USA > Massachusetts > Wearing the blue in the Twenty-fifth Mass. volunteer infantry, with Burnside's coast division, 18th army corps, and Army of the James > Part 21
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WEARING THE BLUE.
When Hoke appeared with his army in front of Plymouth, the river was held by the gunboats Miami, Captain Flusser, the Southfield, Lieutenant French, and the Bombshell.
On the first day, the enemy captured Forts Warren and Wessells and immediately besieged the town. On the 20th, Fort Williams was surrendered after an obstinate defence, and the town, with sixteen hundred prisoners, twenty-five guns and two thousand small arms, fell into the possession of the enemy.
[In a previous chapter we have briefly narrated the river defence of Plymouth by the gunboats, resulting in the death of the heroic Flusser. ]
The death of Flusser, the silence of the gunboats, and the capture of Fort Williams, rendered further defence out of the question. General Wessells was therefore forced to surrender. Quite a number of officers and soldiers however, made their escape before the surrender, and were able to reach New Berne in safety.
The surrender of Plymouth made Washington, N. C., unten- able, and that place was evacuated by our forces.
On the 5th of May, Beauregard took command of the rebel : forces in North Carolina.
On the 25th of April, General Peck was relieved from the command of the District of North Carolina by order of General Butler, and by the same order, the writer was relieved from . the position of Chief Provost-Marshal.' The command at New Berne devolved upon Brigadier-General I. N. Palmer, an officer of many accomplishments, who, previous to the war of the rebellion was an officer of cavalry in the regular army. His adjutant-general was Captain J. A. Judson. This latter officer was perfectly familiar with affairs in North Carolina and possessed energy enough to run balf a dozen headquarters. Judson with his big goose quill and two or three amanuenses behind him, writing and dictating, was able to turn off any amount of solid work. He was a strict disciplinarian, and
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many of our soldiers made sundry visits to guard-houses because they did not practice exactly all the little details of duty, which might be looked upon by some, as matters of small importance.
General Peck had been very successful in defending New Berne and in making it capable of being defended by a small force. We never knew the special reason, if there was one, why he was removed. From the day of his removal, the country lost the service of a most capable officer, a stern Unionist, who abhorred treason and traitors, aud had no fellowship with one or the other. He believed in making war without gloves and punishing traitors for the crime of treason. General Peck retired to his home in Syracuse, New York, where he died in 1878.
HOKE'S ATTACK UPON NEW BERNE.
Having occupied some days in settling the affairs of our official position and in turning over property, etc., to our successor, Major Lawson of the Second Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, we were ready to embark on the steamer for Fortress Monroe, when, [May 4th,] the enemy under Gen- eral Hoke suddenly appeared on the Trent road, driving in the pickets and once more investing New Berne. While the force of Hoke was estimated to be fifteen thousand men, (perhaps overestimated) the total of Union soldiers in and about New Berne, of all arms, could not have exceeded fifteen hundred. The steamer for Fortress Monroe would leave in a few hours, but we did not fancy the idea of running away from a place threatened with an attack, and stating this to General Palmer and offering service in any capacity the emergency might require, he issued an order giving us command of some four hundred men known as the Con- valescent Battalion, being men from the hospitals capable of bearing arms, for duty in the trenches. Lieutenant. Brown, mastering officer, also waiting transportation to Vir-
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ginia, aided in preparing the battalion for duty. May 5th the enemy commenced erecting batteries on the point below Fort Spinola, and also threw up earthworks facing our own, south of the Trent river. That evening, Colonel Heaton, Supervising Treasury Agent, taking with him the govern- ment money, escaped from New Berne and went down the river in safety. A number of citizens and several ladies, not over-confident of the ability of General Palmer to make a successful defence against such odds, also made a safe exit from the town during the night. It was evident enough, that New Berne was doomed: nothing within the power of the small body of troops defending the place could prevent its capture, yet, somehow there was a general determination to make a defence, and there was no thought of surrender, that found expression in words.
