USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 2 > Part 22
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49
With the opening of the campaign of 1864 under direction of General Grant, the First, with other heavy artillery regiments, were summoned to take the field for active duty as infantry. The com- mand marched on the 15th of May to Alexandria, whence it at once took transports to Belle Plain on Potomac Creek, where it debarked the following day and reported to General R. O. Tyler. It was as- signed to the Second Brigade of Tyler's Division, mainly composed
-
726
MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
of heavy artillery regiments. Colonel Tannatt commanded the brigade. It marched on the 17th by way of Fredericksburg to the reinforcement of the Army of the Potomac, then before Spottsyl- vania, reporting at head-quarters early in the morning of the 18th. During that day the regiment was under artillery fire much of the time, and the following day, soon after having marched to the Har- ris farm, some two miles to the rear on the Fredericksburg road, had its first severe engagement. A Confederate force (Ewell's Divis- ion of Early's Corps, 6,000 strong) being reported in the woods in front of the regiment, two companies were deployed as skirmishers, and became at once engaged. The First Battalion under Major Rolfe went to the support of the skirmishers, and the rest of the regiment was soon engaged, fighting for a time the entire hostile division. Support having arrived, the First fell baek and reformed their line, when they again advanced and took part in the engage- ment till the enemy retired with heavy loss late in the evening. . In this its first battle the regiment suffered a loss of 394 of the 1,617 taken into action, 55 being killed, 312 wounded and 27 missing. Among the killed were the gallant Major Frank A. Rolfe and First Lieutenant Edward Graham of Lynn, and of the 15 officers wounded Captains Albert A. Davis of Lawrence and William G. Thompson of Amesbury, and First Lieutenant Charles Carroll of Lynn died of their injuries.
After this creditable test of its fighting qualities the regiment joined in the movement to the North Anna, and during the fight- ing at that point was in reserve, having one man killed and 13 wounded-two of the latter being members of a detachment sent ont to destroy a bridge across the river above the scene of conflict. At noon of the 27th the march to the left was resumed and next day the Pamimkey was crossed below Hanover Court House. On the 29th the regiment was assigned to the Second Brigade, Third Division, Second Corps,-formerly the brigade of General Alexan- der Hays, killed at the Wilderness. Colonel Tannatt took com- mand of the brigade. On the 31st, having again moved southward, the regiment took part in the battle of Totopotomy, at first as reserve and afterward at the front in ocenpaney of the enemy's works, losing five men wounded and three missing. At night of June 1, the command marched for Cold Harbor, which was reached the following afternoon, and in the assault on the morning of the
727
THE FIRST HEAVY ARTILLERY.
3d four companies had an active part, being temporarily assigned to another brigade. From the 4th till the 12th, when the march to the James river began, the regiment held a position on the Shady Grove road, much of the time under fire, the total loss being two killed, 13 wounded and 16 missing.
Crossing the James on the 14th, the First marched the next day toward Petersburg, reaching the Dann house soon after the colored troops had carried the works at that place. At sunset of the 16th the regiment formed part of the force which assaulted the enemy's works, but was repulsed with heavy loss-25 killed, 132 wounded and five missing. First Lientenant Lewis P. Caldwell of Ames- bnry and Second Lieutenant Orrin L. Farnham of Andover were mortally wounded, dying the following day. Nine men were wounded during the operations of the 17th. Two assaults were made on the 18th-one at sunrise, driving the enemy from his works near the Hare house, and another at noon, which failed to accomplished its purpose. In these affairs and in skirmishing which ensued during the next two days the regiment lost four killed and 51 wounded. On the 21st the movement to the Jerusalem Plank road was begun, and the following day the First took part in the battle of Weldon Railroad which resulted. The regiment suffered severely, especially in prisoners, the division being flanked by the enemy breaking through Barlow's Division on the left of Birney's. Captain Joseph W. Kimball of Lawrence was killed as were eight enlisted men, 48 were wounded, and 185 captured, including six officers.
A month of comparative quiet followed, during which, on the 6th of July, the regiment was ordered to the rear that the papers for the muster ont of the original members, or such of them as had not re-enlisted, might be prepared, and the men departed for Massa- chusetts on the 8th. The remainder, still maintaining the regimen- tal organization, returned to the brigade on the 12th, and after a short tour of duty at the front went into camp near the Deserted House, where Colonel Tannatt resigned his commission and was mustered out July 18.
