USA > New Hampshire > History of the Twelfth regiment, New Hampshire volunteers in the war of the rebellion > Part 5
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The train reached the last named place, about three miles from Harper's Ferry, near midnight, where it was relieved of its living freight and dead weight of men, horses, and baggage, and by the light of fires that were quickly kindled, the companies found their proper position in line, stacked arms, and bivouacked for the night.
This was the regiment's first experience in sleeping uncovered on the ground, but the night was warm, and the men, tired and sleepy, will- ingly accepted of the situation. Indeed, after a seven miles' march and fourteen hours of cattle-car transportation, rest was sweet, and Morpheus took no note of his surroundings.
At the roll-call the next morning. John Nutter, of Company F, was missing. The last seen of him he was riding with many others on the top of one of the cars where, after the sun went down, they could get fresh air to breathe and a cool place to rest : and it was supposed that during the night he fell asleep, rolled off, and was probably killed. But the last and worst part of the supposition happily proved incorrect, for during the day he came into camp, muttering because he had been so unceremoniously dumped into the bushes by the wayside and left there in the night to find his way into camp with a bruised head and aching limbs.
Others would doubtless have shared the same fate, or a worse one, if they had not taken the precaution to fasten themselves to the car before going to sleep.
One of the drummers secured his anchorage by fastening one end of his. drum strap to his waist belt, tucking the other end through a knot hole, and getting one of his comrades inside to run a drumstick through the loop : and in this way he swung and snoozed to his journey's end .*
After rather a late breakfast from the haversack (some, however, securing a hot bite from the frying or baking pans of citizens living near by, for which most of the hungry ones too dearly paid, if any account is taken of acute indigestion in addition to their loss of " scrip,") the regi-
* But for this drumstick hitch this history might never have been written.
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New Hampshire Volunteers.
ment moved a short distance to the top of a hill, and the men and line officers pitched their shelter tents, which had been issued to them before leaving Fort Corcoran, for the first time with many a joke and laugh. They seemed to them to be a queer and scanty covering for civilized men. unused to being cut down in their many cumberous domestic comforts to the absolute necessities of physical existence : and some were reminded as they crawled in under them for their first night's trial, how true it is that
" Man wants but little here below Nor wants that little long :"
although some of the taller ones could not appreciate the wisdom of the last word when trying to cover six feet in length of human flesh and bones with five square feet of cotton drilling.
These shelter tent pieces went by pairs as well as squares, each piece measuring five feet each way with buttons and loops on two sides so that when they were buttoned together, drawn over a pole supported by crotched sticks, and fastened to the ground by small stakes through the loops, the roof and two sides were done.
Then, with a rubber blanket for one gable end -the other remaining open for a door, and to allow ample stretching room for the long-legged ones - and another rubber for a floor if the ground is wet, and the Arab domicile is complete and ready for two.
Near this first shelter-tent encampment stood a church-not quite so costly and imposing a structure as some whose steeples pierce the clouds, for this, after the style of all the country churches in the South, had no steeple at all. As the door of the vestry in the basement was not fastened. the seats therein were soon pretty well filled with members of the Twelfth, all busily engaged in writing letters to inform their friends and relatives at home of the new move toward .. Dixie," which gave it the appearance of a large writing school.
The next day was the Sabbath ; but instead of attending divine service in the church with Chaplain Ambrose in the pulpit, as suggested by some, there was a march of two or three miles and another spread of shelter- tents on the east side of South Mountain, near Petersville. Here, on the 22d of October, by orders from .. Headquarters, Army of the Potomac." General Whipple's division was assigned to the Twelfth Army Corps. then commanded by Gen. A. S. Williams.
As one of the absurd stories that would often be circulated through camp. it was the talk among the men about this time. that the Twelfth was an independent regiment, and could not be holden for service outside of the State; and was therefore going back to New Hampshire, and to be stationed at Portsmouth.
