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 20
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On the 19th of January, Frankle embarked his troops for a demonstration on the Chowan River. A gun from Battery D and one from the 23d Battery came up from Newbern to take part. A landing was made at Point Comfort, four miles below the town of Colerain, on the Chowan, on the 20th. Colerain was occupied that evening. Rams and railroad bridges were the ostensible object of this movement -- cotton and tobacco the actual one. The troops remained in the vicinity of Colerain. From time to time a movement was made in the direction of Edwards's Ferry and Winton, and several skirmishes took place with a force of rebels who kept sharp watch of Frankle's pro- ceedings and skirmished with his pickets. Battery I was en- gaged several times. It won the praise of all officers, and even of the "old Dutchman " himself, for its accurate and effective firing. After parading around the country, without particular result for some weeks, Frankle was finally cooped up at Point Comfort by the enemy and finally retired in disgust to Plymouth.
On the 8th of March, Battery I embarked for Newbern, pur- suant to orders from Gen. Palmer. It was preceded thither by the gun of Battery D.
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CO-OPERATING WITH SHERMAN.
XII.
CO-OPERATING WITH SHERMAN.
Battery F at Jacksonville -- Beauties of the Region-Titus's Thanksgiving Dinner -Foster to Co-operate with Gen, Sherman-Getting Ready for the Expedi- tion-At Boyd's Neck-A Day Wasted-Advancing on Grahamville-Battle of Honey Hill-Death of Wildt -- B and F in the Fight-Foster Tries Again -Advance to Devaux Neck-F in a Hot Skirmish-Shelling the Railroad- Sherman Heard From-B Comes Up-Evacuation by the Enemy-Sherman's March to the North-Hatch Advances on Charleston-Bringing in Deserted Guns-The 3d Artillery in Charleston-Carrying out Flags of Truce-Cap- ture of Gov. Magrath.
On the 5th of September, 1864, Battery F, 3d Artillery, then lying quietly in camp at Beaufort, S. C., was informed by Gen. Foster that it was relieved of duty in the district of Beaufort, and would proceed at once to join Gen. J. P. Hatch at Hilton Head. On the 13th, the Battery was ordered to Florida as part of the 4th Separate Brigade of the Department of the South. It went aboard the transports Canonicus and Neptune, leaving behind its tents, and on the 14th entered St. John's river, Florida, a most enchanting stream. Twenty miles from the mouth, it debarked at the once beautiful old town of Jacksonville.
Though boasting a population of 1,500 at the outbreak of the war, several hundred more than any other town in the State, Jacksonville was now in ruins, a desolate place, with but a mere handful of inhabitants. It had been burnt in March, 1863, upon its evacuation by three of our Union regiments, who had been holding it as a recruiting station for negroes. It was again de-
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vastated by fire in February, 1864, when Gen. Seymour landed on his expedition into the interior, which ended in the disastrous defeat of Olustee.
Battery F, on landing, went through the town and was assigned a camp ground in the northern suburb near the river, which was just over a knoll from the camp. Here two barracks were soon built, with a stable for the horses, all very comfortable quarters. The guns were parked by the side of the stable.
The scenery of Florida and the climate are proverbially lovely, yet it cannot be said that the 3d Artillery boys fell very power- fully in love with the peculiarities of the region about Jackson- ville. Alligators and snakes were unpleasantly numerous. Liz- ards ran over the men's faces at night and with the snakes invaded their knapsacks. Musquitoes buzzed and stung inces- santly. And as for the fleas, the boys used to say, that you might pick up a handful of sand and when the fleas had all run out, you could only see what was left by the aid of a microscope.
In October, Capt. Day left for home on a furlough, leaving Lieut. Titus in command of the Battery. Many recruits were received while here and by November the Battery mustered 167 strong, more than the regulation number. It made a splendid appearance on parade, where its fine discipline and rapidity and accuracy of maneuvre were always the topic of admiring com- ment. November 20th, the troops at the post united in a re- view. The brigade was formed, therefor, from right to left, in the following order : Battery F, 3d Artillery ; 75th Ohio, 107th Ohio, 3d U. S. Colored Troops, 35th U. S. Colored Troops, 34th U. S. Colored Troops, 4th Massachusetts Cavalry.
