USA > New Hampshire > A history of the Second regiment, New Hampshire volunteer infantry, in the war of the rebellion > Part 3
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A great-grandson and namesake of New Hamp- shire's revolutionary general. Sept. 30, 1861, he was appointed Medical Cadet, U. S. A., serving over a year with the western armies. Was then commis- sloned Assistant Surgeon of the Thirteenth N. H., with which he remained two years, more than half of the time as Acting Surgeon. Resigning his commis- sion, he was appointed Executive Officer of the U. S. General Hospital at Troy, N. Y., then in charge of Surgeon Hubbard, formerly of the Second. Dr. Sul- livan now resides in Boston.
Early Thursday morning, the 18th, the march was resumed. The troops in advance seemed to be feel- ing their way slowly and cautiously, as there were frequent and sometimes long halts. One of these was near Germantown, once a thriving hamlet of three or four houses and a blacksmith shop. These had all been burned but one house, in which the rebels had left two of their men sick with the measles. Many of the men ran over to get a view of this brace of real live rebels. It was agreed that if they were a fair sample of the Confederate soldiers the war would not last long. They were not a fair sample. The woods in the vicinity were swarming with swine, and the men added a good supply of fresh pork to their rations. It was on the afternoon of this day that the first serious
22
SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
encounter was had with the rebels, at Blackburn's Ford, and men a little out of the noise and confusion of the marching column could distinctly hear the sound of the firing.
Burnside's brigade went into camp before reaching Centreville -about a mile from the village-and there remained until the morning of the 21st. In this bivouac (writes Lieut .- Col. Fiske) " two of New Hampshire's most distinguished men paid us a visit, and of course we gave them our best parlor bedroom, which was the inside of a baggage wagon on the left of the regiment. In the middle of the second night here there was an alarm on the extreme left of the brigade, followed by rapid and continuous firing, which raised some commotion. Soon after the firing began I saw, through the light of the campfires, our two guests coming at a pace which showed they were not out for a mere stroll about the camp. They did not return to their luxurious bedroom, but spent the remain- der of the night out of doors within our lines. At the begin- ning of the disturbance the Second New Hampshire was ordered to remain quiet and not to stir without orders. For this we scored our first compliment from the general, who com- mended our coolness in a night alarm. I never learned the cause of the alarm, but it was supposed to be a rather close reconnoissance by the enemy."
At one o'clock on Sunday morning-that ill-fated 2Ist of July-the brigade was roused George S. Chase, Co. F. from its slumbers. Blankets Wounded at Bull Run, July 21, 1861, and discharged for disability. Was a printer by occupation, and engaged in business at Laco- nia, where he died July 10, 1894. were hastily rolled, and at two o'clock the troops were on the march. In and beyond Centre- ville many regiments were passed drawn up by the roadside, but
23
MORNING MARCH TO BULL RUN.
near the village the brigade was brought to a wearisome halt of two or three hours, by the tardy movement of the troops in front.
From Centreville the Warrenton road runs almost due west, crossing Bull Run creek at the stone bridge, about five miles from Centreville. A rebel force was known to be at the bridge-the left of Beauregard's defensive line-his army being posted along the west side of Bull Run to defend its various crossings. Three and a half miles beyond Centreville, Cub Run, a considerable affluent of Bull Run, was crossed, and just beyond the bridge, Hunter's division, followed by a part of Heint- zelman's, turned sharp to the right into a narrow country road or cart-path, while Tyler's division continued along the Warrenton road to the stone bridge. Tyler was to make a demonstration at the bridge, while the other Corpl. Thomas E. Barker, Co. B. column, by a wide detour, Wounded at Bull Run July 21, 1861. and taken prisoner. Exchanged, and discharged on account of wounds. Subsequently commissioned Captain in the Twelfth N. H., and promoted Lieut .- Col. and Colonel. Now resides at Malden, Mass .! should cross Bull Run farther up, at Sudley's Ford, and come down upon the enemy's left and rear. Burnside's brigade led the flanking column. From the start, progress had been slow-too slow for the early surprise which was an important consideration in McDowell's well laid plan. The sun was well up when Burnside's brigade turned from the Warrenton road. Its route for five miles, to Sudley's Ford, was now over a rarely used woods road, with only an occasional small clearing. In one of these was a log hovel, the mistress of which- a very dirty and frowzy personage-told the sweltering Yankees there were Confederates enough ahead to whip them all out, and
24
SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
her old man was among them. Despite her disreputable appearance, it must be conceded that she had a fine military judgment.
