USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 2 > Part 19
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Camp was broken on the 24th of August, the detachments came in, and led by its band the regiment started homeward with kind words of farewell alike from whites and blacks and the Germans of the Fifty-fourth New York Regiment, with which the Fifty-fifth had long been brigaded. Going to Charleston by rail, the regiment encamped at Mount Pleasant for the making out of the rolls, and on the 29th was mustered out of the national service by Captain Robinson. Six companies, under Lieutenant Nntt sailed for Bos- ton September 6 on the steamer Karnac, and six days after the rest of the regiment, under General Hartwell, followed on the Ben De- ford. The latter vessel was twice struck by lightning on her pass- age, but finally reached Gallop's Island on the 20th, where the Karnac had arrived a week before. The regiment was paid and discharged on the 23d, but did not disband till the 25th, after a pleasant reception and parade in Boston.
THE FIFTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
T HE Fifty-sixth (First Veteran) Regiment was recruited dur- ing the fall of 1863 and the succeeding winter, its rendezvous being at Camp Meigs, Readville, where the first four cont- panies, though not complete, were mustered during the last days of December. E and F followed on the 12th of January, 1864, G on the 19th, HI on the 27th, I on the 4th of February and K the 25th. It was required in this as in the three other Veteran regiments, that the members should have served not less than nine months in some other organization, and the term of enlistment was for three years. The regiment having been filled to something above the minimum number left the state on the 20th of March, 1864, with the follow- ing roster of officers :-
Colonel, Charles E. Griswold of Boston; lieutenant colonel, Stephen MI. Weld, Jr., of West Roxbury; major, Horatio D. Jarves of Boston; surgeon, T. Fletcher Oakes of Dartmonth; assistant surgeons, Horatio S. Soule of Winthrop and Jerome E. Roberts of Springfield; adjutant, Charles J. Mills of Boston; quartermaster, George P. Ladd of Spen- cer; sergeant major, Daniel F. French of Quiney; quartermaster ser- geaut, George A. C. Ellis; commissary sergeant, Rufus Richardson; hospital steward, George W. Copeland, all of Boston; principal musi- cian, William J. Martland of North Bridgewater.
Company A-Captain, John F. Thayer of Boston; first lieutenant, Edward F. Littlefield of Somerville; second lieutenant, Freeman C. Luce of New Bedford.
Company B-Captain, Wallace A. Putnam of Danvers; first lieu- tenant, Warren B. Galucia of Dedham; second lieutenant, John J. Davis of Gloucester.
Company C-Captain, James W. George of Brighton; first lieu- tenant, James W. Cartwright; second lieutenant, John W. Mayloan, both of Boston.
Company D-Captain, Wilson W. Fay of Boston; first lieutenant, Ansel B. Randall of Abington; second lieutenant, Levi L. Aldrich of Boston.
Company E-Captain, Robert J. Cowdin; first lieutenant, James McArdle; second lieutenant, John D. Priest, all of Boston.
693
THIE FIFTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
Company F-Captain, Z. Boylston Adams of Boston; first lieuten - ant, Loedegar M. Lipp of Cambridge.
Company G- Captain, Granville G. Redding; first lieutenant, Albert G. Fellows, both of Roxbury; second lieutenant, George A. Fletcher of Boston.
Company HI-Captain, Abijah Hollis of Milton; first lientenant, Rawlins T. Atkins of Boston; second lieutenant, Herbert G. Coffin of Dorchester.
Company I-Captain, J. Albert Pratt of Waltham: first lieutenant, ITiram S. Shurtleff of Boston; second lieutenant, Antipas Newton of Medford.
Company K-Captain, Thomas R. Keenan of Lynnfield; first lieu- tenant, John Jeffrey of Reading: second lieutenant, Frank A. Mitchell of Easton.
The regiment was ordered to Annapolis, Md., where General Burnside was reorganizing his Ninth Corps for the spring campaign. It remained there, at Camp C. C. Holmes, for nearly a month, until the 23d of April, when the corps received orders to march to Wash- ington. The regiment had meantime been brigaded with the Thirty- fifth, Fifty-seventh and Fifty-ninth Massachusetts, Fourth and Tenth Regiments United States Regulars, as the First Brigade, First Divis- ion, Colonel Carruth of the Thirty-fifth commanding the brigade and Brigadier General Thomas G. Stevenson the division. Passing through Washington, the corps eneamped for a couple of days at Alexandria and then moved forward along the railroad by which supplies were forwarded fo the Army of the Potomac. Bealton Station was reached in three days, and the regiment halted there for an equal time, when it moved with its division toward what was to be the batte-field of the Wilderness. The Rapidan was crossed on the 5th of May, and the division was held during the night and the early morning of the 6th in reserve near Wilderness Tavern. The fighting becoming heavy at the Union left, General Stevenson was directed to report to General Hancock, his division was placed near the junction of the Brock and the Plank roads, and soon be- came engaged. Its fighting, like so much that day, was not decisive but was attended by heavy loss, that of the Fifty-sixth Regiment being nine killed, 57 wounded and 11 missing, though it was engaged but a short time. Among the killed was Colonel Griswold.
