History of Saratoga County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers., Part 27

Author: Sylvester, Nathaniel Bartlett, 1825-1894
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Ensign
Number of Pages: 780

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Before the army left Harrison's Landing, Maj. French, Lieut. Caw, and others had been ordered to Saratoga Springs on recruiting duty, and through their exertions, aided by the patriotic efforts of the people of Saratoga County, large accessions were made to the regiment. Dr. Stevens thus describes some of the methods used and the prevailing excitement :

" In Saratoga a large concourse of people . . . gathered for a war-meeting. Stirring speeches were made. Ladies offered their diamond rings, their watch-chains, their watches, and other valuables to those who should come forward and enter the service. Under the influence of such enthusiasm many came forward and enrolled their names, and received the jewels from the fair hands of the patriotic donors."

In October, 1862, Col. French, with Lieut. Caw and a large number of recruits, joined the regiment, took com- mand, and thoroughly reorganized it, Co.'s F and K being

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HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

consolidated, and Co. K being replaced by the new com- pany from Schuylerville, and other recruits were assigned to Co.'s D. and I. The regiment was held in reserve at the first battle of Fredericksburg, and met with no loss. It went into winter quarters at White Oak Church, shared in " Burnside's mud march," and all the festivities of the camp so pleasantly described by Dr. Stevens.

" We had our share of disease and desertions. We had our ball-players and our violinists, our singers and our story- tellers, as every regiment had, and at regimental headquar- ters matters went on gayly."

FREDERICKSBURG.

On May 1, 1863, the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rappahannock a second time, and the 6th Corps was or- dered to carry by assault the " Heights of Fredericksburg." Storming columns were formed ; the 3d Brigade of the 2d Division preceded by the 77th, under command of Col. French, as skirmishers, led the advance. Stevens writes :

" It was a moment of contending emotions of pride, hope, and sadness, as our gallant boys stood face to face with those heights, ready to charge upon them. At double-quick and in splendid style they crossed the plain. Our line was per- fect. The men could not have made a more orderly ap- pearance had they been on drill. Proud of their commands, Gens. ITowe and Neill, and Col. Grant, cheered the men onward, while Lieut .- Col. French, in charge of the skirmish line, inspired by his own intrepid behavior the utmost con- fidenee and bravery in his men. They took the matter as coolly as though on parade. . . . A more grand spectacle cannot be imagined. There were the hills, enough to fatigue any man to climb them without a load and with no one to oppose. At the foot of the hills were thousands of the enemy, pouring into them volleys of musketry, and on the heights were their lines of earthworks with their artillery, from which poured grape and canister in a frightful storm. But the boys pushed nobly, steadily on, the rebels steadily retreating, the division coming up in splendid style, Gens. Howe and Neill and Col. Grant directing the movements and cheering on the men as they pressed undauntedly against the murderous storm of iron and lead that met them from above. Our men were falling in every direction, but the lines were immediately closed and on they passed. With shouts and cheers that drowned the roar of artillery, the noble division with bayonets fixed mounted the heights, the rebels retreating in confusion. Of that noble column, the skirmishers of the 77th first reached the heights of Marye's llill, the 33d New York in line of battle following, and then the 6th Vermont. . .

" The 77th New York captured a stand of colors belong- ing to the 18th Mississippi regiment, two heavy guns, a large number of prisoners, among whom was Col. Luce, of the 18th Mississippi, and great numbers of small arms. As the regiment reached the heights and took possession of the guns, Gen. Howe rode up and, taking off his hat, exclaimed, 'Noble 77th ! you have covered yourselves with glory!' The general's words were greeted with tumultuous cheers. . . . Thus the heights were won. It was a glorious day for the 6th Corps. Never was a charge

more gallantly made. But it was a sad day, for many scores of our brave comrades lay stretched in death along the glacis and on the steep ascent, in the ravines and along the road. . . . The 77th New York was among the greatest losers.

" Captain Luther M. Wheeler, of the 77th, was shot while we halted at the foot of Marye's llill. It was a sad loss to this regiment and to the corps. Few more gifted young men could be found in the army. He was one of our bravest and most efficient officers. Gentle in his re- lations with his fellows, cool and daring in battle, his youthful face, beaming with fortitude, was a continual joy to his men in time of danger. lle died as he had lived, a hero."

