USA > New York > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present together with early town sketches > Part 44
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The One Hundred and Fourth Regiment of New York Infantry whose monument we dedicate to-day, was a part of the First Brigade, Second Division, First Army Corps. Willing volunteers who came because their country needed them and called, its members left the
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farms, the fields, the shops and the homes where their boyhood had been spent, and became true American soldiers. Veterans they had been made on the fields of Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville; inured to the hardships of the march and camp, and the exposure of the picket line, on this field they illustrated the patriotism which possessed them, and with a devotion to their coun- try and the cause for which they fought, clung to this hill until sup- port to the right and left of them was gone, and then slowly retired, fighting as they went.
'The regiment had become reduced in numbers, so that only about 330 officers and men were in line when the battle began; and of that number nearly two-thirds did not return with the corps over Cemetery Hill that night, but are accounted for by the figures upon this monu- ment,-11 killed, 91 wounded, 92 captured and missing. These figures are taken from the official report made at that time, to which we are confined by the rules of the Commission, and before it was possible to ascertain the fate of many who were reported wounded or missing, as we had no access to this portion of the battlefield, nor to the hospitals in the town until the 5th day of July. The actual loss of the regiment, as finally ascertained, and including the casualties of the second and third days' battles, was: killed in action or died of wounds, 25; other wounded officers, 8; enlisted men, 73; captured or missing, and not otherwise accounted for, 93; making a total of 199.
Of the killed and wounded 7 belonged to the color guard, which consisted of 8 men, one only escaping unhurt. Color Sergt. Maurice Buckingham of Company C was shot dead early in the engagement, and Color Sergt. William H. Shea of Company I was mortally wounded. The State flag presented to the regiment by Mrs. General Wadsworth was borne in safety from the field by Sergt. David E. Curtis of Company D notwithstanding he was slightly wounded; and he afterwards carried it, until severely wounded at Spottsylvania. The United States colors were passed from one to another as the bearers were successively killed or wounded, until they came into the hands of Sergt. Moses Wallace of Company E, by whom they were torn from the staff and destroyed to prevent capture by the enemy. Lieut. Thomas Johnston of Company D was the only officer killed, and while it is impracticable here to give the names of all those who were killed or severely wounded, I may mention in the latter class the names of Lieut. Col. H. G. Tuthill, Capt. H. A. Wiley and Lieut. James W. Dow, without invidious distinction.
It would be impossible for me to give, after so long a time, a clear and detailed statement of the movements of the regiment during the whole of the battle, for on the second and third days the corps was used in fragments by brigades and divisions, here and there, as the pressing need for reinforcements seemed to require. On the evening
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of the second day, our division had a part in recovering the line, and saving some of the artillery near the "Peach Orchard," where Gener- al Sickles' desperate engagements had taken place just before. On the third day we were just in rear of Cemetery Ilill during the furi- ous cannonade, which none of us who were there will ever forget, and at its close were rapidly moved to the right, and then across Cemetery Ilill to the left, arriving there just in time to see Pettigrew's Rebel Division, which was to have supported Picket, broken and put to flight by our artillery fire, and to witness as silent but anxious spectators a part of the splendid charge of Pickett's Division, and its crushing repulse by the Second Corps.
But my memory of the first day's scenes is tolerably clear, and hay- ing refreshed it by the recollection of others, among whom I may men- tion Colonel Prey and Captain Starr, it has seemed to me appropriate to recount those scenes more fully here. We had bivouacked, for a day or two before the battle, in the vicinity of Emmettsburg. MId., leaving there in the early morning of July 1st, under the command of Gen. John F. Reynolds, with orders to proceed to Gettysburg. Before reaching the town, General Reynolds learned that Buford's Cavalry was already engaged with Rebel infantry and needed support. So we were pushed on as rapidly as possible, our brigade having the rear of the corps that day, and coming in sight of Seminary Ridge about 11 o'clock in the forenoon, we learned that General Reynolds had been killed. Wadsworth's and Doubleday's Divisions were already en- gaged, and our division, under General Robinson, was placed in reserve near the Seminary building, being employed for a part of the time until afternoon in the construction of temporary breastworks from rails and other movable materials, a little to the west of the building.
