USA > New York > Disaster, struggle, triumph. The adventures of 1000 "boys in blue," from August, 1862, to June, 1865 > Part 15
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Brigadier-General OWEN gives the following report of it :
HEAD-QUARTERS, 3D BRIGADE, 3D DIVISION, 2D CORPS, February 9. 5
I have the honor to report that on Saturday, 6th inst., I marched my command in the direction of Morton's Ford, in accordance with orders received about three hours previous to that time. * * At 10.35 I received orders to cross the river, which I succeeded in doing, and pushed the enemy back about half a mile; and then, under orders not to press the enemy too hard, but skirmish with him if he felt so disposed, I halted my advance and made dispositions to hold the favorable ground I had taken. In a short time the enemy began to concentrate troops in my immediate front, and to advance a stronger line of skirmishers. I communi- cated this fact to Corps head-quarters, through a signal officer, and asked for reinforcements ; at 3.10 P. M., Colonels CARROL and POWERS reported to me, by order of General HAYS, and I masked their Brigades (1st and 2d of the 3d Division) under cover from
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the enemy's fire, and where they could be readily deployed to the right or left, as circumstances might require. The enemy kept up a vigorous fire of small arms during the day, and, at intervals, a heavy artillery fire from a Battery in position on his left. Fresh troops (of the enemy) were constantly arriving in great haste. At 5.29 P. M., the enemy opened with a heavy fire from his Bat- teries, and shortly afterward advanced and attacked vigorously our right and right center; but it was futile, as under the per- sonal supervision of the General commanding the Division, the enemy was met and repulsed at all points. At 7.50 I was ordered to hold myself in readiness to recross the river, which I did at 11.30. All the troops behaved well. I am satisfied with the 3d Brigade. It will do its duty, and never disgrace the 2d Corps. The passage of the river under the enemy's fire I consider worthy of special notice; and I especially mention the good conduct and gallant bearing of my Adjutant-General, Captain ROBERT S. SEA- BURY, who was the first to cross the river at the head of 300 picked skirmishers, and to drive the enemy back from the rifle- pits, capturing twenty-seven men and two officers. My loss was two officers wounded, and three men killed, and thirty-three wounded; which is remarkably light under the circumstances; and I believe the enemy suffered much more severely.
The 39th New York Volunteers, Lieutenant-Colonel HUGHES ; the 111thNew York Volunteers, Colonel Lusk ; the 125th New York Volunteers, Colonel CRANDELL; and the 126th New York Volunteers, Colonel JAMES M. BULL, were handled by their commanders with skill and judgment, and behaved splendidly. I am indebted to Captain Jos. HYDE and Lieutenant P. C. ROGERS, of my staff, for their prompt and intelligent conveyance of my orders to different portions of the line.
I am, sir, with great respect, Your obedient servant,
JOSHUA T. OWEN, Brigadier- General Volunteers.
We will add extracts from a private letter of Lieu- tenant LINCOLN, giving further details of this splendid affair, written February 9, 1864: "We left camp at
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seven A. M,, our Brigade leading the Corps. At nine A. M. we reached the river, and so sudden was our appearance, that before they could gather up their things and leave we captured two Lieutenants and nearly thirty men. The pontoons had been ordered up for us to cross on, but failed to get here in time, so in we plunged without regard to rank or station. General HAYS, with the rest, with an ax assisted in clearing away the brush that obstructed the passage. The banks of the river were about eight feet high, and of a soft, red clay. The current of the river was very swift, and the bottom very rough. On toward the enemy's works, with boots full of water and clothes dripping wet, we rushed. When about three- fourths of a mile from the ford, we halted, deployed our skirmishers, and soon found and engaged the enemy. For several hours ours was the only Brigade over, and here, with a few hundred men, we were in the face of strong breastworks, lined with Batteries and well filled with men; but on went the line up the hill toward the enemy's guns, till it rested near them, and there, under shot and shell and musketry, we held the position till nearly dark, when the rebels made a grand charge along nearly the whole line, with a force at least five to one ; but our men stood their ground manfully, contending for every inch of ground, till a fresh Brigade came to their aid, when the enemy were checked and ourselves saved from annihilation. The river, with its steep banks, swift current and difficult crossing, was on two sides of us, and the enemy, confident in numbers and position, on