On the morning of May 6th, a flag of truce approached our lines on the south side of the Trent. It boro a formal demand from Hoke for the surrender of New Bernc. Palmer immedi- ately returned his answer, refusing the demand. At once the enemy opened fire; soon the firing became general on both sides, and for once at least, it was seen how very much noise a few Union soldiers could make. But suddenly the fire of the enemy ecased. Without waiting long, it was ascertained that the enemy had retired ! Scouting parties were sent out, finding the enemy moving rapidly toward Kinston. Deserters from the Confederates who came to our lines, stated that Hoke had been notified of important movements in Virginia-that Grant and Butler had put on their war-paint, and the forces under Hoke were needed to intercept the Federal advance. This statement was strictly true, as we shall see in due time, when we shall learn the particular movements in Virginia that saved New Berne from capture .*
[Before referring to other matter, we may be allowed to say, that the writer left New Berne, May 7th, [1504] joining the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts at Bermuda Hundreds, Va., [ May 19th ] and after a brief field service with the remnant that survived the shock at Drewry's
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On the 20th of May, 1864, Rev. Stephen G. Dodd was appointed Chaplain of the Massachusetts Twenty-fifth, sup- plying the vacancy made by the promotion of Chaplain James to be Quartermaster United States Volunteers. The ap- pointment of Chaplain Dodd proved quite satisfactory to the regiment. He was efficient in his duties, and endeavored to serve the men of the battalion with conscientious fidelity. The Twenty-fifth Massachusetts was exceedingly fortunate in its chaplains.
REDUCING OFFICERS TO THE RANKS.
Since commencing the work of preparing this history of the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts, we have had placed in our possession, a package of papers relative to the official military treatment of six officers of the Thirty-sixth Regiment United States C. T., commanded by Colonel Alonzo G. Draper. These officers were Captains George B. Proctor, George F. Allen, Lieutenants George L. Seagrave, Leonard T. Gaskill, Edward Townsend and Aaron D. Parker, all of whom had been enlisted men, some of them serving as sergeants and some as corporals in the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts Volunteers. Each of them had been, by proper military authority, duly dis- charged from, and mustered out of the Twenty-fifth Regiment, and each had received appointment in the rank stated, and mustered into the service and assigned to the said Thirty-sixth Regiment C. T. It may be unnecessary to say it, and yet this seems to be a proper place to remark for the information of
Bluff, was ordered [May 23rd] to report as Provost-Marshal of the Eighteenth Corps upon the staff of Major-General Smith, taking temporarily the position vacated by Captain Flemming . f Pennsylvania, who had leave of absence on account of sickness. This position was held until June 11th, when Flemming reported for duty, and the writer asked to be returned for duty with his regiment, but instead, was appointed Chief of Corps Ambulance, relieving Captain _ Butler of New Hampshire, who was appointed to other staff duty. Thus serving upon staff duty up to the time when the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts left the Virginia field, as will be hereafter noted, the writer feels it his duty to state the facts and offer them as an excuse for his inability to make such minute details of regimental movements as he might otherwise furnish. ]
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those who have no personal knowledge of the matter, that these young men were representative men of the Twenty-fifth Massa- chusetts, intelligent, and of most excellent personal character and habits. In every respect, they were the equals of the best of their comrades in the Twenty-fifth Regiment. On the first of April, 1864, these officers found themselves on duty with their regiment at Point Lookout, Maryland, very far removed from any armed enemy, the principal duty there being to guard rebel prisoners. Between the 6th and 18th of April, twelve officers of the Thirty-sixth Regiment C. T. tendered their resignations. The commanding officer of the regiment did not forward the resignations as they were received, but when nine resignations had been tendered, six of them being of officers previously named, he forwarded the batch to General Butler, at Fortress Monroe.
It appears by the papers before us, that there were many reasons why these officers deemed it proper to tender their resignations, among them the unwarranted interference of the colonel commanding with their discipline and management of the men placed in their charge ; unmilitary orders, and a want of confidence in their commanding officer.
Another reason, perhaps the prominent one, may best be stated in the language of one of these officers, in a letter now before us.
