USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 2 > Part 27
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Colonel Rand resigned on the 3d of February, as Major Cabot had done on the 17th of January, and to fill the vacancies thus created Lieutenant Colonel Washburn was promoted to colonel, Horatio Jenkins, Jr., of Chelsea was made lieutenant colonel, Henry B. Seott of Framingham and Captain Baker were commissioned majors. At the opening of the spring campaign two companies each were at the head-quarters of the Twenty-fourth and Twenty- fifth Corps, and three companies, I, L and M, with Colonel Wash- burn were at the head-quarters of General Ord, commanding the Army of the James. Companies E and HI with the Twenty-fifth Corps were the first troops to enter Richmond after its evacuation on the morning of April 3, and their guidons were hoisted over what had so lately been the capitol of the southern confederacy.
But it remained for Colonel Washburn and his three companies to achieve the crowning glory of the regiment at High Bridge on the 6th. This force, numbering 13 officers and 67 men, was. sent from the army head-quarters at Burkesville early on the morning of that day, supported by two small infantry regiments, to hold High Bridge, 18 miles distant, over which it was feared the Confederate army would cross the Appomattox. The expedition was commanded by Brevet Brigadier General Theodore Read of General Ord's staff. Leaving the infantry at the bridge, which was reached about noon, the cavalry pushed on some two miles further, till they met a superior force of Confederate cavalry with artillery. Falling back to the bridge, Colonel Washburn found the infantry there already attacked by the cavalry advance of Lee's army under Generals Rosser and Fitz Hugh Lee, and with a bravery worthy of all renown the gallant band delivered battle against the overwhelming odds. Twice did the cavalry cut its way through the surrounding hosts, but the infantry could not escape, and a third time did Colonel Washburn hurl his handful against the enveloping lines. During the struggle which ensued that noble officer was mortally wounded; General Read had been killed, and eight of the 12 officers of the Fourth engaged were
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
killed or wounded. But the importance of the delay which the heroic sacrifice had secured can scarcely be overestimated ; it had enabled General Sheridan and the Sixth Corps to fall on the Confederate rear guard and practically destroy it at Sailor's Creek, and General Ord to bring his battalions within striking distance of the escaping army.
The little band of the Fourth Cavalry had been almost annihilated. Captains William T. Hodges and John D. B. Goddard and First Lieutenant George F. Davis were killed outright, and their followers were with few exceptions killed, wounded or captured ; but the sur- vivors knew that their daring had much to do with the final sur- render of Lee's entire army less than three days later. Lieutenant Colonel Jenkins was promoted to the coloneley vacated by the death of Colonel Washburn on the 22d, and the various detachments of the regiment were gathered at Richmond after the close of hostili- ties, where they remained on duty during the summer and autumn, being mustered out of the national service on the 14th of Novem- + ber. Returning to Gallop's Island, Boston Harbor, the regiment encamped there till the 26th, when it was paid off and discharged. In addition to the loss of officers above noted, Lieutenant Perley died November 15, 1864.
THE FIFTH CAVALRY.
T HE Fifth Cavalry Regiment, composed of colored men, was organized during the autumn of 1863 and the following win- ter; but the first company, A, was not ready for muster until the 9th of January, 1864; three other companies were mustered on the 29th, E on the 10th of February, Fon the 23d; three companies were filled during March, and two in April, but it was not till the 5th of May that Company M was ready for the mustering officer. On that day the First Battalion of four companies under Major Weld left camp en route to Washington; the Second Battalion fol- lowed next day under command of Major Adams, and the Third Battalion, Major Bowditch, on the 8th. The organization at this time numbered 930 officers and men, the commissions issued being as follows :-
Colonel, Henry S. Russell of Boston; majors, Horace N. Weld of Belmont, Zabdiel B. Adams of California and Henry P. Bowditch of Boston; surgeon, George S. Osborne of Danvers; assistant surgeons, Samuel Ingalls of Melrose and Frederick II. Parker of East Corinth, Me .; adjutant, James S. Newell; quartermaster, Winsor Hatch, 2d; sergeant major, Alfred Froman, all of Boston; quartermaster sergeant, John Grayson of Worcester; commissary sergeant, William H. Jacobs of North Brookfield ; hospital steward, George Whitzel ; principal musician, William W. Gardner, both of Boston.
