USA > Massachusetts > Record of the service of the Forty-fourth Massachusetts volunteer militia in North Carolina, August 1862 to May 1863 > Part 14
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The manner in which the news was received was in marked contrast with the wild excitement caused by the orders for the Tarboro' and Goldsboro' expeditions; few remarks were made; the knapsacks had been packed since the day before: the men went on getting their supper, and ate it quietly, without any hurry; and in half an hour the company was ready to fall in,
1 The author of this chapter wishes to state that it was put into his hands by the Historical Committee at the last moment, - having been then given up by the one first sclected to write it; and that it has been impossible, in the short time allotted to him, to look up any material except what was placed in his hands by the Com- mittee, and what he could draw from his own recollection and memoranda.
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haversacks and canteens full, blankets rolled, and knapsacks ready to sling. Our winter's experience had given us that quality of the veteran by virtue of which, realizing the uncertainty of any present condition, he troubles himself about no future, but ac- cepts in a philosophic spirit what the day may bring forth.
Our destination was understood to be "Little" Washington. At seven o'clock the whole regiment, with the exception of Com- panies F and B, which were on picket, was on board the " Escort." It was pretty close packing ; the men slept on the decks every- where; the writer found his place in the starboard gangway on the freight deck, and woke in the morning in about three inches of water, which was brought in by the paddle-wheels, the boat being very low in the water. I remember one squad of men pitched a shelter-tent on the upper deck near the pilot-house ; however, as we knew the trip was to be a short one, this crowding was regarded with great unconcern. A mail of newspapers was distributed while we were on board, which were very welcome, and served to pass the time, always tedious enough on these passages.
At about three o'clock of Monday, the 16th, the boat drew up to the wharf in Washington ; the houses in the town still bore the marks of the raid made upon it the autumn before by the enemy ; one house was pitted all over with a stand of heavy canister-shot ; another had two eight-inch shot-holes through it. In the river just below the bridge lay the gunboat " Louisiana," thereafter looked upon by us as a tower of strength; and many a time within the next four weeks did we welcome the roar of her eight-inch pivot- gun as an assurance of safety.
The whole town turned out to see us land; the street swarmed with darkeys, "without regard to age, sex, color, condition, or previous condition of servitude ; " many of the women with ginger- bread and fruit for sale drove a roaring trade. Among the crowd were many of the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts, and some North Carolina volunteers, but the native white civilian was scarce.
After waiting awhile here in the street we were marched to the westerly end of the town, to a large cornfield in the rear of the house of J. Grist, Esq., afterwards better known to us as a (sup- posed) bitter Rebel; but who, I have since been assured, was our
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stanch friend, having done us substantial services during our stay. Ranks were broken, with orders to pitch our shelter-tents and camp for the night. The tents were pitched that night with muskets for tent-poles; and no regular order of lay-out having been given, the result was most picturesque, particularly after dark, when the tents were lighted up. In some cases as many as ten or twelve sections of shelter would be used to form a tent to cover as many men. Myself and mates smoothed down the corn- hills of our floor, in so doing scraping the dry sand from the surface, - a piece of work which we bitterly rued before morning. After pitching the tents we walked out to investigate our situation. It was near where Fort Gouraud afterwards stood; south of us was the river, east of us the town, north and northwest the line of earthworks, and west, at the point where the line touched the river, Blockhouse No. I, afterwards familiar to Company D.
It was a clear, cold night, and with only a rubber blanket be- tween us and the raw surface of sand we had more rawly exposed, myself and mates shivered through it; the writer hopes never to sleep so cold again - he never has, so far. Upon rising in the morning we found a thick feathery coating of hoar-frost on the outside of our tent and over everything ; as soon as the sun had removed this, orders were given to strike the tents and pitch them with proper tent- poles, in regular streets, two streets to a company, three men to a tent. Most of them were properly pitched and ditched about; but some, ambitious of more headroom, dug six or eight inches below the surface to lay their floors, with disas- trous results in the rains which occurred later. This work was
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finished by noon, and cooking-shanties of quite picturesque appearance were also built at the upper end of each company's camp.
