USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 1 > Part 43
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Being relieved in the afternoon the command marched that night to Langley's and the following afternoon crossed the Potomac at Chain Bridge, camping at Tennallytown, where it remained till the 5th. It then marched to Rockville and on the 6th, two miles be- yond the town, formed line of battle and waited till the 9th. Then the march northward began in earnest, the regiment passing through Frederick City on the 13th and crossing South Mountain on the 15th, whence the division 'led the Union infantry till the column paused on the margin of Antietam Creek, facing the Confederates on the hills beyond the stream. At 9 o'clock of the 17th, after the fight was well under way, the division received orders to move to the right and fill a gap in the Union line, which it at once did, ford- ing the creek and forming line of battle beyond, advancing under a heavy fire till close upon the enemy in a corn-field, when the order to halt and fire was given and the regiment-which was next to the Sixty-ninth on the right of the brigade line-maintained the conflict steadily for an hour, when, General Meagher having been disabled, Lieutenant Colonel Barnes ordered a charge of his regiment, which sprang forward with cheers, the Irish regiments joining, breaking the enemy in their front and driving them back with the assistance of Caldwell's Brigade which came up at the right moment.
The regiment had rested but half an hour when it was again called to the front to prolong the line of Caldwell's Brigade, just at the time when General Richardson, commanding the division, was mortally wounded. Taking a position on the left of the brigade, the Twenty-ninth deployed a part of its number as skirmishers and remained in the corn-field during the rest of the day, the succeed- ing night and all of the 18th-the two lines being but a few hun- dred yards apart and an incessant fire being kept up. That night the enemy withdrew and the 19th was passed by the regiment in burying the dead on that part of the field. Its own loss had been nine killed, 31 wounded and four missing.
Going to the rear after this duty was performed, the Twenty-ninth remained there till the 22d, then marching by way of Sharpsburg to Harper's Ferry, fording the Potomac that evening and encamping on Bolivar Hights. In that vicinity camp was established for more than three weeks, during which time the One Hundred and Forty- fifth Pennsylvania Regiment joined the brigade. On the morning of October 17 the division set out for Charlestown, which was oc-
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THE TWENTY-NINTHI REGIMENT.
cupied after some skirmishing, Meagher's Brigade taking an ad- vaneed position beyond the town. The enemy having been given to understand that the movement was in force, the division withdrew next morning to Halltown, stopped there for a night and returned to Harper's Ferry on the following morning, the expedition having taken place during a very unpleasant storm.
The movement southward began on the 29th, the regiment leaving its camp that afternoon, crossing the Shenandoah and following the right bank of the Potomac to Pleasant Valley, where the first night was passed. Warrenton was reached on the 9th of November, when it was made known that the command of the army had passed from General Mcclellan to General Burnside and the regiment rested till the 15th. Then followed the movement toward Falmouth, in preparation for the Fredericksburg campaign, the march of the Twenty-ninth occupying three days, and during the encampment near Falmouth which followed, the regiment was on the 30th of November transferred from the Irish Brigade to the First Brigade, First Division, Ninth Corps. General Willcox at that time com- manded the corps, General W. W. Burns the division and Colonel B. C. Christ the brigade.
In the disastrous battle which began on the 11th and ended on the 15th of December the regiment took no active part; it formed part of the reserve and was only under fire on the afternoon of the 13th, when moving toward the left to support General Franklin, two men being wounded. After the withdrawal of the other troops on the night of the 15th it remained behind to take up three small bridges across a canal, when it recrossed the Rappahannock, thank- ful to have escaped the slaughter of its late associates of the Irish Brigade. Chaplain Hempstead-who had faithfully filled his office -died of disease on the 21st after a short illness. Without notable event some weeks passed, the corps taking no part in the demoraliz- ing march of January 20-23, 1863, known as the "Mud march." General Burnside was succeeded by General Hooker directly after that event, and on the 5th of February the Ninth Corps received orders to proceed at a moment's notice to Fortress Monroe.
