USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 2 > Part 9
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581
THE THIRTY-EIGIITHI REGIMENT.
mained for four days, having one man killed and one wounded by the Confederate sharp-shooters while bringing rations from the rear to their comrades. On being again relieved the regiment was de- tailed as part of the column under General Paine to drive away a threatening force near Clinton, being absent four days. It then re- occupied its position in the woods, till the 13th of June, when preparations were made for the second assault on the works, which had been planned for the following morning.
The column of attack was formed early in the night, the Thirty- eighth in the front of the division column, next to the skirmishers and special details. In the gray of morning the order to advance was given by General Paine, and the regiment bravely responded, pressing onward till it was inextricably mixed with other commands in the broken and difficult ground and further progress in the face of the murderous fire was impossible. Then came another in- terminable day of hugging the ground under fire from front and rear, the wounded suffering terribly for the care which it was im- possible to give them, General Paine himself lying disabled with a shattered leg and none being able to assist him till darkness covered the scene. Of 250 men taken into action, the Thirty-eight had lost more than a third; seven having been killed on the field, including Second Lieutenant Frederick Hohnes of Company G, promoted from sergeant major, and 84 were wounded, 15 fatally.
The regiment retired from the front about midnight, and for some days rested at the rear, after which it alternated between the two positions during the rest of the siege. Some of its members were killed and wounded by the sharp-shooters, but no further en- gagement took place, and on the 9th of July Port Hudson sur- rendered. The Thirty-eighth was one of the two regiments from its division designated to occupy the works, but before the arrange- ments were completed the brigade was selected to relieve General Dudley's at Plains Store, a few miles in the rear, in consequence of which the regiment did not receive the honor intended for it.
On the afternoon of the 11th the brigade was ordered to Baton Rouge, making an all-night march, and remained there till after- noon of the 15th, when with two other regiments it embarked on the steamer St. Charles for Donaldsonville, which the Confederate General Taylor, having collected the scattered fragments of his army, was now threatening. The fall of Port Hudson, however,
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582
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
and the prompt appearance of a considerable Union force, led him to retire, and on the 1st of August the Thirty-eighth returned to Baton Rouge by the steamer North America, going into camp just outside the city, near the Asylum on the Highland road. On the 8th of September the regiment moved into the camp vacated by the Forty-ninth Massachusetts, whose time had expired, rechristening it Camp William L. Rodman, and remaining there with no import- ant experience till the 10th of December, when it occupied Camp Banks, vacated by the Thirty-first Massachusetts. At this time Companies A and K were detailed for provost duty in the city, I went to Plaquemine, to guard against guerrillas, a part of the men being mounted, and other details called for most of the available members of the regiment. During the winter the health of the com- mand was very good, though the weather was unusually cold, and there was no more exciting event in the vicinity than an occasional skirmish with guerrillas.
A few recruits arrived on the 11th of March, 1864, previous to which a reorganization of the Nineteenth Corps had been made, placing the Thirty-eighth in the Third Brigade, Second Division, the other regiments of the brigade being the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth, One Hundred and Seventy-fifth and One Hundred and Seventy-sixth New York. Gen- eral Banks was now preparing for the Red River expedition, Fort De Russy having been captured on the 14th by General A. J. Smith, and on the 23d the regiment embarked on the steamer Laurel IIill for Alexandria, passing Port Hudson that afternoon and debarking at the destination on the morning of the 25th. The expedition moved out toward Shreveport the 26th, leaving the Third Brigade as a garrison for Alexandria, which was to be the base of supplies.
The regiment remained on this duty till the 12th of April, when tidings of disaster to the expedition began to be heard, and the Thirty-eighth, being detached from the garrison, marched out a few miles, embarked on the steamer Mittie Stevens, and began to as- cend the river. Soon after noon next day a band of guerrillas con- cealed on the shore poured a volley into the steamer, killing a sick man lying in the cabin and wounding three others. Some conster- nation was produced, but the men soon obtained their weapons and returned the fire, the steamer quickly passing out of range. Land- ing at Grand Ecore that afternoon, the regiment was assigned to
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THE THIRTY-EIGHTHI REGIMENT.
the Second Brigade, Second Division, and at once joined in forti- fying the position, to which Banks's command had retreated.