" The great reason which prompted me to tender my resignation was the fact, that in the month of December, 1863, while upon an expedition from Norfolk, Va., to Elizabeth City, N. C., through Dismal swamp, the command had several stragglers captured by guerillas, and we had also captured the wife of the captain of the guerilla company, and had informed him that we should hold his wife as a hostage for the safe return of our colored soldiers. Failing to secure our men, we took this lady along with us, and had reached Dungo landing on Currituck sound, where was a post held by Lieu- tenant-Colonel Weed in command of the Ninety-eighth New York Volunteers. Colonel Draper called upon Weed, and a dispute arose
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in regard to forwarding the lady to General Butler. Weed claimed, that, being in his military jurisdiction, the lady should pass through his hands and a struggle took place between Draper and Weed, participated in by Lieutenant Conant, who had charge of the lady, during which struggle, both Draper and Conant were disarmed, and Weed took the lady. Draper then ordered his regiment to 'fall in,' and marched it towards the camp of the Ninety-eighth New York Volunteers, on the way instructing Lieutenant Backup to gain the fire of Weed, and shoot him.' Backup was to instruct his men to aim at Weed. As the regiment was thus marching towards the New York camp, Draper rode along the line of his regiment and made use of vulgar and profane language in directing what should be done. (The language is stated, but we will omit it here.) This scene demonstrated the unfitness of Draper to have any command."
Butler summoned some of the officers of both regiments before him, and after hearing the facts, exoncrated Draper. In regard to the resignations forwarded to Fortress Monroe, Butler issued General Orders No. 46, dated April 19th, 1864 : ---
" The resignation of Captain Geo. B. Proctor, Captain Geo. F. Allen, Captain B. Frank Oakes, First-Lieutenant A. Parker, First-Lieutenant Geo. L. Seagrave, First-Lieutenant Edward Townsend, First-Lieutenant Leonard T. Gaskill, Second-Lieutenant Jerry MeClair, Second-Lieutenant Henry M. Field of the Thirty-sixth U. S. C. T., sent forward at the same time, [tendered however, at various times] to these headquarters, alleging that 'the good of the service will be promoted if their resignations are accepted.'" [The reason given was, 'believing that the good of the service under the present commander of the regiment would be promoted,' etc.]
The order then goes on to recite the causes of complaint " substantially," after which, it is stated that the commanding General "fails to see" anything in the conduct of the regimental commander "which should give cause to any right-minded patri- otic officer to resign," prefacing this insinuation against the patriotism of these young men, by an assertion that they had resigned "in the face of the enemy," when in fact, there was no enemy, except unarmed prisoners of war, within scores of miles of Point Lookout. The order terminates a very partial
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CAPTAIN GEO. B. PROCTOR.
Heliotype Printing Co. Boston.
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summing up by the conclusion, that these officers never were officers after all, not having the parchment commission, and therefore ordering :-
" That their musters and provisional appointments, and of each of them, ' of the above named captains and lieutenants be revoked, as well as those which mustered them into the positions they now occupy, as those which mustered them out of the regiments from which they were promoted: and they, and each of them are ordered to report to the several regiments from which they were attempted to be promoted, for duty, there to serve out the remainder of their terms of enlistment, upon pain of being regarded and held as deserters- subject to the approval of the President.
By command of Major-General B. F. BUTLER. HENRY T. SCHROEDER, Lieutenant and Assistant Adjutant-General."
Now, it is easy to drive a horse to a spring of running water, but that horse will not drink upon any compulsion. We will try to reach the conclusion of this matter very briefly, and see if these gallant young officers were made to drink the poisoned cup offered to them from the military authority of Fortress Monroe.
On the evening of April 19th, 1864, Captain Proctor and Lieutenant Field were arrested by Colonel Draper upon a charge of treason, in attempting to send a message to Hon- orable S. D. Field of the United States Supreme Court [a relative of the Lieutenant] asking him to see the President in behalf of the condemned officers. They remained locked up two days and were not allowed to communicate with persons outside ; then released and returned to the Thirty- sixth Regiment, whereupon all of the officers named in the order were ordered out of camp by Colonel Draper. They reported to the Provost-Marshal, refusing to comply with But- ler's order : they were sent to the Provost-Marshal at Fortress Monroe and confined in a casemate : they were ordered to remove shoulder straps and surrender their swords. They refused to " remove " or " surrender. " This refusal was reported to Butler, who directed the execution of the order.
