USA > New York > Warren County > History of Warren County [N.Y.] with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 30
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"The One Hundred and Eighteenth continued attached to the column of the James until the spring of 1864, and was engaged in operations near Norfolk and at or near Bermuda Hundred, and in February it advanced to Bolton's Bridge from Williamsburg, in an attempt on Richmond ; and in operations near Norfolk and at or near Bermuda Hundred. It at this time constituted a part of the Second Brigade, First Division of the Eighteenth Corps. General W. F. Smith commanded the corps, Brooks the division, and Burnham the brigade. All these officers were eminently distinguished by their fighting qualities and high reputation. Early in May the army marched upon the ill-omened expe- dition against Fort Darling on the James, which was terminated by the fatal results at Drury's Bluff. This march from its commencement to its disastrous issue was a constant scene of fighting and skirmishes. On the tenth, com- panies D, F, and K, were advanced in a skirmishing line, the last held in re-
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serve, while the remainder of the regiment was deployed. The coolness and bearing of Lietenant Stevenson of F, and Kellogg of Company D, were con- spicuous, and the steadiness of the whole line was eminently distinguished. The One Hundred and Eighteenth four days after captured with small loss a series of rifle pits, redoubts and batteries, which formed a strong advance line of the enemy. This work from the form of its construction offered no protec- tion to the Federal troops. The enemy occupied a short distance in front far more formidable works mounted with heavy guns, and during the whole day the Second Brigade was exposed to a severe fire of shells from this work. One of the missiles crushed the head of Sergeant Place of Company K, a brave and intelligent soldier. Throughout Sunday the 15th the brigade maintained this exposed position, which was soon to acquire a dreadand bloody prominence in one of the darkest pages of the war. Heckman's Brigade, lying to the right of the second, formed the extreme right of the army line. Between Heckman's Bri- gade and the James there was an interval of a mile in length, which was left unoccupied, except by a few feeble and scattering posts of colored cavalry. No entrenchment had been constructed either in front of the Union lines or on the flank ; excepting such as were hastily thrown up under the direction of com- manders of particular brigades or regiments. The ground had been previous- ly occupied by the Confederates, by whom scattered and irregular redoubts, trenches and rifle pits were constructed ; but these were so arranged that they afforded no protection to the Union troops in their present position. The line held by the Second Brigade stretched along a deep excavation which had been made by the rebels and at this time was filled with water. A standing place was formed for the brigade by leveling a narrow space, between this ditch and the enbankment created by the earth thrown up at its construction. Slight bridges were at short intervals thrown across the trench. These precautions proved a few hours later of infinite importance. The embankment was thus converted into an important defense which in the subsequent action afforded great protection to the troops. General Brooks conceived the novel and happy idea of extending a telegraph wire in front of the brigade; but unfor- tunately Heckman's Brigade was without even this feeble protection and lay totally exposed to the assault of a vigilant foe.
" At three o'clock on the morning of the 16th, the One Hundred and Eighteenth was aroused and at its post, in conformity to special orders, or its established practice. The air was loaded with a thick, dank fog, which the opening dawn but slightly dissipated. As sun-rise approached, the advance or movement of troops was noticed in front, but in the obscure light the color of their uniform could not be distinguished, nor their evolutions determined. A few shots from Belger's artillery in front of the brigade, were thrown into the ravine along which these troops were advancing and they were seen to halt and lie down. A staff officer who at that moment appeared on the field, pro-
