USA > Maine > History of the First Maine cavalry, 1861-1865, V. 1 > Part 25
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the town, a squad of guerillas were seen, who waited till our men were near enough to hear them, and then giving a volley of the most vulgar and abusive epithets, scattered in every direction. On the march from Salem to Orleans, about ten miles, mostly through the woods, guerillas hung on both flanks and on the rear, occasionally giving a shot, but without effect. Near Orleans the advance guard came suddenly upon a squad of the enemy, but they made their escape after firing a few shots. The march was now directed toward the camp, leaving Waterloo on the right. Guerillas were seen on the route, but they kept at a respectful distance. The detachment reached camp at sunset, hungry and weary. They had been in the saddle sixteen hours, and had marched over fifty miles.
During the winter the re-enlisted men, or " veterans," as they were designated by the War Department, took their promised thirty-five days' furlough, small squads going at a time, and a large number of recruits from Maine joined the regiment and were assigned to the different companies, taking the places of the men who had been discharged, killed, or had died in the service. The greater part of these recruits were good and true men, and made good soldiers.
There was some trouble during the winter, more especially in the early part, from guerillas, who hung round the rear of the army, and a few men who had gone out beyond the lines, singly, or in very small parties, were captured, and two or three teams were lost in the same way. On one occasion, January fifteenth, four men, a team, and a negro were captured. The negro proved to be the smartest of the whole party, and escaped, rejoining the regiment after an absence of but two or three days. But this sort of depredations did not last long, as the men soon learned to keep within the lines, unless in suffi- cient numbers to protect themselves from small parties. The loss in this way, and in scouting, was nine in January and two in February.
On one occasion, when Lieut. Col. Boothby was division officer of the day, while going the rounds of the pickets with Corp. George A. Messer, of Co. B. as orderly, he decided to go outside of the line on a private reconnoissance. When some way out, he thought he saw a movement in the woods ahead of him, and being somewhat near sighted, he called upon Corp. Messer to see what it was. To his surprise he learned that the corporal was even more near sighted than he was, whereupon he
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remarked, in his expressive way: " Well! we are a healthy set to go on a raid ; can't either of us see beyond our noses," and then turned and got inside the lines as quickly as possible.
On the twenty-sixth of February a detail of three hundred men and officers was made from the regiment to join Gen. Kilpatrick on his famous raid to Richmond, known as the Dahlgren raid, from the fact that the brave Col. Ulric Dahl- gren, son of Admiral Dahlgren, met his death. Col. Dahlgren, though still suffering from a wound received in a charge at Hagerstown, just previous to the battle of Gettysburg, by which he lost a leg, had volunteered to join the expedition, and was given charge of the most difficult and hazardous portion of it. The object of this raid was to release the Union prisoners at Belle Isle, Richmond, and perhaps, with the aid of the released prisoners, enter the rebel capital, and hold it till the arrival of Butler's forces (which were to advance up the penin- sula), and in any event to destroy as much rebel property as possible. The plans were for Col. Dahlgren, with a detached force, to move down to the right of Richmond, destroy as much of the James River canal as he could, then, taking the river road, cross, if possible, and enter the city from the south side, and release the prisoners, while Gen Kilpatrick, who had the general management of the whole expedition, with the main body was to attack the city by the Brooks turnpike, simulta- neously, if possible, with the movement by Col. Dahlgren. It was hoped to reach the city in time to effect a partial, if not a total, surprise.
The detail left camp on the morning of Saturday, the twenty- seventh, and was joined by one hundred men each from the Fourth and Sixteenth Pennsylvania regiments, the whole being placed in command of Maj. Taylor, of the First Maine (who had recently been promoted from captain of Co. L), Capt. Chadbourne, of Co. I, commanding the First Maine. The day after the detail left camp. Gen. Gregg and Col. Smith, on learn- ing the object of the expedition, started at once and followed the command to the Rapidan, with the intention, had they overtaken the command, of joining the expedition. This detach- ment proceeded to Stevensburg and reported to Gen. Kilpai-
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rick, when it was assigned to duty with Gen. Davies' brigade. and went into camp for the night. The next day, Sunday. Cos. D, F, H. K, and M, under command of Capt. Myrick, of Co. K, were detached to form a part of Col. Dahlgren's force. This force, consisting of five hundred men, left Stevensburg at sunset that Sunday night, - two hours earlier than the main body, - crossing the Rapidan at Ely's ford half an hour after midnight, the First Maine detachment having the advance. Here they captured the enemy's pickets, while a small party that crossed a mile or so higher up the river, captured a picket reserve of fifteen men and their commanding officer. The march was continued across the Chancellorsville battle-field to Spottsylvania Court House, reaching there before dawn.
