USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 1 > Part 33
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
As the shattered regiment came out of the woods it was met by General Kearny and ordered through a large corn-field to extend the line of Birney's Brigade, which was engaged a quarter of a mile distant, the position only indicated by the flashes of the muskets. The Twenty-first moved slowly in memory of their recent experi- ence and as most of their rifles were useless, entering the field with Company G deployed as skirmishers. They had already capt- ured some prisoners and were exchanging shots with the enemy's pickets hidden in the corn, when Kearny, chafing at the slowness of the movement, rode in front of the line and was at once shot down. Next moment the two lines of battle confronted cach other, only a few yards apart, and the Twenty-first delivered the first fire ; but it was instantly returned and followed by a charge of the Confederates and hand to hand fighting, both sides losing heavily and presently as by mutual consent separating and retiring to their respective sides of the field. Federal reinforcements had now come up, but the attempt of Jackson was foiled and neither side cared to renew the contest-the shattered remnant of the regi- ment lay in the mud through the night and next day withdrew within the Alexandria fortifications.
Its loss had been very heavy. Of the field and staff, Colonel Clark was left almost alone. Lieutenant Colonel Rice was killed in the first encounter in the forest; Major Ilawkes and Adjutant Willard had been captured while reconnoitering in the corn-field; Assistant Surgeon Joseph W. Hastings and Chaplain Ball had re- mained to care for the wounded in a temporary hospital on the
1
336
MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
battle-field and fell into the hands of the enemy. Of the line officers, Captains Frazer and Kelton, First Lieutenants Henry A. Beckwith of Fitchburg and Frederic A. Bemis of Spencer and Second Lieutenant William B. Hill of Gardner were killed or mer- tally wounded ; First Lientenant William II. Clark ( severely wounded) and Second Lieutenant George C. Parker were prisoners. The total killed and mortally wounded reached 38, 76 were wounded and mostly left on the field, and 26 unwounded had been made prisoners, out of 400 taken into action. Besides these many had become separated from the regiment who rejoined it soon after.
A general reorganization now took place. The Army of Virginia -Pope's command - was merged in the Army of the Potomac, under General Mcclellan ; the Ninth Corps was made to consist of four divisions, General Reno commanding the corps, which with the First, General Hooker, formed the right wing of the army under General Burnside. The Twenty - first Regiment at this time re- ceived 45 recruits, and . Ferrero's Brigade was strengthened by the addition of the Thirty-fifth Massachusetts, which joined it on the northward march-the brigade number remaining the same, Gen- eral Sturgis commanding the division. The regiment changed its camp on the night of September 4 to the northern borders of Washington ; the march into Maryland began on the 7th, and Frederick was passed through on the 13th.
In the battle of South Mountain on the 14th the Twenty-first did not have an important part. They were ordered up the mountain about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, taking position in an open space just below the summit, forming a second line in support of the two Fifty- firsts later in the afternoon while the Thirty-fifth was ordered into the woods in front. The latter found no foe, but soon after their return a musket fire was delivered from the edge of the woods, mortally wounding General Reno. Some of Longstreet's troops had come up to try to retake the position from which their fellows had been driven earlier in the day, but their efforts were vain, and the Twenty-first, in the supporting line, were not called upon to fire a shot, and lost but five men wounded. Next day Captain Hovey with . two companies was sent back to Frederick in charge of some prison- ers, and the eight remaining companies, numbering abont 150 men, marched in the afternoon to the vicinity of Antietam Creek, where the armies under Lee and MeClellan were gathering for battle.
1
337
THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
The Ninth Corps moved to the left during the 16th, and that night the regiment bivouacked in view of the hostile batteries across the creek. The next forenoon it supported Durell's Battery while attempts were made to cross the creek by what was subsequently known as " Burnside's Bridge," and later in the day its brigade was ordered to make the crossing. The Twenty-first at once took position near the margin of the creek and with the Fifty-firsts and the artil- lery opened a heavy fire upon the Confederates opposite. A dash was then made for the bridge by the Pennsylvanians and New York- ers ; the Thirty-fifth and Twenty-first followed and took position in a ravine on the right of the road after crossing. Later in the after- noon, as the Union lines were forced back, the brigade was ordered to an eminence to the left of Sharpsburg, as a check to the Con- federates. The Twenty-first were very short of ammunition, but with the last cartridges in their guns held the position till after dark, when a hostile volley from the right flank warned them that it was time to retire, which they did without further loss, halting on the lights in front of the bridge, where they received food and am- munition. Lying there through the night, the regiment was next day sent to the left as an outpost and took a position running from the creek to the first hill ; but the fight was not renewed that day and at night the command was relieved, retiring across the stream.
