USA > Maryland > The Maryland line in the Confederate Army, 1861-1865 > Part 11
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fully manned, and the disaster that had threatened Breckinridge was averted. The recapture of the works was solely due to the Second Maryland. Finnigan's Brigade contributed no more to the result than the moral support of its presence.
It was a splendid achievement, and one of which every man who participated might well feel proud.
General Breckinridge, after the charge, in a glow of enthusiasm, exclaimed : "I knew I could trust those men !" and General Lee, in his official report of the battle, complimented the battalion upon its behavior.
From other sources, also, the battalion was spoken of in terms of praise, as the following communication in the Richmond Sentinel fully proves :
NEAR RICHMOND, June 6, 1864.
Mr. Editor :
The public have already been informed, through the columns of the public journals, of the general results of the late engagements between the forces of General Lee and General Grant. But they have not yet learned the particulars, which are always most interesting, and in some instances, owing to the confusion which generally attends large battles, they have been misinformed on some points. It is now known by the public that the enemy were momentarily successful in one of their assaults on the lines held by Major-General Breckinridge's Division, which might have resulted in disaster to our cause.
It will be interesting to all to know what turned disaster into victory, and converted a triumphant column into a flying rabble. The successful assault of the enemy was made under cover of darkness, before the morning star had been hid by the light of the sun. They came gallantly forward in spite of a severe fire from General Echol's Brigade, and in spite of the loss of many of their men, who fell like autumn leaves, until the ground was almost blue and red with their uniforms and their blood. They rushed in heavy mass over our breastworks. Our men, confused by the suddenness of the charge, and borne down by the rush of the enemy, retreated, and all now seemed lost. At this juncture the Second Maryland Infantry were roused from their sleep. Springing to their arms, they formed in a moment, and, rushing gallantly forward, poured a deadly fire into the enemy and then charged bayonet. The enemy were, in turn, surprised at the suddenness and vim of this assault. They gave back - they became confused. General Finnegan's forces coming up, they took flight ; but not until nearly a hundred men were stretched on the plain, from the fire of the Second Maryland Infantry, and many others captured. Lieutenant Charles B. Wise, of Company B, now took possession of the guns, which had been abandoned by our forces, and with the assistance of some of his own men and some of General Finnegan's command, poured a deadly fire into the retreating enemy.
Thus was the tide of battle turned, and this disaster converted into a success. I am informed that the whole force of the enemy which came within our lines would have been captured had it not been for the mistake of an officer who took the enemy for our own men,
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and thus checked for a few moments the charge of the Second Maryland Iniantry. I take pleasure in narrating these deeds of our Maryland brethren, and doubt not you will join in the feeling.
A VIRGINIAN.
Considering the desperate fighting which took place within the fifteen minutes required to retake the salient, and the severe artillery and musketry fire to which the battalion was subjected during the remainder of the day, even though the men were sheltered behind the works they had recaptured, their loss was not so heavy as might have been expected out of about four hundred men. Appended is a list of casualties :
COMPANY A .-- CAPTAIN GEORGE THOMAS COMMANDING.
KILLED -- Privates William H. Hollyday, Henry C. Owens.
WOUNDED - Alexander Fulton, mortally ; Thomas O'Brien, severely ; Frederick Hoerster, slightly ; William Hoffman, severely ; John C. Henry, slightly ; Thomas D. Harrison.
COMPANY B .- FIRST LIEUTENANT JOHN H. STONE COMMANDING.
WOUNDED - First Lieutenant John H. Stone, severely ; Privates James R. Herbert. severely ; Rinaldo J. Moran, slightly ; A. W. Neale, shghtly.
COMPANY C .- CAPTAIN FERD DUVALL COMMANDING.
WOUNDED - Second Lieutenant Thomas H. Tolson, severely ; Privates William H. Clagett, severely ; C. S. Ford, severely ; Henry Loughran, slightly ; R. B. Willis, severely.
COMPANY D .- FIRST LIEUTENANT JAMES S. FRANKLIN COMMANDING.
KILLED - Private James Hurley.
WOUNDED - Second Lieutenant S. Thomas McCullough, severely ; First Sergeant Thomas C. Butler, severely ; Abram Phillips, severely.
COMPANY E .- CAPTAIN JOHN W. TORSCH COMMANDING.
KILLED - Private Charles E. Byus.
WOUNDED -Captain John W. Torsch, severely ; First Sergeant Samuel Kirk, severely : Privates Levi G. Dawson, slightly ; William Wilkinson, mortally ; Joseph Smith, slightly.
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COMPANY F .- CAPTAIN A. J. GWYNNE COMMANDING.
