USA > New York > Camp and field life of the Fifth New York volunteer infantry. (Duryee zouaves.) > Part 25
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The leaders of " the South," the cotton-growing States, were resolved that the fate of the Confederacy should be de- cided on the battle-fields of the Border States.
Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri were to be the camp-grounds and the arenas where the question should be determined, and while the men of the Border States fought for their own soil, the Cotton States men fought that the battle should not be transferred to theirs.
Virginia especially was to be made the great theater of war. and by massing all the power of the Confederacy on her soil. the rest, and especially the more remote States. could " con- tinue to grow cotton in peace." The Old Dominion was the victim of a bloody stratagem of statesmanship, when the capital of the Confederacy was transferred from Montgomery to Richmond.
The resolve to break the power of the Union, and to dic-
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tate terms of separation, at the doors of the national capital, for the sake of preserving the rest of the Confederacy from the ruin and waste of war, gave to the Peninsular campaign the extraordinary fury and the sanguinary and fearful disasters of that dark period in our history.
How high the price that was paid for these hopes, and how disastrously they were ultimately defeated, was written in the broad and bloody seal of death, and the heaps of slain who gave up the bounding life-blood of their heroic hearts, and laid down to die on the field or the highway, to be intrenched in the numberless graves, dug in a momentary pause by cther thousands who were rushing on to fall into kindred cemeteries on other fields. If nations and governments have moral re- sponsibilities, where does the responsibility rest for these ?
Each day's march found us further from the scenes of Bull Run, and brought us nearer to the impending struggle, in which, at least, the tide of success of the Confederate arms was to be tested and turned.
On Sunday, the 14th of September, we took up our line of march at 8 A.M., proceeding eight miles, passing through Middletown, and bivouacked. On the march the battle of South Mountain was raging, and we could see the smoke as it floated into the blue sky over the field, while the diapason of the booming guns was heard a few miles in advance on the road. We passed General McClellan on the march, who was enjoying a cigar, and observing the troops as they filed by. He said to us : "Boys! we are pressing the enemy back, and will keep doing so."
Early on the morning of the 15th we resumed our march through Turner's Gap, South Mountain, where the Con- federate dead of D. H. Hill's division lay behind a stone wall which ran along on the top of the mountain, at right angles with and commanding the road. They also were lying on the main road on the other side of the pass. They were piled in heaps, lying three or four deep at the intersec-
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tion of the road and turnpike. It was an impressive re- minder of the words of LONGFELLOW ---
" Art is long and time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still like muffled drums are beating Funeral marches to the grave"-
and we could not help the consciousness, that in all proba- bility before another setting sun many of us would be lying on the bosom of mother earth in the silent companionship of the dead.
After marching about nine miles, the division deployed on the left of the Sharpsburg turnpike, near Antietam Creek, being on the left of Richardson's division, which was the first to arrive in advance .*
The Fifth deployed as skirmishers, and advanced through woods on the left. The enemy had opened with their artil- lery, and were throwing shell, some of which fell among us, but fortunately did not burst. Tidball's 2d United States and Petits' Ist New York artillery returned the fire. The enemy were posted in a strong position on the high ground on the opposite side of the creek, front of and to the right and left of Sharpsburg, which town was in the rear of their center ; their flanks and rear being protected by the Po- tomac River and Antietam Creek, it being naturally a strong position.
On Tuesday, the 16th, we changed position, and were un- der arms all day. The army was all up and massed each side of the Sharpsburg turnpike. The mass of the enemy's infantry was concealed behind the opposite heights.
General Lee's army of invasion comprised about one hun-
* General Mcclellan's Report (p. 374) : " The division of General Richard-on, following close on the heeis of the retreating foc, halted and deployed near Antiet.im River, on the right of the Sharpsburg road. General Sykes leading on the division of regulars on the old Sharpsburg road, came up and deployed to the left of General Richardson, on the left of the road."
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dred and seventy-seven regiments of infantry, besides cavalry and artillery, including General A. P. Hill's division, which was temporarily detached for the purpose of making an at- tack upon Harper's Ferry. After this post was surrendered to General Hill, he, by a forced march, came up late in the afternoon of the 17th on Lee's right, in time to repel the hitherto successful advance of General Burnside's corps, and which had been delayed too long .*
The regulars were posted near bridge No. 2, and in the center with the reserve artillery. General Burnside's corps (of four divisions), comprising the left, took position on the left of Warren's brigade, their right covering stone bridge No. 3. The day was spent principally in manenvering for positions, skirmishing, and artillery engagements.
