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 28
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 28
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We had heard for a long time that some miners of the 48th Pennsylvania Volunteers, in Burnside's corps, were practicing a mine under a Confederate fort near Cemetery Hill. We hardly credited the account, much less did we expect to be present at the explosion. On the 29th of July we were relieved from the trenches, and received the usual order to be ready to march, and be prepared with rations and cartridges. Between eight and nine P.M. we began the march along the rear of the lines towards the left. After twelve we were halted behind the trenches near the Norfolk Railroad, in an open wood, and told to make ourselves comfortable. The adjutant detailed a guard to watch ; the men scattered along on the ground, and we lay down among the color-guard to sleep.
At half-past three o'clock A.M., July 30th, the mine was to be exploded, and half of the Army of the Potomac ap- peared massed behind the intrenchments in that vicinity. About that time we were aroused and stood to arms. The fuse was ignited, and after waiting an hour no explosion followed. Two men then entered the gallery and relighted the fuse. Near five A.M., all watching intently, we saw a large part of the doomed fort rise in the air, and heard the explosion. The fort, its guns, its caissons, and three hun- dred men were thrown in the air, then buried under ground. All the National cannon then opened on the fort and the adjacent line for ten or fifteen minutes, when the firing ceased, and the assaulting columns moved slowly, feebly, forward. There was no order, no method, in the advance. The divisions of Potter, Wilcox, and Ledlie halted, ob-
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HISTORY OF CLINTON AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES, NEW YORK.
structed, blocked the way. Portions of several brigades jumbled together rolled together confusedly on the ruins of the sunken fort. Though the enemy ran in consterna- tion out of his works, but few of our troops went farther than the fort and the adjacent line. When the foe recov- ered from the shock he opened his batteries upon our troops rolled together like an immense crowd in and around the sunken fort. Shot and shell and Minié-ball made dreadful havoc. Some of the troops tried to resist ; they repulsed an advancing column of the Confederates. But the con- centration of fire upon them was so great that to remain or flee was equally fatal. Save himself who can became the order, and the men fled in confusion back to our lines. The affair was a glaring blunder, a conspicuous failure. The Nationals lost more than four thousand four hundred, and the Confederates less than one thousand.
The gallery of the mine was four and one-half by four feet, and six hundred feet in length, and lined on the sides and top with boards from cracker-boxes. In the chamber were eight thousand pounds of powder.
Burnside was responsible for the management of the troops and the organization of the assault, but Grant and Meade were on the ground.
After the explosion the 9th Corps, near the mine, was relieved for a few days by other troops. The 98th was sent to the front through a long approach, and assigned a position before the entrance of the mine. Over the ex- ploded fort, between the breastworks and the fort, the Na- tional dead not only touched each other, but lay in heaps upon each other.
As we entered the approach to go to the front, we heard an eight-inch shell, thrown by the enemy from a mortar on Cemetery Hill, come through the air and light among the men of a regiment sitting and lying on the ground near us, and explode. It threw out a wagon-load of dirt, killed six men and wounded several others. It tossed one of the dead men like an empty coat and pair of trousers more than fifty feet in the air.
As we marched up the approach, the enemy directed one of his batteries upon it, and tried to explode his shells over our marching columns. By the bursting of one of thesc George McGrath, Company C, was killed, and six others of the regiment wounded.
When we had gained the front line we felt more secure, though the enemy maintained the fire.
Many of our men who escaped and all of the wounded and prisoners left their arms on the field around the mine, and for several days the Confederate soldiers amused them- selves in firing at us the ramrods taken from the captured guns. This new feature in warfare excited a great amount of merriment among the troops. The sound of the ramrod singing through the air " is peculiar."
On the 2d of August we returned to the old position at the right on the Appomattox.
During the month of July the 98th lost one killed and five wounded. July 6th, Lieut. C. M. Ransom was mor- tally wounded, and died on the 14th.
The regiment was engaged in the battle of Fort Harrison, and lost nine killed, two mortally wounded, and fifty-one wounded.
The regiment remained at Fort Harrison, the name of which was changed to Fort Burnham, for about a month, doing duty in the trenches or on picket. For that time no movements of importance were undertaken by either army, and the soldiers had a season of rest.
Pursuant to orders, the regiment started, October 27th, five A.M., from Fort Burnham, and after marching to the right of the 10th Corps, struck the old Williamsburg road at Fair Oaks, and moved about two miles towards Rich- mond. The troops in this movement were the 1st and 2d Divisions of the 18th Corps.