The Thirty-eighth remained in the front line, some two miles from the town, behind the strong intrenchments, till the 21st, when preparations for the retreat to Alexandria were completed. The sick were placed on transports, whatever stores could not be re- moved were destroyed, and at 5 o'clock the column, led by the Second Division of the Nineteenth Corps, started on its march through the forest, covering 40 miles during the following night and day. On the morning of the 23d, while marching along the Cane river, the column was fired upon by Confederate artillery from a point in advance, and after some preliminary movements the Thirty-eighth with other troops, were sent across the river, deployed as skirmishers, and with a line of battle in support drove the op- posing force out of sight after a sharp little fight, in which the regi- ment lost Captain Julius M. Lathrop of Company I mortally wounded, four enlisted men killed or fatally hurt and six others wounded.
Following this engagement the regiment was detailed to support a battery, and resumed the march as the rear of the column, except for a slight covering force of cavalry, which continually skirmished with the closely-pursuing enemy. Three days of hard marching brought the entire force safely to Alexandria, where the Thirty- eighth rejoined its brigade; but the Union gun-boats were above the rapids, and it was not till the 9th of May that they could be got down. Preparations were then at once made for the evacuation of the town; the soldiers who had worked incessantly to unload the transports now labored as severely to reload them, and on the 11th the regiment broke camp and began the march toward the Missis- sippi, though the last of the army did not move till the 14th.
During the march which followed the enemy kept quite too near for comfort, and near evening of the 15th the Second Division went through the village of Marksville on the double-quick to assist the cavalry, which was having the worst of a skirmish. The contest was resumed in the morning, the division advancing in line of bat- tle, though the fighting was principally confined to the artillery. Colonel Sharpe of the One Hundred and Fifty-sixth, who commanded the brigade, being absent, and Colonel Smith of the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth disabled, the command of the brigade devolved on Lieutenant Colonel Richardson and that of the regiment on
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THIE WAR.
Captain Wyman, both of whom won praise. The hostile line being pressed back across the plains of Mansura did not offer further re- sistance in front, though some skirmishes took place at the rear.
The Thirty-eighth crossed the Atchafalaya on the 18th, and on the banks of that river with occasional changes of camp it remained till afternoon of the 20th, when it resumed the movement toward the Father of Waters. Morganza Bend was reached the following day, the regiment going into camp on the sandy plain beside the river till the morning of the 30th. The Third Brigade with some other troops then joined in an expedition to the Atchafalaya river, being gone four days, but having no encounter more serious than an exchange of volleys with guerrillas. On the 19th of June the regiment went up the Mississippi to Fort Adams, where bushwack- ers were giving some trouble, making head-quarters on the steamer Starlight and returning to Morganza two days later.
This ended the active service of the regiment in Louisiana. It remained as quietly as possible in its sandy and terribly hot camp till the 3d of July, when very early in the morning the entire brigade went aboard the steamer City of Memphis and next day landed at Algiers, the regiment camping near the railroad. On the 20th the Thirty-eighth with some 200 men from other commands embarked on the steamer Karnaek, where their position was very precarious, the craft being old and worthless, poorly manned, and the living cargo suffering for room, shelter and food. The sealed orders under which the vessel sailed directed it to Fortress Monroe, and fortu- nately the weather proved favorable, so that no disaster occurred. The destination was reached on the 28th, and the regiment was, ordered to proceed without delay to Washington, where it arrived on the afternoon of the 29th, debarking the following morning at Arsenal Wharf and marching through the city to Georgetown, finally making camp near Chain Bridge.
The stay there was short, however, for the following afternoon the regiment marched back to Washington, took cars at the Balti- more and Ohio depot and the next day at noon reached the Monocacy Junction depot, going into camp in a grain field. Staying there till August 4, it proceeded by rail to Harper's Ferry, moving on the 6th to the fortifications near Halltown, where it was temporarily as- signed to the First Brigade, Second Division, Nineteenth Corps, the brigade commanded by Colonel Macauley of the Eleventh Indiana.
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THIE THIRTY-EIGIITII REGIMENT.
The regiment was now a part of the Army of the Shenandoah under General Sheridan, and on the 10th the advance southward began, ending after three days' sharp marching with the army confronting the Confederates under General Early near Cedar Creek. On the night of the 16th the Union army began a retrogade movement, and on the evening of the 18th went into camp near Charlestown, the Thirty-eighth rejoining its own brigade on the 20th.
