USA > New York > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 29
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wounded, the color guard reduced from nine to two. The movement was abandoned. It retired from the field in good order, but on reaching the road its ranks were broken and it participated in the confused retreat to Washington. August 14th it encamped near Alexandria, where Col. Slocum was promoted Brigadier-General, and Lieut .- Colonel Chambers resigned. Major Bartlett was made Colonel, Captain Adams, Lieut .- Colonel, and Capt. Gardiner, Major. Sept. 12th the regi- ment, having been assigned to Slocum's brigade, with the 16th New York and Franklin's division, commenced the construction of Fort Lyon, and on the 14th of October went into winter quarters four miles north of it.
March 13, 1862, the Division with which it was connected was attached to Gen. McDowell's (Ist) corps. April 16th the divisions of Generals Franklin and Smith were detached from Mc- Dowell's corps, and May 7th, were organized as the 6th corps, under Gen. Franklin, Gen. Slocum succeeding Franklin in command of the Division. This arrangement was not subsequently changed during the term of service of the 27th, although the officers in command were changed, Gen. Bartlett succeeding to the command of the brigade, Gen. Brooks, to that of the division, and Gen. Sedgwick, to that of the corps.
April 12, 1862, the division to which the 27th belonged embarked on transports, and on the after- noon of the 23d sailed to Fortress Monroe. On the 24th it encamped on the Peninsula about seven miles from Yorktown, in the siege of which it par- ticipated. May 5th, the day succeeding the evacu- ation of Yorktown, it went with other forces to the head of navigation on York river and landed under cover of the gunboats, which dispersed the rebel cavalry and infantry skirmishing on the shore. The 27th were the first to land, and as the enemy was near, six companies were deployed as skirm- ishers, the others acting as a reserve. Picket firing was opened and continued during the night. The regiment lost several in killed and wounded, and captured a few prisoners. On the morning of the 7th the enemy surprised the Union troops while at breakfast, but were repulsed after a sharp engage- inent with the loss of one of their batteries.
On Thursday, the 22d of May, a reconnaissance was made in which the 27th participated; and from this time until June 29th it was actively en- gaged, most of the time in skirmishing, in connec- tion with McClellan's peninsula campaign. On the afternoon of the 27th, the second of the Seven
Days' Fight, it crossed the Chickahominy to the support of Gen. Porter, who was strongly pressed by an overwhelming rebel force, and took part in the desperate encounter of Gaines' Mill. The 27th went into action about 5 P. M., on the extreme right of Porter's corps, drove the enemy from his position by a bayonet charge, and captured a large number of prisoners. They held their position till dark, when Porter withdrew his forces and joined in the retreat towards Harrison's Landing. The regiment lost in this engagement 179 men in killed, wounded and missing. At Charles City Cross Roads, on the 30th of June, it skirmished and sup- ported batteries ; and at Malvern Hill, July Ist, was early sent into action on the right of the army to prevent a flank movement.
The regiment remained at Harrison's Landing till about the middle of August, when, Mcclellan having been ordered to withdraw his army to the support of Gen. Pope in repelling Lee's sortie through Maryland, it retraced its steps down the Peninsula, and embarked at Newport News for Alexandria. Thence it was sent to the support of Pope, and arrived at Centerville on the night of the 30th of August, in time to cover Pope's retreat from the second battle of Bull Run, but too late to affect the issue of that desperately fought contest. It followed the retreat and went into camp at Fort Lyon.
The regiment was engaged in the battle of South Mountain, Sept. 14th, acting as skirmishers and ronting a rebel battery; and in that of Antietam, with its horrible carnage, three days later, but, though supporting batteries and being under heavy fire all day, suffered no loss. It join ed in the pur- suit of Lee, and on the 13th of December. shared with the army under Burnside, who superseded Mc- Clellan in command Nov. 8th, in the terrible dis- aster at Fredericksburgh. The 27th was the first regiment to cross the Rappahannock in the left grand division of the army. Burnside withdrew his army from this memorable field on the 15th, and the 27th spent the winter in camp at White Oak church. In the latter part of April it was again engaged at Fredericksburgh, under Sedgwick ; and on the 3d of May, in the disastrous defeat at Chancellorsville, under Hooker. From this time it guarded Bank's Ford till the expiration of its term of service. May 13, 1863, General Sedgwick directed their muster out, which took place at Elmira, May 31, 1863. The order contained the following allusion to their services :--
" The general commanding the corps congratu-
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
lates the officers and men of the 27th N. V. Vols. upon their honorable return to civil life. They have enjoyed the respect and confidence of their commanders and companions. They have illustra- ted their term of service by gallant deeds and have won for themselves a reputation not surpassed in the Army of the Potomac, and have nobly earned the gratitude of the Republic."
