USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 2 > Part 23
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Company I did not join the regiment and had an entirely differ- ent experience. It was recruited at Springfield, being mustered on the 10th of February, 1864, and as it was largely composed of mechanies who had been employed in the National Armory there, it was sent to Fortress Monroe, sailing on the 7th of March, and arriving there was at once reported to Captain F. U. Farquhar, chief engineer of the Department, by whom it was placed in charge of the ponton trains of the Army of the James. The men and officers applied with so much devotion to their new duties that in the operations which followed they won the most unqualified praise for their skill as pontoniers and their gentlemanly and soldierly condnet. Among their more notable work was the building and maintenance of the ponton bridges across the Appomattox connect- ing the Armies of the James and of the Potomac; the bridges across the James river used in the frequent crossing of the Federal armies during the siege of Petersburg; the ponton bridge at Farm- ville by which the Second and Sixth Corps crossed in the pursuit of Lee's retreating army, and that at Richmond across the James, by which all the Union armies crossed on their way to Washington after the close of the war. It also ran captured saw-mills, supply- ing lumber for hospitals and other purposes, built wharves and roads, and performed the many other duties devolving upon engineers, all in the most satisfactory manner. This company remained in ser- vice till September 26, 1865, when it was mustered ont.
The regiment had none killed in action, but lost during its service 41 dying from disease, accident, etc. Among the number were First Lieutenants Maurice Roche, who died April 2, 1864, and John A. Collamore of Boston, September 17, 1865.
THE FOURTH HEAVY ARTILLERY.
T HE Fourth Regiment of Heavy Artillery was composed of the Unattached Companies numbered from the Seventeenth to the Twenty-eighth inclusive. These companies were sent forward to Washington as such in September, 1864, six companies sailing from Boston on the 11th, two going by rail on the 13th, and the remaining four sailing on the 16th. The companies were at. once assigned positions in the defenses of Washington, and on the 12th of November, were organized as a regiment. The officers :-
Colonel, William S. King of Roxbury; lieutenant colonel, Samuel C. Hart of New Bedford; majors, Francis E. Boyd of Boston, William N. Meserve of Roxbury and Joseph W. Gelray of Lowell; surgeon, John Stearns of Boston; assistant surgeon, John F. Saville of Quincy; chaplain, Isaac H. Coc of New Bedford (commissioned April 3, 1865); sergeant major, Joseph II. Whitney of Ashburnham; quartermaster sergeant, Warren W. Willis of Winthrop; commissary sergeant, Edwin B. George of Groveland; hospital steward, J. Spaulding Chick of Fall River; principal musician, William Dicky of South Danvers.
Company A-Captain, Richard Phillips; first lieutenants, Benjamin L. Mitchell and Benjamin F. Martin, all of Marblehead; second lieu- tenants, Stuart F. McClearn of Marblehead and James W. Nichols of Salem.
Company B-Captain, Henry C. Conner of Lynn; first lieutenants. Frank Goodwin of Lynn and Edward S. Colton of Boston; second lieutenants, W. Quincy Baxter of Quincy and William R. Wilbur of Boston.
Company C-Captain, James H. Wade of Boston: first lieutenants, George T. Martin of Malden and George W. Merritt of Scituate; second lieutenants, Julius T. Newell of Franklin and Ambrose M. Page of Wayland.
Company D-Captain, J. Orlando Bemis of Worcester; first lieu- tenants, Charles N. Hair of Worcester and Charles E. Pierce of Quincy; second lieutenants, George II. Conklin and Augustus Stone, both of Worcester.
Company E-Captain, Charles P. Winslow; first lieutenant, John Jones, both of Westboro ; second lieutenants, William HI. Fay of Westboro and Jeremiah B. P. Ladd of Groveland.
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
Company F-Captain, George T. Faverweather of Westboro; first lieutenants, Samuel W. Mann of Westboro and Sereno D. Gammell of Charlestown: second lieutenants, Charles P. Heywood of Worces. ter and James H. Lee of Charlestown.
Company G-Captain, Andrew J. Garey of Weymouth; first lieu- tenants, Elihu R. Rockwood of Greenfield and Charles A. Morrill of Weymouth; second lientenants, John W. Bates of Weymouth and Elisha J. Gibbs of New Bedford.
Company H-Captain, Eben T. Hayward of Fitchburg; first lieu- tenants, J. Henry Richardson of Fitchburg and Jonas Shackley of Quincy; second lientenant, Samuel A. Taylor of Ashburnham.