In the next day's fight, when the 6th Corps was pressed by Lee's whole army, the 77th held the left front of the line and bore the shock with the same intrepidity as before.

After the army had been withdrawn from this disastrous campaign it remained encamped near White Oak Church until called to follow Lee into Pennsylvania.

The march from that encampment to Manchester, Penn- sylvania, will ever be remembered by the regiment. It tested the strength and endurance of the meu to the ut- most. In four days they had marched. over one hundred miles, and at midnight of the fourth the stern command, " Fall in!" rang out, and the wearied men roused them- selves at onee and started to relieve Reynolds at Gettys- burg. All night and all day the men pressed on, on, on, only halting ten minutes for breakfast. The roads being occupied by the artillery and wagon-trains, the infantry picked their way through the fields. In fourteen hours the regiment marehed thirty-six miles, with only such food and drink as the men could snatch during occasional five- minute halts. The field of battle was reached, however, in time, and the knowledge that the "fighting 6th Corps" was in reserve nerved the arms of their comrades in that most terrible of modern combats. It was not actually en- gaged, but stood a sure support at the post of greatest honor,-in reserve.

After Gettysburg the 3d Brigade followed Lee's army over the mountains to Waynesboro', and among the pleas- antest incidents of army life were the encampment and pieket duty on Antietam creek, the march again across the Potomae, along the Blue Ridge among the blackberries to Warrenton, the delightful camp at Hart's Mills, outpost duty on the banks of the Rapidan, with no enemy visible in front, and the three weeks at Stone House Mountain. It was at the latter place that occurred the pleasant inci- dent of the presentation to Col. French of an elegant sword by the line-officers of the regiment, the festivities incident thereto, the torch-light procession of the 7th Maine Regi- ment, marching into camp to offer congratulations to the officers and men on the pleasant relations existing between them.

At length, on December 1, came the short and fruitless campaign of Mine Run,-those bitter cold nights of suffer- ing,-and the return to camp at Brandy Station The regiment had the extreme right-front in the expected at- tack, and was rear-guard to the whole army on its with- drawal across the Rapidan.

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HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

After the winter's cantonment of 1863-64 at Brandy Station, came

THE WILDERNESS CAMPAIGN.

On the 4th of May, 1864, the regiment broke eamp and marched beyond the Rapidan, and on the next day took an active part in the first of that terrible series of engage- ments known as the battles of the Wilderness, in all of which it actively participated.

SPOTTSYLVANIA.

On the Sthi of May the 6th Corps arrived at Spottsyl- vania, and on the 10th was called upon to make one of the most remarkable charges on record, which is described by Dr. Stevens as follows :

At five o'clock the men of the corps were ordered to un- sling knapsacks and divest themselves of every ineum- brance, preparatory to a charge. Col. Upton, commanding the 2d Brigade of the Ist Division, was directed to take twelve picked regiments from the corps and lead them in a charge against the right centre of the rebel line. The 77th was chosen one of the twelve. " It was indeed an honor to be selected for this duty, but it was an honor to be paid for at the cost of fearful peril. . ..

" At six o'clock all things were ready, and the artillery, from the eminences in our rear, opened a terrific fire, send- ing the shells howling and shrieking over the heads of the charging column and plunging into the works of the enemy. This was the signal for the attack, and Col. Upton's clear voice rang out : ' Attention, battalions ! Forward, double quick ! Charge " And in an instant every man was on his feet, and with tremendous cheers, which were answered by the wild yells of the rebels, the column rushed from the cover of the woods. Quick as lightning a sheet of flame burst from the rebel line, and the leaden hail swept the ground over which the column was advancing, while the canister from the artillery came crashing through our ranks at every step, and scores and hundreds of our brave fellows fell, literally covering the ground. But, nothing daunted, the noble fellows rushed upon the defenses, leap- ing over the ditch in front and mounting the breastworks. The rebels made a determined resistance, and a hand-to- hand fight ensned, until, with their bayonets, our men had filled the rifle-pits with bleeding rebels. About two thou- sand of the survivors of the struggle surrendered, and were immediately marched to the rear under guard. Without halting for breath, the impetuous column rushed towards the second line of works, which was equally as strong as the first. The resistance here was less strong than at the first line, yet the gray occupants of the rifle-pits refused to fly until forced back at the point of the bayonet. Our ranks were now fearfully thinned, yet the brave fellows passed on to the third line of the defenses, which was also captured. . . .