The rapid and continuous advance of the Rebel force under Gen. A. P. Hill, from the west, and General Ewell, from the north, soon made it necessary to extend our line of battle to the north, in order to cover the Mummasburg Road, along which Ewell's forces, if unopposed, would gain the right and rear of the First Corps and cut it off from the town. About 1 o'clock the Second Brigade of our division, under General Baxter, was thus used to prolong the line of battle to the right, along the ridge and to the west of it, finding the Rebel troops already nearing, and in position to prevent their further advance along the road. At about the same time the Eleventh Corps began to arrive upon the field, and leaving a division upon Cemetery Hill as a reserve, two of its divisions were pushed out on the north of the town to oppose the expected advance of Ewell's Corps from that direction. This disposition left a long space between the right of the First Corps and the left of the Eleventh, and right through the middle of that space ran this Mummasburg Road, by which Rode's Division of Ewell's Corps was seeking to reach the town. Iverson's Rebel Bri-
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gade had the advance down the road, but was handsomely repulsed by Baxter's Brigade, aided by Cutler's Brigade of Wadsworth's Division, a large part of Iverson's men being killed wounded or captured. The check was, however, only temporary, and reinforced by the bri- gades of Daniel and O'Neal the Rebels again advanced, and partly seized the stone wall running along the ridge, southerly from the road.
To repel their attack and hold the line at this point, the First Bri- gade under General Paul, which was the sole remaining reserve of the First Corps, was double-quicked to the right, and ordered to take position to the right of Baxter's Brigade, facing partly to the west and partly to the north. The Thirteenth Massachusetts was on the right of the brigade, with our regiment next to it. Coming rapidly into line we encountered a destructive fire from the Rebel forces shel- tered in the grove and behind the stone wall, and a considerable part of our loss in killed and wounded was sustained while we were in this position. Finally, under the personal lead of Colonel Prey, we charged over the stone wall, dislodging and driving back the Rebel forces in confusion, quite a number of prisoners being taken by the companies of our regiment under command of Captains Wiley and Dixon. It was now nearly 3 o'clock, and the whole plain to the north and west of the town seemed to be filled with the advancing Rebel forces. The angle between the First and Eleventh Corps was once more made the scene of a determined attack, but without success, the Rebels being driven back. WVe followed them for a short distance beyond the wall, retiring immediately, however, to our former position, in view of their overpowering numbers, and keeping up a constant and well-directed musketry fire upon such of them as were within reach. The brunt of this attack fell mainly upon our brigade; but we were aided in re- pulsing it by the enfilading fire from two of the regiments of Baxter's Brigade.
Prior to this time General Paul had been severely wounded, losing the sight of both eyes. The two senior colonels were successively wound- ed, and the brigade had been practically without any commander for some time, until at this point Colonel Prey took command by order of General Robinson, and retained it until the close of the first day's engagement.
An open space of 300 yards or more still remained between the right of the First Corps and the left of the Eleventh, perceiving which, part of Rodes' Division was massed for attack under shelter of the Mc Lean buildings and shrubbery, north of the Mummasburg Road. We had no reserve left to fill this gap, and I was now directed by Col- ·onel Prey to find the nearest brigade or division commander of the Eleventh Corps, and represent to him the position of affairs, and the danger which was apparent, that the enemy thus massing at Mc- Lean's would penetrate our lines through this opening, which if done
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in sufficient force would immediately render the position of both corps untenable. I was unable to find either of those commanders, but de- livered my message to a staff officer and the commanding officer of the nearest Eleventh Corps troops, and then returned to the regiment. Before reaching it, on looking back, 1 saw that the right of the Eleventh Corps was rapidly being driven back, and its brigade near- est us was changing front to the right, in order to protect its flank and line of retreat, instead of coming to our aid. The anticipated advance upon our right immediately took place, and being left without any protection on that flank, we were subjected to a murderous enfilading fire, and obliged to fall back and change front to the right in order to protect our rear. The Rebel advance from the west was also renewed with resistless numbers, Gen. A. P. Hill's Corps, comprising about one-third of Lee's army, closing in upon the First Corps from that direction, while two divisions of Ewell's Corps assailed us from the north. We were slowly driven back to the town and through its streets, and having been at the extreme right of the corps, a good many of our men were cut off and captured before they could reach the town.