After a halt of an hour or so, to feed the horses, the march was resumed to Frederickshall, on the Virginia Central Rail- road, which was reached at three o'clock that afternoon, where a general court martial, consisting of thirteen rebel officers, was surprised and captured. Gen. Lee had passed through here but an hour before, on his way to Richmond. Some slight damage was done to the railroad, and then the march was continued, through dense woods and swamps, in a drenching rain, until two o'clock the next morning, when a short halt was made, and the men got what sleep they could under the circum- stances. The command was in the saddle before daylight, and reached the James River about seven o'clock.
While passing the estate of John A. Seddon, rebel Secretary of War, the troops destroyed considerable property devoted to the use of the Confederate government, as well as his barns and outbuildings ; and at Dover Mills, on the James River and Kanawha canal, they destroyed several mills in government employ, together with a number of canal boats loaded with army supplies, and a large amount of forage and quarter- master's stores.
Had Col. Dahlgren reached the vicinity of Richmond, as was designed, on Monday night. or even on Tuesday morning, he would have effected a complete surprise, and perhaps have accomplished his object : but after marching as rapidly as possi- ble nearly all night toward Richmond, as he supposed, he was
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amazed when morning dawned to find himself not at the entrance of the city, but moving in an opposite direction. and already some eighteen miles away from it, in the direction of Goochland. A hasty investigation of the matter satisfied him that his guide, a negro, had betrayed him and was leading him and his command to destruction, and he halted the column long enough to hang the poor fellow to the nearest tree.
This accounts for his position on the morning of Tuesday. But the colonel was not the man to give up an undertaking in this way, and after the work of destruction at Dover Mills was completed, he marched through the town, changed his course, and in the afternoon halted a short distance outside the first line of entrenchments around Richmond. From this point the ambulances and most of the pack animals were sent to Hungary Station, which was supposed to be in possession of Gen. Kilpat- rick, and then the command moved on, reaching and passing without opposition the outer line of works. The column was proceeding rapidly, one of the other regiments in the advance, and had gone, perhaps a mile and a half, when, as the advance guard reached the summit of a hill and entered some woods, it was attacked from both sides the pike and in front, at an angle of the road. Col. Dahlgren ordered the advance to throw out skirmishers through the woods, and repeated his order with threats and expostulations to the men. but to no purpose, when. seeing he was losing valuable time, he rode back to Capt. Myrick and exclaimed : "Well, then, you go in, First Maine !" The order was instantly obeyed, Cos. D and F, on the left of the road, and H. K and M on the right. Capt. Myrick then advanced the extreme right of the line until he had enclosed the enemy in a semicirele, and then pressed rapidly forward. and as he saw the enemy waver he ordered a charge, and drove him from his position, with some loss. The woods were full of felled timber and other obstacles, which prevented rapid move- ments of cavalry, and gave the enemy (infantry) the advantage, and he soon rallied and presented another front; but a well- sustained fire and a vigorous charge again dislodged him. Meanwhile Lieut. Harris, with Co. F, was ordered to charge and clear the pike. and did so successfully, and the daring and
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brilliancy of the charge was sorrowfully attested by the loss of half his men. At this juncture Capt. Myrick received orders to "rally on the pike and support another regiment, which is already a mile ahead." It was necessary for the skirmish line to fall back some fifty yards to gain access to the pike, on account of the nature of the ground, and on reaching it it was discovered that the other regiment, instead of being a mile ahead, was still in the rear. Where this order came from. no one knew. Capt. Myrick was again ordered to take the advance. and a few moments later, in response to another order, Cos. H and K were deployed on the right of the pike as skirmishers. and Capt. Myrick waited the order to advance, the two lines then being so near together that the First Maine boys could distinctly hear the rebel officers instruct their men to "keep cool ! fire low! do not run!" But not one of them could be seen, for they were not only concealed by breastworks and bushes, but night, cloudy and dark had come on, and it was almost impossible to distinguish a man. The order "Forward !" came when the enemy opened a terrific fire along their whole front, and a perfect hail storm of bullets whistled past the First Maine boys. Fortunately the rebel aim was too high, the Union line evidently being nearer than they thought, and but few men were injured. At this volley the support fled, and Col. Dahlgren, who, with other officers strove to rally them. was borne back with the retreating column, and the First Maine was left alone. On learning the state of affairs, Capt. Myrick at once ordered his command to fall back in perfect silence and good order, which was done ; but unfortunately the wrong road was taken. This mistake was discovered ere long, the pike was regained just in advance of the enemy, who was advancing very cautiously, and a portion of the force was soon overtaken; but Col. Dahlgren and about one hundred and fifty men had by some means got separated from the remainder, and the com- mand devolved upon Capt. Mitchell, of the Harris Light.
