USA > New York > History of the Ninth Regiment N.Y.S.M. -- N.G.S.N.Y. (Eighty-third N. Y. Volunteers.) 1845-1888 > Part 27
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COLONEL JOSEPH A. MOESCH.
1863
THE LOSSES.
287
erates at 2,665 killed, 12,599 wounded, 7,464 missing ; total, 22,728.
The NINTH took into action a total of less than two hun- dred men. The officers were: Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph A. Moesch, commanding; Captain Henry V. Williamson, act- ing Major; Henry P. Clare, Adjutant; Captains Thomas W. Quirk, Company A, and Frederick Guyer, Company D; Lieu- tenants Charles A. Clark, Company B; Cyrus C. Hubbard, Company C ; Henry Perret, Company D; Lawrence M. Whit- ney, Company E; Jacob Jacobs, Company F; Thomas W. Thorne, Company G ; john B. Dolan and Henry A. Van Pelt, Company H ; William J. Barnes, Company I ; and John M. K. Connolly, Company L.
During the last two days of the battle the NINTH suffered no loss, except a few slightly wounded, of which no account was taken. In-the first day's battle the loss was 7 killed or died of wounds, and 18 wounded. Captain Quirk and Lieutenant Clark were killed, Lieutenants Jacobs and Whitney wounded, and Lieutenant Barnes was taken pris- oner. The latter was not released until January 5th, 1865, long after the regiment had been mustered out of the service. Fifty-eight men were made prisoners on July ist, but about thirty escaped from their captors within the next few days.
The enlisted men killed were: Privates Dominick Zim. merman, Company B; William H. Robbins, Company C; Patrick Burns, Company H ; Francis Westervelt, Company 1; Sergeant Henry J. Curry, Company L.
From Tregaskis' compilation, published in July, 1888, we find that the losses in killed, wounded and missing, in the Union Army at Gettysburg-excluding the cavalry-were as follows :
First corps, 5,919; Second corps, 4,201; Third corps, 4, 104; Fifth corps, 2, 144; Sixth corps, 230; Eleventh corps, 3.732 ; Twelfth corps, 1,072.
The average losses by brigades are shown to be: First corps, seven brigades, 845 4-7; Second corps, ten brigades, 420 1-10 ; Third corps, six brigades, 681 . Fifth corps, eight
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THE NINTH NEW YORK.
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brigades, 268; Sixth corps, eight brigades, 283; Eleventh corps, six brigades, 622; Twelfth corps, six brigades, 278}.
Robinson's division of the First corps lost 9 officers killed, 68 wounded and 52 captured or missing ; SI enlisted men killed, 545 wounded, and 931 captured or missing; a total of 1,685, and yet, when General Meade made his official report, this organ- ization was- not mentioned. This omission called forth the following letter from General Robinson :
HEADQUARTERS, 2ND DIV. FIRST ARMY CORPS, November 15, 1863.
GENERAL-I feel it is my duty to inform you of the intense mortification and dis- appointment felt by my division in reading your report of the battle of Gettysburg. For nearly four hours, on July Ist, we were hotly engaged against overwhelming num- bers, repulsed repeated attacks of the enemy, captured three flags and a very large number of prisoners, and were the last to leave the field. The division formed the right of the line of battle of the First corps, and, during the whole time had to fight the enemy in front and protect our right flank (the division of the 11th corps being at no time less than half a mile in rear). We went into action with less than 2,500 men, and lost considerably more than half our number. We have been proud of our efforts on that day, and hoped that they would be recognized. It is but natural we should feel disappointed, that we are not once referred to in the report of the Commanding General.
Trusting you will investigate this matter and give us due credit, I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN C. ROBINSON, Brig .- Gen'l. Comdy. Division.
Major-General G. G. MEADE,
Commanding Army of the Potomac.
0
1863
A STERN CHASE.
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.CHAPTER XVI.
AFTER GETTYSBURG .- THE MINE RUN CAMPAIGN.
