USA > Massachusetts > Reminiscences of military service in the Forty-third regiment, Massachusetts infantry, during the great Civil war, 1862-63 > Part 3
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THE VOYAGE.
CHAPTER II.
THE VOYAGE.
W E awoke on the following morning, and, to our sur- prise, we found ourselves lying at anchor under shel- ter of Deer Island. It was understood that we were to wait until the gunboat " Huron " could be prepared at the Navy Yard to act as a convoy. The Confederate cruiser " Ala- bama " had been capturing shipping off the coast, and it was deemed unsafe to trust unarmed steamers, like our own, at sea.
Meanwhile a severe and long-continued easterly storm, a gale indeed, with rain and snow, set in. The large size and corresponding draught of our ships had compelled us to anchor at some distance from the island. The storm occa- sioned a heavy swell to heave in from Broad Sound; and the action of the tide caused the vessels to lie, much of the time, in the trough of the sea, or sideways to the waves : they rolled considerably, and this made the situation quite uncom- fortable to us all, and specially so to those, of whom there were many, who were inclined to seasickness.
I should have stated previously that the Forty-fifth Regi- ment from Readville was under the same orders as ourselves, with the exception that they were on board " The Mississip- pi," a sister-ship of " The Merrimac ; " and the Forty-sixth, a nine-months regiment from the western part of the State, was also with us, half being on board " The Merrimac," and half on board " The Mississippi." This made nearly fifteen hundred men on board each ship, which would have tasked their capacity to the utmost, even in pleasant weather. The ships were well ventilated, and fitted for troops; but the number on board was too large. And the privations and ex-
30 HISTORY OF THE FORTY-THIRD REGIMENT, M. V.M.
posures were sufficiently marked to cause much fault-finding and some suffering.
The national authorities at Boston sent down another steamer, "The Saxon," as soon as our condition became known. Part of the men of the Forty-sixth were removed from each ship to her, and peace and comfort prevailed among us. The storm abated on Sunday, our preparations were completed ; and on Monday afternoon, Nov. 10, we saw the gunboat coming down the harbor. All three of the trans- ports immediately weighed their anchors, and proceeded to sea, accompanied by our friends in harbor-tugs, who finally bid us good-by as they went over the side while we were passing Boston Light at sunset.
I remained upon deck long enough to enjoy the sight of the four ships steaming rapidly to sea, one after the other, the regulation-colored lights at each bow, and a light at every masthead. Going down to my place on the after- orlop, I slept quietly until about three o'clock in the morn- ing, when I was startled by a slight collision, with a peculiar noise. For the moment I was mystified. The ship's pro- peller stopped at once, and it seemed a long time before the sound, which was a rasping friction of something with the ship's side her whole length, ceased. But she finally ran clear of it, and we soon learned, what I had suspected after my first bewilderment was over. Our ship was built of iron, and we had struck the iron-can buoy located at Monomoy Point, the extreme south-eastern extremity of Cape Cod. The sound was as unearthly as the bray of the mules with which we afterwards became so familiar in North Carolina. The men were, for the most part, cool; but there were tendencies to a rush to the gangway-ladders, which might have been disas- trous to some of us. This was happily averted, however, by the loud and clear voice of Capt. Hanover, who had leaped upon deck at the first alarm, and, after learning its cause, came to the hatch, and calmed our apprehensions with an explanation. It was fortunate for us that we had been re- lieved of some of the men of the Forty-sixth. We were so fearfully crowded while they were with us, that we should
31
THE VOYAGE.
have struggled desperately, if a panic had happened, to get on deck.
At daylight we were passing Edgartown, and, on clearing Vineyard Sound, directed our course to the south-west, which soon brought us to the open ocean ; and by ten o'clock A.M. we had sunk Block Island (the last land in sight) so low, that it only showed as a speck upon the horizon. We were at sea. The last local association had been sundered, and we became conscious that henceforth our country demanded all our time and strength in her service.
Of the voyage, as of the camp, I have but one letter, which I will copy, and afterwards supply its omissions.
STEAMER "MERRIMAC," OFF BEAUFORT, N.C., Friday, A.M., Nov. 14, 1862.