The Twenty-ninth did not break camp till the 12th, when cars were taken at Falmouth for Acquia Creek Landing, where the com- mand was transferred to the steamer Hero, reporting on the 14th to General Willeox at Newport News, and for the third time the
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
regimental camp was pitched near the "Brick House." The corps, having been reorganized under the command of General John G. Parke, General Willcox taking charge of the First Division, was ordered to the West at the request of General Burnside, then in command in Tennessee, and the regiment went on board the City of Richmond on the 21st of March, reaching Baltimore on the 23d and at once taking cars via Harper's Ferry to Parkersburg. There it was transferred to the steamer Eclipse, reaching Cincinnati on the 26th and after an ovation in the city crossing the river to Coving- ton, Ky., whence it went by rail that night to near Paris. On the 3d of April it marched into the town making its quarters in and about the court-house, Colonel Pierce, who had rejoined the regiment just before it left Newport News, being made commandant of the post.
The duty devolving upon the command was not ardnous, being principally to search out and guard against guerrillas, which swarmed through the region, and the best of feeling existed between the inhabitants of the place and the officers and men of the Twenty- ninth, so much that on one occasion when the force at Paris was ordered to another point a petition generally signed by the citizens was sent to General Burnside asking that the change be not made, and the request was granted. The regiment marched on the 26th to rejoin its brigade, leaving Colonel Pierce in command at Paris. Going by rail to Nicholasville, it marched thence to Stanford, where the brigade was found on the 29th. The next day a march of 18 miles took the force to Carpenter's Creek, where it rested till the 5th of May. Then came two days' march to the vicinity of Somer- set, with a halt until the 4th of June, when with eight days' rations the men set forth for Nicholasville, 71 miles distant over the mount- ains, making the distance in less than four days.
The Ninth Corps had been ordered to reinforce General Grant in front of Vicksburg, and cars were at once taken for Cincinnati, where the command with a brief stop was transferred to another train and on the 10th reached Cairo, Ill. At that point the Twenty- ninth went aboard the steamer Mariner and started down the Mis- sissippi river, stopping three days at Memphis for orders. Resum- ing the journey on the 14th, steaming along during the day and "tying up" for the night, the fleet of transports reached Snyder's Bluff on the Yazoo during the 17th, having been once fired on by guerrillas hid behind the levee. The troops being disembarked
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THE TWENTY-NINTHI REGIMENT.
. went into camp near the river, the Twenty-ninth forming the right of the brigade. Twelve days later, after severe work in the hot sun npon intrenchments, the regiment began to move toward Vicksburg, feeling its way along slowly till morning of the 4th of July, when the joyful intelligence of the surrender of the city was received.
It then encamped till the afternoon of the 7th, when it set out with the rest of the brigade following the force under General Sher- man which was pursuing General Johnston in his retreat toward Jackson, the capital of Mississippi. With little sleep and almost incessant though not very rapid movement, the command marched till the rear guard of the Confederates was overtaken on the after- noon of the 10th and the following morning the regiment went into the first line of battle near the Lunatic Asylum, some five miles from Jackson. This position was held till the 16th, when an ad- vance was made close up to the enemy's works, and during the en- suing night some scouts from the regiment were first to discover and report (though the report was not then credited) that the city was being evacuated. The truth of the report was substantiated the next morning, when the regiment advanced into the city, where it remained till afternoon. It was then ordered back a few miles, resting till the 20th, when the return march toward Vicksburg be- gan, the Twenty-ninth being detailed as provost guard at the rear of the corps, with Lieutenant Colonel Barnes as provost marshal. This was a very trying position, as the column moved rapidly, the weather was oppressive and the orders to repress straggling were stringent.
The Big Black river was reached on the 22d, when a day was de- voted to gathering the scattered commands, after which the column returned to the old camps at Milldale. During the expedition the regiment had lost but one man killed by the foe, but several had died from hardship and sickness, among the number being First Lieutenants Ezra Ripley and John B. Collingwood and Second Lieu- tenant Horace A. Jenks of Plymouth. The Ninth Corps had been ordered back to Kentucky, but the Twenty-ninth were unable to procure transportation till August 12, when they went aboard the Catahoula, the journey to Memphis occupying eight days. At that point cars were taken for Cincinnati, whence the regiment crossed to Covington, where it remained till the 27th. Under command of Major Chipman, it then went by rail to Nicholasville and camped
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
there till the 1st of September, when the march over the mountains to Tennessee began. Knoxville was entered the 26th, the column having made over 200 miles through a very difficult region in order to strengthen the force under General Burnside which was intended to free the loyal people of Eastern Tennessee from the presence of an armed foc.
