USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 1 > Part 45
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461
THE THIRTIETH REGIMENT.
passing through Leesburg, and on the 18th connecting with the Sixth Corps at Snickers Gap. On the 20th the regiment with its associates forded the Shenandoah and advanced a few miles toward Berryville, when it turned back and by heroic marches retraced its steps till on the 23d it crossed the Potomac at Chain Bridge and camped on the Georgetown Hights. Back again the column turned on the 26th, making its way through Maryland to Harper's Ferry, crossing the Potomac there on the 29th and camping on Bolivar ITights. But the following day the burning of Chambersburg by MeCausland showed that the enemy were on loyal soil in force, and back across the Potomac came the Union forces, to interpose against another raid in the direction of Washington or Baltimore.
At midnight of the 31st the regiment bivouacked at Catoctin Creek, and next day marched to and through Frederick, encamping three miles out on the Emmittsburg road. There it remained till the 2d of August, when it marched to Monocacy, east of Frederick, where on the following day Lieutenant Colonel Whittier rejoined it and took command. Again the order was across the river to Har- per's Ferry, but this time the regiment was moved by rail to Point of Rocks, and after encamping a day on the Maryland Hights crossed to HIalltown, occupying ground just vacated by the enemy, where four days were given to needed rest while General Sheridan, who had recently taken command of the Department, was getting his forces in hand for a forward movement.
This began on the 11th, and two days took the army to Cedar Creek, where it confronted the Confederates in a strong position till the night of the 15th, when the Union army began falling back by easy stages, reaching Bolivar Hights on the 22d. On the 3d of September the army moved forward once more, taking position and intrenching near Berryville, where it remained till the 19th. Gen- eral Grant had visited Sheridan and approved his plans, and the result was the decisive battle of the Opequan. When the advance was made on the morning of the 19th the Thirtieth Regiment was detached as train guard, but it resumed its place with the brigade- that day commanded by Colonel Davis-about the middle of the forenoon. The brigade was then in column by regiments, but it soon after deployed, bringing the Thirtieth on the extreme right of the line of battle, their right resting on a deep ravine through which ran a small stream. They were not very actively engaged while in
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MASSACIIUSETTS IN TIIE WAR.
this position, though suffering somewhat from the fire of a Confed- erate battery on their right. At one time they were ordered across the ravine in support of a skirmish line operating against the ob- noxious battery ; but finding it strongly supported returned to their position, which was firmly held during the critical hours of the battle. When the Confederate lines finally gave back and then were swept to the rear in disorder, the Thirtieth joined in the for- ward movement and bivouacked at dusk on the outskirts of Win- chester. Their loss during the battle had been two killed including Second Lieutenant John P. Haley of Chelsea, and ten wounded.
The enemy were followed to Fisher's Hill, where on the 22d the regiment intrenched, four of its companies joining soon after noon in a demonstration against the rifle-pits of the enemy, some of which were captured. Later in the day the entire regiment ad- vanced in the general charge which drove the Confederates from their works, its loss during the day being three killed and seven wounded. The pursuit continued during the night and with little actual rest for three days following, on the second of which the Thirtieth were deployed as skirmishers, pressing the enemy's rear guard all through the day. The column halted at Harrisonburg the 25th, and remained there till the 6th of October, the Thirtieth going out once during the time as support to a cavalry reconnaissance. Moving back gradually to Cedar Creek, the corps encamped north of that stream on the 10th and fortified, and till the morning of the 19th the only event of moment in the experience of the Thirtieth was a reconnaissance to Strasburg on the 15th in which they acted as skirmishers.
At daybreak cach morning the troops "stood to arms," and ranks had just been broken on the morning of the 19th of October when the battle of Cedar Creek opened by a surprise of the camp of the Eighth Corps. Three regiments of Davis's Brigade were moved quickly to the rear of the camps and formed line west of the Win- chester pike, the Thirtieth in the center. As soon as the scattered Eighth Corps had cleared the front, fire was opened, but the brigade was almost at once flanked and ordered to retire. Becoming sepa- rated from its fellow-regiments in the movement, the Thirtieth find- ing some troops of the Sixth Corps in position joined them and made repeated charges ; but when a further retreat became necessary it discovered and joined its corps, still falling back from one position
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TIIE THIRTIETHI REGIMENT.
