USA > Maine > Eastern Maine and the rebellion: being an account of the principal local events in eastern Maine during the war.. > Part 24
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COLONEL CHARLES W. ROBERTS,
A member of the Bangor Light Infantry, was commissioned Lieu- tenant Colonel of the Second Maine Infantry, at its organization, and upon the promotion of the lamented Jameson, became colonel. At the period of his promotion, his regiment was stationed at Fort
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Corcoran. He participated in the siege of Yorktown, in a bril- liant engagement at Gaines' Station, and in June following, in the battle of Gaines' Mill or Chickahominy, in the latter of which, Col. Roberts, was in the thickest of the fight, but escaped unharmed. He was also at the battle of Malvern Hill, and again in the battle of Groveton, or Manassas, better known as the Second Bull Run, August 30th, 1862. Here the colonel, who had temporarily as- sumed command of the brigade, had his horse shot under him, but again escaped without personal injury. In each of these, and sev- eral other engagements and skirmishes, Colonel Roberts proved himself to be eminently fitted for his post of command.
In the fall of 1862, Colonel Roberts tendered his resignation, on account of impaired health, the result of unremitting service in the field. He had never left his command for a single day. After much demur, on the part of the Government, and a proffer of a position as Brigadier General, his resignation was finally accepted, and he was honorably discharged, January 10th, 1863.
CAPTAIN C. A. BOUTELLE.
After a brief period at the School of Instruction, at the Charles- town navy yard, he was ordered to report to Rear Admiral S. F. Dupont, commanding the South Atlantic Blockading Squad- ron, and was by him assigned to duty, on board the United States steamer Paul Jones, a side wheel double-ender, armed with a heavy battery. On this vessel, Mr. Boutelle participated in the blockade of Charleston, South Carolina, in the disastrous Pocataligo expedition, in several engagements with rebel bat- tries, on Morris Island, and an exchange of rifled compliments with the rebel ironclad Chicoia, across Charleston Bar. Also, in the combined naval and military operations, against the ten- gun battery, on St. John Bluff, near the mouth of the St. John
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HON. C. A. BOUTELLE, LATE U. S. NAVY.
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River, Florida. at the capture of which he commanded a battery of navy howitzers, landed and served by United States marines. At the subsequent occupation of Jacksonville, he also landed with howitzer battery, to check the offensive demonstrations of the enemy. The Paul Jones was actively engaged in expeditions and blockading, all along the South Carolina and Georgia coast, and the Atlantic coast of Florida.
In the fall of 1863, Mr. Boutelle was ordered to the United States steamer Sassacus. one of the new double-enders, then fitting out at Boston. On this fine vessel, he was navigator and fordi- nance officer, and during her first week of service, on the off shore blockade, near Wilmington, North Carolina, two valua- ble blockade-runners were chased ashore, and destroyed by a boarding crew, from the Sassacus, under Acting Master Boutelle. In the spring of 1864, his vessel was ordered to Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, where the rebel ram, Albemarle, (similar to the Merrimac), had created havoc with our little fleet. May 5th, 1864, a desperate engagement took place, between the ironclad Albemarle and two steam consorts, and the Union wooden fleet, led by the double-enders, Mallabessett, Sassacus, and Wyalusing. In this fight the Sassaeus sought to sink the Albemarle, by ramming her at full speed, and very nearly sent her to the bottom. For some twelve or fifteen minutes, the two vessels were engaged in a death grapple, when a hundred pound, solid rifle shot from the ironclad, crashed through the boiler of the Sassacus, killing, and fearfully scalding a number of the latter's crew, and tempor- arily disabling her, but not until a solid shot, from the one hundred pounder, Parrott gun, of the Sassacus, had entered the Albemarle's port, and inflicted very serious damage.
The rebel iron-clad rapidly retreated to Plymouth River, and remained there moored under the guns of a land battery, until
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blown up by Lieutenant Commander Cushing, of the navy, with his torpedo launch, some months later. In the early part of the action, the rebel steamer Bombshell, surrendered to the Sassacus. In his report of this engagement, Lieutenant Commander F. A. Roe, of the Sassacus. said : "I take great pleasure in testifying to the fine conduct of Acting Masters A. W. Muldaur, and C. A. Bou- telle. These officers were as cool and fearless as if at a general exercise. I respectfully recommend each for promotion to the grade of lieutenant. Deserved for good behavior and ability be- fore the enemy in battle."