Resting until the 8th of October, the regiment with its brigade was sent forward to join the corps, reaching Bull's Gap on the 9th, and the following day took part in the battle of Blue Springs, join- ing late in the afternoon in a charge which drove the enemy from the field. Taking up the pursuit next morning, the regiment ad- vanced as far as Rheatown, 21 miles beyond Blue Springs, and rest- ing there for two days returned on the 15th to Knoxville. In addi- tion to this force of the enemy, now driven back into Virginia, General Burnside was threatened with a more serious peril in an army coming up from Chattanooga under General Longstreet, and on the 20th of October the Ninth Corps was advanced to Campbell's Station, 15 miles distant, whence it moved down the railroad to Lenoir's Station the next day, remaining there on the alert till the 14th of November. On that morning the entire Ninth Corps- Christ's Brigade leading-was sent forward to the support of Gen- eral White's Division of the Twenty-third Corps near Loudon, which was threatened by Longstreet. Hough's Ferry, where fighting had been going on, was reached near night, and the regiment took posi- tion near the enemy at the right of the Union line. Standing to arms all night through a driving storm and in a heavy wood, the command expected to advance in the morning, but instead was ordered back and at noon halted at Lenoir's once more.
The men had barely prepared a hasty dinner when they were called to arms to meet the enemy, who had come down on the Kingston road but halted on finding that he had not succeeded in flanking the Federal position. Very early next morning another parallel race for Campbell's began, the Union advance under General Hartranft getting into position but a few moments before the Con- federate column appeared, and the Twenty-ninth on reaching the field went into position on the extreme right. Here desultory fight- ing soon began, and presently the regiment was flanked out of its position ; but changing front and moving skillfully it eluded the trap which had been laid for it and reached safety in good order and
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THE TWENTY-NINTII REGIMENT.
with very few casualties. After dark the Union brigades one at a time marched back toward Knoxville, and before daylight the last were in position near Fort Sanders for the defense of the city.
The siege began the following day, the position of the Twenty- ninth being at the right of the fort, where its piekets occupied one side of a railroad cut and the enemy the other. At the desperate assault on Fort Sanders, very early in the morning of the 29th, in which Longstreet's troops were bloodily repulsed, the regiment had a notable part in the defense. Six companies lying near the fort were hurried inside at the first appearance of the assailants, and the four which had been detached rejoined their comrades in time to do good service. At the slackening of the assault a de- tachiment of the regiment sallied out and brought in a large number of prisoners and two battle flags, the captors of which in due time received Medals of Honor. By great good fortune the Twenty-ninth lost but two killed.
In recognition of the service of the regiment in the defense of the fort, it was made a part of the garrison, and in that duty con- tinued till the siege ended by the withdrawal of Longstreet on the night of December 4. The following day a fruitless expedition was made by the brigade in search of a Confederate regiment reported to have been left behind, and on the 7th the command, with the other troops of the corps, started out in pursuit of the retiring enemy. Blain's Cross Roads were reached on the 8th, and the following day the march was continued to Rutledge ; staying at the latter place till the 15th, the regiment returned to Blain's and went into what was called permanent camp. The suffering there was very severe, the location being a bleak plain some 20 miles from Knoxville, swept by cold winds and often covered with snow. The men had been but indifferently supplied with clothing and camp outfit when they left Knoxville, and the wear and tear of the service soon reduced them to most trying straits. The rations were of the most inadequate description, and though supplemented by such foraging as could be done in the impoverished region, the soldiers still suffered greatly. Yet through it all they were subordinate, faithful and enthusiasti- cally loyal.