This story, which was believed by some, - the wish being father to the thought. - started from the fact that the regiment had never been regularly brigaded, and now that another assignment had been made without being
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History of the Twelfth Regiment
united with any other regiments as a brigade, the wish strengthened into hope with many, that the story might have some elements of truth in it.
On the night of the 24th the division marched five miles to Berlin, and at twelve o'clock the Twelfth bivouacked until morning near the river. The night was cold, and the men suffered much, lying on the ground. Just as the order came to strike tents, the stern command of Death ordered the final discharge of George F. Nichols, of Company I, who died after a few days sickness of pneumonia. There was hardly time to bury him, and mark his grave before moving. This was the first death by disease in camp since leaving Concord, though several had previously died away from the regiment, and Charles A. Norcross, of Company F, who was left with several others sick at Berlin when the regiment crossed the river, died there a few days afterward.
" Thus, one by one, from the ranks they fall, Untouched by sabre, shell, or ball."
After one more day and night on the north side of the Potomac, the regiment crossed the river on a pontoon bridge. into the State of Virginia. The hour of passage was II A. M. : and the rain, increasing from early morn and lasting through the night, made its introduction to the " Old Dominion " somewhat unpleasant. And a few of the members, mostly from Company F, anticipating a reception, sooner or later, more unpleasant still, never even waited for an introduction, but left the night before for another dominion several hundred miles nearer the north pole.
Once fairly on the " sacred soil," now much more plastic than precious, the boys were almost immediately seized with an uncontrollable desire to test the nutritious quality of the grasses it produced, as compared with that of their native hills ; and so several young heifers and steers were sliced up and roasted before the huge camp fires that were kept burning nearly all night in order to keep warm.
The next morning was clear and windy. And while some were busy rekindling the fires that had hardly gone out, and spreading their blankets for the sun and breeze to dry, others were equally diligent in gathering in a few fresh eggs and vegetables to be quickly cooked and served up with their beefsteak for breakfast.
A sweet potato vine was at that time a great curiosity to a green Yankee soldier, but it did not take him long to find out, that like the peanut, it needed pulling to find the best end of it.
That morning Generals McClellan and Burnside, with their staffs, rode by : but little did the men think, as they looked upon them for the first time, that President Lincoln's order for the removal of one and the pro- motion of the other, was on that very day to be issued from the War Department.
Before night the Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh New Hampshire regi- ments marched by, and the next morning the Tenth also followed in the same direction.
33
1962
UCT
New Hampshire Volunteers.
On the 29th, by Special Orders, No. 203, Headquarters Army of the Potomac. Whipple's division was temporarily detached from the Twelfth Army Corps and ordered "to report to General Burnside for special service." The same day the regiment moved forward about two miles to Lovettsville : and the day following it marched about ten miles further to Hillsborough, where it encamped for two days in a very pretty grove of trees. too pleasant to be so soon abandoned for another hard days march of fifteen miles to Snicker's Gap. Firing was now heard almost every day from the front, where our cavalry in advance were engaged with the rear guard of the enemy. Sometimes the distant boom of their light artillery, sounding nearer as our forces marched farther, when the rear guard of Lee's army would for a while check their advance, would make the raw troops think that a regular battle had actually commenced, and expect every hour that they would be ordered to halt and form in line of battle.
Thus from Snicker's Gap through Bloomfield, Upperville, and Piedmont to Orleans, a distance of about thirty miles, the regiment by easy marches moved southward.
Here the regiment remained for four days, and as no rations were served until the supply train came up the place was called " Starvation Hollow."
But to go hungry amidst plenty, seemed as unwise as it was unpleasant ; and so squads from each company went out to invite the farmers around about, all of whom claimed to be good Union men, to contribute a little to the commissary department.
But finding their willingness to give in inverse ratio to their professions, and thinking it but right to subsist on the enemy's country when necessity required, it took but few denials to make smart thieves out of poor beg- gars ; and soon the fields and the orchards were found to be much more liberal than their owners.