Retreat of the Confederate Army .- A Weak Pursuit .- Lee Crosses the Potomac .- The NINTH Enters Virginia Again .-- Arrival of Drafted Men and Substitutes .- Character of Many of these Recruits .- Promotions in the Regiment .- Advance Against the Enemy Changed to a Retreat .-- Auburn and Bristoe .- Centreville .- Lieutenant-Colonel Chalmers .-- Meade Moves to Attack Lee, who Declines Battle .- Army of the Potomac Retraces its Steps .- Battle at the Rappahannock. -Brandy Station .- Mine Run .- Movements of the NINTH .- The Campaign a Fizzle .- Back Again Across the Rappahannock .- Winter Quarters .- Cedar Mountain .- A Monument to General Reynolds.
IT was on the 5th that General Sedgwick started after the enemy with his Sixth corps, and, upon reaching Fairfield Pass, eight miles southwest from Gettysburg, found Early, in command of the Confederate rear guard, too strongly posted to warrant an assault. Meanwhile, the Union cavalry was active in harassing the trains of the enemy. The next day the. NINTH, mustering less than one hundred men, but full of the enthusiasm which victory had inspired, marched in their place with the other regiments of the command, and towards evening reached Emmetsburg. Tents were pitched in the same field occupied by them on the night of the 30th of June.
The private soldier knows but little of the plans of the commanding general-he is but a mere instrument in the hands of those in authority, and the greater the subordination of the rank and file, the more effective do these instruments become in the hands of brave and skillful generals. But the men composingothe Union Army had a fashion of doing a good deal of thinking, and also of expressing their thoughts .upon their commanding officers and the conduct of the cam- paigns in which they were engaged. Never before, in the his- tory of the world, did an army contain so many "thinking bayonets," and, as the Union troops plodded along in this stern chase after the defeated Confederates, many were the
290
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THE NINTH NEW YORK.
conjectures as to when and where Meade would bring the enemy to bay, and by a bold stroke crush him before he could re-cross into Virginia. The escape of Lee's army after Antie- tam was recalled, and the hope expressed that there would be no repetition of such "strategy" or tactics as turned that bat- tle from a positive to a negative victory.
On the morning of the 7th the march was resumed. The roads were heavy, owing to the recent rains, and much cut up by the artillery and wagons. The column passed through Mechanicsville and Lewiston, and then turned west to cross the Catoctin range. The turnpike was then given up to the trains, while the infantry trudged along through cart roads and paths, rough and stony, until the base of the mountains was reached, when they went into bivouac for the night. A detail from the regiment was sent out on picket towards the pass. At daylight of the Sth the men were in line again, the mour .- tain range was soon crossed, and the column headed south- ward. A short distance beyond Middletown, the troops halted long enough for the Quartermaster to issue some clothing and shoes ; many of the men were almost barefooted-some entirely so. South Mountain was crossed at Turner's Gap, and a short distance below the Mountain House, a place familiar to the NINTH, line of battle was formed, and a rough breastwork thrown up, behind which the men lay down for the night. Cannonading had been heard during the day in the direction of Boonsboro. No movement was made on the 9th ; the men remained behind the breastworks, and several rumors during the day led some to believe that a collision would take place with the retreating army.
Six o'clock in the morning of the roth found the column on the march towards Boonsboro, through which town the NINTH soon passed, thence on, in a northerly direction, and about noon an intrenched line of battle was formed. But a short halt was made when the column again pushed forward ; towards evening another line was formed and a rough defence of logs, rails, and dirt thrown up, behind which the
291
1863
FORTIFYING A GARDEN.
men slept for the night. On the 11th nothing of importance occurred, so far as the NINTH was concerned.
