USA > New York > Otsego County > History of Otsego County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 20
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From May 3 to 13, 1863, the 152d was engaged in scouring the country about Suffolk, leveling the enemy's carthworks, picketing, and drilling. On the 13th it started on its first expedition to the Blackwater; on the 14th it was in sight and hearing of a slight skirmish, but was not under fire; and in the night of the 14th it advanced to Cassville ; on the 15th there was skirmishing by some other part of the Union forces. At this time the 152d, the 11th Rhode Island, 26th Michigan, and 167th Pennsylvania formed a brigade, commanded by Brig .- Gen. Hezekiah B. Terry, of Michigan. The 167th Pennsylvania was com- posed of Pennsylvania Dutch, who spoke English with great difficulty. On May 20, the 152d was at Deserted House, and on the night of the 26th it arrived again at Suffolk. The object of the expedition was to cover a force of laborers who were engaged in taking up the rails of the Seaboard and Roanoke and the Norfolk and Petersburg rail- roads. About thirty miles of track were taken up. The enemy hung upon the rear of the Union troops, as they gradually withdrew towards Suffolk. In June, 1863, the 152d went on a second expedition to the Blackwater. The
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HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
ly.et was probably to ascertain the rebel strength in that poster, with a view to determine how many troops could to withdrawu from Suffolk with safety. Life on the burn- :. : ands, in the hot season, was not exactly pleasant. Many ยป re sick, and more were diseontented. It was here that !!:- idea became prevalent that the 152d was a nine months' tryiment, although every man knew he had enlisted for ilne years. But rumor, which could be traeed to no re- liable souree, ruled the minds of the majority, until the Lajoe of time convinced them of the error.
On Friday, June 19, 1863, the 152d left Suffolk and proceeded by rail to Norfolk, and thence by steamer to Yorktown, where it arrived the next day. It was a grate- ful change, especially for the sick. York river is an arm of the sea. and the new camp was placed upon a bluff where the sea breeze was felt daily. and brought relief to the sufferers from the almost tropical heats of Suffolk. The sick remained at this eamp while the regiment marched to White House Landing and towards Bottom's bridge, form- ing part of a foree under Maj .- Gen. Keyes, intending to make a demonstration against Richmond, while the main army of the Rebellion was engaged at Gettysburg. Con- valescents from the camp at Yorktown were sent up to White House Landing by steamer to rejoin the regiment. At the latter place a second hospital eamp had been formed for those who had become disabled on the march. On July 6, Gen. Keyes' artillery fired a few guns, but there was no battle, and the demonstration against Richmond came to an end. On July 8, 1863, the 152d started from Balti- more Store on its return march for Yorktown. The rain fell in torrents, so that there was standing water of eonsid- erable depth all over the ground, and at the very wettest time the regiment was halted to hear the news from Get- tysburg and Vicksburg. The rejoicing, however, was not dampened. Caps went into air to fall into the water, and the men for a time forgot that they were in the act of abandoning a fruitless movement. That was a hard day's march of twenty-one miles. The rain made the ground slippery, and many were weak from the effects of the climate at Suffolk. At the close of the second day the regiment halted at Williamsburg, the capital of Virginia down to 1779, and one of the first settled places in the United States. William and Mary college was then roofless, and the brick buiklings of the town looked as if they might have stood from the time of Pocahontas. The distance from Williamsburg to Yorktown is fourteen miles, and it was marched by the 152d on the morning of July 10 Sithont a halt. That was the hottest of marches. Feet were blistered and bodies were sealded where they felt the weight of knapsack or haversack. In the afternoon every- haly went into York river, and the bathers could be seen along the shore for miles. On July 11, 1863, the 152d torsk final leave of the scene of Cornwallis' surrender, and proceeded to Washington on two transports. Stedman, of Co. II, fell into York river from the forward vessel, and was saved by a rope thrown to him from the other. The destination of the regiment was the Army of the Potomac. then near Frederick, Md., but a violent rain broke up the railroad near the Relay House, and caused a temporary de- tention at Washington. At this juncture the riots in
New York broke out, and on July 14, 1863, the 1524 started for that place. It arrived just at night on the 16th, and marched up Broadway, which the rain had made ship- pery, as far as Broome street, and, not getting admission there, returned to Park barracks, got supper, and went to rest for the night. The men had barely got to sleep when they were awakened and ordered to put on all their equip- ments. They marehed up to Bleecker street, and then to St. Philip's church, on Mulberry street, where they went to rest on pew-eushions. At about two A.M. a part of the regi- ment was ordered out in light marching order, and was engaged in making arrests of rioters until daylight. The 152d remained in and about New York until Oct. 14.
