USA > Massachusetts > Record of the service of the Forty-fourth Massachusetts volunteer militia in North Carolina, August 1862 to May 1863 > Part 17
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One of our cavalry pickets, under cover of a flag of truce, entered into conversation with a Rebel officer, a lieutenant, who wished to know how large a force we had; the man told him, " Enough to take care of all the Rebels in North Carolina." "I should think so," was the reply, "for you are a d-d sight longer winded than any of us imagined."
Our regimental band was one morning stationed in the fort, in a sheltered place, while the firing from Red Hill was going on, and played for some time, chiefly national airs; it was remarked that " Dixie" seemed to draw rather an extra warm acknowledg- ment from "our friends the enemy." It has since been suggested that the object of this demonstration was to give the impression that a brigade was present.
It seems as if the enemy must have been deceived as to our numbers, for Garnett said, when ordered to assault upon the 14th of April, that he would " lose half his men getting there, and the other half getting back." A story to the same effect reached the writer's ears not long after the siege. After the in- vestment was raised, it is said Lieutenant "Teddy " O'Brien of the Third New York Cavalry was reconnoitring on the south side of the river with a small platoon of his company ; upon turning a bend in the road he saw, not two hundred yards away, a squad- ron of Rebel cavalry coming towards him. Running away seemed risky, so he drew his sabre, and giving the order, " Battalion, charge !" rushed down upon them with his sabre in air, as if he really had a regiment at his back; they were entirely taken in by his " cheek," and thinking it was the advance guard only of a heavy column, surrendered at once without resistance, and with their officers and colors fell captive to his bow and spear. When
13
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the captain in command was brought into the town, upon looking about him he asked with great eagerness, "Where have you hidden all your men?"
Some comical incidents happened to the men under fire. The writer was one morning detailed to wield the shovel among a squad who were set to heighten the traverse. Being slight, and not mighty in throwing sand higher than his head, he with an- other was put on the top of the traverse to pat down and level
what was thrown up to them ; it being about the ordinary hour of our morning salutation from Red Hill, we kept a wary eye on the embrasures there. After a while came the long-looked-for puff of white smoke, and with a call of "Heads below!" the writer dropped his shovel in the traverse ditch, himself sliding down the slope of the work in its wake; as his feet reached the bottom, the shell screamed overhead, and all immediately sought shelter in the splinter-proof. The fire, as usual upon opening, was heavy and rapid; and just as we were comfortably settled down to await further developments, the captain, catching sight of one man without his weapon, immediately called to the . writer, " Where's your gun and equipments?" "In my tent, sir." (I had forgotten to bring them when I went to work.) "Go and
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get them." It might have been about thirty feet each way that this particular private of Company G had to go, exposed to the fire, and never did any one strive with more earnestness to make himself as small as possible. That journey took about a week, and if none of the shells hit, every joke from the rat-hole did, as those laughing boys sitting there in safety " guyed " their comrade who had to go out in the shower.
Corporal Powers and Private Brown of G one day got leave to go to the river to wash ; they improved the opportunity to wash some of their clothes, waiting, while they dried, in rather primi- tive array ; somehow or other they managed to draw the fire of one of the batteries on the opposite bank, and became the occa- sion of quite a little exchange of compliments, making themselves scarce in about as dignified a manner as the bathers at the well did when the Red Hill batteries opened on them.
This siege was, as has been said, our most important piece of service. What we did from day to day seemed then to us ordi- nary enough, and the idea of giving up the place without a fight entered into no head within the lines. Most of us, I think, were therefore rather surprised to find ourselves in a manner made heroes of on account of it. As I have heard it said by one of the garrison, " What would they have had us do?"
The service done by the Fifth Rhode Island, however, served to bind yet closer the ties of comradeship that held the two remaining regiments of Stevenson's Brigade together, as will appear from the following correspondence : -
CAMP THOMAS G. STEVENSON, NEW BERNE, 1863.
Colonel HENRY T. SISSON, Commanding 5th R I.
COLONEL, - At a meeting of the field. staff, and line officers, held at Washington, N. C., on Tuesday evening .April 21, Col. F. L. Lee presiding, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted :-
Whereas, During the late siege of Washington, N. C., when the town had been bombarded and all its communications cut off for fifteen days. after several ineffectual attempts had been made to relieve the garrison, and the enterprise had been virtually pronounced impracticable, Colonel Sisson volunteered the services of his regiment, and succeeded, against every obstable and discouragement. in running the blockade with the steamer " Escort." thus bringing to the besieged forces the much-needed reinforcements, ammunitions, and supplies.
