USA > New York > Clinton County > History of Clinton and Franklin Counties, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 18
USA > New York > Franklin County > History of Clinton and Franklin Counties, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 18
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MILITARY HISTORY.
Gap, where we bivouacked for the night. As this regiment gained the skirt of the wood, one of the enemy's battle-flags was borne im- mediately in front of my right wing. The color-bearers were fired upon and one of them wounded, and private James Allen, of Co. F, rushed forward, securing the colors and taking the bearer prisoner. Tho flag has been forwarded to Gen. McClellan's headquarters in obe- dieuce to an order to that effect. The loss of the regiment in this ac- tion was twenty enlisted men killed, one com'd officer (Lieut. C. L. Jones) and forty enlisted men wounded.
"I am, very respectfully, your ob't serv't, "J. J. SEAVER, Lieut .- Col. Comd'g Regt."
Greeley gives the total Union loss in this engagement one hundred and fifteen killed, and four hundred and eighteen wounded.
Ensign Wm. W. Hutton, Co. D, was mortally wounded at Crampton Gap, and died on the 15th.
A letter from Maj. Frank Palmer, dated " Camp near Wil- liamsport, Sept. 22, 1862," gives a further aeeount of this engagement, and also of the battle of Antietam, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 1862 :
"We are now quietly resting in camp, about a mile fromu Williams- port, having marched here from the battle-field of Wednesday last, a distance of nine miles, which we accomplished by a forced march on Saturday night. Our object in coming here was to support a division which was attacked by the enemy on Saturday afternoon. On reach- ing here we found all quiet, the enemy having been driven back with slight loss. We are very much in need of rest, having for the past six weeks been continually ou the muove or fighting. It seems as though we had not had a day's rest since we left Harrison's Landing, Va. We have, to be sure, lain still for a day, and twice for two days at a time, but always under orders to move at a moment's notice ; and one cannot rest very much under such circumstances. The result of the past ten days' fighting is not at all satisfactory to me. We have had fatiguing marches, fought bravely and successfully, have cleared Maryland of the enemy, but this is not all I hoped and trusted we would gain. I did hope and believe we would cut off and capture a portion, at least, of the rebel army before they could re-cross the river, but it has resulted otherwise; the enemy are all across the river, and have taken up new positions, where, were it possible, it will cost us a heavy loss to rout them again.
"I am afraid the rebel generals will never give us another such chance. Our regiment has won for itself the respect and admiration of all who know it. Our generals can trust it implicitly, the other regiments feel safe when it is around, and as we march to the front to take up our position we hear remarks of ' There go the Sixteenth boys,' 'Look out for hard knocks ahead,' ' That regiment never falters,' etc. The regiment has never been driven yet by the enemy ; it has been in some fearfully tight places, and when possible it has gone through them; when impossible, it has always fought well; has only fallen back on orders, and has always been ready to renew the fight at any moment effectively. At the fight of the Pass, on Sunday, the 16th New York and 5th Maine were the first to go in. We advanced in line of battle side by side, through three or four open fields, under a fearful fire of shell, grape, and bullets from the enemy on the heights, unaided by a singlo piece of artillery. Weadvanced till within twenty rods of the enemy's line, only a level plowed field between us; halted here, and coolly went to work, under every disadvantage of numbers and position, the rebels having a stone wall and the trees at the edge of the woods to protect them. We held this position, with the 5th Maine on our left, for about an hour, our men falling fast, whon two regimeuts of the New Jersey brigade came up to relieve us. We fell back about eight rods, taking our dead and wounded with ns. Wo had not been here over fifteen minutes when the order came to ehargo. The charging column was three lines deep ; first, two regi- ments of Jersey's ; second, two regiments Newton's brigade; then our 16th and 5th Maine. Wo rushod across the field, over the stone wall, and into the woods. Just after we got into the woods wo came up to Newton's and tho Jersey regiments, who had boen checked by tho sevore fire of the enemy, who had got bohind the trees in our front and flank. Our rogimont immediately took the load, and kept it until we had driven tho enemy across the mountain, and until darknoss came on, ending tho fight. Wo lost a great many of our best men in this
charge. After we took the lead, we got the enemy confused and re- treating, and we kept them at it. At this time they were reinforced by a whole regiment, but our rapid advance rendered it impossible for them to formu in any kind of fighting order, and we soon had them flying up the mountain in confusion after the others. Here it was that our regiment took from the enemy a stand of colors. The troops we muet here were principally Georgians, and said to be the best troops in the rebel army. Cobb's Legion lost heavily. We took a great many prisoners, both on the charge up the mountain and the next morning. Our regiment lost sixty-four killed and wounded out of two hundred and seventy engaged; of these nineteen were killed, or died the next day. The rest will most of them get well. Col. Bart- lett and Gen. Slocum both complimented the regiment very highly the next morning for its gallant conduct. Other regiments did well, but the 16th, after being under a heavy and destructive fire for an hour, losing forty of our men, nearly out of ammunition, and almost immedi- ately after making a charge across an open field, under the concen- trated fire of the eneury's artillery and musketry, on the start in rear ef two lines of fresh troops, but after the first thirty rods taking the lead and keeping it until we had entirely routed the enemy,-five times our number, and holding the strongest position,-one may well be proud of being a member of such a regiment. The recruits that came in last are good men ; they were all under heavy fire Wednesday and Thursday (at Antietam), and stood it bravely. Lieut .- Col. Seaver has commanded the regiment nobly through the hard times and places it has gone through lately."