The following day, Wednesday, September 17th, was ren- dered memorable in our annals by the engagement at An- tietam. The action was commenced at daylight by the skirmishers of the Pennsylvania reserves on the right, and the whole of General Hooker's corps soon became engaged, and drove the enemy. Soon afterward the 12th corps en- gaged, and General Mansfield, its commander, was killed. General Hartsuff, of Hooker's, was badly wounded. General Williams took command of the 12th corps. The battle raged furiously for two hours. General Crawford, command- ing the Ist division. 12th corps, was wounded and left the field. General Sedgwick's division of Sumner's corps en- gaged, and Generals Sedgwick and Dana were wounded ..
* Colonel Ford, commanding Maryland Heights, an impregnable position, gar- risoned by 3,975 men, gave orders to spike and dismount the heavy guns, and to fall back upon Harper's Ferry.
By the cowardly evacuation of this stronghold, which commanded our works at Harper's Ferry, Colonel D). S. Miles, who was in command of the latter post, was attacked on all sides by the Confederates, and was himself mortally wounded. tn the 15th, the post with all its guns, stores, and ammunition, and force of 9,000 men, was surrendered to the enemy.
After an examination by a court of inquiry, Colonel Ford was dismissed from the service of the United States.
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General Hooker was also wounded and obliged to leave the field. The divisions of Generals French and Richardson, which completed all of Sumner's corps, were engaged. Gen- eral Meagher was disabled, and General Richardson was mortally wounded. At I P.M. a part of General Franklin's corps engaged. General Porter's 5th corps, consisting of Morell's and Sykes' divisions, Humphrey's division not yet having arrived, and all of the reserve artillery, were directly opposite the center of the enemy's line. " It was necessary to watch this part of the line with the utmost vigilance, lest the enemy should take an advantage to assault and pierce the line, which would be fatal."
All the supply trains were in the rear of this corps, and here were the headquarters of General McClellan and staff. In case of a retreat or last resort, Sykes' division would have been obliged to do their best. Toward the middle of the afternoon, two brigades of Morell's were ordered to rein- force the right. Six battalions of Sykes' regulars had been thrown across Antietam bridge on the main road, to attack and drive back the enemy's sharp-shooters, who were an- noying Pleasonton's batteries in advance of the bridge. Warren's brigade was detached to hold a position on Burn- side's right and rear, so that Porter was left at one time with only a portion of Sykes' division, and one small brigade of Morell's, numbering but a little over three thousand men, to hold the center.
Sykes' division had been in position since the 15th, ex- posed to the fire of the enemy's artillery and sharp-shooters. The 2d and roth regulars compelled the cannoneers of one of the enemy's batteries to abandon their guns; but being few in number and unsupported, were not able to bring them off. General Burnside passed by the regiment several times, and the men expected to be ordered to charge the stone bridge No. 3 and get wiped out.
General Burnside attacked at 3 P.M., and fought until
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dark, reaching the outskirts of Sharpsburg, where General Rodman was mortally wounded.
After General Burnside's forces advanced across the river, several companies of the Fifth were stationed in turn as look-outs near stone bridge No. 3, which was thickly strewn with the dead of the 5ist New York and the 51st Pennsyl- vania, who first successfully charged across it. Its passage had been defended with great obstinacy by the 2d and 20th Georgia regiments, under the command of General Toombs, who were posted on a wooded height that commanded it, aided by the batteries of General Jones. We obtained a fine view of the engagement, and watched the progress of the 9th New York, Hawkins' Zouaves, with an exciting in- terest, and were sorry to see that gallant body of men suffer so severely on the field where they played so noble a part. They captured a battery on the outskirts of Sharps- burg, but not being properly supported, were forced to aban- don it, after suffering a fearful loss. Late in the afternoon, the brigade was employed in collecting stragglers from the im- mediate front and forming them into battalions.
