USA > New Jersey > New Jersey and the rebellion : a history of the service of the troops and people of New Jersey in aid of the Union cause, Pt. 2 > Part 1
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44
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Gc 973.74 N39f pt.2 1764749
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01082 4958
598
NEW JERSEY
AND
THE REBELLION:
pt. 2 A 2 .
MET PAYNE & ALLEU
HISTORY OF THE SERVICES OF THE TROOPS AND PEOPLE OF NEW JERSEY IN AID OF THE UNION CAUSE.
THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY CHICAGO
BY
JOHN Y. FOSTER. 1
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE STATE.
NEWARK, N. J. : MARTIN R. DENNIS & CO. 1868.
598 3 0 2/1.
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420
NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
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421
THE SIXTEENTH REGIMENT-(FIRST CAVALRY).
just forming. In a moment there was a scene of inextricable con- fusion. The Colonel had entered the wood, but had not come out of it; the Lieutenant-Colonel, only saved by some of his men from being taken prisoner, had not yet regained his saddle; the Senior Major was enveloped in the rout of the first battalion; while the standard-bearer, unhorsed, had lost the colors. There was thus no general rallying points, and each officer and man had to act on his individual responsibility. Kester had one little knot of men col- lected, Lucas another ; other officers were hunting for their men ; when, with a yell, a body of rebel horsemen swept down upon the disordered troopers. The Mounted Rifles, who had not charged, instead of covering the Jersey, turned and left the field; and the First Regiment, under the terrible fire of the infantry, had no chance of meeting properly this fierce assault. The whole body broke from the field, the officers still keeping towards the enemy, and endeavoring at intervals, and with some success, to check the vigor of the pursuit.
Among the last to retire was Captain Thomas Haines. In the midst of the confusion his slender form was conspicuous, as he called to the men of his company and sought to rally them around him. As he was crossing the heavy ground bordering the stream, a squad of the Virginia Cavalry, led by an officer in a long gray coat, who sat erect and easily upon his bounding charger, came down upon the flank of the fugitives. A bullet from that officer's pistol penetrated the body of Captain Haines, who dropped, dying, from his horse. Broderick, in whose company he had been Lieute- nant, was close behind him as he fell. Rising on his horse, he turned round upon the rebels, and shouting "stop!" fired his revolver at their leader. The officer reeled in his saddle, and his men, catching him in their arms, hurried back from the spot. Broderick stooped over Haines, and called him by his name; but there was no answer, and there was no time to pause. Leaving the lifeless form, as the enemy again pressed upon him, he sadly spurred his horse to a renewal of his flight.
If a cavalry charge is glorious, a cavalry rout is dreadful. Press- ing upon one another, strained to the utmost of their speed, the
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012
http://archive.org/details/newjerseyrebel00fost
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NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
horses catch an infection of fear which rouses them to frenzy. The men, losing their places in the ranks, and all power of formation or hope of combined resistance, rush madly for some point of safety upon which it may be possible to rally. Each check in front makes the mass behind more dense and desperate, until horses and men are overthrown and ridden over, trampled on by others as helpless as themselves to rescue or to spare. The speed grows momentarily greater. Splashing through pools of mire, breaking down fences, darting under trees, with clang of sabers and din of hoofs, officers wild with shame and rage shouting them- selves hoarse with unavailing curses, and the bullets of the enemy whistling shrilly overhead, the mingled mass sweeps on, until utter exhaustion stops them, or their commanders, struggling to the front, can indicate the place to form. Thus the First New Jersey gal- loped from the field of their defeat, leaving their Colonel, three Captains, one-twelfth of their troopers and the regimental colors in the hands of the enemy.
Rallying on the first ground that afforded them a chance to form, the regiment checked the pursuit before it was relieved by the rest of the brigade, and then dispirited and broken down, it retired into camp. A few of the officers remained upon the field, and were spectators of that magnificent fight of the Pennsylvania Bucktails, in which that battalion, unsupported, checked and even drove the whole of Ashby's infantry. Into the woods the little body of one hundred and twenty officers and men hurled themselves against the enemy. Two regiments that were in their front reeled and retreated before their rapid and deadly fire -Ashby himself falling in the vain attempt to rally them. Assailed in flank by a third regiment, with their Colonel and twenty-five men wounded, and no support coming to them from the infantry of Fremont, the little band retired, the Colonel refusing to be carried from the field where his men had killed and wounded many more than their own number of the enemy. With this glorious contest ended the fighting for the day.
