History of Oswego County, New York, with illustrations and Biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 22

Author: Johnson, Crisfield. cn
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & co.
Number of Pages: 798

USA > New York > Oswego County > History of Oswego County, New York, with illustrations and Biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 22

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The two streams of the retreating corps met in the streets of the town, and impeded each other in their efforts to escape. The enemy did not pursue our retreating forces beyond the town, and they were rallied on Culp's Hill, on Cemetery Ridge. This was about four P.M. The first day's battle of Gettysburg was ended. For some reason, never sufficiently explained, the enemy were contented, for that day, with the advantages already gained. If they had continued the pursuit, in the then broken and demoralized condition of our troops, our army could not have rallied and defended the strong positions which it occupied during the next two days, and the battle which checked the rebel in- vasion would have been fought elsewhere. The Union losses were five thousand killed and wounded, and five thousand taken prisoners. The enemy's loss was about the same in killed and wounded, but less in prisoners. All the hospitals, wounded, and nearly the entire medical staff of the First corps were captured. Many prisoners were paroled ; but, as there was an agreement per cartel that no parole should be binding unless made at certain designated

HISTORY OF OSWEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

points, and as Gettysburg was not one of them, the men were immediately returned to duty. This was seized upon by the enemy as a pretext for returning to duty thirty thousand rebels captured at Vicksburg by General Grant about this time. The loss of the One Hundred and Forty- seventh New York was about forty filled, two hundred wounded, and thirty missing.

The following officers were killed : Gilford D. Mace, first lieutenant Company F; D. G. Vandusen, second lieutenant Company D; Daniel MeAssy, second lieutenant Company F.

The officers wounded were as follows : F. C. Miller, lieu- tenant-colonel, slightly; George Harney, major, slightly ; Captains P. Slattery, Company B, severely ; E. D. Parker, Company C, slightly ; D. Gary, Company G, severely ; Na- thaniel Wright, severely; Lieutenants Wm. R. Potts, Company C, severely ; Wm. P. Schenek, Company D, mor- tally ; and Joseph Dempsey, Company K, slightly.

The following is a list of the non-commissioned officers and men killed in this battle, July 1, 1863 :

Company A, Charles Cole, Alexander Leroy, Joseph Lemain, Oliver Legault, Samuel Lesarge, Walter B. Thorp, Frank Virginia.

Company B, Corporals Conrad Warner, Wm. Martin, Michael Doyle, David Hayden, Delos W. Field ; Privates Albert P. Hall, Jas. Mahoney, Henry Miller, Stephen Planter, James Sears.

Company C, Allen Morgan, corporal, died July 12, from wounds received July 1; Jos. W. Burr, Franklin Clary, Elias Hannis, died July 15, from wounds received July I; Horace B. Hall, Degrass Hannis, Harlow Mills, Morgan L. Allen.

Company D, Albert Bartley, John S. Butler, Joseph W. Diston.

Company E, Samuel Carpenter, Albert D. Potter, Seth Potter, Simeon Potter, George W. Tryon, David Welch, John Williams.

Company F, Judson Dolbear, Frank N. Halsey, Henry B. Mayo, Alvin P. Burch, Johnston B. Church, Henry F. Morton, Asa Pettingill, Chauncey Snell, Asa Westcott.

Company G, Peter Shultz, sergeant, Fred. Rife, Edwin Aylsworth, Peter Zeigler,, Joseph Stoutenger, Louis Ain- gen, Frederick Ershman, John Mosheiser, Alex. McAm- bly, David Rau, Hiram Stowell.

Company I, Martin David, Deglin MeGrath, Dennis McGrath, Richard Judson.

Company K, Jas. Hincheliff, color-sergeant, Theophilus R. Barberick, Thomas Banister, James Hudson, sergeant.

The list of the names of the wounded cannot be obtained from the final muster-out rolls in Albany, New York.

General Doubleday in his official report says, " I concur with the division commanders in their estimate of the good conduct and valuable services of the following-named offi- cers and men : General Cutler, commanding the Second brigade, says, 'Colonel Hofmann, Fifty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, Major Harney, One Hundred and Forty- seventh New York Volunteers, Captain Cook, Seventy- sixth New York Volunteers, deserve special mention for gallantry and coolness ; Colonel Fowler, Fourteenth Brook- lyn, for charging the enemy at the railroad cut, in connec- tion with the Ninety-fifth New York Volunteers and Sixth