During the remainder of the summer the regiment moved from point to point in the works about Petersburg, crossing the James river to the vicinity of Deep Bottom on the 27th of July and again on the 14th of August, suffering a total loss of some ten killed and
728
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
wounded. During most of the month of September it was in Fort Alexander Hays as garrison, but on the 1st of October with its division moved to the left and took part in the battle of Yellow Tavern on the 2d, losing two killed and 19 wounded, eight of whom were captured, as the First not being supported, had to re- tire from a position which they had gained near the hostile works. After assisting to build four forts covering the ground gained, the regiment returned to its former location in front of Petersburg, where it remained till the 27th, when it again went to the left and that afternoon took part in the battle of Hatcher's Run. During the fight the Union troops were flanked and obliged to fall back, leaving one section of artillery in the hands of the Confederates, but the left wing of the First made a gallant dash and brought off the guns. One man was killed, six were wounded, and over 40 made prisoners, all but 12 of whom escaped and rejoined the regi- ment during the night.
Fort Hays was reoccupied on the 30th, the regiment doing duty there till the 28th of November, when it was relieved and went into camp near the Vaughan road at the left of the Union lines. On the 7th of December, with the division, it joined the Fifth Corps on its raid southward to destroy the Weldon Railroad, returning on the 13th after an expedition in which the men suffered much from the inelement weather, the ground being frozen on the return and many having no shoes. The winter camp was then occupied till the 5th of February, 1865, when the regiment joined the expedi- tion to Hatcher's Run and took part in the battle which ensued, being at first in reserve and afterward engaged at the front, but without serious casualties. After bivonacking on the field till the Oth it returned to camp, and there remained till the 25th of March. The final operations against Petersburg then began and that after- noon the First took part in the battle of Duncan's Run, being at first in reserve but later taking the place of the First Brigade of the division which had retired. The loss of the regiment was two killed and seven wounded. Remaining on picket that night, it next day followed the brigade back to camp, and remained till the 29th,
It then moved with its brigade, crossing Hatcher's Run and skir- mishing and fighting till the night of the 2d of April, duing which time it suffered a loss of two or three killed and a dozen wounded. In the pursuit of the retreating Confederate army the corps marched
729
THIE FIRST HEAVY ARTILLERY ..
and skirmished incessantly till the 9th of April, when at Clover Hill the intelligence was received that Lee had surrendered. Rest- ing there for two days, the regiment marched to Burkesville, where it arrived on the 13th, and from there on the 2d of May set out for Manchester, opposite Richmond. The march was continued with- out stop of more than a day till Bailey's Cross Roads were reached inside the fortifications of Washington on the 15th, just a year from the time the organization set forth for its active campaigning in the field. After resting for a month the regiment was again assigned to duty in the forts, occupying at first those near Chain Bridge and later being moved to Forts Strong and C. F. Smith.
On the 19th of July it was ordered reduced to a battalion of four companies and consolidated with the Third Massachusetts Heavy Artillery Regiment, but the change went no further than the re- duction to a battalion, and on the 17th of August the command was ordered to Massachusetts for muster out. Arriving at Boston on the 20th, the battalion encamped till the 25th on Gallop's Island, when it was discharged, after nearly four years and two months' service. Of its members captured in action, 178 had died in Con- federate prison pens.
THE SECOND HEAVY ARTILLERY.
T HE Second Regiment of Heavy Artillery was authorized in the summer of 1863. In May of that year, after the forts defending Newbern, N. C., had been constructed, the neces- sity for such an organization, which could serve both as a garrison and for field duty, became apparent, and General Foster, in com- mand of the Department of North Carolina, suggested to the War Department the advisability of enlisting such a regiment from the nine-months' organizations in his department whose terms of service were about to expire. This plan was approved, and Gov- ernor Andrew was authorized to create such a regiment, as a veteran organization. All of the officers originally commissioned were taken from Massachusetts regiments in the field.
Company A was mustered on the 28th of July, B on the 29th, C on the 4th of August and D on the 22d. These four companies, forming the First Battalion, left the state on the 5th of September, sailing from Boston on the steamer Guide for Newbern. Com- pany E was mustered on the 5th of October and F on the Sth. and these two companies were sent forward on the 7th of Novem- ber, going by rail to New York and thence taking steamer to Newbern. None of the other companies were filled till the closing month of the year, when the entire six were prepared for the mustering officer in rapid succession; Companies G and II on the 7th of December, I on the 11th, K and L on the 22d and M on the 24th. On the 8th of January, 1864, these six companies left Boston for Fortress Monroe, where they reported to General Butler commanding the depatment, the regimental head-quarters being established at Norfolk, Va. The roster :-
Colonel, Jones Frankle of Haverhill ; lieutenant colonel, Augustus B. R. Sprague of Worcester; majors, Samuel C. Oliver of Salem,
731
THIE SECOND HEAVY ARTILLERY.