At noon of the 12th the corps was in motion again. Funkstown, evacuated that morning by the enemy, was passed through, Antietam Creek crossed soon after, and upon arriv- ing within sight of Hagerstown, then occupied by Lee's forces, line of battle was soon formed. Previous experience had taught the men that even a slight breastwork of rails, and which could be constructed in a few minutes, was a handy thing to have in their front when in the presence of the enemy, and during this march, it will be noticed that these impromptu affairs were frequently built. At this last stop- ping place, the line of battle happened to encroach upon a farmer's garden. Poor fellow, he had seen something of the devastation caused by war during the Maryland campaign, the year before, and when the men began to " fortify " his gar- den, he verily believed that a battle was about to be fought in his own door-yard, and he was wild with fear. Rain fell dur- ing the night, and as the tents had not been pitched, the men got a good soaking.
At daylight of the 13th the enemy opened with artillery on the Union lines, but it was soon silenced by the return fire. The First, Sixth and Eleventh corps, which now formed the right wing of the army, were under the command of General " Sedgwick, and the First corps was on the extreme right at Hagerstown, while the extreme left of the army was at Bakersville, seven miles south. During the day the NINTH remained behind their rude breastworks, strengthening the line here and there, and waiting for orders. Fresh troops, to make good the recent losses, were arriving; the First Mary- land, Eighth, Thirty-ninth, Forty-sixth and Fifty-first Massa- chusetts, joining the division. It was rumored, during the afternoon and evening, that the enemy was to be attacked early the next morning, but the morning of the 14th found the Confederates safely across the Potomac.
On the morning of the 15th the line of march was south, the NINTH passing through Keedysville, thence towards
.
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THE NINTH NEW YORK.
July
Rohrersville, and after a hard march of about twenty-two miles, bivouacking for the night at Crampton's Gap in the South Mountain. Rain had fallen for two days and the roads were very muddy. Early in the afternoon of the 16th the column reached the vicinity of Berlin, on the Potomac, where the troops awaited the building of a pontoon bridge, completed on the 17th:"" At six o'clock in the morning of the 18th the NINTH, for the fourth and last time, crossed into Virginia. The route was by Lovettsville and Waterford, the troops halting for the night near the latter place, where a strong Union sentiment pre- vailed. On the 19th Hamilton was reached, a short march of six or eight miles. Three o'clock the next morning found the NINTH on the road again. Goose Creek was forded early in the day, and late in the afternoon a halt was ordered near Middleburg.
The main body of the Confederate army was marching up the Shenandoah valley, but parties of their cavalry were scout- ing about the front and flanks of the Union troops, ready to pounce upon stragglers or small parties. While some mem- bers of General Newton's staff were reconnoitering they were "gobbled up." On the night of the 22nd a ten-mile march was made to White Plains, on the Manassas Gap railroad, and there the regiment remained till eight o'clock in the morning of the 23d, when the southward journey was resumed. Warrenton was reached late in the day, and the enemy appearing in force, line of battle was formed; the troops advanced, those in front engaging the enemy and capturing a number of prisoners, some cattle and a few wagons. During the 24th the men worked upon a line of earthworks, but at five o'clock the next morning the army moved forward. The NINTH was detailed to guard the corps wagon train and marched in the direction of Warrenton Junction. Leaving the train there the regiment rejoined the brigade, which remained in line of battle till sun- down, when the railroad was followed toward Bealton, where, at nine o'clock in the evening, it halted.
On the 27th the regiment was sent out on picket duty, two miles north of Bealton, where it remained twenty-four hours.
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293
1863
ARRIVAL OF CONSCRIPTS.
Gangs of men were busily engaged repairing the railroad, so that supplies might be forwarded from Washington; block- houses, too, were built along the line, generally at the crossings of streams to protect the bridges Little of importance occurred for some time.
