USA > Maine > The story of the Maine Fifteenth; being a brief narrative of the more important events in the history of the Fifteenth Maine regiment; together with a complete roster of the regiment , embracing the name of every officer and enlisted man serving > Part 4
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While in Florida scouting expeditions to the adjacent country were numerous. Though the enemy was not encamped near us in any consid- erable force, occasional incursions were made by detachments of rebel cav- alry in close proximity to our picket-lines, and the security of our camp
*Under date " Healquarters District of West Flori.la, Pensacola, Fla., Dec. 9, 1862," Gen. Dow wrote to the Adjutant General of Maine : -
"GENERAL :- I wish to inform you of the condition of the Fifteenth Maine Volunteers, which has been at Pensacola since the 11th of September. The regiment had been encamped at Carrolton from the Best of May to the Sth of September, during which time the health of the men was very much broken down. For some time after its arrival at this Post the regiment was in a very bad state from disease contracted amid the swamps of the Mississippi. For the last two months the men have been rapidly improving in health and strength. The sick-list, at first very large, is now reduced to a small figure, and the spirits of the men have recovered their tone. The regiment has been improved also in drill and general discipline, in which particulars its state is entirely satisfactory. The Colonel and other officers are assiduous in their attention to their duties, and exert themselves to the utmost to make their regiment ev- erything it should be ; and they have the satisfaction of seeing that their efforts are crowned with abundant success. My intercourse with the officers of the regiment has always been very pleasant, and they have been ready to do everything in their power to maintain good order and entire subordination, not only in their own battalion, but by the influence of their example among the other troops of this command.
Very Respectfully,
NEAL DOW, Brigadier General, Commanding.
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seemed to require that all sections of the adjacent territory be visited fre- quently, to guard against the possibility of being surprised by a cavalry raid from an unexpected quarter. Furthermore, Gen. Dow, while in com- mand, seemed to regard the confiscation-act as a very effective weapon for " despoiling the (rebel) Egyptians," and whenever opportunity was afforded to relieve rebel-sympathizers of home-comforts or the means of subsistence, he was very much inclined to strike in that direction. There were numer- ous villages and small settlements within a radius of thirty miles of Pensa- cola, and these were repeatedly " raided," stripped of their cattle and other supplies, and in some instances of their household furniture. The adjacent villages of Milton. Bagdad, Oakfield, Judge's Mills, etc., though practically deserted by their white population, were nevertheless frequently visited by the , routing parties. Though our soldiers, as a rule, were orderly and decorons upon these occasions, they were not always cordially received by the inhabitants.
Frequently upon these expeditions small detachments of the enemy were discovered, and rifle-shots exchanged at long range. A number of our soldiers were wounded, a few captured, and one or more killed. Our forces, also, were successful in taking several prisoners. with horses and equipments, while not a few rebel soldiers were killed and wounded. The Florida woods afforded small detachments of rebel cavalry excellent oppor- tunities of " attack and retreat," enabling a small mounted party to harrass an infantry column ten times its own number with perfect impunity; and these occasional skirmishes, though rarely attended with serious results. were in some instances adventurous and exciting in the extreme. The scope of this, work will admit of only a passing reference to a few of the more important of these expeditions.
One of the earliest and most notable of these excursions was the descent in force upon the pretty little village of Bagdad, some twenty-five miles from Pensacola. Nearly the entire regiment took part-and most of our field, staff and line officers, were of the party. A well-known Kenne- bee steamer transported the " maranders," who pounced down upon the place just before the break of day, greatly to the terror of the inhabitants. No barrier to the occupation of the town was interposed ; indeed, it was practically " a deserted village." Under orders from the commanding general everything of value in the shape of cattle. hogs and other supplies, as well as sonic of the choicest of the household furniture, was seized, trans- ferred to the steamer, and taken to Pensacola. Some very pleasant homes were thus broken up, or at least stripped of their luxurious surroundings if not of the necessaries of life : the iumates being tendered transportation and protection within the Union lines. To many this policy seemed un- necessarily harsh, fruitless of good results, and wholly without justification.
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Yet there was no alternative for our soldiers but to obey orders. Much of the furniture taken was appropriated by the employees of the transport- steamer, and the remainder turned over to the quartermaster's department and utilized for furnishing the barracks of officers and soldiers at Pensacola.