William A. Amory of West Roxbury and Henry T. Lawson of New- ton; surgeon, Hall Curtis of Boston; assistant surgeons, Dixi C. Hoyt of Milford and James Henry Denny of Boston; adjutant, Wallace Hinckley of Lowell; quartermaster, Joseph R. Thomas of Amesbury; sergeant major, George S. Keyes; quartermaster sergeant, Frederick A. Chapin, both of Boston; commissary sergeant, Horace Brown of Amesbury; hospital steward, James R. Carpenter of Boston; principal musician, William H. Abbott of Lawrence.
Company A-Captain, Thomas D. Kimball of Oxford; first lieuten- ants, Alfred II. Pulsifer of Lowell and John H. Foley of Stoneham; second lientenants, Charles A. Cunningham and Luke E. Jenkins. both of Boston.
Company B-Captain, Nehemiah P. Fuller of Danvers; first lieu- tenant, William F. Louger of Lowell; second lieutenant, Edward L. Robbins of Plymouth.
Company C-Captain, Charles B. Newton of Bolton; first lienten- ants, Samuel R. Bingham of Westfield and James L. Wilbur of New Bedford; second lientenants, John Lawson of Lowell and Edward S. Colton of Boston.
Company D-Captain, Russell H. Conwell of Worthington; first lientenants, Robert B. King of Boston and John S. Allanson of Cam- bridge; second lieutenants. Edward F. Everett of Charlestown and Clarence Whitney of Framingham.
Company E-Captain, Benjamin H. Tieknor of West Roxbury; first lientenant, .Alfred II. Kinsley of Springfield ; second lieutenants, Edwin Legg of Milford and Myron S. Sanford of Worcester.
Company F-Captain. James C. White of Milton; first lientenants, Edward P. White of Milton and Fordyce A. Dyer of Plainfield; second lieutenants, Rowland L. Hillman of New Bedford and George G. Bailey, Jr., of Boston.
Company G-Captain. Ira B. Sampson of Springfield; first lienten- ants, Henry P. Hoppin of Cambridge and Stephen E. Green of Wor- cester; second lientenants, William Hamilton of Amesbury and Robert B. Sinclair of Worcester.
Company H-Captain, Joseph E. Fiske of Needham; first lienten- ant, Obed M. Fish of Boston; second lieutenants. Henry W. Reed of Worcester and Horace Lee Clark of Springfield.
Company I-Captain, John D. Parker, Jr., of Boston; first lienten- ants, Edward W. Denny of Somerville and Benjamin A. Shaw of Fall River; second lieutenants, George M. Rice, Jr., of Worcester and Charles D. Lamb of Boston.
Company K-Captain, Frederick A. Lull of Cambridge; first lieu- tenants, Otis B. Smith of Boston and Arthur A. Putnam of Danvers; second lieutenants, Benjamin F. Blatchford of Rockport and Frederick Grant of Salem.
Company L-Captain, Joseph W. Paine of Roxbury; first lienten- ants, Joseph F. Field of Westfield and Joseph W. B. Wright of Bos- ton; second lientenants, Peter H. Haskell of New York and William T. Jones of Boston.
Company M-Captain, Jere A. Greeley of Salisbury; first lienten-
732
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
ants, Stephen L. Hubbard of Charlestown and Albert E. Smith of Boston; second lieutenants, Henry A. Merritt of Chelsea and James A. Emory of Salisbury.
In addition to the above list of officers, the following second lieu- tenants were commissioned at various dates from the 25th of August, 1863, to January 2, 1864: Charles M. Night and George S. Keyes of Boston, William II. Snow of Lowell, and Bailey Sargent of Ames- bury. Many of these officers were on detached service; Colonel Frankle was first assigned to the command of the defenses of New- bern and then as military governor at Plymouth ; Major Lawson was made provost marshal of Newbern, in which position he lost his life by yellow fever; 11 of the line officers were ordered on duty with bat- teries of the regular army, while others were detailed for staff duty.