This was Tuesday, the 17th; during the day the enemy's ad- vance made its appearance south of the river, though we at the time did not know it. The " Louisiana" pitched a few shells into the woods in the afternoon, but it caused little excitement in the camp, as we did not then know that it was the enemy's advance that was being shelled. In the afternoon details were made to work on the intrenchments, principally in lengthening and height- ening traverses, besides laying out a few new ones.
Washington lies on the north side of the Tar River, at its junc- tion with the Pamlico (or Pamplico, as some maps give it) ; before the war it was actively engaged in the lumber trade, and its river front is lined with wharves and warehouses, one of which latter, of brick, had been loopholed to be used as a place of refuge and defence for the garrison in case of need.
The town extends for about a mile along the river-bank, and back into the country for perhaps half that distance; it is almost surrounded in the rear by low swampy ground, from which rises a row of hills encircling it from the river above to the river below ; on the south side the river-bank is wooded, and the swamp extends inland some distance; the banks of the river below the town are comparatively high, and clayey, and afforded excel- lent positions for the blockading batteries afterwards placed there.
On the north side three roads run out from the town : beginning on the left, the Greenville road running nearly northwest, the Jamesville road running northeast, and the Plymouth road nearly eastward; on the south side, only the New Berne road, which crosses the bridge.
The defences of the town consisted, at the time of our occupa- tion, of a line of earthiworks, of good profile but weak trace, ex- tending from the river-bank about a mile above the bridge to the creek about as far below, following the line of low hills next the town; in the centre was Fort Washington, on a slight rising ground. commanded however by the main line of hills before referred to, about half a mile away. It was a small, square,
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bastioned work, mounting four thirty-two-pounders, one of them rifled, two six-pound steel Wiard rifles, and two twelve-pound Napoleon guns. Fort Hamilton, on the extreme right, was of irregular trace, and mounted two twelve-pound Napoleons, one thirty-pounder Parrott, and one thirty-two-pounder Rodman gun.
Blockhouses numbered from one to four in the order in which they are here mentioned were placed - at the extreme left on the river, at the Greenville road, between the Jamesville and Plymouth roads, and on the extreme right at Fort Hamilton. They were strong log buildings, loopholed for musketry, banked
and ditched, and armed as follows : Nos. 1, 2, and 3, each one six- pounder ; No 4, one twelve-pounder. In an epaulement command- ing the Jamesville road was mounted a thirty-two-pounder.
Around Fort Washington was a line of rifle-pits and a good abatis, and the intervals between the blockhouses Nos. I and 2 and the lines were also filled with abatis. Traverses had been thrown up at various points along the main line, and were after- wards extended and added to as occasion demanded.
During the investment a small work was thrown up on the Grist place near our first camp, named, as I have always under- stood, from Major Gouraud of the Third New York Cavalry,
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though on the map it is called Fort Ceres ; it mounted one thirty- pound Parrott and one twelve-pound rifled howitzer.
In the river lay the gunboats "Louisiana," " Eagle," and " Com- modore Hull," which contributed materially to the defence of the place. Just above the bridge and near our camp lay the wreck of the gunboat " Picket."
The garrison before our arrival consisted of eight companies of the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts, one company First North Car- olina Volunteer Infantry, Captain Lyon, one company Third New York Cavalry, and Battery G, Third New York Artillery, - about 600 men in all. Our arrival and the arming of a force of negroes, which was done by Colonel Lec, raised our numbers to 1160.
By Wednesday, the 18th, we had settled down to routine work, guard-mounting, company and battalion drills, as usual. This day there was a brigade dress-parade; but the writer, being on guard, was not present. The guard was quartered in a corn-barn belonging to Mr .. Grist.
In the evening a violent shower and gale demoralized many of the tents; but, thanks to the Tapleyish spirit of the boys, the demoralization spread no farther. This night the roads were picketed by Company I.
Thursday, the 19th, it began to rain. At night Company D was sent out on picket, and an attack was evidently expected. At about half-past four the next morning, Friday the 20th, Com- pany E was ordered out and marched to the edge of the swamp beyond Blockhouse No. I. The rest of the regiment were also turned out and stationed on the lines, where we remained until daylight. The tents having become very damp, the regiment was now sent into the town and quartered in various deserted buildings, Company G being in the Farmers' Hotel.