The 98th lay all the afternoon under a heavy artillery fire, and had three men wounded. Towards evening it re- tired and crossed over to the Charles City road, along which, after marching a short time, it bivouacked for the night. It rained nearly all day and night, and the water stood on the ground. On the 28th our forces manœuvred around through the woods, took positions here and there to attract the attention of the enemy, until two o'clock, when they withdrew and retired to their old camps. In this feint the 18th Corps lost nearly two brigades captured by the enemy.
While our corps was demonstrating thus, Grant, with the 9th, 2d, and 5th Corps, fought the unsatisfactory battle of Boydton road. Lee claimed a victory, and Grant said he had accomplished his object.
In November, 1864, Gen. Butler was sent to New York with a portion of his forces to prevent riots and other dis- turbances on election-day. The 98th, 96th, 92d, and 81st, among other regiments, were selected by Butler, and taken to New York. The 98th embarked at Deep Bottom, No- vember 2d, on the steamer " William Irvine ;" November 4th, it was transferred to the steamer " Constitution," in Hampton Roads; November 5th, it landed and entered Fort Richmond, in New York harbor; November 6th, it set out for Troy, and arriving there, went into garrison at the Watervleit Arsenal; November 13th, eleven P.M., all on a train of cars at Troy, horses, baggage, and men, we informed the conductor that we were ready, and he rolled us away to New York again; November 15th, on board the steamer " Perit," we were out on the broad At- lantic, sailing over the ocean blue; November 17th, we ar- rived at Deep Bottom, and landing, bivouacked for the night ; and on the 18th we went into camp again at the right and rear of Fort Harrison.
On our return, we found Gen. Charles Devens in com- mand of the division, and Lieut .- Col. Raulston, 81st New York, of the brigade. The troops left in camp fared better than those who went north.
During the month of October, Licuts. Oakley and Wells were promoted captains; S. S. Short, Clark B. Colwell, were advanced to first lieutenants, and Capt. William H. Rogers was mustered major.
In November, Lieut G. H. Booth was promoted captain, George H. Benton, first lieutenant; Henry R. Thompson, second lieutenant, and the writer advanced to the full grade of colonel. Lieuts. E. M. Copps, Frank Angevine, Alba Harris, D. D. Mott, were promoted captains, and B. S. Powell, H. R. Thompson, were made first lieutenants, in the last month of the year.
During November the 98th lost by expiration of term
.
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MILITARY HISTORY.
of service Capts. Hildreth, Davis, Gile, and Lieut. D. H. Stanton ; and during the month of December the following officers, for a similar reason : Capts. Lewis, Allen, Hickok, Booth, and Lieut. Case. Capt. Atkins was discharged December 1st, on surgeon's certificate, and Asst. Surgeon J. W. Gray was promoted surgeon, 65th New York Vol- unteers. During the same months the term of service of more than fifty privates expired.
January 1, 1865, found the 98th in camp near Fort Harrison.
A few days before the white forces of the 10th and 18th Corps were consolidated to form the 24th, at the same time the colored troops of the two corps were united to form the 25th. Gen. Ord commanded the 24th Corps, and Gen. Godfrey Weitzel the 25th ; the former held the right of the line to Fort Harrison, the latter the left along the James to Dutch Gap. The 1st and 2d Divisions of the 18th Corps composed the 3d Division of the 24th, and Gen. Charles Devens, of Massachusetts, was assigned to its command. Our brigade was the first of this division, and consisted of the 11th Connecticut, 19th Wisconsin, 13th New Hamp- shire, 81st, 98th, 139th New York Volunteers, with Lieut .- Col. Raulston, 81st New York Volunteers, in command. The 2d Division of this corps, a detachment from the 1st Division, and a division from the 25th Corps, under Gen. Paine, went with Butler, December 8th, in the first expedition against Fort Fisher; and the troops for the second expedition, under Gen. Terry, Jan. 4, 1865, num- bering eight thousand, were selected from the same divisions, and were commanded by the same subordinate officers.
The regiment remained in its present position doing picket duty, holding the line, drilling, policing, working until March 27th, when it moved to the right half a mile and went into camp.
While here the regiment was inspected, and received the following complimentary order from Gen. Devens :
"HEADQUARTERS 3D DIVISION, 24TH ARMY CORPS,
" Feb. 23, 1863.
