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 30
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was complete. Colonel Hinton, of the Sixty-eighth North Carolina, commanding the fort, thinking that the troops were reinforcements which he was expecting, and which were really only four hundred yards in the rear, rode directly into our lines, and with many others was taken prisoner. The excitement now became intense, but not a sound was heard except the summons to halt and surrender, as post after post of the enemy was taken. On reaching the vicinity of the bridge, Colonel Stewart formed line of battle, the Ninth on the right and the Twenty seventh Massachusetts on the left, Com- pany A being deployed as skirmishers, with Company I as a support, when an advance was at once made, the interior line of the enemy's works being carried without a shot being fired. But soon a loud " halt" was heard, then a shot and a rush succeeded, and the works at all points were ours. The rebels flying towards the bridge, Company I, Captain Charles Hufty, went in pursuit, driving them, as was supposed, right into the grasp of the force left on the front. But this expectation proved delusive. Colonel Frankle, who had command of the expedition, had unaccountably failed to secure the Tarborough road, the only avenue by which the enemy could escape, and thus they, after all, eluded our grasp, much to the chagrin of Stewart and the men who had so effectively performed the part of driving the game from cover. By this time, however, the expected reinforcements had come up and occupied the line of works which Stewart had just passed, but discovering the fact, he promptly charged back over the ground he had traversed, and speedily cleared the works, driving the enemy in confusion far to the rear. During this movement a number of additional prisoners were taken, and doubtless had Stewart been in command of the expedition, the entire rebel force would have been taken, together with all the works in that vicinity, along the Roanoke and elsewhere.
On the 12th, the Ninth being again in the advance, the enemy was once more discovered, but retired without giving battle. About noon, the object of the expedition, which was to hold a portion of the North Carolina State troops while operations were carried on against the enemy at another point, having been accomplished, the
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column came to a halt, and soon after commenced its return, reach- ing Jamestown on the evening of the 13th. Thence the troops were carried on steamers to Plymouth, where they remained until the 22d, when another expedition proceeded up the Roanoke, re- turning, however, two days after, fruitless of results. The Ninth remained at Plymouth until the 7th of January, 1865, when it pro- ceeded to Carolina City-thus terminating one of the most fatigu- ing as well as unprofitable expeditions in which it was ever engaged. During the entire movement, the men suffered greatly from long marches, being poorly provided with shoes, while the absence of overcoats and blankets during the severely cold nights, rendered their condition anything but comfortable or desirable.
On the 14th of January, Lieutenant J. Madison Drake, who was captured at Drury's Bluff on the 16th of May, 1864, returned to the regiment, having effected his escape from the rebels by leaping from a train of cars while in transitu from Charleston to Columbia, South Carolina, and marching some seven hundred or eight hun- dred miles, most of the distance barefooted, and without hat or suitable clothing. This gallant officer was warmly welcomed on his return-the story of his marvelous escape finding many listening ears. Colonel Stewart at once promoted him to a captainey, but the ill-health of Lieutenant Drake prevented an acceptance of the commission. The Colonel anxious of retaining his services, then kindly offered him an honorable position on the staff, but this was also necessarily declined-the Lieutenant preferring his old position in the command.
