USA > Maine > History of the First Maine cavalry, 1861-1865, V. 2 > Part 2
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At six o'clock the next morning, December ninth, the com- mand moved. advancing slowly along the railroad, guarding the infantry in their work of destruction. At three o'clock in the afternoon the regiment, with the column, crossed Three Creek, a tributary of the Nottaway, a deep stream, with precipi- tous banks and a miry bed, losing three horses in the fording. A few miles further on the enemy was developed in force with strong works at Bellefield, to protect the crossing of the Meherrin River. The First brigade had the advance. and the First Massachusetts and First New Jersey were sharply engaged.
The whole force of the First Maine. then numbering over five hundred men. was detailed to destroy the railroad up to a point as near the rebel works as possible, the rest of the brigade being also engaged in this work of destruction. The men worked at this destructive duty till half-past seven o'clock. the northern lights made by northern soldiers darting heavenward, while the country for miles was illuminated by piles of burning ties. across which lay the bending and twisting rails. A thick woods . enclosed the railroad, and ever and anon a crushing cannon ball
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informed the men that the rebels were using their fires for a target. The day had been a cold, rainy one, which at night turned to a frozen sleet. A cavalry man's overcoat protects the upper part of his body from wet very well, but in fording Three Creek the water had invaded his boots and legs to an uncom- fortable extent. Perhaps the severe exercise of turning the rails and sleepers bodily upside down, and wrenching off the sleepers and piling them together. setting them on fire and placing the iron rails on top, had counteracted the effect of the wet feet and frozen clothes, for though the bivouac was late, in cold sleet and an open field, there were no complaints. Indeed. the men boasted how well they slept. and seemed inclined to make the best of it, though some of them. on attempting to get up, found themselves actually frozen down, and in the morning everything was encrusted with ice. and men crawled out of little frozen ponds. They had never before been exposed on so cold and uncomfortable a night, and the night at Hatcher's Run. soon after, was the only one that exceeded it in severity and suffering.
The morning of the tenth found the men in the saddle at tive o'clock, on the return march, the object of the expedition being completed. This time the command crossed Three Creek ou pontoons, this brigade being ordered to the position of rear . guard. The brigade was formed across the creek till the infan- try and the rest of the cavalry were well out on the road. The enemy had a howitzer and Gen. Smith had Dennison's battery. The enemy was held there as long as it was thought necessary. and then the brigade started on the march, the Twenty-first Pennsylvania having the rear and the First Maine next. They had marched but a short distance when they were obliged to halt on account of the infantry. At this Gen. Smith went back to his old position and held it a while longer, and then again took up the line of march, this time crossing the railroad. when he again halted and went into position. Just then he was sent for by Gen. (fregg, who informed him that the infantry was going off on another road, and ordered him to let one cavalry regiment go with the infantry and the rest go by themselves. When he returned to his command he found it had started along
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and was nearly across the railroad as the next crossing. The First Maine and a gun from the battery were put into position at the crossing. After a while the command again started, and on arriving at the road on which the infantry had gone, he sent the Second New York after the infantry, and gave the rear of his column to the First Maine. The situation at this point became exciting. The enemy opened on the regiment with artillery from the rear, while at Jarratt's Station, just above. where the enemy had got on the flank, and which the regi- ment must pass, the heavy and frequent discharge of Gen. Hampton's guns told the boys whichever way they turned there was danger. The peculiar exposure and duties of a rear guard were never more clearly shown at one view. It was a question of time, and of prompt and ready hand ling of men, when the slightest confusion or unsteadiness would be taken advantage of by the pursuing enemy. The disposition of the First Maine, to meet the attacks from almost opposite directions, came to the knowledge of the division commander, Gen. Gregg, and he complimented Col. Cilley on his admirable disposition and handling of the regiment. Maj. Curtis, who had been assigned to this regiment from the First District of Columbia, rendered efficient service as a staff officer to Col. Cilley, and showed the fearless bravery that was charac- teristic of the men.