Among the stations occupied by the regiment, or some part of it; are David's island, No. 55 Worth street, Stuy- vesant Park, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, Capt. Duffy's office, ou Broome street. The duties were various. The regiment, except two companies, made a trip to Schenectady to attend a riot there. At David's island the duty was to guard rebels who had been wounded at Gettysburg ; at 55 Worth street to defend publie property ; at Broome street to take charge of recruits. The life in New York was not alto- gether satisfactory to the 152d. It was fed by a contractor named Walker, in a manner that was a disgrace to the country in which it took place. Sleeping as close as men could lie on the floor in the upper stories of eity buildings in the hot season was another grievance. The bright spot in New York was Stuyvesant Park. The park itself was given up to the regiment for a camp. The fountain was turned to useful purposes. The Friends' seminary was used for a regimental hospital, and some members of the Friends' society living in the vieinity conferred many valu- able favors upon the regiment.
The 152d left New York on Oct. 14, 1863, and arrived at Fairfax Station, on the Orange and Alexandria railroad, on the 15th, and joined the Army of the Potomae, beeom- ing a part of the 1st Brigade of the 2d Division of the 2d Army Corps, and putting on the white trefoil for its badge. The other regiments of the brigade were the 1st Minnesota, 15th Massachusetts, 82d New York, and 19th Maine. Col. Dewitt C. Baxter, of the 72d Pennsylvania, com- manded the brigade, Brig .- Gen. Alexander S. Webb the division, Maj .- Gen. Governeur K. Warren the corps, and Maj .- Gen. George G. Meade the army. The Army of the Potomac had just retired before the enemy from Culpeper to Manassas. The movement was a raee for position, and ended in the battle of Bristoe Station, fought Oct. 14, in which the 2d Corps won a brilliant vietory.
On Oet. 17 the 152d marched by way of Fairfax Court- House and Centreville, and halted not far from Bull Run, and rested all the next day, which was Sunday. On the 19th the army moved, and the 152d erossed Bull Run by its first ponton-bridge, which had but one ponton, placed in the middle of the stream. The main incident of the march was at the fording of Broad run, at Milford, where the adjutant's horse threw him backward into the water. On the 20th Broad run was forded three times and Kettle run onec. The 152d remained at Anburn, on Kettle run. for two days, and on the morning of Oet. 23 moved about four miles, to a place near Warrenton, and halted upon a .
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HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
knoll. On the 24th ground was taken for a camp. The situation was fine. The division occupied a basin through which ran a fine brook, and at night the entire landscape was dotted with camp-fires. On Oct. 30 the 152d and the rest of the brigade was ordered out to witness the execution of a deserter. The 152d remained at this camp until Nov. 7. Drilling was the chief business. Col. Baxter was a good drill officer, and the regiment was in need of his in- struetion. The running blackberry-vines frequently caused men who were marching at double-quiek to execute move- ments not laid down in the taetics. The 121st was also near Warrenton, and here commenced the visiting between the two regiments, which was kept up, as opportunity offered, while both remained in the service.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, 1863, the army moved on the Rappahannock. The 152d went by way of Warrenton Junetion, and at night reached the river, having marched twenty-five miles in heavy marching order. This was one of the longest day's marches ever made by the regiment. The 6th Corps moved by a shorter route, and surprised the enemy at Rappahannock Station, and gained a brilliant vietory, with suiall loss. On the 8th the 152d crossed the Rappahannock at Kelly's Ford, by a ponton-bridge, and advanced eautiously with frequent halts. It heard firing, but saw no fighting. It passed several of the enemy's de- serted camps, and saw some small. squads of prisoners. On the 9th it did not move, but ou the 10th it moved about three miles, and settled down in a rebel camp in the woods south of Brandy Station, in Culpeper county, in sight of the Blue Ridge. Nov. 18, Gen. Warren had a corps review, and the 152d first saw the entire corps. The next move of the 152d was on the celebrated Mine Run expedition. Ou Nov. 25 the regimeut marehed out a short distance and returned to camp, owing to some failure of preparation or change of plan. Ou the 26th it was put in motion again, and after marching