- -- I am on deck this morning, under a summer sky soft and balmy, with showers falling in the horizon, as with us in August, endeavoring, as best I may amid the constant interruptions incident to such a crowd, to peneil a few lines. We are supposed to be close in to Beaufort, as we passed Hatteras Light last even- ing, though the shore is so low that it is invisible. With the ex- ception of three or four passing vessels and our own squadron, we have seen nothing but sea and sky since Tuesday morning. Our passage has been very pleasant, and, with the exception of one day, very smooth. There has been, however, some seasickness on board. The length of our voyage has been owing to the dull sailing of our convoy, " The Huron; " there being a constant necessity of slacking speed, of stopping, and even of going back and cireling around her, in order to keep within the shelter of her powerful armament.
SATURDAY, A.M., Nov. 15.
Last night " The Mississippi " ran away, and this morning "The Saxon" and ourselves are following suit, driving ahead with the full force of our engines. We expect to be in Beaufort before night.
Our officers have been very kind and considerate, and we are favored with the presence of one lady, the colonel's wife, who stands to us as an earnest of what a thousand other wives would do, did circumstances permit. You can't think how grateful we are to the kind friends in Chelsea, who at the last moment sent our
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HISTORY OF THE FORTY-THIRD REGIMENT, M.V.M.
company five barrels of apples. They are so admirable, both for the palate and above all for health, that we have been the envy of the regiment. I believe that Mr. Butts was conspicuous in this kind deed : if so, I could wish to extend to him our hearty thanks. I have fared well during the voyage, having my haversack so well filled by loving hands on the Common. We have had two meals a day, which has been enough. As we are so crowded, there is no room for drill, and we have but little to do. What privation there has been has been mainly due to the fact that we are entirely de- pendent upon condensed water, as all the fresh water that we have has to be given to the officers' horses, who will not drink a drop of the condensed water : this is limited in quantity, and it tastes so strongly of oil as to be nauseous. Many can taste it even in tea and coffee. (Interrupted by arrival.)
The only incident of general interest which happened during our voyage was an accident of a serious nature to our quarter- master, Lieut. Henry A. Turner. He, with quite a number of other officers, was on the quarter-deck, at the extreme after-end of the ship, on the most windy day of our voyage. The ship was very uneasy, making it difficult for landsmen to preserve their balance. The officers had gathered a quantity of joiner's chips, pieces of board, and the like, and one by one they were throwing them overboard, and then firing at them with revolvers, as long as they remained within easy range. It was quite exciting sport. as the water showed where the balls struck ; and encomium or ridicule rapidly followed upon each shot, according to its success or failure. All at once, we of the ranks, who were debarred from the official precincts above us, noticed a sudden cessation of the firing, the laughter, and talk, and it quickly appeared that the services of our surgeon were required. It proved that Lieut. Turner, while wait- ing for his chance to fire, had prematurely discharged his weapon while holding it downwards ; and the ball had gone through the centre of his foot.
I will finish the record of the voyage by using a portion of the first letter home from Newbern.
IN CAMP, NEAR NEWBERN, NOV. 16, 1862.
- I wrote to you on board ship, sealing my letter on discovering land, and leaving it on board for transit home. We were unfortunate enough to ground on a bar shortly after entering
-
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THE VOYAGE.
the harbor, giving the other regiment the start of us in respect to railroad facilities ; so that we did not get elear of the ship until Saturday noou, nine days after coming on board. What should we have thought if we could have known this when we embarked !
From the same letter I quote as follows : -
" We had a pleasant and interesting railroad ride to Newbern, through rough forest scenery. We passed over the battle-field which resulted in the capture of the town six months before, with- out being aware of its proximity, and stopped on the south bank of the Trent River. From here we marched north-westerly, along the course of the Trent, about two miles from Newbern, and halted very nearly upon the spot, at nightfall, where our regiment was to be located. 'Camp Rogers' was the name afterwards given to it, in houor of Major C. O. Rogers of ' The Boston Journal,' a patron of the regiment."
THE CAMP.
For a day or two our situation was one of uncertainty and discomfort while waiting for our material and stores from "The Merrimac ; " but gradually order came out of disorder, as we adjusted ourselves to our new circumstances. My first impressions of the place are recorded as follows : -
"Our camp is very pleasantly situated on an elevated rolling plain, more extensive than Readville, about two miles and a half long, and a mile wide, having beeu a plantation. The soil is a porous, sandy loam very much resembling the Cape, but more arable. It is thiuly elothed with grass, and contrasts strangely with the luxuriance of the meadows and water-courses. If you can bring into your mind all that you have read of the verdure of Brazil, and suppose it by some incomprehensible process wedded to the barren sterility of our sandy Cape, you will have some idea of what I am seeing here in respect to natural scenery."
I afterward ascertained that there were large beds of deli- cate tropical shells, barely hidden beneath the surface, within a few hundred feet of our camp; thus proving that the low part of North Carolina is of very recent origin.
