USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Washington > History of Washington, New Hampshire, from the first settlement to the present time, 1768-1886 > Part 15
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and respected townsman, who enlisted from strong con- victions of duty, and sealed his devotion to his country with his life.
On the 26th, at Drury Bluff, the regiment acquitted it- self manfully, sealing its devotion to the cause of freedom with its blood, and when ordered to withdraw, volunteered to hold its ground to insure the safety of another regi- ment, and for two hours held its ground for their benefit. But the brave deeds of these gallant men are becoming too numerous to mention by detail.
On the 16th, at Port Walthal, they preserved their rec- ord, but it was reserved for the 3d of June for its fiercest ordeal. Deployed in front of two brigades, they rushed upon the enemy and encountered a most terrific storm of musket balls, which, with the fearful missiles of artillery, swept the men into eternity by scores ; but they pressed on, took possession of the enemy's works, and held them through the day. In this engagement ninety men and officers fell in less than five minutes. The regiment remained here until the 12th, losing men, in killed and wounded, every day. On the 14th, they returned to their former camp at Bermuda Hundred. No rest for weary men here, however, for at midnight they are aroused and cross the Appommatox, and are constantly engaged, now on the skirmish line, now to clear the enemy from redoubt or rifle pit, until, on the 16th, they number fifty- four men, and on that day lose nine more. On the 17th, they are relieved, and returning to Bermuda, enjoy a rest of four days. The movements of the regiment were con- stant and severe until the 27th. Much to its satisfaction it again returned to Bermuda, where it remained until September 28, free from fighting, but subject to an un- healthy camp ground, where the men were much reduced by sickness.
At Fort Harrison, on the 28th of September, the Tenth received one hundred and fifty Spencer rifles, to be used
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in the coming battle, in which they added to their former valor on bloody fields. At midnight they led the advance across the river and formed a skirmish line, encountering the enemy before daylight, and drove them three or four miles to the cover of their works, on Chapin's farm. Here the main body came up and formed for an assault on Fort Harrison, a powerful work situated on a hill three-fourths of a mile distant, the intervening slope being swept by the enemy's cannon. A line is hastily formed and the first division, moving in quick time, march steadily for- ward, shells tearing through their ranks, and as they advance grape and canister mow them down. Colonel Donahoe's horse is shot under him. On, on, with steady step the fast opening gaps are closed up, until with defiant cheers, and at the cost of many brave lives, they gain the ditch, mount the ramparts, drive the enemy from his guns, and hastily turn them upon the fleeing foe. Stung by defeat, long lines of rebel gray, with the firm tread of men resolved to conquer, charge and recharge upon the works, only to strew the ground with their dead and dying. New Hampshire boys stood firm as the gran- ite of their native hills, and met each advance with a firm repulse. Fort Harrison is won and held at a fearful cost. We have lost in a few brief hours our regimental, brigade and corps commanders, Colonel Donahoe being severely wounded, and Captain Caswell, who succeeded in com- mand, being instantly killed. No braver man ever drew sword in defence of his country.
On the 25th of October, they were again subjected to a murderous fire at Fair Oaks, which for the first time in the entire campaign checked their impetuous assault. They had reached a position where retreat or advance was impossible. They were forced to lie down within a few yards of the enemy's works and wait for darkness to cover their escape. But in a sortie by the rebels they were nearly all captured. Only two out of ten officers
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escaped, and seventy-four men were killed, wounded or captured, and nearly all the men who were captured died in the loathsome prison pen at Salisbury, North Carolina. The next morning the few remaining men reached camp after a most wretched march in the rain. They remained in the lines before Richmond all winter, performing the customary duty of troops in front of the enemy's garrison. Here on the 26th of December, Samuel T. Farnsworth died, almost upon his post of duty, having been relieved but a few hours before his death. He was a faithful, vigi- lant soldier, a kind and obliging tent mate, and it may well be said that he was completely worn out, having taken part in almost every march and action of the regi- ment from its formation until his death.