Wisconsin, by which the One Hundred and Forty-seventh New York Volunteers was released from its perilous position ; Lieutenant-Colonel Miller, commanding the One Hundred and Forty-seventh New York Volunteers. was severely wounded at the head of his regiment on the Ist instant. . . . Major Harney, of the One Hundred and Forty- Seventh New York Volunteers, and Major Pye, of the Ninety-fifth New York Volunteers, on assuming command of their respective regiments, did all that brave men and good soldiers could do, and deserve well for their services. Sergeant H. H. Hubbard, Company D, One Hundred and Forty-seventh New York Volunteers, was in command of the provost guard of the brig.de, eighteen strong, on the morning of the 1st instant. Ile formed the guard on the right of the Sevcuty-sixth New York Volunteers, and fought until the battle was over, losing twelve of his men. The color-sergeant of the One Hundred and Forty-seventh New York Volunteers was killed, and the colors were caught by Sergeant Wm. A. Wybourn, of Company I, One Hun- dred and Forty-seventh New York Volunteers, and brought off the battle-field by him, notwithstanding he was himself severely wounded.'"

This was the baptism of the regiment : fortunately, in the previous battles, it had escaped with small loss; but in this its fortune was to be placed in the most exposed and trying position of the battle, and receive the furious onset of vastly superior numbers. The brave General Reynolds was immediately shot down in its presence. Manfully had it stood up to its work, and justified the trust imposcd in it. It had withstood the attacks of the enemy when nearly surrounded on all sides, with over one-half of its numbers killed or wounded, its flag torn into tatters, and the staff completely severed by hostile bullets. Henceforth it was considered an honor to belong to the One Hundred and Forty-seventh New York Volunteers, and its deeds in this day's battle were referred to with pride. The enemy, not pursuing beyond the streets of the town, gave our shattered and somewhat disorganized forces a breathing-spell. They rallied on Culp's Ilill, a part of Cemetery Ridge, on the south side of the town, a strong defensive position.

SECOND AND THIRD DAYS' BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.

General Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac, was fifteen miles distant, and hearing that there was fighting at Gettysburg, sent General Hancock, with orders to take command of the two corps. He arrived about the time the forces fell back to Culp's Hill, and immediately selected a defensive position. He chose a ridge running nearly north and south between the Taneytown and Emmettsburg roads, terminating on the south at Round Gap Mountain, on the north at Culp's IFill, south of Gettysburg. The northern extremity eurves around, similar in shape to the bend of a fish-hook. The convexity of the curve is towards Gettysburg. This is called Cemetery Ridge. On the morning of July 2 the remainder of the Army of the Pu- tomae, except the Sixth corps, had come up, and were posted all along this ridge. The enemy's army was posted on Seminary Ridge, running nearly parallel to Cemetery Ridge, except Ewell's corps, which lay opposite to Culp's Ilill, its left extending around to the northern suburbs of

HISTORY OF OSWEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

the town, where it joined the right of their (the rebel) army, nearly encircling the town. The One Hundred and Forty- seventh New York Volunteers were posted on Culp's Hill. The forenoon was spent by both armies in getting into po- sition. In the afternoon, at 3.30, General Longstreet made his celebrated attack on our left, striving to get possession of Little Round-Top Mountain, the key to the whole posi- tion ; that obtained, the enemy could enfilade our whole line. Attack followed attack, until night put an end to the contest.

The enemy had obtained some advantage, but the posi- tion still remained in the possession of our forces. During the battle Culp's Hill had been much weakened by the with- drawal of troops to oppose General Longstreet. Between six and seven P.M. General Ewell made repeated charges up the steep hill, crowned by a rude breastwork of loose stones and logs hastily thrown up by our men. The at- tacks were renewed along in the night. Finally the enemy effected a lodgment. A regiment of the Twelfth corps gave way, and let the enemy in. The One Hundred and Forty-seventh New York and Fourteenth Brooklyn, with some troops of the Twelfth corps, charged upon them and drove them out, restoring the lines. July 3 the enemy placed in position, on Seminary Ridge and the railroad em- bankment next to the town, one hundred and fifty pieces of artillery. At one P.M. they opened fire on our centre. The Union batteries replied, but owing to their position only eighty pieces could be brought to bear at once. After two hours General Hunt, chief of artillery, slackened fire to see what the enemy were intending to do. The enemy, thinking our batteries silenced and the troops demoralized, began the grand attack of the day. General Picket, with twenty thousand men, moved up the slope in dense columns towards our centre. Our batteries opened on them, tearing huge gaps in their lines, which were closed as soon as made. The enemy pressed steadily on until they met our forces in a hand-to-hand conflict. Gunners used their rammers and the infantry clubbed their muskets to beat them off. Lieu- tenant Haskell, on General Gibbons' staff, speedily collected several fragments of broken organizations of troops, and at- tacked them " on the flank," throwing them into disorder. During a period of a quarter of an hour the combatants were struggling in close quarters. The attack was soon repulsed, and nearly the entire charging column was either killed, wounded, or captured. On the right, at Culp's Hill, General Ewell had kept up a series of attacks or feints since the evening of the 2d. The hill was steep and rug- ged, densely wooded, and the surface covered with loose stones. With wonderful persistence and bravery, the enemy had charged up this steep hill to our breastworks during the night of the 2d and through the day of the 3d, until their dead literally covered the ground. Under the breast- works they lay in heaps. Their wounded were mostly removed during the night under cover of the darkness. The One Hundred and Forty-seventh New York had been kept constantly on the alert until exhausted by fatigue and want of sleep. A constant stream of musketry was kept up by our line to repel the enemy. The trees facing the line, scarred to their tops, and the limbs cut off by bullets, attest the severity of the contest. An incident occurred

