USA > New York > Cayuga in the field : a record of the 19th N. Y. Volunteers, all the batteries of the 3d New York Artillery, and 75th New York Volunteers > Part 14
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Gen. Evans, who, by this time, was beating a rapid retreat to Kinston with his main body, left orders to fire the bridge after the crossing of the last detachment. This was done by Capt. McRae, brother of Duncan McRae, a prominent North Carolina politician. He had a bucket of turpentine, which he spilled in three or four places, and applying a match, in spite of the piteous entreaties of a number of comrades who had fallen on the bridge, he left the structure a sheet of flame. As he turned away from his atrocious work, a Union skirmisher brought his rifle to his shoulder and Capt. McRae tumbled down the bank, pierced through the brain. Burning turpentine drip- ped down upon him from the bridge and charred his corpse to a cinder.
To save the bridge, Lieut. Dennis's section of Battery F ad- vanced, by order of Gen. Amory, to an advanced position near it and swept the northern bank with heavy blasts of cannister in order to clear it of those who might interfere with our efforts to extinguish the flames. The section worked away with great steadiness and efficacy under a horrible rain of Minie balls from rebel sharp-shooters, losing several wounded, until ordered to cease firing. Meanwhile, Batteries Band K, which had crawl- ed along in rear of the infantry to the top of the hill, had dashed down to near the river and unlimbered their guns on the left of the road, engaging, at point blank range, without in- trenchments, the rebel five gun battery, and throwing shot and shell into lingering rebel battalions on the opposite bank. The crashing of our guns increased the consternation of the enemy and they were soon completely silenced.
The men of our Batteries, seconded by the 9th New Jersey and roth Connecticut lads, then brought water in artillery buckets from the river, and put out the fires on the bridge and saved it. Several rebels, burnt to a crisp, were tumbled over into the water, and Lieut .- Col. Stewart, coming up with his en- gineers, tore down a house near the bridge, and with the beams and boards thus supplied, repaired the damage that had been done to it.
Batteries B and K captured 44 prisoners in this affair. Un- able to reach the bridge, the rebels hid from the fire of our terrible guns by crawling down the river bank, and then raised
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a handkerchief on a long pole to signal their desire to surren- der. The Batteries ceased firing. Capt. Morrison called to the men to come up, which they did, a melancholy looking crowd, in miserable butternut uniforms. He passed them between his guns to the rear.
The disgusted Confederates retiring to the pleasant village of Kinston, half a mile distant to the northwest, sought to remove a portion of the extensive stores of cotton, turpentine and mu- nitions of war of the place, before we could cross the river. In this they were foiled by the long range guns of Batteries E and I, 3d New York, which, from a commanding situation in rear of the light Batteries B, F and K, threw heavy shot and shell into the very heart of the village. The only removal that was effected by Gen. Evans was, in consequence, that of his army, which hastily departed from the precincts of Kinston, accompa- nied by a general exodus of the inhabitants.
Evans fell back to Washington hill, west of the town, leaving huge fires burning in the streets, to consume piles of cotton, turpentine, &c. A brigade of infantry crossed the river, as soon as the bridge was in condition. supported by Battery K, 3d New York, and occupied the village. Evans offering fight from the hill, Foster sent a flag of truce, demanding surrender. The lofty Confederate declined "on high military grounds," &c. Battery K from Kinston, then shelled the heights, when the enemy precipitately retreated from those high military grounds, and drew back down behind the hill, out of sight.
Foster bivouacked three brigades in line of battle west of the village, supported by artillery, for the night.
The main body of the artillery bivouacked inside the village, in a public square or park. Many 3d New York lads reposed their tired frames that night, around their camp fires in the square, on feather beds obtained from the houses of the in- habitants.
The loss of the Union army at the battle of Kinston was se- vere, 38 killed and 185 wounded. Among the dead the army mourned Col. Gray, of the 96th New York, who fell at the head of his regiment, while charging the bridge. The 3d New York Artillery lost 10 wounded, viz :- Battery B, John Hardin, E A. Sanders, David Finger ; Battery F, Ezra Wormouth, Charles E. Smith, Thomas P. Johnson, Hiram Sherman, Henry Olrich, Ai- exander Fullerton, Charles Bowman.
Bowman was wounded by a bullet that would have killed him but for the interposition of a metallic cuirass. When Battery F got down near the bridge, it found a dead rebel there on the
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LOSSES AT KINSTON.
ground. He wore this cuirass, despite of which he was dead. Bowman put it on just in time to arrest a . Minie ball which struck him in the breast, inflicting a contusion.