At the final triumphant advance upon Richmond, the Tenth formed van guard, and divided honors with the 13th New Hampshire volunteers in being the first to enter the city. It is believed that a small detachment of the Tenth, under command of Capt. Warren M. Kelley of Hooksett, were the first troops to enter the city, and that private George L. Mellen of Washington was the first to place his hand upon the guns of the capitulated fortress. For three months it did provost duty in the city that had for four years withstood the assaults of the finest army the world ever saw. On the 21st of June, 1865, it was mus- tered out of the United States service, and came to Con- cord, where it received its final pay and discharge. The history of the 10th New Hampshire volunteers is a record of brave deeds and heroic sacrifice, of which any soldier may feel proud. The Washington boys performed well their part in all its grand achievements and are worthy of its highest honors.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
FOURTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE VOLUNTEERS.
HE 14th New Hampshire Volunteers was the last three years' regiment from the State, and was composed largely of representative New Hamp- shire men,-men who enlisted from a sense of duty, rather than because they had any desire for a military life. In some cases it is fair to presume that the bounties paid, which enabled them to leave their families provided with the necessities and comforts of life, were an incentive to enlist, but that any considerable number of the 14th, or any of the regiments which preceded it, were bounty jumpers, is a slander long since refuted. The Fourteenth differed in some respects from the regiments which had preceded it inasmuch as it was largely composed of men from the agricultural portions of the state and from small manufacturing villages, and the men of the respective companies were scattered over entire counties, Cheshire county furnishing four companies, while Sullivan, Grafton, Coos, Carroll, Merrimack and Hillsborough furnished one company each. Our interests are centered at this time in the Sullivan county, or Company I, as the company in which the Washington men, seven in number, served their country. All good and true men, though there were but two of them that could strictly be classed as Washington men. F. S. Stowell and George S. Jones were emphat- ically representatives of this town, and without dispar- agement to their associates, we can heartily say were a
Carroll & Mright-
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delegation of which the town may ever speak with honest pride.
No production of my pen will be so interesting in this connection as their own account of their service, which I give almost verbatim. Freeman S. Stowell was the son of John Stowell, with whom he lived on what is known as the Stowell farm, north of Ashuelot pond. At the time of his enlistment Freeman's family consisted of his de- voted wife and two children, Hattie and Oscar, 3 years and I year of age. Those of us who have experienced similiar trials can well imagine the fond father's feelings at that time.
August 13th, 1862, I enlisted for the United States Service, and was assigned to Company I, 14th Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers. After my enlistment I was not called for until the 13th of September. About II A. M., that day, a boy came into the field where I was at work, and handed me a note from S. Clogston, Recruiting Officer, ordering me to report at Claremont immediately, for drill. I worked till noon, went to the house, ate my dinner, bade adieu to my family, and that afternoon walked to Claremont (a distance of twenty-four miles ). Father wanted to carry me, but I told him if I could not walk that distance I was not fit for a soldier. About one mile before I reached Claremont, Clogston overtook me with a coach load drawn by four horses, only two of which were ever mustered into service. I got aboard, and thus fin- ished my first march in the service. At Claremont we were joined by a squad from Cornish, among them Alonzo Knight, now a resident of Washington, and a good sol- dier in Company I. We were quartered at the Sullivan House, James Leet, proprietor, (one of the best quarter- masters we ever had, ) where we remained until Sept. 18. While here we were drilled by S. Clogston, by his own tactics, which proved of little use to us. September 18th, we went to Concord, and were quartered on the old Fair
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Ground. Here the company was drilled to some purpose, by Wm. H. Chaffin, afterward Captain of the company. We were mustered into the U. S. Service, September 22nd. September 24th, a furlough of one week was granted. During that week I put in some good work on the farm, called on several of my neighbors and bade them good bye. October 18th, the Regiment left Concord, and reached Washington, D. C., the 20th. From the or- ganization of the regiment till its final discharge, its his- tory was my history. It never made but one move but
what I went with it. On that occasion I was left behind to care for the sick. Briefly summed up our service was this : The first winter we spent at Poolesville, Maryland, picketing on the Potomac, guarding the railroad, canal, etc., and occupying our leisure hours with drill and various duties incident to camp life.