Capt. Heald's battalion held the enemy in check at the stream until the Twenty-first and the rest of the brigade were out of the way, and destroyed the bridge under the fire of the enemy's cavalry, which was so hot that part of the destroying party were obliged to cover themselves by the banks of the stream and the woods on the left, and only joined their com- panies and horses at Jarratt's Station, a mile above. The bat- talions were drawn up in rear of each other, with intervals of three hundred yards, and retired in succession one after the other, to form again in the rear. The cross-road at Jarratt's Station was curtained by woods, and was held by the Tenth New York, of the Second brigade, till the First Maine could relieve it. The sharp firing at this point showed that the ques- tion of time was the important one. Capt. Heald's battalion
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. was brought up at a gallop and put in; dismounted, in the posi- tion of the Tenth New York. This was done in a most gallant manner, without allowing the enemy to gain an inch advance. Capt. Hall's battalion was placed in rear of the cross-roads, on a small hill. in admirable position to charge the road or to hold the enemy from driving the rear guard too rapidly, while Capt. Freese's battalion was placed a little further in the rear, on the opposite side of the road, in hand for any emergency. As soon as ready, Capt. Heald. who had been previously directed to move quickly when ordered to leave his position, came out of the curtaining woods at a run, and remounting his men, with a short gallop put them safely in rear of the other two battalions. The enemy immediately emerged from the woods where Capt. Heald had been, with lines reaching beyond his right and left, while their right connected with the force that had been fighting in the direct rear of the command. They seemed so astonished at finding no fleeing or disorder in the force in their front, but the well-dressed lines of Capts. Hall's and Freese's battalions before them, that they forgot to fire, and on receiving a volley, took ignominiously to the woods, and kept out of range of the First Maine carbines the entire day.1
The regiment bivouacked that night near Coman's well. Towards night the weather grew fearfully cold, and the keen. bitter wind penetrated to the very bones of the men. The march was delayed by building bridges and corduroying roads. many of the details for this service being drawn from this regiment, on account of the expert use of the axe by the Maine soldiers. Frequent and prolonged halts gave the full benefit of wintry wind till about three miles from camp. when Col. Cilley obtained permission to leave the column. and through a wood-path known to the regiment marched with quick pace and no halting for camp, which was reached at half-past one o'clock on the morning of the twelfth. with men and horses covered with ice and frozen mud. Though the snow and ice had filled the tents to some extent during the absence of the
! This was a hard day for Gen. Smith, as his position was a trying one. He must be careful that the column should not get too far ahead, and also that the First Maine should go soon enough.
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men, they felt as though they had reached home, and in spite of the snow on the bunks, slept the soldierly sleep.
Lieut. Geo. F. Jewett, of Co. K, thus tells the story of the death of Sergt. Edward B. Herbert. of that company, on this expedition : -
While on the return from Bellefield. our regiment having the rear. we formed in line on a ridge in an open field to check the enemy till the column could get out of the way. My company had the left of the line, and when the regiment moved out into the road to pass to the rear. the colonel told me to " hold my position till the column was well out of the way, and then move back at a trot." I followed the same tactics with the company. reserving two sets of fours with me and sending the rest of the company after the column. After sufficient time for the company to get out of the way, I moved out with the eight men through the gap in the fenee, and started back at a trot. The rebels were shelling us at the time, and their skirmish line was quite near us. and annoyed us considerably. The first intimation I had of their successful artillery practice was in seeing the butt of a carbine fly past me. and I looked round to see who had had so narrow an escape, and saw Sergt. E. B. Herbert just picking himself up out of the dust in the road, his horse keeping his place in the set of fours. I immedi- ately turned, speaking to the two men nearest me to come and help me. In the excitement they either misunderstood me, or did not hear me, and kept on ; so I took the sergeant's left hand (the right arm being shot off) up over the pommel of my saddle and led him back a distance till we were partially covered from the enemy, when we stopped. and Herbert fainted. By this time some of the officers of the regiment (the line had formed on the next ridge) saw my predicament, and sent some men to assist me. They lifted the wounded man up and placed him across my lap, and I brought him in. I saw him that night at Sussex Court House (after I had posted my pickets). and he had been fixed up by the surgeon and was comfortable. The next day he was taken to Washington, where he wrote me a letter. thanking me for saving his life and telling me of his hopes in getting home. Gangrene set in, however, and he died in hospital at Washington. He was a brave. large-hearted, good soldier. and always anxious to be at the front till we started on this raid. when he asked me to exeuse him. saying that he had a presentiment that he would be shot. As we had a number of men sick and others poorly mounted, and he was neither, I declined to leave him with the dismounted men, and he went to his doom.
