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 24
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31
Battery K, on reaching the Walthal farm on the 21st, took position on the left of and some little distance from Battery E, being near the ravine that has been spoken of. It was not en- gaged that day.
On the 22d, however, it opened on the Chesterfield Battery. Four guns replied. Their shells nearly all went over, dropping and bounding into the turnpike traveled by the supply trains, creating consternation amongst the teamsters. Battery K's splendid three-inch Rodmans did no such loose shooting, and its 10-pound missiles flew straight into the enemy's midst, where, supplemented by some 24-pound arguments from Battery E, they raised a cloud of dust that fairly hid the hostile guns from . view and soon silenced them. Our pickets by the river said that the rebels ran out of their work in a panic. K fired 227 rounds during the day.
On the 23d, E fired slowly at the town all day ; also at Arch- er's Hill. K received some balls from the latter at breakfast time, which knocked the dirt over the men and spilled some coffee. Nearly a regiment had been strengthening the rebel
-
247
E AND K ON THE WALTHAL FARM.
work that night, and they now felt disposed to be aggressive. Three hundred and thirty-two rounds from Battery K severely punished them for their temerity, badly disfigured their fortifica- tion, and made up for the spilled coffee.
Grant's first attempt to extend his left flank, so as to take pos- session of the Weldon railroad, was repulsed on the 23d by Gen. Hill. This so elated the rebels that they were on the 24th exceedingly demonstrative along the whole line, particularly on the right. They even charged on the roth Corps, but were soundly whipped for their pains. Batteries E and K came in for a share of their civilities, and received a hot fire from the Ches- terfield battery, and a new work north of it, thrown up to protect the Chesterfield and call off our fire from it. The bombard- ment was furious, and Wm. Foley was killed in E, with a shell ; while in K, Blanchard and Barry were wounded. The rebels had five Io-pounders and two heavy pieces. The 3d Artillery did not take this infliction meekly, by any means, but now showed the Confederates some really scientific shooting. E opened the ball, its four guns firing one after the other in regular succession. When the fourth shot of the second round was fired, K, down by the ravine, took up the rhythm, and its six guns, with beautiful precision, fired twelve shots, one after the other, at the same regular intervals. Then E resumed and fired by sections. K again took up the cadence and sent in its fire by sections. Then a moment's pause, while both Batteries shotted every gun. Then, with a crash that shook the ground, E delivered a full broadside, instantly followed by a broadside from K. It was one of the prettiest things done on our whole intrenched front, and the two Batteries, having a perfect under- standing about it, and their wonderful proficiency enabling them to act like clock work, repeated the performance day after day, till it became the theme of the army. Generals, Congressmen, officers of the corps which were encamped around the planta- tion, and noted visitors came up every day to witness it. The effect was indescribably thrilling. The guns of both Batteries being carefully pointed, not one of these shots was ever thrown away, and the joint effort seldom failed to silence the rebel works in fifteen minutes. On this occasion the duel lasted longer than that, but resulted the same, the rebels hauling oft their guns with their prolonges. E fired 500 rounds ; K, 232, on that day.
On the 25th, Battery M joined the range of Union guns op- posing the Chesterfield, and did good service in all the battles at that part of the lines up to the middle of August. It re- ceived the highest praises for its efficiency.
.
248
3D NEW-YORK VOLUNTEER ARTILLERY.
All three Batteries engaged the enemy every day. K fired a great deal at a suburb of Petersburg, on the northern bank, called Pocohontas, filling some large warehouses there full of holes. On the 27th, the Chief of Artillery said that E dis- mounted seven rebel guns. Privates Remington and Nagle were wounded in E that day by the premature explosion of a piece.
At 8 P. M. of the 27th, K moved to a work on a high bank of the river, overhanging the water, just north of the mouth of Harrison's creek. It bore the title of Battery 5, was within a mile and a quarter of Petersburg, and was supported by the center of the 18th Corps. The rebels had a heavy force of sharpshooters across the river in the fields, in gopher holes and riffe pits. Capt. Regan's 7th New York Battery had been si- lenced by their fire. So Capt. Angel was ordered in at night to relieve him, his orders being to watch the railroad bridge at Petersburg, and shell any trains. The horses were placed for safety in the deep gully of Harrison's creek. This was the hot- test place the Battery had yet seen. Rebel sharpshooters watched it close. A hat held over the parapet would be imme- diately pierced with a ball, and an embrasure could not be opened without a score of bullets flying in almost on the instant. Luckily no trains attempted to pass the railroad bridge, so Bat- tery K had little to do here.