Next morning the bridge was again crossed and the brigade ad- vanced over the field from which the enemy had retreated, finally going into bivouac with the rest of the division near the confluence of Antietam Creek and the Potomac. The loss of the regiment in the battle had been ten killed, including Second Lieutenant Henry C. Holbrook of Barre, and 35 wounded. The camp at the mouth of the creek was occupied till the 27th of October, during which time many convalescents returned to duty, but the gain was largely offset by the transfer of 59 members to the regular artillery and cavalry.
On the date named the Ninth Corps, General Willcox command- ing, broke camp, crossed the Potomac on pontons at Berlin and be- gan to move leisurely southward, feeling the way from gap to gap in the Blue Ridge till the snow-storm of the 6th of November found the brigade (to which the Eleventh New Hampshire had been added) at the little village of Orleans. The following day the brigade marched in the afternoon, took the wrong road, and during the night found itself on the shore of the unbridged North Fork of the Rap-
.
338
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
pahannock. The stream was crossed the next day and the brigade was posted at Jefferson, some miles beyond, where it remained till early morning of the 12th when it was withdrawn across the river, leaving only the outposts on the south side. On the 15th the divis- ion began to move down the river, and the enemy shelling the trains as they came in sight caused an artillery duel across the river, which the brigade was called back to support, but the affair ended in artillery fire. On the 19th the regiment passed through Falmouth and went into camp on the river bank below, opposite the lower part of Fredericksburg.
It was relieved from duty on the river November 29, and rejoined the brigade some distance in the rear. At night of the 10th of December a hundred men from the regiment were detailed to assist in building the bridges and making corduroy roads the following morning, and at an early hour the rest of the command turned out and marched to the fields about the Phillips house where General Burnside had his head-quarters. In the afternoon General Ferrero obtained permission to force the crossing of the river in ponton boats and drive ont the rebel sharp-shooters who were opposing the laying of the bridges. He galloped at once to the brigade, and the Twenty-first and the Fifty-first New York started on the double- quick for the scene, but before it could be reached the work had been done and the two regiments returned. Next morning the regiment, with 190 muskets, crossed the bridge at the city, lying all day in line along the river bank.
At 10 o'clock of the 13th the brigade was ordered to support a line of skirmishers in rear of the town, whence about noon the regiment with others was moved out into the fields and charged the hostile works under a severe fire. Both color-bearers were soon shot down, but the flags were up again in a moment. Sergeant Plunkett raised the national standard only to have both arms shot away and his chest badly wounded by a bursting shell. Half a mile out from the city, having lost a third of their number, the Twenty- first halted and lying down behind a partial cover of rising ground fired their first shots. This position was retained till after dark, when the brigade was relieved and returned to the city, having long before entirely exhausted its ammunition. After a respite of 24 hours the regiment was again ordered forward to the same point, establishing the line and throwing up a very trifling earthwork with
339
THIE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
bayonets, cups and a single spade. Behind this it remained all day of the 15th and at night the final withdrawal was made, the Union army returning to the north side of the river. The regiment had lost in the battle 66 enlisted men, of whom 13 were killed or fatally hurt and one was taken prisoner.
It remained in camp near Falmouth till the 9th of February, 1863, when as a part of the Ninth Corps it went to Acquia Creek by rail- road and took passage on the steamboat Louisiana for Newport News, where it encamped on the 11th, the corps being commanded by General W. F. Smith till the 21st of March, when he was succeeded by General John G. Parke. The regiment took the steamer Kennebec for Baltimore on the 26th, taking cars thence by way of Pittsburg and Columbus to Cincinnati, where with the two Fifty-firsts it was welcomed by General Burnside, then commading the Department of the Ohio. Crossing the Ohio river into Coving- ton, Ky., the regiment took cars again and went to Paris, which was reached on the 1st of April. Stopping there two days, the brigade marched to Mount Sterling, 22 miles distant, and went into camp.
