USA > New Hampshire > A history of the Eleventh New Hampshire Regiment, Volunteer Infantry in the rebellion war, 1861-1865, pt 1 > Part 23
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Thus the great campaign opened. with all the bitter hatred and fierceness that it is possible to imagine. Per- haps no better description of it can be given than to say that at the step of either army the ground shook with a roar. At ten o'clock a. m .. Wednesday, May 4. the long and ever deepening lines of the Ninth Corps were again
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formed. The signal to "fall in" was rattled from the drums and blown from the mouths of heroic bugles in war-like notes not to be misunderstood. The order was quickly caught up by the brigade and regimental com- manders, then by the company commanders, until the air of that May morning echoed and reechoed with mil- itary orders, with the neighing and stamping of horses and the click and clatter of weapons, while the bright sun looked down upon countless thousands of armed men, swiftly forming in ranks of war. The sound to us was more significant and war-like than ever before. The hour of conflict was near at hand. To us it meant long marches, sleepless nights. and hot work in the face of the enemy. We saw the situation very clearly, and well knew that from the time we left Bristoe we were reaching out to grapple with the enemy, who were then ready to move in order to check our advance upon or in the direction of Richmond.
The different divisions and brigades were quickly formed, and were soon moving quietly yet rapidly away. General Stevenson's Division led the corps, followed by Potter's and Willcox's. while Ferrero's Colored Division in the rear guarded the trains. On that historic May day the Federal forces were stretched at intervals from Bris- toe via Germania ford to Old Wilderness tavern, and via Ely's ford to Chancellorsville, fifty miles distant. They were composed of four infantry and one cavalry corps. numbering. in all branches of the service, one hundred thousand men. General Sheridan, with two divisions of cavalry, led the infantry columns, crossing the Rapidan at Germania ford. The Fifth Corps, General Warren commanding, followed, leading the infantry advance on the right. marching rapidly yet cautiously to Old Wilderness tavern. The Sixth Corps, General Sedgwick commanding. succeeded the Fifth
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Corps. The Second Corps. General Hancock command- ing, moved to the left, crossing the river at Ely's ford and advancing directly to Chancellorsville. The Ninth Corps, General Burnside commanding, followed the Fifth and Sixth Corps. though at some distance in their rear. The artillery. a large and well equipped arm of the ser- vice, was commanded by General Hunt. The ambu- lance trains followed their respective corps. while the wagon-trains brought up the rear. Drawn out in deep array and dreadful length, trampling over green fields, along the dusty roads. through shady groves, and across shining streams, then following along the swift Rapidan and crossing at points designated, moved the great Union army, pressing forward where their chief chose to lead.
It was a mighty army and a grand movement. Offi- cers of high rank, including General Grant, have so expressed their opinion ; there appear to be no other words so apt and forcible. It was the flower and chiv- alry of the North, with spears and torches uplifted, sounding the tocsin of war. Borodino, Marathon, Tra- falgar, or Waterloo did not witness a more resolute and determined army. Fearlessly they pressed forward, with all the force and power of a mighty current, their purpose being the perpetuity of the Union, and that not one star should be erased from the old flag. It was indeed a mighty army just at the outset of battle, ready to grapple with another mighty army, going where red battle stamps his foot. and where death rides upon the sulphury sirocco. It was an army the like of which was never before seen on American soil. and was first in the race that led to glory's goal. It was an army that Alex- ander, Hannibal, or Napoleon would have aspired to command : one as thoroughly organized and equipped they never led to battle.
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General Grant had predicted at the outbreak of the war that if the Rebellion were put down at all " it must be stamped out." It looked that day very much as though the stamping out was about to begin. Beyond the Rapidan. beyond dark forests and green fields. an- other mighty army, vigilant and watchful, was rapidly moving parallel with the Federal army, preparing to check their advance. They held the bow and the lance : they rode upon horses. or marched upon the narrow, uneven, and war-beaten roads of that sparsely settled and wooded country. Their yell echoed through the wood, and over field and dell. as they left their camp and moved rapidly away in a south-easterly direction. Can- non, with inflamed lips, mouths begrimed with English powder, and with blood-shot eyes. peered into the forests, straining every nerve to catch the glimpse of a " Yank." Sullen drums and angry bugles gave out their defiant notes of warning, and the stars and bars. an ensign no- where recognized on the face of the earth, flapped its folds madly and insultingly in the free winds of heaven.