The heat was by this time intense, and the dust suffocating. Skirmishers and flankers were thrown out, and two miles or more had been covered when, away to the left, the report of a cannon was heard. Tyler had reached the stone bridge and set about his task of amusing the enemy there.
It was nine o'clock before Burnside reached Sudley's Ford. Some de- lay was made here to give the men an opportunity to fill their canteens, during which Gen. McDowell, who had become impatient at the slow progress, rode up and passed to the front. Soon one of his staff came galloping back and asked Henry Moore, Co. B. for Col. Marston. " Tell Taken prisoner at Bull Run, July 21, 1861, and was discharged for disability a year later. Above portrait taken at the time of his enlistment. Now resides in Goffstown. him to have his men ready, for we shall soon meet the enemy in large force," he shouted, and continued on his way to other regiments. Beyond the ford the country grew more open, and the Second Rhode Island- the leading regiment-was sent forward to stir up the enemy. It broke from the column into the fields to the left, and soon disap- peared beyond a point of woods. It was but a few minutes before there was heard the rattle of musketry and the reports of cannon. Words cannot picture the excitement of the men in the column, most of whom now heard for the first time the sound of hostile guns. The sergeant of the Second's pioneer squad asked what they should do with their axes and shovels. He was told to throw them
A
25
OPENING SCENES OF BULL RUN.
down by the roadside ; and the example of the pioneers was followed by a general clumping of the rolls of blankets with which the men were encumbered. It was, of course, intended to return for them when the little job ahead was ended ; but as the men happened to be pressed for time later in the day, they were never recovered.
--
The Second was ordered forward as support for the Rhode Island battery, and went off up the road at a double-quick. A cannon ball Harvey Holt, Co. I. came crashing through the tree tops as the regiment The first New Hampshire soldier killed in battle in the war. Was attached to the oorps of pioneers, which early in the action occupied a position in advance of the Rhode Island battery. A shell from one of its guns exploded prematurely, and a fragment struck Holt in the neck, killing him in- stantly. He was from Lyndeborough, and the Post of the Grand Army in that town is named for him. entered the woods. Every- body bowed to it. Then came another directly in its wake. In a few minutes the Second emerged from the woods, and the opening scene of the battle was before it. The point toward which all eyes were turned was the long blue line of the Rhode Islanders some distance in advance and to the left of the road. The field was dotted with wounded men going out of the fight. It was a lively and apparently even contest. The rebel force at this time engaged was covered by woods and fringes of bushes, and consisted of thirteen companies of infantry and two pieces of artillery, with which Gen. Evans had hurried up from the stone bridge as soon as he divined McDowell's plan to come in on his left and rear. But before starting he had sent to Bee and Bartow for assistance, and the brigades of these two generals, with Imboden's battery, were already on the Henry plateau, ready to cross over to Evans' support.
The Second filed from the road, to the right, and under what is
26
. SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
said to have been the erroneous order of some aide, advanced in line of battle toward the Dogan house. There were patches of forest-scrub oak and pine-upon the east side of the Sudley road, but on the west side, in front of the Second, there was open farm land clear to the edge of the opposite plateau, across the Warrenton road and the valley of Young's Branch. Near the Dogan house were stacks of hay or straw, behind which a few rebel sharpshooters had taken cover, but they did not stop long.
From its most advanced position the regiment observed a body of rebel troops upon the opposite slope, and two or three volleys were fired at them by the two rifle companies-A and B. Owing to the great distance, it is probable that but little damage was done, although the troops fired on moved to cover at once. They must have been either the Seventh or Eighth Georgia, of Bartow's brigade. One of the most interesting chronicles of the Second hinges upon this little episode, which Lieut .- Col. Fiske has narrated as follows : "A year afterward, at the second battle of Bull Run, the same regiment was halted near where lay one of our wounded men, Charles Taber, of Company C. As soon as the Georgians saw the ' 2 N. H.' on his cap, they treated him with friendly solicitude, and removed him from where he was lying, exposed to dropping shot and shells, to the shelter of an embankment. They knew all about the career of our regiment, and what battles it had fought in, from the first to the second Bull Run. We were the first troops with whom they ever exchanged fire, and they manifested a very hearty good will toward us."