But the provost guard had been sent out by order of the division com- mander to keep up the appearance, at least, of protection of private property, and one hungry squad of ten or fifteen of " Potter's Pets " were captured one day, while out on a foraging expedition of their own, and marched to division headquarters .*
Hearing of this. Lieutenant-Colonel Marsh at once ordered a detail of twenty men - two from a company and each armed with his musket and a sharp knife - to report at his tent immediately.
Mounting his horse, as soon as the detail arrived, he said: "Follow me boys, and let them arrest us if they want to."
A half-mile march across fields and pastures, and - not the enemy, but a flock of sheep were descried quietly grazing a short distance ahead. " Deploy, and right and left centre swing," commands the colonel, and though not found in Casey, the order was easily understood and quickly executed, the sheep retreating into a corner of the field.
" Halt; ready, aim, fire," came in rapid succession the next words of command, and twenty muskets instantly responded.
* See anecdote.
NO)
3
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History of the Twelfth Regiment
But the poor sheep, oh, where are they ? Badly frightened and running away, But all as sound as before the fray,
except one that had a slight limp in one of its hind legs, probably caused by a cramp-catch at so sudden a start.
" Throw down your guns and every man for a sheep," is the next order ; and then, with a run and a rush, the hand-grab charge is valiantly made, and ten or twelve sheep are captured and brought into camp. A few minutes later, and they have been skinned, dressed, and divided among the company cooks.
But the watchful eyes of the old farmer have seen his sheep captured and carried away, and soon he rides into camp and demands pay for them. Colonel Potter has seen nothing of his sheep, and thinks the owner has probably made a mistake in the regiment, as his men would never do such a thing without orders : and he was sure that he had never ordered anything of the kind.
Still the old man persists, but finds no fresh mutton, nor signs of any, in the camp, which he is allowed to search. Finally the lieutenant- colonel tells him that a Union man, as he professed to be, ought not to object to assisting the cause by contributing a few sheep to satisfy the appetite of the hungry soldiers, and asks him if he has not a few horses to exchange for a government receipt that would be fully paid with inter- est at the end of the war, upon satisfactory evidence of his loyalty. This inquiry had the designed effect of reminding the farmer that he was needed at home, in which direction he at once started, after assuring the colonel that he had not a single horse he could possibly spare.
During the stay at Orleans the weather was very cold, several inches of snow falling one day, and the miles of rail fence that disappeared must have demonstrated the fact to the inhabitants of that section that it is nearly as expensive to warm as to feed an army. On the second day the Twelfth moved about a mile and pitched tents, in regular order, on the south side of a hill, protected from the cold winds by woods and affording a fine view of the country in the opposite direction.
While here part of the regiment went out on picket for the first time, and Hutchins, of Company I, had his hand shot off.
The 10th was bright and warm, and as Commissary Smith started the same day for Washington to procure rations, it was hoped the regiment might remain there for a few days ; but at night came orders to march, which, after the tents were all struck and packed, was countermanded just before " taps."
The next forenoon, the order being renewed, the regiment marched about five miles to Waterloo, which proved to be a very small place for so big a name ; a few negro huts and the remains of an old woolen mill being about all the buildings it contained. The encampment here, which was on a high rise of land overlooking the town, lasted the same length
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New Hampshire Volunteers.
of time as at Orleans - four days - but the contrast in the weather rec- ord and spirit of the men was so great, that it might have been appropri- ately called Mount Delight. And this suggestion will be acquiesced in by every survivor, when he remembers that here, in addition to a fresh supply of sunshine and rations, was the first arrival of the mail after leaving Arlington Heights. Although less than a month, it seemed a long time without hearing anything from home, and all were indeed delighted to receive, as most of them did, one or more letters each from relatives and friends in the old Granite State.
By the same mail news came of the removal of General Mcclellan as Commander of the Army of the Potomac, and of the appointment of Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside to his place, the latter having formally assumed command but two days before.
On the 14th, the division was inspected, and on the 16th it marched to Washington, where it again joined the Third Corps. Here the sick were taken from the teams and ambulances, as well as many from the ranks, and sent to Washington.