Darkness finally put an end to this hard-fought and scien- tific engagement, in which 140,000 men and 500 pieces of artillery had been employed since daylight, and in which about 25,000 were killed, wounded, and missing. The tired Union troops slept on their arms conquerors .*
About 2,700 of the enemy's dead were, under the direc- tion of Major Davis, Assistant Inspector-General, counted
* General Mcclellan's Report (p. 393) : " Night closed the long and desperately contested battle of the 1;th. Nearly 200,coo men and 500 pieces of artillery were for fourteen hours engaged in this memorable battle. We had attacked the enemy in a position selected by the experienced engineer, then in person directing their operations. We had driven them from their line on one flank, and securing a foot- ing within it on the other. The Army of the Potomac, notwiths anding the moral effect incident to previous reverses, had achieved a victory over an adversary in- vested with the prestige of recent success. Our soldiers slept that night conquer- ors, on a field won by their valor, and covered with the dead and wounded of the enemy."
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and buried upon the field of Antietam. A portion of their dead had previously been buried by the enemy. 13 guns, 39 colors, 15,000 stand of small arms, and more than 6,000 prisoners were the trophies of South Mountain, Crampton's Gap, and Antietam. Not a single gun was lost on the Union side.
The Confederate force engaged in this battle comprised 136 regiments, besides the division of D. H. Hill and Rodes' brigade, and the artillery. Their reports show a loss in every regiment of from one to 253.
We remained in position on Thursday, the 18th, the enemy requesting an armistice, under a flag of truce, to look after their wounded and bury their dead, which was granted, and of which they took advantage and retreated by night across the Potomac.
On Friday, the 19th, we marched at 9 A.M., passing through Sharpsburg. Along the route the dead were strewn in every direction and in all conceivable positions. One was caught in the crotch of a tree in falling, and held in an upright posi- tion ; one young lad, of not more than fifteen years of age, was lying among some others, with his thighs terribly mangled. His long curls fell down over his shoulders, and his face bore a heavenly smile; his lips slightly parted disclosed a set of teeth of remarkable beauty, while his features were the hand- somest, and bore the happiest expression, of any corpse that I have ever seen. He was a young Southerner, probably the pride of some aristocratic family, who had sent him willingly to the war.
After marching through the town and nearing the ford on the Potomac, skirmishers were deployed, and a battery with us opened on the enemy across the river. The fire was re- turned by them, and the shell flew thick and fast. One of the shot killed Colonel Warren's orderly, but the men found partial shelter under a hill. Two brigades of the corps crossed the Potomac about dark and captured four of the enemy's
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guns. Warren's brigade took position on the high ground near the river, and opened on the enemy on the other side, which obliged them to crawl out of the bushes and run for the cover of a wood further to their rear. We advanced and took position on the tow-path of the canal on the banks of the river, and kept up a scattering fire on the enemy op- posite, remaining on picket all night and the next forenoon.
In the afternoon of the 20th, a large force crossed the river on the right, and the 5th Regiment were ordered to ford the river to cover their left flank. Before crossing, the regiment, which numbered less than 400 men, two-thirds of whom were comparatively new men, being drawn up in line on the tow-path of the canal, alongside the river, Colonel Warren said, " Men, we are about to cross the river," and drawing out his revolver, added, that "if any man did not want to cross, let him step out."
We took off our body-belts, slung our cartridge-boxes over our shoulders, and waded into the river. It was difficult and tiresome work to ford a stream 200 yards wide, up to the waist, with a rather strong current, the bottom being covered with slippery stones. Some of the men lost their balance, and had an involuntary bath, and to "get off the line of the ford," meant to go down overhead in the water. After reaching the opposite bank, the men climbed an almost per- pendicular bluff, eighty feet high, covered with bushes and trees, and were obliged to employ both hands and feet to ac- complish the task. Skirmishers were deployed a short dis- tance, when suddenly the enemy opened in heavy force from the wood beyond the open ground in front. The skirmishers were called in, and the men ordered to keep covered below the bank of the bluff, which they were perfectly willing to do, for the fire was very heavy, and they occupied a critical posi- tion, with the river in their rear. But several batteries opened from the high ground on the opposite side of the river, over the heads of the men, which covered their retreat across,
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which was accomplished in safety. Captain Whitney, in command of Company I, was ordered to remain with his company, and keep up a fire on the enemy to make them think that the bank was still occupied, and to prevent any of their sharp-shooters from creeping to the edge of the bluff and shooting the men as they forded the river on their return. He misunderstood the order, so he said, and did not carry it out, but fortunately the batteries prevented the enemy from advancing. Colonel Warren was much provoked with him, and threatened to shoot him on the spot. The Colonel took command in person, and waded the stream, on foot, with the rest, and on the return stood in the center, and con- tinually warned the men not to get off the line of the ford.