KILLED -- Lemuel Dunnington.
WOUNDED - Captain H. A. Gwynne, slightly ; Sergeant R. F. Muirhead, severely : Privates Andrew Cretin, slightly : Hillary Cretin, slightly ; Bernard Dooley, slightly : Alexis V. Keepers, slightly.
COMPANY G .- FIRST LIEUTENANT G. G. GUILLETTE COMMANDING.
KILLED - William S. Reed. WOUNDED - Private Michael Hines.
COMPANY H .- CAPTAIN J. THOMAS BUSSEY COMMANDING.
WOUNDED - Maurice Ward, severely ; William Hardy, slightly.
WAITING IN LINE OF BATTLE.
-
ddays
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CHAPTER VI.
For several days after the battle of Cold Harbor the enemy was comparatively quiet, and contented himself with keeping up a heavy artillery fire. Grant had had enough of Cold Harbor, and was looking about him to find means to extricate his army from the unfortunate position into which he had led them.
On the 6th of June, much to the regret of the battalion, Breckinridge's Division was ordered to report to General Early in the Valley of Virginia. Gladly would the battalion have accompanied him, for it was believed that Early intended the invasion of Maryland. A communication was sent to General Lee asking that the battalion be not detached from General Breckinridge, or at least that they be sent to General Early's command at all events. To this General Lee made the following reply :
HEADQUARTERS, July 19, 1864.
Communication respectfully returned. General Early is now in the Valley of Virginia. The object of this application cannot now, therefore, be accomplished. Should an oppor- tunity occur for gratifying the wishes of this brave battalion, it will be remembered.
R. E. LEE, General.
After the departure of General Breckinridge the battalion was assigned temporarily to Frye's Brigade, Heth's Division, A. P. Hill's Corps, and their position changed to some distance to the rear and right, where it was held in reserve.
On June 13th the battalion was marched to White Oak Swamp, where it was sent out to skirmish with the enemy, and soon became hotly engaged. In this encounter John G. Wagoner, of Company A ; Lewis H. Viet, of Company C, and William H. Calhoun, of Company G, were killed.
Except marching and countermarching, picket duty, throwing up earthworks, etc., nothing of importance transpired until the 18th, when the battalion was marched to Drewry's Bluff, where it crossed the James River on a pontoon bridge, and halted below Port Walthall Station, in Chesterfield County, after a hot and dusty march of over twenty miles. Taking the train some distance below Port Walthall, the battalion rode four or five miles, when they were again compelled to march to within a mile of Petersburg, where on the north side of the Appo- mattox River they threw up breastworks for their protection.
The Second Maryland was now fairly in the trenches around Petersburg, where they were destined to spend so many weary months of privation and
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suffering. The battalion had been tried at Winchester, at Gettysburg and at Cold Harbor, but never before had it been called upon to undergo the terrible hardships that day and night duty in the trenches entailed. Without shelter from the weather, half-starved, they were subjected to a steady fire from the enemy every hour of the twenty-four, and were called upon from time to time to come forth from the partial protection their earthworks afforded from the shot and shell of the enemy and fight vast odds in the open field. And still under all these trying conditions there was but one desertion from the ranks of the battalion, whereas from others there were hundreds. This fact was well known to their division commander, and even to those higher in authority, and it was no wonder, then, that they were called upon to perform more than their share of outpost duty. If the men of the battalion felt proud of their achievements at Gettysburg and Cold Harbor, they had yet other laurels to win at Peebles Farm, the Weldon Railroad and Hatcher's Run, of which they were equally as proud.
During the time they occupied the trenches many of their number were stricken down. On August 9th John Parker, of Company H, was wounded ; August 12th James Abbott, of Company G, who had served in the old First from the first Manassas, was severely wounded, it being the sixth time since his enlist- ment. Richard T. Anderson, of Company C, was wounded at the same time ; and on the 15th George Langford, of Company G, was severely wounded.
By August 15, 1864, Grant had assembled 110,000 men around Petersburg, and this immense army was held in check by a force under General Lee of 36,000 men. After the failure of Burnside's mine, Grant abandoned the idea of further direct attack, and spent the autumn and part of the winter in attempting to extend his left around Petersburg, and in efforts to pierce the Confederate lines north of the James.
On August 16 a movement was made from the direction of Deep Bottom upon the works at Chafin's Bluff, which failed, and another movement, in which the Second Maryland became interested, was made on August 18 for the purpose of getting possession of the Weldon Railroad, over which supplies came for General Lee's army.