Company A-Captain, Albert R. Howe of Boston; first lieutenant, Andrew Chapman ; second lieutenant, Henry S. Hinckley of North- ampton.
Company B -- Captain, Charles C. Parsons of Cambridge; first lieu- tenant, Charles E. Allan of Louisville, Ky .; second lieutenant, Charles P. Wheeler of Concord.
Company C-Captain, Cyrus E. Emery of Roxbury; first lieuten- ant, John Anderson of San Francisco; second lieutenant, George B. Farnsworth of Roxbury.
Company D-Captain, Horace B. Welch of San Francisco; first lieutenant, Jacob B. Cook; second lieutenant, Robert M. Higginson, both of Boston.
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
Company E-Captain, Charles P. Bowditch of Boston; first lieu- tenant, Edward II. Adams; second lieutenant, George A. Fisher of Cambridge.
Company F-Captain, Francis L. Higginson of Boston; first lieu- tenant, Abner F. Mallory; second lieutenant, Carter W. Whittemore of Boston.
Company G-Captain, Hiram E. W. Clark of New Salem; first lieu- tenant, Edgar M. Blanch of Pennsylvania; second lieutenant, Rienzi Loud. .
Company II-First lieutenant, J. Davenport Fisher of Boston; second lieutenant, George A. Rogers of Roxbury.
Company I-Captain, Peter J. Rooney; first lieutenant, Patrick T. Jackson; second lieutenant, John G. S. White, all of Boston.
Company K - Captain, Erik Wulff of Boston ; first lieutenant, George D. Odell; second lieutenant, Abram O. Swain of Boston.
Company L-Captain, James L. Wheat of Roxbury; first lieutenant, Francis L. Gilman of New Bedford; second lieutenant, Curt Gurds- dorff of San Francisco.
Company M-Captain, Cornelius Kaler of Bradford; first lieuten- ant, George F. Wilson; second lieutenant, Robert M. Parker, both of San Francisco.
The various battalions as they reached Washington reported at Camp Casey, near Fort Albany, on the Virginia side of the Potomac, some two miles from Long Bridge, Colonel Russell being placed in command of a provisional brigade of colored troops assembling there for instruction and discipline. The Third Battalion had been in camp only two days, however, when the regiment was ordered to report to General Butler at Fortress Monroe, reaching City Point on the 16th of May, where the regiment formed part of the Third Division, Eighteenth Corps. Being armed as infantry, the com- mand was industriously drilled in that branch of tactics, performing guard and picket duty meantime, and taking part in various expedi- tions. These were without serious engagement or loss till the 15th of June, when the division, under command of General E. W. Hincks, moved toward Petersburg and the battle of Baylor's Farm was fought. This was the only conflict in which the Fifth took an active part, and its loss was not severe, being three killed and 19 wounded,-but among the latter were Colonel Russell and Major Adams, leaving the regiment under command of Major Bowditch.
During the latter portion of the 15th the command was in sup- port of a battery, and the following day was held in reserve. It then crossed the Appomattox to Point of Rocks and was temporarily assigned to the Tenth Corps, where the detachment which had been
783
THE FIFTH CAVALRY.
absent under Major Weld rejoined the main body, and on the 19th the regiment returned to the Third Division. Eighteenth Corps, be- coming part of General Wild's Brigade. Most of the remainder of the month was passed in picket duty on the north side of the Appomattox, where Hineks's Division relieved troops of the Tenth Corps, but toward the close of the month the regiment was assigned to duty at Point Lookout, Md., as garrison for the camp of Con- federate prisoners of war at that place. Arriving there on the 1st of July, the regiment remained during the balance of the year, being at the first under command of Major Weld. Major Adams returned to duty on the 16th of August; Lieutenant Colonel Charles F. Adams of Quincy, having been commissioned and mustered, ar- rived at the camp on the 8th of September and took the command, which he turned over to Colonel Russell on the 30th, when that officer reported for duty, and the regiment for the first time had its full complement of field officers present.