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Resolved, That in this achievement Colonel Sisson with his brave regi- ment has performed one of the most heroic acts of the war, and that this act, by so disheartening the enemy that within two days he was led to retire, was the immediate cause of the raising of the siege.
Resolved, That the members of the Forty-fourth Massachusetts feel that thanks are peculiarly due from them to their comrades in arms who so generously volunteered their services and met so great risks in carrying succor to a brother regiment.
Resolved, That as an expression of their gratitude and admiration, if it meet the wishes of the Fifth Rhode Island Regiment, a set of colors be presented to them, bearing a device commemorative of this act of gallantry.
To which a reply was returned as follows: -
CAMP ANTHONY, NEW BERNE, April 28, 1863.
COLONEL, - I take great pleasure in acknowledging to you and the offi- cers of your command my sense of the high honor which you have done us in the very complimentary resolutions which I have just received.
Be assured. Colonel. they are the more acceptable as coming from a body of men whose character and good opinion we respect so highly as the regiment you have the honor to command. Your generous action will tend not only to cement more closely our two brother regiments, but also the sister States from which we came, already closely united by a common history, and by struggles and dangers in defence of our country.
May we be more closely knit together in peace and union under the Rag which both Massachusetts and Rhode Island have done so much to uphold.
Accept, sir, the thanks of the Fifth Rhode Island for your kind sentiments, and believe me,
With respect, very truly yours, H. T. SISSON,
Colonel Commanding Fifth Rhode Island Volunteers.
LE . COMMAN
E
DUTYUN
THEW BERNE
SiPHASTON
m
R
GROUND
SETTLE
Plan of the VICINITY OF New Berne, A. C., SHOWING THE LINE OF BACHELOR'S CREEK.
FROM A PHOTOGRAPH FURNISHED BY WM. GARRISON REED. OF A PLAN DRAWN BY ALLIS 27" MASS.
COPIED FOR THE HISTORY
JAMES 8 GAHONER
NOTE
CAMP AHO RIOHT PICKET POST OF COMPANIES FKD ON BACHELOR'S CREEK, AT CROSSING OF NEUSE ROAD. LEFT PAKET POST COS FNB ON BACHELOR'S CREEK AT LAOSSING OF DOVER ROAD. CAMP SBTH PA. ON BACHELOR'S CREEK AT THE RAIL- ADAD BRIDGE. REGEL PICKETS AT STREET'S FERRY ON THE HORTH SIDE OF NEUSE RIVER.
TUT 187
RO
CHAPTER X.
PICKET-DUTY OF B AND F.
ONDAY, March 2, 1863, Com- panies B and F, under the com- M mand of Captain Storrow of Company F, were taken three miles up the railroad, upon open cars, and relieved two companies of the Fifty-first Massachu- setts on picket. On the 6th the battalion marched three miles farther out, and went into camp in the pine woods near Batchelder's Creek, along which the outer pickets of New Berne were posted.
Former occupants of the post had nearly finished eight log huts in the thick woods. These were not utilized as quarters for the battalion, but around them, as a centre, smaller huts were constructed, roofed in by shelter-tents, littered with straw, warmed by brick fireplaces, and rendered homelike by conveniences and ornaments which the ingenuity and good taste of the rank and file improvised. These occupied three sides, while the wall tents of the officers filled the fourth side. The trees, stumps, and " pine-trash" were removed from the enclosure, leaving a firm, even camp-ground, - fortunately insoluble in rain-water, and never muddy. In the centre of the camp was erected a double- masted flag-pole. topped with a weather-vane, and bearing on its cross-trees the legend, " Camp Lee, occupied March 6, 1863."