Under date of May 24th following, Secretary Wells promptly bestowed upon Mr. Boutelle a commission, declaring : "In con- sideration of your gallant conduct in the action with the rebel ram Albemarle, on the 5th inst., the department hereby promotes you to the grade of Acting Volunteer Lieutenant in the Navy of the United States."
This was the highest rank then attainable by any volunteer offi- cer of the navy, and there were but few instances of its being con- ferred in so complimentary a manner. Lieutenant Boutelle after serving temporarily as Executive officer of the United States steamer Eutaw, on the James River, and convoying the ill-fated monitor, Tecumseh, from Norfolk to Pensacola, was ordered in the autumn of 1804, to command the light-draught gun boat Ny- anza, stationed at Berwick's Bay, Louisiana. In the winter of 1864- 65, he succeeded in obtaining the transfer of his vessel, to partici- pate in the operations against Mobile, Alabama. He volunteered his vessel to pilot the proposed ironclad assault, and his was the first naval vessel that passed through the obstructions to that city. He was immediately dispatched by Admiral Thatcher, to follow the retreating rebel fleet up the Tombigbee River, and captured a boat's crew from Admiral Buchanan's flag ship, Nashville, and a
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rebel commissary steamer, laden with cotton. A few days later, he made a trip nearly five hundred miles, up the Alabama River, through the heart of the rebel country, bearing dispatches to our army commanders at Selma and Montgomery, terminating the Sherman-Johnson armistice, and ordering a renewal of hostilities. Lieutenant Boutelle, with his vessel, participated at the surrender of the rebel naval fleet at Nannahuffa Bluff, by Confederate Commo- dore Eben Farrand, May 10th, 1865, and was afterwards ordered to the command of naval forces in Mississippi Sound, the district extending from New Orleans, vin Lake Ponchartrain to Mobile Bay, with headquarters station at Pascagoula. This closed his active service, and at his own request, Lieutenant Boutelle was honorably discharged from the United States Navy, January 14th, 1866.
During his naval service, he received the highest enconiums of all his superior officers, in their official reports, now on file in the Navy Department. Captain (now retired Rear Admiral), Steedman writes the Secretary, that Mr. Boutelle "performed his duties in a manner to merit my approbation." Commander, (now Commodore) A. C. Rhind, the heroie commander of the Keokuk, in the famous assault on Sumpter, states, officially to the Depart- ment : " I regard him, (Mr. Boutelle) , as one of the best of the volunteer appointments. Officer-like in his bearing, intelligent, and exhibiting interest in his professional improvement, gun- nery and small arms, unusual in one not bred to the service."
Since the war Capt. Boutelle has been engaged in the publishing of a newspaper, and at present ably represents the Fourth District of Maine in Congress, where he has made a national reputation.
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BRIGADIER GENERAL HIRAM BURNHAM.
General Burnham commenced his military career as captain of an independent company, at Cherryfield, which he soon made famous for its precision of drill and perfect discipline, and when, in 1839, a war with England, in relation to the north-eastern boundary question, appeared to be impending, and troops were called for to defend the border, Captain Burnham, and his fine company, immediately came forward and offered their services. The command was marched to Calais, where they remained until the threatening cloud of war had happily passed over. Although Captain Burnham saw no actual service at that time, his prompt response to his country's call, and the admirable discipline of his small command, secured for him the high commendation of those in authority, and he was soon promoted to a higher grade in the militia. When the rebellion began, in the spring of 1861, he was offered a command in one of the first regiments raised in Massachusetts, this, however, he declined. in order to assist his own State, in furnishing promptly, her full quota, on the first call of the President. Although no longer a young man, the weight of nearly fifty years being upon him, and his thin locks well sprinkled with gray, and although surrounded by a family of children, whose mother had but recently been removed by death, he did not hesitate as to his duty, when the old flag was fired upon by the hands of traitors. The brave, strong men in the swamps, and on the drive, heard his clarion voice, calling up- on them to go with him to the defence and rescue of his im- periled country. He believed in the patriotism and fidelity of the men, and it therefore required but a few days to raise a company in the town of his residence, for the Sixth Regiment, then being organized in that part of the State, and of which he was elected Lieutenant Colonel. In that capacity he was
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mustered into the U. S. Service, July 15th, 1861. The Sixth Regiment was at once ordered to Washington, where it arrived on the 19th of July. The disastrous battle of Bull Run was fought before this regiment could be incorporated into the main army, but stationed at the Chain Bridge, a few miles above Washington, for several days, during the panic that succeeded the defeat of McDowell, it was the only force defending that impor- tant approach to the national capitol.