On the 17th September the battle of Antietam was fought. The rebel armny under Lee occupied the hills lying west of the Antietam River, with woods and eorn-fields in front of them. At five A.M., Gen. Hooker attacked them. For half an hour neither army seemed to gain any ground ; then the rebels yielded somewhat to the impetuous eharge of our troops, but presently regained half the ground that we had won. Gen. Hooker, wounded, but still leading his men, having fought until he eould fight no longer, one of Doubleday's brigades was sent forward to hold the ground that he had gained. For half an hour, on the erest of a hill, exposed to the storm of shot and shell, this brigade stood unmoved. Then Gen. Sumner came to their relief, Sedgwiek's division taking the lead. To support the troops in front he must eross an open eorn-field, exposed to the merciless fire of the enemy. In attempting this his forees were so badly eut to pieees that he was obliged to fall baek. Gen. Sedgwick, wounded in three places, and his horse shot under hin, still remained on the battle-field. Abbott says,-
" At one o'clock the prospect looked gloomy. Hooker was carried from the field wounded, his corps greatly exhausted. Advance was impossible. At this time Franklin appeared with fresh troops and formed sublimely on the left."
Sloeum, commanding one of his divisions, was sent for- ward towards the eentre, while Smith was ordered to retake the ground that had been so long and hotly contested. "It was no sooner said than done. Smith's regimeuts, cheering, went forward on a run, swept through the eorn-field and the woods, eleared them in ten minutes and held them; the ground thus taken was not again lost." From one till three there was comparative quiet. Then Franklin was ordered to carry the woods next in front of him. Before it eould be done " Gen. Sumner sent back word that if Franklin was repulsed there was great danger that the right would again be foreed back, sinee his own eorps was not sufficiently reorganized to act as a reserve. Franklin's grand advanee of infantry was therefore in effeet countermanded, since he was ordered to avoid all risk of defeat. Pushing forward his batteries, however, with heavy supports of infantry, he
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HISTORY OF CLINTON AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES, NEW YORK.
briskly engaged the enemy's guns and occupied his atten- tion while the advance of Burnside was in progress." Gen. Franklin retained his position close in front of the enemy until night fell and closed the battle. The 16th New York lay under the fire of the enemy from one P.M. Wednesday, the 17th, until four P.M. of Thursday. The enemy then retreated across the Potomac.
It was while Gen. Sumner was attempting to relieve one of Doubleday's brigades, on the morning of the 17th, that Lieut .- Col. Stetson, of the 59th New York, and formerly captain of Company E, 16th New York, was killed. His regiment was in Sedgwick's division, and advanced in the front line of battle and held their position, although flanked on both sides by the enemy, until ordered from the field by Gen. Sumner in person.
Lient .- Col. Stetson was killed while leaving the field, shot through the body. His last words, uttered but a moment before, were " Rally on your colors !"
The regiment, falling back, left the body of Lieut .- Col. Stetson in the hands of the enemy until Friday, the 19th, when it was buried by Maj. Frank Palmer, assisted by two members of Company E, 16th New York.
