on the 6th of July.
After dark the march toward the James river was resumed, Mal- vern Hill being reached and occupied by the Union army next morn- ing. In the battle which followed the regiment did not take active part, though under fire a portion of the time ; their loss being one killed and a few wounded. Very early in the morning of July 2 it marched to Harrison's Landing, where it remained till the 16th of August, with the exception of a reconnaissance back to Malvern Hill under direction of General Hooker on the 4th of that month. It then marched via Yorktown to Newport News, where it arrived on the 22d and three days after sailed aboard the steamer Atlantic for Alexandria. Arriving there on the 28th, it marched up the Potomac and crossed it to Tennallytown, where it made camp on the 30th ; but the next day was called back to the Virginia side by the disaster to General Pope's army at Manassas. Marching through the severe rain-storm to Fairfax Court House, it took posi- tion a few miles beyond, where during the following day it remained while the shattered battalions of the defeated army passed by toward Washington. Then the regiment with its brigade fell in as a rear guard, reaching the vicinity of Alexandria late at night.
Having defeated General Pope's Army of Virginia, General Lee crossed the Potomac into Maryland. But General Mcclellan had been placed in command of the Union armies about Washington, and the Antietam campaign at once began. The Twentieth Regi- ment rested a single day at Alexandria ; then made a hot march of 20 miles to Tennallytown, from which it moved on more moderately by way of Rockville, Frederick and Middletown to the Antietanı battle-field. Its service in that conflict was brief but very sad. Sedgwick's Division was marched into action at the right in column of brigades at close distance, the Twentieth forming part of the
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second line. As the division moved forward in that helpless order the enemy appeared in strong force on the front, shortly afterward on the left, and in a moment as it seemed in the rear. The fine division, that properly handled was capable of such noble work, melted away before the murderous fire. The regiment faced by the rear rank, so that a part of the line could fire a few rounds, then the survivors hurried away by the flank, having lost out of a total of some 400 taken into action 141 killed, wounded or missing. Among the dead was Assistant Surgeon Revere, with 14 enlisted men. Lieutenant Colonel Palfrey was badly wounded in the shoulder and did not again return to the regiment for duty.
Later in the day the Twentieth were assigned a position on the right of Smith's Division of the Sixth Corps, but did not again en- gage in active combat. They remained in the vicinity of the battle- field till the 23d, then crossed the river at Harper's Ferry and took position at Bolivar Hights, where they encamped till the 30th of October, with the exception of a three-days' reconnaissance toward Winchester about the middle of the month. Colonel Lee being for a time in command of the brigade, the regiment was commanded by Captain Dreher, Major Revere being absent on staff duty. The march which began on the 30th came to a pause at Warrenton, where General Burnside took command of the Army of the Po- tomac ; but it was resumed on the 15th of November and three or four days later the regiment arrived at Falmouth. It remained there in waiting till the night of the 10th of December, when it was withdrawn from picket and next morning moved down to the river bank opposite Fredericksburg with its division. The attempts to construct a ponton bridge at that point met with great opposition from the Confederate sharp-shooters in buildings on the other bank, and no means of dislodging them was devised till the middle of the afternoon, when Colonel Hall, the brigade commander, volunteered to send troops across in boats for that purpose. This was done, as a last resort, the Seventh Michigan and Nineteenth and Twentieth Massachusetts being taken across in that manner.
The Confederates being driven from the immediate vicinity of the landing, it became necessary to clear the street beyond leading to the bridge head. While the other two regiments advanced and . deployed, the Twentieth, under command of Captain Macy, moved up the street in column of companies, meeting serious opposition
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
and suffering much from the fire of the enemy, sheltered in and behind the buildings on both sides of the street. But the regiment fought its way with unflinching determination till sunset, when the firing ceased, and the Second Corps crossed by the completed bridges and occupied the town. During the following day little movement occurred on the part of the soldiers already across the river, others being moved across and general preparations made for the battle. It was not till the afternoon of the 13th was somewhat advanced that the brigade was called to face the deadly works in the rear of the town. It then moved out from the city, formed line and ad- vanced. It received a terrible fire of artillery and musketry, and its supports failing to come up, it was obliged to fall back a short distance from the farthest-point gained and take shelter behind a rise of ground, to avoid annihilation. This position was held till midnight, when the line was relieved by troops of the Fifth Corps, the regiment returning to the city, where it remained till the river was recrossed on the night of the 15th. Its loss in the two engage- ments was considerably more than half the number taken into action, being 35 killed, 138 wounded and two missing. Of the killed 25 fell the first day, while fighting their way through the streets. Captain Charles F. Cabot and Second Lieutenant Leander F. Alley of Nantucket were killed ; Captain Dreher and Second Lieutenant Robert S. Beckwith of Boston were mortally wounded, the former dying the 1st of May following and the latter December 31. Only five officers were left unharmed.