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the other two. To retreat was destruction ; to hold our position our only salvation; and all understood it, and met the charge of the enemy and repulsed it handsomely. We had no Batteries over the river, no earthworks of any kind, nothing but our strong arms and willing hearts to protect us. About dark, while the charge was in progress, the remnant of our Regi- ment was ordered to reinforce the left of the line. The rest of the Regiment, as soon as relieved by the 2d Brigade, recrossed the river about seven P. M. I
remained with the other part, where we lay on the wet ground, shivering under the effects of the morn- ing's bath, and growing wetter by the falling rain, till near midnight, when we withdrew across the river undiscovered, without a single shot being fired after
us. When safe on this side, I confess I felt easier
and breathed more freely. We bivouacked for the night in the woods, where the water was only about ten inches deep. Sunday evening we returned to camp. Our loss as a Regiment was two killed, nine- teen wounded, two missing, and eight burned with powder from the explosion of a shell. A shell broke a rail within six inches of my head, and burst within two feet of it, killing one, wounding one who was lying on my feet and two others, besides burning the faces of eight others, myself among them. Three grains of powder were blown into my left eye, not permanently injuring the sight. *
* I was hug- ging the ground closely at the time, a kind of hug- ging I do not object to when shells are flying. X
BUTLER's movement up the Peninsula at that time I
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consider a contemptible fizzle. I have no idea that a few trees felled into a river would have stopped us. Our crossing at Morton's Ford was obstructed with a strong abattis of brush, and rifle-pits filled with rebels ; but, with water waist deep, the men plunged in, with General HAYS on foot, with an ax on his shoulder, and in less time than it takes me to write it, the brush was cleared, the rebels caught, and some of our men were over. BUTLER, as an executive officer,
has few superiors, but, &c. * * Our part was done to the satisfaction of General SEDGWICK, (temporarily) commanding the Army of the Potomac ; at least so he said in a General Order of congratulation and thanks, and had BUTLER done his as well, there is a strong probability that a general delivery of our pri- soners confined in Richmond might have been effected."
[EXTRACTS FROM AN OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION OF COLONEL JAMES BULL TO GENERAL OWEN, COMMANDING BRIGADE, FEBRUARY 9, 1864.]
GENERAL .- I have the honor to report that my Regiment left camp Saturday morning, 6th inst., at seven o'clock A. M., * * and proceeded to a point about a mile this side of the Rapidan, where the Brigade halted and formed in column by Battalion, under cover of a piece of woods. At this point 100 men were detailed as skirmishers, comprising men of eight Companies with their officers, viz. : Companies A, B, D, E, F, H, I and K. This detail, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel WILLIAM H. BAIRD, with the others from the Brigade, marched to and crossed the Rapidan at Morton's Ford, and took part in capturing about thirty rebel prisoners. Immediately after fording the river, the skirmishers were deployed as such, and were soon engaged with those of the enemy. They continued on duty until relieved about seven in the evening, and recrossed the river, under orders, about midnight. * The rest of the Regiment, under my command, were employed, toward evening, in strengthening the skirmish
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line, under Lieutenant-Colonel BAIRD. It affords me pleasure to say that the officers and men of my command, both on the march and on the field, behaved in a manner satisfactory to me and creditable to themselves.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JAMES M. BULL, Colonel Commanding Regiment.
[ORDER COMPLIMENTARY.] HEAD-QUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, February 9, 1864.
Major- General G. K. Warren, Commanding 2d Corps :
GENERAL .- The Major-General commanding directs me to express to you the great satisfaction he has felt at the prompt and handsome manner in which the 2d Corps executed the duties assigned to it in the reconnoissance of the 6th and 7th instants, and to express his regret at the severe loss it met with in the ope- ration.
(Signed) S. WILLIAMS, A. A. G.
(Official.) R. S. SEABURY, Captain and A. A. G.