to another till near noon, when it advanced some distance and took position in a piece of woods. The Confederates attacked again soon after, but their force had been spent and the Union lines proved too firm for their feeble endeavors. About the middle of the afternoon the Federal army was ordered to advance. On its part of the line Davis's Brigade led, driving the foe from behind a stone-wall, back through the woods and across an open field ; stopping to reform the line and with a change of direction pressing forward again till about 6 o'clock the flag of the Thirtieth (said to have been first to do so) waved over the line of intrenchments from which the Union army had been driven in the morning. But the success had not been lightly gained, and the record of the day showed the regiment to have lost 13 killed, 95 wounded and 19 missing. Among the killed were First Lieutenants George F. Whitcomb and Adjutant William F. Clark,-the latter being honored by Governor Andrew with a complimentary commission as major of the regiment, that office being then vacant. In the series of battles thus closed the regiment had been ably commanded by Captain Shipley, the senior officer present for duty.
But the activities of the day were not over, so far as the Thirtieth were concerned, for late in the evening they were ordered to Stras- burg and on the hights there remained under arms during the night. In the morning they were detailed as support to a cavalry recon- naissance, on which duty they served till noon, being then relieved and reporting back to the brigade, which during the afternoon re- occupied the former camp north of Cedar Creek. The rest which followed was very grateful, lasting as it did with but light duty till the 9th of November. During this time the number present for duty was largely increased by the arrival of 178 recruits, most of them strangers to "the art of war" and many of them foreigners. The camp was withdrawn 12 miles toward Winchester on the 9th of November, a position being occupied between Newtown and Kerns- town which was intrenched and where soon after log huts were built for winter quarters. The enemy made his appearance in front on the 12th of November, feeling the Union picket lines at various points ; that afternoon the First Brigade under Colonel Dudley ad- vanced some three miles, driving back whatever force was encoun- tered, and no further demonstrations took place.
But the regiment was not destined to pass the winter in the com-
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
fortable quarters which had been provided by the skill of the men. Most of the troops in the Valley, now that their services were no longer in demand to meet an active enemy, were ordered to other fields, and on the 30th of December the brigade marched to and through Winchester to the crossing of the Opequan, where the Thir- tieth were detached from the column and put in charge of the bridges at that point and other interests in the vicinity. The detail was an important one, as the guerrilla bands in the neighborhood were especially anxious to destroy those bridges, knowing the mis- chief it would work with the communications of the troops whom the railroad supplied. Almost nightly there were alarms resulting from some of these efforts, but no damage was done nor were any members of the command captured, so perfect was the system of the defenders. About the middle of February, 1865, Colonel Dudley was mustered out of the volunteer service, as were the few officers and men who had served three years and had not re-enlisted, but the opening of the final campaign found the regiment in respectable numbers and the best of morale.
The Thirtieth were relieved on the 1st of April by dismounted cavalry, rejoining the brigade at Stevenson's Depot and marched that day to Kernstown. During the next three weeks some marches were made, the regiment at one time being moved back to the cross- ing where it had passed the winter; but on the 21st it took cars to Washington, arriving there next morning and remaining in the vicinity till the 1st of June, taking part in the great review on the 24th of May and looking for the time when it could follow the de- parting regiments homeward. That, however, was a vain hope, as it had been selected for other important if not dangerous service; it embarked on the Matanzas June 1 and the day following steamed away for Savannah, Ga. It landed there on the 6th, and bivouacked near the city for a week, when with its brigade it took passage to Georgetown, S. C., reached there on the 14th and remained till the 27th. The left wing under Major S. D. Shipley-promoted from captain February 17-was then moved to Florence, of prison-pen notoriety, whence in a few days it went to Sumter. The right wing marched by night from Georgetown to Florence between the 6th and 10th of the month, whence three companies were detailed as guard at the head quarters of the Military District of Eastern South Carolina. Head-quarters of the regiment were established at Sum-
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THE THIRTIETHI REGIMENT.
ter, two companies being stationed at Camden and one at Manning; their duties, in the language of the official report, being "to pre- serve order, settle disputes, encourage industry and compel obedience to the laws and orders among the whites and freedmen." While some of these may naturally be considered peculiar duties to com- mit to soldiery, it must also be borne in mind that the condition of affairs was one unique in the history of the nation and of the world.