While the Major-General was spending the next day in delibera- tion, Captain Broderick, the Surgeon and another member of the
-----
.
423
THE SIXTEENTH REGIMENT-(FIRST CAVALRY).
regimental staff, accompanied by three men of Company K, resolved to attempt the recovery of the body of Captain Haines. Passing beyond the point where Fremont's scouts had ventured, they fol- lowed the road to the battle-ground, discovering and relieving some wounded Federal soldiers, and some wounded officers of the enemy. They found that a worthy farmer of the neighborhood had decently interred the uncoffined corpse, and that he was the only one of our officers who had fallen on the field. The others were all prisoners and had been carried off by the enemy. In a house, a little way beyond, lay young Jones, of Company A, at the very point of death. He was very young, with a face as smooth and beardless as a girl's, and with that sweetness of expression which is even lovelier in masculine youth than in the features of a woman. As his Captain, Shelmire, was led past him a prisoner, the boy spoke his name. The Captain, dismounting, took him tenderly in his arms, soothing him and comforting. Then bending down and printing on his pale lips a kiss, the stout but gentle-hearted soldier continued his march to prison.
Removing the body of poor Haines from the earth, and preparing it as well as they could for removal, the party sadly departed into the farmer's house to wash their hands. Here as they purified themselves from dust, their eyes fell upon some appetizing pies which the woman of the house had just drawn out of the oven ; and the ever-present hunger of campaigners awoke in them with all its vigor. They had just concluded a bargain for these daintics when Sergeant Brooks announced the appearance of the enemy, compel- ling them to mount their horses and abandon the enclosure of the house. There, under cover of the fatal wood, were undoubtedly eight or ten rebel horsemen, maintaining a threatening appearance. But when men have been long on rough fare, a pic becomes a mat- ter of importance, not to be resigned for trivial causes. Showing a firm front to the enemy, therefore, a detachment of the party ad- vanced to the house, and received the precious dainties, bearing them off triumphantly, in the very teeth of the enemy; and then with dignified gravity of pace, they commenced their retreat and the consumption of the eatables.
424
NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
In the Harrisonburg churchyard their lamented comrade was interred on the following day, while the cannonade at Cross Keys thundered out a requiem ; and no eye was tearless as the earth was thrown upon his coffin. He was one of those youths, in whom center the affections of a family, who were yet solemnly dedicated to the service of their country ; and doing that service nobly, he laid down his young life. What he might have been, who can tell? What he was is the treasured memory of those who have a right to keep the veil drawn over the picture of their love as well as their affliction.
The battle of Cross Keys was fought when Jackson was able at the same time to check Fremont and still keep open his line of retreat by Port Republic. Movements that looked feasible on paper, failed in the field, either from incompetence, dilatoriness or want of harmony in the commanders, or else through those acci- dents of the weather which had not been taken into account; and the campaign which looked so fair in May, closed in June with a succession of defeats.
III-POPE'S ADVANCE.
On the Wednesday succeeding the action at Cross Keys, the First Cavalry was ordered to return to General McDowell, and by the third week in June was in camp at Manassas Junction, where it remained until the stragglers had come in, when it proceeded, by way of Warrenton Junction and Culpepper Court House, to Madi- son Court House. Thence it was ordered to proceed, under General Hatch, to Gordonsville and Charlottesville, to hold the railroad and destroy communication with the Valley. Hatch, however, giving undue credence to the reports of natives and others, im- agined (erroneously) that a force had been thrown on his flank, and that the front was too strongly held to be attacked, and conse- quently, instead of carrying out the plans of General Pope, (who was much enraged on account of the failure,) countermarched his command through a difficult country, by way of Sperryville, to Culpepper. Subsequently, the regiment was again sent forward. but without result. About the last of July, it was advanced to
425
THE SIXTEENTH REGIMENT-(FIRST CAVALRY).
the Rapidan, which it held from Rapidan Station to near Cave's Ford, connecting with Buford's pickets from Madison Court House. No movement of any moment being made, the regiment remained there, skirmishing successfully every day, twelve miles from any support, while the enemy again took the offensive.