In the location of the camp the north-western corner was
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HISTORY OF THE FORTY-THIRD REGIMENT, M. V.M.
bounded by the Trent for a hundred feet or thereabouts. At this point there was a beach of hard soil. The river was perfectly fresh, there being no regular tide, though the volume of water varied considerably. This beach was a great convenience to us. The whole regiment resorted to it in the morning to wash or bathe; and parties were present at all hours of leisure engaged in washing clothes.
Just below the camp, a few hundred feet, there was a bridge, which connected with what was called the Trent Road, leading toward Kinston. This bridge, I should judge, was about four hundred feet long. About a quarter of a mile nearer Newbern, the navy was represented by a New- York canal-boat, which was doing duty as a floating battery. She had a rifled pivot-gun on her deck, and was a fixture, although afloat all the time of our stay. During the still- ness of the night we could hear her bell striking the time in nautical style. This was a great convenience in regulating our watches, and the associations were also pleasant to those of us who were accustomed to the sea.
The Chaplain writes concerning the camp as follows : -
TIGER REGIMENT (CAMP ROGERS), Dec. 8, 1862.
Our camp is on the right bank of the River Trent, a broad and tortuous stream which creeps northward to the Neuse with a flow so sluggish as to be hardly perceptible ; while on its left bank, and between the two rivers, is the city of Newbern. We are two miles from town by direct course and the railroad-bridge ; some four or five miles, if we choose a pleasanter route through woods, crossing the Trent by an old bridge near the barracks of the Forty-fifth Massachusetts Regiment. Our regimental line extends north and south, the left toward Newbern, the right resting on the river, which at this point wears gently inward upon us. The rising sun looks into the tent-doors of the field and line officers, and up the company streets.
At dress-parade, when the day is withdrawing through the west, amid its setting splendors we fancy ourselves at Readville again. True, the glories of Blue Mountain are not in front of our line of battle ; but just over the extreme right, between our hospital and chapel tents, and beyond the river and the far-stretching marsh, we
7
نفـ
معفة
CAMP ROGERS.
ENCAMPMENT OF THE FORTY-THIRD REGIMENT M. V. M. NEWBERN, N. C., MARCH 12TH, 1863.
35
THE VOYAGE.
see the sun go down precisely as at our first encampment in old Massachusetts. There are the same officers in the same relative positions, the same commands in the same ringing tones, the same glistening bayonets, polished musket-barrels, shoulder-scales, and various housings, burnished by the same peaceful radiance ; and the surface of the Trent, no longer dark and sullen, but beaming with the brightness of the descending sun, whose benignant smile has overlaid it, seems no other than that of the little lake which spread so sweetly between us and the Forty-fourth hardly more than a month ago.
THE REGIMENT. 1755076
There was no time previous to our arrival in North Caro- lina which could be devoted to a description of our regiment, for changes were taking place from day to day, which now measurably ceased, and the battalion took permanent form. The history of the company involves, to a large extent, that of the regiment, and especially so in our case, as we were the color-company, and on that account were the less liable to be detached :. in fact we were only separated for a week or two during the whole time of service.
The field-officers were as follows : -
CHARLES S. HOLBROOK, Colonel; JOHN C. WHITON, Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Colonel of the Massachusetts Fifty-eighth) ; EVERETT LANE, Major; A. CARTER WEBBER, Surgeon ; AUGUSTUS MASON, Assistant Surgeon ; JAMES M. WHITNEY, Adjutant ; HENRY A. TURNER, Quartermaster ; JACOB M. MANNING, Chaplain; J. E. GILMAN, Sergeant- Major; W. W. TUTTLE, Quartermaster-Sergeant ; A. C. JORDAN, Commissary Sergeant ; W. H. MANSFIELD, Hospital Steward.
The details of companies for special duty apart from the regiment during our term of service were as follows : -
Nov. 30, Company C, Capt. William B. Fowle, jun., was ordered to Beaufort, N.C., where it remained until the 4th of March, 1863, when it reported back to the regiment. On Dec. 31, 1862, Companies A, D, and E, were ordered on picket-duty at Bachellor's Creek, about ten miles from camp, where they remained till Jan. 11, 1863. They were under
!
36
HISTORY OF THE FORTY-THIRD REGIMENT, M.V.M.
the command of Capt. T. G. Whytal of Company D. Jan. 11. Company I, Capt. George O. Tyler, was ordered on picket-duty at Evan's Mills, about seven miles from camp, where it remained till March 2, 1863. On the 15th of April, Companies C, D, and H, as further stated, were de- tailed for special duty in Pamlico Sound, under Major Lane, from which we were relieved on the 24th inst.