Colonel Russell retained the command till the 14th of February, 1865, when he resigned. Lieutenant Colonel Adams and Major Weld were promoted to colonel and lieutenant colonel respectively, and Captain Albert R. Howe was made junior major. With this equipment of officers the regiment took the field for the closing cam- paign of the war, and were on duty in front of Petersburg till the fall of that stronghold, and subsequently encamped in the vicinity till sometime in June, when ordered to Texas. Colonel Adams, being prostrated by sickness, was obliged to resign August 1, having been absent for some time, and the vacancy was filled by the pro- motion of Lieutenant Colonel Samuel E. Chamberlain, late in com- mand of the portion of the First Massachusetts Cavalry remaining in the field till that time. Colonel Chamberlain at once joined his new command, which had been heavily taxed in the construction of fortifications, and like work, and was suffering severely in health. He warmly interested himself in the welfare of his men, and an im- provement in their sanitary condition was soon apparent. The pros- pect of complications with the French troops in Mexico having dis- appeared, the regiment was finally mustered out of the United States service on the 31st of October, 1865, and set out for Massachusetts, making most of the journey by steamer ; on reaching Boston it went into camp at Gallop's Island where it remained till late in Novem- ber, when the men were paid and discharged.
THE FRONTIER CAVALRY.
T HE First Battalion of Frontier Cavalry was recruited during December, 1864, for one year, and consisted of five companies. It was organized to operate on the Canada frontier, across which it was feared predatory incursions might be made by the large number of Confederates and their sympathizers who had gathered in that country. The companies filled rapidly-in fact when the number required had been obtained some 300 recruits remained at the camp in Readville, which after some discussion with the Wash- ington authorities were organized into companies and attached to the Third Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment in the field. The five com- panies of the Battalion were mustered into service December 30, 1864, and January 2, 1865, the officers in commission at that time being as follows :-
Major, Burr Porter of New York City; captains, Charles E. Rice of Brighton, Charles W. C. Rhoades, Frederick H. Rand and Horatio .N. Dallas of Boston; first lieutenants, William F. Rice of Brighton, Charles B. Leathe of Reading and Charles G. Cox of Boston; second lieutenants, William H. Jones of Roxbury, Frank W. Hayden of South Reading, Albert E. Matthews of Milford, Albert H. Tirrell of Bos- ton and Charles E. Bowers of Concord.
The battalion left the state soon after being mustered, joining two battalions which had been raised in New York, the regiment thus formed being known as the Twenty-sixth New York Cavalry. It performed the duty for which it was organized till the close of the war and the establishing of peace put an end to all apprehension of invasion from the north, being mustered out June 30, 1865. Major Porter was on the 14th of March; 1865, transferred to the Third Massachusetts Cavalry, of which he was made colonel.
THE FIRST BATTERY.
T HE First Battery, as it afterward became known, was at the opening of the war a militia organization, called the Boston Light Artillery, or Cook's Battery. As such it had the honor of being the only artillery command sent from Massachusetts for three months' service. The original call did not contemplate a bat- tery from the Commonwealth, but when tidings of the assault on the Sixth Regiment in Baltimore reached Boston, Governor Andrew promptly complied with the request of General Butler, then at Phila- delphia, that Major Cook's Battery be sent forward. It was mid- night of April 19, 1861, when the telegraph brought the request; messengers were at once sent to communicate the tidings to the officers, who in turn hastened to rouse the sleeping men. Before night of the 20th everything was reported in readiness; at 10 o'clock that evening the six brass six-pounder guns, with ten tons of ammunition and 70 horses, had been shipped by way of Worces- ter; the command had a farewell feast at the Cornhill Hotel, marching to the depot sometime after midnight, where they waited till early morning of the 21st, when they departed on the train . carrying the Fifth Regiment. The battery was officered, as follows, under the Massachusetts regulations :-
Major, Asa M. Cook of Somerville; adjutant, Frederick A. Heath; quartermaster, Thomas J. Foss; surgeon, John P. Ordway, all of Bos- ton; assistant surgeon, F. Le Baron Monroe of Medway; first lieuten- ant, Josiah Porter of North Cambridge; second lieutenant, William H. McCartney; third lieutenant, Caleb C. E. Mortimer; fourth lieu- tenant, Robert L. Sawin, all of Boston.
New York was reached at evening of the following day and the command boarded the steamer De Soto, on which it sailed for Fort- ress Monroe, arriving there at noon of the 23d. The battery was at once ordered to Annapolis, where it debarked the following day,
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
being quartered in the Naval School building till the 4th of May. It then marched to Relay House, and went into camp, where it remained during most of its term. It was mustered into the United States service on the 18th by Lieutenant H. S. Putnam of the regular army, and on the 13th of June, with the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, was ordered to Baltimore for duty during the city election. That event having passed, it returned to Relay House, but was almost immediately ordered to Camp Clare in the outskirts of the city, and on the 30th into the city proper, part encamping on Monument Square and the remainder being quartered at the Custom House.