The rebel loss was 250 killed and wounded, 400 prisoners, 500 stand of arms, 11 cannon, 1,000 rounds of heavy ammuni- tion, besides provisions and a railroad monitor, &c., in Kinston. Among the cannon were two that Battery G, 3d New York, had lost at Washington the September previous. The prisoners were paroled.
Among the prisoners was Col. Mollett, of the 68th North Carolina, a stout fighter, who, wounded in the leg below the knee, had fallen near the bridge and was there captured .. Sur- geon Dimon, of the 3d New York, dressed his wounds in a house near the bridge, temporarily connected with a hospital, and determined to save his leg. The Medical Director on Foster's staff paid Col. Mollett the deference to call upon him at the hospital. He disagreed, however, with Surgeon Dimon and was for having the leg off. Gen. Foster came in. They appealed to him. Now Foster had himself been wounded in the Mexican war in about the same way and had saved his own `leg. He took Surgeon Dimon's view of the matter and made an excuse by means of which the Medical Director was sent away. Mollett was left in Dimon's hands. The leg was saved. Afterwards, at Gettysburg, when Dr. Dimon went down from Auburn as a volunteer Surgeon to care for the wounded of the great battle, he heard of Col. Mollett and his perfect health.
Some of our men looked into the hospital during the evening, but retired with a shudder on stumbling on a ghastly pile of amputated human arms and legs.
After dark, Lieut. Birchmeyer's section of Battery Fand Capt. Cole's company of the 3d Cavalry went down the Neuse, to a deserted rebel fort, commanding the river, and brought away four pieces of light artillery, they found there, besides spiking an 8-inch columbiad and a 32-pounder, and blowing up the maga- zine.
While at Kinston, Gen. Foster obtained information that Burnside had been repulsed bloodily in the assault on Freder- icksburg, and Gen. Lee had telegraphed to Gen. G. W. Smith, Confederate commander at Goldsboro, that he could send 30,- ooo men, if necessary, to resist our advance. He also learned that on the direct road from Kinston to Goldsboro he would have to fight heavy earthworks at several points. It occurred to him, however, that he could yet accomplish the object of the ex- pedition by a rapid march up the south bank of the Neuse, by properly deceiving the enemy. He resolved to go on.
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Next morning, under cover of a strong feint on the direct road to Goldsboro, Kinston was cleared of our troops at day- light. Foster recrossed the bridge and made a rapid march up the south bank of the river. Lieut .- Col. Stewart remained to burn a railroad monitor, locomotive, &c., at Kinston, and then burnt the bridge across the Neuse to prevent the rebels from crossing and attacking our rear.
At nightfall, the army bivouacked within three miles and a half of the village of Whitehall.
By order of Gen. Foster, two companies of the.3d Cavalry, under Major Garrard, and one section of Battery F, 3d New York, went up towards Whitehall to burn the bridge over the Neuse and destroy a rebel gunboat in process of construction there. On arriving at the bridge, they found it already in flames, a South Carolina regiment having just retreated across it to the north bank. The river was teconnoitered as well as could be in the gloom of the night. The gun boat was discovered on the north side of the river, on the stocks, her wood work about two- thirds done. She was a powerful, light draught monster, which it would be dangerous to allow ever to be completed. Two thousand barrels of turpentine were set on fire to illuminate the' boat. Then, while Battery F opened fire on the dark, dense woods across the stream, Henry Butler of the 3d Cavalry, swam across and tried to set fire to the boat by means of a brand from the bridge. The enemy chased him back and he failed to burn the rebel cruiser, and nothing could be done except to batter the boat with solid shot and riddle it. This was done and the ex- pedition returned.
Next day the army advanced and over the ruins of the burned bridge and the riddled gun-boat, fought the battle of Whitehall.
The battle was delivered by Gen. Foster with the ostensible object of crossing the river, and was a very animated and hard- fought affair. In reality it was but a feint, designed to amuse the enemy while the 3d New York Cavalry, under Maj. Garrard, and Ransom's Battery made a dash at Mt. Olive station, on the Weldon and Wilmington railroad.
The cavalry expedition left camp at daylight. On passing Whitehall, the enemy fired upon it from the north bank of the river. A halt was ordered and the compliment was repaid with interest. When our main body came up, the cavalry drew out of the action and went on.