This was the battle of Shepardstown, in which the troops on the right had a severe engagement with Gregg's, Pender's, and Archer's brigades, and lost some Soo in killed, wounded, and prisoners. The enemy's loss was 261. After recrossing the river we took up a position on the canal and remained on picket on the banks of the river, exchanging shots with the enemy during the 21st and 22d. While remaining on this post one afternoon, Colonel Warren gave the regiment a drill on the tow-path of the canal, while the enemy's pick- ets amused themselves by firing at the men and officers. He also sent a squad of the drummers across the river, for pun- ishment for being timid under fire, under command of Lieu- tenant Guthrie, to bring over a twelve-pound brass piece left by the enemy in their late retreat. The Lieutenant armed himself with a ramrod to give the boys a gentle reminder once in a while if it was necessary. The boys came back in good order, dragging the cannon after them, and reported that they saw some of the enemy. Subsequently, Sergeant Crowley, of Company E, with a squad of his company, was sent over to a burnt mill, to bring over a caisson, while the regiment in the meantime drew up on the bank to cover them. They had no sooner landed on the other side than
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some shots were fired at them, and a brisk skirmish ensued around the mill, in which the Sergeant received a bad wound in the leg, but his men succeeded in recrossing, carrying him with them.
On Tuesday, the 23d, we were relieved by the regulars, after three days and nights of not very pleasant duty, during which it rained part of the time. We went into camp, with- out tents or shelter of any kind, near Sharpsburg, about three-fourths of a mile from the Potomac. General McClel- lan had his headquarters about a mile from Sharpsburg, and, as usual, Sykes' division lay in the immediate vicinity.
After the battle of Antietam a recruit, one of those who had joined the regiment about a week previous, wandered off to see what he could discover that was new. In his rambles he came to a large house, and seeing an open win- dow, he approached it to gratify his curiosity as to what was inside of it, when, as his head raised above the sill, the gory stump of a man's arın was thrust in his face, with the re- mark, "Young man, take this away and bury it." That recruit returned to the regiment a sick man. . He had ran across one of the hospitals where the wounded were being attended to.
On Wednesday, the 24th, at evening parade, the following list of promotions was read to the regiment :
HEADQUARTERS FIFTH ARMY CORPS, - CAMP NEAR SHARPSBURG, MD., September 23, 1862.
[Special Orders, No. 130.]
The following-named persons are hereby appointed to fill the vacancies existing in the Fifth Regiment, New York Volunteers, occasioned by losses in battle, resignations, promotions, etc. These appointments are made for gallant and meritorious con- duct on the field of battle. These officers will be obeyed and respected accordingly :
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Captain Cleveland Winslow to be Major, vice H. D. Hull, promoted.
First Lieutenant James H. Lounsberry to be Captain, vice G. Carr, promoted.
First Lieutenant H. G. O. Eichler to be Captain, vice Winslow, promoted.
First Lieutenant T. W. Cartwright to be Captain, vice Lewis, killed in battle August 30.
First Lieutenant R. E. Prime to be Captain, vice Hager, killed . in battle August 30.
Second Lieutenant Henry Keyser to be Adjutant, vice Sovereign, killed in battle August 30.
Second Lieutenant A. S. Chase to be First Lieutenant, vice Lounsberry, promoted.
Second Lieutenant T. R. Martin to be First Lieutenant, vice Eichler, promoted.
Second Lieutenant R. M. Gedney to be First Lieutenant, vice Cartwright, promoted.
Second Lieutenant Wm. Hoffman to be First Lieutenant, vice Prime, promoted.
Sergeant G. W. Wannemacher to be Second Lieutenant, vice Dumont, resigned.
Sergeant George Guthrie to be Second Lieutenant, vice Keyser, promoted.
Sergeant Wm. H. Chambers to be Second Lieutenant, vicc Chase, promoted.
Sergeant Philip L. Wilson to be Second Lieutenant, vice Martin, promoted.
