USA > New Hampshire > History of the Second Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers: its camps, marches and battles > Part 10
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The next day the corps made a march of about fifteen miles, passing through the pleasant village of Salem, and carly on the morning of the twenty- sixth we arrived at Warrenton, where a most agreeable surprise awaited us. Gen. MARSTON was there with all necessary authority for detaching the Second, Twelfth and Fifth New Hampshire regiments from the army, with which to form a brigade for duty at Point Lookout, at the mouth of the Potomac, where the government was about to establish a great gen- cral depot for prisoners of war. It was with light hearts that we took the cars for Alexandria, and were whirled through Warrenton Junction and Manassas, -scenes so familiar, -and away from the Army of the Potomac.
We did not arrive in Alexandria until late at night, and the men improved every little halt or delay of the train to cook their coffee-the article of a soldier's diet. No sooner would the train stop than the men, leaping from the cars, would kindle little fires with a dispatch which none but soldiers could equal, over which they held their cups until the train started, when there would be a scramble for the cars, and at the next halt the same movements would be repeated, and so on until the coffee was made. Talk of perseverance while laboring under difficulties ! If ever there was such a thing, it was well illustrated by the soldiers that day, some of whom kin- dled half a dozen different fires at as many points along the road before their coffee was made palatable.
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That night we marched from the cars, in Alexandria, about two miles towards Long Bridge, and went into bivouac with the consciousness that we might sleep with both eyes shut, for there were no rebels near to turn us out by demonstrations along the picket line.
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CHAPTER XVIII.
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POINT LOOKOUT.
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UARDING a squad of some three hundred rebel prisoners, the Second and Twelfth Regiments remained in Washington two days, quartered at the "Soldiers' Rest." Some of these were natives of Washington, and re- ceived visits from their relatives and friends, who brought them clothing and other articles which they had left behind when going into the rebel army, but were likely to stand in need of during their stay with us as prisoners of war. " It is mighty hard to be held a prisoner here in my own city," exclaimed one of these in conversation with a guard. "If you had remained at home in your own city you would never have been a prisoner," was the response, which the rebel could not well gainsay. Among the number was an Irishman who was well acquainted with many of our boys, having lived in Manchester and Con-
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cord some years before the war. His story was, that being South at the breaking out of the war, he had been forced into the rebel service, from which he had taken the first opportunity to desert. An old story; the stereo- typed tale of thousands of demoralized deserters.
At nine o'clock, on the morning of the thirty - first of July, 1863, the Second and Twelfth (the Fifth had not then joined us) landed at Point Lookout, with the squad of prisoners we had been guarding in Washington, and thus laid the foundation of the great depot for prisoners for which the place afterwards became famous.
The Point was admirably adapted for the purpose for which it had been chosen : a long, narrow finger of land, with the Potomac upon one side and the Chesapeake upon the other, and connected with the main - land by a sand bar scarcely two rods in width. A comparatively small force of troops was necessary to guard the prisoners, as . the gunboats, of which there were sometimes as many as a dozen about, could have poured in a fire from all sides which would have annihilated the rebels in case of an uprising.
On the second of August, at dress parade, "General Orders, No. 1," was read, in which Gen. MARSTON as- sumed command of the "District of St. Mary's." A routine of duty was established for the troops, and twenty men were detailed from the Second and Twelfth, to serve as mounted scouts. Their business was to scour the country about, the counties of St. Mary's and Charles, to observe suspicious movements, and ferret out the smug- glers who were continually crossing over into Virginia during the night. Their labors were occasionally re- warded by the discovery of a boat-full of salt or other
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articles valuable in Dixie, carefully concealed in some secluded creek, awaiting a favorable opportunity for run- ning the line of gunboats on the river.