Arriving at the rear of Cemetery Ilill about 6 o'clock, we gathered together what remained of our regiment and found that we numbered 3 officers and 43 men. Of course, in the confusion of the retreat a good many men had become separated from their commands. £ Others who had been cut off and captured in the streets or in the hospitals where they had gone with wounded friends, made their escape and rejoined us, so that on the morning of the second day our numbers had in- creased to about 100 officers and men. According to General Robin- son's report the total loss of our division in the first day's fight was 1,660 out of about 2,500 engaged, or two-thirds of the whole command.
Comrades. I have thus given you in a brief, and perhaps somewhat imperfect way, the record of our regiment on that eventful day. I am proud of it, and so is each one of you. We did our duty and we did it well. Many of our best and bravest officers and men went down to death that day, giving their young lives for their country and the flag they loved so well; many more received grievous wounds from which they are yet suffering; others, by the fortune of war, were pris- oners in the hands of the enemy, and after days of alternate hope and fear, as they were held almost in sight of the battlefield, were at last hurried along across the Potomac and into the horrible prison pens at Richmond, Salisbury, and Andersonville, where starvation and disease were more deadly than the storm of iron and lead upon the battlefield, and where even death was welcomed as a benefactor.
We gather here today at the end of a quarter of a century, proud in the memory of the past; thankful to God for the results of the day we commemorate, and rejoicing as we realize all that our favored land is
-
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to us, a worthy heritage to those who fought and bled for her, and to their children to all generations. The day is not without its feeling of sadness, as we recall the names of the patriot dead and the deeds which they did here. The ties were strong which bound us together as we stood side by side in many battles, and endured the trials and privations of a soldier's life. Instinctively our eyes and our thoughts turn to yonder beautiful but silent city of the dead, where so many of our comrades lie, filling honorable, though they may be unknown, graves. We dedicate to their memory this stone of enduring granite, and we give it over to the care and keeping of our great State of New York. Watch over it tenderly, O Empire State! Crown it with flowers on each Memorial Day, and with laurel for the deeds of the living and the dead, as we, who were friends and comrades, keep their memory green, until, one by one, we are gathered home, and greet each other upon the distant shore of eternal peace and rest.
EIGHTH NEW YORK VOLUNTEER CAVALRY.
On July 22, 1861, the day after the Bull Run disaster, a tidal wave of patriotism rolled over the entire North from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, leaving its impress on every loyal heart, and a deep-seat- ed feeling that the Rebellion must be put down and the Union pre- served intact, regardless of cost, in treasure and precious lives. On that day two members of Company F. Fifty-fourth Regiment, New York State Militia (Rochester City Dragoons), met on the street in Rochester, and, as a matter of course, conversation turned on the sub- ject that was uppermost in all minds. Both expressing the intention of adding their mite by offering their services, and lives if necessary, in the preservation of the Union, one suggested the feasibility of re- cruiting a regiment of cavalry. They parted to meet the next day, and after a few meetings and discussions the two men went to Albany to interview Governor Morgan. They received authority from him to raise a regiment of cavalry to serve three years, or during the war. They returned to Rochester and immediately opened a recruiting of- fice. They secured the county fair grounds and buildings for barracks and camps.
Ten companies were organized, drilled and mustered into the United States service November 23, 1861. November 28th, the reg- iment left Rochester for Washington under command of Col. Samuel
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J. Crooks, where it remained as [part of the force in defence of the Capital until March 9, 1862.
During this time rumors were; rife that the military authorities thought they were getting more cavalry than was needed, and that a number of regiments which had not been mounted would be disband- ed or reorganized as infantry. Colonel Crooks having resigned, the officers arrived at the conclusion that if some cavalry officer of the reg- ular army, of well-known ability, werc appointed to the command of the regiment it would enhance the prospect of their retention as a mounted organization. They unanimously joined in a request to General Stone- man, then in command of the cavalry, to recommend some tried officer of this description for the colonelcy, setting forth the fact that the regi- ment was composed of a superior body of men, and, if fully equipped and commanded by an officer of well-known skill, it would be a credit to the army and' render efficient service to the country. He com- mended their course and complied with the request. The wisdom of this action on the part of the officers was fully demonstrated after- wards by the glorious career of the regiment.
