USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 2 > Part 6
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550
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
Camp was broken on the 4th of August and the regiment marched to the steamboat landing, where next day with two other regiments and a battery it went aboard the Hiawatha and bade a glad adieu to Mississippi. Cairo was reached on the 10th. Going thence by cars and stopping at Covington for four days, it reached Nicholasville on the morning of the 18th and rested there ten days. Three days of marching, ending on the 29th, took the command to Crab Orchard, where it encamped in the edge of a wood till the 10th of September. During this time Captain William F. Draper was promoted to major, vice Goodell, made lieutenant colonel. The corps was now under orders to join Burnside in East Tennessee, and this grateful period of rest, which essentially improved the condition of the command, was occupied in concentrating the scattered regiments for the march.
The assembly sounded on the morning of the 10th and the long journey began. Though the health of the Thirty-sixth had much improved, it was still necessary to leave more than 150 at Crab Orchard who were unable to march. Passing through Cumberland Gap on the 20th, the regiment reached Morristown on the 22d, from which on the two following days it made a fruitless march of 20 miles, and on its return was detailed to garrison the town-a duty which continued only two days, when it was relieved and took cars for Knoxville, near which it encamped till the 3d of October.
Intelligence being received of a threatening Confederate force near Greenville, the regiment set out early on that day in light marching order and with five days' rations, going by rail to Bull's Gap, some 60 miles, and next day marching to Lick Creek, where it waited till the 10th for the arrival of Burnside with other troops. The enemy was in force at Blue Springs, some three miles distant, and soon after Burnside's army moved the conflict began. The Thirty-sixth were not engaged till the middle of the afternoon, when the brigade was ordered to drive the foe from a patch of woods to which he had clung tenaciously. Moving by the right flank till the enemy's fire was received, the command changed front till it faced the work before it and then with an impulsive charge drove the Confederates in confusion to the shelter of their artillery in the rear. In halting the regiment after this gratifying success Lieutenant Colonel Goodell was severely wounded and the command devolved upon Major Draper. In addition two officers and three men were wounded,-a fortunately small number.
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THE THIRTY-SIXTII REGIMENT.
During the night the enemy retreated, being followed by the Union cavalry, while the infantry, including the Thirty-sixth, re- turned to Knoxville, which was reached during the night of the 14th. After a rest of five days the regiment marched to Loudon, 30 miles southwest of Knoxville, to confront the reported advance of Longstreet from Chattanooga. Remaining there till the 28th, with no signs of the foe, it fell back seven miles to Lenoir's, and on the following day received orders to prepare its winter camp. Substantial and comfortable quarters were built, and were about completed, when on the 14th of November hasty marching orders came. Before noon the division was on the road toward Loudon to meet Longstreet, who was to be delayed as much as possible, to give Burnside time to gather the body of his troops into the defenses at Knoxville, and to extend the operations so that Grant, who had now taken command at Chattanooga, should have time to execute his plans against General Bragg.
The advance met the enemy late in the afternoon, and skirmish- ing began, the Thirty-sixth at night forming line in a dense woods and expecting an engagement, but in the morning the troops were ordered back toward Lenoir's-a very difficult movement to execute, as it had rained heavily during the previous day and night and the mud was very deep. The regiment was detailed to assist Roemer's Battery, which could scarcely be dragged along, and about noon Lenoir's was again reached. Line of battle was formed by the bri- gade on the Kingston road, in front of which the enemy made some demonstration toward night, but were content with pressing back the Union skirmishers a trifle and repeating the experiment during the carly part of the night. It was very cold, and the command suffered much, as they could have no fires and slept none. In the morning only Humphrey's Brigade remained with Morrison's and the latter began to retire at daybreak, leaving the former to cover the retreat.