On the 1st February, four companies of the Ninth-E, B, H and I-commanded by Major Hufty, proceeded to Newport, whence, being there joined by Captain Graham's Cavalry, they marched to Adams' Creek, a distance of thirty-one miles, and crossed over to Hard's Island, then a notorious covert for guerrillas. Dividing into sections, the force thoroughly scoured the island. Captain Hopper, piloted by two natives, succeeded in dispersing a gang of thieves, and completely destroying their rendezvous. Having effectually explored the island, the force returned on the 5th to Carolina City, where the Ninth remained until the 4th of March. At this time,
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Sherman's victorious army, having cut loose from Savannah and swept through South Carolina, was rapidly approaching the heart of the old North State, the enemy in vain endeavoring to arrest his progress. Indeed, his advance was already close to the line, carry- ing everything before it; on the coast, Fort Fisher had fallen, and Schofield had occupied Wilmington ; while at other points disasters no less serious had overtaken the enemy, who, retiring inland, now awaited grimly and doubtingly the final issue. Immediately upon the occupation of Wilmington, Schofield ordered an advance upon Kinston, with Goldsborough as its objective, and on the 4th of March, the Ninth marched out from its camp with other troops to participate in this movement ; being brigaded with the Twenty- third Massachusetts, Second Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, Eighty- fifth New York and Battery C, Third New York Artillery, under command of Brigadier-General Harland. Advancing on the line of the railroad leading to Goldsborough, the command, on the 7th, reached a point five miles east of South west Creek, where the enemy was encountered in strong force, and a sharp skirmish ensued, the Ninth being engaged during the entire day. At dusk, a charge was made on the rebel breastworks, but without decisive results, the regiment losing, however, Captain Charles Hufty, who received a wound from which he died a few days afterwards. During the night, the Ninth fell back half a mile, joining the line of battle, where it remained during the following day behind hastily-con- structed breastworks. In the night, fighting was renewed, the enemy, late in the afternoon, making seven distinct charges on our left, resting on Wise's Forks, but being each time repulsed. The Ninth, on this day, was ubiquitous, moving rapidly from one point to another-at one time repulsing a charge on the left, at another returning on the double-quick to the center, charging the foe-being ever in the thickest of the conflict, always at the very front. The combat continued until evening, when the enemy, who had suffered severely, retired from the field, leaving our forces in command of the position. During the night, however, Lieutenant A. H. Evans, of Company E, with a picket of sixteen men of the Ninth was captured by the rebels, together with a number of men belonging
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to the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts. On the following morning, the enemy, apprised that reinforcements were hurrying forward to our assistance, renewed the battle at an early hour, charging the Union lines with great ferocity. During the day a force of eleven brigades charged in solid column as many as eleven times in suc- cession, but their desperate assaults were fruitless, our line standing as immovable as a wall of granite. During the whole engagement the Ninth fought with all its accustomed gallantry, winning the most cordial plaudits from the Western troops, who witnessed their resistless onslaughts upon the rebel ranks. The loss of the regiment amounted to one officer (Lieutenant Joseph Wright), and nine men wounded. During the evening, a remarkable silence pervaded the rebel camp, inducing the conviction that they were evacuating their . stronghold, and this proved to be the fact, Captain Hopper, of the Ninth, discovering, early on the following morning, that they had retreated, leaving eight hundred dead upon the field. These were decently interred, together with some seventy of our own soldiers, after which the command again advanced, passing through the aban- doned works of the enemy on the right bank of Southwest Creek, and reaching the Neuse River at noon on the 14th. Here the railroad bridge had been destroyed and the woods fired by the retreating rebels. Leaving the river and Kinston to the right, the column pursued its march, crossing the river by pontoon bridges on the even- ing of the next day, and bivouacking southeast of Kinston-the Ninth being detailed to do garrison duty in the town. On the 19th, however, it was again placed in the advance, Colonel Stewart taking charge of the brigade, and on the 21st, about noon, reached Wepton, but a short distance from Goldsborough. Here the enemy having a force of one thousand five hundred cavalry and two hundred and twenty-five infantry, brisk skirmishing commenced, but the rebels were steadily driven, the Ninth pushing forward, in their eager desire to enter Goldsborough, with resistless velocity. At length, the suburbs were reached, when, with loud huzzas, the men dashed through the principal street to the Court House, where, the mayor being found, the town was at once surrendered to Colonel Stewart. Two minutes after, the colors of the regiment floated
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THE NINTH REGIMENT.