At length, on the night of the 7th of August, General Jackson crossed with fifteen thousand men at Barnett's Ford. The follow- ing morning, at three o'clock, Colonel Karge, with a battalion of the regiment, moved around the left of the enemy, where the rebel cavalry had left their tracks the night before. Captain Jane- way taking one direction and Karge another, Lieutenant Beekman, in charge of Janeway's extreme advance, pushing rapidly along, dashed upon and captured a party at breakfast, coming off with twenty-three prisoners. Captain Bristoe, in another direction, captured two; and, moving by bye-roads quite around the enemy's left, the battalion returned to the main body in safety. Meanwhile, Captains Boyd and Lucas, with a small body of sixty men, re- mained on picket at Rapidan Station. A dispatch had been sent them in the morning warning them to retire, but the messenger never reached the station. . Towards evening, Captain Boyd, who had been giving some information to a topographical engineer, found himself cut off from his men, and pursued by a party of the enemy.' In order to escape, he was forced to take the road to the regimental camp, but as he drew near, an old negro woman warned him that it was in possession of the enemy ; and as he turned, the rebels, whom he had distanced, again caught sight of him and gave pursuit. Dashing into the woods, he managed, after awhile, to elude the foe, and after crouching in the woods during the night, the next morning joined the regiment as it formed in line of battle. Captain Lucas, thus left in command, with cool audacity held his position through the night; and though his pickets were three times driven in, each time replaced them in person, deter- mined to hold his ground to the very last. In the morning. he found two rebel regiments half a mile on his right, and another at the same distance on the left; but going quietly and cautiously through the woods, he brought off his men in safety except two
54
426
NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
who had been taken during the night. This steadiness of Lucas probably saved the day at Cedar Mountain, as it delayed the forces of the enemy, who might otherwise have turned our left.
IV-CEDAR MOUNTAIN.
On Saturday morning, the 9th of August, General Banks drew up his cavalry in line of battle supporting his batteries, and distri- buted the two or three regiments of infantry belonging to General Crawford in the most imposing manner possible. From seven o'clock in the morning until half-past three in the afternon, the men stood there motionless, only occasional shots being exchanged be- tween our own and the hostile batteries. In the meantime the rest of Banks' (skeleton) corps came up; but still he was compelled to keep his cavalry in front to hide his weakness in infantry. At half-past three a vigorous fire was opened upon our line from the left, to which the battery of the First New York Artillery replied with great effect. Lieutenant-Colonel Karge, though so prostrated by sickness as to be unable to keep command of the regiment, immediately drew it into a position where a rising ground in front disturbed the accuracy of the rebel range, and then led out the skirmishers of the first squadron under Captain Bristoe, of Company B. This splendid body of men held their ground nobly, and for three-quarters of an hour checked the efforts of the rebels to de- bouch round a wood. At length the enemy leveled at them a tell- ing artillery fire, and with heavy expenditure of ammunition forced them to retire, after the Rhode Island Cavalry, which covered their left, had swept back at a gallop. Both bodies of skirmishers, how- ever, re-formed, and took their places in the ranks with marvelous promptitude. Still the enemy made but little progress, the battery in his front having command of his line. Presently, however, determined if possible, to capture the guns, the rebels threw out a regiment of sharpshooters to disperse the cavalry, and the heat of' the engagement at once became more intense and exciting. At this moment, Broderick, who was in charge of some skirmishers on the right, stealing cautiously through the timber, discovered the precise position of the rebels who were engaging us and hastily
427
THE SIXTEENTH REGIMENT-(FIRST CAVALRY).
signaling the commander of the battery, and procuring the requi- site direction, shell after shell was promptly dropped into the midst of the densely-formed brigade lying behind the cover, causing the men to scatter in dismay and disorder-many being killed outright. But still the rebel sharpshooters were pouring a vigorous fire into our line, the balls falling thickly among and around the cavalry- men. Suddenly there was a slight confusion in the ranks of Com- pany A. "Steady there," cried the Major, sternly. Two men, Washington Raimer and Albert Young, drew their horses out of the ranks and saluted, saying quietly, "We are hit, sir," as they moved to the rear. The ranks closed up again like a wall, and in ten minutes, these two men, instead of nursing their hurts, had the balls extracted, the wounds bandaged by the Surgeon, and before the blood had clotted on the lint, were once more back in their places. Once the rebels attempted to bring a piece of artillery out of the wood against us, but the men of our battery were too vigi- lant for them; as they brought it above the brow of the hill, a gallant Dutch gunner squinted carefully along his piece, and in- stantly discharging it, the rebel gun was seen to bound upwards and topple over dismounted to the ground.