On reaching the junction of the roads from Lenoir's and Kings- ton to Knoxville, the Thirty-sixth with the Eighth Michigan and Forty-fifth Pennsylvania-the latter as skirmishers-took position to cover the Kingston road, by which Longstreet was endeavoring to reach the flank of Burnside's force, while the remainder of the Union troops continned on to a point beyond Campbell's Station which had been selected for offering battle. An, energetic attack was almost immediately made by Hood's Division of Confederates,
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
and the three small regiments made gallant defense, changing posi- tion frequently as the danger threatened from front, flank or rear, and holding the enemy in check till the troops and wagons were out of the way, when Morrison's command followed its comrades back to the main position, the Thirty-sixth by the admirable handling of Major Draper narrowly avoiding capture. Burnside's position was repeatedly attacked, from the front and on each flank, but the as- sailants were driven back by the artillery fire assisted by the infan- try, and then the national forees were withdrawn to a still stronger position in the rear, which they held until night, when Burnside withdrew his soldiers to Knoxville, which was not reached, owing to the difficult roads, till near daylight. During the fighting of the 16th the regiment had lost four killed, 17 wounded and three miss- ing, among the dead being First Lieutenant P. Marion Holmes.
Vigorous work on the fortification of the city at once began, and after an hour or two of sleep four companies of the Thirty-sixth went upon the skirmish line, while the rest of the regiment took up the intrenching tools. From that time till the close of the siege there was constant duty and anxiety, but fortunately the position of the command in the line was such that there was no fighting of importance in its front, and its loss was but one killed. During the night of December 4 Longstreet withdrew from his lines of invest- ment and next morning the raising of the siege was discovered and reported by the pickets of the Thirty-sixth, under command of Cap- tain Ames of Company B. General Burnside, having been relieved from the command of the department, was succeeded on the 11th by General John G. Foster.
Meantime the pursuit of Longstreet's retreating legions was ordered, and on the 7th the Thirty-sixth marehed out upon the New- market road with the rest of the corps, camping two days later near Rutledge. On the 16th the Union troops fell back as far as Blain's Cross Roads, and after a little skirmishing Longstreet retired in the other direction, both armies going into winter quarters. Commu- nication with the base of supplies was difficult, and though all pos- sible exertions were made it was seldom that more than quarter- rations could be issued to the hungry soldiers, while supplies of shoes and clothing were even more difficult to obtain. Camp was broken on the 21st of January, 1864, the baggage being sent to Knoxville, and next morning the march of the troops began, Mor-
553
THIE THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
rison's Brigade forming the rear guard. As the enemy's cavalry followed it was frequently necessary to face about and offer battle, which was declined, and after a hard day's march the regiment bivonacked within three miles of Knoxville. The Confederates re- tired from the vicinity the following day, when the Thirty-sixth went through Knoxville, passed Fort Sanders and halted near Erin's Station, five miles beyond. There a camp was built, drills were re- sumed, and on the 31st the regiment was strengthened by a detach- ment of 100 men from the Twenty-ninth Massachusetts, who had not re-enlisted and were transferred to the Thirty-sixth to complete their term of service. Near evening of February 1, the division marched through Knoxville, crossed the Holston, climbed the hills beyond and bivouacked, only to find next day that the call resulted from a false alarm and to be ordered back to their camps.
General Foster, having been disabled by the opening of an old wound, was succeeded in the command of the Department by Gen- eral Schofield on the 9th; on the 15th the regiment moved back near to Fort Sanders in a heavy rain-storm, changed its camping ground three days later, and on the 24th started with other troops in light marching order for Strawberry Plains, General Willcox com- manding the division. The Holston was crossed in barges the 27th, and during the next two days the column advanced to Morristown ; on the 2d of March the regiment fell back 13 miles to Mossy Creek, where it remained till the 11th, when it returned to Morristown. In that vicinity, on picket duty, with an occasional scouting tour through the surrounding region, the regiment remained till the morning of the 17th, when the return march to Knoxville was begun, Fort Sanders being reached on the 19th. Two days later the com- mand marched to the northward, the Ninth Corps having beer ordered to Annapolis for reorganization. It was a hard march over the mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky, the roads being rough and snow and rain alternating most of the time; but on the 1st of April Nicholasville, Ky., was reached and cars were taken. Going by way of Cincinnati, Columbus and Pittsburg, the regiment arrived in Baltimore on the 6th, and late that night reached its destination, reporting to General Hartranft, the provisional commander of the post at Annapolis.