The following is an extract from a letter written soon after by Maj. Palmer :
" I found the body lying in about the centre of the woods, sur- rounded on all sides by the dead of his own regiment, showing the fearful struggle which had taken place at this point, and how hravely the men had fought before falling back before vastly superior num- hers. The place on which he lay was a rocky ridge running through the woods ; large, noble trees were standing around the spot, two of the largest and noblest on cither side of him, God's sentinels for God's dead. His features were as placid as in sleep. It is my belief that he was not killed instantly, hut might have laid an hour or more after being hit. I found a slip of paper pinned on the hosom of his shirt, marked " Col. Stetson, New York Volunteers," and think it must have heen placed there by the enemy at John's request. His conduct in face of the deadly fire which broke and drove back the regiment was hrave and nohle in the extremc."
Four years from the day of the battle of Antietam, in company with a friend, I went over the battle-field. Hill and valley were bathed in sunlight. The peach-orchards were loaded with ripe fruit, and in the corn-fields, over which the troops of Hooker, Sumner, and Franklin had swept four years before, that day the corn waved high above our heads. It was hard to realize that the spot had ever been the scene of such a fearful struggle. No marks of battle were left save the scars on the old oak. Let us ac- cept it as a token that peace may cover with her mantle the hearts of the contestants as nature has covered the earth, -obliterating all traces of strife. Scattered over our land are scarred veterans, but may union and prosperity spring- ing up, everywhere banish from the mind all bitterness of spirit.
September 26th, Rev. Andrew Miller, chaplain of the 16th Regiment, resigned.
September 29th, Lieut .- Col. J. J. Seaver was promoted to colonel, in place of Col. Joseph Howland, resigned. Maj. Frank Palmer was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, and Capt. John C. Gilmore, Company F, was promoted to major.
October 7th, Lieut. Frederic Wead, Company I, resigned to accept a higher position in another regiment.
In October, Gen. Slocum was appointed corps commander, and on the 16th of October he took leave of his division in the following general order :
"HEADQUARTERS IST DIVISION, 6TH CORPS, " CAMP NEAR BAKERSVILLE, MD., Oct. 16, 1862. " Gen. Order No. 26.
"By virtue of Special Order No. 101, Headquarters 6th Army Corps, the General Commanding the Division is relieved from duty with this command. He cannot take leave of the troops with whom he has so long heen associated without expressing to them his grati- tude not only for their soldierly conduct on all occasions, hut for the kindness and respect which has uniformly heen shown him hy every officer and soldier of the command. His removal to another and a higher command was neither solicited nor desired hy him, and he leaves this division with feclings of deep regret, but with an earnest hope that, although removed from the command, he may again have the pleasure of witnessing its gallant conduct on the field, and seeing displayed the same spirit which has been manifested in every engage- ment in which it has taken part, and which has won for it a reputa- tion of which every soldier in the command may justly he proud.
" By command of MAJOR-GENERAL SLOCUM."
October 22d, Brig .- Gen. W. F. H. Brooks took command of the 1st Division.
After the battle of Antietam the armies remained con- fronting each other until the last of October, when the rebel army moved down the Shenandoah Valley to Freder- icksburg, the Union army following on a parallel, but more casterly line, thus covering Washington.
The 1st Division, under Gen. Brooks, left its camp near Bakersville, Md., on the 1st of November, moving down the left bank of the Potomac, which it crossed below Har- per's Ferry, and marched thence to Warrenton, Va., where it remained until the 16th of November.
On the 7th of November, Rev. Francis B. Hall, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Luzerne, Warren Co., N. Y., was invited by the officers of the 16th to accept the posi- tion of chaplain of the regiment. He accepted the invita- tion, was appointed by the Governor, and joined the regi- ment December 4th. He at once entered upon the duties of his office with patriotic and Christian zeal. He not only attended to the duties incumbent upon a chaplain, such as the regular services of the Sabbath, attending the sick in the hospital and the wounded on the battle-field, but he also worked industriously to promote the bodily comfort of the men, and by many ingenious contrivances greatly les- sened the discomforts of their daily life. He became per- sonally acquainted with the members of the regiment, and by his untiring efforts in their behalf gained the love and respect of all. After the close of their term of service he built a mission church in Plattsburgh, N. Y., where he has since labored with the same Christ-like spirit that made him so greatly beloved by every member of his old regi- ment.
CHAPTER XVIII.
MILITARY HISTORY-(Continued).
Sixteenth Regiment-(Continued.)
ON the 7th of November Gen. McClellan was relieved from the command of the Army of the Potomac, and Gen. Burnside succeeded him. Gen. Burnside immediately
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MILITARY HISTORY.
commenced preparations for an advance on Fredericks- burg.
