USA > Massachusetts > Record of the service of the Forty-fourth Massachusetts volunteer militia in North Carolina, August 1862 to May 1863 > Part 5
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" Attention, company !" . "Shoulder arms!" The men stood steady in their ranks, we jauntily marched after the band, gave
42
FORTY-FOURTH MASSACHUSETTS INFANTRY.
hearty cheers to the escort and all blue-coats and friends at the station, and went Bostonwards on the cars to meet friends there.
The history of old Readville camp should be written to present the picture of the bright and eager-hearted youths who gathered around its camps, and after the preparatory lessons there received went marching away, thousands after thousands, the flower of our generation, with no thought but of duty to a country which was worthy of the sacrifices these young boys made.
It was more than an ordinary soldier departure day when we marched through Boston. Three regiments, made up, for the larger part, of men from the city and its immediate vicinity, were going.
As we marched up Boylston Street the town seemed alive with people to bid us God-speed. The escort, composed of gentle- men whose every action bespoke a desire to go with us in our Southern pilgrimage; the blessings and cheers that were show- ered upon us by the thousand of ladies whose friends were of us, or of others who had gone before ; the hearty hand-shake of some old gentleman who broke into the ranks with, "God bless you, boys, my Tom is just dead at Antietam!" still remain as vivid pictures. Forgotten then were all distinctions of rank, whether . he who marched bore an eagle, or but the blue on his shoulders ; whether he had no one who knew him but the old lady in black, who hung to his neck and had nothing to bestow but a blessing, or whether some elegant home opened its doors to bid their soldier-boy good-by. As the Boston "Journal," speaking of this reception, says: "Notwithstanding the strenuous efforts of the guard and police to keep the Common clear of almost everything that didn't wear a uniform, many of the ladies could not be resisted, and soon they were seen freely and happily min- gling with their friends in the Forty-fourth, determined to enjoy their society until the last moment." The flurry of rain that occurred on the Common, which drove some of the spectators away; the march up past the State House, down State Street, with the ringing cheers of the crowd of men who gathered as by magic from every quarter, are scenes that will ever remain as pictures the details of which we. can through our memory fill in.
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VOYAGE TO NEW BERNE.
When we took our departure, the time had come for steady, concentrated work in the war. In April, 1861, we had heard the mad scream of excited people rushing after the first soldiery that went their way ; and when the first three-years regiments marched past the old State House, you could see old men follow their dipping banners with the tears of patriotism, and hear half- exclaimed prayers of sobbing women. The lumbermen of Maine, the stanch regiments of New Hampshire, had had their day; but when the tide of war had reached October, 1862, Antietam had been fought. The streets were filled with wounded men. The war had permeated into every relation of life; and the good-by that we got was from a people who knew then what all this sacri- fice meant. The Boston "Traveller" of October 22, gives this account : -
THE FORTY-FOURTH REGIMENT.
This splendid corps left their camp at Readville at a little after 10 o'clock this morning, reaching the Providence Railroad depot at about II. The regiment was under arms as early as 8 o'clock, and on reaching the depot were honored with a salute from the Cadet Regiment, which was drawn up in line and gave nine rousing cheers, which were returned with interest, making a most enthusiastic parting. The Forty-second cheered them vociferously, also, when they were passing their camp.
There were other parting ceremonies last evening at camp, when at the dress parade the regiment was formed in a hollow square and the chap- lain, Rev. Mr. Hall, offered prayer. The band played an appropriate air, and Colonel Lee then called for cheers for the old Commonwealth, and for the dear ones they were to leave behind them. The regiment re- sponded heartily, and then gave nine cheers for their commander. The colonel replied to the compliment in a brief but feeling manner.
After arriving in Boston this noon the regiment formed on Boylston Street, and marched upon the Common, where the New England Guard Reserve Corps and past members were in line and presented arms. The regiment was drawn up on the Charles Street mall, and grounded arms, and about an hour was allowed for the hosts of friends present to say their farewells.
Thousands of people were on the Common, and lined the route of march on Beacon, Park, Tremont, Court, State, and Commercial Streets. State Street, down which the corps passed at one o'clock, was crowded with spectators.
The line was formed as follows : -
Platoon of sixteen police under Sergeant Dunn.
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FORTY-FOURTH MASSACHUSETTS INFANTRY.
The full Gilmore Band.