That army was marching forth to battle, animated by the same spirit once so powerfully manifested in the halls of congress when the Missouri Compromise was repealed, and all over the plains of Kansas when that territory was knocking for admission to the Union as a free state. That army was marching for the supremacy of the slave power, and for a speedy dissolution of the Union, whereby eleven stars would be erased from the old flag which was known on every shore and in England. That army, arrayed in butternut and grey. was armed with every conceivable weapon that could possibly kill or wound. When the flames of war were first kindled, the able-bodied men of the South were appealed to by their leaders to "Arm ! Arm for a fight ! Reverse the prophecy of the good old prophets, and use
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any weapon at hand." On some fields pikes were sub- stituted for bayonets, and shots from squirrel rifles often greeted our ears, while, in the campaign of which I am now writing, harrow teeth were used to feed insatiate cannon. England showed her sympathy for secession and rebellion by sending over a supply of explosive bullets.
Their wagon and ambulance trains, with dirty, torn, and flapping covers, presented a very dilapidated appear- ance. Some of them were two-wheeled vehicles, and long before reaching Richmond many of them had no wheels, and were drawn along upon an improvised sort of drag. They were in no way to be compared with the nice, white covered wagons which followed the Federal army, well laden with supplies ; while the ambulances were palaces on wheels, when compared with the rickety old carts, with wooden axles and linch-pins, which were used to convey the Confederate wounded to the rear.
When the secession movement was inaugurated, the military men of the South, who were ** superior to North- ern men in the art of war," laid their plans to do all of the fighting near Mason and Dixon's line. The colored people were to raise provisions for the support of the army, brush away the flies while the army were enjoying their rations, and throw up the required earth- works, should any be needed : consequently there would be no use for wagon and ambulance trains, and the army could put in all of their time in peppering the Yankees. and wiping the North as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
Somehow or other, the great War of the Rebellion. though mapped out by " able military men," did not run along as smoothly as it was planned when the ordinance of secession was passed at Charleston, S. C. The rank and tile of that rapidly moving army were bidden by mothers,
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by wives. and by all the fair daughters of " Dixie," to be valiant, bend the bow, shoot at the hireling horde, and spare no arrows, assuring them that an arm of flesh only is with the Yankee invaders, while the God of bat- tles is with us. What the Confederate army lacked in the conveniences of modern warfare they made up in a determined fight. resolved. to make the most of what they had. Boldly and fearlessly they pressed forward to intercept the Federal army. selecting the field upon which the first great battle of the campaign was to be fought-not one that any one familiar with would have chosen, but where the shadows of the wilderness thick- ened, and where a ray of sun scarcely penetrated-an isolated region. familiar to the Confederate Thor and his hosts, but wholly unknown to the Federal com- mander.
But to return to the Ninth Corps. Could those who lived remote from the scene of war's dreadful clang and tumult have seen the troops as they moved away from Bristoe that morning, they would have witnessed a spec- tacle never to be forgotten. I had never before realized what it was to be a soldier in defence of my country. The troops were apparently as happy and as full of life as the sweet songsters of the grove. They had some days before written their good-byes to their friends at home, and on that morning started on a campaign that will never fade from the annals of history, in which death was to hold high carnival.
We did, however, think of home and friends who were far away, but just then it was for us to nerve for the coming onset. make bright the arrows, gather the shields. trust in God, and keep our powder dry. We were then fast nearing the interior of the enemy's country, battle scarred and desolate Virginia, and who of us would be so fortunate as ever to return was not
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easy to conjecture. We had long before learned that the charms of war were not very flattering ; nevertheless we merrily marched away southward to where the great cloud of war was fast gathering, and as merrily we sang the old song, one so familiar to the Eleventh Regi- ment, ---
" The army is gathering from near and from far : The trumpet is sounding the call for the war : For Grant is our leader ; he's gallant and strong ; We'll gird on our armor and be marching along."