As the corps moved to the left, and finally confronted the enemy near Spottsylvania Court House, the regiment was not again severely engaged till the 12th, when General Burnside demonstrated with
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694
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
most of his corps in support of the attack made by General Han- cock. In that contest the First Division, under command of Gen- eral Crittenden (General Stevenson having been killed on the 10th ), made repeated attacks but failed to drive the enemy from their works. The loss of the Fifty-sixth was ten killed, 41 wounded and one missing. Another series of assaults were made on the 18th, but they were equally fruitless, the loss to the regiment being five killed and 40 wounded. The movement to the left was resumed on the following day, it being found impossible to carry the Confeder- ate intrenchments before Spottsylvania, and on the 24th the North Anna was crossed by a portion of the Ninth Corps at Quarles Mill. An attempt to clear the enemy from the vicinity of Ox Ford re- sulted in a severe engagement, in which the Fifty-sixth took an active part, being with the rest of the division obliged to retire. The regiment had seven killed, 40 wounded and 17 made prisoners in this action, Captain Putnam receiving wounds from which he died on the 20th of June. The death of Colonel Griswold led to the advancement of Lieutenant Colonel Weld and Major Jarves to the positions of colonel and lieutenant colonel respectively, and Captain Putnam was commissioned major, but died before being mustered; owing to the reduced numbers of the regiment the vacant majority could never afterward be filled.
From North Anna the corps moved to Bethesda Church, where the regiment was engaged on the 31st, having 11 wounded, one killed and one missing, and again on the 3d of June it took part in skirmishing connected with the battle of Cold Harbor, having two killed and seven wounded, one of the former being Captain Cowdin. Following the days of siege succeeding the battle, the regiment marched across the James river, took position before Petersburg, and with its division participated in an assault on the enemy's works on the 17th. The attack was partially successful, though the fighting was very severe. The Fifty-sixth captured over 50 prisoners, but themselves lost 19 killed, including Second Lieutenant John II. Crawley of Boston, 40 wounded and five miss- ing. From this time till the close of July the regiment remained on duty in front of the Confederate works, having six killed and 22 wounded during that time by the fire of sharp-shooters. On the 22d of June First Lieutenant John D. Priest died from wounds received at Bethesda Church.
695
TIIE FIFTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
The continued losses of the regiment, the hardships to which it had been exposed, and the resulting sickness of the members, had by this time redneed the command to a fragment of the strength with which less than three months before it had taken the field, but at the disastrous action of the Crater, on the 30th of July, it was to lose again a large proportion of its numbers. Ledlie's Division (formerly Crittenden's) was selected to lead the advance after the explosion of the mine, and Bartlett's Brigade (of which the Fifty- sixth formed part) was among the first to enter the crater; but there the success of the Union troops ended, they were soon over- whelmed by the prompt rallying of the Confederates, and the story is eloquently told by the figures of their losses; General Bartlett, the brigade commander, was made prisoner, and ont of the small number taken into action by the Fifty-sixth it lost 10 killed, 25 wounded and 22 made prisoners.
After the failure of this attempt to break the enemy's lines, the regiment remained on duty in the trenches for more than two weeks, having one man killed and one wounded. It took part in the ex- pedition against the Weldon Railroad and in the battle of the 19th of Angust had one killed and nine wounded, losing one more killed in a skirmish a few days later. The railroad being gained and held by this movement, the regiment eneamped in the vicinity and re- mained there till the close of September. The First Division of the Ninth Corps having been discontinued owing to its depletion in numbers, the Fifty-sixth was at this time attached to the Second Brigade, Second Division, of the same corps, and with that com- mand on the 30th of September took part in the battle of Peebles Farm, having one killed, eight wounded and 30 captured. After this unfortunate engagement the regiment resumed its encampment, remaining there with the exception of a reconnaissance of a day or two till the close of November.