Reserve corps and past members of the New England Guard, under Major J. Putnam Bradlee and Captains J. L. Henshaw, Thomas Chick- ering, J. M. Howe, and Sewall H. Fessenden.
The Guards escorted a number of past members and officers, including Hon. 1. T. Stevenson, S. H. Gookin, and other gentlemen.
They numbered a hundred bayonets and were in citizens' dress.
The regiment, 1010 strong, with Flagg's brass band in the centre of its right wing.
On their way to Boston in the cars there were frequent groups of people on the road who cheered heartily, and at Roxbury an artillery salute was fired.
The regiment is in splendid condition ; on the Common, at the salute by the Reserve New England Guards, while the Gilmore Band played "Auld Lang Syne," the soldiers wheeled into column of platoons and moved by with the steadiness of veterans, showing the interest they have taken in securing a high degree of skill in manœuvring.
The corps is armed with Enfield rifles captured from an English steamer. and their belts, bayonet-sheaths, and cap-pouches were similarly obtained.
The hank of the belt is a snake of brass, - so emblematic of the vileness of the Rebel cause. Probably the shippers little imagined they would be used against the Rebels.
After we reached the wharf it was but a short time before we found our places on either the steamer "Mississippi" or the " Merrimac," and amidst the cheers of the thousands who had followed to the water side we slowly steamed to anchorage for the night.
The change that we had been doting on had come; we were now to learn some of the tribulations of a soldier's life, and to find that his experience on board a transport is not altogether calculated to make him "wish that he had come." He found his bunk in the hold; and just as he was finding his, he found several hundred others, just as intent, employed in that occupation. A place that he thought too small for his sister's poodle was to be used for three other strapping fellows besides himself. Meantime, the fact that there was such a thing as bilge-water, and that sol- diers no cleaner than they ought to be had occupied this place before, presented themselves vividly to his sense. He remarked that the ventilation might be improved, that the decks were half
-
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VOYAGE TO NEW BERNE.
lighted, and as he picked his way towards deck was crowded to and fro by the many who seemed to fill all places before him. The water-tanks had always a band of thirsty customers, and to get anything like coffee, or the better phrase, " bilge-water," or anything to eat, he must stand in rank and wait until he is counted off, while sergeants and other uncommissioned officers are work- ing here and there to find places or food for their men, or per- chance medicine for some one taken sick so early on the way. The two great transports lay at anchor off Deer Island, and most of the men found their decks by far the most pleasant place on board. They could see the lights of home shining almost all around them. There is a little cluster off towards the South Shore, and a little band of the boys, all from that village, gather together and speculate upon what Tom, or Mary, or father, or So-and-so can be doing over there, -whether that light that seems higher than the rest comes from a home just saddened by a soldier's death.
The lights on Beacon Hill flash upon the night, and there were some in private's toggery on board to whom the homes were fa- miliar. There was a constant bobbing of lights at and upon the forts, while a gunboat went rushing by towards the Navy Yard. Presently voices upon the forward deck let us know that "there is music in the air," and every man had soon forgotten discom- fort in letting the world for a mile or two about know that beans can always be procured "down by the Readville camp." The music changed : sometimes it became pathetic, and there was something plaintive in its sounds, while the lights of distant homes, and the thoughts that would fill the mind, made it still more potent ; then it would break into the patriotic, and our souls be aroused from sadness and carried away to martial sights and sounds, into which we hoped, if carried, to engage with honor.
Some got drowsy and went to join that mighty chorus of those who could sleep, while others remained on deck mooning the night away ; until presently, the anchors being weighed, the ves- sels started, soon leaving home a dim line of blue hills that would insist in getting very misty in so short a time.
I recall, as I stood looking homewards early in the morning, one of the oldest officers of the regiment coming close to where
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FORTY-FOURTH MASSACHUSETTS INFANTRY.
I was, and as he gazed into the mist that kept his home out of sight, I heard him repeat that always sweet Thackerarian, -
" And when the day was breaking, My little girls were waking, And smiling and making A prayer at home for me."
The sun the next morn looked out upon a pleasant day at sea, and soon the crowd came tumbling one on another for fresh air. The sound of every animal that man can imitate blended with
5
.
the laugh and shout of the crowd. The hungry man was on the alert, with his eager eye towards every quarter; he sniffed the officers' breakfast being prepared, and mutiny, if not something worse, was stamped on his face. Occasionally one particular man anxiously asked for water for his daily libations. He got no consolation, excepting to have the transport men state that, though they had carried fifty thousand soldiers, this was the first regiment that wanted water for washing purposes. Dirt, the soldier's comforter, began to put on her grim mask. Some, over- come by scasickness, wandered about with a fiendlike look of
47
VOYAGE TO NEW BERNE.
resignation on their faces, while there ran through the crowd a curious fancy to examine the old hulks, with all the curiosity a Yankee can exhibit.