Notwithstanding the fact that we knew so well what life in a campaign was-days that tried our souls and nerves to their utmost tension-yet there was not a man but what was eager to press forward to see what was awaiting us at the front, and at what point General Grant would strike the first blow, for we had no idea whatever where we were going. We were well aware, however, that it was the first morning of what was to be a severe campaign. and that we were making one grand and rapid movement southward; but just where we might meet the vigilant foe, measure swords, pull the trigger, smell powder amid the dreadful flashings, and listen to the voice of warning from the cannon's mouth, we were, as one can readily imagine, rather impatient to know.
We had not proceeded very far on our way before we were made acquainted with the fact that the march was not going to be boy's play by any means. It was indeed a "forced" one, and the probabilities were that in the campaign the threshold of which we were then cross- ing, no moderate marches lay in waiting for either the Federal or Confederate armies. It was to be a repeti- tion of the old-time marches in Kentucky and Missis- sippi, only a deal more so, thoroughly seasoned with sleepless nights, with the throwing up of earthworks, and
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with desperate fighting such as had never been experi- enced in any campaign of the war. Moderate marching, and "falling back for supplies" after an engagement, were then things of the past.
A FORCED MARCH.
These words were often used by newspaper corre- spondents in war time, and writers of ability have from time to time used them in writing war reminiscences, but have fallen far short of describing what a forced march really is, and have conveyed little idea to their readers of this hard work in a soldier's life. Had I not experienced a forced march in more than one cam- paign of our civil strife. I certainly would never have known just what it was from what I have read. De- scribing a forced march is much like telling how one feels when going into battle. Writers often make the attempt. and the next moment go off talking about some- thing else. and there the matter rests. Those not familiar with war have but little knowledge of a forced march, and fail to see just where it comes in ; they imagine it is rather fast walking. perhaps, and that is all. The vet- eran soldier knows all about it-knows more than he can tell : and those who, perchance, may read this sketch, and follow me closely from the time the Ninth Corps left Bristoe until it reached the Wilderness, I think will fully understand what a forced march was in war time. They will very readily see that there was no loitering and having a jolly time by the wayside, like children playing truant when returning from school. At the same time. I will try and refresh the memory of my old comrades concerning those days of extreme peril
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and hardship through which we passed that the nation might live.
We were in fine condition for marching. A glance at the moving column that day would have convinced the doubting that we were not beginners at the business. What did we carry? There was a knapsack, and a haversack in which were five days' rations. a cartridge- box containing forty rounds of ammunition. sometimes called "compliments for the rebels." and our Spring- field muskets .- all of which made a load to carry on a rapid march. Packing a knapsack for a march required some skill : the skill was not to put in as much as we could, but to leave out as much as possible. for after marching for five or six hours every ounce told its story. As is always the case on long or forced marches, when we were hastening to guard some important point or when a battle was imminent, halts of five minutes were occasionally made. as often as the general commanding thought proper. at the expiration of which we were pushed forward with renewed energy.
We were very soon made acquainted with the fact that the march was one under General Grant, and that there would be no creeping along at a moderate pace for fear of meeting the enemy. " bringing on a general. en- gagement, and then falling back for supplies." The march was a succession of rapid strides. The general appear- ance of the long line of blue advancing so rapidly, and flashing with all the blazonry of war, spoke volumes of meaning not to be misunderstood ; it was a warning to " all enemies and opposers whatsoever " to get out of the way. At noon a halt of one hour was made for dinner near Warrenton Junction.
We marched at the same rapid step during the after- noon, with only a very few short halts, and late in the day crossed the path over which we marched in the fall
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of 1862, when on our way to Falmouth. Over the roll- ing fields, still green and fresh in story, I saw where we encamped for the night when on that memorable march, and the persimmon trees from which many of us obtained our evening meal, as rations were rather short at that time. There was hardly a word spoken in the ranks. but the way we measured off the miles with our well timed feet was marvellous.