Company I -Captain, Abraham A. Oliver of Boston; first lieuten- ants, James II. Atherton of Sandwich and Andrew T. Nute of Rox- bury; second lieutenants, Lyman P. Trask of Roxbury and Edelbert P. Adams of Boston.
Company K-Captain, Albert E. Proctor: first lieutenants, George (i. Nichols and Thomas A. Cranston, all of Boston; second lieutenants, Lyman F. W. Cushing of Medford and William J. Wheeler of Boston.
Company L-Captain, James MeDavitt; first lieutenant, Philip Smith, both of Lynn; second lieutenants, Charles E. Chase of Lynn and Charles L. Ayers of Newburyport.
Company M-Captain, Benjamin T. Noyes of West Newbury; first lieutenants, Elijah P. Rogers of Newbury and Andrew A. Chipman of Salem; second lieutenant, Silas N. Richards of New Bedford.
The companies composing the Fourth had been recruited for one year's service, as had also the Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Unat- tached Companies which performed similar duty, the latter leaving Massachusetts from the camp at Gallop's Island September 26 and the former October 29. These companies were officered as follows:
Twenty-ninth Company-Captain, George W. Kenney of Danvers; first lieutenants, George F. Gould of Boston and Andrew J. Bacon of Chelsea; second lieutenants, Wallace R. Ransom and Edwin P. Jew- ett, both of Boston.
Thirtieth Company-Captain, Samuel R. Bingham of Boston; first lieutenants, Morrill Prescott of Springfield and William W. Jordan of Boston; second lieutenant, Samuel F. Siskron of Springfield.
The duty required of these organizations was faithfully performed, and the regiment and companies won much credit for their soldierly qualities, though their duties did not call them into the test of bat- tle. The Fourth Regiment lost 21 members from disease, including First Lieutenant George T. Martin, who died March 13, 1865, and the Twenty-ninth Company two. The war being ended and no necessity for their further services existing, the companies were mustered out June 16, 1865, and the Fourth Regiment the following day.
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FIRST BATTALION HEAVY ARTILLERY.
T HE First Battalion of Heavy Artillery was organized as such about the last of April, 1863, being composed at that time of the First, Second and Fourth Unattached Companies of Heavy Artillery. Captain Stephen Cabot of the First Company was promoted to major on the formation of the battalion, and con- tinued in the command till his muster out in the spring of 1865. The Fifth Company, mustered June 6, 1863, was added to the bat- talion. These four companies were enlisted for three years, but about the middle of August, 1864, two additional companies were added, raised for one year, and thenceforth the organization com- prised the six companies. The facts in regard to cach are briefly as follows :-
Company A (First Unattached Company) was raised carly in 1862, its officers being commissioned on the 26th of February. Stephen Cabot of Boston was captain, Caleb E. Niebuhr of Boston and Elias W. Hayes of Gloucester first lieutenants, Francis E. Boyd of Boston and C. Frederic Livermore of Cambridge second lieu- tenants. This company was formed under permission from Wash- ington to raise an experimental volunteer force for the garrisoning of the forts in Boston Harbor. It went on duty at Fort Warren and under the care of Captain Cabot proved so satisfactory that per- mission was granted to raise a battalion for like duty. Eventually many companies were thus raised, most of which were formed into regiments of heavy artillery and sent to the front, but this company remained to protect its home harbors. It was stationed at Fort Warren continuously-with the exception of small details sent to various points from time to time as guards to prisoners, conscripts, and the like-till December 24, 1864, when it was ordered to Cham- plain, N. Y., trouble being feared on the Canadian border. It re- turned to Fort Warren on the 13th of May, 1865, remaining there
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
till it was mustered out on the 20th of October following. Two of its members died and 12 deserted during the term of service.
Company B (Second Unattached Company) was formed during October and November, 1862, its officers being commissioned No- vember 3, as follows: Captain, Caleb E. Niebuhr of Boston; first lieutenants, Charles F. Livermore of Cambridge and James A. Blanchard of Boston; second lieutenants, Royal W. Thayer and Otis S. Wilbur, both of Randolph. This company also served at Fort Warren during the earlier part of its history. At the time of the draft riots in July, 1863, it was sent to the city to preserve the peace, remaining there from the 14th to the 23d of July, when it returned to the Harbor. It furnished its proportion of small de- tails to various parts of the country, and in August, 1864, went to New Bedford, where it garrisoned the fort on Clark's Point till its muster out June 29, 1865. This company lost three by death and 77 from desertion while in the service.