As we rounded the Cape and got well set on the trip, we began to make ourselves as comfortable as we could, and ac- cepted the situation without conditions.
I should like to have a picture of the crowd upon the decks of one of the transports, - many lying about upon their backs, smoking their pipes in quiet amusement, observing some frolic- some mate attempting a breakdown, or a hand-spring that would land him in a crowd of grave-looking savants discussing some knotty Greek problem, or the more practical game that Sarah Battles so much and under such different circumstances en- joyed. Here a group of strategists were settling the problem of where we were to go; there a party watching distant smoke on the horizon, and querying whether it may not be the terrible " Alabama; " near by, a sad-voiced youth reading " Michelet" to a band of hard-heads, who guy the poor youth until he is obliged to withdraw from the contest; everywhere, men lying upon their backs, enjoying the rapture of looking into the sky while the vessel is seesawing along. Guns are everywhere, and accoutrements are tumbling about. The diary fever becomes contagious, and now and then some genius undertakes a sketch of something picturesque, to find his efforts spoiled by some sad wag.
Transport life is the art of holding on to existence with a fierce patience while praying all the time to reach port; but it has its peculiarities which cannot be found on any shipboard. It is a good place for those who accept, a bad place for growlers.
Beaufort Harbor, with its little village of old-fashioned houses encircling the shore, with the fort at the other end of the circle and the dismal wharf called Morehead City, greeted us, on the morning of October 26, when we pulled up to our place of debarkation. Our eyes were everywhere. This, then, was the part of the sunny South to which we were invited. It hardly looked fit to conquer. Yet when we landed, the pleasure of getting " out of the black hole" was so great that the country round about put on a better tone. A hungry friend just then
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FORTY-FOURTH MASSACHUSETTS INFANTRY.
,
gave me a piece of sweet-potato pie that he had bought of a fat old Dinah, who had a really clean-looking basket, and after the first mouthful, hungry as I was, this experience became my first and last experiment with " sweet-potato pie."
Of course there was delay. The cars backed down past the long building on the wharf with exasperating slowness, while we, with our concentrated Readville equipage still packed in our knapsacks, stood by doing everything but swearing (that was forbidden by the army regulations). The magnificent structures
in which we were expected to ride, consisting of open (platform) freight-cars, with room for some to stand and some to sit, having been finally made ready, we climbed upon them and stowed ourselves away as best we could.
At 1.30 P. M., after interminable delays, we started for New Berne, forty miles away. The Ninth New Jersey, with whom we were destined to march many weary miles, were quartered at Morehead City, and greeted us with hearty cheers. The railroad carried us through a country guarded in fact by block-houses, around which as we passed by were gathered veterans who gave us a glance half-curious, half-satirical, as though they doubted the entire efficiency of our overpowering newness; but the route
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VOYAGE TO NEW BERNE.
was made very interesting in catching glimpses of the country through which Burnside had conducted his brilliant campaign when he captured New Berne.
As the train approached the clearings that were in front of the breastworks that ran down to the river's bank, surrounded by the thick forests that prevail in that country, -other than the mounds of earth built by the enemy, there was no sign that a battle had ever been fought. The more vivid reminders of the existence of war were the chimneys of burned houses, and the air of desolation that was added to the character of the country, dreary enough before the war. The rain in its most pronounced Southern style poured upon our unprotected heads, but there was very little glumness. Jokes were passed. The Mark Tap- ley in us struggled upwards, and we secured a certain amount of interest in the excitement that war scenes always bring to mind. Corporal Gardner, whose letters upon this and other in- cidents connected with our history are exceedingly graphic and interesting, gives the following incident that occurred upon this train : -
" Yankee genius is apt to run to invention ; and at the outbreak of the war one would have judged by the number of new patents that were con- stantly appearing, -- patents for cartridge-boxes, muskets, haversacks, and in fact everything that could by any possible means be enumerated in a soldier's outfit, - that the whole nation had devoted itself to invention. Among these numberless inventions was a patent canteen. It was a com- bined lunch-box, writing-desk, and fluid storehouse. One of the principal advantages claimed for it was, that when a soldier was too weary to lift it to drink, he had but to apply his lips to the end of a rubber tube which was fastened along the strap from which the canteen was suspended and which was close to his mouth ; a slight suction was then all the exertion required I was the proud possessor of one of these articles. Previous to the de- parture of the regiment the canteen had been filled with some whiskey which I resolved to keep for a case of emergency. This resolution, in the innocence of my heart, I confided to many of the boys, and showed them how the famous canteen could be easily emptied of its contents. The morning the regiment landed at Morehead City was threatening, and be- fore the train had started it began to rain, - a genuine Southern rain. The officers and cooks having appropriated the only covered car on the train, the rest of us were obliged to stand on open platform cars that were filled up like a hay-cart. Rubber blankets were no protection, and in a 4
-
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FORTY-FOURTH MASSACHUSETTS INFANTRY.