The 33d Regiment, composed, besides the companies from this county, of two companies from Seneca Falls and one each from P'al- myra, Waterloo, Geneva, Canandaigua, Penn Yan and Buffalo, was organized at Elmira, May 21, 1861, and Robert F. Taylor chosen Colonel. It left that rendezvous on the 8th of July, and like the 27th, with which its military career was nearly a parallel, shared the varying fortunes of the Army of the l'o- tomac, participating in the battles of Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Lee's Mill, Second Bull Run, Antietam and Fredericksburgh, besides other minor engagements, and at the expi- ration of its term of service, being connected with the command of Gen. Sedgwick, received from him the same complimentary notice as the 27th. The regiment was mustered out June 2, 1863.
Livingston County raised 750 two years' volun- teers between June 1, 1861, and July 1, 1862 ; and 1,500 three years' volunteers from July 1, 1862, to July 1, 1863, making a total of 2,850 up to the latter date. Some portion of these were connected with the 75th and 89th regiments. The second company of volunteers from Mt. Morris, which was raised by Capt. C. W. Burt, and left for Elmira September 13, 1861, was attached to the latter regiment which was commanded by Col. Fairchild and left Elmira for Washington, December 6, 1861. It sailed with Burnside's Expedition, and was left at Fort Clark, Cape Hatteras, where the men were drilled.
Sept. 24, 1861, a regimental camp was formed at Geneseo, under Col. John Rorbach, for recruiting the 104th Regiment, or "Wadsworth Guards," a name it received in honor of General James S. Wadsworth, who was desirous that Livingston county should be represented in the service by a complete regiment, and first suggested its organiza- tion. Recruiting for it was general throughout most of this county and in a portion of Wyoming county. Sept. 30, 1861, Capt. Henry G. Tuthill, with sixty men, arrived in Geneseo, with the first company for this regiment. It afterwards became Co. A. The second company of about forty men reported three or four days after. These two com- panies were quartered in the hotels of the village
until barracks for their accommodation were built soon after, on the old camp ground at the head of North street. To this rendezvous, which received the name of Camp Union, the men were sent as fast as they arrived. By the 24th of January, 1862, ten companies had been recruited to the minimum number and on that day were mustered into the United States service by Capt. E. G. Marshall. By the close of February the regiment had been re- cruited to 683 enlisted men and 20 commissioned officers; and on the 25th of that month it left Gen- eseo, " amid the cheers and tears of thousands, who had assembled to bid them ' God-speed,'" for Al- bany, where it was formed into seven companies, and consolidated with a skeleton regiment of about 300 men, under command of Col. John J. Viele, then in camp at Troy, which became Companies H, I and K of the 104th, the seven companies from Geneseo being lettered from A to G, inclus- ive. The regiment thus formed contained 1,040 men, and the following .is a roster of the field, staff and commissioned officers, as taken from the order organizing the regiment, issued March 8 1862 :
Colonel-John Rorbach.
Lieut .- Colonel-R. Wells Kenyon.
Major-Lewis C. Skinner.
Adjutant-Frederick T. Vance.
Quarter-Master-Henry V. Colt.
Surgeon-Enos G. Chase.
Asst-Surgeon-Douglas S. Landon.
Chaplain-Daniel Russell.
Company A-Captain, Henry G. Tuthill; First Lieutenant, -; Second Lieutenant, Al- bert S. Haver.
Company B-Captain, Lehman H. Day; First Lieutenant, Henry A. Wiley ; Second Lieutenant, Homer M. Stull.
Company C-Captain, Stephen L. Wing; First Lieutenant, Henry Runyan ; Second Lieutenant, Nelson J. Wing.
Company D-Captain, Zophar Simpson ; First Lieutenant, Jacob H. Stutt ; Second Lieutenant, George H. Starr.
Company E-Captain, H. C. Lattimore ; First Lieutenant, Wm. F. Lozier; Second Lieutenant, Wm. L. Trembley.
Company F-Captain, Gilbert G. Prey; First Lieutenant, Luman F. Dow; Second Lieutenant, W. J. Hemstreet.