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nouncing them to .be Federal pickets retiring and ordered the firing to cease. Small white flags or signals were distinctly discerned waving in the mist, and voices shouted from the obscurity, 'Don't fire on your friends.' The mus- ketry had already become sharp on the right, but the Second Brigade had re- ceived no orders of any kind. There was a period of fearful suspense and hesitation. Captain Ransom of Company I, unable to restrain his impatience, leaped upon the embankment and firing his revolver, exclaimed : 'This is my reception of such friends.' The last chamber was scarcely exploded when he fell, pierced by a ball that passed through his body, and shattered an arm. Doubt no longer existed of the character or purpose of these troops, and the One Hundred and Eighteenth instantly poured a volley into the advancing line. The front rank of the enemy now rushed impetuously forward, and in the dimness of the light stumbled over the wires, and those in the rear pressing after them all were hurled together in a promiscuous mass; their ranks broken and thrown into inextricable disorder. Many of the enemy involved in the confusion threw down their arms and surrendered, and were sent to the rear. Up to this point the One Hundred and Eighteenth had achieved a success. It was vigilant and the contemplated surprise had been defeated ; but Heckman's Brigade had been surprised and nearly flanked from the undefended space on its right. It had fallen back and at one time the whole brigade were prisoners; but in the tu- mult and amid the dense mist and smoke escaped. The Eighth Connecticut, next on the right of the One Hundred and Eighteenth, was attacked in flank, doubled up and disappeared from the field. The One Hundred and Eighteenth was now exposed to a crushing fire in front and upon the right flank. The extemporaneous traverses which it had constructed at this crisis were most effective, affording a partial protection, and for a while the resistance of the regi- ment appeared to be successful; but it was enveloped by an overwhelming force, and a sanguinary conflict ensued. In this desperate aspect of the battle each man was directed to gain the rear without regard to discipline. A few embraced the opportunity to retreat ; others still sustained the fight, while the wounded implored their comrades not to abandon them, and more than one noble life was sacrificed to preserve these sufferers from the horrid calamities of a hostile prison house. The regiment was soon after rallied and made a gallant stand ; but was compelled to fall back ; again advanced a short space and ultimately retreated in order. Captain Dominy, the senior officer, suc- ceeded to the temporary command of the regiment on the disability of Colonel Nichols.
"The dire aceldama was ennobled by deeds of daring heroism, and in- stances of exalted devotion. An intrepid young lieutenant, Henry J. Adams, of Elizabethtown, at the moment the regiment was breaking seized a standard and shouting the words so familiar to scenes of home and festive joyousness : 'Rally around the flag, boys,' attempted to arrest the retreat, and essentially
17
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aided in rallying the troops. Captain Robert W. Livingston of Company F, early in the action moved from the cover of the enbankment in order to com- municate with Colonel Nichols, and while standing a moment exposed was was struck down by a frightful wound in the shoulder. His gallant young lieutenant, W. H. Stevenson, who was behind an enbankment and in a situation comparatively secure, saw him fall and calling on the men to bring in their captain, rushed out to Livingston's assistance, accompanied by four of the com- pany. Livingston admonished them of the great exposure they incurred and urged that he might be left ; but Stevenson persisted in his generous purpose and in a moment after fell dead at his commander's side, a sacrifice to duty and friendship. Livingston, as he was borne from the field, was struck by an- other shot that terribly lacerated his foot and leg. He languished in great suf- ferring fourteen months in a hospital before his severe wounds permitted a re- turn to his home, a mutilated and disabled soldier.
" The regiment was not pursued by the severely punished enemy and was immediately rallied by its own officers. It maintained a bold and defiant at- titude until most of its wounded were borne from the field. In that conflict, scarcely extending over the space of half an hour, the One Hundred and Eighteenth, out of the three hundred and fifty men engaged, lost one hundred and ninety-eight privates and thirteen officers in killed, wounded and prison- ers. Amid all these disasters and sacrifices the regiment had captured and se- cured two hundred prisoners, a greater number than it retained men fit for duty. Among the killed on this fatal day was Captain John S. Stone, of Com- pany K. Lieutenant Stevenson was killed and Lieutenant Edgar A. Wing, Company E, a youth of high promise who had been promoted to the company only a few days before, was mortally wounded, taken prisoner and died the . next day. Lieutenant-Colonel Nichols was slightly wounded in the side and hand, from which his sword was stricken by a shot ; and his clothing, as was that of several other officers, was riddled by bullets. Adjutant John M. Carter lost an arm and was captured ; Captains Livingston and Ransom were severely wounded ; Lieutenants Treadway and Sherman were wounded, and Captain Dennis Stone, Company A, and James H. Pierce, Company C, taken prisoners. The army on the same day fell back to Bermuda Hundred and fortified ; but the stricken and fragmentary One Hundred and Eighteenth were exempted from the toil of entrenching.