Private Gordon Winslow, Jr., to be Second Lieutenant, vice Gedney, promoted.
·
By command of FITZ JOHN PORTER, Major-General.
FRED. T. LOCKE, Assistant Adjutant-General.
On Thursday, September 25th, the roth New York Regi- ment was transferred to Max Weber's brigade. During the time they had been in company with the Fifth we had always harmonized and worked well together. We had
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passed through some pleasant as well as some very hard experiences, and the men heartily wished their late comrades success .*
Colonel Warren left on a flying visit to New York via. Washington. Lieutenant-Colonel H. Duryea had just returned from his furlough, having been dangerously ill. We were glad to see him in command again, notwithstanding the strict discipline he always maintained, as we knew it was for the common good ; but especially so, as we were relieved from a number of impracticable orders that were issued by the Major. These were : calls every half hour through the day, which made the men feel that they were treated worse than a lot of convicts, and without cause. For instance, in order
to wash ourselves, we were obliged to procure an order to pass to the spring, signed by the officer in command of the company, and countersigned by the Adjutant, or Major. The consequence was, that it operated as a prohibition to wash at all. Water-calls were sounded several times a day. When those who wished to fill their canteens or the iron pails, holding several gallons, for cooking purposes, they were obliged to fall in line, and march single file, under com- mand of an officer, keeping step down to the spring and back again ; to obtain wood, we were obliged to go through the same form, and he was actually driving men to desert every day, to escape this petty and unwarranted tyranny. Discipline should be enforced ; but these acts were crushing out all the self-respect and manhood of an intelligent and educated body of men, who felt that they were treated like galley-slaves.
Since leaving Harrison's Landing, August 14th, when the
* The Tenth subsequently fought bravely at Fredericksburg, and when they were mustered out after two years' service, six companies were recruited to serve for three years, or during the war, and, under Colonel Hopper, acquired an excellent war record, and served till the collapse of the Rebellion. Colonel Hopper served all through the war, and was the only officer of the old organization who was mustered out with the three years' battalion at the end of the war.
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knapsacks were sent away on a vessel, the men had been without a change of clothing. All they possessed was on their backs. They were destitute of soap for about a month, and sometimes had nothing to eat. Only a few had shelter tents, and consequently they passed the nights miserably, as the temperature after the sun went down was chilly, accom- panied with heavy dews; and in addition to all these dis- comforts, they had not received any pay for five months. The men all being in rags, presented a very grotesque ap- pearance. Their own clothing being worn out, they were dressed up in the cast-off clothing of other regiments ; some were dressed in dark-blue and others in light-blue pants ; some in jackets, some had long-tailed coats and blouses, and others boasted of nothing but a few rags to cover their under-clothes. We mustered, all told, including recruits, 350, of which only 93 were original two years' men. There were several hun- dreds on the rolls, but they were lying in hospitals, detailed, etc. They belonged to that army, all in good condition, ac- cording to General Halleck (who was comfortably seated in Washington, planning campaigns on paper), who were ready and eager to march immediately on a winter's campaign and take Richmond, from the vicinity of which they had been re- called, probably by his advice, some two months previous, when they were in better condition and spirit to fight than they were at this time.
On Friday, the 26th, we were reviewed by the President, ABRAHAM LINCOLN. He looked care-worn. He was in company with General McClellan, who was smoking a cigar. The men had overcoats on, which had been distributed a few days previous, to hide the rags. The President expressed his approbation to the commanding officers at the rapidity with which the different movements were executed. The bayonet drill particularly engrossed his attention.
Our camp at Sharpsburg remained quiet for some time, and the men were in fair spirits. We drilled for five hours a
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day, for which we had to thank the recruits. About the 5th of October we received a piece of soap, but its size was an aggravation-it was half an inch thick, cut from an ordinary bar, two bars having been allowed to a company. The offi- cers and men anxiously expected the Paymaster, and the sutlers scented him afar off, and were plenty, but still there was no money to buy with, and no credit. Every few hours some one varied the decorum of our situation by raising a false alarm, and shouted, " Here comes the Paymaster !" Forthwith there was a rush out of holes and burrows, only to find it a good-humored joke. Those who used tobacco- which was the case with nearly all the regiment-were suffer- ing for the want of it, and no change of clothing having yet come to our relief, our condition was getting to be more than ever a serious matter.
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