At Whitehall, gloomy woods clothed both banks of the river, except on the south side, where a large clearing had been made among the trees, forming a sort of ampitheatre. The ground
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sloped steeply to the river. The enemy was on the north bank in the woods, 6,000 strong, under Gen. Robertson, with artillery in intrenchments.
Reaching the open ground, Gen. Foster sent several infantry regiments to the river bank to engage the enemy. The rest were halted to allow the passage of the artillery, which, receiving orders to come to the front with all speed, spared neither lash nor spurs, and came thundering into the open ground on a run, battery after battery. As fast as they reported, those having light guns, viz : F, H and K, and Belger's, were ranged along our line of battle, near the base of the slope, the heavy guns, those of E and I, near the top. Battery B was not in the fight. As fast as they came into position, our guns opened fire on the woods, gunboat, and the rebel battery, and for two hours and over poured shot, shell and cannister into them steadily. The cannonading was furious beyond experience. It seemed to be one continuous peal of deafening thunder. The ground trem- bled under the sound. On our side full thirty cannon were in action, and at least ten on the side of the rebels. The rebels fired heavily and rapidly, directing their batteries chiefly against the guns on the hillside, their musketry against those near the river. Balls and shells ploughed the ground in every direction, and had the rebels exhibited their boasted marksmanship, the slaughter in the Union ranks must have been fearful. As it was the damage was comparatively light.
Our officers and men acted with consummate coolness and courage throughout the fight, and served their guns with preci- sion and steadiness. Maj. Kennedy speaks in the highest terms of them all. Lieuts. Dennis and Richardson, who took, the one a section, the other one gun, to most exposed positions on the river bank, must be especially mentioned for daring and cool- ness.
Having silenced the enemy's guns and made several demon- strations as if to cross, once so deceiving our own army that several of the roth Connecticut actually swam across, Gen. Foster gave orders to cease firing and formed his brigades for a resumption of the march to Goldsboro, leaving a body of sharp- shooters to keep up the fight.
The loss of our army at Whitehall was seventy-five killed and wounded.
The 3d Artillery lost, viz :
Killed-Peter Hackett and Wm. Ryan, Battery K.
Wounded-Col. Ledlie, Surgeon Dimon and Chaplain Hart, contusions ; J. Morrison, James Hinman, Asa Clark, Battery
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E; Patrick Lynch, Battery I ; Lieut. Kirby, Daniel Grover, Wm. H. Chase, Mandeville Ward, Geo. Crossman, Wm H. Stewart, Battery K.
The regiment also lost one of the steel guns of Jenny's Bat- tery, which burst in action, falling to the ground in four pieces, fortunately without hurting any one. Lieut. Kirby had two horses shot under him. His Battery was in the hottest part of of the field.
The death of Hackett illustrates the splendid stuff of which the 3d Artillery was composed and its magnificent discipline. Battery K was under a terrible fire. The rebel gunners were doing their worst and filled the air with such a torrent of iron missiles that it seemed like the roaring of a storm overhead. Yet Hackett, a driver, stood composedly at his horse's head, holding the bridle in one hand, the other hanging stiffly by the side, in a military attitude, as if on dress parade of the regi- ment. A cannon shot carried away his head. He stood for a moment in the same military posture and then fell to the ground.
Ryan was behind a large stump. Raising his head to recon- noiter, a cannon ball that moment carried away his head, too. This was when the fight was nearly over and some of the men were laying off.
Lieut. Mercereau's celebrated shot at Whitehall must not be forgotten. The Lieutenant saw a rebel bearer of dispatches mount his horse near a signal station and ride off, and sighting a cannon at him shot him in the head while riding at full speed. Throwing up his arms, he fell from his horse to the ground.
After the battle the army marched on through a heavily wooded country, to within three miles of the goal of the expe- dition, viz : the railroad bridge crossing the river Neuse near Goldsboro. Gen. Foster had thus far completely deceived and out-generaled the rebels, had evaded the heavy breastworks they had built on the roads north of the Neuse, and was now within easy striking distance of the coveted prize. About mid- night the cavalry expedition came in from Mt. Olive station, having destroyed four miles of railroad track and telegraph and burnt a trestle bridge, thus for the first time interrupting both mail and telegraphic communication between Gen. Lee's army in Virginia and those strongholds of treason, Charleston and Wilmington.