It was then moved to Fort Davis, situated on the left of the Jeru- salem Plank road, and after passing some two weeks there moved on the 12th of December to Fort Alexander Hays, the next fort in the chain but situated at some distance to the left. There the Fifty- sixth remained during the winter, picketing the front and waiting in winter quarters till the coming of spring should bring the closing contests of the war. This signal came on the 1st of April, 1865, when the regiment was ordered under arms and very carly the fol-
696
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
lowing morning joined in the assanit upon the Confederate works in the vicinity of the Plank road. The enemy were driven out of their Battery 27, located across the Plank road, and for some dis- tance to the Union right, but the lodgment was only made perma- nent in Battery 27, which the Fifty-sixth occupied, the abandoned Confederate guns being worked by a detachment from the Fifth Massachusetts Battery. At one time all the Union troops except the Fifty-sixth and the battery men were forced from the captured works; but these held on bravely, and retained their position all through the day, though the Confederate fire was heavy from three sides. Next morning the city was found to be evacuated, and as it proved the fighting of the regiment was at an end. Its loss during this last engagement was three killed, including Captain Ansel B. Randall, and 13 wounded.
A few words will tell the rest of the story. With other regi- ments of the corps, the Fifty-sixth moved along the Southside Rail- road as far as Burkesville, performing guard duty and the like, till after the surrender of General Lee's army. It then marched back to City Point, whence it was transported to Alexandria. Landing at the latter place, the command encamped with nothing of incident to break the routine till the 12th of July, when it was mustered out of the United States service and directly afterward set out for Massachusetts. Arriving there it returned to the camp at Read- ville for a few days, while the final papers were made, and on the 22d it was paid and discharged.
الجمر
THE FIFTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT.
T HE Fifty-seventh (Second Veteran ) Regiment was organized at Camp John E. Wool, Worcester, by Colonel William F. Bartlett, who had been mustered out of service with his nine- months' regiment-the Forty-ninth-late in the summer of 1863. Setting at once about the formation of his new command, the colonel worked assiduously till the requisite number had been obtained. Ilis recruits naturally came from the western counties of the state, as three similar regiments were being formed at Readville, and it was not till the middle of March, 1864, that Colonel Bartlett was able to form regimental line. A month later, while the organization was still incomplete, orders came to report to Washington, and the trip began on the 18th of April, the list of officers then in com- mission being as follows :-
Colonel, William F. Bartlett of Boston: lieutenant colonel. Edward P. Hollister of Pittsfield; major, James W. Cushing of Roxbury; sur- geon, Whitman V. White of Stockbridge; assistant surgeon, Charles E. Heath of Monterey; chaplain, Alfred HI. Dashiell, Jr., of Stock- bridge ; adjutant, George E. Barton of Worcester ; quartermaster, George E. Priest of Watertown; sergeant major, Albert M. Murdock of West Boylston; commissary sergeant, David F. Lawry of Worces- ter; quartermaster sergeant, James A. Robbins of Watertown; hospital steward, Henry G. Pront of Great Barrington; principal musician, James S. Scott of Leicester.
Company A-Captain, John W. Sanderson of Westboro; first lieu- tenant, Samuel M. Bowman of Clinton; second lieutenant, Edward I. Coe of Worcester.
Company B-Captain Joseph W. Gird; first lieutenant, E. Dexter Cheney, both of Worcester; second lieutenant, George S. Greene, of Springfield.
Company C-Captain, Charles D. Hollis of Lynn; second lieuten- ant, Charles H. Royce of Pittsfield.
Company D-Captain, Edson T. Dresser of Stockbridge; first lieu- tenant. Edwin S. Dewey of Greenfield; second lieutenant, James Pea- cock of Worcester.
698
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
Company E-Captain, George HI. Howe of Monson; first lieuten- ant, John II. Cook of Northampton; second lieutenant, John Ander- son of Holland.
Company F-Captain, Levi Lawrence; first lieutenant, Charles Bar- ker; second lieutenant, Alfred O. Hitchcock, all of Fitchburg.
Company G-Captain, James Doherty of Boston; first lieutenant, Henry C. Ward of Worcester; second lieutenant, Henry B. Fiske of Springfield.
Company H -- Captain, Julius M. Tucker; first lieutenant, John L. Goodwin, both of Worcester; second lieutenant, James W. Kennay of Boston.
Company I-Captain, Albert Prescott of Charlestown; first lieuten- ant, Albert W. Cook; second lientenant, John Reade, both of Milford.
Company K-Second lieutenant, James M. Childs of Worcester.
