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. 1 > Part 25
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been gained with comparatively small loss, but the rejoicing for our victory is tem- pered by the reflection, that in that loss many noble spirits are counted.
"In this brief glance at what you have done, I cannot attempt to award to cach the full merit due, but must content myself with thanking the division commanders, Major-General Miles, Major-General Mott, Major-General Barlow and Brigadier-General De Trobriand, and the commander of the artillery, Lieutenant-Colonel Hazard, and, through them, the troops they command. My thanks are also due to Brigadier-General Hays, who commanded the Second Division when it carried the enemy's redoubt be- fore Petersburg.' While enjoying the satisfaction of having done your duty to your country, it is a source of intense gratification to all, that the greatest. military feat of the country was reserved as a fitting climax to the great deeds of that army, of which this corps has always formed a part, the Army of the Potomac.
A. A. HUMPHREYS, Major-General Commanding.
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CHAPTER VII. THE NINTH REGIMENT.
THE Ninth Regiment was raised under an authorization from the War Department to recruit a regiment of riflemen in this State. Its recruitment was commenced in September, 1861, the first muster being made at Camp Olden, Trenton, on October 5th. It remained at that camp, engaged in continuous drill, until December 4th,1 when it proceeded to Washington, its rolls showing an aggre- gate of one thousand one hundred and forty-two men. The regiment was armed with superior Springfield rifles, and was more fully supplied with ambulances, forage wagons, &c., than any regiment which, up to that time, had left the State. Arriving at Washington on the 6th, it reported to General Casey, and was
1 The roster of the regiment, as mustered in, was as follows :
Colonel, Joseph W. Allen; Major, C. A. Hcekman; Surgeon, F. W. Weller; Assist- ant Surgeon, Louis Braun ; Adjutant, Abram Zabriskie ; Quartermaster, Samuel Keyes ; Chaplain, Thomas Drumn. Company A-Captain, Herman Rumpf; First Lieutenant, Charles Hayes; Second Lieutenant, Philip Spear. Company B-Captain, Cornelius Castner ; First Lieutenant, HI. Bartholomew; Second Lieutenant, C. H. Sotield. Com- pany C-Captain, Charles Hopkinson; First Lieutenant, E. S. Harris; Second Lieu- tenant, J. W. Cleft. Company D-Captain, Thomas W. Middleton; First Lieutenant, G. G. Irons; Second Lieutenant, Edgar Kissam. Company E'-Captain, William De- hart ; First Lieutenant, William II. Abel; Second Lieutenant, A. B. Beach. Company F-Captain, William B. Curlies; First Lieutenant, August Thompson; Second Lien- tenant, James W. Gibson. Company G-Captain, John P. Ritter; First Lieutenant, William Zimmerman ; Second Lieutenant, William Benton. Company H-Captain, John J. Henry; First Lieutenant, James Stewart, Jr. ; Second Lieutenant, J. B. Laurence. Company I-Captain, Henry F. Chew ; First Lieutenant, Samuel Hufty, Jr. : Second Lieutenant, E. M. Pinkard. Company K-Captain, Elias J. Drake; First Lieu- tenant, W. B. S. Boudinot; Second Lieutenant, Jonathan Townley, Jr. Company L- Captain, Charles Erb; First Lieutenant, Henry M. Heybold; Second Lieutenant, Francis E. Adler. Company M-Captain, J. M. McChesney ; First Lieutenant, Thomas Smith; Second Lieutenant, A. Cause.
Companies A and L were consolidated into the other ten companies, in November, 1802.
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ordered into camp on the Bladensburg turnpike, about one mile from the Capital, where it remained until January 4, 1862, when it proceeded by rail to Annapolis, where a large portion of the troops composing the famous Burnside Expedition had already assembled. Here the regiment was assigned to the command of Brigadier-General Jesse L. Reno, and on the 10th, having been embarked on two vessels, sailed for Fortress Monroe. The expe- dition remained at that point until the 12th, when sail was made for some point southward. Many conjectures were ventured as to the probable destination, it having been generally rumored and credited that the expedition was designed to operate against Nor- folk, then in possession of the enemy. All doubts, however, were dispelled on the following day by the arrival of the fleet at Hatteras Inlet, where it came to anchor. Soon after reaching this bleak and barren sand-bar, a violent gale arose, the wind blowing fiercely on shore, rendering the situation of those vessels which remained outside of the inlet extremely hazardous. Extra anchors were cast, but even this precaution did not avail to save several vessels of the fleet, which were drifted ashore and became total wrecks. The steamer City of New York, laden with ammunition, foundered at the mouth of the inlet, while the Connecticut was sunk inside the bar. The steamer Pocahontas, laden with horses, on the passage down was driven ashore in the gale, its engines having become unmanageable, and but for the gallantry of Corporal Samuel J. Dilkes, of Company K, of the Ninth, the lives of all on board might have been lost. Dilkes, bravely swimming ashore with a rope, fastened it securely by means of a stake driven firmly into the sand, and so enabled the crew to reach the land in safety. The cook, an aged colored woman, being unable in this way to escape, Dilkes, with a heroism which filled all beholders with admiration, returned to the ship, now rapidly going to pieces and binding the frightened woman to his person, leaped into the angry sea, and by almost superhuman exertions, succeeded in safely reaching the shore, where he was hailed by his comrades with deserved and the utmost enthusiasm.