The two companies remained in this camp for two months, enjoying the brightest and pleasantest part of a soldier's life. There was a good deal of night work, but not enough to wear
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the men out. The open-air life in the pine woods was so invigo- rating that there was very little sickness in the detachment. There was enough of excitement - a sufficient consciousness of the proximity of the enemy -to give a zest to the routine of duty. The detachment which occupied the post before and after the Forty-fourth, met with serious losses, but during our occupa- tion not a man of our detachment was injurel or captured. It was a long military picnic. The season of the year was a de- lightful one. As the spring advanced, violets, anemones, honey- suckle, and the fragrant jessamine blossomed thickly along the lanes and roads. Birds of gorgeous plumage - bright orange or brilliant scarlet - chattered among the young leaves. The woods were full of rabbits, 'possums, and 'coons ( which the men were successful in trapping), with traces now and then of a prowling fox. The creek was full of fish, - herring, horn-pout, "Welsh- men," and robin or red-fin (bream), for which we angled with hooks baited with worms or soaked hard-tack. A net was found during one of our scouting expeditions, and was strung across the creek near the lower picket-post, who took from its meshes every morning a finny breakfast. With this plenitude of game came a disagreeable accompaniment in the profusion of snakes, - black snakes four or five feet long, moccasins as large as a child's arm, and " copperheads even more venomous than their namesakes in the North."
The chief duty to be performed was the picketing of the line of Batchelder's Creek. There was one pieket of two " non- coms" and twelve men at the burned bridge on the right (Wash- ington) road, and another of three " non-coms" and twenty men two miles to the south, at the left (or Neuse) road, where the piles and stringers of the bridge were standing and planks were ready to lay if an advance was desired. There were other posts on the flanks and rear of our camp, and at night a patrol was maintained around the camp and down a cart-path that led to the wooded banks of the creek. These details were quite as much as two companies could perform, and brought each man on duty about every other day.
Another ( and favorite) duty was the scouting by land and water. When the companies first occupied the picket-posts,
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there were no boats of any kind to be found. A vigorous search was instituted along the banks of the creek, toward the river, and several canoes and flat-boats were found concealed in the dense cane-brakes. These were brought to the Washington road and repaired, and every few days a scouting party was sent down the creek and up the river on a reconnois- sance. The "Rebs" were rarely seen; and the principal result of these expeditions was the collection of a number of useful articles of camp equipage from the deserted huts and houses along the creek.
The scouting by land was constantly followed, usually in small parties. Fortunately, the "Rebs" kept beyond Core Creek and the Neuse River most of the time, and our scouting parties met no mischances. Their most exciting adventure is thus narrated in a letter : -
" Colonel Jones having directed Captain Storrow to ascertain whether the Rebels sent out boat patrols at night from Street's Ferry, an officer and two men were despatched at 9 p. M. to scout on the Washington road. Crossing Batchelder's Creek in a canoe, and leaving behind them our ad- vanced picket-posts, they advanced cautiously along the road about three miles, when they came to the point where it enters the swamp along the Neuse River. A strong wind during the day had blown the water to our side of the river and filled the swamp so full that even the road was sub- merged. The wind had subsided. leaving the water so smooth and the woods so quiet that the slightest sound could be heard a mile away. The Rebel pickets were posted just at the other side of the ferry, and their voices could be plainly heard as they chatted around their camp-fire. In order to observe their motions it was necessary to get to the river bank. The first step of the scouting party into the water which covered the road attracted their attention, but with the remark, 'It's only cattle in the swamp,' they continued their conversation. Moving, therefore, with ex- treme caution, - noiselessly pushing one foot after the other without lifting it from the water, the scouts waded over a quarter of a mile of submerged road. At the bank of the river they halted, with the Rebel picket-fire in
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full sight a short distance down stream, opposite the ferry-landing. No dry spot was to be found, so the three shivering men lay down in shallow water among the bushes and waited for denouements. The situation was impressive. The smooth river gleamed dimly bewveen the dark and swampy opposite shore and the dense shadows of the cypresses under which they lay. The stillness of midnight was only broken by the sounds peculiar to the region, - which had grown familiar from many nights of picket duty on Batchelder's Creek, - the tinkling ' chug' of the young frogs, the trill of the tree-toads, the screech of the owl, the occasional scream of a wildcat, or the frightful yell of the Carolina 'coon.