Before the close of the year every other volunteer organization from Massachusetts with a single exception (the Twenty-fourth Regiment) had been mustered out of the national service, and early in the year 1866 the Twenty-fourth went home, but it was not till the early days of July following that the Thirtieth were released, after having maintained their organization for more than four years and a half, being mustered out on the 5th of July, 1866. The last year of their service had been in no way trying, apart from its irk- some restraint from the pleasures of home and civil life; the dis- cipline and morale of the regiment were preserved, the health of men and officers was good and the duties devolving upon them were light.
While the Thirtieth Regiment was not during its long term of service so severely battle-tried as many that served much shorter ' periods, its loss from disease was especially heavy, so that few ex- ceeded it in the number of lives given in the cause.
THE THIRTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
T HE Thirty-first Regiment was also raised by General Butler in the fall and winter of 1861-2, and was at first known as the Western Bay State Regiment. It gathered on the fair- grounds at Pittsfield, using the Agricultural hall as barracks, the location being known as Camp Seward. The immediate command devolved upon Charles M. Whelden of Pittsfield, under a warrant from General Butler, promising him a commission as lieutenant colonel when the regiment should be officered. Owing to the mis- understanding between the general and Governor Andrew, the field officers selected by the former were not commissioned, but Lientenant Colonel Whelden, who was one of the disappointed, was appointed. on the staff of General Butler with the promised rank. After being recruited nearly to the maximum the command was transfer- red to Camp Chase at Lowell about the first of February, where it remained till ordered to the front.
The matter of commissions had not been settled when, on the 19th of February, 1862, marching orders were received and on the following day the regiment embarked at Boston on the transport steamer Mississippi, which took from the Bay State so many organiza- tions. Sailing on the 21st, the vessel proceeded to Fortress Monroe, where it took aboard General Butler and his staff, and on the 26th again sailed, destined for Ship Island on the Mississippi coast, which had been selected as the rendezvous for the expedition. There was much delay, however, in reaching the destination. The steamer had on board the regiment, General Butler and his staff and four 'com- panies of the Thirteenth Maine Regiment, and had nearly reached the Hatteras Inlet when a storm came on, necessitating standing to sea during the night of the 26th and the day following. Morning of the 28th found the steamer aground near Cape Fear, and she was only got off by the utmost exertions of the crew and the soldiers,
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THIE THIRTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
with the assistance of the United States steamer Mount Vernon. The vessel was damaged so that she leaked badly, and an anchorage was made in the Cape Fear river, within sight of the Confederate Fort Caswell. After 24 hours spent there the leak was somewhat repaired, and under convoy of the Mount Vernon the steamer pro- ceeded to Port Royal, where she anchored on the evening of March 2. The soldiers were landed at Seabrook Plantation, the leak of the Mississippi being repaired, so that they were taken aboard on the 10th, and after some accidents, and getting aground once or twice in the harbor, sail was finally made for Ship Island, which was reached on the 20th, the troops being landed on the 23d.
In the mean time the matters at issue between General Butler and the United States government on the one hand and Governor Andrew on the other had finally been adjusted, and commissions had been issued for the regiment, the designation of which was changed from the Western Bay State Regiment to the Thirty-first Massachu- seits. The list of officers was as follows, most of the commissions dating from the 20th of February, 1862 :-
Colonel, Oliver P. Gooding of Indiana; major, Robert Bache of Pittsfield; surgeon, Eben K. Sanborn of Rutland, Vt .; assistant sur- geons, Edwin C. Bidwell of Middlefield and Janse T. Paine of Charles- town; adjutant, Elbert HI. Fordham of Pittsfield; quartermaster, James W. Cushing of Roxbury; chaplain, Francis E. R. Chubbuck of Pittsfield; sergeant major, Henry D. Barber of Worcester; quarter- master sergeant, Charles S. Rust of Pittsfield; commissary sergeant, Henry Moore of Hartford, Ct .; hospital steward, George W. Scary of Pittsfield; principal musician, Otis Pratt of Sutton.
Company A-Captain, Edward P. Hollister; first lieutenant, Elbert II. Fordham (afterward adjutant), both of Pittsfield.