On the following day, the 15th, the sea having somewhat calmed,
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Colonel Allen, Lieutenant-Colonel Heckman, Surgeon Weller, Adjutant Zabriskie and Quartermaster Keys, proceeded in the gig of the Captain of the ship Ann E. Thompson to the shore, for the purpose of reporting to General Burnside. The gig was manned by a picked crew, in charge of the Captain, and contained twelve persons in all. Having concluded their interview with the General- in-chief, the party returned to their boat, which was rowed swiftly and safely towards the ship until the breakers just outside of the inlet were reached, when suddenly a heavy sea, or water-spout, burst over the bow, sweeping to the stern, unshipping the oars, and occasioning the greatest consternation among the passengers. Be- fore the boat could be righted, a second and stronger wave struck it from beneath, hurling it some distance in the air, and precipitating all its occupants into the sea. The situation was fearful, indeed, and the struggle with the seething waters desperate in the last degree. With great difficulty, the boat was reached by several of the party, and efforts made to right it ; but this was soon found to be impossible, owing to heavy swells which caused it to roll over and over and defy any attempt to render it manageable. Lieutenant- Colonel Heckman and Adjutant Zabriskie, being expert swimmers, finding that Colonel Allen and Surgeon Weller were in greater danger than others, made several heroic attempts to save their lives, but all were unsuccessful, these officers, bravely struggling to the last, going down into the watery depths. By this time the capsized boat was drifting rapidly seaward, but the Lieutenant-Colonel and the Adjutant finally succeeded in raising an oar, having fastened thereon a sailor's shirt, which signal being shortly afterwards dis- covered, the alarm was given, and the steamer Patuxent at once hastened to give assistance. So overcome were the survivors by their exertions, that upon reaching the decks of the steamer, some of them sunk into insensibility, Lieutenant-Colonel Heckman re- maining in a state of prostration for several days. The bodies of Colonel Allen, Dr. Weller, and the second mate, who was also drowned, were recovered during the day, and every effort made to resuscitate them, but entirely without avail. On the very borders of their career in the nation's service, these officers, around whom
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clustered so many precious hopes-whose lives seemed then of in- calculable value to the command, had received their "discharge" from service here, and gone to answer the roll-call above. To the regiment, the blow was a severe and painful one, occasioning uni- versal gloom;2 but the decree was unalterable, and submission is, peculiarly, the soldier's duty. The bodies of the Colonel and Surgeon were temporarily interred on the banks of Hatteras, where the wild winds of ocean chanted, day and night, solemn requiems, but were subsequently exhumed and carried to New Jersey, in whose soil they have permanent rest.
Lieutenant-Colonel Heckman, without waiting to fully recover his strength, at once assumed command of the regiment, and prepared to lead it to victory. On the morning of the 16th, the brigantine Dragon, having on board five companies of the Ninth, attempted to enter the inlet, but struck upon the bar, where she pitched heavily for several hours. Great fears were entertained for the safety of the ship until the steamer Patuxent hove in sight, attracted by the flashes of the rifles, which were being fired under direction of Sergeant Thomas Burnet. Upon the quarter-deck, wrapped in
" The intelligence of the loss of these officers occasioned an equally profound gloom in all parts of New Jersey, and especially at the Capital, where the Colonel was widely known and esteemed. The Legislature was in session at the time the news was re- ceived, and for several days the sad event was the theme of universal comment.