On the 23d of February, there was a grand Review of the whole Corps by General MEADE. Many dis- tinguished persons, military and civil, were present. Among them Generals HANCOCK, WARREN, SEDGWICK, PLEASANTON, FRENCH, and KILPATRICK ; Secretary WELLES, GOV. SPRAGUE, and many ladies. It was a magnificent display. On the 10th of March the ladies were ordered away by General MEADE ; an order which, it was thought, "meant business." On the 28th there was a great change in the army organiza- tion. The Corps were consolidated and reduced to three ; the 5th, 2d and 6th. General WARREN
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was transferred to the command of the 5th Corps, and his place in the 2d was filled by General WINFIELD S. HANCOCK, while General SEDGWICK took command of the 6th Corps. To the 3d Brigade (of which the 126th formed a part) were added three. more Regiments ; and its place was changed from the 3d to the 1st Division of the 2d Corps ; Colonel PAUL FRANK commanding the Brigade, and General BARLOW, the youngest General in the service (of whom the men said, "he neither swears nor drinks"), the Division .* These new
* We insert here Brigadier-General OWEN's farewell address :
HEAD-QUARTERS 2D CORPS, March 3d, 1864.
Fellow-soldiers of the old 3d Brigade, 3d Division, 2d Corps :
Under the new arrangement of the troops of the Army of the Potomac, I am assigned, by the General commanding the Corps, to a command in which you are not included. I must, therefore, bid you adieu. You are endeared to me by your soldierly bearing and good discipline ; your prompt obedience of all orders, and especially by your valor in battle. You have cause to be proud of your military record. Be as good soldiers in the future as in the past, and your new commander will have equal cause to be proud of you. Remember, the 2d Corps always conquers, even though it has to pluck victory from the very jaws of death. When the war is over, and you return to your peaceful homes, your country will honor you as her brave defenders.
I wish you, finally, success and honor.
Your old commander,
(Official.) JOSHUA T. OWEN.
R. S. SEABURY, Captain, A. A. G.
We also insert General HAYS' address, dated March 26th, 1864.
SOLDIERS: General Orders No. 11, Corps Head-quarters, temporarily dis- solves the old 3d Division, with which you have been so long associated. Consolidation was a 'military necessity to accumulate a power which no enemy will be able to resist.
Although only nine months your commander, we shared together the toilsome march and cheerless bivouac; but, within the same short period, you have five times triumphed over your enemies. Your former services are recorded; and to them you have added Gettysburg, Auburn, Bristow,
238 THE ADVENTURES OF ONE THOUSAND BOYS IN BLUE.
arrangements resulted from the fact that, on the 2d of March, 1864, General U. S. GRANT had been confirmed in the United States Senate as Lieutenant-General in the army of the United States. The only person in the country who had borne this rank before was WASHINGTON, at whose death the rank was discon- tinued. Major-General MEADE still continued to com- mand the "Army of the Potomac," but no longer had the sole responsibility of directing its campaigns. He, as well as all the other commanders of the Grand Divisions of the army, were to be guided by one head, which, fortunately, was a wise one. There was hope, now that concert of action was secured in the various branches of the service, that some grand result would follow. But those that expected it to follow immediately, were doomed to disappointment. Nearly twelve months were to roll away before the desired end should be attained.
Locust Grove, and Morton's Ford. You have distinguished yourselves, not only by your courage on the field of battle, but by evidences of your loyalty to your country and subordination to the discipline imposed upon you.
It is trying to the soldier to part with the badge associated with his long service, and to see furled the banner under which there was always victory. But it is a sacrifice exacted by your country.
It is my sincere hope and expectation that, within a brief period of time, the " Old Division " will be reorganized, and the blue trefoil will once more wave over you. Until then your banner will be sacredly preserved, and restored to you; or, otherwise, will be deposited where it will be a memento to the nation of your triumphs and your sacrifices.
ALEX. HAYS, Brigadier-General, Volunteers.
L
HAPTER XIX.
HE 126th Regiment, which left Geneva in August 1862, one thousand strong, had now been reduced by the casualties of the service to less than 300 men. Of these, one hundred, namely, two commissioned Officers, five Sergeants, eight Corporals and eighty- seven men, were, on the fifth of April, 1864, detailed to act as provost guard at head-quarters. The officers of this guard were Captain RICHARD A. BASSETT and First Lieutenant TEN EYCK MUNSON; and it was as active, intelligent and well-drilled a body of young men as could be found in the army. The business of the provost guard, especially of its Cap- tain and Marshals, was to follow in the rear of the army, arrest stragglers, take charge of rebel prisoners, punish offenders, guard trains, confiscate property, and be ready for any special service required by the superior officers.