Company G-Captain, James A. Gault ; First Lieutenant, John P. Rudd ; Second Lieutenant, John R. Strang.
Company H-Captain, James K. Selleck ; First Lieutenant, E. B. Wheeler ; Second Lieutenant, Thomas Johnston.
Company I-Captain, John Kelley; First Lieu- tenant, J. J. McCarffey ; Second Lieutenant, Chas. W. Fisher.
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WAR OF THE REBELLION.
Company K-Captain, John C. Thompson ; First Lieutenant, John H. Miller; Second Lieuten- ant, Wm. C. Wilson.
The regiment left Albany on the 20th of March, and late in the evening of the 22d arrived in Wash- ington, where for the first time the men had the experience, so common in after years, of sleeping upon the open ground, or the still more filthy de- pot floor. The next day it went into camp at Kalorama Heights, three miles from the Capitol,. and there remained about three weeks, during which time arms (Enfield rifles) and accoutrements were issued to the men, and ceaseless drill went on.
Early in April it was attached to Gen. Abram Duryee's brigade, which also contained the 97th and 105th New York and 107th Pennsylvania reg- iments. After a month spent at Alexandria in drill, in which the 104th excelled, it advanced to Catlett Station, Va., to be in position for the for- ward movement by McDowell from Fredericks- burgh. Here the regiment was presented with a magnificent stand of colors, gurdons, etc., by Mrs. Gen. James S. Wadsworth, in recognition of the compliment paid her gallant husband in naming the regiment the " Wadsworth Guards."
On the 24th of May, the 104th was detached from its brigade and proceeded by rail to Thorough- fare Gap to join the command of Gen. Geary, who was then confronting Gen. Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley. It arrived in time to partici- pate in a hasty and toilsome retreat to Manassas, in which it lost its tents, stores and equipage which could not be carried on the person. On the 28th of May, it returned to Catlett Station, where it re- mained three weeks as an independent command, picketing all the adjacent country. About the middle of June, Gen. Duryee, who had withdrawn during the temporary absence of the regiment, re- turned with the rest of the brigade to Catlett Sta- tion. The camp of the 104th was removed to a low marsh, which resulted disastrously to the health of the regiment, diarrhea and a low type of mala- rial fever becoming very prevalent. Several lives were thus sacrificed and about one hundred were sent to general hospitals, many of whom never re- turned to duty with the regiment.
July 5th the brigade moved to Warrenton, and on the 22d to Waterloo, where it was attached to Rickett's division of McDowell's corps. August 5th Gen. Pope, who was assigned to the consoli- dated commands of Fremont, Banks and McDow- ell, designated the Army of Virginia, June 26, 1862, commenced a diversion in favor of McClel-
lan, who was operating on the Peninsula, which eventually brought on him the combined and over- whelming forces of Lee and Jackson, and forced his dispirited columns, shattered in the fierce con- flicts on the plains of Manassas, within the defenses of Washington. The first contest occurred at Cedar Mountain on the 9th of August. The 104th reached the field of battle on the evening of that day, but too late to take any special part in the en- gagement. It was for a time, (the first time, ) under a sharp artillery fire, but sustained no loss. His communications being threatened, Jackson, though the victor in this encounter, retired across the Rapidan, whence Pope's retrograde movement commenced on the 18th. Pope took post behind the north fork of the Rappahannock on the 19th, where the 104th held a position near the railroad bridge crossing that stream, and was exposed to a sharp artillery fire, during a feigned attempt of the enemy to cross the river to facilitate Jackson's flank movement by Thoroughfare Gap, on the right of Pope's army. The regiment was detached with its division to intercept Jackson's retreat through Thoroughfare Gap, but met the enemy in such force as to compel a retreat to Manassas, where it arrived on the evening of the 29th, after an exhausting march of nearly thirty miles. The men slept on their arms, and at early dawn the next day relieved some troops who were holding a piece of woods through which ran an unused railroad embankment. The line was advanced across this embankment under a sharp musketry fire from the enemy concealed in the dense under- growth beyond. The regiment sustained a loss of several in killed and wounded, including one officer, Lieut. John P. Rudd. The line retired behind the embankment, which it held, notwithstanding a fierce attempt was made to dislodge it. About noon the brigade was removed to a new position, from which it was forced back about 4 P. M., by an overwhelming force of the enemy, retreating in haste and some confusion, in common with the rest of the army, to Centerville, which was reached during the night. The loss sustained by the 104th was five killed, forty-one wounded and forty-eight missing, most of the latter of whom were taken prisoners.