The report of the adjutant-general gives seventy-one deser- tions from two of the Boston companies, A and B, while only twenty-four are reported against the rest of the regiment, of which nine are set against the other Boston Company, C, three ouly being credited to our company. The reason for this is to be found in the fact that Boston was slow in offering bounties, and the country companies profited by her delay. In justice to the whole regiment it should be said that there was not, so far as I know. a single genuine case of desertion after we left the State. The whole battalion was patriotic and loyal, without ostentation or vanity.
We were united with the Twenty-third, the Seventeenth, the Forty-fifth, and the Fifty-first. all Massachusetts regi- ments, and formed the First Brigade, and first division of the Eighteenth Army Corps. Col. Thomas J. C. Amory of the Seventeenth was acting brigadier.
Of our camp, which I have previously located, I should say here, that, although it proved to be in some senses a per- manent one, yet this fact could not be assumed beforehand. Every thing in the soldier's life is, and must be in the nature of the case, uncertain. We might at any moment have been driven out or captured by the Confederates, or, without notice, have been ordered up into Virginia, or sent to the Southern coast with the great expedition which was fitted out in our department during the winter. In fact, the regi- ment was often absent (at one time as long as two weeks, during the movements around Little Washington) ; but we always finally returned to the first camp, so that we came eventually to regard it as our home, and cheerfully devoted time and labor to its grading, improvement, and ornamenta- tion. Of the details of this work and of our life in camp, I
37
THE VOYAGE.
will write more in future. We had been a month in North Carolina when events matured as indicated in the following letter : -
CAMP ROGERS, NEWBERN, Dec. 9, 1862.
-, I despatched a letter to you this morning, and, shortly - after sending it, our orderly came to my tent, and told me that I was one of the three who had drawn the privilege of a day's liberty to visit Newbern. So, after cleaning my gun from yesterday's firing, off I started for the Fifth Regiment, by way of Newbern. which I found a place hardly worthy of a second visit, looking as though nothing had been done to it for thirty years. I had, how- ever, a very pleasant call on Chaplain Snow of the Fifth, and also on my Navy-Yard acquaintances in the Charlestown City Guard.
But the item that prompts this note to you is the fact that we have received re-enforcements to-day (how many I cannot tell, but I suppose not a very large number) ; and to-night, on dress- parade, orders were read for us to be ready to march within thirty- six hours, with three days' cooked rations, two blankets. one extra pair of socks, without knapsacks, and, as is understood, without breaking up the camp, and with seven days' rations in bulk. It is probable that it is an expedition similar to the Tarboro march ; but of this we cannot tell. as we cannot even guess our destination. I do not know what reports may reach you, so, little as it is, I thought best to send you all I knew. as it is not likely that I shall have a chance for some time of writing again. . . .
Our cooks were busy all night preparing our extra rations, and in various ways our time during the next day was fully taken up. Such artieles of clothing and bedding as were not wanted, together with other personal articles, were either packed in our knapsacks or strapped to them, and were carried to a transport schooner, " The Skirmisher," which was brought up to the upper bridge aeross the Trent. This led us to think that we were not to return to Newbern, as we reasoned that the schooner was to follow the column with our equipments ; but it appeared afterward that it was only for their safe keeping. The tents were allowed to remain standing, and were unmolested during our absence.
Some of the young men of the regiment were wild with delight at the certainty of an engagement; but to most of
38
HISTORY OF THE FORTY-THIRD REGIMENT, M.V.M.
us the thought of the untried scenes which were before us, possibly of wounds, imprisonment, and death, was not spe- cially exhilarating. There was no depression, however, and no indication of irresolution; nor was there in either of the engagements which ensued.
Early on the morning of Thursday, Dec. 11, we were in line on the parade-ground, prepared, as ordered, for the march. Our colonel made a brief speech, enjoining us to obey orders, to keep in our places, and assured us that he did not want us to go anywhere that he did not lead. We gave three cheers, started in the direction of Newbern; and "The Great March" was begun.
39
THE GREAT MARCH. - KINSTON.
CHAPTER HI.
THE GREAT MARCH. -- KINSTON.