"At the recent inspection, held the 22d inst., the 98th New York Volunteers was adjudged the best in the division. It will be relieved from all guard and picket duty one week.
"By command of Gen. Devens.
" GEO. H. HOOKER, "Asst. Adjt .- General."
From here the regiment joined in the general pursuit of the enemy and entered Richmond, and the regimental colors of the 98th were the first that floated over the capital of the Southern Confederacy after its occupation by the Union troops. This was raised on the roof of the Capitol building by Adjt. Oakley.
The regiment was mustered out August 31st, and on the following day turned their faces homeward. They arrived in Albany September 4th, and went into camp. Here the battle-scarred regiment remained in camp until September 16th, when the last man was paid off and discharged, and the 98th New York State Volunteers passed into history.
COL. FREDERICK F. WEAD
was born in Malone, Franklin Co., N. Y., Jan. 26, 1835. A peculiar Providence guided his training and education, contrary to the wishes and previous purposes of his parents,
in a manner that gave him special fitness for the various duties which were imposed upon him as a soldier.
When prepared for admission to the elassical course in college, the thought of four years more of study seemed a long time to look forward to, and the continual confinement to study hours seemed irksome to his impulsive and ener- getic nature.
The opening, about this time, of the Ogdensburgh and Lake Champlain Railroad (then known as the Northern Railroad), running through the quiet village of Malone, awakened new thoughts, and the whistle of the locomotive bad for him a fascination that aroused every nerve of his being. Nothing satisfied his desire until he was allowed to enter the machine-shops of the railroad company, at Rouse's Point, as a workman, and learn the secret of the power that made the engine, with its freighted train, seem so like a thing of life.
After ten months of real work-the first he had ever done-he began to realize that a first-class machinist must have more mathematical knowledge than he had yet ae- quired, and came home with the request that he might now enter upon the course of study which he had declined the year before. This request was granted, and, changing to the enginecring course instead of the elassical, he graduated at Union College, in 1856.
He then commenced the study of law, and graduated at the law school at Poughkeepsie. He subsequently formed a copartnership with the late Judge Hutton, of Malone, and later with A. B. Parnielee, with whom he was associated when President Lincoln made his first call for troops at the opening of the Rebellion. His practice at the bar had been brief, but it was sufficient to insure a high stand among his professional brethren. His perceptions were keen, his mind clear, and his judgment sound. As a speaker he had fluency and eloquence, which were actively enlisted in the Republican cause in the presidential campaign of the pre- coding year. To the call of the President he at once re- sponded, saying, " I belong to the class who should be first to go, for I have no family depending upon me for support."
May 6, 1861, he enlisted, and was made first lieutenant in Company I of the 16th Regiment, which was the first regiment raised in Northern New York. He had already commenced to prepare himself for practical service by close study of military tactics. Before reaching the headquarters of the army his training in the machine-shop was made particularly useful, being ealled upon by the colonel to take charge of the transportation of the regiment from Harrisburg to Washington the day after the 6th Massa- chusetts had been mobbed in the streets of Baltimore. The excitement was intense, but the journey was safely made. When the regiment reached Washington the de- fenses in the vicinity of the city were still to be built, and here his knowledge of engineering was brought into prae- tice by being assigned by Gen. Slocum to superintend the ereetion of some of the fortifications.
Col. Wead was a man of strict integrity, and his fealty to the government was spceially manifest in the fidelity with which he insisted upon all confiscated property being returned to the government instead of being used for pri- vate speculation. He was at different times solicited to
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HISTORY OF CLINTON AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES, NEW YORK.
favor such schemes, and often had offers of large sums of money to induce him to change his purpose, but he never yielded his convictions of right, and his record has no stain of selfishness or covetousness.
On going into the field he was early selected as an aid. de-canıp on the staff of Gen. H. W. Slocum, and continued to serve in that capacity until his transfer to the 98th Regiment as lieutenant-colonel, Oct. 7, 1862, in recognition of gallant services at the battles of Mechanicsville, Savage Station, Gaines' Mills, Charles City Cross-Roads, Malvern Hill, and Antietam. On assuming this position, he was at once given command of the regiment, Col. Durkee soon after resigning. From May till October, 1863, he was placed in command of the territory extending from New- bern, N. C, to Morehead City, and from the Neuse River to the ocean. The rebels had been in the habit of raiding this territory in search of Union men fleeing from them, and had their pickets surrounding it. By energetic and frequent raids, Col. Wead succeeded in regaining entire possession of this section, which he held until ordered with his regiment to Virginia. During this time he made a map of that section of country, showing the topography as well as prominent points, and as this was at one time expected to be the seat of larger operations, the work re- ceived high commendation at headquarters.