By this time the Rhode Island battery was getting into position just to the left of the Sudley road. The Second moved to the rear until in line with the battery, when the men were ordered to lie down. About this time Imboden's battery introduced itself to the Second. It was posted some distance below the Henry house, partially covered by a sinuosity of the ground, which from the Second's position had all the appearance of an artificial earthwork. Its first missile flew far above the Second, ending its course in the woods to the rear. Another followed, much lower. The gunners were finding the range, and about the fourth or fifth shot fell square in the prostrate ranks. But the Rhode Island battery was now
27
GOOD BATTERY WORK.
about ready for business. The right gun was in position, and one of the lieutenants was sighting it. It was a magnificent shot. The shell burst, apparently, directly under one of Imboden's guns, and his men were seen scattering across the field to the rear like ants from an ant-hill. They were soon rallied, however, and came back
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Young's Branch
Hay Stacks - O
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Warrenton Pike
Chinn's Br.
H> Cos. Bond I
Henry
Battlefield of Bull Run. Showing movements and approximate posi- tions of Second New Hampshire Regt.
to their work. Imboden does not mention this little incident in his rather self-laudatory official report, and the present writer takes great pleasure in supplying the omission.
Meantime the Second Rhode Island was bearing the brunt of the battle, fighting a somewhat superior force. Major Wheat, upon
28
SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
the rebel right, was emboldened to try a charge, but was checked and driven back. The movement gave matters a decidedly lively appearance, however. The First Rhode Island, which had come up, was sent to the left to the assistance of the Second, and at this critical moment Bee and Bartow advanced to Evans' support, coming into posi- tion upon his right under cover of rail fences and fringes of bushes. The Seventy-first New York was next sent to the left, and a few minutes later the Second New Hampshire was ordered in the same direction.
Moving by the left flank, it passed along the rear of the battery, upon which a severe fire was concentrated, both musketry and artillery. A cannon ball took a leg from each of the two wheel horses attached to a caisson, Corpl. Wells C. Haynes, Co. B. and the agonized flounder- Wounded at Bull Run, and taken prisoner, July 21, 1861. Died of wounds, in the hands of the ene- my, at Richmond, Va., October 8, 1861. Enlisted from Candia, and was a son of Carr B. Haynes, sometime Deputy Sheriff of Merrimack County. ings of the poor beasts were witnessed by every man in the regiment. On the way, the two left companies, by the mistake of some aide not on the brigade staff, were separated from the regiment, and it was only by the active exertions of the regimental officers that they were brought back again -- an example of the blunders to which the inexperienced officers and men were subjected.
A little distance to the left of the battery the Second was ordered to halt and lie down. It was a trying situation for green troops, the rebel fire being very sharp, while the regiment could only lie and take it, on account of the Rhode Islanders in front. But it was only for a few minutes, when the order came for the regiment to move
29
COLONEL MARSTON WOUNDED.
still farther to the right and advance. In the next ten minutes the regiment met a large part of its loss for that day. Men went down in every direction. Hardly had Col. Marston shouted "Attention !' when he fell upon his face with a rifle ball in his shoulder. When the adjutant attempted to lift him by the wounded arm, the air was. burdened with choice selec- tions from the old colonel's matchless vocabulary. The crippled commander was helped to the rear, while Lieut .- Col. Fiske led the regiment forward. With the Seventy-first upon its left, it rushed to the front, and opened its store of buck and ball on the enemy. In front of the Second the rebels were well covered from view by the dense brush along a line of rail fence in the edge of the woods; but the men - aimed low and blazed away. It was now a square stand-up fight of Burnside's four regiments, in a single Daniel S. Brooks, Co. A. line of battle, against nearly Taken prisoner at Bull Run, July 21, 1861, and died in the hands of the enemy, at Richmond, Va., October 21, 1861. Was from Fitzwilliam. six full regiments of the enemy. Col. Porter, commanding the First Brigade, says Burnside " was at this time attacking the enemy's right with, perhaps, too hasty vigor "-a very pardonable military error.