It was afterward learned that Gen. Kilpatrick with his force made an attack on the other side of Richmond that same day, but withdrew some three hours before this attack of Col. Dahl- gren, and that the approach of Col. Dahlgren, owing to his
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betrayal, had been made known to the rebel authorities, and they were prepared to receive him. Thus was the main object of the expedition defeated. After becoming separated from the column, Col. Dahlgren and his little force crossed the Pamunkey and Mattapony Rivers and was pushing eastward, when he fell into an ambush about midnight and was shot down with a number of his men, the rest surrendering at discretion.
Private George W. Ward, of Co. D, who was on this expedi- tion, thus tells the story of Col. Dahlgren's death, and of his own subsequent imprisonment : -
The night had shut in dark and cloudy. Col. Dahlgren, with a small force of twenty-five or thirty men, was pushing rapidly on, hoping to escape from the rebel lines by way of the James River. The main object of the raid had failed, and the gallant troopers of Kilpatrick's command, scattered through- out the country, were making their escape as best they could. Col. Dahl- gren was riding in the second set of fours from the front, and I was one of the same set. The jaded horses were plunging through the mud, and the sabres were rattling at their sides. Through the darkness Col. Dahlgren saw a dismounted man standing in the road close beside him, and at once cried out: "To what do you belong ?" The man, with the unmistakable accent of a Virginian. replied: "The Tenth New York." " You are a liar!" shouted Dahlgren, at the same moment firing his revolver at the man's head. Then from the surrounding thickets which lined the road a hundred rifles flashed a reply. Col. Dahlgren fell, and the survivors of the little squad of Union soldiers, among whom were five of my company comrades and my- self, cut their way through the Confederate line which surrounded them and endeavored to escape. We rode all night and concealed ourselves the next morning, but during the afternoon we were discovered and captured by our pursuers. Our horses and arms were taken from us, and then, after the usual custom of exchanging our good uniforms for tattered garments of the Confederacy, our faces were turned towards Richmond, to which city we were obliged to walk through a drenching rain.
At the time of my capture I was wearing a fine pair of new cavalry boots, which I had just received from my home in Biddeford. A surgeon of the Ninth Virginia Cavalry looked upon them with covetous eyes, and accosted me as follows : " Say. Yank, come out here !" The order was obeyed. "Now sit down there and pull off one of them boots !" This was done, and the vacated boot soon contained a Confederate foot. "Now the other." This also was handed him. "A good fit. I declare," said the chivalrous Virginian. as he surveyed his new acquisitions with evident pride. "Here, Yank, take these." throwing me an old pair of red dilapidated shoes, the soles of which had nearly become the " uppers," which the officer had just kicked from his feet. "But I cannot wear those things on my feet," I persisted. "Don't
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care whether you can or not - get back in the line there. quick!" I obeyed. and the officer walked away. I remained a prisoner at Richmond sixty days. during which time I suffered with both the mumps and the measles, from the effects of which I nearly died. I was confined in the old Pemberton Building, nearly opposite Libby Prison. When captured I weighed one hundred and eighty pounds: when exchanged. at the end of the sixty days. I had been reduced in weight, by sickness and starvation, to one hundred pounds.