March 9, 1862, the regiment broke camp at Washington, and was placed on guard along the upper Potomac and canal from Edwards Ferry to Point of Rocks. April 6th it was ordered to Harper's Ferry and guarded the railroad from that point to Winchester until May 24th, the time of Banks' retreat before Jackson, when it fell back to Harper's Ferry. In anticipation of an attack on this place the men volunteered for this occasion to take muskets and help defend the place. They were furnished with muskets and forty rounds of ammunition, and in this shape marched up to Bolivar Heights and took position on the ex- treme right of the line of battle there formed, and were the last recall- ed when the line was withdrawn the same night.
They were then posted on Maryland Heights where they were en- gaged in picket duty until about the 23d of June, when they were ordered to Relay House, near Baltimore, for the purpose of being mounted and fully equipped. Here they were joined by Capt. B. F. Davis, of the First U. S. Cavalry, who had been commissioned as colonel of the Eighth New York Cavalry, at the request of the officers of the regiment, upon the recommendation of General Stoneman. The regiment remained at Relay House, the men drilling assiduously until the fore part of September, when they were ordered to Harper's Ferry,
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from which point they were daily reconnoitering up to the night of the 14th of September, when they accomplished their ever memorable es- cape from that place.
Harper's Ferry at this time being completely invested on all sides, and it being a foregone conclusion that the place would surrender, Colonel Davis received the reluctant consent of Colonel Miles, who was in command, to make the attempt at saving the cavalry by with- drawing them and forcing their way through the enemy's lines. Soon after dark on the night of the 14th of September, the Eighth New York Cavalry, the Twelfth Illinois Cavalry and a portion of the First Mary- land Cavalry, all under command of Colonel Davis, crossed the pon- toon bridge to the Maryland side of thePotomac and commenced their perilous night march. A little before daylight on the morning of the 15th, they captured Longstreet's ammunition train on the Hagerstown Pike, about three miles from Williamsport, which they turned and hurried along at breakneck speed for Greencastle, Pa., reaching there about the middle of the forenoon. Then, proceeding more leisurely, the train, consisting of some 75 to 80 wagons and some 300 horses and mules, moved on to Chambersburg. The brigade rested at Greencastle that night, and on the next day joined McClellan on the battlefield of Antietam. Colonel Davis was brevetted major, U. S. A., on the rec- ommendation of General McClellan, for conspicuous conduct in the management of the withdrawal of the cavalry from Harper's Ferry at the surrender of that place.
About the 1st of October the regiment took the advance along with other cavalry in pursuit of the Rebel army, which was falling back to the Rappahannock River, by way of the Shenandoah. Valley, and the turnpike leading south on the west side of the Blue Ridge Moun- tains. After crossing the Potomac River at Berlin, the first engage- ment in which the regiment participated was at Snickersville, on the 27th day of October, 1862, when it dashed boldly up the Pike leading through the Gap. It had barely covered a quarter of the distance to the Gap when a concealed battery opened on them with canister and compelled them to fall back, which they did in good order.
Then came in rapid succession the engagements at Philomont, Union- ville, Upperville, Barbee's Cross Roads, Sulphur Springs, Amissville, Corbin's Cross Roads and Jefferson. Those of Philomont, Unionville, Upperville, Amissville and Jefferson were sharp skirmishes in which
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the regiment lost quite largely in killed and wounded; while that at Barbee's Cross Roads was a savage one while it lasted, and first gave the regiment that confidence in itself which it afterwards maintained to the close of the war. It was the first fair charge of cavalry against cavalry of any magnitude in which it had engaged, and the enemy was completely routed.