on the 3d which illustrates the desperate valor and reck- lessness of the enemy. In a charge more vigorous and de- termined than usual, after persistent fighting, their line broke; a number of their men took shelter behind a large rock in front of the One Hundred and Forty-seventh New York, but it did not wholly protect them from a flank fire from both sides. They were being gradually picked off by our men. They commenced to wave handkerchiefs and give other tokens of surrender. This was seen by an offi- cer on General Ewell's staff at a distance on our right. He immediately started to ride across our front to arrest it. He and his orderlies were immediately riddled with bullets. The wadding of their coats was seen to fly as the bullets passed through them. The regiment had been fighting almost constantly from the evening of the 2d to the evening of the 3d without rations, and without food, save a little fresh beef without salt, and seasoned with gunpowder. The pickets in the night were relieved every thirty minutes and the officers every second hour, as it was impossible for them to remain longer on their posts without falling asleep. Nature could endure no more. The men and officers in the first day's battle divested themselves of every incumbrance, their knapsacks, haversacks, and all, save their arms and ammunition ; consequently they had nothing to eat, save the fresh beef which was once or twice brought to them. During two days the enemy had made herculean efforts to break our lines, but the Union army at all points withstood and repulsed their fierce onsets, with terrible slaughter. Animated by a fanaticism and bravery which was almost superhuman, only having its parallel in the old army of Cromwell, they had exhausted the limits of human endur- ance. Thirty thousand out of an army of one hundred thousand men, the flower of the Confederacy, had been killed and wounded, and nearly ten thousand more taken prisoners. They had the best army the world ever had seen. The best blood in the Confederacy was fighting in its ranks. They had gathered this splendid army through the popular desire and inducement of invading the enemy's country, and of diverting the ravages of war from their own soil. It was supposed when the teeming North, with its populous cities, began to witness the horrors of war, the people would speedily sue for peace. They were now ar- rested on the threshold, and their hopes and anticipations turned to ashes.

This may well be considered the decisive battle of the war. The enemy kept up a show of continuing the battle till nightfall. In the night they silently gathered their dispirited forces and withdrew from the town, leaving the hospitals and wounded as they had found them. Our army lay on its arms all night; in the morning of the 4th, tidings were brought that the enemy had withdrawn in the night. They fortified Seminary Hill as a menace to our army-keeping up a show of renewing the attack during the 4th-and a cover of retreat for theirs. In the morning General Meade called a council of war, by which it was decided to remain until the enemy's plans were developed. There was some cannonading through the day, but little infantry fighting. In the night a heavy shower set in, and in the morning of the 5th the enemy had retreated from Seminary Hill. The losses of the One Hundred and Forty-

HISTORY OF OSWEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

seventh New York, during the 2d and 3d, were consider- able, in proportion to its numbers. Lieutenant Taylor, Company E, was killed, and Lieutenant John F. Box, Company A, was wounded in the shoulder, and had his arm amputated at the shoulder-joint.

The following were killed in the second and third days' battle of Gettysburg: John Hart, Company C; Sergeant Joseph Stuyvesant, Company C; Sylvester Taylor, second lieutenant Company E; Sylvester Quick, Company K. Francis Dodd, Company H, died at Fairfax seminary, July 3, from typhoid fever. The names of the wounded in these battles cannot be obtained.