Company C (Fourth Unattached Company ) was mustered April 22, 1863, being assigned to duty at Fort Warren, where it constantly remained. Its original officers were: Captain, C. Frederic Liver- more of Cambridge; first lieutenants, Frederick G. Niebuhr of Bos- ton and William Ray; second lieutenant, Charles T. Parker of Bos- ton. On the 13th of July, 1863, one officer and 25 men from this company were sent to Concord, N. II., for duty in connection with the draft, and remained there till late in September ; the remainder of the company was on the 14th of July ordered to Boston on ac- count of the threatened riot, but returned to the fort on the 17th. The company was mustered ont on the 20th of October, 1865, hav- ing lost 61 by desertion and three by death.
Company D (Fifth Unattached Company) was mastered June 6, 1863, with these officers: Captain, Thomas I. Little; first lienten- ants, John Parr and William H. White; second lieutenant, Calvin B. Prescott, all of Boston. One officer and 42 men were sent to Concord, N. II., on the 13th of July, and the day following most of the remainder of the company was taken to Boston on account of the riot, but returned to the fort after three days. In the early part of August the company made a trip to Newbern, N. C., with conseripts, and on the 25th of September joined the detachment on duty at Concord. Returning from there on the 19th of Decem- ber, the company garrisoned Fort Independence, Boston Harbor,
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FIRST BATTALION HEAVY ARTILLERY.
where it remained till its muster out, September 12, 1865. This company also lost three from death and 32 from desertion.
Company E, Captain James A. Blanchard of Boston, and Com- pany F, Captain George A. Perry of Millbury, were the one-year attachments to the battalion. They were mustered on the 15th of August, 1864, and served till the 28th of June, 1865, continuously at Fort Warren, when both were mustered out. Company E lost two men by death ; neither company suffered from desertion.
Major Cabot retained the command of the battalion till the 27th of February, 1865, when he was mustered out at the expiration of his term of enlistment and Captain Livermore succeeded to the majority, which he retained till the battalion was dissolved by the return of its members to civil life.
THE FIRST CAVALRY.
T HE First Regiment of Cavalry was organized during the early autumn of 1861, gathering at Camp Brigham. Read- ville, the first detachments arriving on the 9th of Septen- ber and others following till the ranks of the companies were filled. The men were mustered at various times from the 12th to the 25th of September, squads being added later to bring the membership to the maximum. The officers' commissions, also, were issued at various dates from the time the regiment began to gather at Read- ville until it left the state about the close of the year, some of the junior officers not having been commissioned even then. The ros- ter, so far as completed, was as follows :-
Colonel, Robert Williams of Virginia; lieutenant colonel, Horace Binney Sargent of West Roxbury; majors, William F. White of Somer- ville, John HI. Edson and Greely S. Curtis of Boston ; surgeon, James Holland of Westfield; assistant surgeon, Oscar C. De Wolf of Ches- ter; chaplain, William C. Patterson of Dedham; regimental quarter- master, Lucius W. Knight of Boston; battalion quartermasters, Edward A. Brackett of Winchester and Milton R. Bowen of Dorchester; quartermaster sergeant, Horace M. Butler of Springfield; sergeant major, Albert F. Ray of Haverhill; commissary sergeant, John L. Brigham of Chelsea; hospital steward, Henry B. Bates of Chicopee; chief bugler, Timothy J. Powell of Blandford.
Company A-Captain, Henry Lee Higginson ; first lieutenant, Edward R. Merrill; second lientenant. Horace N. Weld. all of Boston.
Company B-Captain, Samuel E. Chamberlain of Cambridge; first lieutenant, Moses F. Webster of Boston.
Company C-Captain, Oren R. Shaw of Boston; first lieutenant, Walter Miles of Charlestown.
Company D-Captain, Atherton H. Stevens, Jr., of Cambridge; first lieutenant, Channing Clapp; second lieutenant, George F. Jeu- nings, both of Boston.
Company E-Captain, Caspar Crowninshield of Boston; first lieu- tenant, Myron C. Pratt of Holyoke; second lieutenant, William HI. Forbes of Milton.
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THE FIRST CAVALRY.
Company F-Captain, T. Lawrence Motley of West Roxbury; first lieutenant, Benjamin W. Crowninshield ; second lieutenant, Arnold A. Rand, both of Boston.
Company G-Captain, David B. Keith of Boston; first lieutenant, Charles E. Rice of Brighton; second lieutenant, Nathaniel Bowditch of Boston.
Company H-Captain, Lucius M. Sargent, Jr., of West Roxbury; first lieutenant, Charles F. Adams, Jr., of Quincy; second lieutenant, Henry T. Davies of Boston.