When Capt. Mitchell found himself in command of the greater part of Col. Dahlgren's force, a consultation of officers was held. and it was decided to attempt to reach Hungary Station, where it was still hoped to find Gen. Kilpatrick, but the enemy held the cross-roads, and finding it impossible to proceed, the command was concealed about midnight in a densely-wooded swamp, to await the morning, and scouts were sent to the station. The rain, which had been falling for some hours, turned to snow and sleet about eleven o'clock, and cleared away bitter cold by midnight. No fires could be allowed. and the men suffered intensely. Twice during the night large bodies of the enemy's cavalry passed within a few yards of their hiding place, fortunately without discovering them.
Even under these circumstances the men could laugh at an incident that happened. After the videttes had been posted. the men, cold, wet and exhausted, sought the best chance for sleep. Many of them threw their overcoat capes over their heads for warmth and comfort, and sat down on the ground. holding their horses by the bridles, to doze the night away and get what rest they could. One of them, for better comfort. took off his sabre and belt, and rebuckling the belt, hung it over a stump by his side, that it might be handy, and fell asleep. Before morning there was an alarm, when he jumped for his sabre and found it gone. He searched in vain for it. and then broke out in the most melancholy and distressed tones : " Where's my sabre? I hung it on that stump there. right alongside of me, and now the sabre's gone -and the stump's gone, too !" Meanwhile a corporal of the same com- pany had got fairly awake, and the load about his neck being rather heavier than he was accustomed to, he examined into
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the matter and found the extra burden to be the missing sabre. while he himself had been the stump on which the comrade had so carefully hung it in the darkness.
Upon the return of the scouts the command started, just before daybreak. for Hungary Station, which was reached in due time, but no traces of Kilpatrick. An attempt was made to take the Spottsylvania Court House road, when it was found the enemy held the road and the woods. There seemed to be no chance of escape, but a guide who was with the command found a bridle path through the woods, by following which the command arrived in rear of the force on the Spottsylvania road, and shortly afterwards crossed the Chickahominy and set out at a good smart gait toward King William's Court House. Another regiment had the advance until near noon, when a force of twenty from the First Maine was sent out to relieve the advance guard and flankers. This new advance guard had proceeded barely a mile, when, just as it was entering an immense tract of pines, it was attacked from both sides of the road. A lieutenant of the advance ordered his men to charge and he set them a gallant example, but they wheeled in a body to the left of the road, leaving the First Maine once more at the head of the column. Capt. Myrick at once ordered a charge, and with Lieut. Andrews, of Co. H. led the men in a brilliant dash through the woods, the men keeping up such a heavy fire to the right and left, as to drive the enemy back from the road and make a safe and easy passage for the rest of the column. Two hours later the command joined Gen. Kilpatrick's force and the First Maine reported to Maj. Taylor, having lost forty-four men, killed, wounded and missing.
The main force, some twenty-seven hundred strong, with six pieces of artillery, under command of Gen. Kilpatrick (with which was the remainder of the detachment from the First Maine), left Stevensburg two hours later than Col. Dahlgren's force, and proceeded over the same route to Spottsylvania Court House, halting briefly there, and then taking a south- easterly course, reached Beaver Dam Station, on the Virginia Central Railroad. about four o'clock on the afternoon of the
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next day (Monday, twenty-ninth). Capt. Estes, formerly of Co. A, acting assistant adjutant general on Gen. Kilpatrick's staff, with a party of men, dashed so suddenly into this place that the telegraph operator was a prisoner before he had time to send word to Richmond of the arrival of the Yankees. Here the station buildings were burned, and two companies of this regiment were sent out to intercept a train which it was learned was then due from Richmond. The conductor of the train. however, became alarmed by the smoke of the burning buildings. and stopping the train, sent out a guard to learn the cause. The column had resumed its onward march, and was leaving the station when the pickets of the First Maine were attacked on a road running parallel with the line of march, and driven in. Fortunately Maj. Taylor arrived with his command just at this time, and the remainder of the First Maine and the Fourth Pennsylvania regiments were deployed as skirmishers, and the Sixteenth Pennsylvania formed in line of battle in the road. A vigorous attack was made, but the enemy was easily repulsed. with some loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, but the latter were allowed to escape, as that was easier than to take care of them. Two men were wounded in the First Maine in this little skirmish.