But reinforcements were now arriving. Porter's brigade came up and took position on Burnside's right, west of the Sudley road. He soon sent Sykes with his battalion of regulars-eight companies -across to Burnside's assistance. They took position on the extreme left of the brigade line, which had been overlapped and threatened by the superior rebel force, and soon the rebel fire
30
SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
upon Burnside's front perceptibly weakened. Porter was pouring a heavy fire in upon the rebel left, and the head of Heintzelman's division was appearing on the Sudley road. The enemy were evidently staggered by the rapidly developing force of Union troops.
At this time, also, a column of troops was seen emerging from woods away to the left, in the direction of Bull Run. This was Sherman's brigade of Tyler's division, headed by the Sixty-ninth New York, which, marching up stream from the stone bridge, had found a ford and crossed over to Hunter's assistance. This apparition seemed to be the straw that broke Evans' back. At any rate, Burnside's men about this time became aware that there was but little on their front to shoot at. Sherman's regiments passed along the rear of Burnside's line to the Sudley road, down which they turned with troops of Heintzelman's division. Burnside's men heard a few scattering volleys in and beyond the woods. The rebel forces were driven in confusion across Young's Branch and the Warrenton road and up the slopes of the Henry hill. The first clash of arms was over, and if the battle had ended right there, it would have been a most decisive Union victory. In fact, McDowell seems to have considered the battle already won, as he rode down Burnside's front, telling the enthusiastic, cheering men they had won a great victory.
While the rest of Burnside's brigade was now withdrawn into the woods to the rear for the purpose of supplying those regiments with ammunition, the Second remained in position. It was not long before the men began to think that, considering the battle was over, there was a great deal of trouble on the opposite hill. As a matter of fact, the most desperate struggle of the day was taking place there, and some of the fighting, including the charge of the Black Horse Cavalry, was in plain view from the Second's position.
Eben Gordon, of the Second Rhode Island, relates the following experience in his diary, recently published : " I then went back to the field, and found that the enemy had been driven entirely from the woods, and saw the Second New Hampshire formed in line of battle by the fence just outside the cornfield. I came across Lieut. Samuel P. Sayles, of Dover, N. H., with whom I shook hands, and then asked him where my regiment was. He said they were
3I
TO THE HENRY HILL.
t
Portsmouth, June, IS61.
Newport, June, 1895.
Albert L. Hall, Co. I.
Entered the service from Cornish. Was one of the men who carried John L. Rice to the rear, and as a result became a prisoner himself. Resides in Newport, and is Register of Probate for Sullivan County.
ordered off to rest, so I remained by his side for half an hour and did what I could. While I was with the New Hampshire boys, the New York Fire Zouaves were charged by the Black Horse Cavalry, and Lieutenant Sayles looked at me and very coolly said, " Eb., you had better find your regiment, for our whole brigade will now have to charge and support the Zouaves."
About three o'clock the Second was ordered forward to the Henry hill, Burnside says, in his report, "to assist one of Colonel Heintzelman's brigades, at that time three-quarters of a mile distant and driving the enemy before them." Col. Marston, having had his wounded arm bound up, came at this moment to the regiment, an orderly leading his horse. The pain he endured was plain to every man, and the regiment greeted him with tumultuous cheers. " Now," he said, "the New Hampshire Second will have a chance to show what it is made of." He accompanied the regiment until repeated entreaties not to take the risk of aggravating his wound induced him to return : but he left the inspiration of his presence with the men.
32
SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
The regiment filed into the Sudley road and marched down into the valley, meeting many stragglers headed for the rear. It crossed the Warrenton road, splashed through Young's Branch, and was at the foot of the Henry hill. Here it came under a very sharp fire from rebel artillery, which struck down a number of men. Here Henry Morse, of Company I, was killed. A grape-shot struck him square in the neck. " My God !" he gasped, and fell dead in the road. Here William H. Quimby, Lewis N. Relation and Franklin F. Wetherbee, all of Company C, were mowed down by one cannon ball. Quimby was killed outright, and the others died of their wounds, Wetherbee as a prisoner in the hands of the enemy.