Drills, reviews and picket duty occupied the men through March and April. The reviews were very splendid, being held in the presence of superior offi- cers and strangers of distinction, many of whom were ladies. Whole Brigades of men went out on picket, and were often out three or four days.
In the early part of May occurred a gale of unusual
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violence, which is mentioned in all the diaries and letters written at the time. Its appearance, as it approached, was "like a fiery red cloud, without rain, licking up all before it; its sound like the rum- bling of vast trains of cars. The air, as it struck the camp, was filled with dust and sparks of fire; and the coverings of half the tents in the Regiment were taken off by it." The gale continued for three-quar- ters of an hour, and was followed by moderate rain. May, 1864, found Major-General GRANT in command of all the armies of the United States, consisting, nominally, of a million of men, and vast amounts of "materiel" for carrying on the war .* For the first
* The Evening Post, with its usual perspicacity and foresight, spoke of the appointment of General GRANT (in its issue of March 15th, 1864), in the fol- lowing terms :
"An important General Order has been issued by the President of the United States. General GRANT having been commissioned as Lieutenant- General, according to the expectation of Congress in framing its late enact- ment concerning that office, the command of the armies of the United States has been assigned to him. The country will learn with satisfaction that this arrangement is not to withdraw him from active service in that quarter of the United States in which he has so honorably distinguished himself, since, as the General Order expresses it, hereafter " the head-quarters of the army will be at Washington, and with General GRANT in the field." The happy combination of cautious foresight with promptness, enterprise and daring, which the country has come to attribute to General GRANT's mili- tary character, joined to the extraordinary good fortune which has attended for the most part his military operations, will cause this new arrangement to be looked upon with great favor by the people, and to be received by them, as a new symptom of the speedy termination of the war. * * *
The position of Lieutenant-General is one which demands a combination of qualities in him who occupies it, vastly superior to what is required in the commander of an army Corps, or even of a military department. It requires the power of looking with a clear vision through a far larger num- ber of conspiring circumstances to their final and necessary result. It requires a capacity of framing a number of subordinate plans into a general system, in which all of them shall be effectually executed, and neither of them interfere with any other. Besides this, it demands the skill to vary
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time, all the Grand Divisions of the vast army were to co-operate in the great work of subduing the rebel- lion. East of the Mississippi, SHERMAN was to com- mand the forces opposed to JOHNSON, while the Army of the Potomac was to be under the immediate com- mand of MEADE. GRANT, who well knew the skill and prowess of LEE, and his wonderful fertility in resources, accompanied the Potomac Army, and advised its movements. His plan was a simple one. To follow LEE. To make his army the objective point, and move upon him wherever he might be. BUTLER, on the James, was to threaten the rebel capital, and prevent reinforcements to LEE's army from the Carolinas. SIGEL, in northwestern Virginia, was, if possible, to destroy railway communications with Tennessee. All Divisions were to be in motion about the first of May.
Accordingly, while SHERMAN, with the combined armies of the Cumberland, Tennessee, and the Ohio, advanced from Chatanooga, the Army of the Potomac broke up its winter quarters around Culpepper, and marched toward the Rapidan. Knowing LEE to be strongly posted on the south side of that river, toward the westward, and that the lower or eastern fords
these plans on the instant, as new and unlooked for events arise, and to suit every change so made to the emergency, in such a manner as not to disor- der the general scheme of the war.
The responsibility to which General GRANT has been advanced is, there- fore, of immense magnitude. The country has been taught by his successes to hope everything of him, and we are certain that there will be no lack of endeavor on his part to justify the confidence it reposes in him. The activity of his temperament assures us at least of one thing, that the army, under his command, will never be permitted to be idle in any part of the country.