With the rest of the army, the regiment was called to arms August 21 by an attack on the outposts, and that evening fell back to the stronger position near Halltown, which was further fortified, where the army remained till the 28th, awaiting an attack, which Early did not make. Then came an advance of the Union forees to Summit Point, a few miles beyond Charlestown, with skirmish- ing but no serious conflict. A movement was made to Berryville on the 3d of September, something of an engagement taking place between the Union advance and the enemy; the Third Brigade forming line of battle on a ledge and lying there during the night. The contest not being renewed in the morning, the regiment was detached from the brigade and advanced some distance, where it soon constructed a strong line of works. This position, fronting Winchester, was held till the battle of the Opequan, the 19th.
Breaking camp before light that morning, the regiment with its corps followed the Sixth Corps to the battle-field, the Third Brigade forming the left of the front line of the Nineteenth Corps and con- necting with the Sixth. At the opening of the battle the brigade advanced rapidly, and owing to the conformation of the ground be- came separated from its connections, when the Confederates took advantage of the situation and by a sharp attack crumbled the brigade, including the Thirty-eighth, after a stubborn resistance. Colonel Sharpe and Lieutenant Colonel Richardson, commanding the brigade and the regiment respectively, were wounded and taken from the field, and Major Allen (recently promoted from captain) assisted by his few remaining.officers rallied the command and re- turned with it to the front in time to take part in the final victorious charge of the entire Union army. The loss of the Thirty-eighth during the battle was eight killed, 38 wounded, several fatally, eight made prisoners and one missing. The colors were at one time in great danger of capture, but were saved through the bravery and coolness of the bearers and their guard.
586
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
Bivouacking that night near Winchester, the regiment took part next day in the general advance, finding the Confederates in a strong position at Fisher's Hill, from which they were driven on the 22d by a flank movement of the Eighth Corps, supported by a charge of the rest of the army in front. In the pursuit the Thirty- eighth had one man killed by the fire of a party in ambush, and continuing the chase during the night reached Woodstock the fol- lowing morning. With little rest the movement continued till the 25th, when Harrisonburg was reached and the tired brigade went into camp for four days. On the 29th a portion of the army went to Mount Crawford in support of a cavalry reconnaissance, the Thirty-eighth acting as flankers during the day and going on picket at night. Returning to Harrisonburg next day, the regiment re- mained there till October 6, then began the march down the Valley, and on the 10th halted at Cedar Creek, where the camp of the army was fortified to some extent.
The critical battle of Cedar Creek occurred the 19th. On that morning the Third Brigade was under orders to make a reconnais- sance, and daylight found it in line about to set forth, when the sound of the attack on the Eighth Corps sent it at once to the breastworks. But the attack did not come from the front, and the brigade, which formed the left of its corps, next to the Eighth, was soon involved by the victorious flank attack of the Confederates, and under a severe cross fire the line gave way, the brigade com- mander, Colonel Macauley, being severely wounded. The disorgan- ized forces were finally rallied, the Thirty-eighth taking a place in the second line, and when the Union advance was made, under the inspiration of Sheridan's presence, the regiment returned to the camp which it had occupied the night before, though everything left there had been taken or destroyed by the Confederates during their temporary occupancy. Five of the regiment had been killed or mortally hurt, 14 wounded and some 35 captured.
After a feint of following the retreating enemy which only took the regiment a few miles away, it returned to the old camp at Cedar Creek, where it remained till the 9th of November, when it marched to Camp Russell, a point on the Opequan creek between Kernstown and Winchester. Log huts had been built and it was supposed the winter would be passed there, when on the 20th of December the brigade was ordered to Winchester and the Thirty-eighth were de-
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TIIE THIRTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT.
tailed as provost guard. Their service in this capacity, however, was brief, for on the 6th of January, 1865, the comfortable quar- ters in buildings near the Court House were vacated and the regi- ment marched before daylight to Stephenson's Depot, the railroad terminus, a few miles from the city. There it was soon joined by the rest of the brigade under Lieutenant Colonel Richardson-the Thirty-eighth commanded by Major Allen,-all being packed on and in freight cars ; in which most uncomfortable position the whole divis- ion rode during the day and night, in a severe storm, to Baltimore.