Among the incidents of the battle, there was one which occurred at the hospital, illustrating the reckless abandon and bonhommie of the life of the soldier during this war. The surgeon of the regiment with . the surgeon of the Fourteenth Brooklyn Regiment occupied a large hotel in the lower part of the town, which was very much exposed to the shells of the enemy during the first day, and from the shells of the Union army during the next two days of the battle. In the morning of the first day's battle, the hospital was soon filled with the wounded of these two regiments; many of them were wounded slightly. In the confusion, the slightly wounded had the freedom of the hotel. They ransacked the building, and found a quantity of liquor of all descriptions; they soon got somewhat intoxicated. Several of the Fourteenth Brooklyn men, with their arms in their hands, were looking out of the windows into the street, when they saw the enemy come into the town, driving the Eleventh corps before them. They fired ont of the windows at the enemy. A volley was immediately returned into the building ; thereupon the wounded soldiers, about twelve in number, rushed down and formed a line across the entrance, to defend the hospital against the whole rebel army ! Just at that time, one of the surgeons returned from a visit to several officers of his regiment, who had been taken into a building in another part of the town, and saw a squad of the enemy, only a few paces off, with their muskets raised to their shoulders, about to fire into these Brooklyn men. He ordered them not to shoot those wounded men ; the rebel officer in command told his men not to fire, and turned to the surgeon and said, " Disarm them, then, or I will have every man of them shot." The surgeon ordered the men to give up their arms and go back into the hospital. All but three or four obeyed ; these declared that they would never surrender, and it was with great difficulty that the surgeon finally saved their lives. The enemy were determined to shoot them, and the surgeon once or twice pushed the muzzles of the guns aside when they were about to fire. Finally, with assistance, he wrenched the muskets from the grasp of the wounded men. One man was shot through the heart, and lay across the steps of the hotel. As soon as matters were quieted, the surgeon looked around and saw a mounted rebel officer, considerably intoxicated, across the street, brandishing a pistol, declaring that he would sack and burn the hospital, because they had been firing out of the windows at his men. He caught sight of the surgeon and came riding across the street, saying, " I say, doctor, don't we Louisianians fight like h-1?" at the same time displaying several trophies

which he had picked up from the battle-field, but claiming that he had captured them from " Yankee officers" by his personal prowess. The surgeon, mindful of the real danger the wounded were in, for firing out of the windows was a plain violation of the usages of' civilized warfare, flattered the rebel officer to the top of his bent. Finally he rode off, saying nothing more about sacking the building. The men who, a short time before, were ready to defend the hospital with their lives, soon affiliated with the ones who were anxious to shoot them down, and were soon seated on the curb-stone side by side, chaffing each other. They soon found out that they were old acquaintances,-they had often pieketed the banks of the Rappahannock opposite to eaeli other, and had often. by concerted agreement, crossed the river into each others' lines, and had a friendly game of cards or traded tobacco for coffee. They had many remi- niscences to relate, and boastings of their respective prowess in many a hard-fonght battle in which they were opposed to each other.

CHAPTER XXI.

OSWEGO IN THE REBELLION.

The One Hundred and Forty-seventh Regiment-Pursuit of the Enemy to the Rapidan and Retreat of the Army of the Potomac to Centreville.

IN the morning of the 6th the First corps set out for Emmettsburg. As the regiment passed along the Emmetts- burg road, past the scenes of the late conflict, at the centre and left of the line they saw evidences of the terrible slaughter. The enemy's dead still enmbered the ground. Immense piles of muskets were gathered from the fields where the men were shot down. In places where the con- fliet raged the fiercest were the débris of cartridge-boxes, soldiers' belts, fragments of clothing, and bayonets trampled into the ground and stained with blood. At Peach-Tree Orchard an old man was gathering up relies from the battle- field. Ile lived close by, in a small wooden house, around which the battle had fiercely raged during two days, the combatants charging and counter-charging, driving each other backwards and forwards over his garden and yard. He took shelter in the cellar during the battle. He gave a graphie description of his two days' experience. In many of the muskets gathered from the field were found many charges of cartridges, some of them filled to the muzzle. In the excitement, the cartridge had been put in wrong end first; not observing that the charge did not ex- plode, another was put in on top of the first, and so on until several had accumulated.

The regiment encamped at Emmettsburg in the evening of the 6th. On the 7th crossed Cotocton mountain, taking a short cut to Middletown ; took a mountain-path or chute for getting wood down from the mountain. Many of the men were nearly shoeless, and the recent severe rains had soft- ened the horses' hoofs so much that it was difficult to keep them shod. Many of the horses became lamed ascending the steep mountain path gullied out by the rains, leaving