There now ensued for some weeks after, our failure to capture the Weldon railroad, a comparative lull in the general operations of our army. The time was improved to strengthen the in- trenchments and build a military railroad along our rear and running to City Point to transport troops and supplies.
June 29th, Battery K at night relieved some 30-pound and 32- pound artillery at the Page house redoubt, a work directly south of the position on the bank of the river, and about half a mile from it. Emerging from Battery 5 at midnight, it entered the ravine of Harrison's creek, along one side of which ran a rough road. As it marched up the creek, the unavoidable chucking of the wheels was overheard by the rebels across the Appomattox, who fired into the ravine with some guns that happened to be in the right situation therefor. The enemy's shots just swept the opposite bank of the narrow pass. We could see the me- teor-like train of sparks of the burning fuse, as the shells flew by, yet, though more than twenty were fired, not one came on our side of the ravine, or did any damage. The Battery got in at daylight. As the work had three embrasures only, three of the guns were temporarily useless, and had to be parked with the
249
K AT THE PAGE HOUSE.
caissons in the ravine, some distance in rear of the work. The other three were run in by hand. The Page house redoubt was a mere nothing at this time to what it was when Battery K left it. It was an important position, for it constituted one of the few places that commanded the city, and it was necessary to have heavy works, on account of the close proximity to the enemy's lines and his heavy guns. Upon taking possession, Battery K went to work nights. Toiling diligently, it strengthened and enlarged the redoubt, cut three new embrasures, built a strong magazine, cut trenches and covered ways, and erected traverses and tomb proofs, the latter being necessary for protection against those furious and disagreeable visitors, the rebel mortar shells. In two weeks, Capt. Angel was able to bring up his other three guns.
June 30th, general firing took place along the lines. K fired 300 shots-some into the city, some at moving bodies, some at rebel works. James Bessy had his right arm shot off by the pre- mature discharge of a piece.
Artillery battles took place every day. The summer was so dry and the roads so dusty, that the movement of a regiment of troops or a train of wagons or artillery, in either of the oppos- ing armies in the day time, was accurately revealed by dense clouds of dust. Johnnies and Yankees both fired at these clouds of dust whenever they made their appearance, provoking a return fire to silence them. July 2d, one of the most furious and exciting of these artillery battles yet took place at 3:30 P. M. The rebels opened with their heaviest guns. We had by this time 100 guns in position in our intrenchments. The rain of shells which they now poured upon the rebel works was something wonderful in warfare. The enemy could not stand it, and after two hours' firing became silent. During the battle, Lieut. Mowers and Sergt. Goodrich, of Battery E, had a narrow escape. A shell passed through a tent in which the latter was writing and the former making his toilet.
The Union artillery at Petersburg was reinforced on the 3d of July by the welcome arrival of four guns of Battery H, 3d Artillery, Capt. Riggs. They had landed at Bermuda Hundreds on the Ist, leaving the other two guns at Wilson's landing. After two days in Butler's reserve artillery camp, they now reported to Gen. Smith and went into the trenches. Birch- meyer's section took position in the bastion next to its com- rades of Battery K, on the right of the City Point Railroad, and with solid shot cut down some trees masking a rebel battery. Fay's gallant section was put into the front line, just inside the
250
3D NEW-YORK VOLUNTEER ARTILLERY.
old Petersburg race course, only forty rods from the enemy. On the 6th, Fay performed the handsome feat of blowing up a rebel magazine with a spherical case shot at 650 yards. Deserters said that twenty-five men were killed by the explosion.
Next day the rebels made a rush for that part of our lines defended by H and K. Our lookouts saw flags move behind their works. The first thing we knew several regiments jumped out, fired a heavy volley, driving the staves of three battle flags into the parapet, they then fell back out of sight, but we soon had two brigades firing at us hot and hard. In a moment the rebels again jumped out and advanced. Batteries H and K met them with shot, shell and cannister, and tore their line to pieces, while our infantry manning the rifle pits two deep plied it with vollies of musketry. In five minutes the charge was repulsed and the enemy flying for his rifle pits. A second and third attempt met with a similar fate. K's ammunition be- ginning to fail in the course of the action the men brought a supply from the rear under a galling fire, the ground being highest back of the redoubt, thus exposing them to the sharp- shooters. Ordinarily the danger of going out and in to the re- doubt in the day time was so great that it was seldom under- taken.