"Thus they lay quietly in three or four inches of water for four hours. Suddenly, at three in the morning, they were roused by a stir on the other side. A fog had gathered over the river, but a red glam shining through it showed that the picket-fire had been replenished. and the sound of many voices told that the Rebel picket had been reinforced. The voices approached the farther ferry-landing. there was a sound of launching a boat, of embarkation. of dipping oars, and for an anxious moment it appeared certain that the Rebels were crossing the river to land on our side. To have retreated through water knee-deep would only have been to attract a volley. so that there was nothing to do but to lie in ambush and wait. Fortunately. the boat turned down the river and was soon out of hearing. Noiselessly and thankfully the little party waded to dry land, and returned to camp to report that the Rebels did send out a boat patrol. The object of the expedition had been accomplished."
Except these scouting parties, there was not much to vary the monotony of camp life and picket-duty. The day of our arrival, a licutenant and thirty men were ordered in great haste to occupy the camp of the Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania, at the railroad bridge over Batchelder's Creek, two miles beyond the Neuse road, while that regiment marched out to surprise the Rebel pickcts at Core Creek. The Fifty-eighth had spent their eighteen months of service almost entirely on picket. Their commander, Colonel Jones, was a little old man, whose careless and unsol- dierly appearance belied his character, for he was cool, brave, prompt, alert, and fertile in resources. His men idolized him, and followed him into danger with implicit confidence. Shortly after we were withdrawn to New Berne he was shot and instantly killed during an attack on the picket-post on the Neuse road. The only noteworthy thing at the camp of the Fifty-eighth was the " Railroad Monitor." - an iron-plated gunboat on wheels, mounted with two six-pound Wiard pivot-guns, and kept always
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in readiness to run up or down the railroad wherever it might be needed.
On Saturday, March 14th (the anniversary of the capture of New Berne), we were startled at daybreak by heavy firing in the direction of the town. While we were wondering what it meant, an orderly dashed into camp with the news that New Berne had
been attacked from the other side of the river, and was threat- ened on our side, and that we were ordered to move our whole force to the bridge on the Neuse road. Forming hastily, we double-quicked across country by the plantation road which our picket reliefs usually followed, and on arriving at the bridge were ordered to tear up its planks, and to construct breastworks to command the approaches. The day and night were spent in felling trees and in digging trenches. A letter thus describes the scene at night : -
" Under the serene starlight, and a faint glimmer from the old moon, just rising, Batchelder's Creek lay tranquil in the deep shade of its fringe of trees. The clay of the road-bed gleamed white along the bank. The
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skeleton framework of the dismantled bridge ; the pier, barrieaded with logs, on which stood four motionless sentinels with guns in the hollow of their arms; the rifle-pits where half the men lay uneasily on the damp earth, while the muffled sound of pick and spade, the occasional gleam of a dark-lantern, and the subdued orders of the officers, showed that the other half were busily at work; the knowledge that the Rebels were in force only three miles away ; the expectation of an immediate attack, - these things made the night memorable."
But, after all, the enemy withdrew without further demonstra- tion, and on Sunday morning the battalion returned to camp, only too glad of a chance to rest.
Before leaving the bridge, a letter was received from Colonel Jones and read to the detachment, thanking them for the zeal and energy displayed.
After this threat of attack the Rebels were more audacious, and frequently stole down on our lines and tried to catch the pickets napping. Wednesday, March 25, a sergeant of the Third New York Cavalry, while on outpost duty a quarter of a mile from our post at the bridge on the Neuse road, was surprised, captured, and carried off. Captain Storrow, who happened to be at the bridge, started at once with twenty men in pursuit, and a party was ordered out from camp to a fork of the roads near the ferry, in the hope of intercepting the "Rebs" there; but they had too good a start, and got away safely with their prisoner.
During the next two weeks we heard frequent heavy firing from the direction of " Little" Washington, and felt anxious for the safety of the other eight companies of our regiment.