" On the 29th of May the Eighteenth Corps, embracing the One Hundred and Eighteenth, embarked in transports, and passing down the James, ascend- ed the Pamunky and landed at the White House. Directly upon disembark- ing it was rushed to the front, and on the Ist of June it joined the army of the Potomac. On that day near Coal Harbor commenced a battle which con- tinued until the 3d, and was one of the most severely contested and sanguin- ary engagements of the war ; but its incidents and results have been singular-
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ly veiled from the public eye. The Eighteenth Corps occupied a position in front of the Union army. The One Hundred and Eighteenth was engaged in the bloody scenes of these conflicts, but not unconnected with its corps. Its casualties were extremely severe. At times exposed to a heavy fire in front, and enfiladed by a battery and rifle pits, to escape annihilation the troops were compelled to lie prone upon the earth, while a tempest of minnie balls, shot and shells, hurtled just above them. The dead could neither be removed nor buried, and their corpses were thrown upon the breastwork, with a slight cov- ering of earth strewn upon them, and thus their decaying bodies aided to form a bulwark for the protection of their living comrades. The taint from the decomposing mass became almost insufferable before the corps was with- drawn from the trenches. The sufferings of the regiment through the trying ordeal of those eight days were extreme. It lost at Coal Harbor seventy men and officers. Among the casualties were Lieutenant Michael Reynolds, of Company A, killed, and Captain Jacob Parmerter, of Company E, severely wounded with the loss of a leg.
"An impregnable line in front arrested all advance by the Union army, but the enemy was held in an equally tenacious and unyielding grasp. The Eighteenth Corps sustained its exposed position, and in the end formed a cur- tain behind which, on the 12th, General Grant accomplished his perilous and memorable flank movement which effected the change of his base. When this bold and remarkable operation had been accomplished, the Eighteenth also hastily abandoned its entrenchments and fell back unopposed to White House, and returned to its previous field of duty. On the 15th of June the One Hundred and Eighteenth was engaged in the attack on Petersburg. Here it suffered a heavy loss in the death of Major Charles E. Pruyn, who was in temporary command of the regiment. While standing in an exposed position, and in the act of surveying the works he was preparing to assault, he was struck and horribly mutilated by a shell. He had acted as adjutant in the or- ganization of the regiment, and its singlar proficiency and high discipline were chiefly imputed to the skill and assiduity of his services, sustained by the field officers, pre-eminently by the military attainments and persistent zeal of Colo- nel Keese. Lieutenant Rowland C. Kellogg was also wounded by the explo- sion of a shell. Captain Levi S. Dominy of Company B succeeded to the immediate command of the regiment.
" The fierce and protracted siege of Petersburg exacted from the One Hun- dred and Eighteenth the most arduous and exhaustive duties. Night succeed- ed the day, days rolled into weeks, and the weeks formed months, but their toils had no mitigation, while their endurance and dangers were perpetual. Now exposed to the burning sun and breathing the arid sand, and now strug- gling in mud and water ; often suffering for drink, seldom able to wash, and never changing their clothing for rest. Constantly shelled and frequently en-
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filaded by new batteries ; burrowing in the earth to escape projectiles, against which ordinary entrenchments afforded no protection, the troops were yet joy- ous, patient, enduring and full of hope. Amid all these exposures and suffer- ing, after it had recovered from an almost universal prostration by chills and fever at Gloucester Point, and altogether moving in a malarious region, the One Hundred and Eighteenth was always vigorous and healthy. The rigor- ous ordeal to which it was now subjected continued with brief relief until the 29th of July, when the regiment was withdrawn to aid in the support of the storming column, which was designed to assail the enemy's works, on the ex- plosion of the long projected mine. They witnessed in sadness and humilia- tion the disastrous failure of that magnificent experiment. On the 27th of August, after a term of two months, the Second Brigade was relieved from its arduous trench duties. During the long period of one hundred and thirteen days the One Hundred and Eighteenth had marched and toiled and endured, with no enjoyment of quiet repose, and almost incessantly subjected to the fire of the enemy.