Lieutenant Colonel Hollister resigned his commission about the time the regiment left the state, and the vacancy was filled by the appointment of Charles L. Chandler of Brookline, whose commission bore date of April 20. Charles O. Carpenter of Holyoke was added to the medical staff soon afterward as junior assistant surgeon.
The Fifty-seventh arrived at Annapolis, Md., on the 20th of April, and were assigned to the First Brigade, First Division, Ninth Corps, then being reorganized under the command of General Burn- side, its destination not having been announced. The regiment was brigaded with the Thirty-fifth, Fifty-sixth and Fifty-ninth Massachu- setts, with two regiments of United States Regulars-the Fourth and Tenth. Colonel Sumner Carruth of the Thirty-fifth commanded the brigade and General Thomas G. Stevenson the division. Three days only were passed in camp at Annapolis when marching orders camo for the corps, and it took the road toward Washington, Car- ruth's Brigade on the lead. A march of three days brought the command to the national capital, where it was reviewed by the President and corps commander, the route being continued across Long Bridge to the vicinity of Arlington, where temporary camp was established. This lasted only two days, however, when the corps again took the road, marching via Fairfax Court House, Cen- terville, Bristoe Station and Warrenton Junction, following the line of the railroad to Rappahannock Station, where the corps arrived on the 3d of May and the regiment for a single night occupied the camp- ground which had just been vacated by the Twentieth Maine.
But the Army of the Potomac was on the move, the Ninth Corps was to co-operate with it, and next day the march was resumed.
699
THE FIFTY-SEVENTHI REGIMENT.
The Rapidan was crossed the 5th at Germania Ford, and next day the regiment took part in the terrible struggle in the Wilderness. It was almost too much to expect that with its limited opportunities for drill and discipline it should have attained to efficiency, but its part in the battle was highly creditable. The brigade took position carly in the forenoon of the 6th near the junction of the Brock road with the Plank road, being in column by regiments, the regu- lars forming the first line and the Fifty-seventh the fourth. The advance of the enemy soon involved the brigade in close and severe action. The Fifty-seventh showed great steadiness and courage, and when ordered to advance, although the ground was very un- favorable and they had to pass over another regiment lying upon the gound, they did so in a manner to win the hearty compliment of General Hancock, under whose direction the movement was per- formed. The fighting in that part of the field was desperate dur- ing much of the day, and resulted in no decided success on either side. The regiment took into action a total of 545 officers and men-one company being on detached duty. Of these, 47 were killed, 161 wounded and 43 missing, a total loss of 251. Colonel Bartlett received a wound in the head which disabled him for some time, and he did not again return to the command of the regiment, being soon afterward commissioned brigadier general. Of the killed mention should be made of Captain Gird, the first officer of the regiment to give his life in battle, and Second Lieu- tenanant Childs, who died of wounds there received.
Lieutenant Colonel Chandler succeeded to the command of the Fifty-seventh, and at midnight of the 7th it began the movement to the rear and left, passing the Chancellorsville battle-field on the 8th, crossing the Ny river on the 9th and there intrenching in front of the Confederate works defending the approach to Spottsylvania Court House. In a reconnaissance next day General Stevenson, the division commander, was killed. He was succeeded in the com- mand temporarily by General Thomas L. Crittenden, the division later passing under the command of General James II. Ledlic. In connection with the battle of the 12th, inaugurated by Hancock's corps, the Ninth Corps was engaged, making some advance and holding and intrenching the ground gained. In this action the Fifty-seventh added to its laurels. though at a loss of 18 killed. 55 wounded and four missing. On the 18th the regimesi vets Je
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700
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
Fifty-ninth, supported by the regulars of the brigade, made a recon- naissance, advancing their line close to the enemy's works and hold- ing the position under a heavy fire till ordered back ; the loss of the Fifty-seventh being three killed and 14 wounded.
The line of action at Spottsylvania being abandoned, the regiment with its division moved to the left and on the 24th reached the North Anna. General Burnside was ordered to cross the river at Ox Ford, but finding he could not do so, crossed Crittenden's Divis- ion at Quarles Mills, a mile and a half above, and attempted to clear the crossing at the Ford. In this movement the Fifty-seventh again suffered severely. Its brigade was advanced without proper support till it was struck in both flanks by a sharp attack, while at the same time exposed to a destructive artillery fire. It was consequently forced back in disorder, the regiment losing 10 killed 13 wounded and 14 missing, all of whom were left on the field. The severest loss came from the killing of the commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Chandler, a brave and efficient officer. Cap- tain J. M. Tucker, the senior officer present, took command of what was left of the Fifty-seventh.