Company I-Captain, Lucius Richmond; first lieutenant, Freeman H. Shiverick, both of North Bridgewater; second lieutenant, Louis Cabot of Brookline.
Company K-Captain, James H. Case of Bridgewater; first lieuten- ant, Rufus D. Hills; second lieutenant, Lucius H. Morrill, both of New Bedford.
Company L-Captain, William Gibbs of Waltham; first lieutenant, Greenleaf W. Batchelder; second lieutenant, II. Pelham Curtis, both of Boston.
Company M -Captain, Marcus A. Moore of Waltham; first lieuten- ant, Randolph M. Clark of Dedham; second lieutenant, George Blag- den of Boston.
The regiment left camp by battalions on the 25th, 27th and 29th of December, the First Battalion under Major Curtis proceeding to Annapolis, Md., where it went into camp for something more than a month. The Second and Third Battalions were halted at New York and made part of the expeditionary corps of General W. T. Sherman, sailing from New York for Hilton Head, off the Sonth Carolina coast, January 13, 1862. This regiment was for a long time the only cavalry force in the Department of the South, and it is scarcely remarkable that the 12 companies were never reunited after leaving Massachusetts. The First Battalion was brought down from Annapolis during February and joined the main body at Hilton Head; but before its arrival the Third Battalion, at first commanded by Captain Keith but afterward by Lieutenant Colonel Sargent, had been ordered to Beaufort. While three of the com- panies encamped in Camp Williams-named in honor of the colonel -Captain Keith with his company was transferred to Edisto Island, where Brigadier General Horatio G. Wright was in command.
The regiment was called to no active service till the James Island demonstration against Charleston in May, when, two companies being left at Hilton Head and two at Beanfort, the remaining eight under command of Major Curtis-Colonel Williams commanding the Third Brigade in the movement-crossed to Edisto Island and
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
accompanied the expedition, performing the duties which naturally fell to cavalry, but not being seriously engaged. The companies left at Beaufort also joined an expedition against Pocotaligo, May 30, but on its failure returned to Beaufort without having been in action. The latter companies had moved under command of Major Higginson, who had been promoted from captain on the resignation of Major Edson early in the year. James Island was evacuated late in June, when the regiment resumed its encampment at Hilton Head, and no further event of importance occurred till Colonel Williams with two battalions was ordered on the 19th of August to Fortress Monroe and thence via Acquia Creek to Alexandria.
Before following the fortune of the main body, it may be well to explain that the battalion left behind was never reunited to the regiment. It was under command of Major Stevens, promoted from captain to succeed Major White, who resigned July 17, and consisted of Companies I, K, L and M. Detachments from the command ac- companied the expeditions made to Jacksonville, Fla., and against Pocotaligo; but except when thus absent three of the companies were posted at Beaufort and the other at Hilton Head. The former picketed some 12 miles of Broad river in addition to other duties, till April, 1863, without notable event, when one company was de- tached, a part of it being sent to Folly Island and the remainder going to Hilton Head. This disposition continued during the siege of Fort Sumter, but in January the detachment returned to Hilton Head and the battalion remained during the winter in the perform- ance of routine duty. It had prior to this, however, on the 4th of August, 1868, been formally detached from the First, serving as an independent battalion till the following spring, when with eight new companies it became the Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry.
Portions of the eight companies ordered north were sent forward so that they debarked at Alexandria on the 2d of September, 1862, three days after the second battle of Bull Run, and when the Con- federate army. was moving toward Maryland. There was some de- lay at Hilton Head in allowing the remaining detachments to come forward, so that it was over two months before they reached the Army of the Potomac. With such force as he had, however, Colonel Williams was ordered to active service north of Washington, and going to Tennallytown joined the Cavalry Brigade of General Pleasonton, operating with it during the advance to South Mountain
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THE FIRST CAVALRY.
and in that battle, though not engaged in severe conflict there or at Antietam, three days later. The most important affair in the cam- paign, so far as the regiment was concerned, was at Poolesville, Md., September 5, when in a conflict with the enemy Captain Cham- berlain and two men were wounded, and the former with Second Lieutenant William Coupe of Pawtucket and 33 enlisted men fell into the hands of the Confederates.