Reaching that city on the morning of the 7th, the regiment was quartered in the cavalry stables at Camp Carroll till the 13th, when it marched through the city and with two other regiments of the brigade took passage on the steamer Oriental for Savannah, Ga. Stopping at Fortress Monroe for supplies, the steamer sailed thence on the 15th, and four days later reached the mouth of the Savannah river, after a rough passage. There it waited till the 23d for a pilot to guide it through the partially removed obstructions and torpedoes, when it steamed up to the city and the following morning the regiment debarked. Sherman's army, which then occupied the city, was about departing on the march through the Carolinas, and after being quartered in a vacant warehouse for a few days the Thirty-eighth encamped on the outskirts of the town at the edge of a swamp.
The calls on the regiment for fatigue, patrol and picket duty were incessant till the 4th of March, when the brigade assembled, moved through the streets and the Thirty-eighth with two other regiments embarked on the steamer Ashland the following day. Sailing at once to Hilton Head, orders were received to report at Wilmington, N. C., which had just been captured by General Terry, and sailing on the 7th the Ashland reached that city on the 10th. On report- ing to General Terry, Lieutenant Colonel Richardson was directed to proceed with his command to Morehead City, and on reaching that point the following afternoon cars were taken for Newbern en route for Kinston, where General Slocum was being opposed by the Confederates, who hoped to defeat his army before the arrival of Sherman's.
On reaching Newbern, however, it was learned that Slocum had proved victorious, and the service of the brigade not being needed it went into camp in the vicinity till the 13th, when it returned to
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE- WAR.
Morehead City and encamped in a burying-ground. Morehead being the base of supplies for Sherman's army, the regiment found ample employ in unloading vessels, loading cars, and the other duties naturally falling to it; which duties continued till the base of sup- plies was changed. On the 8th of April camp was broken and the Thirty-eighth with another regiment of its brigade took cars to Newbern and thence on to Goldsboro, which was reached next morning, and on the departure of Sherman's army the following day the regiment was assigned to duty in town, four companies as provost guard and the remainder in care of commissary stores and the like. This duty continued till the 1st of May, when the con- mand was relieved and on the 2d took cars to Morehead City, where on the 4th it embarked on the transport Thetis with another regi- ment and a cargo of horses. The voyage this time was by way of Hilton Head to Savannah, where on the 7th the regiment went into camp west of the city, taking the place of other troops in doing the light duties which were required of the military under the able administration of affairs by General Grover. Major Allen was pro- vost marshal of the city, and the time passed very slowly during the long hot days while the regiment waited orders to proceed homeward.
These came at last, and after considerable delay the rolls were prepared, the recruits were transferred to the Twenty-sixth Massa- chusetts, and then came another wait till transportation could be obtained. The small blockade-running steamer Fairbanks was finally available, June 30, and the regiment went aboard, steaming slowly to Boston, which was reached late at night of the 6th of July. The soldiers were then ordered to Gallop's Island, where they were quartered in the barracks till the 13th, when they were paid and mustered out. The regiment then proceeded in a body to Cam- bridge, where a rousing reception was tendered by the citizens, after which the members dispersed to their homes.
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THE THIRTY-NINTH REGIMENT.
T HE Thirty-ninth Regiment encamped at Lynnfield, cach of the companies with the exception of A and G being recruited from single towns and coming to camp in an advanced state of organization. Company D was the first to be mustered, at dif- ferent times during the month of July, 1862; from the 12th to the 25th of August seven others were ready for the mustering officer, and on the 2d of September G and II completed the list. Colonel Timothy Ingraham was at first designated to command the organiza- tion, but he was commissioned colonel of the Thirty-eighth and on the 1st of September Colonel Davis took command of the Thirty- ninth Regiment, which was transferred to Camp Stanton at Box- ford as soon as its quota was filled. There it remained for but a few days, setting out for Washington September 6, with the follow- ing roster of officers :-
Colonel, P. Stearns Davis of Cambridge; lieutenant colonel, Charles L. Peirson of Salem; major, Henry M. Tremlett of Boston; surgeon, Calvin G. Page of Boston; assistant surgeons, James L. Chipman of Milford and Henry H. Mitchell of East Bridgewater; chaplain, Edward Beecher French of Chatham; adjutant, Emery Washburn, Jr .; quar- termaster, Edward E. White, both of Cambridge; sergeant major, C. Henry Chapman of Providence, R. I .; quartermaster sergeant, H. B. Leighton of Cambridge; hospital steward, Frederick Harvey of Dor- chester; principal musician, George Mark of Quincy.
Company A-Captain, George S. Nelson; first lieutenant, Henry W. Moulton; second lieutenant, George HI. Wiley, all of South Danvers.