During the latter part of February an expedition was sent out to break up a rebel cavalry rendezvous at a point known as the " Fifteen-Mile House." The party comprised about one hundred men from the Fifteenth and an equal number from the 28th Connecticut. Col. Ferris was in gen- cral command, with Lieuts. Shorey of " B "and Dwinal of "G" in charge of the Fifteenth's detachment. After a long night-march through the open woods-rendered exceedingly picturesque by myriads of fires run- ning the entire length of the tall forest trees-and a brief halt for rest and refreshment, at day-dawn a few of the enemy's cavalrymen were espied at some distance away, and shots exchanged. As usual, the Johnnies fired a few vollies and then disappeared. Somewhat later, however, on the re- turn march, quite a detachment of cavalrymen put in an appearance, har- rassing our fianks and rear for several hours. Their tactics were to ride up as close to our line as they deemed prudent, discharge a volley and fall back beyond rifle-range, ouly to reappear later, at another point on the line of march, to repeat the experiment. Various efforts were made to decoy the enemy into a position which would enable us to effectively return their fire, but to no avail. Flankers were thrown out, a skirmish-line establish- ed, and a good many shots fired, but without satisfactory results. There was but one horse in our party, and, practically, the rebel cavalrymen were masters of the situation. The skirmish was lively and exciting, and con- tinued until late in the afternoon. No one was in any way injured on our side ; and, so far as we were able to discover, the rebels were not much- -if any -- more unfortunate than we.
Late in the afternoon -- when within bur a few miles of Pensacola --- an incident occurred which proved a very narrow escape from fatal results. Near the close of the skirmishing. before mentioned, a party of horsemen put in an appearance in rather closer proximity to our column than those with whom we had but just been exchanging shots ; and our boys of course at once opened fire in that direction. The new-comers were not disposed to show fight, but instead raised a cry of alarm and vigorously manipulated hats and handkerchiefs as a signal that a cessation of hostilities was desired ! Upon investigation the horsemen were found to comprise five of the officers of our own regiment, who, learning of our little affair with the enemy's cavalry, had come out to greet us and render auy aid de- sired ! Their escape was well-nigh miraculous. Chaplain Brown, who was of the party, especially regarded the presence of mammoth trees of suf- ficient size to afford protection for his reverend head and stalwart form. as
THE STORY OF THE MAINE FIFTEENTH.
providential ; and with good reason, considering the bullet-defaced condition of the trees behind which the officers had taken refuge.
But by all odds the most unfortunate and disastrous of the scouting expeditions of that period was that of March 6-7, up the Escambia River and across the country to Acadia. The party comprised about fifty men from each the 15th Me. and 28th Conn. Col. Ferris was in general com- mand ; Lients. Shorey and Dwinal in charge of the 15th Me. detachment. The expedition left Pensacola at + p. m. of the 6th, in cight row-boats fur- nished and manned by the naval authorities. The boats steered directly for the mouth of the Escambia, making a passage of about twenty miles mainly under cover of the night, and landing at a point known as Judge's Mills at about midnight. Seven of the boats effected a landing without difficulty ; the other one, unfortunately, passed the point of disembarkation a considerable distance, and did not respond to the signals sent up for her recall. A fire was built on the shore in the hope of attracting the attention of the boat's crew ; and after vainly waiting an hour or more it was discov- ered that the missing boat was agroand some two miles up the river. Dis- patching another boat to her assistance, Col. Ferris deemed it prudent to push on, as the object of the expedition could only by attained by reaching Acadia before day-break.