When the Army of the Potomac was formed, the Sixth was as- signed to the brigade of Col. W. F. Smith. Col. Smith being im- mediately promoted to the command of the division, Brig. Gen. W. S. Hancock was assigned to the command of the brigade. Thus it was Colonel Burnham's good fortune to see his first active service in the war, under these two brave and capable commanders. The drill and discipline of his regiment, from the very first, devolved upon Lieut. Col. Burnham, and he more than verified the promise of military capacity which he had given in his younger days. On the 11th of December, 1861, he was promoted to the Colonelcy of his regiment. While the Army of the Potomac remained inactive in front of Washington, from October, 1861, to March, 1862, Col. Burnham made good use of the time in drilling and disciplining his regiment, and when at last a movement was made by the way of the Peninsula, he had the reputation of commanding one of the most efficient organizations of the army. When the army was organized in corps, his regiment was assigned to the Fourth Corps, Maj. Gen. E. D. Keyes, commanding. With this corps, Col. Burnham participated in the Siege of Yorktown, and during the first week of operations in front of the enemy's lines, his com- mand received the shanks of Gen. MeClellan, for a successful and brilliant affair with the enemy, in which no other troops were engaged. He was also in the battle of Lee's Mill. At Williams-
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burg he distinguished himself in Hancock's brilliant charge on the right of the lines, which virtually decided the battle. So sensible was Gen. McClellan, of Col. Burnham's services on this occasion, that he personally addressed the regiment, a few days after the battle, thanking them for their gallantry and good behavior. In front of Richmond, Col. Burnham participated in all of the opera- tions of the army ; his regiment meanwhile having been transferred to the Sixth, A. C., Maj. Gen. Franklin, commanding. but still under its former brigade and division commanders.
In the seven day's battles, he again bore a conspicuous part. his command being engaged with the enemy at Golding's Farm, Say- age's Station, White Oak Bridge, White Oak Swamp, and Mal- ' vern Hill. His uniform gallantry and efficiency, in all these con- tests did not escape the observation of his superior officers, and on arriving at Harrison's Bar, Generals Hancock, Smith and Franklin united in recommending him for promotion.
In the action at Crampton's Pass, September 14th, and the bat- tle of Antietam, September 17th, Col. Burnham displayed his usual coolness and bravery. Ile also bore an honorable part in the unfortunate battle of Fredericksburg, which closed up the operations of the Army of the Potomac for 1862.
In the winter of 1862 and '63. General Smith, commanding the Sixth Corps, organized a Light Division, composed of the picked men of his corps, in which Col. Burnham was assigned to duty, when, Gen. Pratt having tendered his resignation, a few days before the battle of Chancellorsville, the command of that division devolved on Col. Burnham. The famous charge of the Light Division, on the 3d of May, 1863, through the "Slaughter Pen," over the old stone wall, and up the heights of St. Mary, carrrying the enemy's strong works. and capturing seven guns, with many prisoners, again added to the laurels of this officer.
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Gen. Sedgwick, who had witnessed this desperate and successful assault, and the cool valor of Col. Burnham, as he led his men on to victory, rode forward to the captured works, and while the battle yet raged fiercely, thanked him for his glorious achievement, and assured him that his services should be rewarded with promc- tion, at an early day. When Gen. Sedgwick deemed it necessary to withdraw his command to the left bank of the Rappahannock, to Col. Burnham was assigned the important duty of covering the withdrawal of the corps, a perilous duty. which he performed to the full satisfaction of the general in command.
The reduced state of the army rendered it necessary, not long after this, to break up the Light Division, and Gen. Sedgwick, in . general orders. expressed his regret at the necessity which com- pelled the step. saving. "that its services fairly entitled it to be a permanent organization, and its gallant leader, Col. Burnham, to its permanent command."
In the fall of 1863, Col. Burnham's health being completely shat- tered by his long, arduous and exhausting labors: he was detailed to superintend the recruiting service for his regiment, in Maine, on which duty he remained until February, 1864. During most of that time he was also president of a general court martial, convened at Portland.