But still the balls of the sharpshooters kept doing their work, and our position was fast becoming untenable. A fresh rebel battery had been so placed as to command the entire field in which the cavalry were posted. General Banks, who had come up, seeing that the whole line was threatened with annihilation, ordered them to retire to a new position, which was done in perfect order, though the ground they traversed was like the floor of a fiery furnace with exploding shells-three batteries of the enemy hurling upon it a converging fire. As the Jersey regiment passed his range, two of the platoon commanders fell-Beekman with two pounds of iron in his shoulder; Alanson Austin with his thigh almost severed from his body.' With the same discharge several of the men were
+ Major Beaumont's " Reminiscences" has the following in reference to young Austin : "There lay the poor boy, almost a child in look, and a sort of pet among officers and men, pale and stunned, in the arms of some of his platoon, his right leg nearly severed from his body. The crushed and torn muscles showed among them the broken bone, and the blood dropped slowly to the ground, mingling with the dust. To get
428
NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
wounded, and the horse of Craig, Sergeant-Major of the third battalion, was struck dead to the earth. Though he was the last man of the column, and there was now no protection against the advancing enemy, he paused in the midst of the fire to remove his saddle and equipments, and bearing them on his back proceeded on foot to re-join his regiment.
The obstinacy of the cavalry and Crawford's small brigade had accomplished the vital object; and when they retired, it was upon the line which Banks had formed behind them. The First New Jersey had no more actual fighting to encounter, though they con- tinued drawn up upon the left flank, ready to charge, should it be required. Upon their comrades of the First Pennsylvania was imposed the only duty that afterwards fell to the share of the cavalry.
Brief as the engagement had been, the number of the wounded was very large-though the First Jersey lost only eleven men. All night long the surgeons were busily employed, and yet there seemed no diminution in the number who needed care-until at length, Assistant-Surgeon Dayton, of the First, sank down in utter pros- tration.3 Just then the enemy opened a cannonade in the darkness
him into an ambulance and drive back to the hospital seemed fearfully long for all : and the men felt every jolt almost as sharply as did he. Behind a wood was spread out the ghastly apparatus of military surgery, and the poor boy was removed as quickly as circumstances would permit to the neighborhood of the table. As he lay in the Chaplain's arms he seemed to recognize the voice that spoke to him, and with the fain: gaspings of a dying man he whispered, 'Oh, Chaplain, if I could only pray !' 'Shall I pray for you?' 'Yes.' And the Chaplain put up those exquisite petitions in the service for the visitation of the sick. Austin's lips moved as if he were following the words of the petition to the very end. Then he was lifted on the table, the sponge of chloroform applied, and the ghastly work of amputation performed. He never recor. ered from the shock. His mind wandered again to the action, and he uttered words of command to his men. At last, with a feeble motion of his hand, he made an effort to ejaculate 'Star-spangled banner" These were his last words. The shells of the enemy came plunging through the wood, and struck against the fence behind which our hospital was established. Austin was placed in an ambulance, beside Beekman. who had been hit almost at the same moment; and the whole establishment moved back to a house in the rear. Scarcely had he been removed from the vehicle when le quietly breathed his last. He lies buried in Culpepper, in the sonthwest corner vi our military graveyard, while his cousin Haines sleeps at Harrisonburg, awaiting tha same general Resurrection."