Scarcely had the party commenced its eleven miles' march through a dense forest, when the rain commenced to descend in torrents, continuing during the entire march. and drenching to the skin every mother's son of 13. The little village of Acadia was reached at about 3 o'clock ; the men at once taking refuge in a large unoccupied house on the outskirts of the village, and which proved to be the favorite resort of a small force of rebel cavalry. The remnant of a recent lunch was still upon the table, and a number of sabres, carbines. etc., were found about the premises. In the negro quarters it was learned that a small cavalry force was likely to break- fast at the house that morning. Under these circumstances it was deemed prudent to secrete our party in the various buildings in the neighborhood, with the view of allowing the " Johnnies" to drive into the yard without molestation, where they might easily be surrounded and captured. Unfor- tunately, however, five of the rebel cavalrymen rode along in advance, and quite unsuspectingly, carelessly shouting to the negroes. " Turn out, and get us some breakfast !" Three of our soldiers eagerly, if not hospitably, met the new-comers at the door, and rather prematurely demanded their surrender. Two of the rebels obeyed very promptly ; the others recklessly attempted to run. were fired upon, and one mortally and the other slight- Is wounded. The other escaped. One of the horses was killed instantly. The cavalryman who was fatally wounded received one ball in the face and another through the ling-a most pitiable spectacle and an object of much
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sympathy. All four of the captured ones were young men, two of them not more than nineteen. They were kindly cared for: the one severely wounded left in the care of friends called to his aid-the others taken to Pensacola, with the horses and other captured property. Very soon after the occurrences mentioned above a small cavalry detachment was espied in the woods a considerable distance away, but, upon learning the situation, they took a hurried departure and were not afterwards seen. At 9 o'clock Col. Ferris concluded that there was nothing more to be accomplished, and we at once proceeded upon the return march.
Bat, alas ! the missing boat ! No tidings had reached us as to the boat or her passengers, though, quite naturally, no one entertained apprehen- sions of any serious mishap. But upon reaching the point of disembarka- tion-at about three o'clock in the afternoon-most painful tidings awaited us-intelligence which served to enshroud the entire party in a pall of gloom and of sad bereavement. It appeared that the missing boat had run aground the night before ; and when the boat dispatched to her aid arrived and attempted to relieve her, so eager were the men to reach the shore that an unfortunate scramble ensued, in which the relief-boat was overload- ed and swamped, and all on board-most of them encumbered with the dead-weight of a soldier's equipments-were precipitated into the river and compelled to struggle for life in the waters of the Escambia. The night was very dark, the rain descending in torrents, the location unfamiliar, and the situation as a whole so unfavorable, that, despite the carnest efforts of the survivors, cleven of the party found a watery grave. Eight of these were of our own regiment, and three of the crew from the naval vessels sent to row the boats. The unfortunates ones from the Fifteenth were all faithful and exemplary soldiers, most of them young men of most amiable qualities, and with excellent family connections. They were: Corporal Charles W. Grecley, Frank P. Roundy, William B. Marson and Samuel S. Colbath, all of Co. H; Charles Gilker. William Keef, and Augustus C. Bean, of Co, C; and Marriner T. Green of Co. B. The bodies of the drowned men were recovered, after diligent search, a few days subsequent. to the sad and fatal accident.
About the middle of March-1868-the exigencies of the military situation on the Mississippi demanded a concentration of the forces, and the evacuation of Pensacola was determined upon : the troops occupying the vicinity of the forts and the more eligible point under the protection of their guns, known as " Barrancas." The new location gave us undisputed control of Pensacola Bay --- a most desirable harbor and naval station-all that was really requisite in a military point of view, with a much less area to guard or defend in case of attack.
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The work of evacuation was very laborious. It was commenced March With and occupied several days. Nearly the entire population de- sired to accompany the troops to their new station. and for days and nights large numbers of the inhabitants, of every age, condition and sex, with all their goods and chattels, were gathered upon the public squares, awaiting transportation. While in this unsettled and very uncomfortable state, a destructive fire broke out on Palafox street, burning several buildings and other property, and throwing the citizens into an excitable state, tending to increase rather than alleviate the discomforts of "evacuation-week." Two days later other and more destructive fires occurred, evidently of incendiary origin. Meanwhile large fatigue parties were constantly employed, remor- ing not alone the government stores and property, but the household goods of " Union-loving citizens," who not only claimed the protecting care of the military authorities but were also in a measure dependent upon our commissary department for supplies. The work incident to the evacuation was not completed until the 22d; and as the last steamer pushed off from the wharf, a scene of desolation and decay was presented such as is rarely witnessed. An unofficial enumeration just before leaving revealed the fart that ten men, thirty women, and about as many children, constituted the entire population of a city whose census-rating was from four to five thousand ! The Spanish Consul declined to accompany the troops, and later his flag of "neutrality" afforded protection for frequent rebel marauding parties, who rode in and out of the city at pleasure.