A part of the regiment was dismounted and sent ahead to skirmish and dislodge a portion of the Rebels who were also fighting dismounted and endeavoring to hold our advance in check. While our dismounted men were skirmishing behind a stone wall, Colonel Davis led the re- mainder over a small knoll and formed them in a hollow, out of sight of the enemy. They were but just formed when a large regiment of Rebel cavalry came charging down upon them. Before the Rebels had reached the brow of the knoll the command "Charge!" was given, and in a moment the mounted part of the regiment charged so unex- pectedly and so impetuously that the enemy broke and fled in the wildest disorder, leaving many of their number in our hands, dead, wounded or prisoners. An extract from General Mcclellan's report of this engagement reads: "A largely superior force charged Colonel Davis' Eighth New York Cavalry, but were gallantly met and repulsed."
At Jefferson the regiment participated in its last engagement for the year 1862. The weather was growing quite cold, and the men were not as yet furnished with shelter tents. They were obliged to lie out all night on the damp ground, and nearly all the time were denied the privilege of fire. Their sufferings were not inconsiderable. But they were made happy by being ordered into regular camp at Belle Plain, from whence they were sent at intervals to do picket duty on the Rap- pahannock River, which formed the dividing line between the two armies.
At an early date in 1863 active operations again began on the part of the regiment which had been strengthened by the addition of three new companies, recruited at Rochester by Maj. William H. Benjamin during August, September and October, 1862, he having been detailed from the regiment for this duty. Up to June 9, 1863, the day of the cavalry fight at Beverly Ford, the Eighth Cavalry had participated in fourteen different engagements of more or less importance, losing in killed, wounded and missing about 50 men, the greater part of the losses occurring at Independence Hill, March 5th, and Freeman's Ford,
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April 15th. At the time of the battle of Chancellorsville they were en- gaged several days in operations around the right flank of our own and the left flank of the Rebel army, coming inside of our line over the breastworks on the extreme right a little before sunset May 4th, and that night fell back with the main body of the army.
The great cavalry battle at Beverly Ford, June 9, 1863, deserves special mention. In this battle the regiment took the leading part, and lost more men in killed and wounded than any other regiment en- gaged. Before it was fairly light they dashed across the Ford and in- to the very midst of the Rebel camps. During the whole fight the Eighth was in the thickest of it, winning much glory, but at the ex- pense of many gallant officers and men. It was here, and in the first dash, that the gallant Colonel Davis fell mortally wounded at the head of his regiment. His loss was deeply deplored, not by his own regi- ment alone, but by the entire cavalry corps. Lieut. Col. William L. Markell was promoted to the vacancy, and became colonel of the regi- ment. From Beverly Ford to Gettysburg the regiment was marching and skirmishing almost daily.
Late in the afternoon of June 30th, the regiment, leading the ad- vance of the First Brigade, First Division, Cavalry Corps, entered Gettysburg, passed through the town, and bivouacked near the Semi- nary in an open field on the left of the Cashtown Pike, from which one squadron, advancing about a mile, established a picket line across and on both sides of the Cashtown Road. About 7 o'clock on the next morning, July 1st, the officer commanding the squadron on picket gave notice that the enemy in strong force was advancing on his pick- ets from the direction of Cashtown. The brigade was formed in line of battle as soon as possible about a mile in front of the Seminary, and three squadrons deployed as skirmishers were advanced to the sup- port of the picket line now being driven back by the enemy.
The fighting soon became general and sharp along the whole line, our skirmishers stubbornly resisting every inch of the enemy's advance, although the Confederates were there in overpowering numbers. In a short time the line was compelled to fall back to the next ridge, less than a quarter of a mile in the rear. The skirmishers fighting stub- bornly in the meantime behind fences and trees and our artillery do- ing good execution, the advance of the enemy was retarded, and this line was maintained until about 10 o'clock, when the First Corps, the
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advance of our infantry, came up and relieved the Cavalry Brigade in its unequal contest with the enemy. When we consider that two di- visions of Hill's Corps were held in check for three hours by so small a cavalry force, it becomes unnecessary to say anything more about their gallantry and fighting qualities. The regimental monument of the Eighth New. York now stands on the spot the regiment occupied when relieved by the First Corps, on what is now known as Reynolds Avenue, and a few rods in rear of the spot where General Reynolds was killed.
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