" A single month the One Hundred and Eighteenth was permitted to re- pose, after its prolonged and severe service, in a pleasant encampment near the southern banks of the James. In that interval the Ninety-sixth had been at- tached to the Second Brigade. This brigade, by the proficiency of its drill, its exact discipline, and general efficiency, had become conspicuous and universally esteemed second to no other in its distinguished corps. On the 27th Septem- ber, every indication presaged the renewal of active duty. Rations for two days were ordered prepared. An unusual earnestness and activity were man- ifested by the generals and their staffs. The next night the tattoo, suggestive of repose, had scarcely sounded, when the brigade was ordered to move promptly and in profound silence, leaving their tents standing. Previous to breaking camp, the One Hundred and Eighteenth and the Tenth New Hamp- shire had by a special order exchanged their Enfield guns for the Spencer re- peating rifle, a tremendous weapon in the hands of resolute and expert marks- men. This selection by the corps commander was a distinguished recognition of the efficiency of the preferred regiments. At three o'clock on the morning of the 29th, the division led by the second brigade, was passing over the James upon a pontoon bridge, which had been completed the same hour. The sound of the movement was suppressed by earth or other substances strewn upon the bridge. On reaching the north bank of the river, the One Hundred and Eight- eenth and Tenth New Hampshire were thrown out as skirmishers and flank- ers, while the remainder of the command was advanced along the road in column. Soon after daybreak a brisk fire was opened by the enemy's pickets which fell back on their reserves, and the whole were forced rapidly back through a dense wood, for the distance of more than two miles, when the Union column entered upon open ground. A strong earth work was now re-
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vealed in front, and mounted with heavy guns. This formidable work, was Fort, or rather Battery Harrison, and General Stannard instantly ordered Burn- ham to take it by assault. The Ninety-sixth and Eighth Connecticut forming the storming column were supported by the First and Third brigade of the division with the One Hundred and Eighteenth New York, and Twelfth New Hampshire as skirmishers on their flank. The column rushed impetuously forward, along the open space, met by a furious, plunging fire from the enemy's lines. When it reached, after this rapid advance along the distance of nearly three-fourths of a mile, the base of the eminence upon which the works were erected, the column breathless and exhausted, paused in a position compara- tively protected. As we have already seen, the enemy was hastening re-en- forcements to the point of attack, and the commander both of the division and brigade, alarmed at the posture of affairs, sent a member of his staff to order an instant assault. Lieutenant George F. Cambell, Company C, One Hundred and Eighteenth, aid to General Burnham, dashed across the plains exposed to the whole range of the enemy's fire and unhurt communicated the order. The two regiments impetuously scaled the hill, mounted the parapet, and their gallant color-bearers planted simultaneously their flags upon the works. The enemy precipitately abandoned the lines, falling back to other works, while their own guns were turned upon them with deadly effect. In the act of train- ing one of these guns upon the fugitives, General Burnham was mortally wounded and died in a few minutes after.
" While these events were in progress in the center, the skirmishing support had approached the fort, and used their rifles in picking off the gunners in the works, and demoralizing the defense. Lieutenant-Colonel Nichols, with the One Hundred and Eighteenth, after being distinguished 'for cool conduct on the skirmish lines in the general assault, captured two redoubts on the right of the fort, during the main assault. Surgeon F. G. Porteous, of the One Hun- dred and Eighteenth, was officially noticed with strong recommendations for bravery and attention to duties, being the only surgeon in the brigade advanc- ing with his regiment in the charging column.' The Second Brigade now moved upon two intrenchments in front, and captured them successfully, driv- ing the enemy back upon their third and last defense on this line of works. Fort Harrison had thus been snatched from the jaws of the Confederate army, which lay in great force immediately contiguous, and was too important a position to be relinquished without a desperate struggle. The last line cap- tured by the Union troops was exposed to the fire of the enemy's gun-boats and to assault, and it was deemed expedient to fall back upon Fort Harrison. The enemy vigorously pursued, and in this movement both Colonel Donohoe and Lieutenant-Colonel Nichols were severely wounded. The night and the succeeding morning were assiduously employed in extending and strengthening the works, which now acquired the form and strength of an enclosed fortifica-
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tion. A second and third time the onset was repeated, and met in the same corageous spirit, and with similar results. On the last assault, those of the assailants who survived the withering fire of the Federal troops, threw down their arms and surrendered. About noon the next day rebel troops had been massed in three heavy columns, and covered by two batteries, rushed upon the new Federal lines with heroic impetuosity. The One Hundred and Eighteenth and Tenth New Hampshire were stationed at salient points in the works, and the fatal power of their new weapons was frightfully demonstrated upon the Confederate ranks. Gun-boats were constantly, but with trifling effect, shell- ing the Union position. This formidable assault was repulsed by musketry alone, and the rebels falling back to cover, abandoned their numerous dead and wounded upon the field. Besides Lieutenant-Colonel Nichols, Captain Dobie and Lieutenant Treadway of the One Hundred and Eighteenth were wounded.