Edward Pratt, of Company C, died about two hours after getting into camp, and others soon after arriving at the hospital or on their way there. Of the latter was Stephen Batchelder, of Company F, who had been made by the rear guard to march during the day, and died on the cars before reaching Washington that night.
From Washington to Falmouth, via Liberty, Morrisonville, Hartwood, and Stafford, the much more rapid movement of the army indicated a new impetus, which was rightly attributed to its new commander. His plan to advance against Richmond by crossing the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg, instead of following the course designed by Mcclellan, had been already approved of by the President with the suggestion that delay would prove fatal to its success ; and hence ten and fifteen miles, instead of five and six, was now the daily progress of the march.
On the 19th, while on the march from Morrisville to Hartwood, there was a threatened attack of Stuart's cavalry, and Whipple's division was halted, formed in line of battle, and stood to arms for about two hours. The Twelfth was drawn up in support of Secom's Excelsior Battery, and that was the first time the regiment was ever formed in line of battle in expectation of meeting the enemy.
Companies C and F were sent out toward the river to act as a reserve for the out-posts, in case the enemy should advance. That night the reg- iment was ordered to report to General Pratt, commanding the first brig- ade, and were sent out on picket near Beverly Ford.
For three or four days before reaching Falmouth much rain had fallen, making the roads so bad that the baggage trains were left far in the rear. In consequence of this, as was then supposed, the men of our division were put on limited rations, growing smaller and smaller each day until only about one hard-tack to a man was left for the last day's march.
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History of the Twelfth Regiment
" Seven miles on one hard-tack," is the entry found in one soldier's diary, and it is strictly true. Many marched that day with stomachs as empty as their haversacks, and but for their comrades sharing with them, would not have had a mouthful of anything to refresh them but water. Hook- er's grand division of the army reached Hartwood on the 19th, and Whipple's division arrived at Stoneman's Switch, on the Fredericksburg and Aquia Creek railroad, on the 23d. From this time until the 27th there was a general distribution of rations throughout the whole army, commissaries of regiments, brigades, and divisions that had a little, divid- ing with those that had less or none.
By reason of the new plan of operations under Burnside, necessitating a new base of supplies, the army was obliged to subsist on short rations for several days before and after reaching Falmouth. This caused a good deal of grumbling among the men, who, while they keenly felt the effects, were entirely ignorant of the cause. It was believed by many that Stuart's cavalry had cut off and captured a part of our baggage and supply train, and there was no little apprehension about it, for troops were then surrounded by woods on every side and had no chance to for- age for themselves as at Waterloo and other places on the march.
From the 17th to the 27th there had been much rain and cloudy weather, and the spirit and courage of the army were gradually on the decline. McClellan, who had been the idol of the old soldiers, and still the ideal commander of many, had been superseded by one who, though favorably known, had never won that distinction that inspires confidence ; the different commands for the last two or three days, waiting in the rain and cold, where they had last halted, for orders to go into camp or move forward ; the large number that were sick or ailing, especially among the new troops not yet inured to the exposure, privation, and hardship of the bivouac and the march ; the urgent demands of hunger, growing daily more imperative, while memory, as if to tantalize, pictured to the mental vision, the turkeys, puddings, and pies that were being prepared for Thanksgiving at home, - all united with the elements to make the soldiers ill-humored and despondent.
But the reveille of the 27th rings out cheeringly through the clear air of a cloudless morn, and the men " turn out for roll-call" with a new hope that their dreams of rations, good and plenty, will soon be realized. And they hope not in vain, for the bright sun has hardly risen above the tree tops when for miles around the woods resound with loud and gladsome cheers, as the news spread that pork, beans, and hard-tack, most welcome guests, had actually arrived at Falmouth station and would soon be brought into camp. "Cheer up, boys ! Stewed beans and hard-tack for Thanksgiving dinner !" And the remembrance of that dinner with every member of the Twelfth (if not of the whole army who were there and able to eat) will be as lasting as life.
New Englanders, as they were, they never before knew how to appre- ciate the Thanksgiving of their Puritan fathers.
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New Hampshire Volunteers.
