USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 1 > Part 37
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377
THE TWENTY-FOURTII REGIMENT.
having been promoted to brigadier general dating from the 26th of December previous, the roster of the field officers of the Twenty- fourth had been changed by the advancement of Lieutenant Colonel Osborn and Major Stevenson to colonel and lieutenant colonel re- speetively, Captain Charles H. Hooper being commissioned major.
The regiment was transferred on the 27th of March to Seabrook Island, Edisto Inlet. Three months of severe and monotonous picket and fatigue duty followed, the force on the island, commanded by General Stevenson, consisting of the Twenty-fourth Massachu- setts, Tenth Connecticut, Fifty-sixth New York and Ninety-seventh Pennsylvania. On the 6th of July at night, leaving four companies on the island under command of Lieutenant Colonel Stevenson, Colonel Osborn with six companies embarked and landed next day on St. Helena Island, but had rested on shore only a few hours when they returned to the transport, landed again and on the following afternoon re-embarked, finally landing on James Island on the morning of the 10th. There a week was passed, an engagement taking place on the 16th in which the loss of the regiment was one mortally wounded, the fighting being prin- cipally with artillery. At night of the 17th the command was withdrawn to Morris Island, in anticipation of the attack to be made on Fort Wagner the following day. The Twenty-fourth took no active part in that assault, and after the sad night which witnessed the vain struggle remained as part of the force engaged in the siege operations against the fort, being joined on the 21st by the four companies from Seabrook. After more than a month of very trying labor in the trenches, Colonel Osborn with a portion of his regiment was selected on the 26th of August to attempt the capture of some Confederate rifle-pits on an elevation in front of the fourth parallel of the besiegers. The sortie was made late in the afternoon and was entirely successful ; some 200 men dashed across to the hostile works, capturing nearly every one of the oc- cupants. The rest of the regiment quickly followed with shovels, and the whole force set desperately to work intrenching the position, which subsequently became the fifth parallel. As soon as the enemy comprehended what was being done a heavy fire of case and can- ister was opened, by which three were killed, including First Lieu- tenant James A. Perkins, and five wounded. The regiment was re- lieved during the night by the Eighty-fifth Pennsylvania.
378
MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
The health of the command had suffered greatly during the summer, especially in the case of those companies which had remained long- est on Seabrook Island. The malarial poison, exposure and severe duty combined to place more than half of the entire number in the Twenty-fourth Regiment on the sick list. But those who were able to do so continued to meet the exacting duties of the siege, and when the parallels had been carried up to and into the ditch of Fort Wag- ner, on the night of the 6th of September, the regiment was selected to lead the assault at the rear of the fort. The column had been formed when the discovery was made that Wagner was evacuated. Being thus relieved from a desperate duty, the regiment was on the Sth selected for another even more hazardous, being detailed with the Tenth Connecticut, both under the command of Colonel Osborn, to attempt the capture of Fort Sumter. The command being em- barked in small boats with much difficulty was delayed, so that the navy made an attempt before the land troops could be got ready. The result showed the fort still strong for defense, and the project was abandoned. The health of the regiment rapidly grew worse, so that before the close of the month it reported 390 sick and but 280 for duty. General Gillmore, the department commander, there- fore ordered its transfer to a more favorable location; it sailed on the 30th, and October 3 landed at St. Augustine, Fla. Colonel Osborn took command of the post, placing the regiment in charge of Major Hooper-Lieutenant Colonel Stevenson having some months before been detailed on conscript duty in Massachusetts.
While three of the companies garrisoned Fort Marion, the others were quartered in the barracks, and the improvement in health was rapid. The winter passed without any event of military importance ; there was an occasional excursion into the region roundabout, and on the 30th of December a party of wood-choppers were fired upon by an ambuscade of Confederate cavalry. Second Lieutenant Oliver H. Walker of Boston, in charge of the party, was mortally wounded, dying the 3d of January following, while three men of the Twenty- fourth, with a much larger number from the Tenth Connecticut, were captured. During the winter 415 members of the regiment enlisted for an additional three years, and on the 13th of February, 1864, sailed for Massachusetts for a furlough of 30 days. The re- mainder of the regiment was transferred on the 18th to Jackson- ville, Fla., where it performed provost duty till the 24th of April,
379
TIIE TWENTY-FOURTII REGIMENT.