On returning to active service, Col. Burnham was assigned to the command of the brigade in which his regiment was serving, and so continued till he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, April 15th, 1864. About this time, Gen. Smith, his old commander, was organizing a force at Yorktown, to operate on the south side of the James River, and at his request, Gen. Burnham was ordered to report for service in this force, and was assigned to the command of the Second Brigade. First Division, Eighteenth A. C., on the 22d of April. With the army of the James, he par-
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ticipated in the movement up the James River, and in the subse- quent operations at Bermuda Hundred. He was also engaged in the successful attempt to cut the South Side Railroad, May 7th; his command doing the severe fighting on that occasion, driving the enemy from the road, and holding them at bay for several hours, while other forces destroyed the track. He also partici- pated in the demonstration against Petersburg, May 9th and 10th, in which several miles of the South Side Road were destroyed. His command was constantly engaged with the enemy, during these operations, and his gallantry and efficiency were never more conspicuous and serviceable.
During the unfortunate battle near Drury's Bluff, May 16th, he is reported as performing prodigies of valor. Holding his position for hours after our lines were beaten back at other points, he re- pulsed continuous and determined attacks of the enemy, and captured numerous prisoners. Although two horses were shot under him, during this hotly contested engagement, he miracul- ously escaped uninjured. .
On the 31st of May, he joined the Army of the Potomac, and on the 1st of June, engaged the enemy at Cold Harbor, his com- mand handsomely driving the foe and gaining important advant- ages. He also fought in the great battle at that place June 3d, and in the subsequent operations in that vicinity up to June 11th, adding to his already glorious record, and winning new commenda- tions from his superior officers.
In the attack upon Petersburg, June 15th, he stormed and carried the enemy's works with his skirmishers, capturing five pieces of artillery, and a considerable number of prisoners. Of this affair an eye witness says: "The success which he achieved placed Petersburg in the grasp of our Union forces, and had there remained two hours of daylight, the terrible struggle which was
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subsequently waged around the "Cockade City," would never have taken place. Gen. Burnham commanded the First Division of the Eighteenth Corps, on the 30th of July, at the Burnside Mine, holding, with his command, the fortifications of the Ninth Corps, while the attack was made upon the enemy's linies.
About the middle of August, his reduced health rendered rest and a change of climate imperatively necessary. He accordingly proceeded north, and having recruited himself somewhat, by a few weeks with his family, he returned to the field, and again assumed command of his brigade, September 27th. At the time of his return, preparations were being made for a movement of the Army of the James, to the north bank of the James River, and an attack upon the enemy's fortifications at Chapin's Farm. Within twenty-four hours of his arrival in camp, he marshalled his men for a last endeavor against the enemies of his country. During the night of September 28th, a pontoon bridge was thrown across the James. at Aiken's Landing, over which the Eighteenth Corps crossed to the north bank, and with the first gleam of light on the morning of the 29th, the attack upon the rebels commenced. As at Petersburg, on the 15th of June, Gen. Burnham was selected to lead the attacking column. At a short distance from the point of crossing the river, he came upon the enemy's skirmishers strongly intrenched. They were routed and pushed back toward their fortifications, a running fire ensued, the rebels being driven rapid- ly.
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At a distance of about two miles from the river, Gen. Burnham came upon the enemy's work, at Chapin's Farm, and commenced the assault. The struggle was desperate and bloody, but the enemy's resistance was in vain. Gen. Burnham carried their works. triumphantly capturing all of their artillery, and hun- dreds of prisoners. Still the enemy clung to a portion of the
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line, and from the right, poured down a destructive fire upon our victorious forces. Gen. Burnham, who had dismounted, in order to enter the captured fort, now rallied such of his forces as he could assemble, and was making a detour, to the rear of these troublesome rebels, in order to attack and secure their capture. As he cheered his men on to the execution of this movement, a minnie ball pierced his abdomen, and he fell. Sore- ly wounded though he was, and in the agonies of death, he retained all of his mental faculties, and saw his approaching dissolution with a composure and resignation which well became so distinguished a soldier, so eminent a patriot, and so true a man. With shortening breath, he spoke of his family, and then as his long and unselfish services for his country, seemed to flit through his mind, he said: "I have tried to do my duty," when he died without a struggle, as he was being carried from the field, he had so nobly won.
In honor of his memory, the fort, which his stern valor won from the enemy, was called "Fort Burnham."
His remains were embalmed at City Point, and conveyed to his quiet New England home, by a member of his staff, where his obsequies were celebrated.