Saturday, the 21st, the rain still continuing, we were routed out, for a change, at 3.30 A. M., and remained under arms, as before, until roll-call. While we lay behind the lines we saw the light of a considerable fire on the farthier side of the river. This day came in two deserters from Roger A. Pryor's brigade, who stated that the enemy had been in heavy force within twenty miles of us, but that the rain had so cut up the roads that they were impassable to their artillery; which was not improbable, as they
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were difficult for our cavalry. They said also that the officer in command at Charleston had called away all the troops that could be spared.
Sunday, the 22d, it was still raining. Services were held in several churches. This night Company G picketed the Jamesville road; the writer was in the reserve, and has a most vivid memory of sitting and shivering in the drizzle, with a tour of sentry duty in the road about dawn as a variation, until it was time to go in.
The next day, Monday the 23d, the steamer " North Shore" arrived with ten days' rations and our sutler; which, looking like a longer sojourn here, rather discouraged the majority of us who had come away with only the clothes we stood in, leaving our others with the " aunties " who had taken them to wash in New Berne. In the afternoon we were ordered back to our tents on the Grist estate.
Tuesday, the 24th, was a day of routine duty; drill, etc., being the staple of the diaries. Our friend Grist went out of the place this day, but little regretted by us.
From this time until the 30th our life was simply the usual monotonous routine of camp duty ; there was more or less heavy rain, and those who had sunk their tent floors below the level of " the surrounding country" were drowned out and thrown upon the hospitality of those in drier shelters whose " chums " were on guard or other detail.
On Monday, the 30th, General Foster and his staff arrived from Plymouth, and the effect of his presence was at once manifest in an increased activity. He at once inspected the works, and took measures to improve their defensibility, details being set to work everywhere; orderlies rode to and fro, and reconnoitring parties were pushed out on all the roads. It is with the one on the New Berne road that this history chiefly has to do.
About eleven o'clock Companies A and G were assembled, carrying only arms and canteens, and under the command of Captain James M. Richardson of Company A marched down toward the bridge; on the way we were joined by about a dozen cavalrymen under Lieutenant "Teddy " O'Brien, and a squad of artillerymen drawing a Wiard three-inch rifle; the whole party was under command of Captain Richardson.
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Passing out upon the bridge, the tread of the column caused it to shake before our whole length had fairly got out upon it. I remember Captain Richardson turning and calling out, " Break step, boys, or we'll shake the d-d thing down into the river !" which was accordingly done. Passing off the bridge we came upon the road, bordered on both sides by the swamp, of unknown depth ; about a mile out a halt was made, and a shell fired up the road, with what effect, if any, I do not know. This was repeated several times; about a mile farther on we came to a low line of earthworks at the crest of a slight rise, where some one picked up a bright tin canteen of a different pattern from ours. Here we assumed a formation not set down in the tactics, marching by the right flank undoubled, each rank on its side of the road, Company G taking the advance; the writer, being in the rear rank, was on the right of the road ; at the head was a sort of squad of skirmish- ers consisting of Orderly Sergeant Hobart, Corporal Lawrence, Adams (W. W.), Leonard, Holden, Eliot, and Jones of Company G: with them, and on the left of the road, were Captains Hunt and Richardson and Lieutenant O'Brien. At the foot of the little hill a brook crossed the road; the planks had been taken up, leav- ing only the roughly squared string-pieces, on which we crossed. I do not remember seeing anything of the cavalry or infantry after crossing the brook, until we returned to the earthwork above mentioned. We moved out beyond the brook perhaps a hundred yards; in front of us was a brush barricade across the road, which gave no signs of being occupied, so far as the writer knows, until, when we were within some fifty yards of it, a volley, immediately followed by another, was fired from it in our very faces; a third volley followed before we could start to deploy, which we did at once without waiting for the order; that, how- ever, came promptly in Captain Hunt's voice, " Deploy ! deploy !" We formed an irregular skirmish-line, taking the benefit of such trees as offered, and opened a fire, noisy if not effective. The fire of the enemy, from smooth-bore muskets with both buck- and-ball and the half round " Mississippi" bullet, was principally confined to the road. After a few minutes of this we heard the call, " Fall back, men, fall back !" which we did, keeping as long as we could in the shelter of the swamp, but finding the water growing
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deeper as we approached the stream, were at last foreed to take to the road; the writer was one of the last to get in. When we struck the road, about a hundred yards from the barricade from which the enemy were firing, we at once found ourselves under a heavy and close musketry-fire from apparently a hundred men or more; we knew nothing of what might have happened, but we ran literally " for dear life." The dust pattered up in the road where the bullets grazed, and it seemed as if the next shot must bring one down, but the writer for one ran fast and straight. The man preceding me slipped on the timber and soused up to his neck in the brook; but before he had serambled ont I was across the log and on my way up the slope. As we got farther away the fire be- came less serious, and presently we were beckoned by some one at the top of the hill to take the sides of the road; as we did so a shell from the Wiard rifle passed us. We assembled at the little line of earthworks, one or two stopping by the way to take a last shot; then we looked around to see who was missing.