The river was recrossed on the 26th, and then followed the move- ments which brought the command to Bethesda Church at the time of the disastrous battle of Cold Harbor. It was not closely engaged during this period, though skirmishes and demonstrations were fre- quent, the loss of the regiment on the 3d of June being seven wounded and two missing. The James river was crossed near Charles City Court House on the night of the 15th, and marching almost continuonsly the division halted the next evening in sight of the city of Petersburg. Next day the First Division occupied a line of Confederate works which had been captured by the Second Divis- ion, and watched the preparations for attacking a second and stronger line beyond. This attack was made in the afternoon by the Third Division and was repulsed ; but abont sunset the First Division was ordered forward to renew the attempt. The struggle was severe, the assailants depending upon the bayonet alone; but they finally gained the works-only to be forced from them by a counter charge made by fresh Confederate troops. The loss of the Fifty-seventh in this struggle was 11 killed, 30 wounded and three missing. Among the killed was Second Lieutenant Edward 1. Coc, while Cap- tain Tucker commanding the regiment was wounded.
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701
THE FIFTY-SEVENTII REGIMENT:
From this time till the action of "The Crater," the regiment under command of Captain Albert Prescott did duty in the tren- ches before Petersburg, near the right of the Union line, and as there was almost incessant sharp-shooting between the hostile forces the loss was severe, amounting during the six weeks to six killed and 23 wounded. Of the six officers struck during this time, First Lieu- tenant E. Dexter Cheney was killed on the 19th of July and First Lieutentant Samuel M. Bowman died of wounds on the 25th. The division was now commanded by General Ledlie and the brigade by General Bartlett, promoted from colonel of the Fifty-seventh. In the regiment, Captain Tucker, who had not yet returned to duty, had been promoted to major and lieutenant colonel-Major Cushing having resigned May 26,-and Captain Prescott, still in command of the regiment, was promoted to major,-all of these commis- sions dating from the 15th of Jume.
Being relieved from duty in the trenches by colored troops on the night of the 29th of July, the Fifty-seventh were among the first. troops to enter the Crater the following morning after the explosion of the mine which had been run from the Federal side under a sali- ent of the Confederate works. The regiment numbered at the open- ing of the fight seven officers and 91 enlisted men. It passed through the opening made by the explosion and took position in one of the covered ways or parallels beyond, where it fought as well as it could till the excavation became so filled with fugitives that fur- ther resistance was impossible. A portion of the command suc- ceeded in making its way back to the Union lines; but the colors could not be extricated, and with most of the left wing of the reg- iment fell into the enemy's hands. General Bartlett, the brigade commander, was also made prisoner. On assembling the remnant of the Fifty-seventh, it was found that of the seven officers taken `into action but one had escaped, -First Lientenant AAlbert Doty. Three-Major Prescott and Captains Howe and Dresser-had been killed, two were wounded and one missing. Of the enlisted men, one had been killed, 16 wounded and 28 were missing, leaving Lieutenant Doty and 46 men to represent the honorable name of the Fifty-seventh. This handful returned next day to duty in the trenches, where it remained till the 18th of August, having in that time one killed and four wounded by sharp-shooters. It had, how- ever, received a few returned convalescents, meanwhile. so that
702
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
when the movement began against the Weldon Railroad on the 19th the regiment consisted of one officer and 45 men. The divis- ion, then commanded by General White, was sharply engaged for about an hour in the battle which ensued, rendering important ser- vice in turning the temporary success of the Confederates. The few members of the Fifty-seventh fought heroically, losing a third of their number-one being killed, eight wounded and seven missing.
The ground seized by the operations being held and the Union lines permanently extended to cover the railroad, the division was moved a short distance to the right, where it erected fortifications and remained engaged in picket duty till the closing days of Sep- tember. With the rest went Lieutenant Doty and his little band of 29 men-all that remained of the new regiment of full numbers which had left the camp of organization four months before. Fort- unately this was the lowest ebb in point of numbers of the regi- ment. Some of the convalescents and those upon detached duty returned to head-quarters, so that when the next movement was made some 60 were with the colors. Lieutenant Colonel Tucker, having recovered from his wounds, rejoined the regiment on the 3d of September and assumed command. Captain Napoleon B. MeLaughlen of the United States Army was mustered as colonel of the Fifty-seventh on the 14th under Special Orders from the War Department, his rank dating back to December, 1862, giving him seniority by virtue of which he at once took command of the brigade.
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