The company returned to Camp Clare on the 10th of July and passed the remainder of its term without incident, being requested at its expiration on the 26th by General Dix to remain through the month, which it was unanimously voted to do. The command was mustered out of service on the 2d of Angust, reaching Boston the next day and being welcomed with a military parade and a speech from Mayor Wightman.
THE THREE-YEARS' TERM.
The First Battery had scarcely returned from its three-months' term when its reorganization for three years was begun. Its new list of officers, corresponding to the requirements of the United States service, were commissioned on the 23d of August, 1861, and four days later the command rendezvoused at Camp Cameron, Cam- bridge. The first muster-in occurred the 28th, and early in Septem- ber the ranks were full, though it was not till the 3d of October that it received orders to proceed to Washington. It at once set forth with 150 men, 125 horses, two rifled and two smooth six-pounders and two 12-pound howitzers, with complete equipment. At Wash- ington, however, the six-pounders were exchanged for ten-pounder Parrott guns. The roster of officers was as follows :-
Captain, Josiah Porter of Cambridge ; first lieutenants, William HI. McCartney and Jacob Henry Sleeper; second lieutenants, Jacob Federhen and Robert L. Sawin; sergeant major, Joseph W. B. Wright; quartermaster sergeant, John B. McCartney, all of Boston.
On reaching Washington the battery was assigned to Camp Dun- can on Capitol Hill, remaining there till after the general review of cavalry and artillery a few weeks later, in which the command won especial commendation. It then joined General Franklin's Division
787
THE FIRST BATTERY.
and crossed into Virginia, locating near Fairfax Seminary. There it remained until the opening of the Peninsular campaign the follow- ing spring, when it advanced into Virginia under General McDowell -of whose First Corps the division formed a part. About the middle of April tho division was ordered to the York river to co-operate with General McClellan, but a landing was not effected till after the evacuation of Yorktown by the Confederates, when the battery was put ashore at West Point and went into position for its first ac- tion, its fire being delivered with admirable precision and coolness.
The battery remained a part of Franklin's Division and shared in its movements until the organization of the Sixth Corps, when it was attached to the First Division of the new command, with whose history it was thenceforth identified. During the Peninsular campaign it took part in the battles of Mechanicsville, Gaines Mills, Charles City Cross Roads and Malvern Hill but fortunately without severe loss ; it had two men killed at the Cross Roads, and at Gaines Mills two or three were wounded, and as many captured. After the battle of Malvern Hill, the company went into camp at Harri- son's Landing, and remained there until the Army of the Potomac was called northward to the assistance of General Pope. As the movements of the battery were identical with those of the Sixth Corps, they need not be specified, further than to say that the com- mand was in action at Crampton's Pass and Burkittsville, but with- out loss. It was not actively engaged at the battle of Antietam, and afterward encamped for some weeks near Downsville, Md. During this time Captain Porter resigned, Lieutenant McCartney was promoted to captain, and Lieutenant Sleeper was commissioned captain of the Tenth Massachusetts Light Battery, the second lieu- tenants being promoted to first, and their places being filled by the commissioning of Milbrey Green of Roxbury and George O. Manning of West Roxbury.
The battery shared in the march toward Fredericksburg during November, crossed the river below that city on the 12th of Decem- ber, went into position in front of the Bernard Mansion near the left of the Union lines, and was heavily engaged during the fighting of the 13th, its smooth bore guns being served with such efficiency as to receive commendation on the field from General Franklin com- manding the left grand division of the army. During this engage- ment the company was attached to the Second Division under Gen-
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
eral Howe, but returned to its own division in time to assist in cover- ing the recrossing of the river on the night of the 15th. Its loss in horses was serious and its equipment was considerably damaged by the fire to which it was exposed, but the loss in men was not heavy, two being wounded,-one losing a leg, the other an arm.