Company B-Captain, Elisha A. Andrews; first lieutenant, Horace F. Morse, both of Southampton.
Company C-Captain, John W. Lee of Buckland; first lieutenant, Emory P. Andrews of Rowe.
Company D-Captain, William S. B. Hopkins of Ware; first lieu- tenant, W. Irving Allen of Vernon, N. J .; second lieutenant, Luther C. Howell of Elmira, N. Y.
Company E-Captain, Edward P. Nettleton of Chicopee; first lieu- tenant, Lester M. Hayden of North Adams.
Company F-Captain, Elliott C. Bridgman of Belchertown; first lieutenant, Joseph L. Hallett; second lieutenant, Frank A. Cook, both of Springfield.
Company G-Captain, George S. Darling of Roxbury; first lieuten- ant, L. Frederick Rice of Boston.
Company HI-Captain, Edward Page, Jr., of Boston; first lieuten-
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
ant, Orrin L. Hopkins of Millbury; second lieutenant, Nelson F. Bond of Ware.
Company I-Captain, W. W. Rockwell of Pittsfield; first lieuten- ant, Benjamin F. Morey of Lee; second lieutenant, David Perry of Richmond.
Company K-Captain, Samuel D. Hovey of Cambridge; first lieu- tenant, Fordyce A. Rust of Easthampton.
Colonel Gooding, who took command of the regiment just before it left the state, was a lieutenant of the Tenth United States In- fantry, and a most efficient officer. The office of lieutenant colonel was not filled at first, Captain Hopkins being promoted to fill the vacancy some months later, and it was a long time before the full list of line officers were commissioned. Among the first deaths in the regiment was that of Surgeon Sanborn, which occurred on the 3d of April at Ship Island. Near the close of the month Assistant Surgeon Bidwell was commissioned surgeon, and Assistant Surgeon Paine being promoted to a full surgeoney in Louisiana troops, the vacancies in the surgical staff of the Thirty-first were filled later by the appointment of Henry W. Browne of Medway and Floyer G. Kittredge of Harvard.
The regiment was among the last of General Butler's troops to reach the Island, and was assigned to the Second Brigade, com- manded by General Thomas Williams. In that organization it was associated with the Twenty-sixth Massachusetts, Twenty-first Indiana, Sixth Michigan and Fourth Wisconsin Regiments, the Second and Sixth Massachusetts Batteries and one company of cavalry. It embarked on the steamer Mississippi, April 18, and as- cended the Mississippi river to the vicinity of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, which had been engaged by the naval part of the expedi- tion. As it was decided to land troops in the rear of those forts to assist in the operations against them, the steamer conveying the Thirty-first dropped down the Mississippi to the Gulf and the regi- ment was landed as near as possible to the hostile works, but had scarcely got ashore when the latter were surrendered. The troops therefore re-embarked and ascended the river to New Orleans, where the Thirty-first Massachusetts was the first regiment to land. The levee and the vicinity were cleared of the excited populace by Com- pany D, Captain Hopkins, the regimental line was formed and Gen- eral Butler and his suite were escorted to the St. Charles Hotel, where his head-quarters were established. The peaceful occupation
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THE THIRTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
of the city being assured, the regiment was quartered at the Custom House, being largely engaged in provost and like duties, changing its location afterward to Annunciation Square. The summer passed, so far as the Thirty-first were concerned, without events of marked importance, and during August the command was considerably separated ; the larger part under Colonel Gooding went down the river to garrison Forts Jackson and St. Philip, while a part of the remainder continued on duty at New Orleans and a part garrisoned Fort Pike.
Some changes of position were made, but the year ended with five companies at Fort Jackson, three at Fort Pike and two at Ken- neville, some ten miles above Carrollton. The first and last named of the detachments were united about the 20th of January, .1863, the command of the department having passed to General Banks and the troops under his command having been organized as the Nineteenth Army Corps. Under this arrangement the seven com- panies of the Thirty-first Regiment became part of the Third Bri- gade, Third Division, the associate regiments being the Thirty- eighth and Fifty-third Massachusetts, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth and One Hundred and Seventy-fifth New York. Colonel Gooding took command of the brigade and General William H. Emory of the division. Lieutenant Colonel Hopkins, having been promoted from captain, took command of the regiment soon after. On its organiza- tion the brigade was stationed at Carrollton, where other troops of the corps were being gathered for the contemplated campaign.