To say that we enjoyed ourselves in our new camp would but feebly express our feelings-we were in the seventh heaven of the soldier's paradise. Poets may sing of the soldier's longing for the battle tumult, the fierce charge and the sturdy stand, but we know that after they have had their turn at these, nothing is more grateful than to be placed in such a camp as we were in at Point Look- out. The facilities for bathing, for fishing and for boating were unbounded, and Gen. MARSTON, knowing that he could trust the men in his command, allowed us as wide a range of privileges as the most liberal construction of military rules and discipline would permit. The men when not upon duty were given passes to visit St. Mary's, Leonardstown and "The Pines," all little villages a few miles above, and some of them improved their opportu- unities so well that certain daughters of rabid old seces- sionists were induced to forego their traditional hatred of the Yankees, and even to marry members of the pro- scribed race.
The men collected boats from the coast above, most of them "dug- outs," until the beach by the camp was lined with the little boats. The men soon became very expert in the management of these frail crafts, and would venture in them out upon the river or even round into the bay in the roughest weather. Those acquainted with them know that of all boats a dug-out is the most un- manageable, yet a capsize was of very rare occurrence. Three of our men, enterprising experimenters, fitted a keel upon one of these craft, and setting a sail large
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enough for a boat of twice its size, ventured out into the bay with a stiff breeze. Everything went swimmingly for a few minutes, when with a sudden lurch the boat capsized and left the three luckless adventurers flounder- ing "on the ocean wave," until rescued by a gunboat which happened to be in the vicinity.
Within a stone's throw of camp, in the river, were enormous oyster beds, from which boat-load after boat - load of luscious bivalves were taken, the men improvising oyster rakes for that purpose; and in the proper season a score of little schooners were daily engaged in dredging to supply the Washington and Baltimore markets.
Bodies of prisoners soon began to arrive, sometimes in small squads and often hundreds at a time, until there were several thousand to guard. As the prisoners' camp increased in size, a larger number of guards was required, until half the men were on guard each day, and oftentimes standing upon their post twelve hours out of the twenty - four.
The discipline and rules of the prisoners' camp were soon established, and all the arrangements were charac- terized by a humanity which formed a striking contrast with the treatment of Union prisoners at Belle Isle, at Millen and at Andersonville. Comfortable tents -"Sib)- ley" and "A"-such as we received, were furnished in sufficient numbers to give every man a shelter ; good rations, of the same quality as were dealt out to us, were given to the prisoners, and eight houses erected with am- ple accommodations for cooking. The camp was kept well policed, and all sanitary measures taken necessary to preserve the health of the prisoners. A board fence, about twelve feet high, was erected around the whole
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camp, with a walk upon the outside, near the top, for the guard. Capt. JOAB N. PATTERSON was appointed Pro- vost Marshal of the district, and Capt. GEORGE E. SIDES, of Company K, placed in command of the camp. The prisoners were organized into companies of one hundred men, over cach of which one of their number was placed as sergeant.
Confinement in a palace would be unendurable. No one will dispute this. Then it cannot be wondered at that the brains of our rebel prisoners were constantly at work devising means of escape. Not one in ten of these schemes was crowned with success, although the novelty of some should have insured their escape. The great conspiracy was discovered in February of 1864, which embraced a large number of men, and for which great preparations had been made. Wind was got of the con- templated movement, and measures taken to prevent it. The Second and Twelfth were placed under arms, and while the prisoners were all marched from their quarters a thorough search was made through every tent. Several muskets were discovered, and many bunks were found to be little boats, constructed of pieces of boards, with oar - locks cut in the sides and the cracks filled with grease and soap so as to render them water - tight. Oars and paddles were also found, all of which were destroyed by the relentless Yankees.
The individual enterprises in this line were common, some attempting to tunnel out, some to bribe the guards, and others to secrete themselves when outside the camp for firewood or with working parties. Two of this latter class were observed to crawl under a house one evening when their party was returning to camp. The officer of
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the guard posted half a dozen men near by, with orders to watch till the concealed rebels, thinking the coast clear, should crawl out from their hiding place, and then to fire and give them a good fright, but not to injure either of them. In the evening the heads of the two prisoners appeared, carefully reconnoitering the ground, when half a dozen rifles cracked and as many bullets whistled within a few inches of their ears. Neither of them were wounded, but they were both terribly fright- ened, and made pitcous appeals to our boys not to shoot again, as they were perfectly willing to give up beaten. This little affair had a good effect upon the prisoners in camp, giving them the idea that we kept a heavy and vigilant guard outside of their camp as well as in.