April, '63, we were ordered to Washington, where we did guard duty at the public buildings, prisons, bridges, etc., patrol duty on the streets, in short, in every locality where soldiers were needed in and around the city, the men of the 14th New Hampshire were kept on duty. January 31st, 1864, our regiment was relieved from duty in the city. Feb. Ist, we left Washington, being ordered to the Upper Potomac, to put a stop to raids on the Balti- more and Ohio railroad, proceeding in box cars as far as the junction of the North and South branches of the river, where we bivouacked in shelter tents till the 7th, when we returned to Harper's Ferry and did picket duty on the river. Feb. 24th, the regiment was ordered to Washington, arriving there the following day. February 27th, the regiment started for New Hampshire to vote. On arriving at Concord we were furloughed for twelve days. Election day of 1864 was an uncomfortable day for rebel sympathizers wherever the Fourteenth was on duty. March 14th, the regiment rallied on its colors at Concord ; on the 16th, left Concord, and went into New York City bar-
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rack on the 17th, where they remained until the 20th, when seven companies embarked on the steamer Daniel Webster for New Orleans, Company I being one of them. On the 22d, the ship was in a terrible storm, which lasted three days, disabling the ship and threatening destruction to all on board ; 27th, the vessel put into Hilton Head for repairs. Friday, April I, we again embarked on board the Daniel Webster, reaching Key West, Florida, on the 5th, where we remained until the 8th, and finally reached New Orleans, April 12, where we found the balance of our regiment awaiting our arrival. Owing to the storm which delayed us, we were too late to join the Banks ex- pedition up the Red river, as was designed when we were ordered to this department.
We were stationed at Camp Parapet, behind a line of carthworks extending from the Mississippi to Lake Pon- chartrain, where we did picket and guard duty on the trains running from New Orleans to Jackson, Mississippi. June 7th, the regiment went up the river on a transport to Morganzia, where we camped till the 19th, when we joined an expedition up the river to destroy a band of guerrillas that were firing into vessels on the river ; proceeded up the river to Port Adams, Mississippi, reaching there on the morning of the 21st, without seeing an armed reb.
That night we returned to Morganzia. July Ist, the regiment was assigned to the Ist brigade, 2d division, 19th army corps, General Emery, corps, General Gioner, divis- ion, and General Buge, brigade commander. The regi- ment served in this connection till the close of the war. From Louisiana we were sent to join the Army of the Potomac ; landed at Bermuda Hundred, July 2Ist ; on the 28th, crossed the James river at deep bottom, on pontoon bridges, where we encountered the fire of the enemy for the first time, having been nearly two years in the ser- vice ; only a slight skirmish, as the enemy retreated rap- idly before us ; 29th, we returned to our camp at Bermu-
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da Hundred. From the Army of the Potomac we were transferred to Sheridan's army in the valley, and served under that gallant commander through the brilliant cam- paign which resulted in the destruction of Early's army. The regiment took an active part in the battles of Winchester, Cedar Creek and Fisher's Hill, following the enemy to Harrisonsburg. Previous to the battle of Winchester our regiment was camped at Berryville.
September 15th, orders came for the regiment to be ready to move at two o'clock next morning. Our assistant surgeon, Dr. Marshall Perkins of Marlow, New Hampshire, went through camp, ordering all sick men to get ready to take the ambulances which would soon call for them. I had been suffering several days with a large erysipelas sore on my left breast, which made me sick. The doctor ordered me with others to take the ambulance, which I refused to do. He said there was to be a fight the next day and I could not march or wear my equipments. I told him I enlisted to fight, and if there was chance I was not going to be deprived of it. I slept none that night, but took my place in the ranks next morning when the regi- ment fell in, and held it till the battle was over, but came near being captured after the first attack, when the regi- ment was repulsed and ordered to retreat, as I found it impossible to keep up with them. I would gladly have taken an ambulance then. But when the line was re- formed I went again, and was one of the sixteen to answer present at the roll call of Company I that night.
After the day's carnage was done, thirty-two of the Fourteenth were left dead on the field and ninety were wounded. The 23d, we took part in the battle of Fisher's Hill. I was in the line that charged the rebel works, and sent them flying up the valley, following them all night, our regiment being at the head of the column. A little after midnight the rear-guard of the rebel army fired into us ; here a minnie ball took a piece of skin from my left
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ear. We followed the enemy to Harrisonburg, which place we reached the 25th. The regiment remained here doing provost duty till ordered to retrace our steps down the valley, either destroying or driving off everything that could in any way contribute to the support of an army, an order which was faithfully carried out. October 19th, our regiment was engaged in the battle of Cedar Creek, the last engagement in which it had occasion to participate. In this engagement I threw away my blanket and that night slept without any bed but the bare ground, and no covering but the clothes I had worn through the day, which were completely saturated with sweat. I slept soundly, though the night was so cold that the ground around me was frozen in the morning. We remained in the valley till the 6th of January, 1865 ; 7th, arrived in Bal- timore, where we remained three days, when we went on board the steamship "Ariel;" 12th, landed at Newport News.