On the 8th, the right section of Battery E, Sergt. Goodrich's, was ordered to report to Turner's Division of the roth Corps, on the left of the 18th. Col. Burton, Chief of Artillery, on the section reporting, placed it in one of the most dangerous and celebrated positions on the whole Federal line of circumvalla- tion. The Prince George turnpike entering Petersburg from the east, (guarding which was the old rebel Battery 9 which the 18th Corps, supported by Battery K, stormed on June 16th,) when near the city, at a point a mile from the river, turns north at a right angle and runs up, just in rear of our intrenchments, to an in- tersection with the river road. West of this right angle, on the lines, was a battery, called probably from its proximity to the Hare House, the Hare Battery, though officially known as Fort · Stedman. It stood on rising ground, and groves of oaks around made it a beautiful spot. Within 400 yards of the rebel lines, and a commanding position, it was a prize for the possession of which more lives are believed to have been lost than at any other point on our lines. We captured it originally from the rebels. They continually charged on it in return. Before the siege ended they recaptured it, and it was again retaken by us. Goodrich's section, approaching this position on the 8th, unlim- bered the guns in the rear and ran them in by hand, sending
.
251
K SHELLING THE CITY.
the horses back to the rest of the Battery. The section became hotly engaged on the 9th. The enemy opened with heavy volleys of musketry, the first shot we . fired. His artillery also opened, and our breastworks being light and insufficient, were nearly knocked down. Three days were now consumed in putting the work in defensive condition, and in rigging up mantelets, or bullet-proof mats of rope, to protect the men. The enemy meanwhile poured in an unremitting fire of small shot and cannon shot. Sometimes not a shot could be given in return. The men had to lay down and take it without reply. But this could not be long endured, for the rebel miss- iles raked the road in our rear, and did no small damage to our troops. On the 13th, Goodrich was opened on with fury, and returned the compliment so energetically that he shut up the rebel guns in twenty-nine rounds. Our infantry all around cheered at the result, and Gen. Curtis came in to the redoubt, hat off, and sabre in hand, to express his pleasure. In this fight Goodrich again displayed the qualities of a sterling soldier, ex- posing himself freely to watch the execution of our shot. While looking over the parapet once, his chin upon it, a ball buried itself in the earth just a few inches in front, filling his eyes with dirt. The section engaged the enemy daily until the 22d, when it was relieved by the other section. It returned to the Walthal farm. On the 29th, it again changed places with the left sec- tion, the latter returning to Walthal.
July 20th, Battery K got its other three guns into position at the Page house. It was engaged every day. Sometimes it si- lenced the enemy's batteries, to deter them from shelling our troops. It battered the railroad bridge over the Appomattox, when there was nothing else to do, and severely injured it. Five different times it fired the city of Petersburg and shelled the part that was burning to prevent the flames being extin- guished. A large part of the firing was on the city. Conspicu- ous buildings and spires were made targets of and completely riddled. Capt. Angel visited Petersburg after the capture, and saw the effects of his shot everywhere. An old woman, living in a brick house that he had often fired at, without knowing who he was, told him the experiences she had had when "that ter- rible battery on the hill," pointing out the exact site of Battery K, opened fire. She had saved two case shot that had dropped on her house without exploding, and Angel recognized them at once as his ammunition. The old woman had a bomb-proof in her garden, of timbers and earth, that she and her household fled to during the shelling.
252
3D NEW-YORK VOLUNTEER ARTILLERY.
K continued to pay its compliments to the city in the only legal tender known to it, case shot, fuse shell and percussion shell, until relieved.
On the 27th, Lieut. Scott's section of H came up from Wil- son's landing. One gun reinforced each of the other sections.
