USA > New Hampshire > A history of the Eleventh New Hampshire Regiment, Volunteer Infantry in the rebellion war, 1861-1865, pt 1 > Part 24
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notes summoned us to " fall in," and tramp on as before. As Colonel Harriman mounted his horse, he said to a few of us who were standing near him, "We shall without a doubt see the famous Rapidan before night," but he did not know where we were going. We had heard and read so much about the Rapidan, that the . very thought of the river sent an electric thrill through every soldier. It imparted new life to the weary, and every one was eager to press onward to catch a glimpse of the fast rolling river which had for many months been the dividing line between the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia. We had no idea what- ever where we were going, only that we were bound for the Rapidan.
PART VIII. CROSSING THE RAPIDAN.
A peculiar sensation pervaded the ranks that afternoon, which told us in a manner not to be mistaken that we were nearing the end of our march ; and we were then "snuffing the battle from afar." but we did not know it. Our march that afternoon was in a south-easterly direc- tion, and somewhat away from the previous devastations of war. The enemy was then marching directly east. Hill's corps. or a portion of it. could not have been more than two or three miles south of us. General Lee, in moving his forces, had two good roads running direct from Orange Court-House, his head-quarters. to the Wil- derness, while General Grant had but one. Early moved on the Orange turnpike, or the most northerly of these, while Hill and Longstreet moved on the Orange plank road, or the most southerly one. Longstreet. however, was some distance away, having left Gordonville early that morning.
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The afternoon was exceedingly warm, and the march was very rapid. Plantations were not seen as frequently as on the two preceding days. Our line of march was over rolling and sandy lands, and along the edge of a large forest. Frequently the blue line was changed to a deeper hue. as it entered the shadows of the tall pines and pointed cedars which stood by the wayside. The only sound heard was that peculiar, muffled, shuffling sound mingled with a click, due to the moving of in- fantry, which the veteran so well remembers. Every man was armed with forty rounds of amunition, with a liberal supply of Hail Columbia spiced with Yankee Doodle in his knapsack.
.* hurrying on. hurrying on, Where life is lost and victory won."
On. on, on, we hurriedly marched. The horses were alert, and seemed to know that they were on the war- path engaged in a mighty work, and both men and horses chafed under the indescribable pressure which was brought to bear upon them ; a deep feeling, as of passion. surged along the line, and even the ashes of the dead heroes seemed stirred in their graves by the wayside. It was a grand prelude to what was so soon to throw fire in the gloomy wood not far away, for our step was as firm as our wills, at the thought of the river. It was like the rushing of many waters. or a storm sweeping through the forest, when suddenly, just as we emerged from a pine grove, in going down a gentle declivity, a shout as of victory arose from the ranks, and all hearts were buoy- ant and thrilled with fresh vigor as we were halted at the river. There before us rushed the gleaming waters of the Rapidan. a river which the war had made famous. To the Federal army it was the Rubicon, beyond which every foot of advance would be seriously impeded by the
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enemy. The point on the river where we were halted, and where we crossed, was Germania ford : it was an important point on that river. and one often mentioned in all histories of the Civil War.
Why General Lee did not attack General Grant and prevent or delay his (Grant's) crossing the Rapidan, has been a subject of considerable discussion since the war by those who do not fully understand the positions of the two great armies at that time. The ground upon which General Lee could have made the attacks was admirable for defensive operations : it was as favorable for the Con- federacy as was the field of Fredericksburg. The high and wooded bluffs on the south side of the river were crowned with abandoned earthworks, long before thrown up by the Confederates, though not laid out with as much military skill and exactness of form as those thrown up by the Federal army. They were, to use the Confed- erate expression. " not much for looks, but h-1 for strength." Upon the north side the ground was very much lower, and would have been disastrous to the Fed- eral army, as it would have received a plunging fire. General Lee, vigilant and watchful though he was, was completely outgeneralled by Grant relative to the moving of the Federal forces, and could not well have disputed Grant's crossing at Germania ford, however much he might have desired to do so. for the simple reason that General Grant did not intend that he should. It is very probable that General Lee intended to dispute Grant's passage of the Rapidan : it was what any general in Grant's position would have expected ; it would have been strictly in accordance with the art of war. Then, again, it was policy for Lee to attack Grant just as far from Richmond as possible. General Grant saw all this. and put on a very bold front in locating his head-quarters at Culpeper, about ten miles north of Orange Court-
CROSSING THE RAPIDAN. 32I
House, where his adversary was closely watching his movements. Close at hand, sheltered in a city of white tents, rested the well disciplined Federal army eagerly watching every sound and movement. They were like hounds straining upon the start, but no news reached them from day to day, only that the advanced pickets had fired a few shots at each other across the river. When the right time came, Grant marched, or rather he glided away, with his hosts toward the south- east, mighty in strength yet silent, fully equipped for battle, and not forgetting that General Lee could in every instance choose the ground upon which to make the attack.