a few miles, halted to hear the news of Hooker's " battle above the clouds" at Lookout Mountain. It crossed the Rapidan in course of the day. On the 27th there was some skirmishing, but the 152d was not engaged, although the enemy's bullets whistled thick about it and took one file out of Co. II. Steere, front rank, got a flesh wound through the arm, and Davis, rear rank, was hit near the waist-belt and knocked down, but not injured. On Sunday, Nov. 29, 1863, the 2d Corps marched into an open field on a side hill, where there was a tannery. On the erest of the hill appeared the enemy's breastworks, ap- parently very strong, and men moving about in them could be distinctly seen. The design was to storm that position. Knapsacks were stacked preparatory to a charge. The men of the 152d, not having been in battle, looked upon the prospect before them as upon any other prospect of meeting the enemy The veterans of the other regiments knew that it would be a desperate undertaking, and were filled with dread. Gen. Warren came to the same conchi- sion, and persuaded Gen. Meade to give up the design. A cold, piercing wind was blowing, and the men of the 152d got dried hides from the tannery, and sat upon one-half, turning up the other half towards the wind. It was under- stood that the Mine Run expedition failed because the most advanced corps missed its way, and thus gave the
enemy time to make preparations and prevented the in- tended surprise.
On the evening of Nov. 30, the 152d started on its re- turn to its old position. The night was very cold, the men had had scarcely any sleep for several nights. Halts were frequent, as is generally the case when a column is first started. At each halt, the muen being warm from marching, would fall asleep at onee, and sleep until awakened by the cold. Some even fell asleep while warehing. Many strag- gled. That march continued, with but one brief halt, through the night and the following day and far into the next night before the camp was reached. The regiment re- mained a few days at its old eamp, and on Dee. 7, 1863, took up a new position on the top of Cole's Hill, where it went into winter-quarters, and remained until May 3 follow- ing, a period of nearly five months. This was an admirable position, overlooking the great plain of Culpeper ; the dis- tanee to the foot of the Blue Ridge was probably twenty miles. It is estimated that sixty miles in length of the ridge was visible in clear weather. Its appearance was ever varying with the changes of the atmospheric conditions which caused the blueness. Often, in cloudy weather, there was no Blue Ridge in sight. Sometimes it could scarcely be told where mountain ended and cloud began. When a fall of snow made objects distinct, the mountain-sides seemed to have approached to half their distance. The winter was well spent. The reginuent was drilled so that its appearance would attract favorable notice even in that army of veterans. Fatigue duty was not burdensome. Fuel, of course, had to be procured, and a corduroy road maintained by the corps through the swamp which lay between the camp and Brandy Station. The division maintained a line of pickets along the Rapidan, which were changed onee in three days ; but the pieketing afforded a pleasant relief from the mo- notony of camp-life. Men of different regiments were brought together, and new acquaintances formed. The in- clemeney of the weather could be endured for two hours at a time. Now and them a picket shanty would burn up, but pine brush was plenty, and a new shelter would replace the old in a few hours. There was leisure for reading and study, and the desire for improvement was universal. There were many for whom the common school had done and could do nothing, who learned in the army to value learn- ing, and there acquired its rudiments.
These peaceful pursuits had one interruption. On the morning of Feb. 6, the 152d marched out of camp and reached Morton's Ford on the Rapidan, about eleven o'clock in the forenoon. The 3d Division of the corps had already crossed the river, and there was some brisk firing by the skirmishers, who could be seen advancing up the hill on the south side. The skirmishing was kept up all day, but the 152d did not eross the river until evening. which it did by a rickety bridge of rails, placed where the river was divided by an island. It remained over only long enough to help eover the return of those who had crossed before. The next day (Sunday ) was spent quietly in sight of the enemy. At night the 152d marched back to the old camp. The darkness was extreme. Feb. 23, the corps was reviewed in the presence of many civilians and women who had coure out to help celebrate Washington's birthday.