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were unguarded, GRANT decided on a flank movement which should turn the confederate right. His plan was to cross the eastern fords ; march directly through "the wilderness" by a road that crosses it from north to south; reach the Orange plank road and Orange turnpike; then strike west by those roads, and place his army between the rebels and their Capital, and thus command the approaches to it. This desolate region called "the wilderness," lies west of Chancellorsville, is about fifteen miles in extent each way, and well deserves its name. The whole tract is seamed with veins of iron ore, which for scores of years have been worked, the earth being dug up in every direction for the ore, and the forest trees felled for fuel for the furnaces. The uncultivated soil has sent up masses of dwarf oaks, dwarf pines, scrubby plants, tangled vines and whortleberry bushes, where the most experienced guide would be apt to lose his way; and even the hunter can scarce penetrate the thickets. The land lies rather high, but is broken into ridges, between which swampy streams find their way to the Rapidan on the north and the Mattapony on the south. Here and there a house with a small clearing around it occurs; an oasis in the desert. But the feature of greatest interest to the armies was the sys- tem of roads that traverse it. Two roads cross it from northwest to southeast, uniting near Spottsylvania Court-house ; and two parallel ones run from east to west, one known as the Orange plank road, and the other, the old turnpike. The latter roads cross the others nearly at right angles.
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It would, perhaps, have been impossible for LEE, scattered as his army was, successfully to oppose the passage of our army across the Rapidan. At all events, he did not attempt it, and on the 5th of May GRANT congratulated himself that at least 100,000 men and the vast train of 4,000 wagons was safely across that stream. The 2d Corps (HANCOCK's), who had crossed at Ely's Ford, pushed on to HOOKER's old battle-ground at Chancellorsville, where they bivou- acked for the night. They had encountered scarcely any opposition, and no enemy was before them. All they had to do was to march through the inhospitable tract in which they found themselves (by way of the roads above mentioned) to Spottsylvania Court-house ; then move rapidly west toward Gordonsville, and either attack LEE there in flank, or compel him to hasten to defend his capital. But alas for the "best laid schemes" of man. Instead of an uninterrupted march southward and westward, our army was here to encounter dangers and pass through scenes of blood and fire that would make the very name of the wil- derness a "word of fear" in all coming time. For LEE had his plans, as well as GRANT; and they were based on an intimate knowledge of the territory to be traversed, and a shrewd guess, assisted, perhaps, by secret information, at the designs of our commander. He offered no opposition to our advance into the wil- derness, but formed the bold design of bringing up his forces from the west, and attacking GRANT's army in flank when it should be stretched out in line, and
16
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so cutting off our advanced troops from those in the rear.
The former part of the design he executed. Even while our army was crossing the Rapidan on the pon- toon bridges, LEE was hurrying up his forces from their distant cantonments, in order to shut GRANT up in the wilderness.
We shall attempt no description of the bloody three days, from May 4th to May 7th. Instead of fulfilling his design of marching rapidly through the inhospi- table tract into which he had entered unopposed, GRANT found himself attacked in flank, first by the van of LEE's army under EWELL, afterward by suc- cessive Divisions rapidly brought forward from their distant posts, and engaging the different Corps of our army at every point of their onward progress. There was no chance for regular warfare; the almost impe- netrable jungle opposed the advance of a column of men. The enemy, who knew the ground as our men did not, fought like Indians, delivering their fire and retreating to cover, or pouring deadly volleys from behind trees, rocks and ridges of earth. On the part of the Union men there was no flinching. They knew they were shut in this dreadful trap, and that return was impossible, even had they desired it, and that their only course was to fight their way through as best they might. Artillery, too, was useless where men could not see ten rods ahead. LEE gained none of the advantage he had expected from attacking in flank, for our men faced about and met the foe at every point, often driving them and sometimes being
1
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Woodville Mine
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ilderness
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BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS Fought May 5th -9 th 1864.
Rapidan
Scale of Miles
N
Union Lines Confederate "
Elley's Ford-
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IDE
BURN
i Tap's
6,9
Brock Roads.
Cool
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Tuun Hiyerson
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. Old Wilderness Tavern 11
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PLAN OF THE
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ONE THOUSAND BOYS IN BLUE.
driven. The losses in killed, wounded and prisoners were fearful. The small but gallant remnant of the 126th was again decimated. ALEX. HAYS and a large number of other field officers fell. No officer could be more regretted by the (old) 3d Brigade than General HAYS, whose men followed him from love to his per- son and faith in his success .* To add to the horrors of carnage the woods took fire, and many of the dead, and possibly some of the severely wounded, were burned where they fell.+ The rebels, too, lost heavily,
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