That region had been a favorite resort of guerrillas, and a few brushes occurred after the advent of the brigade, but they soon ceased, and on the 17th the rest of the brigade was withdrawn, leav- ing the Twenty-first and some Kentucky cavalry as the garrison of the town, the regiment being quartered in the court-house and by its fidelity and good conduct winning the esteem and confidence of the people. Near the close of April several of the officers, inelud- ing Colonel Clark, Captains Walcott and Harlow, resigned on ac- count of the refusal of the authorities to fill the depleted ranks of the command. Chaplain Ball had resigned shortly before the battle of Fredericksburg. The command of the regiment devolved on Lieutenant Colonel Hawkes, promoted from major to date from De- cember 18, 1862.
Early in July General John H. Morgan began his famous raid . through Kentucky and across the Ohio into the free states, and on the 6th the Twenty-first made a forced march from Mount Sterling to Lexington, which was threatened by the raiders, but the city was not molested. The command encamped in the vicinity till the 12th of August, when it took cars to Nicholasville and marched thence to Camp Nelson, a supply depot on the Kentucky river. There the regiment remained for a month, during which it was made part of
340
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
the First Brigade, Second Division, Ninth Corps, the other regi- ments being the Forty-eighth Pennsylvania and Second Maryland, the brigade commanded by Colonel Sigfried of the Forty-eighth. During the summer the rest of the Ninth Corps, with the exception of one or two regiments, had been sent to the assistance of Grant at Vicksburg, but now that they had returned General Burnside re- vived his deferred project of freeing Eastern Tennessee from Con- federate domination, and on the 12th of September the Twenty-first started on the march toward Knoxville, Captain Charles W. Davis in command. Camp was reached near the city on the 28th, the regi- ment having traveled more than 200 miles over very difficult roads.
It went by cars on the 4th of October to Bull's Gap, 50 miles eastward, the division marching out some four miles next day and halting for reinforcements to come up, the movement being to meet a hostile force said to be coming that way from Virginia. General Burnside advanced on the morning of the 10th and at Blue Springs, five miles on, skirmishing began, the enemy retiring to a belt of woods. Late in the afternoon the First Division, under General Ferrero, made a successful charge, driving the Confederates to their field works and fighting till dark. The Twenty-first supported the Second Maryland Battery and suffered no casualties. In the morn- ing the enemy was found to have retreated and was pursued to Rhea- town. The return march began the 13th, cars were taken at Mor- ristown on the 15th, and that evening Knoxville was reached.
News of the approach of Longstreet from Chattanooga was re- ceived on the 22d of October, and the regiment at once went by rail to Loudon, 30 miles southwest, remaining there till the 29th, when a retrograde movement was made to Lenoir's Station, seven miles nearer Knoxville. There the Twenty-first remained till November 14, then marched out a short distance and formed line of battle to await the coming of Longstreet's 20,000. Late in the night, the Second Division, Colonel Hart ..... 's in command, marched to near Loudon and relieved the First Division, the Twenty-first going at once on the skirmish line and exchanging shots at long range with the enemy. Longstreet's command had crossed the river below and was working its way around the Union right flank, hoping to cut off the Federal force from Knoxville, and in the afternoon the regiment began to fall back, reaching Campbell's Station at daylight, after a severe night's march over
341
THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
the difficult and muddy roads. Stopping briefly for breakfast, it again deployed on the Kingston road, and was just in time to meet the Confederate advance. Colonel Hartranft gallantly held the enemy at bay till the wagons were well on the way to Knoxville and the rest of the Union army had taken up a strong position a half-mile in the rear. Then retiring his command regiment by regiment and taking position on the Union left, the able com- mander assisted in repulsing two severe attacks with comparatively slight loss to the defenders, -the Twenty - first having but two slightly wounded. That night Burnside retired his forces to the defensive position in front of Knoxville which had been selected for receiving the threatened siege, making the third consecutive hard night's march for the regiment.
The Second Division occupied a position to the north of the city, and as the besiegers appeared before the close of the day the Twenty-first worked nearly all night in constructing and strength- ening the defenses, Longstreet's operations beginning in earnest the following day. The regiment was not often seriously engaged during the siege, though much of its time was passed on the skir- mish line and under fire. On the morning of the 24th Lieutenant Colonel Hawkes with the Twenty-first under Major Richardson and the Forty-eighth Pennsylvania was directed to drive out the Pal- metto Sharpshooters, a South Carolina regiment which had capt- ured a part of the Union picket line the night before, and the order was at once executed with marked success, the regiment los- ing ten men in the charge. Its loss during the siege was four killed and 11 wounded.