During the succeeding night the retreat was con- tinued to Fairfax Court House, and on the after- noon of Sept. Ist, the to4th was hurried toward the field of Chantilly, where, during a terrible thunder storm, a second attempt to turn Pope's flank by Jackson was defeated by Gen. Kearney,
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
who, together with Gen. Stevens, were killed in that action.
Then followed the retreat to Washington, the retirement of Gen. Pope, the return of Mcclellan to the chief command, and various other changes, including the substitution of Hooker for McDowell as the corps commander of the roth.
After a halt of only four days in the vicinity of Washington, began the Maryland campaign, in which the first note-worthy event was the battle of South Mountain, which occurred on the 14th of September. While Reno's attack was progressing, Rickett's division pressed up the mountain about 5 P. M., and reached the crest in time to participate in the engagement. Duryee's brigade, of which the roth led the advance, occupied the right of the line, and forced its way through fields and tangled underbrush, and over steep and ragged rocks, with great impetuosity. The 104th escaped with the loss of only one man wounded, the fire of the enemy passing over their heads owing to the steepness of the ascent.
On the evening of the 16th, position was taken upon the field of Antietam. At early dawn of the following day, Hooker, who occupied the right of McClellan's line, made a furious attack, and drove Jackson's brigade, with severe loss, upon his reserves, who, after an infuriated struggle, checked Hooker's advance. Duryee's brigade, which had been designated as a reserve the night previous, now found itself upon the front, without any reserve. Advancing steadily in a position absolutely without shelter, they were met with a terrific storm of iron and lead, which at last rendered it beyond the power of mortal man to advance farther, and the men lay down for temporary shelter. Twice they were driven sullenly back, but rallying again, each time with desperate energy, they again ad- vanced, and held their line until the arrival of reënforcements about 10 A. M., when they were withdrawn. "The antagonists," says Draper, "fight- ing in a cloud of sulphury smoke, almost extermi- nated each other." The loss of the 104th in this engagement was nine killed and sixty-seven wounded.
To this succeeded the inactivity of camp life at Mercersville, Md., till the 26th of October, when the army crossed into Virginia, and on the 7th of December the regiment was on the banks of the Rappahannock, a few miles below Fredericksburgh. During these marches Burnside had superseded McClellan in command of the army ; Maj .- Gen. John F. Reynolds was now the corps commander ;
Brig .- Gen. John Gibbon, in command of the division, and Col. A. R. Root, of the brigade ; while Major Skinner succeeded Col. Prey in com- mand of the regiment.
The 104th crossed the river on the 12th and on the 13th went into action below Fredericksburgh, participating in the assault of Gen. Franklin on the left of the line, which broke through the enemy's line, and gained the heights, but being unsupported was forced back. The brigade with which the 104th was connected, having been in reserve, was ordered to drive the enemy from a sunken railroad track, which they did by a gallant bayonet charge, cap- turing about 200 prisoners and driving the enemy far into the woods beyond. The right, under Sumner, who was principally engaged, was the scene of a terrible carnage. The 104th lost in this ill-starred encounter 5 killed, 45 wounded, and 3 missing, of the latter of whom two were afterwards ascertained to have been killed. During the night of the 15th Burnside quietly withdrew his army to the north side of the river without loss, and the 104th went into winter quarters near Belle Plain, Va., where it remained till near the ist of May following, the quiet of winter being only once inter- rupted by that episode known as "Burnside's Mud March."
On the 28th of April the regiment left its winter camp and advanced first to Fredericksburgh, and thence to the field of Chancellorsville, but was not actively engaged in that disastrous conflict. It again went into camp at White Oak church, and there remained until the middle of June, when it participated in those movements which culminated at Gettysburgh, the battle of the war, at which place the 104th arrived July Ist. On the morning of that day, Buford's cavalry met and engaged the enemy to the westward of Gettysburg, holding him in partial check till Reynolds reached the scene of action, with Wadsworth's division in advance. Al- most with the first dash of the infantry forces came the great disaster of the day-the death of Gen. Reynolds, who commanded the corps to which the 104th belonged. Our forces gained a temporary advantage, Wadsworth's division driving the ene- my some distance, and capturing numerous prison- ers, among them Gen. Archer. But, though How- ard had come to their support with the 11th corps, the rapidly increasing disparity in their numbers compelled them to give way. With a persistence and tenacity worthy of all praise the Ist corps clung to the line of Seminary Ridge, prolonging the line of battle to the right by utilizing all the reserve,
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WAR OF THE REBELLION.
until at last the whole corps was in one, line of bat- tle, the 104th being upon the extreme right, and resting upon the Cashtown road, at some distance beyond which, with quite an interval between, were deployed two divisions of the 11th corps. All along this line from 10 A. M., until about 3 P. M., waged a hotly contested battle.