Colonel Joseph W. Allen was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania, in 1812, but had been for many years a citizen of New Jersey, residing at Bordentown, in Burlington County. He had been, during his later years, prominently identified with political affairs, and for six years represented his County in the State Senate .: Educated as a civil engineer, many important works had been entrusted to him, and executed with signal ability. Among these were railroad enterprises in Mississippi and Alabama, the Harper's Ferry and Cumberland road, the Flushing (L. I.) Railroad, and the Dundee (New Jersey) water works. In all the stations which he had been called upon to fill, he had exhibited pro- fieieney, industry and good judgment, and had he been spared, his services in the army must have proved of marked value and secured him a still higher place in the confidence of the public. There were circumstances of peculiar sadness connected with Colonel Allen's death. From the time that Fort Sumter was fired upon, until his untimely death, he gave all his thoughts and all his time to his country. He had long held the position of Deputy Quartermaster-General, but hitherto his military office had been merely nominal. Now, his entire energies were devoted to the forwarding of troops. He soon found it necessary to relinquish his business, which was bringing him a salary of four thousand dollars per annum, and never more urgently required his attention. When asked if he could look at his family and still say, "Country first," he replied, "In these times every man must say 'country first'-and that for the sake of his family." From the time he sailed on the ill-fated expedition, his wife, with a prophetic solicitude, mourned him as lost, nor hardly did the announcement
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a heavy blue overcoat, stood the ubiquitous Burnside, field-glass in hand, his face plainly betraying the intense anxiety which he felt for the safety of his command. A line was finally thrown to the steamer, and a hawser attached, when the brig was drawn off the dangerous reef into deep water." In less than an hour, the vessel was anchored safely within the harbor, the men being greeted with deafening cheers by their more fortunate comrades who had already arrived. On the 21st, the remainder of the regi- ment, seven companies, arrived in the Ann E. Thompson, which, however, had great difficulty in entering the inlet.
A comparatively small strait, as a reference to the map will show, separates the two majestic Sounds, called Pamlico and Albemarle. In the center of this strait lies Roanoke Island, twelve miles long and three miles broad. The channel on either side is narrow and tortuous, so that the island effectually commands the passage between the two sounds. On this island the rebels were in force, with batteries, entrenchments and gunboats, and these it was designed by Burnside to capture or destroy.
On the 6th of February, all the vessels having arrived, signal
of his actual death add to her grief. The monument which was placed over his re- mains in the graveyard attached to Christ (Episcopal) Church, Bordentown, by the officers of his regiment, is a remarkable evidence of the attachment and respect of his companions in arms, having been erected by them two years after his death, and when it might have been thought that subsequent stirring events, and the terrible scenes through which they had passed and were passing, would have distracted their thoughts and diverted their intentions. The monument is an elegant structure, fifteen feet six inches in height. The base is of Pennsylvania marble, and the rest of the monument of the best white Italian marble. There are appropriate carvings in base-relief of flags, muskets, shield and masonie emblems, with cross swords, and an ivy and oak wreath. The inscriptions are as follows : 1. "Joseph W. Allen, Colonel Ninth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers. Drowned at Hatteras, North Carolina, January 15th, A. D. 1862, in the fifty-first year of his age." 2. "This monument is erected by the officers of the Ninth Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, as a tribute of grateful respect to the memory of their first commander, who, while faithfully serving his country in the darkest hours of her peril, even to the sacrifice of his life, endeared himself to the hearts of his whole command." 3. "January 1st, A. D. 1864." 4. "This record of the unreturning past is dedicated with kindly heart to thee."
Surgeon Frederick A. Weller, who also perished, was born at Paterson, in 1817, and at the time he entered the army, was in the enjoyment of a lucrative practice in that city. He was a gentleman of great intelligence and private worth, and his death was widely mourned.
: The men accounted for this deliverance by saying, "Burnside is at the helm," his presence inspiring all with confidence.
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was made, and the fleet steamed directly up Pamlico Sound, the dozen gunboats, under command of Commodore Goldsborough, taking the advance. Never before had these placid waters been disturbed by so formidable a fleet. Every vessel being gaily decked in its trimmest bunting, the spectacle was most imposing, while the spirits of the troops were vastly elated, at once by the novelty of the scene and the prospect of immediate service. At sunset the fleet anchored off a point of shoals, some twelve miles from Roanoke Island. On the following morning, the fleet was early under way, the signal, "To-day the country expects every man to do his duty," flying at the mast-head of the flag-ship. At nine o'clock, the advance gunboats opened on the picket-boats of the enemy, which were speedily driven through the weaker obstructions, to the cover of the land batteries on the island. At half-past ten o'clock, the gunboats, having come fairly within range, made a general attack upon the enemy's fleet and the batteries which lined the shore, the latter replying vigorously. This combat continued until three in the afternoon, when the boats were lowered, and the First Brigade (General Foster) immediately rowed to the shore, followed by the Second Brigade, under General Reno, in small boats. The forces encountering no opposition upon land- ing, marched without delay, toiling for some distance through a heavy swamp, until at length solid ground was reached. Here a brisk skirmish ensued, the enemy falling back upon his main body, entrenched in a well-constructed earthwork, (Center Battery,) surrounded by a dense swamp and undergrowth of laurel and scrubs, and the Union army of three brigades bivouacked for the night in a corn-field, a heavy storm beating piteously upon the unprotected men, who suffered greatly from the rain and cold.