On the morning of the 18th the Fifth Corps reached a point about five miles southwest of Petersburg, and about one mile east of the Weldon Railroad. Warren, in command, upon reaching this point proceeded to throw out skirmishers, which soon came in contact with Deering's Brigade of Cavalry, which for some hours stubbornly disputed the Federal advance. Deering was finally forced back to within a mile or two of Petersburg, when A. P. Hill suddenly fell upon Warren and drove him back, with heavy loss. In the meanwhile General Griffin had been sent with a portion of the Fifth Corps to seize the railroad, which he did, and immediately proceeded to intrench himself.
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On the afternoon of the 19th General Lee sent Heth's and Mahone's Divisions of Hill's Corps to drive Warren back. A vigorous attack was made upon Warren, and he retired from his advanced position, but was not dislodged from the railroad. After the close of the fight the Confederates withdrew to their main line, when Warren next day occupied the ground he had lost.
The above is by way of introduction to the following interesting account, by a member of the battalion, of the part taken by the Second Maryland in the first day's engagement :
Thursday, the eighteenth day of August, 1864, found the Second Maryland Infantry, then attached to Archer's Brigade, Heth's Division, A. P. Hill's Corps, bivouacked in a little valley about one hundred yards wide, the hills on either side crowned with a few stately pines, and a bold stream coursing through the centre. We had only a short time before been relieved from the trenches, and were congratulating ourselves on the prospect of rest. Near midday we heard the boom of artillery away around on our extreme right ; then slowly and solemnly another boom, and then another. Soon the drum beat the " assembly." "Right face ! Forward ! March !" was the command, and off we went to the Weldon Railroad. The whole column marched southward on the track. A piece of artillery unlimbered in the road and fired down it, betokening danger ahead. We soon filed off to the left, Davis' Brigade to the right, and formed a line on either side and at right angles to the railroad. In a short time the two brigades received orders to advance. As we emerged from the woods the view that presented itself was an open space, nearly level, about half a mile wide, with a forest on the southern side. When half across the enemy commenced firing. Onward we moved, our line being bent like a bow, the Second Maryland well up in front. When scarcely two hundred yards from, and in the immediate front of the enemy's line of battle, we came to a lane with a fence on either side.
We climbed these fences in the face of the enemy's fire, and why they did not ruin us I have never been able to understand. Still we pushed on, firing all the time. As we entered the woods we came upon fifty or sixty killed and wounded in our battalion front. We drove the enemy back easily, and advanced several hundred yards into the woods. On the enemy threatening our flanks, we fell back to the line from whence we had first driven them. The enemy attempted to charge us, but a few well-directed volleys drove them back.
While this attack was being made a new brigade was brought up, and lay down in our rear. We felt proud as we heard their officers say to their mel. as they pointed to us : " Look how these men are standing up to their work !" After this attack had been repulsed we moved to our left to the support of our skirmish line, which had been holding the enemy's line of battle in check. We remained there until 8 or 9 o'clock, when we left our skirmish line and fell back to Petersburg. We had but three brigades engaged, and the enemy a much larger force, as they overlapped our flanks.
The night was dark and damp. We kindled our fires, roasted our corn, and lay down on our wet wrappings for a night's rest.
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But severe as was the first day's fight on the Weldon Railroad, the little battalion was to go through a still more trying ordeal the next day, when more of the heroic band, already reduced to a handful of brave men, were to disappear from its ranks, alas ! many of them forever.
On that day (August 19) General Lee determined to make another attempt to regain possession of the Weldon Railroad. Again it was a portion of A. P. Hill's Corps that was ordered to the attack. The route taken on the 19th was the same as that of the day before, and through a drenching rain the troops moved steadily to meet the enemy. Line of battle was formed just as it had been on the 18th, and upon nearly the same ground. Breastworks more numerous now, even, and stronger than the day before, were to be stormed. The ground was unfavorable for attack, and it was apparent to all that the day was to see some hard fighting, with but little prospect that success would crown the Confederate arms.
Skirmishers were thrown out and the heavy line of battle moved forward to meet the enemy. It was not long before the irregular fire of the skirmishers in front gave warning that the work had been cut out. "Forward, double-quick !" was the command, and the line of battle swept on with beautiful precision, and the enemy in heavy masses were met on the edge of the wood. The spattering fire of the skirmish line had now changed to one continuous roar of musketry, and brave men on both sides fell by hundreds. The enemy was driven back, and the first line of works were soon in the hands of the Confederates. Archer's Brigade, to which was attached the Second Maryland, captured the second and afterward the main line of works, but the supports on the left were unable, or, through someone's blundering, did not get to the breastworks where the little brigade was battling with an overwhelming force. For an hour this unequal contest was waged, when Colonel Christian in command of the troops in possession of the fort ordered the Second Maryland to be thrown obliquely to the right and form line, which move- ment had hardly been performed when the enemy came on in heavy force, with bayonets fixed and not firing a shot. The battalion poured a heavy fire into them. which staggered them for an instant, but they still pressed on until they had reached the fort. Here a hand-to-hand conflict ensued, the Confederates on the inside trying to retain, and the Federals on the outside trying to regain possession of the fort. But this unequal contest could not long continue, for the Federals soon swarmed into the works, where for awhile the fight was continued, the survivors then trying to fight their way out. Some succeeded, but one-third of that gallant band of Marylanders lay dead and wounded or were prisoners in the hands of the enemy.