Following the battle, the battery went into camp near White Oak Church, where it remained until the opening of the Chancellorsville campaign, with the exception of a few days' absence on the "Mud March" of January, 1863. On the 3d of May, it again crossed the Rappahannock below Fredericksburg, and took position near the spot occupied at the previous battle. The fighting at this point was almost entirely done by artillery, although at one time during the forenoon an attempt was made by a Confederate brigade to capture McCartney's guns; advancing under cover of the embankments of the highway, the enemy made a sudden charge upon the pieces. The attack was sudden and energetic, but was met with equal energy ; 72 rounds of canister were fired almost point-blank, and the assaulting lines were broken and driven back in disorder with- out the assistance of the infantry supports. During the afternoon the division moved out to Salem Church, the battery taking position near the plank road, where it rendered efficient service during the 4th, recrossing the river at night and returning to the old camp; it had one man killed in the action of the 3d, and a few wounded.
On the 5th of June, the command once more crossed the Rap- pahannock at Franklin's Bridges, resting on the south side of the river for some eight days without serious engagement, and then joining in the movement to Gettysburg, at which time the artillery of the corps had been organized as a brigade, under command of Colonel C. H. Thompson, so remaining during the subsequent opera- tions. At Gettysburg the Sixth Corps artillery was in reserve until the great attack on the Union center, on the third day, when Mc- Cartney's Battery was ordered into action; but by some error it first went to the left, and only returned to the point where it was needed in time to fire a few shots at the retreating Confederates. The battery shared in the subsequent movements of the Army of the Potomac during the summer and autumn, but its voice was not again heard on the field of battle until the 30th of November dur- ing the Mine Run campaign, when it was engaged for a few minutes near Saunders House, after which it returned to the vicinity of
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THE FIRST BATTERY.
Brandy Station, and went into winter quarters. During the year its only change in officers came from the resignation of Lieutenant Manning on the 16th of July, and the promotion of First Sergeant Charles W. French of Boston.
Nothing of moment in the history of the First occurred during the winter; 33 of its members re-enlisted for an additional term of three years, receiving the usual furlough of 30 days, and on the 27th of February, 1864, the company, with its corps, joined in a movement to Madison Court House in support of a cavalry demon- stration under General Custer. As in the case of most other Union batteries, it was not engaged at the battle of the Wilderness, but at Spottsylvania Court House it took an important part. It was within its battery line that General Sedgwick, commanding the Sixth Corps, was killed by a sharp-shooter on the 9th of May, and several mem- bers of the company were wounded, including Lieutenant Federlien. At the close of the struggle at Spottsylvania the command moved southward with its corps, but was not again in action until it reached Cold Harbor on the 1st of June. Its location there was on the Me- chanicsville road where it remained during the 12 days of fighting, losing one man killed and five wounded. It then moved to Peters- burg where on the 17th it took position in earthworks which had been captured from the enemy, serving there and in that vicinity until the 9th of July. The Sixth Corps was then called to Wash- ington to incet the threatened attack on the national capital, by Confederate General Early, and the battery accompanied the corps in its various marchings and countermarchings until the 19th of September when it took part in the battle of the Opequan, losing four wounded. During the next three days it was active, and was frequently engaged, especially at the battle of Fisher's Hill on the 23d, where it lost two men wounded and seven horses killed, mak- ing a total of 55 animals killed during the campaign.
The battery shared in the subsequent movements of the corps until the 2d of October, near Staunton, when it wheeled out of line and turned toward Massachusetts for muster out, its term of service having expired. Its recruits and re-enlisted men were temporarily transferred to Battery M, Fifth United States Artillery, one of them being killed at Cedar Creek, on the 19th of October. These re- eruits were subsequently transferred from Battery M to the Ninth Massachusetts Battery, where they completed their term of service.
THE SECOND BATTERY.
T HE Second Battery was organized by Major Cobb, an artillery officer of the militia, and was the first light battery recruited in the state for three years' service, its enlistment having begun on the 20th of April, 1861, and the quota being filled carly in the following month. The command, then known as "Cobb's Light Artillery," made its first public parade June 17, and on the 5th of July went into Camp Adams at Quincy. It was mustered into the United States service on the 31st, from which date the officers were commissioned. Major Cobb being unable to accompany the organiza- tion to the field, Captain Nims, also an experienced artillery officer, was appointed to the command, the roster of officers being :-
Captain, Ormand F. Nims of Boston; first lieutenants, John W. Wolcott of Roxbury and John Bigelow of Brighton; second lieuten- ants, George G. Trull of Boston and Richard B. Hall of Charlestown; quartermaster sergeant, Alden N. Norcross of Boston.
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