The regiment was halted for a considerable time, getting such shelter as it could under the slope, while an effort was made to find Daniel E. Burbank, Co. A. out where it was wanted Burbank writes from his home in Worcester, Mass .: " The picture is a copy of one I had taken a few days after I enlisted in '61. It looks very little like the gray-haired man of 53 that I now am, but my heart is young, and there is a tender spot in it for the old boys of the Second. But be sure not to show this picture to a costumer until after you have made a sale." and what was wanted of it. Col. Heintzelman could not be found, and no Union troops could be seen in action. The fight for the Henry hill was, in fact, already over, and there was nothing for the Second to do but to amuse the enemy while the beaten troops were retreating. But, after a while, Col. Burnside appeared. He rode fearlessly up the hill a little distance to the east of the road, took a good observation of the front, then dashed back to the Second and gave it its direction. The Henry hill! falls not only toward the north, but on the west is gouged by the valley of a little rivulet known as Chinn's Branch, which runs north, parallel with the
FRANCIS S. FISKE. LT. COLONEL 2nd N. H. VOLS., 1861. BREVET BRIGADIER GENERAL, 1865.
33
LAST STAND ON THE HENRY HILL.
Sudley road, into Young's Branch. The regiment filed to the right, and advanced up this little run, but far enough down to be covered from the rebel artillery. Arriving at a point in front of the Henry house, the regiment fronted and marched up the slope, toward the Sudley road, in line of battle. When the rebel fire began to tell, the men were ordered to lie down and fire at anything they could see to shoot at.
While the Second lay in this position, the battalion of regulars was observed upon the Chinn hill, directly to the rear of the Second, across the little run or valley ; its front being at nearly a right angle with that of the Second. Their presence is thus explained by McDowell in his report : "The battalion of regular infantry alone moved up the hill opposite to the one with the house, and there maintained itself until our men could get down to and across the Warrenton turnpike on the way back to the position we occupied in the morning." While the Second was keeping up its fusilade, the regulars fired four or five solid, methodical, regulation volleys into the woods on their front, and then withdrew towards the Warrenton road. But the Second (which was meeting but few casualties) hung on several minutes longer, when it also received orders to retire. It was the last regiment to present a fighting front to the enemy on that blood-soaked hill, and it retired in perfect order and without haste over nearly the same route by which it had advanced.
Its withdrawal, however, was marked by a little episode which made fun for the boys and added spice to the occasion. It is not certain that the movement was made under competent orders ; but the two left companies (B and I) went forward when the other eight companies started for the rear, taking cover in a depression of the Sudley road which served admirably as a rifle-pit. Almost in front was the riddled Henry house, around and beyond which the enemy were swarming, and excellent work was done on them during the little time the two companies could hold the position. But they were soon smoked out of their hole. Bullets began to whistle down the road from the right, and a rebel line was seen crossing in that direction, delivering a rapid file fire as they passed. " Boys," said Lieut. Joe. Hubbard, "it's time for us to go !" and
3
34
SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
go they did, every man for himself. The air was alive with bullets as they uncovered and struck a tremendous gait for the rear.
When the Second, retiring from the Henry hill, reached the plateau from which it had gone forward, it found a scene of disorder, confusion and disinte- gration. The Carter and Dogan farms were covered with squads of men separated from their commands and evidently gone to pieces so far as organization was concerned. The regiment halted near the spot where the Second Rhode Island opened the fight, and where the men of B and I, coming up from the valley, saw their colors and rejoined them.
By this time a rebel brigade (Early's) was slowly advancing down the Henry hill, in several lines, their flags waving and Capt. Hiram Rollins, Co. D. bayonets glistening in the sunlight. One of the Union Severely wounded in the shoulder, at Bull Run, July 21, 1861, and transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps with rank as in the Second. He was promoted to Major and Brevet Lieut .- Col. Died at Washington, D. C., August 20, 1868. batteries did get into position long enough to pitch a few well-directed shells into the advancing ranks ; then limbered up and went to the rear. A short distance to the left and rear of the Second a battalion of regular cavalry sat their horses, and these two bodies were the only Union troops in the whole range of view that still held their organization. The cavalry at length faced to the right and moved off toward Sudley's Ford, and directly afterwards the Second followed their example. Not until the regiment entered the road did the men really catch the spirit of the hour or fully realize that the Union army was beaten. Everything was converging into and crowding that narrow highway-wagons, artillery, and panic-stricken men. In such a torrent it was impossible to hold any organization
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