Company B, Roxbury-Captain, William W. Graham; first lieuten- ant, William T. Spear; second lieutenant, Julius M. Swain.
Company C, Medford-Captain, John Hutchins; first lieutenant, Perry Colman; second lieutenant, Isaac F. R. Hosea.
Company D, Quincy-Captain, Edward A. Spear; first lieutenant, William G. Sheen; second lieutenant, Charles HI. Porter.
Company E, Somerville-Captain, Frederic R. Kinsley; first lieuten- ant, Joseph J. Giles; second lieutenant, Willard C. Kinsley.
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MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WAR.
Company F, Taunton-Captain, Joseph J. Cooper; first lieutenant, Isaac D. Paul ; second lieutenant, John D. Reed.
Company G-Captain, Ezra J. Trull of Watertown; first lieuten- ant, Charles W. Thompson of Boston; second lieutenant, C. Henry Chapman of Cambridge.
Company H-Captam, Charles N. Hunt of Quincy; first lieutenant, Robert Rhodes; second lieutenant, Robert Williams, both of Dor- chester.
Company I, Natick-Captain, Ephraim HI. Brigham; first lieuten- ant, Simon Mulligan; second lieutenant, William H. Brown.
Company K, Woburn-Captain, John I. Richardson; first lieuten- ant, Luke R. Tidd; second lieutenant, Luther F. Wyman.
The regiment went by way of Boston, New York and Philadel- phia to Washington. While passing through Baltimore it was ordered by General Wool to Ellicott's Mills, Md., but as it was with- out camp equipage or transportation the order was countermanded, and the national capital was reached on the 8th of September. After passing one night in the city, the regiment crossed the Potomac by Long Bridge and proceeded to Camp Chase, on Arling- ton Ilights, where it formed part of a temporary brigade under Gen- eral Henry S. Briggs, the other regiments in the brigade being the . Thirty-seventh Massachusetts, Tenth Vermont, Eleventh New Hampshire and Twenty-first Connecticut.
After remaining there until the 12th, the regiment changed its camp to a piece of woods near Fort Tillinghast and took up the duty of picketing the section between that fortification and Fort Craig, the next fort in the chain. This assignment lasted but two days, when two regiments of the brigade, the Thirty-ninth and Tenth, with Battery D of the First Pennsylvania Light Artillery, were ordered to Edwards Ferry on the Potomac to guard a 13-mile section of the river from Seneca Creek to Conrad's Ferry, the detail being under command of Colonel Davis. The Tenth halted at Seneca Creek while the Thirty-ninth and the battery proceeded to the Ferry where on the 17th they took position for the protection of the river. General George Stoneman soon after took command of the troops in that vicinity, returning Colonel Davis to the com- mand of his regiment, and in the routine duty of guarding the fords, the time passed till the 12th of October. On that day the regiment was concentrated at Conrad's Ferry in the hope of intercepting Stuart, whose cavalry column had been making a circuit in the rear of the Army of the Potomac, but the daring leader with his brave
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THIE THIRTY-NINTHI REGIMENT.
detachment crossed the river at White's Ford, less than two miles above, and was safe on the Virginia side without a blow having been struck to check his successful retreat. The regiment was ordered October 14 to Seneca Creek, and three days after arriving there it became part of a brigade under command of General Cuvier Grover, comprising the Thirty-ninth, Tenth Vermont, Fourteenth New Hampshire and Twenty-third Maine Regiments, to which Com- pany F of the First Rhode Island Cavalry and a section of Battery D were temporarily attached. Colonel Davis with his command marched on the 20th to Muddy Branch, three miles south of the Creek, where the regiment remained for three weeks, furnishing a daily detail of 100 for picket duty. On the 11th of November Colonel Davis took command of the brigade, and gathering the regiments scattered along the river marched to Offut's Cross Roads, within 16 miles of Washington, where on the 14th a camp of in- struction was formed and occupied till the 21st of December. Then the command by a single day's march returned to Poolesville, going into camp near the village for winter quarters. Colonel Davis con- tinued in command of the brigade till the 5th of January, 1863, when it was ascertained that Colonel Jewett of the Tenth Vermont was the senior officer, and he took the command, Colonel Davis re- turning to his regiment. The winter camp was occupied till the middle of April, when the Thirty-ninth bade adieu to the brigade and marched for Washington. The capital was reached on the 17th, and there the regiment remained on guard and patrol duty, till after the battle of Gettysburg had been fought.
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