few minutes we were completely drenched. The air was chilly, and the boys huddled together to keep warm ; nearly all the boys in Company D seemed to have a particular desire to keep me warm, and although the individuals who surrounded me were constantly changing, the number remained about the same. Time and time again, as a cold shiver passed over me, I was tempted to take a sip from the patent canteen ; but I man- fully resisted the temptation. Finally I became too cold, the ten:piation was too great. I succumbed and sucked. No whiskey rose in the tube. I sucked again. No response. An expression of doubt and distinist passed over my face. The boys could keep quiet no longer ; while I had been thanking them almost for their kindness in protecting me from the wind, they had been drinking my precious whiskey. I felt a sense of righteous wrath. But of what avail? The whiskey had disappeared, and probably there was no member of Company D, barring myself and a few anti-alcoholites, but could have told the quality of the liquor."
But the long jaunt came to an end; we rumbled over the bridge into the city of New Berne, where, letting Corporal Gardner tell the remainder of this story, "We reached after dark and found quite a number of the Twenty-third Massachusetts at the depot to receive us. The Twenty-third are guarding the town. It was raining when we reached the city, and we met with the delay usually incident to all military proceedings. At last our company (Company D) and three others were safely housed in the machine-shop connected with the railroad. This was about 7 P. M. It took us but a short time to unsling knapsacks and select our 'bunking places.' Then arose a great demand for eatables. A box of very good codfish and a barrel of bread, hard, were opened, and found a market very quickly. The only water we could procure was by holding our cups under the rain spout; but the supply did not equal the demand. We were all gratified to hear that the Twenty-fourth were preparing some hot coffee, and soon after that the coffee had arrived. Cold, wet, and tired as we were, it tasted better than anything I have had since I left home. As soon as we fairly emptied the mess kettle, we turned over and under our blankets, and in a few minutes were sound asleep."
To me, as I go over the details that then seemed so important and now so misty and almost inconsequential, there comes up a picture of the bright faces that went with us in the life of the
51
VOYAGE TO NEW BERNE.
regiment. They have all gone their way these many a year, - some are resting under
"the low green tent Whose curtain never outward swings,"
and the rest have so changed in the last twenty years that one could almost dream the days we spent in the old Forty-fourth were in another existence, and with other men than those we meet now and call comrades.
--
19
TRENT
PORT
TOTTEN
FORT POISON
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REFERENCES.
I. GUARD HOUSE, NO. I.
2 COMMISSARY DEPARTMENT.
Q- 3. GASTON HOUSE.
4. REGIMENTAL HD. ORS,
3. POST OFFICE
6. NORTH CAROLINA BANK.
7. CRAVEN ST JAIL.
8. STANLEY HOSPITAL.
9. DEPT. HEAD QUARTERS.
IO, GUARD HOUSE, NO 2.
11. ENGINEERS OFFICE.
12. FOSTER HOSPITAL.
13. MASONIC HALL
14. FLAG STAFF.
15. R. A. STATION.
Swamp
17. SOLDIERS' CEMETERY.
18 ORPHAN ASYLUM
19. NATIONAL CEMETERY.
20 21. REGIMENTAL HOSPITAL
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EXOSYERS WNF
PLAN OF
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ARRANGED FROM PLAN COMPILED BY SOLON M. ALLIS, 27TH MASS. APRIL, 1664, BY J. B GARDNER, 44TH. MAS6 DEC 1885.
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16. CITIZENS' CEMETERY.
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16
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RIVER
CHAPTER IV.
NEW BERNE AND ITS GARRISON.