The rebel army occupied the bluffs back of Fredericks- burg, from about one mile above the city to four or five miles below, and had strongly fortified the position. On the 10th of December, Gen. Burnside's army occupied the bank of the Rappahannock opposite Fredericksburg. On the night of December 10th and the day following, Gen. Burnside laid pontoons across the river at Fredericksburg, and Gen. Franklin, two miles below, completed those for his grand division to cross. The troops crossed on the 11th and 12th.
Longstreet's troops opposed those of Sumner and Hooker on our right, and Stonewall Jackson those of Franklin on our left. On the 13th of December the troops of Sumner and Hooker made assault after assault up the heights, and at night the slopes lay piled with our dead, but not one foot had our army gained. Gen. Franklin's linc of battle was formed with the 6th Corps, under Gen. Smith, on his right, and the 1st Corps, under Gen. Reynolds, on his left. They were all in order before sunrise on the morning of the 13th. At nine A.M., the divisions of Gens. Meade and Gibbons, of the 1st Corps, moved forward, encountering those of A. P. Hill. At noon the greater part of Frank- lin's division was engaged in an ineffectual attempt to di- vide the rebel lines and flank the rebel works behind the town. "Night found the division only five hundred yards in advance of the position held at sunrise, with its list of killed, wounded, and missing three thousand four hun- dred and fifty-two."
Gen. Burnside wished to renew the assault on the 14th, but at a meeting of his general officers a majority of his corps commanders opposed it, and it was decided to with- draw the army across the Rappahannock. The retreat was effected in safety on the night of Monday, the 15th, and our army again occupied the north bank of the Rappahannock.
The following extracts from the diary of an officer of the 16th Regiment give an account of their movements from the time they left Warrenton until after the battle of Fredericksburg :
" Saturday, Nov. 15th .- In camp near Warrenton; regimental in- spection at ten A.M. Heavy firing beyond Warrenton ; orders to move in the morning.
" Nov. 16th .- Marched to Catlett's Station; orders to move to- morrow at eight A.M.
" Nov. 17th .- Marched about ten miles.
"18th .- Marched twelve miles to Stafford Court-House ; weather rainy ; trains did not arrive till eleven P.M.
" 19th .- Ilave lain in camp all day ; slow, drizzling rain.
"20th .- Bad rain-storm ; roads impassable for army-trains; party out at work on road to Aquia Station.
"26th .- Preparing for Thanksgiving; heeu getting a fireplace in the tent ; found a nice hollow log for chimney.
" Thursday, 27th .- Had a splendid dinner,-turkey, duck, etc. Fireplaco worked admirably.
" Dec. 1st .- Still in camp. Men building all sorts of shanties ; no two alike.
" 2d .- Built a handy mantel-pieco in our tent ; a success.
" Dec. 3d .- Orders to be ready to move at daylight. Am sorry to leavo all our littlo comforts, but liko the word ' forward !'
" Ath .- Broko camp at daylight ; marched about eight miles towards the loft front ; country hilly ; wo aro about for milos from tho Rap- pahannock. Mr. Hall, our chaplain, joined us for the first time soon aftor wo reached camp.
" 5th .- Moved to Belle Plain amid storin and rain; severe on the men,-in fact, on us all. Encamped on a dreary, barren flat ; no wood ; no comfort. Chaplain stands it well.
" 7th .- Changed camp to the woods; splendid ground; plenty of comfort by the fires to-night ; weather cold.
" 8th .- All is cheerful in camp; every axe, pick, and shovel in active employment. Chaplain is a pleasure to us all.
" 9th .- Orders to be ready to move in the morning with three days' rations and sixty rounds of ammunition ; looks war-like ; all ready.
"10/h .- Broke camp at ten A.M .; reached the Rappahannock and picketed the bank. Rebel pickets opposite us ; all is quiet yet. Ex- pect the fight to open in the morning.
" Ilth .- Ileavy firing all day on each side the river; the enemy in force on a range of hills about a mile back of the river. We have laid bridges across the river; men started to cross just at dark, but were ordered to return.
" Friday. 12th .- Crossed the river this morning without opposition. The city bombarded yesterday and to-day. The rebels allow us to take up position ; our meu crossing all day.
" 13th .- Fight opened this morning, and has raged fearfully to our right and left during the day. We have been under cover in a ravine, but shells fly thickly over our heads. Night finds our troops in about the same position as this morning. We gain no advantage.
" Sunday, 14th .- Firing opens briskly, but gradually dies away. We relieved a regiment on the first line this morning, and have lain within easy range of the enemy's sharpshooters; the bullets fly about us right merrily. We lie here to-night, to he relieved in the morning.