At six o'clock on the morning of the 8th, Foster's Brigade ad- vanced and engaged the enemy. The advance was one of great difficulty, the narrow road leading through a dense swamp, intersected here and there by ponds and streams of water, while on either side of it, in the dense undergrowth, rebel skirmishers were stationed, keeping up a continuous fire. The column, however, pushed steadily forward, pushing the enemy from the undergrowth and
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finally driving him behind his works; but here the advance was checked. Foster being only able to answer the well-directed artillery and musketry fire of the enemy with small arms, his command suffered severely, and to add to his difficulty, the nature of the swamp was such as to prevent any proper formations for assault, even should that course be otherwise advisable. Meanwhile, the men of the Second Brigade, who remained inactive about half a mile from the scene of hostilities, waited eagerly for orders to advance to the relief of their comrades; but they did not come. Presently, in their stead, stretchers supporting the dead and dying were carried to the rear. For a moment, the spectacle caused the stoutest hearts to shudder. These, be it remembered, were raw troops, unused to battle-scenes, and withal were but feeble-handed, with perhaps overwhelming numbers arrayed against them. But the tremor was but for a moment. At eight o'clock, as the firing at the front grew more heavy, a courier appeared and delivered to Colonel Heckman, walking impatiently at the head of his one thousand two hundred riflemen, an order directing him to pass the Fifty-First New York and report at the front to General Foster, which was immediately done, the regiment marching forward with the utmost alacrity. Soon after, under orders from Foster, the regiment entered the swamp on the left of the causeway, and, up to their hips in mud and water, advanced to the edge of the timber, about one hundred yards from the fort, commanding the road, which up to this time still defied our assaults. Here the regiment, having been previously formed by division, opened a vigorous fire on the enemy, which was returned for a time with great vehemence. Presently, however, owing to the heavy fire of the 9th, the musketry fire from the fort visibly slackened, but the batteries still poured a storm of shot and shell into our ranks. Under these circumstances, Colonel Heckman directed that particular attention should be given to picking off the cannoneers, and the result was soon apparent. So accurate was the fire of the men that the rebel guns were now but seldom discharged, and then altogether regardless of their aim. One gunner, more obstinate and daring than his fellows, continuing to annoy the regiment, three sharp-shooters, of Company D, were
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placed in a good position and directed to fire at the first fair opportunity. A minute or two passed, when the rebel was seen to seize the match and a second after to apply it to his piece. Four reports followed simultaneously-one, that of the rebel gun, which carried death into the Union ranks; the others those of the sharp- shooters' rifles, whose bullets pierced the head of the gunner, who fell dead across his piece. The name of this determined rebel was Lieutenant Selden, of Wise's Legion. But his last shot, fatal as it had proved to him, had done fearful execution. Sweeping through the swamp, the deadly missile severed the two legs of Corporal John Lorence,4 and one of Jonathan Bural, of the same company, (K,) and passing on, killed young Blackwell, of Company F, and Captain Joseph J. Henry, of Company H, though no marks or bruises could be distinguished on the person of the gallant officer, who fell, as he would have chosen to fall, at the head of his division. The last words of Blackwell were, "Remember thy God," uttering which he fell back and expired in the arms of his brother, who fought bravely at his side.