During this time many of the members of the Twenty-ninth were employed as mechanies in the construction of bridges and boats, their natural skill coupled in many cases with practical training
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
making them more adept than many of their fellow-soldiers. Dur- ing this time of distress, when if ever the patriotic impulse of the men might be expected to run low, many of the regiment re-enlisted for another term of three years, and on the 1st of January, 1864, were mustered as the Twenty-ninth Veteran Regiment of Massa- chusetts. On the 16th camp was broken and the command marched to Strawberry Plain and crossed the Holston river, where it halted with a few other troops as guard to the railroad bridge at that point, while the remainder of the corps, with the Fourth, under the com- mand of General Sheridan, pushed on toward Virginia in search of the enemy.
The regiment was relieved on the 20th and fell back a few miles, where it waited till the 22d, when with the Seventy-ninth New York Highlanders it formed the rear guard of the column as it moved toward Knoxville. About noon, when some ten miles short of its destination, the rear guard was attacked by the enemy's cavalry, and a straggling fight, at times quite sharp, followed till the near approach to Knoxville caused the foe to withdraw, after having received a repulse from the two regiments, commanded by Colonel Morrison of the Seventy-ninth. Passing through the city and five miles beyond, the regiment made its camp at Erin Station on the 24th, where it remained some three weeks. During this time the members who had not re-enlisted were transferred to the Thirty- sixth Regiment, and the veterans were ordered to prepare for their promised 30-days' furlough, though it was not to begin for some time. On the 15th the camp was changed to near the city, and on the 24th the corps marched three miles beyond Strawberry Plains and camped in the forest. Within a few days an advance was made to Morristown and thence to Mossy Creek ; and in that vicinity, with occasional skirmishing and frequent moving back and forth, the time was passed till the 18th of March, when the Holston was crossed seven miles from Knoxville, and the following day the regi- ment went into camp near Fort Sanders.
On the 21st the movement toward Nicholasville over the Cumber- land Mountains began, the journey being made extremely trying by the bad condition of the roads and the almost incessant storms; but the place was reached on the 31st and the following day the brigade arrived at Covington, crossed the river to Cincinnati and took up quarters in the Sixth-street Barracks. Leaving there on
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TIIE TWENTY-NINTHI REGIMENT.
the 7th of April, the regiment reached Boston on the 9th and was received with enthusiasm, its furlough continuing till the 16th of May, when it was again summoned to the front, leaving its tattered battle flags in Boston and taking out in their place bright new ban- ners. Washington was reached on the 18th, the command going into barracks, and the following day the detachment of the original regiment which had been serving with the Thirty-sixth Massachu- setts met their comrades while on their way home, their term of enlistment having expired. This detachment had served faithfully in the Wilderness and at Spottsylvania, having lost seven killed and about 30 wounded, out of some 90 present for duty.
Leaving Washington on the 20th and going by transport to Belle Plain, the Twenty-ninth were at that point made part of a provis- ional brigade under General Lockwood, marching to Fahnouth on the 23d. The Rappahannock was crossed on pontons next morning and the regiment pushed steadily forward till it joined the Army of the Potomac on the 29th, as it moved southward from the North Anna, and was assigned to the Third Brigade, First Division, Fifth Corps.
A hundred men from the regiment were sent on the skirmish line during the 1st of June, forming the extreme right of the corps line, but had scarcely deployed when the enemy was found to be on the flank and a sharp action at once ensued in which the Twenty-ninth had one killed, three captured and a dozen wounded. Two days later the regiment was transferred to the Second Brigade, First Division of the Ninth Corps, but did not reach the command in time to engage heavily in the desperate fighting of that day, losing but three men wounded. During the subsequent operations at Cold ITarbor its part was that of detail and skirmish, with no results of importance, and when the army moved southward it crossed the James with its fellow-regiments, reaching the lines in front of Peters- burg late in the afternoon of the 16th and forming a supporting line to the troops already in position.