Colonel Osborn being there also in command of the post. Leaving Jacksonville by transport, that part of the regiment landed at Gloucester Point, opposite Yorktown, Va., on the 1st of May, where the re-enlisted portion was joined and the Twenty-fourth became part of the Third Brigade, First Division, Tenth Corps; Colonel H. M. Plaisted of the Eleventh Maine commanded the brigade, General Alfred H. Terry the division and General Gillmore the corps. The regiments brigaded with the Twenty-fourth were the Tenth Con- necticut, Eleventh Maine and One Hundredth New York.
The Army of the James, under command of General Butler, em- barked on the 4th of May and two days later landed at Bermuda Hundred, which had been chosen as the base of operations. The Twenty-fourth took part next day in the movement under General Brooks directed against the Richmond and Petersburg railroad, but were not engaged, and moved on the 12th with the rest of the army toward Richmond. There was fighting on the 13th and 14th in which the regiment took part with some loss, but it suffered most on the 16th in the battle of Drewry's Bluff when it assisted in re- pulsing the repeated attacks of the Confederates, moving back at one time to take a new position, owing to the disaster to the Union right and then valiantly holding on through the rest of the day till night, when General Butler withdrew to his fortifications at Ber- muda Hundred. In the series of engagements the Twenty-fourth lost First Lieutenants Mason A. Rea and Charles G. Ward and Second Lieutenant Edgar Clough of Boston killed ; the total loss to the regiment being eight killed, 43 wounded and seven missing. First Lieutenant Nathaniel S. Barstow of Boston died of disease on the 22d.
For a month the Army of the James was practically besieged in its strong position by the Confederates under General Beauregard, but when the latter was called on to send troops for the defense of Petersburg againt the Army of the Potomac he abandoned the lines in front of Bermuda Hundred. This enabled some of General But- ler's forces on the 16th of June to reach the Petersburg railroad and destroy a part of it, the Twenty-fourth sharing in the movement. While the regiment remained at Bermuda Hundred, Lieutenant Colonel Stevenson resigned his commission and Major Hooper was promoted to the vacancy June 1, Captain Richardson being made major. During this time there had been numerous skirmishes on
380
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
and near the picket lines, in which the men of the regiment had borne their due part, losing one killed and ten wounded. The bri- gade was thrown to the north bank of the James river on the 20th of June, taking position at Deep Bottom, where it remained some two months, Lieutenant Colonel Hooper being taken prisoner on the picket line July 27.
A portion of the Army of the Potomac was sent to the north side of the James about the middle of August, and in connection with their movement a series of attacks were made on the enemy's lines in front of Deep Bottom. On the 14th a charge was made by which some ground was gained, and a more general engagement was fought on the 16th, in which the regiment suffered heavy loss, having two killed on the 14th, 17 on the 16th, and altogether 93 wounded and 12 missing. Second Lieutenant Jesse S. Williams of Roxbury was killed on the 16th, and Second Lieutenant William Thorne of Gloucester died on the 20th from wounds. On the latter date the regiment returned to its camp at Deep Bottom. Colonel Osborn being temporarily in command of a brigade in another division, the regiment was commanded on the 14th by Captain Maker, and sub- sequently by Captain George W. Gardner. The James was re- crossed and the old camp at Bermuda Hundred again occupied on the 25th, but it was only for a day, when the Tenth Corps moved to the front of Petersburg and occupied a portion of the lines. There the regiment remained for a month, constantly under fire, from which a loss was sustained of three killed and a number wounded.
Colonel Osborn returned to the command of his regiment on the 25th of September, being the only field officer who had been pres- ent with it for duty since the capture of Lieutenant Colonel Hooper. Major Richardson had been discharged for disability on the 23d, and the vacancy was filled later by the promotion of Captain Ordway. Another movement of the Army of the James to the north side of the James river began the 28th, in connection with a similar move- ment to the left by the Army of the Potomac, the Twenty-fourth with its division moving by the Darbytown road toward Richmond, but it was not till the 7th of October that the command became en- gaged. An attempt was then made to turn the Union right, which the regiment assisted in repelling, having two men killed and eight wounded. On the 13th it took part in a reconnaissance on the Darbytown road toward Richmond, encountering the enemy in force
381
THE TWENTY-FOURTH REGIMENT.
and losing in the engagement which resulted five men killed, 14 wounded and five missing. A similar movement was made on the 27th, but with very fortunate results so far as casualties were con- cerned, only two men of the Twenty-fourth being wounded. Re- turuing from this reconnaissance the regiment went into camp at Four Mile Church on the Newmarket road, in rear of the Union line of works, where it remained till the 18th of December. It was then returned to Bermuda Hundred, and performed garrison duty till after the fall of Petersburg and Richmond the following spring.