Orderly Sergeant Hobart, Corporal Lawrence, Private Leonard, killed or wounded, no one seemed to know definitely. Captain Richardson sat on a horse belonging to one of the cavalrymen, looking weak, and evidently " hard hit." As the companies fell in, Captain Hunt went to him for orders. "Do the best you can, Charley," I heard him say. We immediately started on our return, a platoon of Company A under Lieutenant Coffin being detailed to act as rear-guard. The march was quick, though not espe- cially hurried, that I can remember. Onee we halted to transfer Captain Richardson, who had become too weak from loss of blood to sit his horse, to the gun-carriage. About half-way back the now familiar sliriek of an eight-inch shell made us all duek and then grin at each other as we realized that it was going in the direction from whence we were coming, and was in faet from the " Louisiana," and fired to cover our retreat.
We arrived in camp without further misadventure. Our losses turned out to be as follows: Captain Richardson, flesh wounds in left arm and shoulder, and had lost much blood; Sergeant Hobart, seriously wounded, perhaps mortally; Private Leonard, apparently seriously wounded; Corporal Lawrence, unknown. We had brought in Captain Richardson, but the others we had
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been obliged to leave, General Foster, upon application for per- mission to send out a flag of truce with an ambulance, saying that he doubted if a flag would be respected just then; but those who escaped unmarked, at least in Company G, were few, - grazed skins, cut clothes, and damaged arms and equipments being the rule. It seems we were sent to find where the enemy's picket reserves were; we found them.
Lieutenant O'Brien was said to have left for the rear at the first volley, his clothing wounded in divers places, with the remark that " He'd be d-d if he was going to be killed in any little infantry skirmish !" It appears to have been at this little party of officers and men on the left of the road that the first volley was principally directed, as all who were wounded seem to have been hit by this volley.
At the same time the enemy appeared on the roads on the north side of the river, driving in the pickets, and a general attack being apprehended, measures were taken accordingly. The regi- ment was ordered out on the line of the works; Companies E, C, and D, with a company of the First North Carolina, were formed in line as a reserve in the rear of Fort Washington.
The weather, which had been bright and warm in the forenoon, had by this time become overcast and cold, and towards night it set in to rain, much to the discomfort of the men on the line.
About dark a rocket was sent up from Fort Washington, burst- ing over the Greenville road, as a signal to direct the fire of the gunboats.
We lay behind the line in the rain all night, the gunboats shelling the woods in our front, their shells passing over our heads at short intervals.
In the evening Captain Lyon of the First North Carolina, with a force variously stated as one and two companies, was sent down the river to Rodman's Point with orders to intrench and hold it against the enemy. The gunboat " Commodore Hull" also dropped down the stream to cover his position. At daybreak they were attacked and driven to the river-bank with a loss of eight wounded, in spite of strenuous resistance on their part, seconded by the fire of the " Hfull."