The formal reorganization of the Ninth Corps as an independent command under General Burnside took place on the 19th. Many
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
new regiments had joined the corps, and it was organized in four divisions of two strong brigades cach-the Fourth Division being made up of colored troops. The Thirty-sixth formed part of the First Brigade, Second Division, the other regiments of the brigade being the Seventh Rhode Island, Fifty-first New York, Forty-fifth and Forty-eighth Pennsylvania, the Fifty-eight Massachusetts join- ing soon after. Brigadier General Robert B. Potter had been designated as the brigade commander, but on reporting for duty he took the division and Colonel J. K. Sigfried of the Forty-eighth commanded the brigade. Lieutenant Colonel Goodell being still disabled by his wound, Major Draper commanded the regiment, which at that time consisted of 551 members present, including the detachment from the Twenty-ninth Massachusetts and one number- ing 56 from the Forty-sixth New York. Of the total number but 11 were line officers.
Though the destination of the corps was a secret, marching orders came at night of the 22d and the following morning the camp was quitted and the line of march taken up toward Washing- ton. The corps was reviewed by President Lincoln as it marched through the city on the 25th, camping that night within two miles of Alexandria. Its first duty was the guarding of the railroad from Alexandria to the Rapidan, and on the 27th the regiment began its march, going as far as Kettle Run, which it reached on the 30th, relieving the Seventeenth Regulars and occupying their camp. A few days of pieketing the railroad and making an occasional scout in search of guerrillas followed, but the great campaign was about opening, and on the 4th of May the corps was ordered to concen- trate and march to the Rapidan. Colonel Zenas R. Bliss of the Seventh Rhode Island at this time took command of the brigade, and Lieutenant Colonel Goodell having resigned Major Draper be- came nominally, as he had in fact been for some time, commander of the Thirty-sixth.
The Rappahannock was crossed at Rappahannock Station in the forenoon of the 5th, and the brigade marched rapidly all day, with but an occasional halt, crossed the Rapidan at Germania Ford and went into camp for the night two or three miles beyond. Before 3 o'clock on the morning of the 6th the regiment was under way, moving slowly and carefully in the rear of the Union lines, halting at Wilderness Tavern to load the muskets and prepare for action,
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THIE THIRTY-SIXTII REGIMENT.
finally taking a road leading toward Parker's Store and advancing till Wilderness Run was crossed and the fire of artillery and infantry at the further side of a small clearing was encountered, when Gen- eral Potter was ordered to withdraw his division and move to the left to assist General Hancock, whose command was being hard pressed. After pushing through the thicket for some distance posi- tion was finally taken near the plank road, and an immediate ad- vance against the enemy ordered.
The skirmish line under Captain Bailey soon encountered the enemy, who delivered a heavy musketry fire, under which the line of the division was corrected and again advanced. Rushing forward at the double-quick, the Thirty-sixth with the Forty-fifth Pennsylva- nia carried the works in their front and held them. Other portions of the brigade were less successful, and as they gave way the enemy soon threatened the flank and rear of the Thirty-sixth ; but the gal- lant fellows held on desperately, only falling back a short distance when it was impossible to longer maintain their lodgment in the hostile works. Colonel Curtin of the Forty-fifth now took com- mand of the brigade, its line was adjusted and the position was held by Potter's Division till late in the afternoon, when its ammmmition being exhausted and a fresh attack ordered it was relieved by the Third Division. It supported the latter in its attack, and when it had gained some advantage formed on its right within close musket shot of the enemy, where the Thirty-sixth intrenched and remained during the night, strengthening the position next day, but not being further engaged.