triumphantly from the top of the Court House-being the first Union flag raised over the city-while cheer upon cheer rolled along the streets, only to be taken up by the incoming troops, and rolled back with deeper volume along the serried lines. Colonel Stewart at once detailed detachments of the Ninth to guard .certain portions of the town, and the main column, on coming up, were greatly surprised to find a provost-guard already established, with Major Hufty as provost.marshal. On the following day, Sherman's advance entered the town, and on the 23d, his whole force having arrived, a general review was ordered. Sherman's troops entered Goldsborough with wagon loads of provisions, numbers of cattle and other live animals, with carriages drawn by four and six horses ; in some cases, they seemed to have carried off the entire product and possessions of the plantations lying on their route. During the 23d, about one thousand prisoners were brought in, and over one thousand two hundred negroes, flocking to our lines, were sent to Newberne. A large number of white refugees, men, women and children, also appeared, clamorous for provisions, having been reduced to the verge of starvation under the pressure of a relentless rebel conscription. On the 25th, the engineer and construction corps having arrived from Newberne, the work of repairing the railroad was commenced, and it being reported that the Ninth was about to be relieved from provost-duty, a petition, numerously signed by the citizens, was forwarded to the Commanding General requesting that the regiment might be permitted to remain, the conduct of the men having been such as to give general satisfaction. On the 3d of April, however, the regiment was transferred to the Second Brigade, Third Division, Twenty-third Army Corps, the brigade, consisting of the Sixty-fifth Illinois, Sixty-fifth Indiana and One hundred and Seventy-seventh Ohio, and seven days after was relieved from provost duty." On the 6th, a special order from
3 On the 10th, Lieutenant George Peters, Company G, who was taken prisoner at Drury's Bluff, May 16, 1864, returned to the regiment. This officer shared the same fate as Lieutenant J. Madison Drake, until the latter made his escape, October 6, 1804. Lieutenant Peters remained at Columbia, South Carolina, two months, when, with three brother officers, he escaped from Camp Sorghum, and took the swamp. After marching some two hundred miles towards the mountains, they were tinally captured
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NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
Sherman's headquarters was read to the troops, announcing the joyful intelligence of the capture of Petersburg and Richmond, with five hundred cannon, three rams and three thousand prisoners, and at once the entire army was filled with the wildest commotion -the glad news, as it ran along the lines, stirring even veterans' pulses like a bugle-peal. On the 10th, Colonel Stewart, being relieved from command of the brigade, returned to his regiment, which at once moved from the town, encamping for the night some six miles distant. The following day, the march was resumed, nothing, however, being seen of the enemy. On the 12th, just as the troops were preparing to continue the advance, a courier arrived from General Sherman, announcing, as he rode along the lines, "Lee has surrendered !" The scene which ensued no pen can describe. Instantly one hundred thousand voices broke into deafening huzzas, fifty bands struck up the old, familiar airs, innumerable flags were fluttered joyously along the line, and " veterans of a hundred fights " danced and wept together for very joy. And was it any wonder? These men, for four long years, had faced all the perils of the field; had endured untold privations, suffered sickness and wounds for the nation's sake; had, with un- failing hope, held on to the Cause amid all the gloom of disaster, when scarcely a ray of promise shone through the battle-clouds, and now at last the End towards which they had hewn their way with royal fortitude and faith was in sight; the victory of law, of liberty, of good government, for which they had marched, and fought and suffered, was achieved. Was it any wonder that as the rebel flag went down at Appomattox Court House, and the Confederacy crumbled as the baseless fabric of a dream, these armies of ours, everywhere in the widely-expanded field, grew wild with exultation, and looked with eyes at once tearful and glad upon the flag under which they fought-the symbol now not only of an unbroken
by the Home Guards, who returned them to Columbia. - Lieutenant Peters, a sincere Christian, did much in relieving the necessities of his younger companion, Lieutenant Drake, who suffered greatly during his long confinement. Lieutenant Peters deserves well of his country; he served bravely in his regiment, and in the prison-pens of the South suffered patiently -- not a murmur ever escaping his lips, while others about him bitterly anathematized the Government and its chief officers for failing to effect their exchange.
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THE NINTH REGIMENT.
nationality, but of a more perfect freedom, a more enlarged justice, than ever before? That day to hundreds of thousands of heroes, as the song of triumph pealed through the land, visions of far-off homes, where dear ones awaited their coming, loomed sweetly into view; and through all the tumult, all the wild carnival of the camp, faces of wives and children, of sisters and brothers, of gray- haired fathers and mothers, shone radiantly out, wreathed with welcoming smiles. The war, with all its hideous horrors, was ended now; peace had come; home was within view-was it any wonder that the bugles broke into exultant pæans, that the drums rolled in triumph, that the army of the Republic lifted its voice in one grand song of thanksgiving?
From that time forward, the march of the Ninth was a march of triumph. Reaching Raleigh on the 14th, it halted until the 2d of May," when it proceeded by rail to Greensborough, near which place an encampment was ordered, one company, (G,) however,
25 The following from the Diary of Hermann Everts, shows the movements, &c., of the regiment during this period :
"April 14th. Marehed about six a. m. ; halted several times; bivouacked finally in open field, near Raleigh ; the city had already been surrendered by the Mayor, William H. Harrison, Honorable Kenneth, Doctor MeKee, and several others, to General Kilpatrick. After the surrender, a few of the rebel cavalry, who had remained as rear-
. guard, fired on some of Kilpatrick's men, of whom two were captured and hung. Governor Vanee's dwelling was taken for General Sherman's headquarters, and the State House used for Provost-Marshal and other offices.