The expedition was a successful one, the road being destroyed for the entire distance. Of this work the greater portion was performed by the infantry, the cavalry being occupied for the most part in picketing, scouting, etc., though some of the work of destruction was done by the cavalry men, as already stated. the cavalry destroying the railroad further in the enemy's coun-
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try than the infantry, they going to the Meherrin River. The rails were bent and twisted by heat until it seemed as if they never could be made of use again. nor could they, without being first taken to the workshop. The method of destruction is thus described by Chaplain Merrill : - -
Along the whole line we traversed. the road was lined with yellow pine timber. prepared during the previous summer to be used in repairing the road bed. It was well seasoned, and burned like wax. The method of destroying the road was this: A few pieces of timber would be placed together. with some finer fuel under them. A dozen rails would then be balanced across the combustible mass. and the torch applied. The heat would presently be intense. and the rails would bend by their own weight. Two or three men would seize one of them and double it around a stump. Many a heavy T rail have we seen in the form of an ox bow. Several we have seen coiled like wire around a tree.
This anecdote of the "raid " is also told by Chaplain Merrill. though there was a tradition in the regiment that the hero of the " hardtack " incident was a Co. E man, serving as orderly at Gen. Gregg's headquarters : -
At Jarratt's Station we relieved the Tenth New York Cavahy. and held the crossing till all the brigades had passed. The enemy opened on us sharply with artillery, but was successfully held in cheek, and from that time ceased to annoy us. During this action a brave Irish soldier, belong- ing to one of the batteries, had been sent to the wagons for ammunition. As he was rushing back at break-neck speed. with a twelve-pound shell closely hugged under each arm and concealed by his blouse, he was stopped by an officer of the provost guard. who demanded: " What have you there ? " " An' sure, yer honor." said Pat. "an' isn't it hardtack for the rebels ? "
The remainder of this month. and all of January, 1865, were spent in picketing and scouting, and there was plenty of it to do. Almost every day one or more scouting parties were sent out, while the regiment was on picket. it seemed. half the time. The regiment's picket line was more than three miles long. in the rear of the army, four miles from camp. and embraced thirty-nine mounted and eight dismounted vidette posts. Then there were drills. inspections, reviews, etc .. when the regi- ment was in camp, so it was not a time of all rest. But there was much real comfort. much hearty pleasure, in camp those
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months. while picket was not so bad in good weather (though in some of the storms of that season it was not a duty to be sought), and it may be questioned if the boys did not enjoy themselves that winter quite as well and quite as thoroughly as many of them have done since in civil life. There were papers to read, from kind friends at home and furnished by the United States Christian Commission, as well as boxes of luxuries and comforts, and all in all the time passed as pleasantly as could be expected. under the circumstances. The rations during the winter were good, and beside, the sutler (formerly Sergt. Parker, of Co. B, who had served his three years faithfully), furnished "goodies" to the men. There were also visits to "Fort Hell" and the other fortifications along the line, where different Maine regiments and batteries were stationed. and the communion with old-time friends and schoolmates.