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HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
On April 15, 1864, the 2d Division of the 2d Army Corps was reviewed by Maj .- Gen. Hancock, and the 152d then saw him for the first time. He had lately resumed com- mand of the corps, having been absent since the battle of Gettysburg, where he was severely wounded. The review was held on the plain of Culpeper, where there was room to review all the soldiers of the Union at onee. The 152d received high praise.
The end of this long rest was at hand. Lieut .- Gen. Grant had come to take command of the Army of the Po- tomae. A thorough reorganization took place. Corps, divisions, and brigades were consolidated. Brig .- Gen. Gibbon resumed command of the 2d Division of the 2d Corps; the three brigades were consolidated into two, and a third was added from the old 3d Division. The 152d was placed in the 2d Brigade along with the 69th Penn- sylvania ( Paddy Owen's Regulars), 71st Pennsylvaina ( Cali- fornia Regiment), 72d Pennsylvania ( Baxter's Zouaves), and 106th Pennsylvania, under the command of Brig .- Gen. Joshua T. Owen (Paddy Owen).
During the winter a recruiting party had gone from the 152d to the State of New York, but the number of recruits procured was small. Most of the men who were unable to endure the hard service of the field had been sent away, so that the regiment was strong out of proportion to its num- bers. The change in officers had been great ; of the fifty- eight commissioned officers who had been mustered into the regiment before May, 1864, twenty-eight had gone out of the service before that date, and one had been transferred to the 121st Regiment.
May 3, 1864, marked the opening of the campaign which ended only with the war. The army was in excellent con- dition and in the best of spirits. It was near midnight when the 152d began its march. On the morning of the 4th it crossed the Rapidan, and at night reached the seene . of the battle of Chancellorsville, which was fought a year before. The weather was warm, and the army had a com- fortable night. On the morning of the 5th, after ample time for breakfast, the march was resumed. The order of march was left in front, and the 2d Corps had the advance and marched until late in the afternoon. In the mean time the enemy had attacked the 5th and Gth Corps, which were on the right of the Union forces, and the 2d Corps was conntermarched to the scene of action, where it arrived just before night. It was a hot afternoon, and the fatigue was extreme. The 152d had no opportunity to procure water; one of its men died by the way, probably from sun- stroke. The sound of rapid and steady firing at length warned the 152d that it was near the scene of action. It was entering that dense aud tangled thicket to which the name " Wilderness" belonged. To advance at all was diffi- cult,-to advance in perfect order was impossible. To prevent the accidents which might result from catching enolocks in the brush, it was ordered that muskets be un- capped. The 152d received no order to cap guns or notice of approaching danger until it was assailed by a murderous tire, which owing to the density of the thicket was the first notice that the enemy was near; several men were killed. The regiment retired slowly and in good order to the second line of battle, which consisted of men who had been already
engaged and had been withdrawn ; the whole of the brigade retired in like manner, and the impression prevailed that a retreat had been ordered; that was a mistake, but it was corrected in a moment, and the 152d again promptly ad- vanced towards the enemy and held all the ground it took : that first retreat did not affect the regiment's confidence in itself, or injure its reputation. After its second advance it was ordered to lie down to protect itself, and when the enemy's firing had ceased, it was ordered up and ranks were dressed, and the men again lay down. Shortly before dark a farther advance was ordered, and as men could be seen moving in front, it became necessary to know to which army they belonged. A scout from the 152d made a recon- noissanee and aseertained that they were wounded men of the 6th Corps which had been engaged there earlier in the day. The regiment rested for the night just in advance of the ground where the number of dead and wounded showed that the battle had been hottest; the men of the 1524 supplied themselves with water from the canteens of the dead, not being able to procure any from any other source. Participation in the battle had taken away the dread of the unknown with which the bravest advance to the combat. The men rested on their arms. The experience of a few hours had made them veterans.
At the dawn of May 6, the battle was renewed, and the 152d advanced through the thicket returning the enemy's fire and holding the ground that was gained. It fairly rained bullets. The underbrush which had made the ad- vance so difficult was completely mowed away, and every standing tree bore the marks of many balls. The only way that men eould live in such a place was by lying close to the ground or getting behind a tree to load, and then firing with the least possible exposure. Ammunition was ex- hausted, and a partial supply was obtained from the cartridge- boxes of the disabled. At length firing ceased, and a body of the enemy, estimated at more than a hundred, were so near that, being requested by an officer of the 152d, they left their arms and gave themselves up and were passed to the rear of the Union line. If the enemy had suffered as great loss all along the line as they did at this point the battle would have been decisive.