" Barrancas," as our new location is popularly known-derived from the Fort of that name-is near the town of Warrington, at the ex- treme northwestern corner of Florida, opposite the entrance to Pensacola Bay, in the immediate vicinity of Forts Pickens, MeRea and Barrancas, and about nine miles below the city of Pensacola. The government here, before the war, had supported an extensive naval-station and marine-hos- pital ; and the place was of considerable importance in a military point of view. But as early as February, 1862, Fort Barrancas and the navy-yard were seized by the rebels ; Fort MeRae was abandoned ; and in the inet- fectual attempt to drive the heroic Lient. Slemmer from Fort Pickens, a force under Gen. Braxton Bragg, numbering several thousand, assembled in the vicinity, and attempted to frighten the gallant garrison away. One dark night they stole across the bay in boats and surprised the camp of the 6th N. Y. on the upper end of Santa Rosa Island, killing sixty of . Billy Wilson's " brave lads ; but our forces subsequently rallied, drove the rebels to their boats, firing upon them after they had re-embarked. and inflicting as great loss, to say the least. as had been sustained. But Bragg utterly failed to make any impression upon Pickens, and finally the entire force moved away. first destroying the naval floating-dock and railway and much
--
وتے
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other public and private property. These buildings-once elaborate and expensive-were now little better than a mass of charred brick and gran- ite. At the site of the navy-yard proper the work of demolition had been so complete as to afford no accommodations for an cucampment ; upon the grounds of the marine-hospital, however, superb quarters were arranged.
The natural beauty and elaborate adornments of the grounds, over- looking the ocean, and shaded by the majestic live-oak, with tastily con- structed walks and drives, were a very unusual appendage to the soklier's camp-ground ; and yet the boys managed to maintain the dignities of the situation very creditably to themselves and all concerned. Here the Fif- teenth tarried some three months. There were the ever-present drills and parades. guard-duty, and an occasional scouting-expedition; but very little transpired worthy of record in these pages. 1755025 One of the peculiarly sad events of the sojourn at Barrancas was the untimely death, of typhoid fever, of our popular young Assistant Sur- geou, Dr. Sumner G. Holt. He was appointed in the summer of 1862. ITis loss to the regiment was keenly lamented by the entire command.
Another notable change in the medical staff was the resignation of Assistant Surgeon John H. Kimball. He had served faithfully and with rare professional skill from the organization of the regiment, through the calamitous summer of 1862 at Camp Parapet, and had himself contracted disability which seemed to render a change of climate necessary. His departure, in June, '63, was very keenly regretted by the entire command. Dr. Kimball subsequently entered the service as Surgeon of the 32d Me., serving with distinction in the campaign in front of Petersburg and else- where. with the Army of the Potomac.
Upon the death of Assistant Surgeon Holt the accomplished Hos- pital Steward, Dr. Lorenzo Dodge, was commissioned Assistant Surgeon, and he and the Surgeon- Dr. Jotham Donnell -- comprised the medical corps at the date of our return to New Orleans.
Near the latter part of June (1863) the Fifteenth was again order- ed to the Mississippi and our season of " recuperation " brought to an end. We had in this manner whiled away nine months, very pleasantly, and very profitably, too, at least in one respect : we were no longer to be placed in the category of " invalids" --- a statement abundantly verified in the fact that when taking passage at Barrancas, when ordered to New Orleans, the commissary department found it necessary to provide for something like six hundred stalwart beef-eaters, with scarcely a sick man on the regimen- tal roll ! The regiment embarked on the steamship Crescent June 19th, and on Sunday, the 20th, we steamed out by the Forts, the recipients of very hearty parting salutations from comrades with whom we had long maintained very pleasant relations.
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THE STORY OF THE MAINE FIFTEENTH.
Entering the river on the morning of the 22d, and being favored with a delightful view of the picturesque scenery along its banks by day- light, we reach our moorings, opposite the city of New Orleans, at about three o'clock the same afternoon.