The total loss of the regiment in the battle of the Wilderness was 85, of whom 12 were known to have been killed, 53 were wounded and the rest were "missing in action." Major Draper was among the severely wounded, having been shot through the shoulder. In the early afternoon of the 7th the regiment moved to the rear and was joined by the rest of the brigade, when it marched to the open ground near Wilderness Tawern where the Ninth Corps was massed, and remained there till after dark, the men meantime taking their first food except bread and water for 48 hours. The trains being now en route for Chancellorsville, the corps was ordered to follow them, and a tedious movement it proved, cach march of a few min- utes being followed by a halt. At 10 o'clock the regiment laid down by the roadside and waited till daylight, when the journey
550
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
was resnmed. Chancellorsville was reached about 9 o'clock, where the command halted in an open field near the turnpike and waited without shelter till near noon of the next day, when the march toward Spottsylvania was resumed, position being taken that night on the left of the Army of the Potomac, near General Burnside's head-quarters.
Late in the afternoon of the 10th the regiment moved to and crossed the Ny river, threatening the flank of the enemy's position while other troops from the corps pressed back their outposts, the entire movement being in support of an attack on another part of the line. The regiment lay in line of battle through the night, and in the morning advanced to a ridge within a quarter of a mile of the Court House, where a line of intrenchments was erected; but about the middle of the afternoon, during a heavy shower, these were evacuated without attracting the attention of the foc, and the lines were moved back near the Harris house, where the division was massed till abont dusk, when it was once more advanced, taking a postion to the right of that formerly occupied. Here massed in the rear of a line of works near a deserted farmhouse, the division passed the stormy night as best it could, prepared for a desperate attack in the morning of the 12th.
Soon after daylight the cheering and firing of Hancock's men was heard at the right and General Potter's command was ordered for- ward by brigades in echelon, the Thirty-sixth forming the left of the second line, its flank being unprotected. Soon after the engagement began a heavy Confederate line was discovered on the left and fire was opened, but it was stopped immediately on the supposition that the force in front was part of Hancock's captives, and this error was not dispelled till a volley was received by the Thirty-sixth at short range, causing terrible loss. The flank was at once swung back and the fire returned by those who survived, the uneven con- test being maintained till the coming up of the Twenty-first Mas- sachusetts continued the line to the left, when a general advance was made and the enemy's first lines were taken and held against repeated efforts to recover them. The loss of the regiment, includ- ing the Twen'y-ninth detachment, in this stubborn conflict, was 27 killed, among them Captain Bailey and First Lieutenant Henry W. Daniels, 70 wounded, and 10 missing.
On the 14th and 16th the men from the Twenty-ninth Regiment
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THIE THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
whose term of service had expired departed for home, which with the recent losses of the Thirty-sixth in action reduced that regiment to a fraction of its former numbers. Meantime the position in front of the enemy was maintained only by constant skirmishing, in which some loss was met from the fire of the Confederates and more from sickness and exhaustion resulting from the continued strain upon the men, the want of sleep and the exposure to almost continual storm. During this time several officers who had been absent on recruiting service returned, and on the 18th Rev. Nathaniel Richard- son of Somerset took the position of chaplain, made vacant the pre- vious autumn by the resignation of Mr. Canfield.
The Ninth Corps moved to the extreme left of the Union lines on the morning of the 19th, intrenched, and remained there in a pleasant camp till afternoon of the 21st, when a reconnaissance was ordered to Stannard's Mills at the crossing of the Po river, some five miles distant. The enemy was found in force across the river, and after some skirmishing the brigade was withdrawn dur- ing the night and took the road to Guiney Station, which was reached the following noon. The corps reached Ox Ford on the North Anna late in the afternoon of the 23d, but as investigation showed a pass- age of the river at that point to be undesirable if not impracticable, the corps was divided, Potter's Division being sent to the left to assist Hancock, who had already made a crossing at Chesterfield Bridge. This movement was made on the afternoon of the 24th, and the regiment after crossing the bridge was pushed to the front, deployed as skirmishers and advanced close to the enemy's works. Late in the afternoon of the 25th it was relieved and took position in rear of the main line, having lost one man killed and four wounded.