Colonel Osborn left the regiment on leave of absence October 16, and did not return to service with it, being mustered out the 14th of November; the regiment during its last duty in the field was under command of Captain Thomas F. Edmands. The last of the original members who had not re-enlisted were mustered out on the 4th of December, but as there were over 400 veteran members remaining the name and form of the regiment were not changed. Lieutenant Colonel Hooper was commissioned colonel, but as he could not be mustered to that rank he was mustered out March 18, 1865, as lieutenant colonel. Major Ordway, absent on staff duty, was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
On the 8th of April, 1865, the Twenty-fourth were ordered to Richmond, where the command was assigned the duty of guarding the military prisons in that city, including those which had become so notorious from the confinement in them of Union prisoners of war, and in this duty the remainder of the year was passed, while something like order was being evolved from the ruins of the would- be Confederacy. About the middle of June 172 veterans from the Thirty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment and 14 from the Fortieth were transferred to the Twenty-fourth and formed into two com- panies, the original regiment being reduced to eight companies.
The Twenty-fourth was with the exception of the Thirtieth the last organization from Massachusetts to leave the national service, being mustered out at Richmond on the 20th of January, 1866, and reaching Boston four days later. It went into camp on Gallop's Island for three days, but on the 27th visited the State House where the regimental colors were delivered to Governor Bullock, who re- ceived them with eloquent words of appreciation. The regiment was then tendered a reception and collation at Faneuil Hall, after which the members separated to resume the pursuits of civil life.
1
.
THE TWENTY-FIFTH REGIMENT.
T' HE Twenty-fifth Regiment was organized at Camp Lincoln, Worcester, the first companies reporting September 25, 1861, and the entire ten being on the ground two days later. Nearly all the towns of Worcester County were represented in the command, and there were a few from outside the county. Much of the work of organizing the regiment was done by Captain A. B. R. Sprague, recently. of the Third Battalion of Rifles, and many of the officers had seen service in the battalion. The band were mustered September 26, the line officers October 12, and most of the rest of the regiment at various times between those dates, by Captain John M. Goodhme, U. S. A. Colonel Upton, who had formerly held that rank in the Ninth Regiment of Militia, took command on the 8th of October, and the full list of officers follows :-
Colonel, Edwin Upton of Fitchburg; lieutenant colonel, Augustus B. R. Sprague; major, Matthew J. McCafferty; surgeon, J. Marcus Rice, all of Worcester; assistant surgeon, Theron Temple of Belcher- town; adjutant, Elijah A. Harkness of Worcester ; quartermaster, William O. Brown of Fitchburg; chaplain, Horace James ; sergeant major, Michael McKeon, both of Worcester; quartermaster sergeant, Edward A. Brown of Fitchburg; commissary sergeant, Elbridge G. Watkins; hospital steward, Samuel Flagg; principal musician, Jonathan H. Samson, all of Worcester; leader of band, William E. Gilmore of Pawtucket, R. I.
Company A, Worcester-Captain, Josiah Pickett; first lieutenant, Francis W. Goodwin; second lieutenant, Merritt B. Bessey.
Company B, Milford - Captain, Willard Clark ; first lieutenant, William Emery; second lieutenant, William F. Draper.
Company C-Captain, Cornelius G. Attwood : first lieutenant, James Tucker, both of Boston; second lieutenant, Merrick F. Prouty of Spencer.
Company D, Worcester-Captain, Albert F. Foster; first lieutenant, George S. Campbell; second lieutenant, George II. Spaulding.
Company E, Worcester-Captain. Thomas O'Neill; first lieutenant, William Daley; second lieutenant, Henry McConville.
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383
THE TWENTY-FIFTH REGIMENT.
Company F, Fitchburg-Captain, Charles H. Foss; first lieutenant, Levi Lawrence; second lieutenant, J. Henry Richardson.