While they were trying to put off, one of their flatboats grounded
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hard and fast; the men were lying flat to escape the terrible musketry-fire; one of the negro boatmen remarking, "Some- body's got to die to git us out of dis, and it may as well be me," deliberately got out of the boat and pushed it off, falling into it pierced by five bullets. Dr. Ware afterwards amputated a leg and cut out part of the bone of one arm, "but the man died,"- an instance of pure heroism unsurpassed by any the war affords.
The enemy who seized Rodman's Point brought with them a battery of English Whitworth guns, which they afterwards placed in the battery they threw up there; and more than once or twice during the siege the peculiar sound of their projectiles was heard passing over Company G's position from the right and rear. Much to our comfort we learned that two of them were burst by trying to use home-made ammunition.
On this day, the 31st, it is said that Hill ordered an assault on our works. The men were already drawn up and all dispositions made for the attack; but the apparent strength of the works when reconnoitred, and the evident unwillingness of the men, caused the attempt to be given up. Be this as it may, this morning Hill summoned the town to surrender. The summons was ad- dressed to "The Colonel in Command," and offered twenty-four hours to send out the women and children. General Foster would not allow the flag to enter the place, but sent out officers to meet it. When they reported at the Fort, officers of Battery G heard him say, "Go back and tell them if they want Washing- ton, come and take it." When this reply was returned as com- ing from the General, the Confederate officer is said to have ex- claimed, " My God ! is General Foster here?"
This day the enemy began to throw up works to shelter their batteries at the edge of the woods near the left of their line, and upon being discovered were promptly shelled from Fort Hamilton and Blockhouse No. 4.
To-day also Virgil Gilbert, a civilian from the " Louisiana," ran the blockade in a lighter, with despatches for the gunboats below. The blockade consisted of a row of piles in the river nearly opposite Hill's Point, crossing the stream and leaving only an opening close under the guns of the battery there. Batteries were also
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planted at other points, notably Rodman's Point. the guns at which place afterwards caused us much annoyance. In short, we found we had to do with an active and enterprising enemy.
The batteries at Hill's Point were cut in the high clay bank so as to be practically invulnerable to the guns of our ileet.
Wednesday, April 1, the battery at Rodman's Point, mounting two Whitworths and a Parrott rifle, and also a battery some dis- tance above, with one thirty-two-pounder, opened on the right of the line and Fort Hamilton, where Company C was stationed; one Whitworth shot went through the corner of Blockhouse No. 4, tearing blankets, knapsacks, etc., and scattering the con- tents of a big box of cayenne-pepper, causing much sneezing; the town also came in for a share of these favors.
The " Louisiana " could hardly be sprung so as to bring her broadside to bear on the upper battery, but the enemy's fire was returned briskly by all the gunboats. Between eight and nine o'clock the " Commodore Hull" was obliged to change her posi- tion, and in doing so, grounded, the water in the river being very low on account of several days' westerly winds. She became a target for the enemy's Whitworths, being hit over a hundred times, and two or three shells exploding on board. Several of her guns were disabled, and three of her crew wounded; but the engines escaped without injury.
The working parties in Fort Hamilton spent a good part of their time in dodging shells; and along the whole line details were at work, heightening, extending, and thickening traverses. At the one where the writer was posted, a return at a considerable angle was thrown up to cover us from the Whitworth projectiles from Rodman's Point. The transports, with Prince's brigade, ar- rived in sight this day. Foster sent down orders to Prince to land his troops; but Prince reported it to be impracticable, and it was not donc. The town was now completely invested, and all commu- nication with our forces outside had to be held by running the blockade in sail-boats and lighters. Ammunition also was found to be running short. The investing force consisted of - Daniel's Brigade of Infantry, five regiments ; Garnett's Brigade of Infantry, six regiments; Pettigrew's Brigade of Infantry, six regiments ; Robertson's Brigade of Cavalry, three regiments; artillery
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amounting to forty guns, and some independent battalions, which made up the total to close upon 15,000.
No regular siege operations were carried on, but the enemy seemed to rely upon starving us out, and annoyed us in the mean time with his artillery. We often heard from his pickets that they had " got us just where they wanted us," had " got us bagged," etc. About midnight the " Hull" got afloat, and took position abreast of the town; firing ceased on both sides at nightfall.
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