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The officer of the day cut off the straps and relieved them of their swords. Two hours after, the straps and swords were returned to them. They sewed on the straps, and those formerly connected with the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts were sent to Yorktown, their arrival there being reported to the commander of the Twenty-fifth. The next morning, Major Attwood, in command of the regiment, in compliance with the orders received by him, and as a matter of form, sent for and ordered them to duty as enlisted men. They refused to comply and were returned to the Provost-Marshal at Yorktown and thence to the Provost-Marshal at Fortress Monroe, and by him returned again to Yorktown, where they remained until after the battle of Cold Harbor, when, Yorktown being evacu- ated, they returned to Fortress Monroe and were confined in the " Bull Pen" at Hampton. The Provost-Marshal found them "elephants" on his hands, and finally gave them passes to City Point. From City Point they proceeded to the front at Peters- burg where they found the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts under command of Captain Parkhurst. One of them says-" We found good board and lodgings with the accommodating acting- quartermaster, Lieutenant J. M. Drennan, and his gentle- manly assistants, Wm. M. Willis and John Simonds. We remained here until we received Special Orders No. 287 from the War Department revoking Butler's Order '46,' discharging us from the service August 31st, 1864, to date from April 19th, 1864."
The facts in this matter having been reported to Governor Andrew, he made investigation and wrote the following letter to Hon. John D. Baldwin, then a Representative in Congress from the Worcester District : --
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Executive Department, Boston, May 20th, 1864. Hon. JOHN D. BALDWIN,
House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.
My Dear Sir : - Captain John W. Fletcher, late of the Thirty-sixth U. S. C. Volunteers, (Colonel Draper) formerly a Lieutenant in the Forty-third Massa-
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chusetts Infantry Volunteers, will present to you this note as his introduction. He is perfectly familiar with the whole matter out of which grew the disgrace of the young officers concerning whom I wrote enclosing the papers of their case a few days ago. I feel confident that if a fair hearing can be obtained, it will become manifest that these gentlemen are not cowards nor skulkers, but good soldiers and patriotic men. Some of them had proved their possession of conspicuous merit on the battle field, and all of them had been in battle and proved to be brave and capable ; all had earned their promotion, and had more than that earned-even if they did not already possess it by inheritance, the right to the ordinary presumption and the ordinary trial accorded even to felons. Moreover, even if they were in the wrong, their treatment is excep- tional and unjust, unlike that awarded in other cases, and treats as a crime, a mere error of judgment. Captain Fletcher can tell the whole story. I hope you will get him a hearing. He will give the facts, and will prove them. Let not young men of patriotic families, who for two years have already periled their lives in the army, well educated and of the best character at home and in the regiment from which they were promoted, moral in their habits and regarded with favor by their fellow citizens at home, young men who aban- doned lucrative callings to share the common soldier's lot, proving thereby their zeal and their devotion : let not such as these be crushed beneath the heel of a mere blind, capricious and unreasoning WILL. If the President is brought to understand this case, he will set it right. You can get it referred if need be to the Judge Advocate General, in whose office an investigation can be had, and there justice according to the law and sound principles, can be worked out. I am yours very respectfully and truly, JOHN A. ANDREW.
With that letter from Governor Andrew, went to Washing- ton, the following certificate : -
Headquarters Twenty-fifth Massachusetts Volunteers, Yorktown, Virginia, May 3rd, 1864.
I hereby certify that the officers of the Thirty-sixth U. S. C. Troops, for- merly members of my regiment and recently returned by General Orders No 46 from General Butler, were, during their connection with this regiment, con- sidered among the best and most reliable non-commissioned officers and men in the regiment. I know them to be men of the highest principles and charac- ter, always having done their duty promptly, bravely and faithfully. . They are not the men by any means that I should look for the slightest offence against good order or military discipline or a misdemeanor of any kind. Since. their promotion I have always heard them well spoken of. I believe them to be gentlemen, as well as soldiers of upright and honorable motives, entitled to the same privileges of other officers in the United States service.
Very respectfully, J. PICKETT,
Colonel Twenty-fifth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers.
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This certificate was supported by the following paper :-
Headquarters Thirty-sixth U. S. C. Infantry, Point Lookout, Md., May 9th, 1864.
We cheerfully concur in the certificate of Colonel Josiah Pickett, Twenty- fifth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, in regard to the late officers of this regiment, recently returned to the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts Volunteers, in accordance with General Orders No. 46 Department Virginia and North Carolina.