Right here it is well to quote again from Chaplain Merrill's " History ": --
We should not be true to our convictions of what is due to a noble Christian charity, if we did not make grateful mention of the choice reading matter, furnished weekly by the delegates of the Christian Commission. for the men. It has already been stated that. in common with many other regiments, we were indebted to this commission for the covering of the commodious chapel in which we worshipped during the winter of 1864-5. and for the stove by means of which it was warmed. In this, and in various other ways, an amount of good was done which cannot be fully known. We are the more explicit here, because those who contributed to the treasury of this institution have a right to know how the delegates, to whom the work of ministering to the wants of the soldiers was entrusted, did their duty. It may be said that there were men in this service who did not amount to much, and the same may be said with equal truth of some soldiers, and even generals, in the army. But after all needful abatements for indis- creet men, and inefficient men, and topographical men, and trophy-hunting men. and sight-seeing men, the delegates of the Christian Commission were. as a body, earnest, laborious, and self-denying men. We have seen them on their various rounds of duty, and know them. We have seen them bending over the wounded, the sick. and the dying. We have seen them on the field of battle, where one would not choose to go unless duty called him. We have seen them march with the army, day after day, and no small part of the intervening nights, on foot. in the month of December, amid cold. and mud, and rain, and sleet. when some of us thought it hard enough to ride. And yet there they were, the live-long night. with no covering but the wintry air, freighted with rain, freezing as it fell, and no bed but the sleet-covered ground, and yet with material aid for the suffering and cheer
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for all around. This commission was the eye of Christian philanthropy watching to see where help was needed. and her feet running swiftly to carry it. It was her lips speaking words of counsel and of cheer. and her hand feeding the hungry, lifting up the fallen. soothing the pangs of the sufferer, directing the dying to Christ, and transmitting their last messages of love to distant friends.
At City Point they had a mammoth coffee-boiler on wheels, with a heat- ing apparatus attached. as to the boiler of a steam engine, drawn by two horses. On its first missionary tour along the line of the army at the front. it was amusing to hear the quaint remarks of the boys as they quatfed the delicious beverage. " I say." said one, "where did that come from. any- how ?" " From the Christian Commission." "God bless the Christian Commission." "I say. boys." said another, as he returned the cup and smacked his lips. " ain't that a bully machine ? Three cheers for the Chris- tian Commission and their big coffee-pot !"
An Irishman belonging to one of our regiments refused to receive any favors, or listen to any counsel from one of these men, though sadly in need of some articles of clothing. Want. however. finally triumphed over will. and he was supplied. Seeing the delegate again, he said to him: "Sir. they tell me that ye are working here jist for the love of the boys, and that ve git no pay at all. intirely." " They are mistaken." was his answer; "we get the best pay of anybody in the army." "Indade! and what pay do ve git, anyhow ?" "Didn't you say ' God bless ye! when I brought you the shirt, and the drawers, and the socks. the other day ?" "I mind it." said he. " And did they do you any good ?" "Good!" replied Pat. .. And did they not warm me feet. and warm me back, and warm me all over ? Good it is, indade they did me." " Well," replied the delegate, " that is the pay we get." " Is that it? Is that it?" asked Pat, with a look of admiring wonder. And then. grasping the hand of the donor. he exclaimed: " God bless you. God bless yon! And may you live foriver, and may your wife live longer nor you do, and may ivery one of your children be as fat as a pig, and as white."
The morning of Sunday, February fifth. the regiment - four hundred and forty-six men and eighteen officers -with the division. started at three o'clock on a movement which had for its object the extension of the Union lines on the left to Hatcher's Run, the infantry co-operating. The route was rin Reams' Station and Malone's bridge (over the Rowanty) to Dinwiddie Court House. where a large number of prisoners and some thirty wagons were captured, and then the division came back to Malone's bridge and bivouacked for the night: a portion of this regiment being on picket. under command of Capt. Myrick. An attempt to surprise the picket during the night was frustrated. Between one and two o'clock the
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HATCHER'S RUN.