Company G, Worcester-Captain, Lewis Wagely; first lieutenant, Henry M. Richter; second lieutenant, Frederic A. Weigand.
Company H-Captain, Orson Moulton; first lieutenant, David M. Woodward, both of Worcester; second lieutenant, Nathaniel H. Fos- ter of North Brookfield.
Company I-Captain, Veranus P. Parkhurst of Templeton; first lieutenant, James B. Smith of Royalston; second lieutenant, Amos Buffum of Templeton.
Company K-Captain, J. Waldo Denny of Worcester: first lieu- tenant, Samuel Harrington of Paxham; second lieutenant, James M. Drennan of Worcester.
The regiment broke camp October 31, after it had been presented with a stand of colors by the ladies of Worcester, going by way of Norwich and the steamer Connecticut to New York, where it re- ceived an ovation and stopped till afternoon of November 1, when it went by rail from Jersey City to Philadelphia. That city was reached some time after midnight, but its loyal sons and daughters were waiting at the Cooper Shop with an abundant repast. Balti- more was made at 3 o'clock next afternoon, in the midst of a driving storm, and after marching about for a time, finding no transporta- tion, the different companies were stowed for the night in such vacant buildings as were available. Next morning steamer was taken to Annapolis, where the regiment was the third to arrive of those which subsequently formed the Burnside expedition, and en- camped on " Taylor's Farm," renamed Camp Hicks in honor of the loyal governor of Maryland.
Late in November the troops at Annapolis were organized in three brigades, the Twenty-fifth having the right of the First Bri- gade under General J. G. Foster, the other regiments being the Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth and Twenty-seventh Massachusetts and Tenth Connecticut. Drill and routine duty occupied the time till the 5th of January, 1862, when orders were issued for the departure of the expedition next morning. Accordingly the command turned out before daylight of the 6th in a driving snow-storm and marched to the Naval Academy, where most of the Twenty-fifth went aboard the steamer New York, two companies taking the gun-boat Zouave and one the schooner Skirmisher. Anchoring in the harbor, the regiment waited for the embarkation of the other troops composing the expedition, finally setting sail on the 9th. That night anchor was
38-4
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
cast near the mouth of the Potomac, and next day at noon Fortress Monroe was reached, near which another stop of two days was made.
Starting again on the 12th, the expedition on the following day encountered a severe storm, which greatly endangered the en- tire fleet. The New York reached a comparatively secure anchor- age at Hatteras Inlet, but some of the vessels outside were wrecked and the entire fleet was delayed a week while those driven out to sea were getting back and the damage was being repaired. The men suffered much from the rough weather, the shortness of food and especially the lack of water. Another storm occurred on the 23d, less severe than the first, and as soon as it abated the work of getting the larger transports across the bar into Pamlico Sound was taken up. This was not completed till the 5th of February, when the expedition once more got under way, its destination being Roanoke Island, an important fortified position commanding the entrance to Albemarle Sound. On the morning of the 7th the gun- boats of the fleet opened a bombardment of the forts, practically silencing their fire after a few hours, and in the afternoon the land troops were disembarked on the island after a very severe month of life on shipboard. The night was passed by the men standing around their camp-fires in the rain, and next morning the march toward the Confederate position was taken up.
The hostile outposts were soon encountered by Companies A and E deployed as skirmishers, and the Twenty-fifth formed line of battle across the road, the right resting on an open field in support of a howit- zer battery. After firing some three hours and exhausting its ammu- nition the regiment formed into column by companies and rested after its arduous efforts in penetrating the swamp till the enemy were driven from their position, when the column advanced and occupied the captured works. During the action the regiment lost six killed and upward of 40 wounded. The island was occupied by General Burnside's troops till the 6th of March, when the Twenty-fifth vacated their log barracks and once more went aboard the New York. After lying at anchor till the 11th the fleet moved across the sound, the New Yo"" grounding on a shoal for several hours, but anchoring that nig) at Hatteras Inlet. Next morning sail was made for the Neuse rives, and at night the expedition halted within 15 miles of the city of Newbern. Under cover of the gun-boat fire a landing was made in the mud at the mouth of Slocum's Creek,
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385
THIE TWENTY-FIFTH REGIMENT.
and through a dismal rain-storm a march of some ten miles was made, the Twenty-fifth leading.