Shortly after ten o'clock the enemy renewed the contest. and it is now known that Longstreet's corps reached the scene of action at that time. For several hours the 1524 kept up the contest from its advaneed position and hell the enemy in check. The men employed the interval between the attack in gathering up and loading the guns of the dis- abled, and many had three or four guns apiece ready when the enemy came on. At length it became evident. from the direction of the firing, that the Union line had been forced back, both the right and the left, and Gen. Owen formed his brigade into a hollow square, to meet the enemy from whatever direction he might come. He then marchel his brigade back to some temporary breastworks which had been thrown up, and there awaited the onset of the enong. who charged in mass several times where the 1521 was placed, with a desperate determination to carry the position. The Union line reserved its fire until the enemy was fear. and then it seemed as if the whole attacking force was swept away by the sure fire of the men behind the breast- .
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works. The enemy's dead lay in heaps before the works. Each repeated charge of the enemy had a like result. The 152d, and the rest of the 2d Corps, held their position. The battle of the Wilderness was ended, and the enemy retired to Spottsylvania Court-House. If the position of the 2d Corps had been carried on the afternoon of May 6, the Union army would have been defeated, and the campaign would probably have been a failure. The 152d remained behind these breastworks through the night of the 6th, and through the 7th of May until far into the night, when it moved by the left flank towards Spottsyl- vania Court-House. On the 10th it was skirmishing at Spottsylvania. On the night of the 10th the pickets of the 152d could hear distinctly the orders given to the pickets of the enemy. On the 11th the skirmishing was quite heavy, and the 152d lost a considerable number of men. On the night of the 11th the regiment moved again to the left in silence. The night was dark and rainy. It halted in front of Spottsylvania Court-House. At 3 A.M. of the 12th the famous charge commenced. The orders were to move in silence until the rebel works were reached, and then cheer. The surprise was complete. The outposts, and first and second line of the enemy's works, were taken before the men who occupied them were fairly awake. They had no time to ruake resistance. The number of prisoners taken amounted to thousands. . The 152d advanced to the third line of the rebel works, but retired to the second line and there assumed the defensive. During the day the enemy charged three times on the works, and were repulsed each time with heavy loss. One of the enemy's cannon, which remained on the debatable ground through the day, was brought off by the 152d at night. On the moruing of the 13th the 152d advanced over the works, received a heavy fire of the enemy, and met with some loss, and at dark left the position and went back to the rear, and re- mained back several days. On the 1Sth of May the 152d took part in a reconnoissance upon the scene of the charge of the morning of the 12th. The enemy were found occupy- ing the same position they occupied at the end of that charge. The 152d, in this reconnoissance, occupied the second line; the troops in the first line were thrown into confusion by the euemy's fire, and the 152d covered their retreat. After this the 152d was engaged in a movement to take up a hospital and bring off the wounded. The rebel cavalry were in sight, but there was no attack. The movement towards the left was continued. On the night of Monday, May 23, the 152d reached the North Anna riger, and remained until the middle of the afternoon of the 24th, when it crossed the river and advanced to sup- port the batteries under a fire of chains and railroad iron, and commeneed throwing up works. The regiment was then ordered to relieve the 7th West Virginia, and deployed as skirmishers. This was near Hanover Junction.
The next battle was at Cool Arbor ( known as Coal Har- bor or Cold Harbor). On June 3, the 152d advanced in open field up a hill under the enemy's tire, holding all the ground it gained, and threw up earthworks with tin-cups and plates. The ground was sandy. In this position the regiment remained a week in speaking distance of the enemy. Coll Harbor was found to be a position which was
too strong to be carried by assault, and Lieut .- Gen. Grant determined to render its strength of no value to the enemy by changing the seene of operations. Accordingly, he moved his army once more by the left flank, crossed the river James, and began the investment of Petersburg. The crossing of the river took place ou June 15, 1864, by a ponton-bridge at Wilcox's landing. On the 17th the 152d took part in the attack upon the works before Peters- burg, and met with some loss. The enemy's outer works were carried, but the inner line of works could not be carried by storm, and the slow operations of the siege com- meneed. It was earthwork against carthwork.
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