After the battle the old camp near Falmouth was reoccupied by the regiment till after the " Mud March," when on the 25th of Jan- uary, 1863, it moved into the village of Falmouth, occupying some deserted buildings as barracks, being engaged in provost duty and also furnishing details to picket the river bank. This routine was followed till the opening of the Chancellorsville campaign. Im- portant changes in the field officers had meantime taken place. Colonel Lee resigned directly after the battle of Fredericksburg; and to the vacancy Lieutenant Colonel Palfrey was promoted. Cap- tain Dreher was commissioned major dating from September 5, 1862, and lieutenant colonel from December 18, but was not mus- tered to those grades. Nor was Colonel Palfrey privileged to again lead his regiment to active duty in the field-the terrible wound re- . ceived at Antietam made that an impossibility, and on the 13th of
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April he resigned. The roster of field officers was not filled till sometime in May, when Paul J. Revere, who as major had left the regiment early in September, 1862, for duty as assistant inspector general, returned with the rank of colonel and took command, his commission dating from the 14th of April. Major Macy was made lieutenant colonel and Captain Henry L. Abbott major, both from the 1st of May, 1863.
Meantime the battle of Chancellorsville had been fought, and the Twentieth Regiment, contrary to its usual experience, had taken but a secondary part. Its division, then commanded by General Gibbon, had been left near Fredericksburg, to co-operate with the Sixth Corps under Sedgwick ; had crossed to the city on the morning of the 3d of May, and maneuvered at the right, near the upper part of the town, while the hights were attacked and finally carried by Sedgwick's storming columns. While taking a position to which it was directed in the movements of the morning, the regiment was exposed to a sharp artillery fire, by which one man was killed and 14 were wounded. After following the Sixth Corps to the hights, Hall's Brigade returned to the city and held it till the morning of the 5th, the rest of the division having returned to the Falmouth side. There was some skirmishing during the 4th, the Confederates having reoccupied the hights, but the brigade withdrew unmolested under cover of a fog next morning. Several weeks of inactivity followed, and on the 15th of June the corps began its movement northward, the regiment reaching Thoroughfare Gap on the 20th and stopping there till the 25th. Then it withdrew while Confeder- ate shells saluted the rear of the column, crossed the Potomac next day at Edwards Ferry and eneamped that night at Poolesville on ground familiar to the original members of the command. Frede- rick was reached on the 28th, and next day the regiment made its longest march during the campaign-over 30 miles. Night of the 1st of July brought the Second Corps to the field of Gettysburg as a reserve, and next morning it was placed in line of battle, the position of the Twentieth being in the second line near the left of the corps, about half way from the Cemetery to the Round Tops.
The regiment was not engaged that afternoon, the fire of the first line checking the advance of the Confederates after they had driven back the Third Corps, whose right at the beginning of the attack had been nearly in front of the Twentieth. A rise of the ground
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protected the regiment considerably ; yet it suffered some loss, hav- ing four killed and a number wounded-among the latter being the beloved Colonel Revere, who died of his injuries on the 5th. The regiment occupied the same position during the early part of the following day, and the swell of ground partially sheltered it from the heavy artillery fire which preceded the advance of the Con- federates under General Pickett. As the charging line came near the Twentieth delivered some well-directed volleys which did much to clear the ground in their front, but just to the right the masses of the enemy struck and broke into the Union line. The regiment hurried to the spot and took an important part in the contest which raged so violently for a short time, till the hostile line was broken and repulsed. The deadly nature of the contest is sufficiently evi- denced by the fact that the Twentieth, out of 230 taken into action, lost 111, of whom 32 were killed or died during the day, including First Lieutenant Henry Ropes and Second Lieutenant Sumner Paine, both of Boston. Lieutenant Colonel Macy received a wound neces- sitating the amputation of his hand. Three officers only escaped unhurt. As a result of the death of Colonel Revere, Lieutenant Colonel Macy was promoted to the colonelcy.