" April 21st. Orderly Hulsart, Company D, Sergeant Wood, Company A, Sergeant Fatty, Company G, Corporal Hill, Company G, and many others, who had been from ten to eleven months in the numerous rebel prisons, seen their horrors and devilishly- designed tortures, joined the regiment again, all of them untit for duty, suffering from scurvy, anasarea and general debility, contracted and produced in the filthy dens of so-called chivalrous, but more properly hellish invention, to bolster up their traitorous cause, by slow starvation, poisonous vaccination, &c. They were in the prisons at Libby, Augusta, Camp Sumpter, Georgia, Charleston, Florence, &c., &c. Their nar- ratives ditfer but little from those already related. Hulsart reports nine deaths out of sixteen captured, belonging to his company, (D.) Hill reports twelve deaths out of sixteen captured, belonging to Company G.
"Lieutenant-General Grant, who had arrived on the previous day, reviewed the troops : General Sherman on his right, and cach division commander taking his posi- tion on the left, as troops arrived.
" April 27th. Orders for a move; moved southwest of camp; this day the papers published the general order of Johnson's surrender, but the excitement was not so mueb as had been expected.
"April 20th. Thirteen guns were fired at sunrise, one every half-hour afterwards, and thirty-six at sun-down : one for cach State, as ordered by the War Department, in memory of Abraham Lincoln. The regiment formed line at ten a. m., to have the order referring to the assassination, read to the men.
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being dispatched to Charlotte, and another, (I,) to Salisbury for guard duty. On the 13th, these companies were rejoined by the regiment, the Captain of Company G, making the following report :
"HEADQUARTERS COMPANY G, NINTH NEW JERSEY VOLUNTEERS, ! GREENSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA, May 13, 1805. "SIR : I have the honor to submit the following report: 'In accordance with orders 5 from Major-General Cox, I left Greensborough, North Carolina, with my company on May 5, 1865, and proceeded by railroad to Salisbury, North Carolina, arrived there at eleven, a. m. I left Salisbury at five, p. m., and was transported by rail to within five miles of Concord, a station twenty-one miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The next morning, May 6th, I marched to Concord and telegraphed to Charlotte for a train. I received an answer, stating that an accident had happened to the downward train, and that no train would run for a day or so. I immediately took up line of march, and that evening encamped thirteen miles from Charlotte. The next morning, I resumed the march and arrived in Charlotte at five and a half, p. m. I found the town filled with rebel soldiers; raids were made by mobs on stores that had been left by the rebels. Drunkenness and disorder generally had been the order of the day. I immediately issued an order, assuming command of the post, also another, prohibiting the sale of all kinds of spirituous liquors. After my arrival, good order prevailed. The following is the list of stores taken possession of and guarded by my command: Medical Pur- veyor's establishinent, containing a large quantity of medical stores; there being no Surgeon in my command. I had no means of determining the value of them. The rebel Navy Yard, containing a large amount of machinery, iron, &c., most of which had been taken from the Portsmouth (Virginia) Navy Yard. A number of boxes said to contain the records of the rebel War Department, and all the archives of the so-called Southern Confederacy. Also, boxes said to contain all the colors and battle-flags cap- tured from the national forces since the beginning of the war; a quantity of naval stores, and a quantity of commissary stores; a branch of the United States mint was found, containing the machinery connected with it, all in good order. On Friday, the 12th, Brigadier-General Thomas, of the First Brigade, First Division, Twenty-third Army Corps, arrived, relieving me of command of the post. On Friday, at five o'clock, p. m. I received an order by telegraph to report to my regiment without delay. The next day, the 13th, I had my command placed on cars, and reported at regimental headquarters at Greensborough, at four o'clock, p. m., the same day.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
' M. C. RUNYON,
'Captain Commanding Company G, Ninth New Jersey Volunteers. To E. W. WELSTED, Lieutenant and Adjutant Ninth Jersey Volunteers.' " 26
26 In connection with this report, the following account of Lieutenant George Peters, of Company G, is of interest :