About nine in the evening we reached Bealton, and as we marched past the scattering and dilapidated houses which composed the little village, the women watched us from their dimly lighted windows with sorrowful faces. We camped for the night upon a smooth spot of ground covered with a carpet of rich green grass, only a short distance west of the railroad station. That night in .early May was one of the loveliest. Cool was the silent sky, and calm, and many bright stars looked down upon the two great armies drawing near to battle. We laid down to rest with nothing to eat; we did not even munch a hardtack. It was too late to eat, and we were somewhat tired, but, like very many of our halts late at night, we thought about it all the same. It is, however, part of a soldier's life to lie down for the night tired and hungry. The weather was so very pleasant that no tents were put up : we simply spread our blankets upon the green sward and laid down to golden dreams. the gift of sweet repose,-
"' Lulled by the night wind, pillowed on the ground."
Our minds for a time wandered to the great work which lay before us, almost within our grasp, and to what the next day would bring forth ; then to those at home who were so near and dear,-until we fell asleep and rested from the march, while the army of night-loving stars stood watch far in the distant blue.
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CHAPTER X.
COMRADE EATON'S DESCRIPTION CONCLUDED-FROM BEALTON TO STEVENSBURGH-CROSSING THE RAPIDAN-" THE PINE SWING- ING AGAINST THE PALM."
PART VHI. FROM BEALTON TO STEVENSBURGH.
At four o'clock the next morning, May 5. the unvary- ing order, "Forward "" echoed through the slumbering camp. We hastily buckled on our armor, and with souls nerved with the fire of war again stood in line. As L. took his musket from the stack he sang in that humorous way of his,-
" Oh, take your gun and go, John ; Oh, take your gun and go!"
Almost noiselessly we seemed to glide away from the camp-ground, and as on the preceding day were rapidly moving southward. We were very anxious to press for- ward and see what the coming day would bring forth, for we well knew that before the sun should bid us good- night over the slopes of the Blue Ridge, we should in all probability be very near to the enemy ;- as L. expressed it. .. Guess we will have a field-day of it before night." If the old saying, "on the war path," was ever appli- cable to any body of armed men except Indians. it surely was very applicable to us, for we were " on the war path " in the true sense of the word. The men of that morning were then in the prime of life : to-day. many of the survivors are bowed down, crippled, and gray-headed. That morning of the long ago saw them with hope beam- ing on every face, scorning the foe. fearing no danger.
.. Laughing the clouds away with playful scorn, And living as if earth contained no tomb."
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We did not eat anything the night before, owing to the lateness of the hour when we halted for the night, and when morning came we had no time to eat anything : in just five minutes after we were awakened, we were mov- ing away. Let me again remind my readers that all this is a part of what is known to the veterans of the war as a " forced march." We shook the dust of Bealton from our feet in a hurry, well knowing that the march of that day would be a long and tedious one, and in all probabil- ity surpass that of the day before. Soon after leaving Bealton, General Burnside and staff rode for a while only a little way to our left, following the railroad. I can see the old hero now! IIe rode his trusty old war-horse. long and well known to all soldiers of the Ninth Corps as " old bob-tail," which was the one he always rode, as he once said, " when there is danger ahead." The gen- eral wore his coat buttoned closely, which appeared to give him more of a military bearing.1 He wore a high military hat with the brim turned down, around which was a heavy gold cord or braid. He was a plain, unas- suming man. and was held in high esteem by the Ninth Corps. Long shall we remember his familiar face, and long shall we recount his deeds of valor.
I shall never forget the general's horse as he appeared that morning :- there was no music, and the only noise heard was the rushing sound peculiar to a moving body of armed men. The old war-horse appeared to know just what was required of him and where he was going. His eyes shot gleaming flame as he watched the moving column, and his step was as precise as that of a soldier when on parade. That faithful horse carried his rider through many battles and places of extreme danger ; he was the general's pet, and. like his gallant rider, long ago passed away.
1 General Grant seldom wore his coat buttoned.
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"Where art thou gone, old friend and true? What place hast thou to fill? For it may be thy spirit form Somewhere is marching still."