V
EW BERNE, the county seat of Craven County, and the largest town in eastern North Carolina, is situated on the southwest bank of the Neuse River, - at this point over a mile wide and navigable, - at its confluence with the Trent, thirty miles from Pamlico Sound, and one hundred and twenty miles southeast from Raleigh.
At the beginning of the Civil War the population of New Berne was about five thousand. It was a port of entry, exporting large quanti- ties of grain, lumber, tar, and turpentine, and having also a considerable coastwise commerce. Railroads connected it with Beaufort on the coast, and through Weldon with Goldsboro' and its converging roads in the interior. It had a bank, a theatre, two good hotels, a daily newspaper, and other features of a thriving city. The paper was revived under Yankee auspices after the capture, and as " The New Berne Progress," containing as much news as the military authorities deemed it proper to allow, was a welcome visitor in the camps.
The town was an attractive one, of the Southern type. Wide streets, running generally at right angles, and shaded by large trees, were bordered by detached dwelling-houses, mainly built
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FORTY-FOURTH MASSACHUSETTS INFANTRY.
of wood, with broad verandas and luxuriant gardens. At the time of our occupation the better part of the native whites had left the city. Their houses, occupied by troops, had been neglected and fallen out of repair. Negroes swarmed through the town, and populated its outskirts.
Early in the war the attention of the Federal authorities was directed to the facilities afforded by the inlets and sounds of the North Carolina coast for collecting and forwarding supplies for the Virginia armies; for exporting the naval stores which could be turned into money abroad; for the entrance of blockade- runners returning with arms, ammunition, and clothing; and for sheltering small privateers, which could issue from the inlets, dash upon coasting merchant-vessels, and return at discretion to the friendly shelter of the sounds. The formation of the coast, - a narrow strip of sand enclosing extensive land-locked bodies of water, - while favorable to such commerce, was also favorable for naval attacks from the ocean, and correspondingly weak for defence.
As early as August, 1861, a naval expedition accompanied by a small land force under General Butler captured and occupied the forts at Hatteras Inlet. In January, 1862, a large force under General Burnside (the Burnside Expedition), embarking at Hamp- ton Roads, was transported with difficulty over the shallow and shifting bar at Hatteras, and in February attacked and carried the Rebel works at Roanoke Island, the key to Albemarle Sound.
A month later, the naval forces and transports left Roanoke Island, steamed up the Neuse, and landed the troops of the ex- pedition sixteen miles below New Berne. On the morning of March 14 a line of earthworks running from the river across the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad, and defended by ten thousand Confederates, was attacked and gallantly carried by our forces, in about equal numbers. Generals Foster, Reno, and Parke commanded the three columns of attack, which pushed forward after the retreating Rebels, and took possession of New Berne.
Through these successive victories the army and navy effected a permanent lodgment in eastern North Carolina, which they held until the close of the war. Our occupation effectually stopped blockade running, exporting, and privateering, as far
55
NEW BERNE AND ITS GARRISON.
south as Wilmington, N. C., and was a constant menace to the flank and rear of the Confederate armies around Richmond.
In July, 1862, General Burnside was ordered, with a large portion of his force, to Virginia, and General Foster assumed command of the Department of North Carolina. On Sep- tember 24, he addressed a letter to General Halleck, General-in- Chief of the United States Army, at Washington, making formal application for more troops. He writes : -
"The advantages of this post for drilling and perfecting new regiments are very great. The place is healthy, wood in great abundance, water sufficient, and subsistence and quartermaster's supplies are easily brought from New York, both to this place and to Beaufort, from which point the railroad is in good order and running. I have some eight regiments of infantry here, of old troops divided into two brigades, commanded by most excellent officers (acting brigadier-generals), Colonels Amory and Steven- son, and with other excellent colonels could readily drill any number of new regiments. My artillery force (Third New York Artillery) is good. They number five light batteries with twenty-eight pieces, Rhode Island battery with six pieces, Rocket battalion with eight pieces. My siege train, ready for transportation, though at present on shipboard with supply of ammunition, consists of four 30-pounder Parrott guns; in addition to which I can land for the investment of any sea-coast place ten 32-pounders in ship carriages. My cavalry force is one good and efficient regiment, - Third New York Cavalry. My knowledge of the country in this region, derived from being stationed here as engineer officer in charge, and more lately in command of this department, enables me to use the small force at my disposal to advantage ; which advantages would of course be greatly increased by having a much larger force at my disposal."
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