In Virginia the 98th was placed under command of Gen. Getty, in Gen. Butler's department. Col. Wead was assigned to the command of the district comprising Princess Anne Co., Va., and a part of the adjacent territory in North Carolina, and had, besides his own regiment, two companies of cavalry detached for his service. At this time, the whole section being under martial law, the civil as well as military government of the district devolved upon him, and through the adjutant of liis regiment, Mr. Stanton, as provost-marshal, all civil business was trans- acted. The regiment during this time was in constant ac- tivity, and captured numbers of rebels, arms, ammunition, and horses.
In January, 1864, nearly the whole of the regiment re- enlisted, and came home on a furlough. They remained at home for thirty days, and were then recruited to nine hundred men. About this time Col. Wead received his commission as colonel, dating back to about the time of his services in North Carolina.
When the regiment returned to the war, they landed at Newport News, and were placed in Gen. Butler's command. On the 8th of May they started for Richmond, in concert with Gen. Grant's movement from the north. On the 7th and 8th of May they were engaged in operations before Petersburg, in which they received high praise from the superior officers. On the 14th of May they advanced to Drury's Bluff, where Col. Wead's gallantry and coolness elicited such commendation from the commander that, after the last of the three days' fighting was ended, a brigade was made up to act as rear-guard in the general withdrawal of the troops, and given to him to command. Besides the in- fantry, this brigade included the whole of the artillery of the corps commanded by Maj. Langdon and two regiments of cavalry:
From Drury's Bluff the 98th went down the James
River and up the York River, landing at Whitehouse. They went, on the night of June 1st, in connection with three other regiments under Col. Wead's command, to relieve a portion of Gen. Dean's command, and take possession of a breastwork which had been captured from the rebels in the morning. On approaching it they met with a volley of musketry. But being assured by the officer who was de- tailed to conduct them thither that they were on the right course, they went forward. But every move they made brought freshi firing from the breastwork, and they were or- dered to lie down. The forward rank was within a few yards of the breastwork, and Col. Wead, with Adj. Stanton, crept forward until they were immediately under the guns of the enemy, and then returned by following the work to its end, and sent back an officer to report at headquarters. The report was never made, and ordering the regiments to form for further work, they remained there until the next afternoon. The rebels came from their breastwork to charge the brigade, but being repulsed, the breastwork again came into the possession of the Northern forces.
During this fight Col. Wead received a wound in the shoulder, which paralyzed his arm. On the next day, when forming for the general fight which ensued, his surgeon en- deavored to dissuade him from going into the field, but he said, " I cannot send my boys without me." In the heat of the contest, in a charge at the head of his regiment, he re- ceived his fatal wound and was carried from the field. The historian of the regiment, Col. Kreutzer, in speaking of this battle, says, " During the day our regimental flag received fifty-two bullet-holes, and the regiment lost; killed and wounded, sixty-one. Col. Wead rose to his feet an instant on the captured line, when a rifle-ball pierced his neck and cut the subclavian vein. He was carried back to the barn beside the road, where he died the same day." He was in stature about five feet five inches, of light complexion, firmly knit, and strong. Naturally intelligent, shrewd, quick of apprehension, lie promised to become one of the most efficient officers in the army. At the time of his death, his regiment was one of the largest, best drilled, and best handled in the 18th Corps. Heckman, Weitzel, Devens, Brooks, had rested their arms upon it for support. Young, ambitious, and hopeful, the patriot will drop a tear on his grave. None gave his life more bravely and freely than he.
" How sleep the brave who sink to rest, With all their country's wishes blest !"
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CHAPTER XXIV.
MILITARY HISTORY-(Continued).
The One Hundred and Eighteenth Regiment.
THIS regiment was organized during the dark hours of 1862, when the novelty of military life had ceased, and fierce war, with all its attendant horrors, stood out in awful vision before the people of this country.
The disastrous battles of 1861 and the unsuccessful Peninsula campaign of the Army of the Potomac had cast a gloom over the North, and served to add additional vigor
Photo, by H. K. Averill, Jr., Plattsburgh.