The 24th of November was Thanksgiving Day. Lieut. Titus was a favorite at the Post and many courtesies had from time to time been tendered him by the officers there. In return he had invited all the prominent officers at the Post to dine with him on Thanksgiving. The repast was spread in a little mess- house in Battery F's camp, set apart for the commissioned officers. For warriors in the field, the fare provided was of a luxuriant order. It consisted of the traditional Thanksgiving poultry, with beef, hot rolls, soft bread, champagne and an im- mense pile of oranges at each end of the plain wooden table, which it burdened. It was near sundown. Twenty or more blue-coated, shoulder-strapped soldiers thronged the little mess- house, and, while chatting merrily, strove to conceal the im- patience with which they awaited the arrival of the Assistant- Adjutant-General of the Post, who was a little late and alone delayed the onslaught. That dilatory individual at length gal-
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TITUS'S THANKSGIVING DINNER.
loped into the camp, attended by two Orderlies, each of whom had a bunch of mysterious but unmistakably official-looking envelopes under his arm. The company began to chaff the Adjutant-General on his unsoldierly tardiness, when good fare was in question ; but the smile died from every face as those mysterious packages were produced and one tossed to every officer commanding a regiment, battalion, or battery. Hastily torn open, they revealed orders from Gen. Foster to march that night, with secrecy and dispatch, and with other injunctions that left no doubt but that serious business was afoot for all. So sudden, so incongruous with the occasion was the news, that a chill fell on the festivities as though the specter of Death had entered upon the scene. One brave fellow, who had faced peril calmly in the hottest of the fight many times before, and who did his duty bravely on that, to him, fatal afternoon a few days later, shuddered as he gazed on the envelope on the table before him, and said, "My God, have I got to go too?" The Thanksgiving dinner was a changed affair. The bounty of Battery F was quickly discussed, and the officers hurried away from it as early as possible to attend to the duty of mustering their commands for the expedition.
About the middle of November, 1864, Gen. Foster, command- ing the Department of the South, received intelligence from Washington, that Gen. Sherman had left the city of Atlanta, Ga., with 65,000 men on his great March to the Sea. Nothing had been heard of his whereabouts since November 11th. He was in the heart of rebeldom and making for the coast. It was ex- pected that he would reach the coast about the 30th of the month, in the vicinity of Savannah. Gen. Foster was directed to co-operate in the great campaign. As the city of Savannah, with its treasures of cotton and military stores, was Sherman's real objective point, it was essential that the rebels should be crippled in any attempt they might make to concentrate an army there. Foster was accordingly ordered to collect every man he could spare from the garrisons of his department, to move out to the Savannah and Charleston railroad, take possession, and destroy it, by which means he would be virtually in the rear of Savannah, and Charleston also, and might compel an evacuation of both.
The resources of the Department of the South were at this time very slender, for the bulk of its troops had gone to Vir- ginia, to fight under Gen. Grant. Foster could spare only 5,000 men for the expedition, and half of these were black. But they N
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were brave, well-trained men, veterans, and ready to encounter the deadliest perils for the beloved cause of the Union.
These troops Gen. Foster secretly assembled on shipboard, at night, at Hilton Head, where they were brigaded under Gens. Hatch and Potter. Among them were two batteries of the 3d New York Artillery, whose good fortune it ever seemed to be to engage in great and honorable campaigns. They were Battery B, Capt. Mercereau, with four 12-pound Napoleon guns, which had been brought down from Fort Shaw, on Morris Island; and Battery F, Lieut. Titus, with four Napoleons, from Jacksonville. The movement began at 2 A. M. November 29th.
Pursuant to orders issued the evening before, captains of ves- sels were on the alert; and when, at the appointed hour, a red and white light shot a brilliant ray over the silent harbor, that portion of the fleet bearing the infantry hoisted anchor as noise- lessly as possible, and immediately moved in single file up the river. The artillery followed at daylight. The fleet rendez- voused at Boyd's Neck, twenty miles from Hilton Head, a long, broad point of land, between two streams, projecting into the river from the western shore, where a good wagon road comes down to the water from the village of Grahamville, ten miles distant, in the interior. When the artillery arrived, the princi- pal part of the infantry had marched into the country. A few regiments still lingered under the mossy live oaks at the landing, and they were joined at night by the artillery, which disem- barked at an old dock repaired for the purpose by the soldiers, and went into bivouac for the night.