The railroad bridge at Goldsboro was a handsome structure of wood, two hundred feet long, which it had taken a year orig-
BATTLE OF GOLDSBORO.
inally to build. To protect this from our arms, and also the county bridge half a mile above it, the rebels were now concen- trating in strong force. And when, at 10 A. M. of the 17th, Gen. Foster's leading brigade came within two miles of Goldsboro, it found a Confederate brigade under Clingman drawn up in line on the embankment of the railroad to receive it. There was also going on a general muster of men and guns on the north bank. Clingman was attacked at once, Capt. Riggs dropping a few shells on his lines, the infantry sending in vollies of mus- ketry. The rebels weakened readily, and left on the double- quick for the county bridge.
Our regiments pushed on, pursuing the line of the railroad, evoking the fire of sharp-shooters, a rebel battery on the north bank of the river, and an iron armored railroad car having a gun aboard, as they drew near the river. Arriving in presence of the bridge, Batteries B, E, H and I, 3d New York, and Belger's Battery came up and took position in the fields. The rebel battery was silenced almost at once.
Distant cheers were heard, and it was discovered that a railroad train had arrived with reinforcements. It was Gen. Pettigrew and his men. The train was promptly shelled with excellent effect. A 24-pound shell from Battery E raked two of the cars, which were platform cars, and burst on the third. The rebels yelled fearfully at this, and the train backed off.
Col. Hickman, of the 9th New Jersey, receiving an order to burn the bridge, advanced with his regiment as far as he could safely go. Volunteers to attempt the hazardous enter- prise being then called for, 17th Massachusetts and 9th New Jersey men came forward and tried it, but were wounded and driven back by the enemy, who shot hard and fast at all who approached the bridge. After failures by several, the feat was performed by Lieut .- Geo. W. Graham, of the 23d Battery, acting Aid to Col. Hickman, Battery B, 3d New York, furnishing the port fires used for the purpose. When the bridge was in flames, our artillery directed upon it an over-powering fire, preventing . any attempt to save it.
The General gave orders next to tear up the railroad. Two Massachusetts regiments, lying in reserve, stacked arms and rushed upon the track with a yell. They tore it up by hands, raising rods of it at a time. They did their work well, burning the ties and bending the rails for a long distance.
The object of the expedition having been fully accomplished, and rebeldom from Charleston to Richmond beginning to rush in reinforcements to Goldsboro, Foster, at 3 1-2 P. M., ordered
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the baggage trains to be reversed, and set out with the reserve troops for Newbern, intent on finding some convenient camping ground for the night. Battery B, 3d New York, and Col. Lee's brigade lingered on the field of battle till nearly sundown, lying lazily on the grass.
The troops started back in the best of spirits, singing patriotic airs, occasionally varied by Old Hundred and plantation songs, while the few bands played their liveliest and most joyous tunes. When the artillery came off the field to take its place in column, the troops greeted it with cheers. Regiment after regiment waved their caps and flags enthusiastically and made the welkin ring with stormy hurrahs. "Here come Thomas's big guns, three cheers," they would shout, as that Battery came by. " Here come Jenny's Wiards-three rousers for him." "Here comes little Ashby, with his big howitzers-give him a good one." " Here's Angel, with the big Napoleons, three more." And so on to the last. No General Orders from headquarters could have better testified to the worth of the services of our ar- tillery in the field, than this spontaneous and cordial outburst on the field of battle. And no knight freshly dubbed ever buckled on his spurs with more pride than the 3d Artillery took the tumultuous ovation thus tendered them by their comrades of the infantry.
The rebels had now collected at Goldsboro, Evans's, Cling- man's, Pettigrew's, the Mississippi, and other brigades, outnum- bering the army of Foster by thousands. They, therefore, sud- denly became inspired to do him harm, and crossing a large force over the county bridge, when they could no longer save the railroad bridge, they attacked his rear guard.
Lee's brigade and Morrison's Battery still remained on the battle field. Morrison was just coming off, when his bugler, a Frenchman, dashed up to him in great agitation and cried ex- citedly : "You zee ! You zee !" pointing back. Morrison " turned, and saw a knot of rebels standing on the railroad em- bankment, not far from the bridge. He supposed they wanted to surrender. Riding down, he called to them to come over and give themselves up. They deigned no reply, but darted down on the other side, out of sight.