The regiment was transferred on the 1st of October to the Cavalry Brigade of General Averell, attached to the Fifth Corps, but the horses of several of the companies having become useless from overwork and want of food and care, the larger part of the regi- ment went into camp near Hagerstown to recruit. The active de- tachment under Lieutenant Colonel Sargent continued with the Fifth Corps during the advance into Virginia, and in the action at Snicker's Gap on the 3d of November had Captain Myron C. Pratt of Company G killed and three men wounded. In addition to the losses specified, the regiment had been depleted by the capture of seven men in skirmishes or on picket, and the battalion in South Carolina had had six or seven wounded and one or two captured. About the close of October Colonel Williams was at his own re- quest recalled to service in the regular army, and the vacancy was filled by the promotion of Lieutenant Colonel Horace Binney Sar- gent, while Major Curtis filled the lieutenant colonelcy and Captain Cliamberlain became junior major.
The encampment at Hagerstown was continued till the 16th of November, during which time the last installment of the eight com- panies from the south arrived as well as 238 recruits for the regi- ment from Massachusetts. The command then marched to Wash- ington to be mounted and equipped, and on the 22d set forth for the Army of the Potomac, and at Potomac Creek on the 25th joined the detachment under Colonel Sargent which had continned in the field. The regiment was now in condition for active campaigning, and advanced with the army to Fredericksburg, but had no active part in the battle there, one company being on General Hooker's escort while the other seven were in reserve on the Falmouth side of the river. A few days after the battle the regiment returned to Potomac Creek, where its winter quarters were established, and no expedition of importance was undertaken till the 5th of February, when it marched up the river to Rappahannock Station, destroyed
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
the railroad bridge across the river at that point and next day re- turned to camp. About the middle of March a cavalry demonstra- tion was made to the right of the Union army, and on the 17th an action occurred at Kelly's Ford in which the regiment had part, but its loss was in those officers who were on staff duty; Major Cham- berlain on the staff of General Averell being severely and First Lieutenant Nathaniel Bowditch on General Duffie's staff mortally wounded. The latter died three days after.
During the Chancellorsville campaign the First formed part of the column under General Stoneman intended to operate in a raid to the Confederate rear, but which only partially carried out its part of the program. There was an engagement on the 1st of May at Rapidan Station, in which First Lientenant Alton E. Phillips of Chicopee was mortally wounded. After reaching the Rapidan the column returned by way of Chancellorsville and Falmouth to the camp at Potomac Creek, which it reoccupied on the 7th, and re- mained there till the 25th. The First were then called upon for a movement by way of Morristown to Bealton, where they arrived the following day, and remained on duty in that vicinity till the 5th of June, during which time one officer was wounded on the picket line and one man was killed while on a scout. Each day was marked thereafter by some demonstration by the cavalry, then keenly watch- ing for any intended movements of the Confederate army, and eross- ing the river early in the morning of the 9th, the regiment took part in the cavalry fight which ensued, having three killed and nine wounded but capturing 23 prisoners. Returning that night the command reached Bealton again next day, and remained there till the 15th on outpost duty, when it took position as rear guard to the Army of the Potomac, then moving rapidly northward on the cam- paign which was to culminate at Gettysburg.
The regiment had the honor of opening the battle at Aldie Court House on the 17th, leading General Kilpatrick's column, charging through the town early in the afternoon and beyond its limits en- countering the enemy in strong force. Much longer than it should have done the regiment bore the entire brunt of the battle, but it charged and drove the foc, capturing several prisoners and a battle flag and holding the ground till reinforcements arrived. Its loss, however, was heavy, being 24 killed, 41 wounded and 89 missing. It moved on the 19th to Middleburg and on the 21st to Upperville,
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THIE FIRST CAVALRY.
skirmishing by the way on each occasion. Next day the regiment returned to Aldie, and four days later began the movement which without interruption continued during the following days by way of Leesburg, Edwards Ferry, Frederick City, Newmarket, Ridgeville, Westminster, and Manchester to Hampstead, where it arrived late in the evening of the 30th. The following evening the regiment was detached to accompany the Sixth Corps in its famous march to Gettysburg, and after a night and a day in the saddle reached the battle-field about evening of the 2d of July.
It was engaged next day in the cavalry operations at the right, but at night was detached for provost gnard, and on the 4th marched with 2,500 Confederate prisoners for Westminster. Thence, tem- porarily commanded by Captain Crowninshield, it marched by way of Frederick City and Boonsboro to Jones' Cross Roads, were from the 11th to the 13th it was engaged dismounted on the skirmish line. On the 14th, finding that the Confederates had recrossed the river into Virginia, the regiment marched to Harper's Ferry, cross- ing the river and advancing to Shepardstown on the 15th, it skir- mished during the following day with the enemy and at night fell back to the Ferry, marching thence by way of Hillsboro to Snick- er's Gap where it was on picket from the 23d to the 26th.
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