The regiment left Gettysburg on the 5th, with its corps, march- ing by way of South Mountain, Frederick and the Antietam battle- field to the vicinity of Williamsport, where the two armies maneu- vered for a few days till the morning of the 14th showed the Con- federates once more across the Potomac, and after following them to the margin of the river the Union army turned its steps toward Harper's Ferry. The Twentieth encamped in Pleasant Valley on the 15th, and rested there till the morning of the 18th, when it crossed the river and made its way southward along the eastern side of the Blue Ridge, halting on the 26th near Warrenton Junc- tion. Four days later it moved with its corps some ten miles to the south, near Morrisville, where a more permanent camp was estab- lished, being occupied with but a brief absence on reconnaissance till the 12th of September. During that time the numbers of the regiment were largely swelled by the arrival of 183 substitutes, many of whom, notwithstanding the fact that they were regarded with distrust by some of the veterans, proved excellent soldiers.
The movement which ensued was across the Rappahannock, and after spending some days near Culpeper the Second Corps moved
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TIIE TWENTIETHI REGIMENT.
forward to the Rapidan, where the regiment was engaged for some time in picketing the river. During this time it lost one of its most efficient line officers by the murder in camp by some unknown per- son of Captain Thomas M. McKay of Boston, on the 6th of October. There was during this time much picket firing across the river, and several in the regiment were wounded. Being relieved on the 6th, the Second Corps fell back to Culpeper, but had been there only three or four days when it was found that Lee's army was attempt- ing to pass around the flank of the Union army to the northward. Then followed that series of maneuverings which a few days later brought the two commands back to the vicinity of the Bull Run battle-fields. The movement was a strange one, the hostile columns almost mingling during some portions of the march, the most serious encounter occurring at Bristoe's Station on the 14th. At that point the Twentieth Regiment was one of those which threw themselves behind the railroad embankment and by a terrible fire at close quarters drove the attacking Confederates back with heavy loss ; the casualties in the regiment being but one man killed and six wounded. Major Abbott was still in command, but a few days later Colonel Macy returned to duty.
In a few days the movement was again southward, and on the 23d the regiment encamped near Warrenton, stopping there for two weeks. It then crossed the Rappahannock at Kelly's Ford and encamped near Brandy Station, from which it set out on the 26th of November for the Mine Run campaign. In the skirmishing of the two or three days following the Twentieth did some brilliant work, having a number of men wounded, but none killed. The proposed battle was not fought, and after facing the Confederates in their strong position for two or three days of intensely cold weather, the Union army was withdrawn on the night of the 1st of December and made its way back to the old camps near Brandy Station. The Twentieth crossed the Rapidan at Germania Ford on the morning of the 2d and that night were " at home " on the banks of Mountain Run. Two or three days later the regiment moved a few miles to Stevensburg and erected its winter huts, re. maining there till the opening of the spring campaign of 1864, with the exception of one absence of two or three days on a reconnais- sance. During this time 173 of the original members whose period of service was approaching its end re-enlisted for an additional term
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of three years, and the return of convalescents and the addition of recruits brought the number present for duty at the opening of the campaign up to 25 officers and 563 enlisted men. During most of the winter Major Abbott had been in command of the regiment, but Colonel Macy rejoined it before the battle of the Wilderness.
The regiment broke camp on the night of May 3, and the follow- ing day marched to the Rapidan and crossed it at Ely's Ford. The next day's march brought it to the battle-field of the Wilderness, but it was not till the forenoon of the 6th that with its brigade it became engaged on the Plank road. The brigade had been sent out to the support of other troops, supposed to be in that vicinity, but suddenly encountered the enemy in force in the dense forest. The Twentieth fought for some three hours, when the giving way of troops on the flank forced them to retire some distance, where the line was reformed. The loss had been heavy, and cannot be ex- actly stated, owing to the subsequent loss of the papers of the regi- ment, but it is believed that 30 were killed or died of their wounds during the day, among the number being Major Abbott, a brave and accomplished officer. Seven officers were wounded, including Colonel Macy and Adjutant Henry W. Bond of West Roxbury- the latter being murdered by guerrillas in an ambulance on the 14th, while on his way to Belle Plain. Captain Arthur R. Curtis took command of the regiment as the senior officer left for duty. The following day was passed without conflict, and the 8th was occupied in the movement to the vicinity of Spottsylvania Court House, where the next great struggle had already begun. The river Po was crossed the following afternoon, and during the fore- noon of the 10th two companies were sent to dislodge a force of the enemy at a bend of the river, which was accomplished, though in doing it First Lieutenant Edward Sturgis, commanding Com- pany A, was killed. Soon after the regiment moved to the left and took part in an unsuccessful charge on the enemy's works, in which First Lieutenant Lansing E. Hibbard of Pittsfield was killed. A few enlisted men were killed and a proportionally large number wounded in these encounters.