" Capt. Carpenter, of the 77th, one of its first and best officers, and Lieut. Lyon, a young officer of great bravery, were killed in the interior line of works, and many other noble fellows of that regiment were left on that fatal field."

On the next day occurred the struggle for the " Angle," when the regiment fought hand to hand with the enemy ;

after that a long night march, and on the 17th of May a charge, under a galling fire, across a field covered with abatis to the second line of the enemy's works, and a re- pulse therefrom with heavy loss. Then the marches by night and fights by day until Cold Harbor was reached, where the useless sacrifice of life was terrible ; the 77th Regiment holding the front and most advanced line most of the time, and being constantly exposed to the enemy's fire, it not ceasing even during the night. On the 10th of June the army was moved to Petersburg, where the regiment again received the shock of battle. Here it was that the three James',-James Barnes, James Lawrence, and James Allen,-all belonging to Company A, each lost a leg and two others wounded by the explosion of a single shell fired from the enemy's guns in the midst of the regiment. On the 9th of July the 1st and 2d Divisions of the 6th Corps left the front at nine o'clock in the evening, and, marching all night, arrived at City Point on the James river at day- light, wbence it was immediately transported to Washing- ton, to defend the capital against the threatened attack by the rebels under Jubal Early.

Thus the regiment left the Army of the Potomac, with which it bad fought so long and so well, and to which as a regiment it was never destined to return. The two divi- sions arrived at Washington on July 13, and marched through its crowded streets amid the shouts of the people, who came out to meet them, erying, " This is the old 6th Corps," ". These are the men who took Marye's Heights," " We are safe now." The city, which a few hours before had been wild with fright, was now ealm with the assuranee that their homes were safe, and that the invaders would soon be driven from their soil by the boys who wore the Greek cross.

The President and large numbers of the city officials had gathered in Fort Stevens, before which Early was sta- tioned, to witness the fight. Soon Col. Freneh was ordered to take his own, the 7th Maine, and the 49th New York Regiments, and drive the enemy from its position in front of the fort; and to that end, to move his eommand under the brow of a hill to a point designated, and, when ready to advance, to signal the corps commander. The new flag of the 77th, not yet baptized in blood, waved the signal of readiness. The guns of the fort sent a few rounds of shell towards the enemy, doing no apparent damage, however, and Gen. Wright gave the signal for the charge, which is thus described by Dr. Stevens :

" In magnificent order and with light steps they ran forward up the ascent, through the orchard, through the little grove on the right, over the rail-fence, up to the road, making straight for the first objective point,-the frame house in front. The rebels at first stood their ground, then gave way before the impetuous charge. The President, the members of his eabinet, and the ladies, as well as the mili- tary officers in the fort, and the crowd of soldiers and citizens who had gathered about it to witness the fight, watched with breathless interest the gallant advance as our boys pushed forward, keeping their line of battle perfect, except when now and then some regiment, having the ad- vantage of ground in its favor, in its eagerness got a little in advance of others, until they saw the rebels take to

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flight. Then the crowd at the fort rent the air with exultaut cheers, and, as the boys reached the house, the people were wild with excitement, shouting and clapping their hands, leaping and dancing with joy. But the rebels did not yield without resistance. They met our men bravely, and, though forced to seek safety in flight, turned and poured their volleys into the ranks of their pur- suers, which told fearfully on them, and many were killed and wounded.

" Col. French, of the 77th, was injured, but not severely. The commanding officer of every regiment in the brigade was either killed or wounded."

THE CAMPAIGN IN THE " VALLEY."

After the battle of Fort Stevens the 6th Corps joined the Army of the Shenandoah, to the command of which, after a long series of marches and countermarches, and much time spent in dancing attendance on Early, Gen. Philip HI. Sheridan was assigned, and very soon attacked and routed the enemy at Winchester, in which battle the 77th participated, losing heavily. There it was that Sheri- dan, riding up to Gen. Bidwell, in the very front, shouted, in the presence of the 77th, " Press them, general, they'll run ! G-d d-n them, I know they'll run ! Press them." The result justified his spirited prophecy. After Winches- ter, Early retreated to Strasburg, where he occupied a po- sition seemingly impregnable. Our leader, however, was not a man to be dannted, and at once made his arrange- ments to drive the rebels from their strong position. Here Col. French, who had charge of the corps picket line, was slightly wounded in a preliminary skirmish. The attack was soon made, and the rebels utterly discomfited.