The funeral of Gen. Burnham occurred at his late home at Cherryfield, on October 6th, 1864.
A committee of the town's people had been elected, and on them devolved the solemn duty of arranging for the last sad honors to the departed hero. By daybreak, the roads running into the town were full of teams, and at the time the exercises were begun, it was estimated that fully three thousand strangers had assembled to do homage to the dead.
The exercises were held at the Baptist Church, and consisted of:
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Music by the Ellsworth Band. Invocation. Anthem, by the Choir. Reading of the Scriptures. Hymn, by the Choir. Prayer, by Rev. H. F. Harding, of Machias. Voluntary, by the Choir. Remarks, by the Rev. Mr. Harding. Brief address, by Mr. Wm. Freeman.
After the conclusion of the services at the church, a procession was formed in the following order:
Ellsworth Band. Committee of Arrangements.
Pall Bearers. Hearse. Pall Bearers.
Col. Burnham's horse, saddled and booted. Carriages.
Long lines of citizens followed all that remained of the once noble, gallant patriot, to his last resting place, and lingered even after the good minister had consigned, "dust to dust, and ashes to ashes," to tell, with tearful eye, of the brave deeds and noble traits of character of the dead.
CAPT. SAMUEL W. DAGGETT,
Was commissioned on the first day of August, 1862, as Cap- tain of Company B, First Maine Heavy Artillery, which regi- ment left the State on the 24th day of August, 1862, under Col. Daniel Chaplin, as the Eighteenth Maine Infantry. The First Maine Heavy Artillery joined the Army of the Potomac, very soon after that army crossed the Rapidan, southward, in the commencement of the summer campaign of 1864, Maj. Gen. Meade commanding, and accompanied in person by Lieut. Gen. U. S. Grant. With full ranks, (eighteen hundred strong), this regiment had its first encounter, with the army commanded by Gen. Lee, in which the casualties were four hundred and fifty killed, wounded and missing.
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The regiment thus sadly reduced in numbers, but not in courage and patriotic enthusiasm for the cause of the Union, was in several other engagements in the triumphant progress of the gallant army toward Richmond and Petersburg, in all of which Capt. Daggett, and his gallant Company B, participated, until that in which he, while leading on his brave comrades, received the wound which resulted in his death. In the engagement of June 18th, while very near the enemy's lines, and in the midst of continuous musketry, Capt. Daggett received a wound in the knee, at the moment of drawing his pistol .. Being unable to walk, he crawled toward the rear. Encumbered by his rubber coat, he threw that aside, and in the moment of doing this, he received a severe wound in the face In his further progress toward the rear, the enemy pressing on in squads, he heard a rebel officer give an order to shoot him, when he received another wound in the knee. But faint at times, almost to unconsciousness, for loss of blood and over exertion, he was obliged at last to cast away his sword. He soon reached a gully where he lay concealed, until under the cover of darkness, he found himself among some of his comrades. A corporal bore him on his shoulder to the rear, where he was cared for, for a time, in the field hospital.
| He was at length conveyed to David's Island Hospital, in New York, where he died on the first day of July, 1864, at the age of 23 years and 7 months. He bore his sufferings with remarkable fortitude. His widowed mother and one of his sisters were with him in his last hours, and witnessed the peaceful death of a. de- voted, affectionate, Christian son and brother, one of the worthiest and bravest of the gallant young officers in our Federal Army, who had volunteered their services, and at last their lives, in the glorious cause of Union and Liberty.
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CAPT. WILLIAM R. CURRIER,
Of Brewer, responded to the call of his country, in April, 1861, and with others from the same town, joined Company C, Second Regiment Infantry. He was immediately made First Sergeant, and leaving Bangor in May, was in the first battle of Bull Run. August 30th, he was promoted First Lieutenant of the same com- pany. He was in most of the engagements of the Army of the Potomac, and was wounded in action in Virginia. He continued with his, regiment until they were mustered out in Bangor. in 1803, having, in the meantime, been promoted Captain. Captain Currier again entered the service, March 15th, 1864, and was mustered in as Captain of Company F, Thirty-First Regiment. . He was subsequently promoted Major, but not mustered, having been wounded in battle, which caused his death, August 25th, 1864. He bore the reputation of having been an excellent officer, a strict disciplinarian, and fearless and brave in all the numerous engagements, in which he took any part.
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