Monday, April 27, General Palmer started with two brigades on the " Gum Swamp expedition." Company F received orders, just at dusk, to march with overcoats, rubber blankets, and such scant rations as could be scraped together. Joining the Fifty- eighth Pennsylvania at the Neuse bridge, they were given the place of an absent company as eighth in the regimental line. One brigade of Palmer's force, including the Forty-fifth Massa- chusetts, advanced by the railroad: while the other brigade, consisting of the Fifth and Twenty-seventh Massachusetts, two companies of the Forty-sixth Massachusetts, the Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania, Company F of the Forty-fourth, and two pieces
-
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of artillery, started up the Neuse road at half-past seven. The weather was disagreeably close and muggy, and a hard rain set in, so that we were glad to halt and bivouac ten miles out, near Core Creek, the enemy's picket line. At noon the next day the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts and Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania marched on, with nothing but arms and equipments, taking the left fork, or Dover road, through the Dover (or Gum) Swamp. After wading many miles through water ankle-deep, we came to Sandy Ridge, where a small earthwork, the remains of a burnt camp, and the carcasses of dead horses marked the place where Colonel Jones had surprised the "Rebs" two months before. Striking the swamp again, we marched on with increasing dif- ficulty till firing was heard at the head of the column, and we learned that a Rebel regiment, marching down our road to flank the Forty-fifth Massachusetts, which was advancing on the rail- road, had been surprised to meet the Twenty-seventh Massachu- setts, and were retiring in disorder. We were double-quicked in the direction of the firing, which was growing hotter. Several companies of the Fifty-eighth were sent forward, and we were eagerly awaiting our turn ; but a combined charge on the Dover road and the railroad drove the " Rebs " from their rifle-pits and ended the skirmish. This was about sundown, and was followed by a retrograde movement. It had rained hard all day, and the road was in a miserable condition. The logs with which it had been " corduroyed" through the swamp were all afloat. The swamp was one vast lake, and it is not exaggeration to say that we marched through one puddle four miles long. Reeking above the knees with perspiration and below them with swamp water, our feet clogged with sand, and stumbling among the floating logs, the men of our detachment, exhausted by continuous night duty on picket, struggled and staggered along through the dark- ness and rain. Occasionally a man would fall out of the ranks, but his gun would be taken by some friend, and he would be supported and led on between hardier comrades. For the last few miles most of us felt at each step as if no power on earth could move us an inch farther. Our legs seemed powerless. We were dazed and almost unconscious, as if we had been drugged. Those who have stood similar trials know how des-
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perately a man clings to his determination to hold out; how he mechanically counts his steps, or the trees as he passes them ; how he clenches his teeth and sings monotonously to himself; how he fixes his eye on the cartridge-box plate of the man in front, and tries to shut out every idea except that he must keep that in sight. Finally we reached camp thoroughly and abso- lutely worn out.
The official reports of this expedition all refer to the weather and the difficulties of marching. Colonel Jones says: "The road runs principally through swamps, with an occasional oasis of dry ground, and, being chiefly covered with water or very wet mud, is heavy and difficult." General Palmer reports: " At midnight it commenced to rain very heavily, and continued until noon of Tuesday, the 28th instant. At the conclusion of the storm the whole country seemed flooded; the roads were in a horrible condition." And in a despatch to New Berne, dated the morning of April 28, General Palmer states that "The whole country is under water. One shower succeeds another very quickly, and we are waiting patiently for a lull in the storm." To this despatch he adds a postscript which will touch the hearts of all old soldiers who read it, and recall similar circumstances : " Unofficial P. S. A ration of whiskey ought to be sent for the men if provisions are sent."
This was the last notable event of picket service. On Satur- day, May 2, two companies of the Forty-sixth Massachusetts straggled into our camp, in shirt-sleeves and straw hats, to relieve us, and in the afternoon we bade adieu to "Camp Lee," and returned to our barracks at New Berne. The flag which had flown from the flag-staff was inscribed "Gum Swamp," and to this day graces the annual reunions of Company F.
CHAPTER XI.
PROVOST DUTY, VOYAGE HOME, AND MUSTER OUT.
1
N one of our popular operas the chorus sings with much gusto, and in a man- ner that leads one to think it does not believe in the sentiment, - "The policeman's life is not a happy one." Every member of the Massachusetts Forty-fourth in May and June, 1863, would have unhesitatingly indorsed the opinion expressed by the operatie author.
In the spring of that year several of the Boston news- papers gravely announced that the Forty-fourth Regi- ment Massachusetts Volun- teers was doing police duty in New Berne. Those who have served in the army will readily appreciate the feeling of indignation and disgust which this statement created among the men of that regiment. This will be easily understood by others, when it is explained that " police duty" in the army is synonymous with "scavenger duty" in civil life; "policing a camp" not meaning the main- tenance of good order and strict discipline, as civilians would naturally suppose, but including such disagreeable and miscella- neous duties as sweeping the grounds, emptying swill, carrying water, etc. The error was, however, a very natural one, and was founded on the following order: -
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