General Lee entertained the idea that Grant would move by the. Federal right, but somehow General Grant did not always do as his opponents desired that he should. Watchful and alert though General Lee was, and notwith- standing the assistance that women, spies. and newspa- pers gave him, yet he spent too much of his valuable time in watching the Federal right and strengthening the Confederate left, just as General Grant intended he should, and did not discover, until about I o'clock of that day (May 4) by what route General Grant intended to confront the Confederate army. The scattering line of Lee's mounted pickets. who were daily scouring the country along the south bank of the Rapidan and east of Morton's ford, must have discovered at a very early hour on the morning of the 4th, with the assistance of Confederate women living within the Union lines, that the Federal army was moving. Their long and eager watchfulness on the banks of that river was at last re- warded on that beautiful May morning, and they lost no time in putting spurs to their horses, and hastily, almost breathlessly. informed their chieftain somewhat after the manner of Le Cid's battle song .-
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Grant is on his way. With the tambour peal and the techir shout, And the horn through the forest ringing out, He hath marshalled his blue array."
General Lee saw Grant's plans at once. It was unex- pected, and in his amazement he might have exclaimed with Marmion's Squire Fitz Eustice,
" My basnet to a 'prentice's cap, Lord Luny 's o'er the Till, "_
and the chance to attack the Federal army at Germania ford was forever lost. Nor was General Lee dismayed at this. By the direction in which the Federal army was moving, he could at a glance see that General Grant must pass through that wild and wooded region known as the Wilderness; every one of its lonely roads and by-ways was familiar to the Confederate army, but the Federal army had never trodden there.
General Lee took fresh courage at this, and well he might. Any one acquainted with the country toward which the Federal army was moving would not doubt for a moment but that it was marching into the jaws of death. General Lee was certain of this. and felt sure that what he had lost at the ford he was about to regain on the cross-roads and by-ways in that gloomy forest, and. like Pharaoh of old, could say. .. They are entangled in the land ; the wilderness hath shut them in." He very well knew that he could reach the centre of that dense wood in advance of Grant, as he had the shortest route over which to march, and there where the narrow and lonely roads cross could form his lines, strike Grant's long columns, cut them in two, and rout them. Lee foresaw. . or thought he did. the same fate for Grant that befell Hooker at Chancellorsville, the northern boundary of the Wilderness region one year before. He considered that his army of 65,000 men, which was a very low estimate
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of the Confederate forces, was fully competent to over- power and crush Grant. He considered that Grant's superiority in numbers would be of little moment when compared to his own superior advantages.
Being thus flushed at the thought of success, Lee apparently never gave one thought to the fact that he was on the very verge of battle with U. S. Grant. and not with any of the past Federal commanders. Two days later, however, he was made acquainted with facts, which caused him to open his eyes as he never did before. General Grant had anticipated that should he succeed in crossing the river in safety, no attack would be made until he could reach the high and open ground near Spottsylvania Court House. In this he was mis- taken, and upon his arrival at Germania ford he clearly saw the ominous cloud darkening around the Wilderness, foretelling what was soon to take place. Nor was Grant dismayed at this : he at once made up his mind that if his adversary could fight in that wild, wooded place, he could also, and preparations for the attack were swiftly made.