On October 19 occurred the battle of Cedar Creek, that glorious struggle, where a reinforcement of one man-Sheri- dan, who was at the time absent at Winchester-changed defeat into victory. Early attacked at two o'clock in the morning, and completely surprised the 8th Corps, which became utterly demoralized and panic-stricken. The 19th Corps was vigorously attacked, and forced to retreat in confusion, and, to quote from Dr. Stevens,-

" It was at this critical moment that the warning was given to the 6th Corps. Gen. Wright being in command of the army, the corps was in charge of Gen. Ricketts. He at once faced the corps to the rear, and moved it over the plain in the face of the advancing hosts of the enemy. The 2d Division held the left of the new line, the 1st the centre, and the 3d the right. . .

" We now waited the onset of the victorious columns which were driving the shattered and disorganized frag- ments of the 8th and 19th Corps, beaten and discouraged, wildly through our well-formed ranks to the rear. The hope of the nation now rested with those heroes of many bloody fields. Now that peerless band of veterans, the wearers of the Greek cross, whose fame was already among the choicest treasures of American history, was to show to the country and the world an exhibition of valor which should tower above all the grand achievements of the war. The corps, numbering less than twelve thousand men, now confronted Early's whole army of more than thirty thousand men, who, flushed with victory, already bringing to bear against

us the twenty-one guns which they had just captured from the two broken corps, rushed upon our lines with those wild, exultant yells, the terror of which can never be con- ceived by those who have not heard them on the field. With fearless impetuosity the rebel army moved up the gentle rise of ground in front of the 6th Corps, and the attack from one end of the line to the other was simul- taneous. It was like the clash of steel to steel. The as- tonished columns were checked. They had found an immovable obstacle to their march of victory.

" The 2d Division, on the left nearest the pike, had re- ceived the most severe shock of the attack. Bidwell's Brigade held the extreme left, the key to the pike, and sus- tained the attack of the whole of Kershaw's rebel division, which came up in compact order to within very close range. The gallant brigade received the onset with full volleys, which cansed the right of the rebel line to stagger back, and the whole line was, almost at the same moment, repulsed by the corps. The cavalry on our flauk-and never braver men thau the cavalry of our little army mounted saddles- were doing their best to protect the pike leading to Win- chester, and it was the great aim of both the cavalry and the single organized corps of infantry to hold this pike; for on this depended the safety of the whole army and, more, of our eause. Gen. Bidwell ordered his brigade to charge. Rising from their places in the little grave-yard and the grove, the brigade rushed forward, the rebels breaking and running in confusion down the deelivity which they had but just ascended with such confidence, and across the little stream. But the rebel artillery sent our men back to their places, to the shelter of the roll of ground. The charge eost us dearly. . . . Capt. Lennon of the 77th was mor- tally wounded, Lieut. Tabor was killed, . .. and many other valuable lives were lost ; but the most severe blow to the brigade and the corps was the loss of our gallant Gen. Bidwell. He fell, while bravely directing the charge, with a frightful shell wound.

. " The fall of Gen. Bidwell left Col. French of the 77th in command of the brigade. The line was quickly reformed in the position from which the charge was made, and again the rebels came ou with cbeers and yells. They were as bravely met as before, and a second countercharge sent them again in disorder across the creek, leaving the ground covered with their dead and wounded. The great- est shock of the second charge of the rebels had fallen upon our 3d Brigade, and nobly had it been met. . . . At length a new line was formed just north of Middletown, which was about two miles in the rear of the position held by the 2d Division of our corps carly in the morning.

" The grand old Gth Corps, directed by our own loved Gen. Getty, had turned the fortune of the day. It was now ten o'clock ; far away in the rear was heard cheer after cheer. What was the cause ? Were reinforcements coming ? Yes ; Phil. Sheridan was coming, and he was a host. He had ridden from Winchester at amazing speed, and now, as he passed the long trains of ambulances in which were the hundreds of bleeding victims of the morning's work, the wounded men, whose shattered limbs or mangled bodies attested that they had not run away, raised themselves and cheered with wild enthusiasm the hero of the valley.