Many were the noble spirits who fell in those two days of desperate fighting, among them Adjutant J. Winder Laird. Thus a comrade speaks of him :
"On that day, too, J. Winder Laird, our heroic Adjutant, tall and handsome
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in figure, and not less perfect in character, fell, shot through the brain. We would not leave him to be insulted by the foe. Pearson, Gill, Ridge Howard and Grayson placed his body on their guns and hurried off to the Davis house on the railroad. Here they dug his grave, and each of us, taking a blanket from his scanty store, wrapped it about our dead comrade, and so buried him. Soon the guns of the enemy reopened, and we returned to the front."
Appended is a list of the killed, wounded and captured in the two days' battles : BATTLE OF WELDON RAILROAD.
CAPTAIN J. PARRAN CRANE COMMANDING.
FIELD AND STAFF.
KILLED - Adjutant J. Winder Laird.
WOUNDED - Captain J. Parran Crane, received a severe contusion.
COMPANY A .- FIRST LIEUTENANT CLAPHAM MURRAY COMMANDING.
KILLED - Private Jacob W. Davis.
WOUNDED - Lieutenant William P. Zollinger, slightly : Corporal Willis Brannock, slightly : Privates J. E. Fitzgerald, slightly ; John C. Henry, severely ; N. Heenan, severely ; D. Ridgely Howard, severely ; George W. Marden, slightly : Sommerville Sollers, slightly ; Richard C. Tilghman, severely ; Joseph I. Joy, severely. -
CAPTURED - First Lieutenant Clapham Murray, First Sergeant James F. Pearson, Sergeant James W. Thomas, Privates William Adair, Charles S. Brannock, J. R. Phelps, Theophilus N. Deale, William J. Edelin, H. L. Gallagher, James S. Raley.
COMPANY B .- FIRST SERGEANT C. CRAIG PAGE COMMANDING.
KILLED - First Sergeant C. Craig Page.
WOUNDED - Sergeant P. T. Reeder, slightly ; Corporal J. Z. Downing, severely ; Privates Dyonisius Ball, severely ; John II. Chum, slightly ; J. J. Delozier, slightly ; J. Marion Freeman, slightly ; Washington Page, severely : Henry Turner, slightly.
CAPTURED-Sergeant F. Z. Freeman, Corporal W. F. Wheatley, Private James F. Keech.
COMPANY C .- FIRST LIEUTENANT CHARLES W. HODGES COMMANDING.
KILLED - Sergeant Robert T. Ilodges.
WOUNDED - Privates Daniel Duvall. severely : H. II. Crawford, slightly : John G. White, slightly.
CAPTURED - Corporal Edward .A. Welch, Privates Theodore Cooksey, W @ Gibson, John C. Miller. Robert H. Welch.
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COMPANY D .- FIRST LIEUTENANT JAMES S. FRANKLIN COMMANDING.
WOUNDED - Privates John Johnson, slightly ; Philip Lipscomb, slightly.
CAPTURED - First Lieutenant James S. Franklin, Sergeant William Jenkins, Privates John Lynch, William Killman.
COMPANY E .- FIRST LIEUTENANT WILLIAM R. BYUS COMMANDING.
WOUNDED - First Lieutenant William R. Byus, severely ; Privates S. M. Byus, slightly ; Thomas McLaughlin, severely ; James Hanley, severely ; Elisha Butler, severely. CAPTURED - Sergeant George L: Ross, Corporal John Cain, Privates James Lamates, John L. Stansbury, John Cantrell, John Grant, James Applegarth.
COMPANY F .- FIRST LIEUTENANT JOHN W. POLK COMMANDING.
WOUNDED - Private Josiah T. Boswell, severely.
CAPTURED - Sergeant Joseph L. Wagner, Corporal J. T. Brown, James H. Dixon.
COMPANY G .- LIEUTENANT G. G. GUILLETTE COMMANDING.
KILLED - John D. Edelen.