Both armies were soon in brisk motion. There was a noise of war in the camp, and while the long columns of the Federal army were so swiftly measuring off the miles with their feet, the Confederate army only a few miles south of them were doing the same thing with marvellous rapidity. Both armies were rushing forward to bathe their pitiless steels in human gore, wherever they should meet. Hill and Ewell, of Confederate fame. had the shortest route; consequently they reached the Wilderness in advance of the Federal columns. The distance between the two advancing armies was only a few miles, and to the well attuned ears of the Confed- crate soldiers the ground just north of them must have seemed to jar under
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" The heavy tread of mail-clad multitudes, Like thunder showers upon the forest paths."
What were the feelings of the Federal troops? We were nerved for the fray with an unflinching power, while
" Hope sang with courage bold, There's glory on the morrow."
General Lee had been so very sure that Grant would move by the right, that Longstreet was at that time ten miles or more west of Hill and Ewell, he having left Gordonsville. where he had been watching Grant's right, at 4 p. m. on the 4th, and he was obliged to make a forced march in consequence. It will be seen, then, that Burnside's corps of the Federal, and Longstreet's of the Confederate. army made forced marches at the opening of the campaign.
General Grant. in planning his campaigns, did not do just as his adversary desired that he should. Before a gun of that campaign had been fired, Lee was cer- tainly outgeneralled, a fact which writers, when com- paring the abilities of these two great generals, have usually overlooked. The crossing of the Rapidan was virtually crossing the threshold of battle, and that, too, without losing a man, a horse. a gun, or a wagon. In a campaign like that, with only one road upon which to move such an immense army, the movement was indeed marvellous, and its like was never before known in ancient or modern warfare. It is something for the opposers of General Grant to consider, before denouncing the campaign a failure. as many do to this day, for there is not a shadow of a doubt but that General Grant was very anxious for the safety of his army until he saw it upon the south bank of the river, and knew that Lee was foiled in the attempt to dispute his crossing. It was
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"THE PINE SWINGING AGAINST THE PALM."
a movement that Grant might well be proud of. Well did his brave and finely equipped army exclaim, " Hur- rah ! we have crossed the Rubicon !"
" Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying."
PART IX. "THE PINE SWINGING AGAINST THE PALM."
Germania ford is in a somewhat romantic dell, re- mote from any dwelling ; and, situated as it is under high bluffs, with dark green woods overhanging, it presents a wild and solitary aspect ; the place. moreover, has been associated on every side with scenes that will long be memorable in connection with the civil war. It was a few minutes past four o'clock when the tramping of many feet was heard upon the pontoon bridge, which creaked and swayed under its burden, telling that the column was crossing, yes, crossing the "Rubicon," while the clear, rushing waters of the Rapidan made their music to an armed host for the last time. Little did some of my comrades think. perhaps, that the next stream which they would cross, and only a few hours hence, would be " with the boatman cold and pale."
We then ascended the steep heights or bluffs upon the south side of the river, where a short halt was made to allow the troops to come up. As the blue, stately lines ascended the heights,-a column of armed men, thoroughly disciplined and ready for action,-it was indeed a picture of war, and one which would have inspired the warriors of ancient days, could they have looked upon it.
General Grant in his Memoirs, Vol. II (page 185), thus desribes that wild and wooded country : " The country was heavily wooded at all points of crossing, particu-
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larly on the south side of the river. The battle-field, from the crossing of the Rapidan until the final move- ment from the Wilderness toward Spottsylvania, was of the same character. There were some clearings and small farms within what might be termed the battle-field, but generally the country was covered with a dense forest. The roads were narrow and bad. All condi- tions were favorable for defensive operations."
Just then the order "Forward !" was given, and we marched rapidly away. "Son of man, set thy face against Pharoah and his host, for the battle is near," was the message borne on the wings of the wind to every man. With heavy hearts and weeping eyes our loved ones and the loyal people of the North watched us on that long and swift march ; they saw us dimly through the cloud of war as we crossed the Rapidan, but we were soon lost from their sight in the shadows of the Wilder- ness. Very soon after leaving the heights near the river, and just as we had passed through a point of wood which projected somewhat from the main forest at our right, the first mutterings of the coming storm met our ears. In the gloomy forest in our front, and not more than five miles distant, the tempest was raging desper- ately and obstinately, telling all who were within a circle of ten miles around that the pine was once more swinging against the palm.