The first day of the expedition was wasted in an empty march. That morning, when enough troops were ashore, Fos- ter had ordered Gen. Hatch to push forward to the railroad in the vicinity of Grahamville, with all celerity, take and hold it. Mistaking the direction, owing to insufficient knowledge of the topography of the region, Hatch, when he had marched out to the first cross road, which proved to be the direct turnpike be- tween Savannah and Coosawhatchie, turned north. He sur- veyed the country in that direction for several miles, when he discovered his blunder and hastened back to the junction of the road running to the landing. He was there joined by Gen. Potter. All then marched two miles south, when, turning a corner to the right they entered the correct road and struck out for Grahamville. But it was too' late in the day to retrieve the unfortunate error of the forenoon. Night came on, and Hatch fell back to the road junction opposite the landing, for the night. By this day's blunder, Foster's plans were revealed to
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ADVANCING ON GRAHAMVILLF.
the enemy, and they industriously employed the night to his disadvantage.
The advance moved forward again at daylight on the 30th, the first brigade supported by Battery B, 3d Artillery, the second by Battery F.
Passing down the Savannah turnpike, through groves of live oak and pine, and among plantations of cotton, the infantry, ar- tillery and cavalry moved in a splendid pageant in solid column on the road, with a long line of skirmishers on each side in front. About 8 o'clock, the 127th New York in the extreme advance, became briskly engaged with the enemy's picket line. On ap- proaching the corner of the straight road to Grahamville, two guns posted near the junction opened fire across the intervening field with intent to plough our advancing columns in the direc- tion of their depth with 12-pound projectiles. At the same time, a rank growth of grass and vegetation in a cotton field by the side of the road was set on fire. But neither the rebel shot nor the clouds of smoke and sparks that the wind blew down upon us sufficed to stay the army of freedom. Our brave skir- mishers went steadily through the burning field ; and now the advance section of Battery B, commanded by Lieuts. Wildt and Crocker, came up and took position in the road, under direction of Lieut .- Col. Ames, Chief of Artillery, and sent in twenty well directed shots in return for those with which the Johnnies were complimenting us. The rebels' discretion suddenly overcame their valor. They ceased the combustion of hostile gunpowder, in acknowledgment of the superiority of our Napoleons, and trotted off with great speed. Their infantry now contested the advance of our skirmishers with spirit, but without success. The 127th New York, 144th New York and 32d Colored, fought them bravely and the rebel banners gave ground and retired to- wards Grahamville, a distance of two or three miles. In this re- treat, the rebel battery made one more stand and sent a few wandering shots howling down into our vicinity. Wildt's sec- tion again engaged them, working its guns in splendid fashion. A few rounds sufficed to rout them and they beat a hasty exit from the scene through some gloomy woods that enveloped the road in their rear. The celerity with which they were driven off excited the admiration of Gen. Foster, who complimented Bat- tery B for it heartily.
During the artillery duel, Battery B lost that brave and faith- ful soldier, Lieut. Wildt. A solid 12-pound shot struck him in the left groin, inflicting a terrible wound, and then bound- ing on, slew a horse and a poor fellow amongst the infantry.
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3D NEW-YORK VOLUNTEER ARTILLERY.
Wildt staggered back as he received his wound and fell down in the road, calling to Lieut. Crocker that he was hit. A stretcher was quickly brought and he was conveyed to a little church in the rear, which the Surgeons had cleared of seats and converted into a hospital.
The rebels, now falling back and being strongly reinforced, made a stand at an eminence just beyond the woods, called Honey Hill. To obtain possession of it, a sanguinary battle was fought, lasting till night fall, the Hill being directly in the path to Grahamville, which lay three miles distant in its rear. It was a position of undoubted military strength. In front it was protected by a wide swamp, overgrown with the inevitable Southern underbrush, giving concealment to a legion of sharp-shooters. A sluggish creek flowed through the swamp and; was passable with ease at only one point where there was a rude bridge of wood. The Hill itself was covered with a profuse sprinkling of bushes and trees, and its crest was defended by a redoubt, with long rifle trenches on either flank. . These were now manned by a rebel brigade under Gen. Gustavus W. Smith and Gen. Robertson, ready to supplement the advan- tages of its position with all that could be done with 2,000 muskets and nine pieces of artillery. The artillery was placed in front of the redoubt, owing to some defect in the construction of the work. It was trained so as to rake road and bridge.