The colored people were in their element (as might well have been expected) over “ Massa Lincoln's men under Gen'l Grant." They had seen many troops from time to time, but they never saw so large an army. They interrogated each other as to what .. old massa and missus would say. could dey see all dese sojers from de Norf." When questioned as to where their masters were, one burly fellow replied, .. My massa's in de rebel army, sah ; he's been done gone dis tree year." Once when the brigade was favored with a halt, a buxom colored woman, recently married, and whose Benedict had enlist- ed and was then in the rear bound for the front, made her appearance. The coal-black woman was crying and taking on at a terrible rate as she approached us. ostensi- bly for our sympathy. She did not want to be left alone, and expressed her determination to follow her spouse, declaring, amid her blubbering and fall of tears. " I carn stay behin. O Lord. I carn stay behin." Hurriedly we marched onward, passing dark green forests, devastated plantations. negro cabins, and fine old Virginia farm- houses resting upon grassy slopes. closely environed with clusters of elms or of spreading oaks, through which the young sun of summer sifted his warm rays, kissing the vacant windows with a golden glow. We crossed little streams where our canteens were hastily filled, and pass- ed over the ground where a part of the Army of the Po- tomac had spent the winter, and who like ourselves were hurrying to the front. So rapid was the march that it might well be called a flight. and but little pleasure was derived from what we saw by the wayside while being forced to our utmost strength.
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About ten o'clock in the morning a report reached us to the effect that " General Grant had attacked the enemy, and was driving them with fearful slaughter, and raising h-I generally with the rebels, and that if the Ninth Corps did not hurry up it would have no hand in the work at all, but would miss all the fun." L. responded to this piece of news in his usual loud voice. "' Let 'em fight, let'em fight ; it will amount to nothing. Grant can't do anything till we get there, anyhow." We had no fear of " missing the fun :" that was not our luck by any means. We gave three cheers for General Grant, and sent word to him to " Hold the fort, for we are coming.". .
The halts were less frequent than those of the day be- fore ; they were like angels' visits, few and far between, and only for a few minutes. The moment the bugles sounded " Halt !" it was something of a curiosity to see how quickly the line sank to the ground. It seemed to melt down like snow upon hot iron. It made no differ- ence what the condition of the roads was: every man dropped to the ground as though an enfilading fire had mown them down, for the many long marches we had experienced had taught us to rest when an op- portunity presented itself. General Sturgis once told us, when on the march down through Virginia in the fall of 1862, at one time when many of us were standing dur- ing a halt .- " Men," said he, "sit down and rest when you have the chance. if only for one minute." Precisely at twelve o'clock the column was halted for a rest of one hour, a few miles east of Culpeper court-house and near Stevensburgh. Our rations consisted of fresh beef boiled, and that staple article known as hardtack : that was our bill of fare every day during the campaign-when we got anything-and a soldier's allowance only, the reader may rest assured. There were times, however, when we had no chance to eat anything, had we had never so
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much. It was the good fortune of the Eleventh Regi- ment to rest and enjoy their lunch under a few large pine and oak trees. which had long served to shade a farm- house near by. The day was very warm, and, as we laid aside our arms and wiped our perspiring faces and sur- veyed the giant old trunks and branches, we were ready to exclaim in rather a poetical sort of way,-
" Welcome, ye shades, ye bowery thickets ! Hail, ye lofty pines, ye venerable oaks ! "
While L., who always took a special pride in being dif- ferent from the rest of his comrades, shouted at the top of his voice. "Bully for our side." A canteen of water from a fine spring close by, drank while resting in the heavy shade, was very refreshing. A long life to the old canteen ! was the soldier's fervent wish.
A regiment, unknown to us, had encamped upon that ground during the winter just passed. I saw quite a number of boxes lying upon the ground marked, "For- warded by - Express Company," proving that some of those who had spent the long winter there were not forgotten by their loved ones at home. Upon the corner of one of these boxes I wrote in large letters, "On to Richmond, now or never !" and nailed it to one of the trees for a guide-board, and for the edification of the family who lived close by. I was informed by a young lady of the house that .. Before three days you Yankees will all be going back to Washington much faster than you have come, with General Lee and his army after you. Old Grant can do nothing with our brave General Lee ;" and the flash of her eyes surpassed that of a Par- rott gun. The hour allotted us for rest soon passed away; we hastily soaped the inside of our stockings to prevent our feet from blistering,-an idea we had learned while on our long marches,-when the bugle in clear
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