WOUNDED - Private Martin L. Rider, slightly. '
CAPTURED - Lieutenant G. G. Guillette, Sergeants Daniel A. Fenton, George W. Manning, Algernon Henry, Corporal Benjamin F. Twilly, Privates William L. Brannock, W. L. Etchison, Levi Wheatley.
COMPANY H .- CAPTAIN J. T. BUSSEY COMMANDING.
WOUNDED - Captain J. T. Bussey, severely ; Private William Hargy, slightly.
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CHAPTER VII.
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After the battles of the 18th and 19th of August on the Weldon Railroad the brigade, or what was left of it, returned to Battery No. 37, and for weeks were constantly engaged on the fortifications and in manning the trenches.
On September 2d the Second Maryland was withdrawn from the trenches and placed three miles west of Petersburg, between the Weldon and Southside Rail- roads, forming a part of the force designed to oppose movements of the enemy's left. The battalion remained here for several weeks employed in building a series of earthworks to cover the exposed left flank and rear of General Lee's army. Among this series of works thus constructed was a strong hexagonal fort upon the farm of Dr. Peebles, within a short distance of the Squirrel Level road. This fort it was hoped the brigades of Archer and Walker were destined to man, and the men felt confident of their ability to hold it against a much superior force. But such was not to be the case, for on the 30th of September Archer's Brigade was ordered to the Star Fort, situated about half a mile to the right of Petersburg, at which point Lee was concentrating troops in anticipation of an attack. And it was made that day in overwhelming force. It was simultaneous on both flanks - the expedition of Hancock north of the James, which resulted in the capture of Fort Harrison, was followed by that of Warren, who attacked with four divisions of infantry and one of cavalry, and they swept the handful of artillerists who had been left in charge of the strong defenses built by Archer and Walker, and they
carried everything before them. The strong fort which had cost these brigades so much labor was wrested in a moment, and with little defense. Hancock, the splendid soldier that he was, continued his movement and made his success complete. He had gained a strong position, from which he felt confident of dealing sledge-hammer blows upon his antagonist, and in this he made no mistake. Hancock had made these achievements before. He overrun Johnson's Division at Spottsylvania, and achieved the only success that can be accredited to Grant's "On to Richmond," though he was unfortunate at Cold Harbor, as were all of the other subordinate commanders of General Grant.
When Warren's movements were made known to General Lee, Archer's Brigade was ordered back to the position they had occupied, and General Heth formed his command in the rear of the main line of Confederate works, with the view of assaulting and recapturing the position the enemy had carried.
It might be well to describe the positions held by the opposing forces prior to inaugurating a battle of unusual severity.
The two lines were almost parallel. Half way between the contending forces
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was a large open field, and on the left of this opening was Pegram's house, and as the battle was fought principally upon Pegram's farm it should properly be called the battle of Pegram's farm, as Peebles' farm was some hundreds of yards distant, but in this case, as in many other battles of the war, usage and not facts is conformed to. Beyond the open field mentioned was a long stretch of swampy woods, and at the farther side and extreme edge of the woods was a deep ravine, but beyond this the ground arose to a considerable elevation, and here was the line of works constructed by the enemy, and which was the objective point of General Heth's attack.
The Confederates advanced as follows : First, a thin line of sharpshooters ; next, a brigade of Virginians ; then the Second Maryland and Thirteenth Alabama, First, Seventh and Fourteenth Tennessee, in the order named ; following came Davis' Mississippi Brigade, and upon the extreme right McGowan's South Carolina Brigade.
The South Carolinians were the first to encounter the enemy as they dashed across the open space in magnificent order, and lost heavily, but carried the point of works in their front.
The Second Maryland plunged into the woods and crossed the swampy ground. Emerging from the woods into the open they were greeted with a heavy fire from the enemy's skirmishers, but, supported by the Thirteenth Alabama, they brushed aside the skirmishers and attacked his line of battle posted deep in the woods, and soon had .possession of the enemy's outer trenches, but unfortu- nately the left held back from some unaccountable reason, and these troops in advance were placed in a difficult and dangerous position, and were subjected to as terrible a fire of musketry and artillery as any they had ever experienced. But tenaciously did the Marylanders and Alabamians hold on to the position gained, with the enemy but a few feet above their heads. Many were killed and wounded by the artillery and musketry fire, among the latter Captain Ferd. Duvall, who was in command of the Second Maryland, when the command devolved upon Captain John W. Torsch. This desperate state of affairs existed from 5 o'clock in the evening until midnight, during all of which time the contending forces were but a few feet apart. At length, after seven hours in the enemy's trenches, Captain Torsch withdrew his command and sought the works which they had left in the morning.
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