General Sherman with a relieving force having reached Loudon, the siege was abandoned on the 4th of December, and the follow- ing morning the Ti. ___ ty-first with its brigade made a reconnais- sance for ten miles without encountering the foc. A part of Burn- side's force followed Longstreet to Rutledge, 80 m." ~ to the north- cast, but anticipating an attack fell back on the 15th and 16th some 12 miles. While in camp there, on the 24th the subject of re- enlisting for three years was broached in the camp of the Twenty- first, and met with much favor, notwithstanding what had already been suffered. On the 27th two-thirds of the regiment had been enrolled for the additional term, thus being the first regiment in the Ninth Corps to win the proffered furlough of 30 days. The 251
342
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
who had re-enlisted started on the 7th of January, 1864, for Camp Nelson, Ky., in charge of 200 Confederate prisoners of war, leaving the 36 members not entitled to furlough temporarily attached to the Thirty-fifth Massachusetts. The march was very trying, the weather being cold and stormy, the roads rough and poor and the shoes and clothing of the men badly dilapidated. Wagons were met on the 10th, two days' full rations of sugar, coffee and hard bread were drawn,-the first time in four months that more than half-rations had been obtained,-and with light hearts the command trudged on, reaching Camp Nelson at night of the 18th. They were taken by wagons to Nicholasville on the 20th and thence by cars to Covington, where they went into barracks till the necessary papers could be made out and the men paid. Starting for Massachusetts on the 29th, the regiment reached Worcester on the evening of the 31st, received a cordial reception on the 1st of February, and the members dispersed to their homes.
On the 18th of March the regiment left Worcester on its return, being ordered to Annapolis, where the Ninth Corps was being re- organized. The Twenty-first formed part of the Second Brigade, First Division, the other regiments of which were the One Hundredth Pennsylvania and Third Maryland, Colonel Leasure of the One Hundredth commanding. General Burnside commanded the corps and General Thomas G. Stevenson the division.
The corps left Annapolis the 23d of April, marched through Washington on the 25th, across Long Bridge, and encamped near Alexandria ; but again set forth on the 27th, going by way of Fair- fax Court House and Bristoe's Station to Bealton. There it halted on the 30th, and remained till the 4th of May, when it marched to Brandy Station, crossed the Rapidan at Germania Ford on the even- ing of the 5th, and at 8 o'clock next morning the division reported to General Hancock on the Wilderness battle-field, Leasure's Bri- gade being placed at the left of his line. Toward the close of the forenoon Longstreet's corps came upon the field and falling upon the right of the Second Corps and the troops acting with it under command of General Hancock, recovered from them all the ground won by the Union troops earlier in the day by hard fighting. Long- street, while arranging his forces for a yet more desperate blow was badly wounded by the firing of his own men and his plan was aban- doned. In the pause which ensued Hancock ordered Leasure's Bri-
343
THIE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
gade to charge across in front of the Union position, from left to right, which it did without serious opposition, such of the enemy as were encountered giving way before the steady sweep of the line. Position was then taken near the First Brigade at Hancock's right. The loss of the Twenty-first was ten wounded (three mor- tally) and eight missing.
On the 9th of May the First Division joined the Third in Front of Spottsylvania Court House where the latter had seized the bridge over the Ny at the crossing of the Fredericksburg turnpike, and on the 10th, 12th and 18th the Twenty-first had part in the unsuccess- ful assaults which were made upon the lines of the enemy in their front, losing on the three occasions five killed, 32 wounded and two taken prisoners. The corps moved to the left of the Union lines on the 19th, searching for a weak spot in the Confederate intrench- ments, but none being found the move toward the North Anna be- gan on the 21st. The regiment with the rest of the Ninth Corps maneuvered in the vicinity of the North Anna for two or three days, but was not actively engaged ; being selected to guard the ford after the withdrawal of the rest of the army, it remained on that duty till near noon of the 27th, when it rapidly followed its retreating fellows. The Pamunkey was crossed at Hanover Town on the 29th ; on the 30th the regiment crossed Totopotomy Creek and in- trenched on the Shady Grove Road, where in skirmishes on the two following days it had three killed and as many wounded.