HISTORY OF OSWEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

the bed full of loose, small stones. The men suffered much in the feet. Arrived at Middletown, Maryland, in the even- ing. General Cutler ordered the inhabitants to remove their shoes from their feet and give them to those soldiers who were entirely shoeless. The men had become much en- feebled by want of sleep and proper nourishment in the three days' battle of Gettysburg. On the 8th the regiment marched in rain and mud through the village of Middle- town, and encamped near South Mountain Gap. On the 9th passed through the gap and ericamped in a locust grove on the side of the mountain, overlooking a beautiful valley ; the enemy could be seen in the distance. Here, for the first time in many days, the baggage-train came up, and the officers obtained a change of underclothing, a luxury rarely indulged in since leaving camp below Falmouth, on the 12th of June. On the 12th the army advanced, driving in the outposts of the enemy, to Funkstown, Maryland. Beyond the town the enemy were found intrenched. The recent rains had raised the Potomac, making it unfordable. General French had several days previously destroyed the enemy's pontoon-bridges ; they were obliged to await the falling of the waters or till they could construct a new bridge. On the 13th, General Meade called a council of war, which advised a postponement of the attack until a reconnoissance had been made. In the evening an order was issued for an advance on the next morning. In the morning of the 14th the army advanced on the enemy's works, but found them deserted. During the night the enemy had crossed over the Potomac, partly on a new pon- toon-bridge constructed out of timber obtained by tearing dowo old buildings, partly by fording the stream. About thirteen hundred rebels were captured, consisting of strag- glers and part of the rear-guard which did not have time to cross over. Marched on that day to Williamsport. Here the brave General Wadsworth left his command for the south. He called on the officers of the regiment and bade them an affectionate farewell. He was greatly chagrined at the escape of the enemy. He had met with the council of war and strongly urged an immediate attack upon the enemy, but as he was a junior in rank his opinion had but little weight. He was a patriot of an antique mould, sturdy and robust: his bravery was a little prone to rashness. His voice was always for a vigorous prosecution of the war, and to attack the enemy wherever found. Perhaps what he lacked in discretion was amply made up in boldness and bravery. Hitherto there had been too much halting and timidity in executing and shrinking from assuming respon- sibility. General Mcclellan, one year ago, had, near this place, let the enemy slip from his grasp from the want of vigor and boldness. Now, under vastly more favorable conditions for our army, the enemy had escaped while our generals were deliberating when they should have beco acting. The men had, on the 8th, got news of the capture of Vicksburg, and, notwithstanding their enfeebled condi- tion, were inspirited and eager for the attack, knowing that the enemy must be much demoralized and nearly out of ammunition. The enemy were now safe across the river, and the men had long, weary marches before them and many a hard battle to fight before the rebellion could be put down.

Passing over the battle-field of Antietam, July 15, the regiment marched to Crampton's Gap, in the Cotocton . mountains ; the next day it passed through the Gap, and crossed the Potomac into Virginia again, above Harper's Ferry. Adjutant Farling and Lieutenant-Colonel Miller returned to duty on the 15th. At Keedysville, July 21, a detail was made, consisting of Lieutenant-Colonel Miller, Captain James Coey, and Lieutenant Gillett, to go to Elmira, New York, for conscripts to fill the depleted ranks of the regiment. Major-General Newton, who had been assigned the command of the First corps, about this time joined the corps. The corps marched through a beautiful valley, an elevated plateau between the Bull Run and Blue Ridge ranges of mountains, to Warrenton, reaching there July 23.

The inhabitants were extremely hostile. This region had been the stronghold and refuge of the guerrillas, and some of our officers and men were captured when not far from the main column. When at Warrenton the regiment witnessed a battle at Manassas Gap, in the Blue Ridge range, five or six miles distant. The enemy attempted to pass through the Gap, but were met by one of the Federal corps and driven back. The corps left, July 25, for War- renton Junction. August I marched to the Rappahan- nock, and crossed the river August 2, and commenced to fortify the south bank of the stream, expecting an attack ; had some skirmishing in front. Alexander R. Penfield reported for duty as first lieutenant, Company H, commis- sioned July 4. The regiment lay in camp at Rappahannock Station until September 16, then marched to Stevensburg, near Culpepper; there remained till the 24th instant, then marched to Raccoon Ford on the Rapidan river. Septem- ber 24 an elegant sword was presented to Major Harney by Adjutant Farling,-a gift of the regiment, as a token of respect and esteem. Received October 6 one hundred and forty-two conscripts, and eighty more on the 9th. October 10 the regiment marched to Morgan's Ford, on the Rapi- dan, and returned to Pony mountain, near Culpepper, in the night.

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History of Oswego County, New York, with illustrations and Biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 22

Author: Johnson, Crisfield. cn Publication date: 1877 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & co. Number of Pages: 798

Author: Johnson, Crisfield. cn
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & co.
Number of Pages: 798