During the last hour of this time the loss of the 104th was very severe, as it was exposed to a mur- derous enfilading fire at short range. The arrival of Ewell's forces from York and Carlisle, forced back the divisions of the 11th corps with confusion, and gave easy access to the flank and rear of the Ist corps, which fell back slowly and sullenly on the city, in the streets of which it became a broken and confused mass. They were closely fol- lowed by the enemy, who poured in their fire with deadly effect and secured a good many prisoners. They soon reached Cemetery Hill, where Gen. Howard, by a happy inspiration, had posted his third division, with three batteries of artillery, and behind these the shattered corps withdrew to re- form its ranks. Three officers and forty-three men of the 104th alone answered to the first roll-call. On the morning of the next day the number had increased to ninety.
During the rest of the battle the first corps was held in reserve, brigades and regiments being de- tached to strengthen weak points hard pressed by the enemy. Thus it happened that the brigade to which the 104th was attached took part in the fierce struggle on the evening of the 2d of July, when Sickles' corps was almost overwhelmed ; and again on the 3d were called on to occupy succes- sively several distinct points where danger seemed to be great, finally taking part in the repulse of Pettigrew's division in the afternoon, and being in plain sight of the wonderful charge made by Pick- ett's division on that memorable day.
The casualties in the 104th were 15 killed, 86 wounded, and 94 missing, (mostly taken prisoners,) at least nine-tenths of which occurred on the first day.
Lee was feebly pursued into Virginia, and various counter movements ensued without, however, bringing on an engagement. During the succeed- ing fall about 250 recruits were infused into the shattered ranks of the regiment ; but as a large number of these were substitutes and men who had enlisted to make money by the operation, and took the first opportunity to desert, not much more than half that number was a real addition to its strength. The brigade to which the 104th belonged, then
composed additionally of the 16th Maine, and the 13th and 39th Massachusetts, was removed about the 20th of December, 1863, to Mitchell's Station, in the immediate vicinity of the battlefield of Cedar Mountain, where it did out-post and picket duty, far in advance of the rest of the army, until the opening of the spring of 1864. During the winter 113 men of this regiment who had served two years, reënlisted for three years. They received a thirty-days' furlough, and were designated by gen- eral orders "veteran volunteers." During this time also a reorganization of the Army of the Po- tomac was effected. The 104th was attached to the 5th corps, to the command of which Major General G. K. Warren was assigned.
On the 4th of May, 1864, the Army of the Po- tomac, now commanded by Gen. U. S. Grant, com- menced a vigorous advance movement, the 5th corps taking the lead. The enemy was encoun- tered on the 5th in the "Wilderness," and then com- menced a series of battles and movements, which, from the stupendous losses they inflicted on our army, were without a parallel in the history of the war. The 104th took an honorable part in the battles of the Wilderness, and the several engage- ments at Spottsylvania Court House, North Anna River and Bethesda Church. In the forty-three days which elapsed between the crossing of the Rapidan and the James, there were but five in which the regiment was not under fire. The total losses during this period were 6 killed, 37 wounded and 3 missing.
The regiment crossed the James on the 16th of June and were hurried forward to the front of Pe- tersburg, the heights to the south of which had been carried the previous day by Gen. W. F. Smith. On the 18th, to the 104th New York and 1 2th Massachusetts was assigned the task of cap- turing the Petersburg and Norfolk railroad, which they did in splendid style, in the face of a heavy artillery fire at short range, "the charge of the 104th on that occasion," says Col. John R. Strang, to whose history of the regiment we are mainly in- debted for these facts, "being, in my opinion, the most brilliant achievement of their whole service. Not content with capturing the railroad, they pushed forward to a considerable distance beyond, and then deploying as skirmishers, drove the rebel skirmishers inside of their earthworks, and for a time, by picking off the exposed artillerymen, silenced the battery which had so annoyed them during the charge, enabling our line of battle to take possession of the railroad track without loss."
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