The six companies which had previously gone forward had been distributed at various points in North Carolina, but the last detach- ment was for a time located with the head-quarters at Norfolk, Va., whence two companies-G and H-were presently sent to form a part of the garrison of Plymouth, N. C. The fate of these com- panies was the tragic chapter in the history of the regiment. At the capture of the place by the Confederates on the 20th of April following, they were made prisoners of war, after a resistance in which they suffered a loss of four killed and a small number wounded. Some 275 went into captivity, and they experienced the utmost horrors of the prison pens. Captain Sampson and possibly one or two others escaped, but so deadly were the ravages of disease, starvation and exposure that when in the spring of 1865 the sur- vivors were exchanged and returned to the regiment, only 35 came back of the more than 270 who had been captured.
In May, 1864, seven companies were gathered at Newbern, Colonel Frankle's head-quarters being transferred to that city, and a month or two later the entire regiment with the exception of two com- panies was quartered there. During August and September large numbers of recruits were added to the command, till it reached a membership of more than 2,000, a considerable portion of these recruits being enlisted for one year. The surplus was after a time transferred to the Seventeenth Massachusetts. During the autumn Newbern was visited by a severe epidemie of yellow fever, by which the Second lost a great number especially during October.
The regiment being at that time the strongest in numbers in the
783
TIIE SECOND HEAVY ARTILLERY.
vicinity, it was called upon for corresponding details for duty in the city ; and while not a case of the fever occurred in the regimental camp, the death rate in the city was frightful. All civilians em- ployed by the government left the city on the outbreak of the epi- demic, and their places were filled by details from the Second. As an instance of the fatality, it may be stated that one detail of 12 men and a corporal to serve at the signal station was reduced to four men by death within three days after going on duty.
The opening of the year 1865 found two companies of the regi- ment stationed in Virginia, four at Plymouth, N. C., and the re- maining six at Newbern. The companies at Plymouth engaged in some reconnaissances and demonstrations, in which some stores were captured and slight skirmishes took place, but only a single man was reported lost. About the 1st of April the two companies from Virginia rejoined the main body at Newbern, and while they with one other company went into garrison in the vicinity, the remain- ing five companies under command of Lieutenant Colonel Sprague had already taken the field and participated honorably in the en- gagements in the vicinity of Kinston on the 8th of March; but as the regiment was not heavily engaged its loss was but three killed and a few wounded. These companies afterward formed for a time the provost guard of Kinston, but carly in June the regiment was assembled at Camp Chattanooga near Newbern. It encamped there till late in July, when it was transferred to the fortifications in the vicinity of Wilmington and during the month of Angust garrisoned the famous Fort Fisher. It was then ordered home to Massachu- setts, being mustered out of the United States service on the 3d of September. It reached Gallop's Island in Boston Harbor on the 15th, and on the 23d it was discharged and the members returned to their homes.
This regiment had only eight men killed in action, but 340 died from other causes, about one-half of whom are known to have perished in Confederate prisons. Four officers of the regiment died during its term of service-First Lientenant Benjamin A. Shaw on the 26th of July, 1864, Major II. T. Lawson on the 1st of October, First Lieutenant Fordyce A. Dyer on the 26th, and Assistant Sur- geon Dixi C. Hoyt on the 1st of November. The vacancy caused by the death of Major Lawson was filled by the promotion of Cap- tain Nehemiah P. Fuller.
-
-
THE THIRD HEAVY ARTILLERY.
T HE Third Regiment of Heavy Artillery was organized as such in the latter part of the year 1864, being composed of 12 companies which had previously been known as the Third and the Sixth to the Sixteenth (inclusive) Unattached Companies of Heavy Artillery. Of these companies eight had been raised dur- ing 1863 and mustered into the United States service for garrison- ing the forts on the Massachusetts coast. This duty they had per- formed faithfully till the spring of 1864 when they were called by the Secretary of War to report to Washington for duty in the city's defenses, that other troops might be relieved to serve with the armies in the field. Governor Andrew insisted that the companies should be given a regimental organization ; and though his request was for a time refused it was finally granted, the remaining four companies were raised and forwarded during the summer and the regimental organization was completed with the following roster of officers :-
Colonel, William S. Abert of Washington, D. C .; lieutenant colonel, John A. P. Allen of New Bedford; majors, George S. Worcester of Boston, Lyman B. Whiton of Hingham, and James M. Richardson of Brookline; surgeon, William Nichols, Jr., of Boston; assistant sur- geon, George E. Pinkham of Farmington, N. H .; adjutant, James II. Osgood of Boston; quartermaster, George Bragdon of Rockport; sergeant major, William F. Wood; quartermaster sergeant, William P. Higgins; commissary sergeant, James C. Worthly, all of Boston; hospital steward, Galen Hollis of Randolph ; principal musician, Samuel H. Lee of North Adams.