Following the enemy sharply through the woods, the brigade of Gen. Hatch formed line of battle along the western border with the right wing thrown out along a rough wagon path that branched from the main road at this point. The 55th Massa- chusetts, Col. Hartwell, was sent forward to see what there was on the Hill. It was a negro regiment. It performed its loyal devoir in a manner that excited the admiration of every beholder, although its dashing charge ended in disaster. Col. Hartwell brought his banners to the front. "Follow your colors, my men !" he cried. The blacks swept forward with a rousing cheer. Some of the companies made straight for the swamp and floundered through ; some rushed across the bridge. Upon all, that terrible battery on the Hill hurled shot and shell and cannister with staggering effect. Scores of brave fellows were bowled down by the iron balls and were left writhing on the ground as the rest of the line ran on. Col. Hartwell's horse was blown to pieces by a load of cannister and fell, pinning the Colonel down in the mire. The gallant blacks wavered not a moment. They dashed on. They were almost in the works. Lookers on, with their hearts in their throats,
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STORMING THE ENEMY'S WORKS.
gazed breathlessly to see them gain the Hill, when so withering a fire was concentrated upon them that they paused. They lost what little formation they had, broke, and were driven back in confusion to the friendly shelter of the woods. Col. Hartwell was extricated in the retreat. The rebels flocked out of their works and charged after the 55th, but were suddenly driven back by our musketry.
This charge made manifest to our Generals the difficult char- acter of the task before them. If the Charleston and Savannah railroad was to be broken that day, the utmost resources of the army were to be employed to capture the Hill. The first mea- sure was to order into action the artillery. Lieut. Crocker's section of Battery B were the nearest guns at hand. By direc- tion of Gen. Hatch, Lieut .- Col. Ames moved them at once down to the forks of the road, the only place in which artillery could be put. Here, six hundred yards only from the enemy's guns, they were commanded to shell the works and make themselves as useful as possible to our attack. The horses were sent to the rear for safety, the guns were shotted, sighted as accurately as the intervening branches of trees would allow, and then rang out their angry salutation. As their familiar thunder broke out amidst the vollies of musketry, the infantry, which had been fretting under the fire of the Hill, could no longer restrain its enthusiasm. Regiment after regiment charged forward to storm the works, the 127th New York, the 32d Colored, the 35th Col- ored. One after another, however, they were beaten back. Disordered in forcing a passage through that deadly swamp, which, that day, fought as hard for treason as the traitors them- selves, they only got through it to have cruel havoc wrought in their ranks by the rebel guns, and were hurled back with loss, in more or less confusion. The rebels always charged back. Several times they came across the bridge, and through the clouds of smoke could be seen by the men of Battery B, press- ing forward on our lines. Crocker, meanwhile, had been joined by Capt. Mercereau's section, and the four guns, rapidly worked, bore a prominent share in repelling the enemy's assaults. These guns were in a very dangerous situation, being under an unre- mitting fire of the rebel cannon and sharpshooters. Obscured by smoke and shrubbery, their exact position was as difficult to make out, however, as that of the rebel battery on the hill, and they escaped comparatively unscathed, though the rushing hail of bullets slashing the foliage and whistling about their heads, and the great balls that flew crackling through the woods behind every moment threatened to annihilate them. In this
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3D NEW-YORK VOLUNTEER ARTILLERY.
action Privates Dinehart, Branch, Miller, Greening, Criss, Prin- gle and Heathers received honorable wounds. Lieut. Crocker was also wounded. He was shot in the right eye with a musket ball, but he wrapped a handkerchief around his head and fought his guns for an hour after the hurt. Capt. Mercereau said of him in a report to Col. Stewart: "I never saw one display more cool judgment and bravery than he during the whole en- gagement."
The battle went on with unrebating energy until 2 P. M. The fighting was all at close quarters, like that of gladiators in the arena, and the firing, with the resounding woods on all sides to reverberate the noise, was terrific. At times, volley after volley would ring along the whole line, the artillery crashing away in the center. Then, for a while, only the sputtering fire of sharp- shooters, to be succeeded again by strong steady firing. By 2 P. M. Battery B was in a state of complete exhaustion from its arduous exertion since morning. Ammunition was nearly ex- pended, and one of the guns had recoiled into the ditch by the roadside, whence the men did not have the strength left to ex- tricate it. The Battery was then relieved from duty, Battery F being ordered up to replace it. Its conduct throughout the fight had been all that could be required of daring men, and its officers had been conspicuous for intrepidity.