While Col. Dyer steps ashore to report our arrival and receive or- ders, we may as well improve the opportunity to " take the lay of the land" and briefly sketch the military situation in the Department, for the purpose of placing upon record some of the more important events transpiring du- ring our absence in Florida.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE MILITARY SITUATION IN THE GULF DEPARTMENT
GEN. NATHANIEL P. BANKS AS DEPARTMENT COMMANDER. - HE BRINGS REINFORCE- MENTS AND INAUGURATES AN AGGRESSIVE MILITARY CAMPAIGN. -- HE FINDS THE ENEMY IN FORCE, STRONGLY FORTIFIED, AND IN POSSESSION OF A LARGE PRO- PORTION OF THE TERRITORY ASSIGNED HIM. -- GALVESTON, THE CAMPAIGNS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI, AND PORT HUDSON. - DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO RAISE THE SIEGE BY ATTACKS UPON BRASHEAR CITY, LAFOURCHE CROSSING, DONALDSONVILE, ETC .-- GEN. EMORY GREATLY ALARMED FOR THE SAFETY OF NEW ORLEANS. -- HIE RAISES THE MACEDONIAN CRY AND THE FIFTEENTH COMES TO HIS RELIEF !
V December, 1862, Gen. Butler was relieved as commander of the Gulf Department. his successor being Major-General Nathaniel P. Banks. The new commander had been supplied with something like ten thousand additional troops, and instructed to at once inaug- urate an aggressive campaign, with the view of co-operating with Gen. Grant in the opening of the Mississippi River, and, that accomplished, the possession of the territory in Louisiana and Texas not then held by the Union forces. About one-half of the troops brought into the Department by Gen. Banks were nine-months' men ; and as he had undertaken a con- tract of somewhat formidable proportions for the spring and summer, very little time was consumed in necessary preparatory work. With the new arrivals the effective force in the entire Department numbered about thirty thousand, which was at once placed in position on the military checker- board, ready for effective service as the exigencies of the situation might require.
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IC
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IS
1 L.t. S. D. Leavitt, Co. A 2 Capt. W. K. Rich, Co. A 3 Capt. J. N. Martin, Co. A 4 !. t. J. E. Libby, Co. B
7 L.t. C. E. Graves, Co. B S Lt. J. E. Latham, Co. B 17 Lt. C. F. Jordan, Co. D
5 Capt. S. II. Leonard, Co. B 9 Lt. W. C. Plummer, Co. C 6 Capt. Ii. A. Shorey, Co. B To Capt. J. A. Clark, Co. C HI Capt. John IL. Hasty, Co. C 12 Capt. D. M. Prescott, Co. C IS Lt. James H. Lord, Co. D)
13 Capt. C S. Ilsley, Co. D 14 Capt. F. O. S. Howe, Co.D 15 Lt. John C. Cobb, C. D 16 Lt. John Mead, Co. It
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THE STORY OF THE MAINNE FIFTEENTH.
Gen. Banks found the enemy in undisputed possession of nearly all of the territory in the States of Louisiana and Texas outside of New Or- Icans and its defenses, with the exception of a few points on the river and on the coast. At Port Hudson, on the Mississippi, most expensive and formidable fortifications had been constructed, which were defended by an army of about eighteen thousand men. Then the water-approaches to the Red River region, on the Atchafaylaya, etc., and the entire Teche and Opelousas country, were strongly fortified, the salient points garrisoned, and within call was a rebel army of from twelve to fifteen thousand, exclusive of the troops at Port Hudson. The rebels also had quite an effective fleet of gunboats, floating batteries, rams, etc., of light draught, and quite ser- viccable in operations on the shoal bayous and rivers of Western Louisiana.
At the outset Gen. Banks seems to have been left largely to his own discretion, and a number of movements were made which appeared to in- dicate that he regarded the occupation of some point in Texas, and of the Red River country in Western Louisiana, of quite as much importance as the opening of the great river, that " its waters might flow unvexed to the sea." True, immediately upon Banks' arrival, Grover's Division of eight. or ten thousand men was sent to occupy Baton Ronge and its vicinity, as a necessary preliminary to the Port Hudson campaign ; but, simultaneously with this, a small force was dispatched to Galveston, Texas, to occupy that island, the important harbor being already held by the naval vessels. No resistance was offered at Baton Rouge, but the developments demonstrated that to have sent the larger force to Galveston would have been much the wiser course. Less than three hundred men, from the 12d Mass., occupied Galveston as an advance-guard of the army of occupation, but before they could be reinforced or even destroy the bridge connecting the island with the main land. from three to five thousand rebel troops and three cotton- clad gunboats swooped down upon the island by land and water, attacking with artillery and infantry, capturing the entire garrison and destroying a member of our finest naval vessels. The soldiers and sailors captured were confined in Texas prison-stockades for more than a year, suffering great privation.
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