" General Ulysses has commenced business in Virginia very much after his way at Vicksburg," remarked L., as he listened with all his ears to the desperate work, which sounded nearer and clearer as we pressed forward. We very soon learned that the right of the Federal line, com- manded by General Sedgwick, had attacked the enemy, and very severe fighting was the result. as we could plainly hear ; the left and centre were quiet, as, of all the troops who were to engage in the work of blood an
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" THE PINE SWINGING AGAINST THE PALM."
that part of the line, none were in position except a few brigades of Hancock's and Warren's corps. We were then touching the borders of a mighty maelstrom, and, although it was five miles to our east, we could distinctly hear the resistless surging, the rush and the roar at the vortex to which we were hastening.
The march from about fifteen minutes past four until about half past five that afternoon was far more rapid than at any time since leaving Bristoe. I can safely say that the brigade never saw an hour's march like that one, before or since : it was almost a double-quick. It was truly miraculous to see with what rapidity our feet meas- ured offthe miles amid a cloud of dust, which was almost suffocating in the hot sun. This was a " forced march." Colonel Harriman sat as erect as he was wont to do upon his favorite horse, "Old Kaintuck," brave, good, and true. I can see him before me now, that form so straight. and his ever genial face I shall never forget.
" Of all our knights he was the flower, always gay."
In one hand he held the rein, while the other swung by his side as if keeping time to the rapid step. As he turned and looked back upon the column, the expres- sion of his face seemed to say. " The combat deepens : on. ye brave !" Lieutenant-Colonel Collins followed in the rear upon his well known steed. It was the last march that he ever made with us : at that hour on the next day he filled a soldier's grave in a gloomy glen of the Wilderness.
" Blest by his God with one illustrious day, A blaze of glory, ere he passed away."
Al.is: the commanders of the Eleventh Regiment have long since answered to their final roll-call beyond the ''w ... free from war's dread confusion.
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Not more than two miles south of us, the Confederate Signal Corps on Clark's mountain was signalling to Lee that the Ninth Corps had crossed the Rapidan, and were moving southward. They should also have added to this, " armed with hell flames and fury." The rapid march, the long and curved lines of blue hurrying to action, and bearing weapons that flashed to a purpose-made a picture familiar to the veterans, which is not soon to be forgotten.
The artillery on either side was not hurried in its work. At intervals its heavy detonations rang out like a mighty gong, until we felt its great pulsations as we hurried for- ward, like a flaming fire, to the assistance of those who were engaged at the front in the hot blast of battle. Our well timed and well tried feet kept step to the rattle of the guns, while
" Higher, higher, higher, Burned the old-fashioned fire. Through the ranks."
It was Ewell's Corps that confronted Sedgwick that afternoon. It arrived there ahead of Hill, the last named having the longest route over which to march. Ewell was trying to break Sedgwick's line, while Hill was peering anxiously and cautiously through the som- bre thicket at Hancock and Warren, who were getting into position as fast as the uneven ground and dense undergrowth would admit. It was very apparent that only one Federal and one Confederate corps were then in action, with perhaps the exception of one or two brigades from IIill's Corps. The fighting that we could hear so distinctly. severe though it seemed. was only giving dreadful notes of preparation : it was the fierce growl of what was soon to follow.
About 5 : 30 o'clock the Second Brigade, dust begrimed
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" THE PINE SWINGING AGAINST THE PALM."
and weary, was halted just at the roadside, upon a slight elevation or ridge of land, there to await orders. As L. stacked his musket and threw off his equipments, he sang, in that peculiar way of his, as he looked toward the insolent foe,-
" Here we are, as you diskiver, All the way from the roaring river."
At a farm-house just east of us. and only a short dis- tance away, stood the horses of General Griffin and staff, just as they were halted from the swift march : horses and riders, as well as the blue column, were waiting for orders. As we were then about three miles from the front, it was very difficult to tell whether we would press right forward, or remain where we then were for several hours. The ridge of land upon which we were then resting was in an open farming country, and near the edge of the long and broken tract of wood through which we had just marched.
The western sky, which was beginning to take on streaks of gold and crimson, was almost obscured from our view by the large pine wood close in our rear. In our immediate front. that is, to the east, was a tract of farming country many acres in extent, which had suffered little, if any, by the ravages of war. Still farther to the east, or rather to the south-east, at a distance of about three miles, stood. silent and motion- less, the woods of that fatal field where Sedgwick and Ewell were then hotly engaged.