Judging by their conduct while connected with this regiment as Captains and Lieutenants, we believe them fully entitled to the character set forth in his (Pickett's) certificate of May 3rd. And further, we say, that during their connection with this regiment as officers, up to the time they tendered their resignations, covering a period of about eight months, they were considered as good, reliable, faithful officers, always ready to do their duty, brave and fearless at all times. We believe them to be men of good principles and character, of strict integrity, and regard them as honorable and upright in their intentions and motives, actuated by the spirit of patriotism and a desire to do all they can for the good of the country. As gentlemen, soldiers and patriots. we shall always expect to hear as good report of them in the future as any we have known in the past, and trust, that such conduct in future will meet its just reward.
B. F. PRATT, Lieutenant-Colonel Thirty-sixth Regiment U. S. C. Infantry. DANIEL J. PRESTON, " Major Thirty-sixth Regiment U. S. C. Infantry.
Upon a statement of facts, the President submitted the fol- lowing question to the Judge Advocate General, General Holt, asking his decision: " Here are several officers who have resigned, no matter whether the reasons were sufficient or not-General Butler thinks they are not, and he issues an order revoking their musters-out and musters-in and orders them back to the ranks from which they were promoted. Now, had General Butler any right to so revoke their musters « or do as he has, without a trial by court-martial." The Judge Advocate General decided that a commissioned officer could not be reduced to the ranks except for desertion, and then, only after a trial and sentence of a court-martial.
Thereupon, Special Orders were promulgated as follows :-
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War Department, Washington, August 31st, 1864.
Special Orders, No. 287.
[EXTRACT.]
So much of General Orders No. 46 of April 19th, 1864, from Headquarters Virginia and North Carolina, as revoked the provisional appointments and musters into service of the following named officers [the officers named in General Orders No. 46] and directed that their musters-out of service as enlisted men be revoked, and that they be returned to the regiments from which they were promoted, there to serve out their terms of enlistment, or to be considered as deserters, *
* is hereby revoked, and they are hereby discharged the service of the United States to date April 19th, 1864.
By order of the Secretary of War. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General.
Thus was justice administered through the intervention of Governor Andrew, and the impartial decision of the Judge Advocate General.
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CHAPTER XIII.
ARMY OF THE JAMES -DISCIPLINE-UP THE JAMES RIVER - PLAN OF CAMPAIGN- PORT WALTHAL JUNCTION-CHESTER- FIELD JUNCTION -- ARROWFIELD CHURCH.
E have followed the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts to the banks of the York river, where, two miles above Yorktown, they were in camp under shelter tents. Those shelter tents were made of two pieces of cloth, cach six feet long and three and one-half feet wide, arranged to lap and button together so as to cover two men, and each man carried his half of the affair. They were open at each end, and afforded very little shelter, though they were better than nothing for a covering.
The regiment as we have said, was assigned to the brigade commanded by Brigadier-General C. A. Heckman. This brigade, known as the " Star Brigade," was assigned to the Second Division of the Eighteenth Corps. The Second Division was then commanded by Brigadier-General Godfrey Weitzel, the First Division being commanded by Major-Gen-
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eral Brooks, and the Third Division, composed of colored troops, commanded by Brigadier-General Edward W. Hincks. The Eighteenth Corps formed a part of what was known, shortly after, as the Army of the James, commanded by General Butler. The Tenth Corps commanded by Major- General Q. A. Gillmore, with three divisions commanded respectively by Brigadier-Generals Terry, Ames and Turner, came from service in South Carolina and was assigned to this army, the entire force under Butler being about forty thousand men.
Heckman's Star Brigade was made up of the Ninth New Jersey, the Twenty-third, Twenty-fifth and Twenty-seventh Massachusettts Volunteers.
DISCIPLINE.
Without intending to disparage other battalions of the army, we safely assert that the discipline maintained in the Twenty- fifth Massachusetts was of a high standard of excellence. In this respect what we say of the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts will apply to the other superb regiments making up the Star Brigade. This discipline, apparent in bivouac and the march, pon drill and in line of battle, was not forced. It was as much voluntary as the service itself. Intelligent men, such as composed the battalion, understood the importance of discipline in keeping alive the military spirit. A good soldier looks upon discipline, not as degrading, but an element rendering him more invincible in battle, the more perfect in the school of the soldier, and clothing him with that esprit de corps so necessary in achieving soldierly success.
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