To pass away time and as a source of revenue, the rebels manufactured rings, bosom - pins, watch - chains and an immense variety of other trinkets, from bone and gutta percha, which they sold to our men, and also many other articles which displayed a high degree of ingenuity. One man manufactured a clock which kept excellent time, the front and back being made of the sides of a tin can- teen; and another man built a stationary steam - engine, perfect in all its parts. An important branch of industry was brick - making. Every sunny day scores of the men might be seen kneading the clay and sand, filling little square boxes with the mixture and dumping it on the ground to dry in the sun. Some of the most enter- prising made enough of these bricks to build themselves little adobe houses, and sold many to our men at fifty cents a hundred to build chimneys in our own camp.
Gambling, however, was the chief occupation, and scores of professional sharpers set up their establishments
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and worked with as much zeal to cheat their unfortunate comrades out of a chew of tobacco-the common stake- as was ever displayed at any board when thousands were changing hands every minute.
The Provost Marshal had his hands full in a short time, as applications to take the oath of allegiance and to be allowed to go north, poured in by thousands. Many, also, wished to enlist into our army or navy, and a camp was established for them outside of the prison bounds. Two regiments were raised, known as the First and Second United States Volunteers, officered by men from the regi- ments in the department. These did good service at Norfolk as Provost Guard, and are now engaged in fight- ing the Indians in Colorado Territory. Several enlisted into the Second Regiment, and braver, truer men than they proved themselves never fought beneath the old flag.
On the fourteenth of November, the Fifth Regiment arrived from New Hampshire, where it had been upon furlough, bringing with them several hundred of that class known as "bounty - jumpers." Now the men had the double duty to perform of guarding the rebel prisoners and at the same time the men their State had sent out to fill up their ranks. The boats which had been such a source of enjoyment, were taken away, to prevent the substitutes from escaping in them, and strong guards were stationed where guards had never been stationed before. The Second Regiment soon received its instalment, as did the Twelfth. Several of these were drowned in attempts to escape-one while out on Chesapeake Bay in a coffin which he had taken from a pile at the Point and caulked up to use as a boat. Of these men we will have more to say in the next chapter.
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POINT LOOKOUT.
On the twelfth of January, 1864, Gen. MARSTON led a raiding party into the counties of Virginia lying opposite Point Lookout. The force consisted of three hundred infantry, picked men, one hundred and fifty cavalry, and a section of a Rhode Island battery. The expedition left the wharf carly in the morning, convoyed by gunboats, landed upon the Virginia shore, and for three days created quite a commotion among the rebels, a large force of whom were on the south side of the Rappahannock, but were prevented from crossing by our gunboats in the river. Saltworks and tanneries were destroyed, and sev- eral rebel officers and soldiers home upon furlough, were captured. On the afternoon of the fifteenth, the expe- dition returned to the Point, having lost one man acci- dentally killed, and about a dozen missing.
On the twenty - third of February, the Thirty - Sixth Regiment of United States Colored Troops arrived upon the Point to assist in doing guard duty, as four hundred and fifty men were to leave the next day on furlough of twenty days for New Hampshire. These men were trans- ported by water to Boston, upon the " Admiral Dupont," formerly the blockade - runner "Tubal Cain,", which was lost at sea in the summer of 1865.
Point Lookout was the scene of a terrible snow - storm on the twenty - third of March, one of the most severe we ever witnessed in the South. The storm set in during the afternoon, and by night the snow lay in huge drifts in the streets and by the sides of the tents. The next day a great snow - ball battle was fought between the Second and Twelfth. The battle was contested upon either side with as much valor and stubbornness as was ever dis- played where more deadly weapons were used, and quite 7*
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a respectable list of wounded was rolled up. Black eyes were plenty in both regiments for some days, and the surgeons state that there was also an unusual demand for sticking - plaster.
Gen. MARSTON was relieved of the command at Point Lookout on the fourth day of April, by Gen. HINKS; and three days later the Second Regiment embarked on the steamer "Escort," once more to try its fortunes on the soil of the Peninsula.
CHAPTER XIX.