The next day we re-embarked for Georgia; reached Sa- vannah on the 17th, where we remained until the 6th of May, doing guard and patrol duty, etc. Several times I went on flag of truce boats to Sisters Ferry to exchange prisoners, and once with a load of citizens, mostly women, who were sent outside the Union lines for expressing joy at the assassination of President Lincoln.
May 6th, we left Savannah, and on the 14th, after a long, weary march, reached Augusta. The chief duty we per- formed here was to guard Jeff. Davis and A. H. Stevens through the city from depot to gunboat. Had we known then the old rebel was to go "scot free," I don't think he would have reached the boat alive. May 16th, we left Au- gusta and marched to the extensive arsenal grounds on the sand hills. On the 13th, we started on our march back to Savannah, reaching it on June 7th. As the brigade neared the city it was met by a staff officer with an order relieving the Fourteenth from brigade connections-to be
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mustered out of service. The war was over ! I felt that my duty as a soldier was done. An intense longing for home took possession of me. But weary hours, tiresome days, and even long weeks lengthened into a month be- fore we left Savannah. We were finally mustered out of the service at Hilton Head, July 8, 1865. On the 11th, we started for Boston, reaching it on the 17th, Concord the 18th, home the 19th. Of the original members of Company I, only thirty-four came back with the regiment. When I enlisted my weight was two hundred pounds ; when I reached home I weighed one hundred and forty- five pounds. I never was excused from duty a day after the regiment left Washington, D. C., until discharged.
My military career ended, I only ask to be remembered in the history of my native town as one who in the hour of his country's peril endeavored to do his duty.
In conclusion I cannot forbear a tribute of love and re- spect for my dear wife, who, from the hour of my enlist- ment until my return, so nobly performed every possible duty to our family, and who, by her patriotic letters, sus- tained and encouraged me at the front. Of her it may be truly said, "She hath done what she could." She died after a long and painful illness, Oct. 2, 1878.
FREEMAN S. STOWELL.
The letter of F. S. Stowell has so fully outlined the movements of the regiment, it needs no repetition to define the service of his comrades. I will add a brief letter from George S. Jones, which shows the metal of Wash- ington boys.
BOSTON, MARCH 31, 1885.
Hiram I. Hoyt, Dear Sir :- I enlisted Aug. 21, 1862, and was assigned to Company I, 14th New Hampshire Volunteers, mustered into the service of the United States, Sept. 24, 1862. I was at that time but fifteen years of
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age, but quite strong and could march with any of them. I was with my regiment through their whole service, ex- cept two or three months, when I was turnkey at the Cen- tral Guard House in Washington, D. C. I was in all the battles in which the regiment was engaged, Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. I had bullets put through my clothing, and my haversack shot off, but never received a wound. I was never sick during my whole service. There were several enlisted at the time I did, but nearly all backed out, leaving me an entire stranger. I was mus> tered out with my company and regiment, July 8, 1865. Yours truly, GEORGE S. JONES.
Young Jones was mustered as corporal and promoted to sergeant, Feb. 1, 1865.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Sixteenth New Hampshire Volunteers. Captain Judson Wilkins.
SIXTEENTH REGIMENT NEW HAMPSHIRE VOLUNTEERS.