" As we approached the Yadkin River, on May 5th, we came up with the rear-column of Johnston's army, on their way home, numbering eight to ten thousand; a situation novel to us and all who witnessed it. For the first time we did come in contact with the rebels, without having to fight. To see them swarming around us, and to hear their expressions of friendship and good feeling, was, indeed, very strange to us, more so while they outnumbered us one hundred to one; one-fifth of these being armed. One remarked that he had never before seen the Yankees, without being compelled to lay down, or without being ordered to do so. There were others who did not like the way pursued by their Generals; these would rather have fought on than to succumb, . but the majority were tired of the war. Many stated that they would never have been in the rebel army, if they could have avoided it. The delay at Salisbury was very unpleasant, as, in case of any trouble, we would have been at their merey, but every- thing passed off quietly, the troops being remarkably orderly. On the 7th, on our
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On the 20th of May, Lieutenant Hopper, with thirty men, pro- ceeded to Yanceyville, Caswell County, for the purpose of organ- izing police companies and electing twelve magistrates for the county. From this time until the 14th of June, detachments of the Ninth were employed in various duties. On that date, two hun- dred and sixteen men of the regiment, whose term of service had expired, were mustered out, and two days after left for Trenton,
march to Charlotte, we met numbers of stragglers along the road; also citizen-strag- glers, who were out to steal cotton, clothing, provisions, -in short, anything they could lay hands on and make use of. It is doubtful if there are many or any other company which has been situated as we were, surrounded and marching with our late enemies, they outnumbering us, and that, too, when we were cut off from all our forces by nearly one hundred miles of railroad, with a break in it, so that trains could not run. The citizens of Charlotte we found very hospitable ; the rich and well-to-do class seemed to be very well satisfied with the change; the middle-class and the poor spoke bitterly and with condemnation of Jefferson Davis and liis clique. The military institution, lately used for the Medical-Purveyor's office, was stored with great quantities of medi- cines, some of which, such as morphine and nitre, were very valuable; all with English labels, and of English manufacture, which had been procured by blockade running. Among others, we found two twelve-pound brass field pieces; two cannons; about nine hundred small arms; four hundred thousand percussion caps; one thousand four hundred pounds of powder; an immense quantity of sabers, cutlasses, &c., cartridge- boxes and other equipments. Out of a large number of flags and trophies, taken from our forces during the whole of the war, Captain Runyon picked the State-colors of the Thirty-third New Jersey Regiment, intending to forward the same to the Adjutant- General of the State of New Jersey. The United States Branch Mint was found in good order, but no specie or other valuables could be seen. Specie was plenty in the hands of the citizens, and quantities of goods and arms were stored away, which, by this time, have been found and taken care of by the Colonel who came to relieve us. As soon as Captain Runyon, commanding post, put guards where the archives of the so-called Confederacy (about eighty-four boxes) were stored, General Jolinston, who still remained at Charlotte, communicated the facts to General Sebofield, commanding Department of North Carolina, at Raleigh, and a staff-officer was immediately dis- patched, and arrived at Charlotte, to take charge of the valuable documents, and to forward the same to Raleigh. There was no opportunity left for Captain Runyon to earn laurels, and it is very doubtful if General Johnstou would have reported as he did, if no guards had been posted, and chance had been left to him to burn or destroy the written and printed proofs of their shameful treachery and rebellion. Thus, we see, that to the gallant old Ninth is due the enviable credit of having captured and preserved from harm all the archives of the rebel government, their trophies, and many of their valuable stores. Too much credit cannot be accorded to Captain Runyon for the man- ner in which he performed his peculiar duties, and it is doubtful if any one could more judiciously have comported himself, when, with only a small company of men, he was compelled to crowd his way through the thousands of rebel soldiers with whom he had, as it were, just been engaged in the fiercest fight. The records here obtained by Cap- tain Runyon have been, are and ever will be of so great value to the Government of the United States, that it is almost impossible to magnify the importance of the capture thus made. In less careful and scrupulons hands they might have been mutilated or lost. But in spite of the wishes and schemes of rebel officers, who were present, Captain Runyon insisted that they should be 'severely let alone,' and in all their com- pleteness succeeded in turning them over to the Government he served."
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