Battery F, on a little knoll, away to the rear with the reserve infantry, had been momentarily awaiting a summons to come to the front. Orders came at last. The bugle sounded. Gunners scrambled to their places on limbers and caissons, the drivers applied the whip, and the Battery went up two miles and a half on a run, the infantry opening to right and left to let it pass. It was a reckless pace on that rough corduroy road, with deep ditches gaping to receive any stumbling team. But the men held on with all their might to keep their seats, and the drivers guiding their teams true, they arrived safely at the scene of the conflict. Just as they came up, a limber chest of Battery B ex- exploded, hurling Lieut. Breck roughly to the side of the road, badly burning his face and hands. Only one of B's guns was firing, and that at intervals. The rest were too hot to be ser- viceable, and Lieut. Titus caused them to be drawn to the rear by means of the prolonges, soldiers and negroes lending a will- ing hand to the ropes. Titus's pieces were then run up and opened fire on the Hill, which still defied our hardest assaults. Battery F had the satisfaction of perceiving that its attentions were a serious annoyance to the rebels, for they subjected it to a furious fire in return. The first gun discharged drew down
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FOSTER FAILS TO CARRY HONEY HILL.
such a storm that nearly every man serving it was wounded. The firing lent renewed vigor to our infantry attack, and every effort that the sagacity of our Generals could suggest, in view of their limited resources and the nature of the ground, was put forth to dislodge the enemy from the Hill. Battery F was worked in a rapid and handsome manner, and, with Battery B, made for the 3d Artillery a brilliant reputation in the Army of the South. Sergt. Harrington and Privates Vandenberg, Gri- ner and McKue were the most seriously wounded.
At nightfall, Gen. Foster relinquished the attack on Honey Hill, finding the resistance opposed to his advance by the rebels too obstinate to be overcome by the forces at his disposal. The troops were ordered back to the vicinity of the landing, and slowly retired. Lieut. Clark, of Battery F, remained with two guns to come on at the same time as the rear guard, and was the last to leave the bloody field. The artillery men were so tired that many, both drivers and cannoneers, fell asleep while marching to the landing.
Gen. Foster lost in this affair 746 men, in killed, wounded and missing. The rebel loss could be scarcely less. In the 3d Ar- tillery, fortunately, there was but one death, but that the death of a brave and loved officer. Lieut. Wildt expired a few hours after the amputation of his leg by the surgeons. Of Lieut. Titus's Thanksgiving party of officers at Jacksonville, few es- caped without wound, and some were killed.
For five days Gen. Foster remained on Boyd's Neck. He threw up intrenchments at the junction of the road from the landing with the Savannah and Coosawhatchie road, and manned them with Batteries B and F, and held the position against the enemy who advanced upon it and skirmished strongly for several days. To attract the attention of Gen. Sherman, should his troops be approaching this part of the coast, he sent up rockets and balloons at night and burnt calcium lights. December 3d, he took four regiments and a section of Battery B for a tour of observation to the north toward Coosawhatchie. The enemy was met in small force. Battery, B and a section of the 3d Rhode Island routed the opposition, when the reconnoissance returned. On the 5th, an expedition was again started for Coosawhatchie, supported by Battery F, having for its object the breaking of the railroad at that point and the burning of the bridge. Five miles out, some rebel earthworks were encountered. A few shots were thrown into them without drawing out a response. A deserter then came in with information that there was a large force at Coosawhatchie and the expedition fell back to camp.
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3D NEW-YORK VOLUNTEER ARTILLERY.
On the 6th, Gen. Foster renewed his attempts on the railroad. The brigade of Gen. E. E. Potter and Battery F, 3d Artillery, were taken up the river on gunboats to a long, narrow peninsula between Coosawhatchie and Tullifinny rivers, termed Devaux Neck. The brigade landed in the forenoon, surprising some of Gen. Hardee's Georgia troops, capturing the flag of one of the regiments, and driving them a distance of four miles up the peninsula, as far as the wagon road which crosses it running from Coosawhatchie to Charleston. The point was within half a mile of the railroad. Battery F landed in the night, which was rainy and cold. Moving out to the front, in darkness that con- cealed every vestige of our army entirely from view, it at last came up to a party of officers sitting under a tree. Lieut. Titus, who was in command, hailed them. Gen. Potter was there and was mightily glad to see the artillery ; he at once sent it into an open lot on the right of the road, directly in rear of the 56th New York, which lay in the grass asleep. The Battery laid by its guns all night, without unharnessing, and could hear cars running on the railroad every hour.
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