At Lieut .- Col. Mix's suggestion, Morrison unlimbered two of his guns and threw a few shells into the woods, whither they had retired, beyond the embankment, to flush the game if there was any there. Nothing came of it, however, and the guns rejoined the Battery. They had no sooner done so than three rebel regi- ments sprang over the top of the embankment in line of battle,
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MORRISON REPULSES A CHARGE.
as though they had risen bodily out of the earth, and advanced steadily and swiftly upon the Battery. They came on in beau- tiful order, battle flags waving and bayonets shining in the dying light of day. Stern the order rang out, "Attention, Battery B! In action, rear." The six Napoleons were placed in battery, with the speed of thought, unlimbered, and opened a rapid fire with cannister and spherical case, upon the advancing rebels. Volley followed volley into the charging ranks, as fast as the gunners could throw ammunition into the guns and ram it home. The rebels were mowed down like grass in swaths, vet they still came on, exciting admiration by their superb order. No more gallant charge was ever made. The men faced death bravely, and though the deadly blasts of cannister rent opening after opening in their line, they closed up, and still came on steadily, the officers waving their swords frantically, and cheer- ing them forward. They advanced till within two hundred yards of the guns, till we could see the palmetto trees on their flags. Then the Battery began firing double loads of cannister. They could not stand that. The lines wavered, they halted, broke, and in a moment were running in disorder for the shelter of the embankment, while Morrison poured shell into them as long as they were in sight. Had a small force of cavalry been on hand to swoop down on the broken brigade, their battle flags and many prisoners could have been captured. The flags were left on the field in plain sight and Lieut .- Col. Stewart wanted to go and get them ; but Foster would not let him. As it was, however, they left over three hundred dead and wounded on the ground, to testify to the disastrous nature of their repulse and the withering fire to which Morrison's well-drilled gunners had subjected them. The charge was repulsed by Morrison's Bat- tery, unaided by the infantry.
While this charge was being made in front, two rebel regi- ments and a battery were sent to attack our left. They made a strong demonstration. A regiment was faced about to meet them, and Rigg's Battery came up and shelled the woods in which the rebel battery was masked. The attack was soon withdrawn.
The renewal of hostilities caused the whole army at first to halt, and preparations were made for a general engagement. But the attack ceasing, the march was now resumed by all. A short distance from the scene of the battle, a mill stream crossed the road. Our troops had forded it easily that morning in com- ing up, but now the rebels had dammed the stream and raised the water waist high. It was icy cold, and the men were chilled through and through by it.
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The army encamped five miles from Goldsboro.
During the battle, Major Garrard with the 3d Cavalry made a dash at a wagon bridge over the Neuse on our right. He found it in flames. The enemy was on the other side with a battery. Angel's battery was sent for and dispatched four guns to Gar- rard's assistance, supported by the 43d Massachusetts. Angel engaged the enemy's battery and silenced it. The expedition returned at dark.
This made the third bridge destroyed by our forces near Goldsboro.
During the engagement, a little incident occurred which illus- trates the friendly feeling that existed between the 9th New Jersey and the 3d Artillery. A Massachusetts Chaplain asked a wounded Battery B soldier, "If he was supported by Provi- dence in this trying hour."
"No, by G-d," he said, " supported by the 9th New Jersey."
The night following the battle was cold and ice formed in the pools. One of Battery H's men, sleeping on the ground, had his hair frozen to the soil, and he could not get up next day till they chopped him out with an axe.
The march was resumed on the 18th before daylight. The day before, the army had had a trial by water. It now had one by fire. It had to pass through a long piece of burning woods. The smoke was stifling and trees and brands were fall- ing in all directions. Happily the troops got through without serious accident. They marched that day as far as the White- hall battle ground, and stopped to bury some dead that had been left on the field.
At noon of the 19th, the scene of the Kinston battle was passed. A shocking sight there met our eyes. The rebels had opened the graves of our dead and robbed the soldiers of their clothing, and they now lay there stark and stiff, exposed to the elements. They were reinterred.
The Engineer of the expedition led the way back on this march, with a company of cavalry and a detachment of the Sig- nal Corps under Lieut. David A. Taylor, whose services on this expedition were invaluable.
The march was pushed rapidly over frozen roads, as Foster was anxious to reach his base of supplies. The troops were nearly out of provisions. Hard tack even, and coffee, were so scarce that the men were devoured with hunger. To their joy, a few miles below Kinston, they discovered the welcome sight of a Union gun-boat lying in the river, laden with provisions. A balt was ordered while the wagons were loading up and then af-
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