Grant's Memoirs, Vol. II. page 189, shows a map of the region. The road from Germania ford, over which we marched that afternoon, is clearly shown, together with the farming country I have mentioned. The farm- house, as shown in the tract of farming country marked ". Beal," is the place where General Griffin and staff were waiting for orders.
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Long lines of stacked muskets, with equipments hang- ing thereon, containing forty rounds of ammunition, converted the sloping ridge where we rested into a very warlike place. vastly different, I think, from what it was the evening before, when held by the enemy. Close by flowed a little stream, to which many of us repaired in the shimmer of sunset and enjoyed a bath, which was very refreshing after the long and dusty march. The sun was now setting, and as the blue of the western sky was melting into the faint. golden mellowness, the evening star suddenly shone out with a friendly look. The shadowed light of evening rested upon the slopes of the woodland swell, and all the glory of that early summer evening came down in silent lapse upon the undulating landscape, the waiting army, and that solitary region :
"And where the shadows deepest fell, The wood-thrush rang his silver bell."
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PART X. FROM THE RIDGE TO WILDERNESS TAVERN.
The evening of May 5 was beautiful : it was one of the loveliest ever seen. In the cooling breezes wafted through the pines and over fields white with honey- suckle and red with clover blossoms, we sat upon the ground waiting for orders. The Federal and Confeder- ate hosts, a choir of devils. were still striving for the mastery in the dark wood with a rage most obstinate, most obstinate and horrible, and, as in the afternoon, the wood rang dreadful with the clang and crash of arms. The swift fight, the smiting of the shafts of war, the streams of fire from the zig-zag lines were violent and unrelenting ; nor did the fearful crashing cease until the carnage clogged the ears, and darkness, falling in
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FROM THE RIDGE TO WILDERNESS TAVERN.
deeper shades on woodland and dell, blinded the eyes of the enraged troops. It was nearly nine o'clock when the tumult ceased, and the combatants, vigilant and watchful, each holding his own ground in the dense wood, rested for the night upon their blackened and heated weapons. About nine o'clock. or very soon after the musketry had ceased, we heard loud cheering coming from different points along the line, and just what it meant we were at a loss to know. At first we supposed it was a charge in the darkness ; but as there was no musketry firing we were soon convinced to the contrary, though the mystery was not solved. Before we reached the front the next morning, we learned that the cheers were given General Grant as he rode along the line, looking after the troops, and directing certain move- ments for the next day. The exulting cheers which were given the commander of the Federal army that night, in the lone haunts of the Wilderness, caused far more consternation in the Rebel lines than a hundred shells thrown in their midst would have done ; it proved that we had the utmost confidence in our commander in his first campaign in Virginia against the Confederate capital. Verily, then.
"One blast from Rhoderick Dhu was worth a thousand men." '
Upon the grassy ridge we waited, just waited, for the dawn. Anxious fathers and mothers, at both the North and the South, were waiting for the morrow. Generals Grant and Lee were waiting as they never did before. The old ship of state, which had long been tossed upon a stormy midnight sea until nearly wrecked, was waiting. President Lincoln, anxious and care-worn, was waiting, anticipating happy results, and. guided by the divine injunction, his last appeal to us was
.. To take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help."
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The crash of battle we had heard that afternoon and evening had bade us prepare for the morrow, to prepare for a day that would blush with blood, and there we were, waiting for the final move which would take us to the front. Throughout the brigade the men sat in squads, and talked in suppressed tones about the great work which the next day would ultimately bring forth, every word of which, together with the plaintive notes of the whip-poor-will, made the silence more profound. The soft winds sighed mournfully through the pines, and seemed to say that sword and gun, shield and lance, torch and battle-axe were prepared, and that the death- angel had already preceded us to where the desperate carnage was so soon to be. There is no such thing as telling the story of that remarkable night. I look back to it now, and call it a night of horrors. We did not think so then, for the reason, I suppose, that it was a part of a soldier's life, and what we had been looking for ; it was a part of war, and was what we expected just before a battle. We were eager to press forward and see for ourselves just what was waiting for us in the dark wood to the east of us, and what the soft winds or some un- seen form was whispering in the midnight darkness. In vain did we ask,
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