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BUTLER'S CAMPAIGN ON THE JAMES.
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ARCHING from the boat early on the morning of Thursday, the eighth of April, 1863, we passed through the fort encircling Yorktown, and camped upon the green plain to its front. The post was under the command of Gen. WISTAR, the garrison of which consisted of the One Hundred and Forty - Eighth New York, and a brig- ade of colored troops, camped near the old parallels of MCCLELLAN. On the eleventh the Twelfth Regiment came down from Point Lookout, and one of the colored regiments was sent up to take its place
We were not fairly in camp before our bounty - jumpers began to show their colors. Within three days over a hundred men had deserted, some going towards the rebel lines, and others, not understanding the geography of the country, towards Fortress Monroe. A large proportion
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of these men were captured, and it was considered neces- sary to make an example of some of the number in order to put a stop to such wholesale desertion. Four of them had been captured in an open boat, while making their way along the western shore of Chesapeake Bay. They were observed by the captain of a boat bound down from Baltimore, who immediately steered towards them, when they attempted to reach the shore, but having only rough pieces of board for paddles they could not make much headway, and were overhauled. A court - martial was immediately assembled, and "JouN EGAN," of Company A, one of those captured in the boat, placed upon trial, found guilty of desertion, and sentenced to be shot the following day, the thirteenth. All the preparations were made for the execution, the regiment marched to the ground, and EGAN was on his way to the spot, when a reprieve arrived, and arrested the proceedings. The mis- crable man threw up his cap and danced for joy, evidently thinking that the authorities merely intended to frighten him, and then pardon, as had been done scores of times before during the war. But he soon found that the court was terribly in carnest, for two days after he was again taken forth, accompanied by one of his companions, HENRY HOLT, who had been tried and sentenced in the meantime. The spot selected for the execution was a grass - covered plot about a mile from the fort, near the brow of a steep bluff overhanging the York River. The Second Regiment, with unloaded muskets, was drawn up in line immediately facing the spot upon which the mis- crable men were to pay the penalty of their crime with their lives; upon the left of the regiment, in position to rake the line, a section of artillery was placed; to the
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rear the One Hundred and Forty - Eighth; and upon the left, with its line formed at a right angle with the regi- ment, two colored regiments, with loaded muskets. The condemned men rode astride their coffins, and accompa- nied by a Roman Catholic priest. They glanced at the dreadful preparations with as unconcerned an air as pos- sible, but the fixed eye and swelling throat showed that it was only by intense effort they could master their feelings. The carts stopped at a point directly in front of the regi- ment, where they alighted, and their coffins were placed upon the ground side by side. The Provost Marshal read the findings of the court and the sentence, when the twelve men detailed for the purpose were marched to the front of the coffins, a few feet distant. The prisoners removed their coats, and knelt upon the green grass while the priest commended their souls to God. Arising, they shook hands with the provost marshal in token of forgive- ness for the part he was to perform, and also with the reverend father; their eyes were bandaged and their wrists bound with white handkerchiefs, when they were seated upon their coffins. Then followed a terrible moment ; the marshal raised his hand, and the sharp click of a dozen gunlocks was heard; again, and the pieces sprang to the shoulder; a third time, and the two culprits fell back across their coffins dead. After a reasonable time had elapsed the bodies were examined by the surgeons to see if life was extinct, when the troops were marched by them and back to camp. The two companions of these men were afterwards tried, convicted, sentenced and exe- cuted at Williamsburg on the twenty -ninth. These measures were harsh, but they had a most salutary effect and the desertions were immediately checked.