The Union troops were withdrawn on the evening of the 26th and the movement toward the Pamunkey at once began. On the 27th the Ninth Corps, which had thus far been an independent con- mand under the immediate orders of General Grant, was made part of the Army of the Potomac. During the forenoon the corps con- centrated about Mount Carmel Church and then began the march, which continued almost without rest till the forenoon of the 29th when, the Pamunkey having been crossed the previous night, the brigade went to the rear and had one day's rest. It then joined the division at Hawes Shop and during the 30th there was some skirmish- ing while the Union line was being established and the position of the
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558
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
enemy developed, and during the two succeeding days some of the hostile pits were captured ; but the ground being of an unfavorable nature and the works well manned on both sides no general attack was made, and the Ninth Corps was withdrawn and massed in the rear of the Fifth, during which movement an attack was made by the Confederates and handsomely repulsed, though at some loss to the Union skirmish line.
During the night of June 2 the regiment was sent through the darkness and storm to occupy some deserted works to the left of the Second Division, which was accomplished with much difficulty, but early in the morning it was ordered to rejoin its brigade and take part in an attack on Early's left, which was at once done. The enemy were driven back for some distance to their main lines, and these were found too strong to be carried; but the Federal troops held on to what they had gained and maintained their posi- tion close to the hostile works, though subjected to a sadly fatal fire. The Thirty-sixth, as in previous engagements, held the left of the brigade, with its flank "in the air," and suffered from a flank fire all through the day till near night, when connection was made with its left by the First Division. The loss of the regiment, out of eight officers and about 200 men taken into action, had been 17 killed or fatally hurt and 33 wounded, the battle of Cold Harbor being the most deadly in proportion to the number engaged of any in the regiment's history. Among the dead was Color Sergeant French, who fell at the first fire, and Captain Barker, commanding the regi- ment, was wounded.
Next morning the enemy were found to have retired from that part of the field, and the brigade was moved more to the left, at the same time parting company with the detachment from the Forty-sixth New York, which returned to its own regiment. The operations of the ensuing days consisted of experiences on the skir- mish line and behind the intrenchments, almost constantly under fire but fortunately without severe loss. On the 12th the regiment withdrew from the works at Cold Harbor and late at night of the 14th eneamped on the banks of the James. In the evening of the 15th it crossed the river on a ponton bridge 2,200 feet in length, and marched all night to Prince George Court House, halted there for a few hours and then pressed forward to join the forces gather- ing about Petersburg, taking position that afternoon at the left of
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THIE THIRTY-SIXTII REGIMENT.
the Union line, and being held in reserve with another regiment to guard the flank, the Thirty-sixth were not actively engaged in the fighting of that day.
They had their turn, however, the next morning, when Potter's Division was selected to make an assault, and for that purpose dur- ing the night made a detour and gained a coveted position in a ravine near to the enemy's works. At 3 o'clock the charge was made, each of the two brigades having a front of three regiments, the Thirty- sixth being in the center of the left brigade, and after a short but stubborn fight the enemy were driven from their works and also from a second line where they attempted to rally. In this assault the regiment, out of about 90 taken into action, lost three killed and 16 wounded, four of them fatally, including Captain Otis W. Holmes, who died on the 23d.
After remaining at the front through the day the regiment was employed most of the night in changing the facing of some of the captured intrenchments, and on the 18th was almost constantly under fire in support of the operations of the other divisions of the corps, the loss during the day being Captain Buffum and two en- listed men killed and six wounded. That evening the division re- lieved the others, picketing the entire front of the Ninth Corps line, reaching from the Second on the right to the Fifth on the left. Since the opening of the campaign the regiment had lost 267 in killed, wounded and missing, and seven of its companies were at that time commanded by non-commissioned officers. The brigade had been strengthened by the addition of the Second New York Mounted Rifles, serving as infantry. All through the remainder of June and all of July the regiment passed in the trenches or the pits of the skirmishers, the men constantly exposed to the fire of the Confederate sharp-shooters and rarely a day passing that some one was not struck, a large proportion of the wounds being fatal.
In the slaughter which followed the explosion of the mine, Jitly 30, the regiment did not share, it being on duty in the trenches and no relief being sent for it, though repeatedly requested. On the 9th of August Major Draper, recovered from the wound received in the Wilderness and promoted to lieutenant colonel, returned and resumed command of the regiment, being mustered in the new rank the following day, with Captain Thaddeus L. Barker promoted to major,-both commissions dating from the 6th of May previous.
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