THE morning was foggy. Our movement was made in T T connection with Burnside's attack on Lee, at Freder- icksburg, Va., and, at the moment we started, the pickets of both armies were firing across the Rappahannock, through the mist, at the flashes of their rifles, without seeing each other. I will say here, that most of our marches in North Carolina were made, more or less, in connection with the course of events in Virginia. The great railroads were in operation within the rebel lines ; and troops were moved with such facility upon them that we could have been driven out of Newbern at any moment. And we should have been, un- doubtedly, were it not that the gunboats would instantly have recaptured the place.
We entered Newbern by the railroad-bridge, and found its streets thronged with troops of every arm, all under similar orders with ourselves. The town had been abandoned by its inhabitants : but their places had been filled by fleeing slaves from the interior. There was also a considerable number of officers' wives, and some families of civilians connected in various ways with the public service. The morning was `warm, the windows were open, and the faces of our fair countrywomen told but too plainly of the severity of the strain which the terrible experiences of war imposed upon them. All shades of sorrowful expression, accompanied in some cases with deathly pallor, were to be seen ; and I no- ticed one instance of a lady, presumptively the wife of a general officer, who was pacing to and fro in her parlor, wringing her hands, with-every indication of poignant suffer- ing. On the following sabbath we were passing through the
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HISTORY OF THE FORTY-THIRD REGIMENT, M.V.M.
streets of Kinston, and the few women who remained in their homes received us in much the same manner. Whoever, hereafter, succeeds in bringing the true causes of the war to - light will find the richest veins of basic truth lying just be- low the refined feminine sensibilities of the cultivated women of the South. Their action in throwing their almost omni- potent influence on the side of armed resistance to law was a crime against the gentle nature of the sex.
The moving columns, slowly and with frequent delay, converged upon the road to Kinston; the fog vanished ; and by nine o'clock we were fairly on our march. Two-thirds of the column was composed of us raw recruits, nine-months men from Massachusetts : most of the rest were the remnants of Burnside's original army, with which, six months before, he had captured the seaports of the State; the recent re-en- forcements being mainly regiments whose depleted ranks told an impressive story of the exposures of the Peninsular cam- paign. Gen. Foster was an artillery officer, a veteran of the Mexican war, one of the gallant band who had been shut up in Sumter. He favored his own armn in fighting, and to this, I apprehend, was due the fact, that, though our little army only numbered at the most fifteen thousand men, we had sixty pieces of artillery. His policy seemed to be to get his guns within easy musket-range of the enemy, to pack his infantry as closely around them as possible, lying on our faces, and then to blaze away.
One of these batteries, Morison's of New York, was com- posed of brass guns called Napoleons. They were of very large size and bore for field artillery, firing a six-inch round shell. Their appearance was imposing ; but the reverbera- tion from their brazen throats was terrific. One of the most impressive sights that we witnessed was when they were planted on the river-bank at Kinston, and opened their fire upon the town.
We untried soldiers gazed with something of awe upon the faces of the veterans of Roanoke Island and the fight at Newbern. We heard them say to each other with easy non- chalance, "Something up now, sure ! " " You bet your life on
41
THE GREAT MARCHI, - KINSTON.
that !" " This means business," etc. The Erie Canal of New York, and the mines of Pennsylvania, had sent their quotas of sturdy men. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecti- cut were well represented among the veterans. New Jersey was there in the gallant Ninth, and, by our association with these brave men, we returned to Newbern with sufficient experience and reputation to be intrusted with the defence of the coast, while most of the veterans were withdrawn to other departments.
Our march the first day was to a plantation on the New- bern side of what afterwards became known to us as Deep Gully. We were not opposed, and rested quietly during the night. Much to the surprise of us new-comers, no tents were furnished. We had supposed that flies, at least, would be provided ; but they were not, and it was a puzzle to us to know what we should do in case of rain or snow. We learned however, before our return, that rubber blankets can be so utilized, even in the open air, as to answer nearly, if not quite, as well as the thin, small, inconvenient sheets of cotton- cloth, two of which united constitute a fly-tent. In cold weather, soldiers are obliged, when on the march, to sleep as close to each other as is possible for the sake of the warmth. This liberates at least half of the blankets, as they are not needed underneath the body: in such cases, the half thus liberated are placed on top of the sleeping ranks, protecting the soldier and his woollen blanket. These last, it should be further stated, are duplicated by the same process ; so that each man has at least one thickness of rubber, and two or three of woollen, both underneath and over him. I have repeatedly seen men sleep quietly, while covered in this manner, during a drenching thunder-shower. As the warm season approached, flies were given to us ; but they were not acceptable, and, if circumstances allowed it, we hutted our- selves in preference to using them.
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