On the gray dawn of the 30th of July, occurred a terrible tragedy of the siege, the Mine. Batteries E, H, K and M all had notice of the impending event, the afternoon before. A mile and a half from the Appomattox stood, on our lines, the strong Fort Marton, and immediately in front of it the working parties of the 9th Corps, Burnside's, had pushed their trenches up to within 150 yards of the rebel fortifications. Under a massive earthwork, which was the principal. stronghold on this part of the rebel line, there had been run a mine, and the work was to be blown into the air at daylight. The Batteries were notified that the explosion was to be the signal for a general ar- tillery engagement. At 3 A. M. every gun was shotted and the gunners waiting. The infantry was under arms. At a quarter to five, the mine was sprung. Our officers felt the earth shud- der under their feet, and, looking toward the south, they saw the terrible spectacle. A huge, dense, dark column of earth spouted into the air, bearing with it the guns and garrison of the fort. It rose slowly up, black and awful, and then unfolding, spread out like the smoke of a volcanic eruption. The sullen roar of the detonation came a moment later. Then there leaped out on the instant the peal of 120 guns from the Federal lines, and our bursting shells tore the crest of the rebel works along the whole front, and tossed up clouds of dust, that almost hid them from view. The battle was soon over as far as the infantry was con- cerned, Ledlie's division charging the crater, but not getting through, and being repulsed with the loss of 4,400 men. But an artillery battle raged nearly all day. The 3d New York Bat- teries opened on the enemy across the river, the guns of E at the Hare house only excepted. They were hotly answered, but succeeded in reducing their opponents to silence, when they turned some of their guns on the city. Battery K fired the city in three places. We could hear the bells ringing to summon the firemen to the rescue, but K shelled the scene of conflagration vigorously, and it may well be imagined that little was done to stay the progress of the flames. "Nearly a whole square burnt down in that fire. K fired 1,000 rounds, and M, H and E each several hundred during the day. In the afternoon the rebels charged on the position occupied by the section of E at the Hare house. They were repulsed by the infantry.
·
253
THE MINE.
The mine having failed to enable us to capture Cemetery Hill, as was desired, and the artillery being exhausted by the labo- rious services of the month, such batteries as could be spared were sent to the rear on the 31st, to enjoy a few days rest. Batteries E, H and K of the 3d New York were among the number. E, being first consolidated, went to Spring Hill. It was first ordered to City Point, for the purpose of going to Wash- ington to aid in the operations against Early, the raider, who had burnt Chambersburg, and was raising Ned generally on the upper Potomac. But the order was rescinded. H encamped a mile in rear of the lines. It had been under fire twenty-six days, and had the following casualties : Corp. Tryon, wounded, on the 18th ; Throop and Perkins, same, 30th ; Craver, same, mortally, 30th. K camped in rear of the lines.
Battery M, with its gallant personnel, remained at the front. · The affair of the mine was a national disaster. In a country like ours, where the prosecution of national enterprises, such as that of a war, depends on public opinion, anything which tends to shock or dismay the country or encourage the opposition party, is a disaster to the cause. Our bloody repulse at the mine deserves, therefore, to be designated by that title, for it dejected the country and so strengthened the peace party of the North as to throw many obstacles in the way of a vigorous prosecution of the war. There was one at the head of the army, however, whom it never swerved for a moment. Brave, hopeful, and determined, he left Government and the loyal men of the North to take care of those opening "fire in the rear," and ap- plied himself afresh to the subjugation of the traitors in arms.
A few days rest only was allowed to those sent to the rear to recuperate after the mine. The three New York Artillery Batteries received orders to resume places in the trenches again, and came back ; and all through August and September remained where the battle raged fiercest, being under fire with scarce a day's intermission.
Battery E left Spring Hill for the front, August 2d. March- ing down the river road, the right section turned off on reaching the Rushmore house, half a mile north of the old place at the Walthal house, where, on the edge of the bluff, overlooking the fleet, a redoubt had been built, enfilading Fort Clifton.
The left section marched on, and, 'at 9 P. M., entered the trenches near the Hare house, on the left of the 18th Corps, 400 yards from the enemy's lines. The section went into the uncouth, rough looking, but massive breastwork, with thick, high walls, and so strong that no shot could hope to reach its
254
3D NEW-YORK VOLUNTEER ARTILLERY.
defenders in the rear, except by horizontal fire through an em- brasure, or by being dropped in from above by a mortar, and that rarely if ever happened. Like all our works before Peters- burg, the embrasures were reveted with gabions, and the em- bankment partially so with plank, while the openings of the embrasures were closed against the shot of the sharpshooting fraternity by mantelets, heavy mats of rope, suspended from a stout stick supported on forked saplings, the mats having an aperture in the center, through which to thrust and aim the small, tapering muzzles of the Battery's Parrots.