The fighting still continued, but at eleven o'clock, it being ascer- tained that the enemy was retreating, Colonel Heckman made his dipositions for an assault, and the order to charge was given. But just at that moment the Ninth was fired upon from the rear, causing a momentary confusion, but the fire being ascertained to come from Hawkins' Zouaves, the alarm subsided, and the men
4 A letter from Captain J. Townley, Jr., of the Ninth, says :
"Few cases of greater individual courage are recorded than that of Corporal Lorenee, of Carpenter's Landing. In the carly part of the action at Roanoke, both of his legs were shot off just below the knees. As he was carried to the rear, his shattered limbs dangling in the bushes, he repeatedly said to the men passing on to the conflict, with all the energy he could command, ' Go in, boys, go in; give it to them ; I can't do any more.' He was taken to the Surgeon's tent in the back-ground, where his limbs were amputated and dressed. At length, the shout of victory rang through the forest. The Corporal inquired, ' Who has won ?' and upon being told that the rebels were running, raised himself on his stumps, swung his cap over his head, and, with an enthusiasm that thrilled every beholder, gave three cheers for the Union and the New Jersey Ninth! General Burnside being informed of the Corporal's brave conduct, visited him several times in the hospital, as did many other officers. Once when I was with hini, as he lay suffering, he said that if his limbs would only heal, he would procure 'a pair of wooden legs and fight on them.' Of this I told General Burnside, who came in just at that moment, and who replied, 'Corporal Lorence has done enough for his country ; it is time now for the country to do something for him.' "
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were steadily advancing when they again received a volley from the rear, several falling under the fire. Such a mistake, twice repeated, naturally excited the deepest indignation, but the officers finally calmed the excited Zouaves, and the Ninth succeeded in escaping further casualties at the hands of their friends, though, strange to say, the latter were with difficulty restrained from firing a third time. This mishap necessarily delayed the progress of the regiment, and it was the second to enter the fort, whereas, but for this, it would have been the first to plant the flag over the captured works. From first to last, the conduct of the Ninth was in the highest courageous. The enemy, after the battle, admitted that they had never supposed a body of troops could operate in the swamp, and it was, undoubtedly, the occupation of this swamp, by which operations upon the rebel flank became possible, which secured the great success of the day."
On being driven from the fort, the enemy retreated to the immediate fortifications along the shore, but finding that further resistance would be useless, they surrendered, giving into our hands five forts, thirty-three pieces of artillery and two thousand eight hundred prisoners. Of the latter, and the fact is significant, but one hundred and seventeen were able to write their names. The ʹ victory, however. had a greater value than a mere acquisition of war material. By the capture of the island, we gained the key to all the inland waters of North Carolina, thus interrupting com- munications which at that time were essential to the enemy.
The Ninth lost in this battle nine killed, and twenty-five wounded.6
" Jolin S. C. Abbott, in a paper published in Harper's Magazine, and Greeley, in his American Conflict, both give the credit of the operations here performed by the Ninth, to Hawkins' Zouaves, who, in fact, as appears in this narrative, had no part whatever therein, except to annoy and embarrass the assailing column.
" The following, from a correspondent of the Newark Daily Advertiser, preserves some interesting incidents of the battle of Roanoke :
" By an order of General Burnside, promulgated on the evening of February 10th, the Ninth Regiment are to have the words 'Roanoke Island, February 8, 1862,' em- blazoned on their banners. The only ordnance which could be brought to bear upou the enemy, owing to the deep morass which our troops traversed, and the almost im- penetrable thickets, was a small rifled-cannon, manned altogether by men detailed from the Ninth. Besides, the gunboat which did the most execution to the fort that
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The brigade remained on the island until early in March, being daily exercised in drill, which brought it to a high state of efficiency and thoroughly qualified it for the fatigues of the campaign upon which it was soon to enter. On the 11th of March, having a few days previously embarked on vessels in waiting, it sailed down the sound to Hatteras Inlet, entering the mouth of the Neuse River on the following day, and anchoring at Slocum's Creek, eighteen miles from Newberne, which place, lying at the junction of the Neuse and Trent Rivers, it was designed to reduce. On the following day the troops were landed, and the gunboats moving up the river in advance, took up the line of march, dispersing a company of rebel cavalry near the landing, and halting fourteen miles distant, in front of a long line of entrenched works, extending from the Neuse River across the railroad to an almost impenetrable swamp, which connects Newberne with Morehead City, with strong forts at either flank, and defended by fifteen cannon. The troops taking position during the night, on the morning of the 14th the column moved to the attack, firing commencing on the right first, at eight o'clock. Reno's Brigade, after marching some two miles, filed off to the left, and entering the woods, formed line of battle, the Fifty- first Pennsylvania, Colonel Hartranft, being held in the rear as a support to the Ninth, which was thus given the extreme left of the line. At nine o'clock the brigade advanced to within two hundred yards of the enemy's works, when it opened a sharp fire of musketry with telling effect; the enemy meanwhile replying with much vigor, having five guns bearing on our position. Discovering a movement on his left flank, Colonel Heckman reversed his left
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