next morning the command was again in motion, going rid Snake Mound bridge road to the Vaughan road, and then to Hatcher's Run. which was reached by daylight. The regiment was drawn up under the brow of a hill, and the men were gen- erally cooking their breakfast. when there was sharp firing just in the rear. The rear guard - the Fourth Pennsylvania - was attacked. and the enemy was driving it in with severe loss. The First Maine was ordered to the rescue. Leaving their cooking, many of them leaving their cooking utensils and their prospective breakfast where they were, leaving overcoats. leaving everything but their carbines, the boys jumped into line, and in a moment more were over the brow of the hill, the horses being sent to the rear. Capt. Myrick's battalion, which was in the advance, charged, checked the advance of the enemy, relieved the Fourth Pennsylvania, thus allowing them to retire in comparatively good order, and established the line as directed by Col. Cilley; but finding it too much exposed. Capt. Myrick advanced to a cross-road, where his men were under cover. The remainder of the regiment was drawn up just on the brow of the hill, there being two hundred and fifty men and eighteen officers of the regiment on the line. The boys will remember the fun they had that morning shooting at the enemy's sharp-shooters, who occasionally showed themselves around some ont-buildings, in the edge of the woods on the opposite side of the field. This position was occupied, with more or less firing, till about one o'clock, when the regiment was relieved by infantry, and from that time till dark was on the skirmish line in half a dozen different localities, with not a great deal of fighting to do, however, though on one occasion the regiment charged, and drove the enemy half a mile through the woods.
About dusk the regiment was relieved, and the boys, tired. cold, and hungry, having had nothing to eat since the night before, welcomed the prospect of getting back to their horses. where there were rations, overcoats, and, if there was a chance to sleep, blankets. But they were doomed to disappointment. They were marched back a short distance, and ordered to remain for the night in some woods by the side of the- road.
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It was expected that the horses would be brought to them, and the boys kept up their spirits for a while. till they learned that the horses had been taken back across the run. and that it was deemed advisable neither to bring the horses to the men nor allow the men to go to the horses. Here was a decidedly unpleasant prospect. Hungry, and nothing to eat, yet plenty so near ; cold. and their overcoats just across the run ; no fires. and no wood to build any, and the axes only a short distance away ; tired, and their blankets on their saddles ; a prospect of rain, and their ponchos with their horses. Is it to be wondered at that there was some swearing, or that whoever was respon- sible for this state of affairs was most thoroughly cursed ? Was there any real reason for such treatment ? Is it a matter of surprise that the boys considered that those who had gone home at the expiration of their three years' service did not know so much about soldiering, after all ?
But there the men were, and there they must stay. Then followed the severest night in the history of the regiment. By borrowing axes of the infantry and artillery in bivouac on the other side of the road, a few feeble fires were made in the course of time. and around them the men clustered, in the vain hope of receiving some warmth. Some of the men wandered from one little fire to another all night long, not daring to try to sleep ; some went over among the infantry camps, and there tried to keep somewhere near comfortable, with little better success : others, and by far the larger number, piled themselves up cob-house fashion, at times three or four deep, and in that way managed to get small rations of very poor sleep. though the top layers found it hard to keep comfortable, and were con- stantly changing locality. To add to the discomfort, along in the night it began to snow, but only enough fell to make mat- ters more uncomfortable -not enough to provide a covering for the half-frozen, half-starved boys, who always believed this was needless suffering and exposure. It is related that some men belonging to a battery across the road crawled under a tarpaulin and slept. to find in the morning that the tarpaulin was frozen down. and they were relieved only by the careful use of the axe. This shows how cold it was.
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Morning came at last, and that without even a picket shot to warm up the men. Soon after daylight the regiment - two hundred and thirty men and seventeen officers - was again ordered on the picket line. in a cold rain storm, without much energy or strength for fighting, but ugly enough to fight like tigers. However, there was no fighting to do, and after remain- ing there about an hour the regiment was withdrawn from the line and went back to the place of bivouac. and there. to their exceeding joy, the boys found their horses. There was not moral power enough then in both armies to prevent them from breakfasting. This done, they felt somewhat better. The rain continued falling, and the men stood around, shivering, dripping. waiting, trying to keep good natured, till after noon, when the regiment started on the march, as the men supposed, to camp. but instead it went to the Halifax road, near the Wyatt farm. and stopped all night. apparently as picket reserve, though the horses were unsaddled. and the men got some pretty fair sleep out of it.
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