The adventurous volunteer, at this time, peeping over the top of this work, to catch a view of the two opposing lines of fortifi- cations, looked upon a scene of singular description. Before him lay trenches, excavations, abattis of trees, embankments, huge hemi-spherical bomb-proofs, lines of rifle pits, forts, and batteries, in what seemed to be inextricable confusion. The whole surface of the earth for 400 yards, westwards, and as far as the eye could reach, north and south, was dug over, and a chaos of holes and ditches, and heaps and parapets of brown earth, covered the green hillsides and valleys in all directions. On close examination, however, the works would assume an ap- pearance of regularity. The principal lines of works could be traced out with considerable distinctness, the eye being assisted therein by the curling clouds of smoke that rose from the mor- tars and batteries posted at intervals along them. The rest would then appear orderly and systematic. Back of the rebel lines rose the gentle, rounded crest of Cemetery hill, with the spires of the city and groves of trees peering above it.
'The section of E at this point, Lieut. Goodrich commanding, had a lively experience on the 4th. It had been definitely known for several days that the rebels were tunneling out to- wards the large fort, on the hill on the left of the section, to un- dermine and blow it up, retaliating on us for the destruction of their fort and its garrison of 200 men, July 30th. On the 3d, everything was withdrawn from the hill to the next line in rear. About 5 P. M. of the 4th, the ground shook, a rumbling roar was heard, and a brown cloud of earth founted up one hundred feet in height, almost in front of the section of Battery E. In- stantly every gun on the rebel lines awoke to action, and a pe- culiarly rapid and close fire was poured upon us. Our infantry came up on the double quick, and formed two lines of battle in rear of Battery E's position. Some advanced to the breastworks, and, seconded by the artillery, poured several destructive vollies into the rebels, who were swarming out to make a charge. Per-
255
E CONSOLIDATED ONCE MORE.
ceiving from the derisive cheers from our lines that their mine was a failure, not a pound of dirt having been thrown by it into our lines, and staggered by the iron hail we hurled upon them, they fled incontinently for cover again. In half an hour the firing subsided.
The 6th of August found E consolidated once more, under Capt. Ashby's command, and in occupancy of Battery 5, on the bank of the Appomattox. One gun was placed to bear on Pe- tersburg, 1,500 yards away, the rest on the Chesterfield Battery across the river. With E in position were four 8-inch mortars. The battery across the river had a bad habit of opening on E every night, about midnight, and firing for some hours. We al- ways returned the fire. Both sides bombarded freely now every night, principally with mortars. Sometimes forty were going at once, spanning the heavens with arches of fire of peculiar bril- liancy and beauty. In rear of E, on a hill, was mounted the celebrated "Petersburg Express," which on these occasions joined energetically in the fray, firing over Battery E, sending its enormous projectiles into the city.
Battery H came up from the reserve camp on the 9th. Two guns went into works on the right, and four on the left, of the City Point and Petersburg railroad, where they remained inces- santly engaged until Sept. 25th. A few casualties occurred during this time, several of the men being wounded.
Battery K relieved M near Friend's house, on the Petersburg road, and did good service there. M afterwards went to the Hare house.
On the 11th of August, the corps of Hancock was taken from the Petersburg lines and sent to the north side of the James, to attack the defenses of Richmond. The 18th Corps was accordingly stretched out along the works to help fill the gap, and, on the night of the 14th, Battery K marched to the Carter road and went into position in some works there, which being poor the men repaired substantially. The Battery re- mained there under mortar and musketry fire, day and night, until August 22d, sending in well-directed shots at the enemy, wherever they were deemed to be most calculated to do service.
On the 18th, at I A. M., simultaneously with a night attack on Hancock's Corps, north of the James, the rebels opened a ter- rible fire on the Petersburg lines, to cover that attack. It was a beautiful moonlight night, and the incongruity of letting loose upon the peaceful scene the horrors of war impressed itself on the men, who, however, answered the rebels steadily, and after two hours' bombardment silenced them.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.