The march was continued without further serious molesta- tion, parties being sent out in every direction to continue the work of destroying railroads, stations, bridges, etc., until half an hour after midnight, when the command halted near Little Creek for a brief season of rest and sleep, and was in motion again before daybreak, moving toward Ashland, on the Rich- mond and Fredericksburg Railroad. It crossed the South Anna River at Ground Squirrel bridge, eighteen miles from Rich- mond, and then, taking the Richmond and Fredericksburg pike. marched rapidly, reaching the outer line of works around Rich- mond early in the afternoon, having encountered no force of the enemy of any account except at Beaver Dam Station, though there were several skirmishes with small bodies.
The first line of defence was passed without resistance, and the second almost reached when the advance guard encountered a heavy fire, which checked further progress, and at the same
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time a battery opened on the line from a formidable work. Gen. Davies, commanding First brigade, at once dismounted his force and deployed it as skirmishers ; a line of battle was formed, and preparations made to assault the works immedi- ately. An assaulting party of five hundred men was selected, including one hundred and fifty of the Second brigade, and, by special direction of Gen. Kilpatrick, seventy-five men of the First Maine, under command of Lieut. Heald, of Co. E, and the artillery opened upon the rebel battery. The order was given to advance, but was immediately countermanded. Gen. Kilpatrick had discovered that the works were too formidable and too heavily manned for successful assault, and also heard the whistle of a locomotive, which, as he thought, and as after- wards proved to be the case, was bringing up re-enforcements for the enemy. He had heard nothing from Col. Dahlgren ; the enemy, it seems, had been apprised by scouts of his approach, and were prepared for him ; a cold, drizzly March rain was fall- ing, with a prospect of a severe storm ; the rear guard had just been attacked in its position two miles in the rear; and under all these circumstances he deemed it prudent to retire, and gave up the attempt to enter the rebel capital about three hours before Col. Dahlgren commenced his attack on the other side of the city.
Crossing the Chickahominy over Meadow bridge, the com- mand went into bivouac near Mechanicsville, six miles from Richmond, where the men cooked their confiscated rations, made themselves as comfortable as possible, and prepared for rest and sleep.
"At ten o'clock in the evening," says Chaplain Merrill, "Gen. Kilpatrick summoned Maj. Taylor to undertake an enterprise at once difficult and perilous. Col. Dahlgren and his party had been heard from : he had been unsuccessful. This expedition had marched nearly one hundred miles in forty-eight hours. and the abandonment of its object, so long as a possibility remained of securing it, was not to be thought of. It was decided to make a demonstration with a party of five hundred picked men, under command of Maj. Taylor. The party was to go into Richmond by way of Mechanicsville. Our scouts had discov-
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ered that on this route there were but two picket posts with reserves. These were to be overpowered quietly, if possible. Having gained an entrance into the city, two parties, com- manded by competent officers, were to go on different errands. One was to liberate our prisoners confined in Libby, and the other was to secure Jeff Davis. Gen. Kilpatrick himself was to take position at Mechanicsville, with two regiments and the battery, to await and cover the retreat. The expedition was to start at two o'clock. The men were selected and the arrange- ments made."
At half-past ten, just as those not on duty were getting to sleep, the enemy opened a two-gun battery on the camp of Gen. Davies, and charged into the camp of the Seventh Michigan regiment. The attack was vigorously met; and although the enemy had the advantage in the light of the camp-fires, he was repulsed after an engagement lasting nearly half an hour. Gen. Kilpatrick then decided to move his command, to be prepared for any emergency at daylight, and the expedition under Maj. Taylor was necessarily, if not fortunately, given up. The line of march was taken up in the direction of Old church, the Second brigade in the rear. The enemy was all around the column, continually harassing it, and about nine o'clock a large force of cavalry appeared in the rear, and a fight ensued. Cos. A and E, under command of Capt. Cole and Lieut. Hussey, led by Capt. Estes, A. A. A. G., charged down the road, driving the enemy away, capturing five prisoners, killing five and wounding fifteen, while the loss of the two companies was two wounded and three taken prisoners.
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