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BUTLER'S "Army of the James" began to assemble at Yorktown and Gloucester soon after our arrival. Vessels from Port Royal, from North Carolina and from other points steamed up the river almost daily, laden with troops and batteries of artillery. The army comprised two corps-the Eighteenth, commanded by General " BALDY" SMITH, and the Tenth, commanded by Gen. GILLMORE. To the former, WISTAR's Brigade was as- signed, consisting of the Second and Twelfth New Hamp- shire and the One Hundred and Forty-Eighth New York. On the twenty - second, the brigade removed to Williams- burg, where it remained encamped until the fourth day of May, on the afternoon of which day the tents were struck, and the brigade marched towards the James River, where it was embarked late at night upon transports, from an old pier which had been newly planked for the occasion. The boats anchored in the stream until morning, when, with the first rays of the sun, the great fleet conveying the Army of the James began to pass up the river, having passed from the York river during the night around into the James, to land the expedition at City Point and Ber- muda Hundred, while the rebels were expecting the blow to fall at West Point or at the White House, on the York. First came the gunboats, saucy " double - enders," moni- tors, and the ram Atlanta, captured off Savannah by the Wechauken. Closely following these came the trans- ports, every style and variety of craft being represented. There were old stern - wheelers, looking like huge saw- mills afloat on the tide, huge black ocean steamers and little river boats, tugs dragging schooners loaded with rations for man or beast, and dispatch boats darting from one point to another. In this great fleet the boats con-
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veying our brigade took their position, and steamed up the river. We passed many points of interest on the route-the ruins of Jamestown, the first settlement of Virginia, in striking contrast with the carly settlements of our Pilgrim Fathers; Fort Powhattan with its frown- ing battlements and precipitous sides, up which were moving negro troops to take possession ; Harrison's Land- ing with its lonely mansion house and barren fields; and Malvern Hill, the scene of the deadly conflict of 1862. At nine o'clock in the evening we were at City Point, which from a distance with its thousands of lights dis- played from the vessels comprising the fleet, presented the appearance of a large city.
The army disembarked during the night and the follow- ing morning, and an immediate advance was made in the direction of Petersburg. The popular belief among the men was that Fort Darling, a few miles above, was to be immediately invested, and most of them were so sanguine that they expected to see that rebel stronghold in our possession before night. The body of the army, however, advanced no farther than to the neck of the peninsula formed by the James and Appomattox, of which Bermuda Hundred was the apex, although a force was sent out a few miles farther to feel the enemy. The Eighteenth Corps encamped on a high plateau near the Appomattox, from which the spires of several churches in the city of Petersburg could be seen miles away, rising above the intervening forests. Near the camp, upon the most com- manding point of the plateau, stood a dwelling - house. The engineers selected the spot as the site for a redoubt, and the day after our arrival details from the regiment demolished the building, filling up a well with the bricks
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from the chimney. In the evening a rebel signal light was seen through the darkness in the direction of Peters- burg. A section of artillery was brought ont and a few shells thrown in the direction of the waving ball of fire, but the range was necessarily bad, and the rebels paid no attention to our messengers.
On Monday, the eighth of May, a general advance was made towards Petersburg. Our light - draft gunboats worked their way up the sluggish, shallow waters of the Appomattox to engage certain strong rebel works, while the army advanced by land, encountering the enemy in a continuous running fight, during which the Second Regi- ment had one man killed and six wounded. The Rich- mond and Petersburg Railroad was reached, and a con- siderable portion of it destroyed. The next day the army returned to its camp. The gunboats engaged Fort Clif- ton and other rebel works; and the Brewster, which from its light draft was enabled to ascend the river farther than the rest, received a hot shot and shortly after blew up, her crew escaping by swimming to the shore.
On the twelfth the army again advanced, this time in the direction of Fort Darling, a sufficient guard being left in the camp to protect it from any movement from the direction of Petersburg. The rebels were steadily pressed back, until our army confronted the outworks of Fort Darling. GILLMORE's Tenth Corps gallantly charged and captured the enemy's works upon the left, while the riffemen of the Eighteenth drove the rebels from those upon the right, commanding the telegraph pike to Rich- mond. HECKMAN'S Brigade formed the extreme right of the line, and to their left our brigade - first the Second, then the One Hundred and Forty - Eighth, and the Twelfth
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across the pike, where a battery was posted upon the reverse side of the captured rebel works. Three hundred yards to the front loomed up a strong rebel fort from which floated two gaudy flags, while a half dozen log bar- racks just outside were occupied by rebel sharpshooters. Skirmishers were thrown out, who drove the rebels from the barracks, and kept up such a fire from behind the logs and stumps close under the fort that not a head appeared along the whole rebel line.
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