Next morning the First Division moved up and occupied works which had been gained by a charge of the Second Division, and late in the afternoon was ordered to charge the works in its front, the First and Second Brigades (the latter commanded by Colonel Pierce) forming the first line with the Third Brigade in support. While in waiting for the signal to advance, word was re- ceived that the charge would not be ordered, immediately after
1
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
which the command "Forward!" rang along the line. The lead- ing brigades encountered a terrific fire and were thrown into some confusion, but the supports coming up the whole force pressed for- ward and effected a lodgment in the hostile works. In this charge three bearers of the Twenty-ninth's battle-flag were killed in quick succession-Sergeants Silas N. Grosvenor, John A. Tighe and Ser- geant Major William F. Willis. The latter fell as the regiment was being temporarily forced back, and the flag was for the moment abandoned on the field, but as soon as the loss was discovered several volunteers rushed forward through the fire and rescued the beloved standard. The regiment, which took less than 100 men into the fight, had lost six killed and 23 wounded, including First Lieuten- ant George W. Pope mortally.
From that time till the early days of July the Twenty-ninth were alternately in the works at the front, skirmishing with or watching the enemy, or a little distance at the rear to obtain sufficient rest to prevent the men from utterly breaking down, when they were de- tailed as provost guard for the division, and were thus employed for some three weeks. On the 23d the regiment was transferred to the First Brigade, of which General William F. Bartlett that day as- sumed command. Next day it returned to duty in the trenches and on the morning of the 30th took part in the terribly disastrous action of the Mine, in which, charging into the crater with its fellow-regiments of the First Division, followed by the other divisions of the Ninth Corps, it suffered from its short line the loss of three killed, seven wounded and six captured. General Bartlett being disabled by the shattering of his artificial leg and captured, Lieutenant Colonel Barnes took command of the brigade, and as Major Chipman had been for some time detailed to the command of the Fourteenth New York Heavy Artillery, the command of the Twenty-ninth devolved upon Captain Tripp. Major Chipman was mortally wounded on the 7th of August while on service with the Fourteenth.
On the 15th of August the Ninth Corps, having been relieved by the Eighteenth, moved to the left and relieved the Fifth which in turn extended toward the Weldon Railroad, the permanent posses- sion of which was very much desired by the Federal commanders. On the 19th the Ninth moved out to connect with the Fifth. and while on a march in a severe rain storm the enemy burst out of the woods near Blick's House and fell upon the unprepared column,
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THE TWENTY-NINTII REGIMENT.
which quickly formed line and repelled the assault, the Twenty- ninth losing six men wounded, one fatally. The extended line being intrenched was held for some time without events of particular moment. On the 1st of September the three white divisions of the corps were consolidated to two, the Twenty-ninth, with the Fifty- seventh and Fifty-ninth Massachusetts, Third Maryland, One Ilun- dredth Pennsylvania and Fourteenth New York, constituting the Third Brigade, First Division. On the 10th, 83 recruits were re- ceived by the regiment, of which Lieutenant Colonel Barnes four days later took command, Colonel MeLaughlen of the Fifty-seventh taking charge of the brigade. The regiment was detailed on the 24th for a part of the garrison of Fort Howard, where it remained till the 5th of October, when it returned to the brigade on duty at the front near Poplar Springs Church.
Colonel Pierce was mustered out of service on the 8th of Novem- ber, as Lieutenant Colonel Barnes had been on the 9th of October, and Captain Tripp, who had been commissioned lieutenant colonel but not mustered; followed on the 13th of December. Captain T. W. Clarke was commissioned colonel (but not mustered), Captain Charles D. Browne as lieutenant colonel, and Captain Richardson as major. The latter had command of the regiment during most of the winter, the two former having been detailed for staff duty.
Comfortable winter quarters had been prepared by the men near Fort Sampson, when on the 29th of November the corps was ordered back to the right, and the Twenty-ninth took position as garrison of Battery No. 11, a very inoffensive earth-work, built for two guns, which had never been mounted. The other regiments of the brigade were disposed on like duty in the vicinity, and though often under fire the winter was passed without notable occurrence in the history of the regiment. It was destined, however, to bear an important part in the battle of Fort Stedman on the 25th of March, 1865, when the Confederates stealthily crept through the ravine some dis- tance to the right of Battery 11 and poured into the rear of Sted- man, capturing that work almost without a struggle.
Becoming convinced that all was not right, Major Richardson roused his garrison, and not long after the enemy came stealing in at the rear of the redoubt. A furious hand to hand fight at once ensued, resulting in the discomfiture of the foe at that point and the capture of some 350-nearly twice the number of the Twenty-
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