" 15th .- Were relieved and fell back to the ravine, where we have lain all day. Hardly any firing on either side. The rebels tried to place a battery in position near our line, but our batteries drove them back quickly. Cannot account for the silence.
"16th .- All re-crossed the river last night. All was done quietly and in order, but-what does it mean ? We can plainly see the rebels moving down towards Richmond, and still the hills and woods appear full of them.
" 17th .- Moved to new ground about three-quarters of a mile from the river.
"18th .- Troops moving back from the river. We shall probably move back to-morrow."
Soon after the battle of Fredericksburg, Gen. Burnside planned another advance towards Richmond, but just as his arrangements were completed a violent storm of sleet and rain rendered the roads impassable.
On the 26th of January, 1863, Gen. Burnside was re- lieved from command of the Army of the Potomac, and Gen. Hooker was placed in command. At the same time Gen. Franklin was relieved from the command of the Left Grand Division. He took leave of the division as follows:
" TO THE OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE LEFT GRAND DIVISION :
" In obedience to the orders of tho highest authority, the under- signed relinquishes the command of the Left Grand Division. He does so with sincere regret. His connection with the command has been very pleasant. The prompt obedience and cheerful co-operation you have at all times given,-your patient enduranco on the march,- your steady bravery upon the field,-the manly determination with which you have encountered and overcome the dangers and hardships of several trying campaigns,-command his admiration and his grat- itudo. All of you are endeared to him by gallant conduct and loyal service, and most of you by the memories of many battle-fields, and the proud recollection that from none of them were you ever driven hack. By these common memories he exhorts you to prove true and fight gallantly in the future, as you have ever done in the past, for the great cause in which you are engaged, believing that you will win for yourselves imperishable fame, and for your country final, enduring victory. In sevoring the connection, which you have made so dear, he asks that no one will believe that he parts voluntarily from you in the face of the enemy.
" W. B. FRANKLIN, " Maj .- Gen. Vol."
The 5th of February, Maj .- Gen. John Sedgwick suc- ceeded Gen. Win. F. Smith in command of the 6th Army
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HISTORY OF CLINTON AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES, NEW YORK.
Corps. January 18th, Assistant Surgcon Charles C. Mur- phy resigned his position in the 16th Regiment to accept that of surgeon in another regiment. Dr. Charles J. Par- dee, of New York City, was appointed assistant surgeon in place of Assistant Surgeon Murphy, resigned. April 14th, Capt. R. P. Wilson, assistant adjutant-general, was promoted to be major of the 121st New York Regiment.
After being put in command of the Army of the Poto- mac, Jan. 26, 1863, Gen. Hooker employed the time until April 13th in perfecting the organization of his army. On the 13th he had, opposite Fredericksburg, a fine army of nearly one hundred thousand infantry, ten thousand artil- lery, and thirteen thousand cavalry. April 13th, he ordered his cavalry, under Gen. Stoneman, " to move up the river, cross, and capture the rebel cavalry (numbering about two thousand) near Culpepper Court-House,-to capture Gor- donsville, and then cut the telegraph lincs, and destroy the bridges, on the Fredericksburg and Richmond Railway, near Saxton's Junction, and to harass the rear of the rebel army in every possible manner." On the 27th, Gen. Hooker commenced moving his infantry and artillery. On the 30th of April, the 11th, 12th, 5th, and 2d Corps had crossed the Rappahannock, about six miles above Freder- icksburg, had crossed the Rapidan, and marched to Chan- cellorsville, ten miles southwest of Fredericksburg. To
conceal the movement from the enemy he had sent the 6th Corps, under Sedgwick, two miles down the river, below Fredericksburg, where they crossed in plain sight of the enemy. The 1st and 3d Corps went still farther down. After attracting the attention of the enemy as much as pos- sible, the 1st and 3d Corps withdrew quietly, and joined Gen. Hooker at Chancellorsville, leaving Gen. Sedgwick, with his corps of twenty-two thousand men, below Fred- ericksburg.
Gen. Hooker's plan was admirable. With his large army on one side, with Gen. Sedgwick's strong corps on the other, and the cavalry in the rear, he hoped to crush and capture the rebel army. When Gen. Hooker reached Chan- cellorsville, nothing remained for Gen. Lee but to fight, or retire towards Richmond. He withdrew all the troops from Fredericksburg, except Early's division and Barksdale's brigade, and concentrated them in front of Gen. Hooker.
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