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HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

" Dashing along the pike, he came upon the line of battle. 'What troops are those ?' shouted Sheridan. 'The Gtli Corps,' was the response from a hundred voices. 'We are all right !' said Sheridan, as he swung his old hat, and dashed along the line towards the right. 'Never mind, boys, we'll whip them yet! We shall sleep in our old quarters to-night !' .

" At three o'clock, Sheridan gave the order to move, wheeling from right to left, as a gate swings upon its hinges, The 3d Division, on the right of our corps, be- came for a moment embarrassed in passing through a strip of woods; the 1st. Division moved slowly but firmly, gain- ing a strong position. The 2d Division also advanced, but were ordered to go very slowly, and this was far more difficult than to rush quickly over the ground. Yet the division obeyed the order, and forced the rebels to fall back. In front of the 1st and 2d Brigades was a stone wall. This they seized and were at once partially sheltered ; but there was no such protection for the 3d Brigade. In its front was a meadow and a gradually inclined plane, and behind a wall, which skirted the crest, was the rebel line. Between that line and ours, in a hollow, stood a brick mill, from the windows of which the enemy's sharpshooters' picked off our men. The galling fire from the line of battle, and the fatal shots of the sharpshooters in the mill, made it impossible to advance slowly, and the line fell back. Our best men were falling fast.

" The color-sergeant of the 77th fell dead ; another ser- geant seized the flag and fell. Adj. Gilbert Thomas, a youth of rare beauty and surpassing bravery, seized the fallen flag. He cried, ' Forward, men !' and fell dead with the staff grasped in his hands. 'I cannot take my brigade over that field slowly,' said Col. French. 'Then go quickly,' responded Gen. Getty. The word was given, and with a bound and a shout the noble brigade went across the field, quickly driving the Confederates from their strong position.

" By this time the right of the army had started the rebels, and their whole line was giving way. The three divisions of the 6th Corps bounded forward and commeneed the wildest race that had ever been witnessed, even in that valley, so famous for the flight of beaten armies. The rebel lines were completely broken, and now in utmost con- fusion every man was going in greatest haste towards Cedar creek. Our men, with wild enthusiasm, with shouts and cheers, regardless of order or formation, joined in the hot pursuit. There was our mortal enemy, who had but a few hours sinee driven us unceremoniously from our camps, now beaten, routed, broken, bent on nothing but the most rapid flight.

". . . From the point where we broke the rebel ranks to the crossing of Cedar creek was three miles, an open plain. Over this plain and down the pike the panie- stricken army was flying, while our soldiers, without ever stopping to load their pieces, were charging tardy batteries with empty muskets, seizing prisoners by scores and hun- dreds. . . "

So the battle ended, and the Gth Corps was ordered to ocenpy the same spot from which it so suddenly decamped to meet the enemy in the early morning.

With this grand and wonderful battle the fighting ex-

perienee of the 77th Regiment closed, and, its term of service having expired, it was ordered to Saratoga Springs to be mustered ont, where it arrived on the 23d of Novem- ber, 186-4, just three years after the day of its mastering in. The regiment was received with all the love and honor a patriotie people could bestow. A committee of the most prominent citizens had been appointed to make arrangements for its reception, and an immense crowd assembled at the depot to welcome the little (only fourteen officers and one hundred and five men) band of war-worn soldiers,-a mere remnant of the thirteen hundred and sixty-nine noble men who had gone from there three years before. They were escorted to the public hall, where they were welcomed by the president of the village on behalf of the people of Saratoga, and, after a prayer by D. E. Tully, the first chaplain, Col. James B. McKean delivered an ad- dress, which was responded to by Col. French, after which Dr. Luther F. Beecher read a poem of welcome, written by Mrs. M. C. Beecher. In the evening a splendid banquet was tendered them by the citizens of Saratoga Springs, at the American Hotel. Speeches were made by Hon. C. S. Lester, William A. Sackett, Hon. James M. Marvin, Hon. A. Pond, Dr. Beccher, Hon. James M. Cook, W. M. Potter, and others, and by many officers and soldiers of the regi- ment.

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History of Saratoga County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers., Part 27

Author: Sylvester, Nathaniel Bartlett, 1825-1894 Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Ensign Number of Pages: 780

Author: Sylvester, Nathaniel Bartlett, 1825-1894
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Ensign
Number of Pages: 780