Later in the afternoon Colonel Marsh took the regiment out to go through, as was supposed, the usual drill. But instead of that, after forming the companies en masse, he made a short address, referring to the day and its pleasant memories, and called for three cheers for the loved ones at home. Seldom do cheers and tears unite, but this, as may be imagined, was a notable exception. After returning to quarters, the boys broke ranks with three times three for Colonel Marsh.
Nearer night, when the shades of evening added solemnity to the occa- sion, the solemn roll of the muffled drum is heard, as the remains of Benjamin W. Weeks, of Company D, are being carried and followed by sorrowing comrades to the grave, into which each one drops a sprig of evergreen in token of their respect and esteem, and over which the farewell salute is fired in honor of a faithful comrade gone. He died the day before, of measles, and was the first man to die in the company, and the first one, except the captain, whose name was dropped from the rolls.
George H. Follett, of Company I, who was left at Hartwood sick with the same disease, died on the 25th.
On the first day of December a detail from each company commenced clearing a place in the woods for a camping ground, and the next day the regiment moved across the railroad a few rods, and commenced build- ing quarters and putting up tents on the cleared ground.
From this until the Fredericksburg campaign, most of the time, except two or three hours each day for battalion drill, was occupied in cutting, grubbing, and burning up the trees, stumps, and brush for camp and parade ground, and soon several acres of the pine forest had disappeared, and in its place had sprung up a little village of small white-roofed houses.
These houses - better called huts - were all of about the same size and style of architecture, and were erected on regularly laid out streets, one for each company, all parallel with and equally distant from each other, and running back at right angles with a broad avenue, on the opposite side of which were the more imposing canvas wall and roof structures occupied by the official dignitaries of field and staff.
But most needful of all, and therefore one of the first to be erected, was a hospital tent, for the more rapid marching, bad weather, and want of sufficient rations since leaving Warrington, had again loaded up the ambulances and baggage teams not already over-loaded with the sick and dying.
Some died while being thus conveyed ; some were left to die at houses on the march ; while others lived to reach Falmouth, but were the first to sleep beneath the pines where so many were afterwards buried who once mustered and marched in the ranks of the Twelfth. Among the latter were John G. Brown, of Company E, and George R. Clement, of Com- pany G, who both died on the 9th, the latter dying with his testament in his hand upon his breast, and was buried with it in the same position.
.
CHAPTER III.
FREDERICKSBURG.
The army under Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside had been organized by him into three grand divisions, and formed in the attack on Fredericksburg, the right, left, and centre, commanded respectively by Major-Generals Sumner, Franklin, and Hooker.
The Centre Grand Division was composed of the Third and Fifth corps, then commanded by Brigadier-Generals Stoneman and Butter- field, and the Third Division of the Third Corps, which included General Piatt's and Colonel Carroll's brigades and the Twelfth New Hampshire Regiment - an independent command, taking the place of a brigade - all under the command of Gen. Amiel W. Whipple.
The better to understand the somewhat inactive, but none the less important and trying part that the Twelfth took in this battle, as well as to refresh the memory of the reader, it may be stated here that General Burnside's plan seems to have been to dislodge General Lee from his chosen position in.the rear of Fredericksburg by turning his right flank with the left wing of his own army, under General Franklin. Sumner, in the meantime, with the right wing was to cross over the river into the city, and engage the enemy in front to prevent him from reinforcing his right : and to carry the heights and break his centre, so soon as the success of Franklin should make such an attempt practicable.
Hooker's grand division was to assist Sumner as needed, but to be held mainly in reserve.
But one thing was evident, clearly and emphatically, that Franklin must succeed or Burnside was defeated ; and for this reason he was reinforced before advancing by two divisions from the Third Corps and one division from the Tenth Corps, increasing his command to sixty thousand, with which to meet and drive back General Jackson who com- manded the left of the Confederate army, General Longstreet command- ing the right. This left, according to General Burnside's official report, only fifty-three thousand, about equally divided between Sumner and Hooker; although some authorities place the grand aggregate much higher.
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