The battle of Newbern opened early next morning, but the regi- ment, being on the extreme Union right, was not at first engaged. It was finally ordered to the support of a battery, and later joined in the charge, only to find the Confederate works evacuated. Reforming and advancing the Twenty-fifth encountered Colonel Avery and his Thirty-third North Carolina regiment, covering the Confederate retreat. They surrendered, 150 in number, and were given in charge of Company H, while the rest of Foster's Bri- gade proceeded along the railroad toward Newbern. The city was on fire, as was the railroad bridge across the river, but the troops were fer- ried over in the afternoon by small boats that had run the blockade of sunken vessels below, and at once took possession. The loss of the Twenty-fifth during the battle had been four killed and 16 wounded. Lieutenant Colonel Sprague with a portion of the regi- ment and the colors was the first infantry officer to reach the city of Newbern. The different companies were quartered in some of the buildings deserted by the secessionists who had fled the town, and remained there engaged in provost duty and the like till the 9th of May. During that time Major McCafferty resigned, being suc- ceeded by Captain Pickett of Company A.
Marching some miles inland, the regiment was stationed at Red House on picket duty, naming its location Camp Bullock, in honor of Alexander H. Bullock of Worcester. There the rest of the month was passed with no duty more important than an occasional incursion into the surrounding country, and on the 1st of June the command returned to Newbern, establishing itself at Camp Oliver, at the west of the city near Fort Totten. On the 24th of July it formed part of an expedition of considerable strength under Colonel H. C. Lee which crossed the Neuse river and advanced to Trenton, some 30 miles, occupying that place without opposition and return- ing to camp a few days later, where the hot season was passed in comparative inaction.
The first of the autumn expeditions ^^curred on the 15th of September, when the Twenty-fifth with tro other regiments, all under command of Colonel Upton, embarked on steamers for Ply- mouth, a station on the Roanoke river, anchoring in front of the town during the night of the 16th, but finding next morning that
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
the contemplated demonstration was postponed and returning to camp at Newbern. Before any further operations occurred the regimental band was dismissed by orders from the War Depart- ment, and both Colonel Upton and Lieutenant Colonel Sprague left the Twenty-fifth, the latter being promoted to the coloneley of the Fifty-first Regiment, and the former resigning on account of ill health. This left Major Pickett in command of the regiment, and in due time the vacancies were filled by his promotion to the colonelcy while Captains Moulton and Attwood became lieutenant colonel and major respectively.
Six companies of the Twenty-fifth under Major Pickett took part in the Tarboro expedition, the others being on picket duty up the Trent road. The battalion went by the steamer Highlander to Washington, a village on the Pamlico river, October 30, where it formed part of a force of 5,000 or 6,000 men under General Foster. The march across country to Williamston on the Roanoke river be- gan November 2, the Twenty-fifth forming part of the rear guard and enduring the usual hardship of that position. Going by way of Hamilton, the force bivouacked within a few miles of Tarboro on the night of the 5th, but General Foster, learning that the enemy was in strong force, decided to retrace his course, and the column began falling back the following morning. Plymouth was reached on the 10th, whence most of the troops embarked for Newbern, the companies of the Twenty-fifth and two of the Twenty-seventh re- maining at Plymouth in guard of the artillery.
The Twenty-fifth embarked on the schooner Skirmisher December 8, and at evening of the 10th reached the camp at Newbern, where orders were in waiting for them to join an expedition for Goldsboro, to start the following morning. Of the four brigades making up the command, Colonel Lee's (which included the Twenty-fifth Regi- ment) did not start till near noon of the 11th, marching some 12 miles during the afternoon and night. The following day the roads were found to be badly obstructed by felled trees and important bridges were missing, which the troops had to rebuild, so that only about ten miles were covered, and early in the afternoon of the 13th the regiment halted some five miles from Kinston. During the fight at that place on the following day, it was in support of Morrison's and Belger's Batteries. Bivouacking near the town that night, the column set forward the next morning, after destroying the bridges
387
THIE TWENTY-FIFTH REGIMENT.
over the Neuse at that point, making an unmolested march of 18 miles. A force of the enemy being discovered across the river at Whitehall on the 15th, an artillery duel took place with a sharp- shooting accompaniment, during which the Twenty-fifth were called upon for 100 volunteers for skirmish duty, one of whom was wounded. Marching to within six or eight miles of Goldsboro the regiment encamped for the night.
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