"The One Hundred and Eighteenth moved with its division from the quarters near Fort Burnham where it had remained since the capture of that work, on the 26th of October, to a position within about three miles of Fort Richmond, erected on the former battle-ground of Fair Oaks. The regiment at that time was composed of two hundred and five men for duty including supernumeraries. At dawn the succeeding morning it advanced. That part of the regiment embracing more than half which was armed with the Spencer rifles, was thrown in front as skirmishers, and the remainder held in reserve. Passing a covert of woods, the skirmishers entered upon a cleared field which extended to the fort, a distance of about one-fourth of a mile. Over this space they made a rush upon the work, in the face of a terrible fire, and succeeded in approaching it within about one hundred yards. The enemy's lines at this moment were only slightly manned, but the entrenchment was heavy and formidable, and wholly unassailable by the feeble skirmishing force. Major Dominy, an officer conspicuous for his fighting qualities, commanded the regi- ment, and at this time passed an order for the troops to lie down, seeking any cover that presented itself, for protection against the irresistible tempest of shot and balls that was hurled upon them. Soon after they were directed to fall back singly to an excavation on a road in the rear. The regiment made no further advance, but after the repulse of the assaulting column mentioned in the notice of the Ninety-sixth Regiment, retreated to its former encampment. The losses of the regiment were greater in proportion to its strength than on any previous occasion. The skirmishing party entered into action with nine officers : three of these, Major Dominy, Lieutenants McLean and Gibbs re- turned in safety, but Captain J. R. Seaman, Company A, was seriously wounded. Lieutenant M. J. Dickinson was wounded and taken prisoner, with Lieutenants Saunders, Potter, O'Connor, and Bryant. Captain M. V. B. Stetson in the re- serve was also wounded while aiding to remove Colonel Moffitt of the Ninety-
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fifth from the field. When the regiment reached its former quarters scarcely forty men had gathered to its standard, but others returned until the aggre- gate was increased to nearly one-half the number who had marched out the day preceding. The One Hundred and Eighteenth remained in camp through the winter, and on the march upon Richmond the ensuing spring, its relics were engaged on picket duty and advanced as skirmishers, covering the Third Divi- sion of the Twenty-fourth Corps. It was the first organized Federal regiment that entered Richmond. The One Hundred and Eigteenth bore the noble in- scription upon its national flag : 'Suffolk-South Anna-Coal Harbor-Fort Harrison-Bermuda-Swift Creek-Petersburg-Fair Oaks-Drury's Bluff -Crater-Richmond.' This attests its military glory, but its high moral qualities are still more illustrated by the remarkable fact, that not a single member of this regiment was known to have deserted to the enemy. In more authoritative language than I can use, General Devens, in recapitulating its ser- vices, pronounces this eulogium upon the One Hundred and Eighteenth at Drury's Bluff: 'This regiment distinguished itself for great valor and perti- nacity, and won the reputation it has since enjoyed, of being one of the most resolute regiments in the service,' He adds: 'With this weapon (the Spencer rifle) they will return to your State armed, and it is a most appropriate testi- monial of their efficiency.'"1
Officers of the One Hundred and Eighteenth Regiment, when mustered out of the service, Fune 13th, 1865. - Colonel, George F. Nichols, brevet general U. S. V .; lieutenant-colonel, Levi S. Dominy, brevet colonel N. Y. V .; major, John L. Cunningham, brevet lieutenant-colonel U. S. V .; surgeon, William O. Mans- field ; assistant surgeon, J. C. Preston ; chaplain, Charles L. Hagar ; adjutant, Clifford Hubbard ; quartermaster, Henry J. Northrup, brevet captain N. Y. V.
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