One of its most trying engagements occurred on the 2d of June, when the Ninth Corps, forming the extreme right of the Union army, was ordered to close down to the left to consolidate the line. As the movement was being executed, the Twenty-first covering the rear, a sharp attack was delivered, of which the regiment bore the brunt, fighting valiantly and holding the enemy in check till the Fifth and Ninth Corps could be formed to repel the attack. In this contest, sometimes called the battle of Bethesda Church, the Twenty- first lost 13 killed, 21 wounded, most of whom fell into the hands of the enemy, and 13 unwounded taken prisoners. In the subse- quent fighting about Cold Harbor the regiment was not engaged. During the stay there General Crittenden-who had succeeded Gen- eral Stevenson, killed at Spottsylvania-was relieved of the com- mand of the division and succeeded by General J. H. Ledlic.
Crossing the James river at midnight of the 15th of June, the
314
MASSACHUSETTS IN TIIE WAR.
regiment made a forced march of 30 miles to Petersburg, which was reached late in the afternoon of the 16th, just in time to take part in an assault on the Confederate works in front of Cemetery Hill, in which Burnside's command drove the enemy from their rifle pits to stronger works in the rear. The loss of the Twenty-first was two killed and two wounded,-all by a single solid shot. Each of the three white divisions of the Ninth Corps assaulted the hostile works the following day, the Second in the morning and the Third at noon, both being repulsed, and at evening the First Division ad- vanced over the same ground and made a lodgment, holding on till after dark, when, their ammunition being exhausted, a charge of the Confederates drove out the line. That day's loss of the Twenty- first was four killed, 25 wounded and two captured-among the dead being Captain Charles Goss of Sterling.
From this time till the close of July what were left of the command passed their time in the trenches, three days in the front line and three in the second alternately, there being not much difference in the degree of exposure, the second line being only 200 yards from the enemy and sharp-shooters keeping constantly on the alert. During this time the regiment, which on the 20th of June numbered but 110 muskets, lost three killed and 11 wounded. At the battle of the Crater, on the 30th of July, it was in the third or fourth line of the division, and after the leading regiments had crowded into and about the Crater, worked its way to the front; but it was then too late to accomplish anything, and it finally fell back to the original lines, having suffered a loss of 24, of whom seven were killed or mortally wounded and three unwounded taken prisoners. Among the mortally wounded was Captain William H. Clark of Pittsfield commanding the regiment,-Lieutenant Colonel Hawkes having previously resigned on account of failing health. Following the battle, duty in the trenches went on as before.
General Burnside resigned the command of the corps August 13, being succeeded by General Parke. Directly after the affair at the Crater, General Ledlie was succeeded by General Julius White in the command of the First Division. On the 18th most of the officers and the men whose enlistment had expired left for Massachusetts, where they were mustered out at Worcester on the 30th. The re- enlisted men and recruits, numbering about 75 muskets present for duty, were organized into a battalion of three companies, known as
345
THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
H, I and K. Six commissioned officers remained with the battal- ion-Captains Charles W. Davis, Orange S. Sampson and Edward E. Howe, and First Lieutenants Jonas R. Davis, Felix MeDermott and William H. Sawyer. The detachment was commanded by Cap- tain Sampson, Captain Davis being on detached duty.
On the day following this arrangement the battalion took part in the battle on the Weldon railroad, the First Brigade, First Division, of which it now formed a part, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Barnes of the Twenty-ninth Massachusetts, arriving on the field just in time to turn the tide of battle against the almost vic- torious Confederates. The loss of the Twenty-first in the fight was three killed and four wounded. The Ninth Corps was now put in position on the right of the Fifth to hold the ground which had been gained, and while there a few recruits came to the battalion ; but on the 27th the First Division moved back to the right and re- lieved the Fourth (colored) Division in the works nearer the city. On the 2d of September the division having become reduced to a skeleton was broken up and distributed among the other two white divisions, the old Third becoming the First and the Twenty-first forming part of the First Brigade, Second Division, General Potter commanding the division and Colonel Curtin of the Forty-fifth Pennsylvania the brigade.
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.