HIS regiment was raised under the call of the President for 300,000 nine months' troops. The men who enlisted from Washington for that pe- riod were enlisted in Company I of this regiment. The regi- ment was under command of Col. James Pike of Sanborn- ton, a man long identified with the interest of the Methodist church of the state. The regiment was mustered into the service of the United States at Concord, Nov. Ist, 1862. The 16th regiment joined the Banks expedition and sailed from New York on the 6th of December, 1862, on two separate vessels. The first detachment arrived at New Orleans on the 20th of December, and were joined by the remainder of the regiment, on the Ist of January, 1863. The regiment remained at Carrolton in the defences of New Orleans, until the advance on Port Hudson, on the 17th of March, when it occupied a point within six miles of that work. On the 18th of April the regiment was ordered by Gen. Banks to embark on gunboats and co- operate in an attack on Fort Burton at Butte-a-la-rose, a Fort seventy-five miles beyond Brashear. The Sixteenth, acting as sharpshooters, were distributed among four gun- boats. After a short engagement the Fort was surrender- ed to the commander of the Squadron, who took posses-
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sion of the works, arsenal and barracks, and sent the gar- rison, prisoners to New Orleans. The regiment had been under command of Licut. Col. Fuller, since leaving New Orleans, Col. Pike having been left at that place, out of health, a short time before leaving Fort Burton. Col. Pike arrived and resumed command of the regiment, which he retained until its final muster out. It was a most pestilent location, surrounded by impenetrable swamps and forests, and in the six weeks the regiment remained, many of the men contracted disease, which hastened them to an un- timely grave, or lurked in their systems for years. On the 30th of May the regiment joined the forces of Gen. Banks at Port Hudson. Before leaving they burned the barracks, and the guns of the Fort were shipped on trans- ports sent up from Brashear City. The rebel pickets were close upon them, and had they remained a day later, they would have been captured by the advancing foe.
From Algiers, the sick of the regiment were sent to New Orleans, and the remnant passed up the river to Springfield Landing, where orders were received for Col. Pike to report with his command at the Headquarters of Gen. Banks and the Sixteenth was assigned to guard duty over the arsenal. This disposition of the regiment had been made previous to its arrival, Gen. Emory having telegraphed to Gen. Banks "that they were only a few skeletons left of the 16th New Hampshire." When they took possession of Butte-a-la rose they numbered six hundred guns. When they reached the headquarters of Gen. Banks they could muster but two hundred and sixteen. At Springfield Landing, which was then depot of supplies for the whole army, the Sixteenth encountered an attack by the enemy's cavalry, which if successful would have placed the whole army on short rations.
While before Port Hudson, the regiment was, for weeks, in line from three o'clock in the morning until daylight, in constant expectation of an attack by the enemy. On
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the 8th of July, Port Hudson surrendered, and on the 10th, the Sixteenth were among the last of the investing army to enter the works. Here there were almost daily burials of the regiment's dead, until the Ist of August, when they embarked for home by way of Cairo. Many of the men, unable to bear the journey home, were left in hospitals on the route, and were buried by stranger hands. The regi- . ment reached Concord on the 14th of August, and was paid and mustered out of the service on the 20th of the month. The regiment lost but few men in battle, but the poisonous malaria of southern swamps made sad inroads upon their numbers, and the death rate exceeds that of any other New Hampshire regiment in the service.
CAPT. JUDSON WILKINS
was born in Peterborough, New Hampshire, March 4, 1809, the day on which James Madison took the oath and entered upon his duties as the fourth president of the United States. His parents were Abram and Sarah Em- mons Wilkins. His early advantages were very meagre, and the education of his youth the result of observation rather than school privileges. He early formed a desire for military life, and at the early age of sixteen years, gratified in part his desires by playing a triangle in the provised military band of that date. He at once became a member of the Peterborough Light Infantry, at that time one of the most popular companies of the New Hampshire state militia. At the age of twenty-two he went to Amherst, New Hampshire, and worked in a cord manufactory, for Daniel Holmes, and afterward went to Lowell, Massachusetts, and engaged in the manufacture of whips. Returning to Peterborough, he worked for a short time for a former employer, and in 1832 formed partnership with a man named Scott, and built a bakery. After carrying on this business for about one year, he sold out his interest and purchased a stage line from Peter-
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borough to Concord, New Hampshire. October, 1834, he married Sarah Farwell of Washington, and resided in Pe- terborough, being engaged in butchering for three years. September 2, 1840, he was commissioned Ist lieutenant in the Peterborough guards. August 8, 1841, he was commissioned captain, and held his commission until he received a major's commission, on the 7th of September, 1845 ; the following year he was promoted to lieutenant- colonel. In the spring of 1847, by reason of breaking a leg, he applied for a discharge. In reply to his petition he received a colonel's commission, and was commanding officer of the 22d regiment, New Hampshire state militia for three years. In the spring of 1846, he opened the "Rocky Bottom" house, in West Wilton, and managed it for three years, after which he went to Lyndeborough and engaged in hotel business for one year. After the sur- vey of the Wilton railroad he opened the "Pine Valley House," in Milford, boarding and having charge of a gang of help until the completion of the road.
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