Company A (Third Unattached)-Captain, Lyman B. Whiton of Hingham: first lieutenants, James II. Baldwin of Boston and Benjamin A. Ball of Worcester; second lieutenants. Edwin Thomas of Weymouth and Zeno A. Appleton of Rockport. This company with the above officers was mustered January 10, 1863. When the Third Regiment was organized, Captain Whiton was made major, and Lieutenant Bald- win having been transferred to another command, Lieutenant Ball was commissioned captain.
Company B (Sixth Unattached)-Captain, John A. P. Allen; first lieutenants, T. Washburn Cook and William Cook; second lieuten-
735
THE THIRD HEAVY ARTILLERY.
ants, Leander A. Williston and Frederick S. Gifford, all of New Bed- ford. The company was mustered May 19, 1863. Captain Allen being promoted to major and lieutenant colonel successively, the cap- taincy of the company was devolved, May 23, 1864, upon T. W. Cook.
Company C (Seventh Unattached)-Captain, George S. Worcester; first lieutenants, Alfred W. Brigham and Cornelius F. Driscoll; second lieutenants, Constantine Chase and William M. Hale. Hale was of Rowley, all the other officers being Boston men, though the company represented all parts of the state. It was mustered August 14, 1863. Captain Worcester being promoted major, First Lieutenant Brigham was advanced to captain October 13, 1864.
Company D (Eighth Unattached)-Captain, Loring S. Richardson: first lieutenants, Walter P. Beaumont and James H. Osgood all of Boston; second lieutenants, Charles T. Robbins of Chelsea and Charles H. Mayo of Roxbury. Mustered on the 14th of August, 1863.
Company E (Ninth Unattached)-Captain, Leonard Gordon of Bos- ton; first lieutenants, Simeon P. Currier of Somerville and Manrice Roche of Lowell: second lieutenants, David D. Dana and Samuel J. Bradlee, both of Boston. The company was mustered August 27, 1863.
Company F (Tenth Unattached)-Captain, Cephas C. Bumpns of Braintree; first lieutenants, Joseph Austin and Silas Sanborn, Jr., both of Boston; second lieutenants, Everett C. Bumpus of Braintree and Elijah W. Barstow of Mattapoisett. Mustered September 16, 1863.
Company G (Eleventh Unattached)-Captain, Thomas Herbert of Lynn; first lieutenants, George Bragdon of Rockport and Henry B. Jones of Boston; second lieutenants, John H. Shaw of Boston and Simeon A. Burnham of Gloucester. Mustered October 20, 1863.
Company II (Twelfth Unattached)-Captain. James M. Richardson of Brookline; first lieutenants, Joseph M. Parsons of Salem and George W. Pierce of Taunton; second lieutenants, Louis R. Whitaker of Taunton and Edward G. Cartwright of Nantucket. The company was mustered November 20, 1863, and at the formation of the regi- ment Captain Richardson was made junior major, Lieutenant Pierce being promoted captain.
Company I (Thirteenth Unattached)-Captain, John Pickering of Salem; first lientenants, Oliver J. Bixby and John F. E. Chamberlain. both of Springfield; second lieutenants. William F. Merrill of Andover and William II. Dolliver of Gloucester.
Company K (Fourteenth Unattached)-First lientenants, John HI. Wilson of Boston and Francis A. Nash of Abington; second lieuten- ants, Asa T. Potter of Ipswich and William II. Remington of Bos- ton. This company was mustered May 12, 1864, at Gallop's Island, whence it sailed by transport for Washington June 23.
Company L (Fifteenth Unattached)-Captain, Joseph M. Parsons of Salem; first lientenants. Edward J. Russell of North Brookfield and James C. Rogers of Boston; second lieutenants, Alexander Trott of Boston and Edward HI. Mellus of Braintree. This company was mustered May 30, 1864, and sailed for Washington with Company K.
Company M (Sixteenth Unattached)-Captain, Cornelius F. Dris- coll of Boston; first lieutenant, Charles T. Robbins of Chelsea; second
786
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
lieutenants, Charles II. Holmes of Topsfield and George Lemoyne of Boston. This company, which completed the quota of the regiment, was mustered by detachments at various dates during the last half of August, 1864, and sailed for Washington on the 22d of September.
With the exception to be noted, the organization of the companies into a regiment brought no change in the nature of the duties which were being performed. The regiment occupied various forts in the chain surrounding Washington, and executed well the duties which came to it. A portion of the men were mustered out June 17, 1865, the remainder serving till September 18 of the same year, when they also were returned to Massachusetts.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.