The 11th was spent in the erection of earthworks, and following a day of labor came a night of marching and maneuvering, in preparation for the grand assault on the enemy's lines made by Hancock's Corps on the morning of the 12th. In that the regi-
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ment took an active part, capturing three pieces of artillery and work- ing them for some time against the Confederates, suffering a loss of about 20 in wounded and missing, while four were killed. The com- mand participated next day in another attack, farther to the left, which did not meet the success of the effort of the 12th. One man in the regiment was killed and a number were wounded and missing. Another attack was made on the morning of the 18th, but it re- sulted only in severe loss to the troops engaged. Captain Curtis, commanding the Twentieth, was badly wounded, and Captain Kelli- her was terribly mutilated, having his right arm, collar bone and shoulder blade torn off, his jaw broken and his side lacerated, with severe injury to two ribs, yet recovering and rejoining his regiment in the field before the termination of the war. Captain Henry L. Patten of Cambridge took command after the disabling of Captain Curtis.
The army remained before Spottsylvania three days longer, when the movement by the left flank was resumed, bringing the Army of the Potomac to' the North Anna on the 23d. The enemy were already there. The regiment crossed the river at Jericho Ford next day and assisted in driving the Confederates from their works, suf- fering a considerable loss in killed, wounded and missing. The position was held till the 27th, when the troops withdrew to the left bank and again marched southward. The Pamunkey was reached and crossed near Newcastle on the 28th, line of battle being formed just beyond, and from that time the movements of the corps were a series of maneuvers, skirmishes and more determined engage- ments, accompanied by continual loss. Cold Harbor was reached on the morning of the 2d of June, and the regiment took part in the battle of the next day, meeting the fate of all organizations sharing in that disastrous engagement-reaching a position close to the enemy's works, at a heavy cost of killed and wounded, but gain- ing no compensating advantage. It remained there, engaged in siege operations and exposed to the constant fire of the enemy's sharpshooters till the 12th, its total losses at Cold Harbor being seven men killed and over 30 wounded. These continual losses had worn the command down to a fraction of the strong battalion which had started on the campaign little more than a month before.
The regiment left the works before Cold Harbor on the 12th, crossed the Chickahominy on the 13th, the James at Windmill Point the 14th, and moved thence toward Petersburg. It reached
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the lines in front of the city on the night of the 15th, relieving other troops and taking part in the fighting of the next few days; but the loss sustained in the various encounters cannot be stated. It rendered a signal service to its division on the 22d, when the at- tempt to extend the lines to the left exposed the flank of the Second Corps, which the enemy promptly assailed, capturing and scattering regiment after regiment till the Twentieth were reached, when a change of front and a few of those efficient volleys which they knew so well how to deliver stayed the Confederate triumph and enabled the corps to regain the lost ground. During this en- counter and the next two days the regiment lost about 20, six of whom were killed. It then moved to the rear some two miles and for a few weeks enjoyed comparative rest, though frequently chang- ing camp and still sharing the routine of the siege.
On the 18th of July those of the original members whose term of enlistment was about to expire-21 in all-left the trenches and set out for Boston to be mustered out of service. The remainder were consolidated to seven companies and the veterans and recruits of the Fifteenth Massachusetts formed into a battalion of three companies completed the regimental organization. The James river was crossed to Deep Bottom on the 26th, the regiment remaining there for four days, when it returned to the former location, having lost one lieutenant and 32 enlisted men captured from the picket line. Captain Patten was still in command of the regiment, having been commissioned major to date from the 20th of June ; Captain Curtis, absent wounded, had been advanced to lieutenant colonel June 20, his commission as major dating from the 7th of May.
Another movement beyond the James occurred August 12, the regiment going by transports and debarking on the 14th. Various maneuvers followed, an unsuccessful attack being made on the Con- federate position,'succeeded by skirmishing and pieket duty, in which the regiment lost more than 30 men in wounded and missing, one being killed. Captain Patten received a wound by which he lost a leg and died from its effects on the 10th of September. The regi- ment returned to its camp on the 20th of August, and three days later marched with its corps to Reams Station where on the 25th it had the misfortune to be captured almost entire by a successful flanking movement on the part of the enemy., Only about ten men escaped, but the arrival of convalescents, detailed men and others
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