The division set ont on the 12th of February for an expedition down Plaquemine Bayon, intending the capture of Butte a la Rose at the head of Grand Lake; but the bayons were found to be im- passable and the troops returned to camp after a week's absence, the Thirty-first having lost two men drowned. On the 6th of March the division was transferred to Baton Rouge, and soon after reach- ing there set out upon the first demonstration against Port Hudson, the object of which was to assist the fleet in running the batteries. The Thirty-first formed during this movement part of the force sent to the right of the main body to protect the flank in that direction, and it was not till the 20th of March that it returned to Baton Rouge, where the remainder of the month was passed. A consider- able force of the enemy threatening New Orleans from the rear, a portion of General Banks's army, including Emory's Division, was
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
sent to clear the Confederates away preliminary to decided opera- tions against Port Hudson. This force, including the Thirty-first Regiment, left Baton Rouge .on the 1st of April for Algiers, stopped there till the 9th, and on the 11th advanced against the Confeder- ates who were in force and prepared to make a stand at Fort Bisland.
Advancing from Pattersonville on the 12th, the regiment crossed the Bayon Teche by the ponton bridge, and accompanied by the One Hundred and Seventy-fifth New York and a section of artillery ad- vanced up the east side of that stream until fire was opened from the hostile works. After an artillery fight of some 45 minutes the regintent withdrew for a short distance and bivouacked for the night, with a strong picket line, and next morning more serious fighting began, the seven companies of the Thirty-first being deployed as skirmishers and engaging the enemy steadily for some three hours. Being then relieved to replenish their cartridge boxes, they supported the New York regiment during the rest of the day. On the morn- of the 14th four companies were deployed to relieve the piekets of the New York regiment, and Company D, penetrating the Confeder- ate works, found them to have been abandoned during the night. The loss of the regiment was one killed and five wounded.
The expedition advanced by way of Opelousas to Alexandria on the Red river, which was reached early in May. Returning thence toward Port Hudson, the object of the demonstration having been effected in the driving back and scattering of the Confederate forces under General Richard Taylor, the regiment crossed the Mississippi at Bayon Sara on the 22d and the following day took position before the hostile works in front of Port Hudson. During the siege which followed the Thirty-first, numbering some 300 men for duty, took their full share of the trying experiences of assault, picket and fatigue duty. Their total loss during the time was 14 killed and 48 wounded, one-half of this loss being sustained in the attack of the 14th of June, when during the entire day the regiment lay in line of battle next to the skirmish line, without the opportunity to fire a gun, to advance or retreat. Indeed no one seemed to think of the latter, for in all its experiences the command won an enviable record for steadfast gallantry and endurance.
On the capitulation of the stronghold the Thirty-first were selected - to witness with a few other favored commands the formal surrender; but before the act was consummated the division, then under com-
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TIIE THIRTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
mand of General Weitzel, was embarked with all haste for the relief of Donaldsonville, then invested by a considerable force of the enemy. The latter retired with scarcely the semblance of an en- gagement on finding that the main body of Banks's army was now at liberty, and after remaining there till the 2d of September the regiment with other troops returned to Baton Rouge, where on the 9th the three companies which had been garrisoning Fort Pike re- joined the main body, the command being reunited for the first time since landing at New Orleans, nearly 17 months before. The nine- months' troops which had formed a considerable part of General Banks's army during the early part of the year having been mus- tered out, the corps was reorganized, the Thirty-first becoming a part of the Second Brigade, First Division. The place of the Fifty- third Massachusetts Regiment was taken by the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth New York ; no other change occurred in the make-up of the brigade; which continued under the command of Colonel Gooding, General Weitzel commanding the division. Various in- cursions were made by detachments into the surrounding country during the autumn ; but beyond the gathering of large quantities of contraband goods and supplies no event of importance occurred. In the various expeditions the regiment lost four wounded; but it suffered much from sickness during the summer months, and like all other regiments, in the department, lost far more from that cause than from the bullets of the foe. Among those dying from disease were two esteemed officers-First Lieutenant F. A. Cook of Springfield and Captain W. W. Rockwell of Pittsfield, the former August 6 and the latter December 3, 1863.
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