Mehrli
COL. GEORGE F. NICHOLS was born Jan. 6, 1835. At the breaking out of the rebellion he resided in Plattsburgh, and was active in the organization of the 118th Regiment, and was mustered into the ser- vice as its major Aug. 21, 1862. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel July 8, 1863, and was commis- sioned as colonel Sept. 11, 1864. His record as com- mander of this noble regiment is one of conspicuous gallantry. The 118th had the example of a brave and courageous commander, one who never shrank from duty, whether upon long, tedious marches or in front of rebel bullets.
Col. Nichols received many encomiums of praise from the commanding officers for meritorions services on many a hard-contested field, and under date of Oct. 11, 1864, Gen. Butler says, "Lieut .- Col. George F. Nichols, 118th New York Volunteers, deserves honorable mention for the gallant manner, with a small body of men, with which he captured two redoubts on the right of Fort Harrison while the main assault was being made, and also for his cool conduct on the skirmishi line in the general assault."
For his gallantry on this occasion he was brevetted brigadier-general, and in a letter from Gov. Reuben E. Fenton, forwarding his commission, he refers to his "faithful and distinguished services in the late war," and thanks him " for the gallantry and devo- tion which indneed this conspicuous mention by the general government." His commission bears date March 13, 1865.
Col. Nichols was several times wounded, and at, the ever-memorable battle of Drury's Bluff had liis sword carried away by a shot, while his elothing was riddled with bullets.
He was considered one of the best military men in the army, and was paid the distinguished honor by Maj .- Gen. John Gibbon of being eliosen a mem- ber of a board of officers, from the 3d Division, to examine and report upon the qualifications of applicants for the regular service, with a view to determine each officer's fitness for practical ser- vice in the field. Col. Nichols was first on the list of the board of three officers chosen from the 3d Division.
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MILITARY HISTORY.
to the already victorious arms of the Confederacy. It was during this hour, when the pall of despondency seemed to be settling down upon the North, that President Lincoln issued a call-July 1-for three hundred thousand more men.
The 118th Regiment was raised in the Sixteenth Sena- torial District, and comprised three companies from Clinton County (B, H, and I), three from Essex County (C, E, and F), three from Warren County (A, D, and G), and one (K) from Clinton and Essex.
It was organized at Plattsburgh, to serve three years, and was denominated the " Adirondack" regiment.
The following were the field and staff of the 118th when mustered into the service, Aug. 21, 1862 : Colonel, Samuel T. Richards; Lieutenant-Colonel, Oliver Keese, Jr .; Major, George F. Nichols; Chaplain, C. L. Hagar ; Sergeant-Major, Robert Turner; Quartermaster Sergeant, H. J. Northrup; Commissary Sergeant, R. C. Kellogg ; Hospital Steward, Wm. T. Bidwell.
The following were the line officers :
Company A .- Captain, Josiah H. Norris; First Lieu- tenant, Edward Riggs ; Second Lieutenant, S. E. Chamber- lain.
Company B .- Captain, L. S. Dominy ; First Lieuten- ant, J. I. Carter; Second Lieutenant, J. M. Tenny.
Company C .- Captain, Jas. H. Pierce; First Lieuten- ant, N. S. Washburn ; Second Lieutenant, G. M. Buttrick.
Company D .- Captain, Richard P. Smith ; First Lieu- tenant, Cyrus O. Burge ; Second Lieutenant, John H. Smith, Jr.
Company E .- Captain, Jacob Parmerter; First Lieu- tenant, Joseph R. Seaman ; Second Lieutenant, John Brydon.
Company F .- Captain, Robert W. Livingstone; First Lieutenant, John L. Cunningham; Second Lieutenant, Wm. H. Stevenson.
Company G .- Captain, Dennis Stone ; First Lieutenant, Stephen H. Smith ; Second Lieutenant, M. N. Dickinson.
Company II .- Captain Wm. H. Bailey ; First Lieuten- ant, David F. Dobic; Second Licutenant, Sylvester Mat- toon.
Company I .- Captain, H. D. Ransom ; First Lieutenant, L. S. Holbrook ; Sccond Lieutenant, M. V. B. Stetson.
Company K .- Captain, John S. Stone; First Lieutenant, John S. Boynton ; Second Lieutenant, Henry M. Mould.
By the successive resignations in both cases from severe sickness, of Col. Richards, in the summer of 1863, and Keese, in May, 1864, Maj. Nichols was promoted to the command of the regiment, and led it with distinguished skill and courage in many of the severe conflicts it eneountered. Col. Keese, during his command of the regiment, was usually in the performance of active duty in the field.
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