5 A note front Chaplain Pine says :
"Surgeon Phillips was sick in Washington, Assistant-Surgeon Dayton had been lying down all day oppressed with illness; but the moment that his services were required. he rallied his energies, and worked with zeal and efficiency. Though the loss of the
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THE SIXTEENTH REGIMENT-(FIRST CAVALRY).
upon some of our men, who had incautiously lighted fires to pre- parc a cup of coffee. General Pope, who had but lately arrived upon the field, seeing a battery not far from where he was stand- ing. the balls from which fell into our ranks, ordered Captain Asch, of the First New Jersey, who was on his staff, to ride over to it and direct its commander to cease firing. Asch hinted that he thought it was a rebel battery. "Nonsense," replied the General, " you go and give them the order." The Captain rode boldly up and exclaimed, " The General directs that you cease firing." " Does the General order that ?" asked the surprised artillery officer. "Yes," said Asch, "he sent me with peremptory orders ;" and while the wondering rebel obeyed, the aid galloped off, delighted to escape without detection.6 The fire ceased, but at the same moment the battery was opened upon by one of our own with a raking fire, and next morning the ground was found covered with
regiment was but eleven, the loss of the army was great; and he labored on until, at eleven o'clock at night, he fell down by the side of the man whose wounds lie was dressing. Even then, he took charge of a train of ambulances containing fifty of the wounded, took them into Culpepper, found a church to use as a hospital, received the next day nearly thirty more, managed so skilfully as to have only one death and no amputations, procured abundant rations and hay for bedding, had the air kept pure and the building clean, and had altogether by far the best hospital in the place."
6 Lieutenant-Colonel Karge had been in hospital at Culpepper Court House. Before assuming command he issued the following order :
[Regimental Order, No 171.] 7
"HEADQUARTERS FIRST NEW JERSEY CAVALRY, 1 CAMP NEAR CEDAR MOUNTAIN, VIRGINIA, August 14, 1862.
"The commanding officer of this regiment takes the first opportunity of expressing his high gratification at the cool and brave behavior of both the men and officers during the last action. Although himself severely indisposed, he was watching the move- ments of the regiment, and its intrepidity while under a galling fire; with unlimited pride, Major Beaumont in command of the regiment, acquitted himself nobly, as an officer, by his coolness, and the excellent maneuvers which he performed under a heavy fire of shell.
"The commanding officer, therefore, gives his heartfelt thanks to you, brave defend- ers of your country and your principles, and you may well rest assured that the date of the ninth of August will be deeply impressed upon his heart, as the day on which he has seen the regiment, nurtured by him, do its whole duty. The commanding officer desires to take notice of the coolness, prompt obedience to orders, and energetic per- formance of their duty, by Hospital-Steward Samuel C. Lame, Orderly William Shaw, Corporal Voorhees, Ambulance-Driver MeAffee, and the men attached to the Hospital Department, without exception, and to give them the thanks of the regiment for promptly assisting our brave wounded from the field, in spite of danger and under a heavy fire. By order of
"JOSEPH KARGE, Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding."
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NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
dead horses, heaped together where they stood when waiting to limber up.
The glorious resistance shown by our small force on the 9th, was not followed up by General Pope on the 10th, though the enemy was actually leaving his train and his artillery teamless in the road, in a confused apprehension of pursuit from us; and on the 18th, the First Regiment was ordered, with the rest of the cavalry, to cover the rear in a retrograde movement. The brigade at that time consisted of the First New Jersey, First Pennsylvania and Second and Tenth New York Cavalry Regiments. On the morning of the 20th, the Second New York and the New Jersey regiment had a skirmish near Brandy Station, in which the enemy was driven back with loss. As the brigade approached the Rappahannock, General Stuart swept down upon it in force along the road over which it had passed. The Harris Light (Second New York) led by Kilpatrick, was at once ordered to the charge; the First New Jer- sey forming upon its right, the Tenth New York deploying on the left and the Pennsylvanians moving into reserve. But the Harris Light, otherwise splendidly officered, had one inefficient officer. At the moment when the head of the opposing columns came together, the Lieutenant leading the first platoon of the regiment drew rein and backed his horse right through the ranks behind him. Instantly the whole column, all the men being inexperienced. halted in confusion, and a moment after the whole regiment broke and swept back, thus opening the center of the field, and forcing Karge to change front with his line. Before, however, the new formation could be completed, the masses of the enemy swept down upon the front and flank. Karge emptied the chambers of his revol- ver into their ranks, and then throwing the weapon at their heads. dashed among them with his saber, followed by the men around him, the enemy giving way before his impetuous charge. But with both flanks of his line broken, all that he could hope to do was to regain the reserve and rally under cover of his charge, and, accord- ingly, skirmishers and main body, with one accord, spurred as rapidly as possible to the rear, fighting hand to hand as they did so with the foremost of their pursuers. A wide ditch stretched
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