On August ist the regiment marched to Rappahannock Station, crossed the river and threw up intrenchments at the same place occupied by it the year before, and which was so stoutly defended for two or three days. On the 4th the enemy appeared, the men were called to arms, and from be- hind the works had the pleasure of seeing the "Johnnies" driven back by the Union cavalry. On the 8th the regiment occupied an intrenched camp vacated by the Fifth Maryland of the Third division, and which was named Camp Rappahan- nock. The Army moved on the 9th, but Baxter's brigade was left to guard the- bridge. On the 14th the first conscripts- or drafted men-the NINTHI had seen arrived from Pennsyl- vania, and were assigned to the Ninetieth regiment, from that .State, and on the 15th the Twelfth and Thirteenth Massa- chusetts received accessions of the same kind of material. The rank and file of the army looked upon this class of recruits as a very undesirable addition to the army. Socially, they were almost ostracised, and to this fact was doubtless due the numerous desertions, which commenced at the date of their arrival. On the 15th it was deemed advisable to cross to the north bank of the river for a better camp ground. It seemed as though active operations had, for the time, been sus- pended.
On the 20th two hundred conscripts arrived for the NINTH, and the next day the work of making soldiers of them began. They were divided into squads, and drilled from six to eight o'clock in the morning, and from four to six in the afternoon. It was too much for some of the greenhorns, for on the 23rd the surgeons examined a few who were found totally unfit for military duty, and they were sent home- rejoicing, no doubt. Ninety-four more were received on the 27th, and by the 29th arms and equipments were supplied, and
-
.
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THE NINTH NEW YORK.
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the recruits took their places in the ranks. The weather dur- ing the month had been very hot, fortunately the .men had not much marching and there was but little sickness.
On the Ist of September the weather was delightful. The days were not so warm nor the nights as cool as during August. Daily drills were making the recruits quite proficient in the manual of arms, and in company and battalion movements. On the 13th a reconnoissance in force was made by the cav- alry towards Culpeper. General Meade had learned of the departure of Longstreet's command to join Bragg in Tennes- see, and was desirous of attacking Lee's army, now so greatly reduced in numbers. The Confederates were driven beyond the Rapidan, and Meade ordered forward the infantry to Cul- peper, where his own headquarters were also established. It was not until the 16th that Baxter's brigade moved forward. The Rappahannock was crossed at daybreak, and the column soon passed Brandy Station, then moving through woods, fields and swamps, it halted within three miles of Culpeper.
On the 20th Dr. Nordquist, who had been Medical Director of the division since November, 1862, was appointed Medical Inspector of the First Corps, a worthy tribute to his value as an officer and his skill as a physician.
About this time the conscripts began to disappear rapidly. How they could make their way-undetected-to the north side of the Potomac, is a mystery, explainable only by the supposi- tion that guard. and teamsters were bribed to favor their escape. On the 28th Lieutenant-Colonel Moesch, other officers, and Sergeant Bowne, with a detail for guard, who had been sent to New York for the purpose, arrived with three hundred and sixty-five conscripts. What a medley ! A number of them could not speak English. Many of them were French Canadians, and had doubtless been sent on as substitutes for drafted citizens.
One of the men in writing home about this time said :
The new men are from all parts of the world. We have got blustering English- men, canny Scotchmen, jolly Irishmen, jabbering Frenchmen, slow and go easy Dutchmen, and a lot of mongrel Canadians. There is a Chinaman in one company,
295
CRIMINALS IN THE ARMY.
1863
and an Indian in another. We have also got a lot of countrymen who glory in being called " Yankees." Take them all together they will make good soldiers, if properly handled.
When it was afterwards learned that among the recruits were criminals, who had been induced to enlist in the army in order to escape incarceration in jail, the old members were justly indignant. It is a fact that judges of petty courts gave the convicted prisoners the choice of going to jail or enlisting in the army or navy ! Is it to be wondered at, that when the three years for which the regiment enlisted had expired, the original members refused to reenlist, as a body, in the old regiment ?
The new men kept the non-commissioned officers busy all day long. Squad drills, with and without arms, were the order of the day, and by dint of much hard work, the new material soon presented a fair appearance on parade.
General Hooker, with the Eleventh and Twelfth corps. under Howard and Slocum, had left the army on the 24th, to reenforce Rosecrans at Chattanooga, whose army had been badly whipped at Chicamauga on the 20th.
The 2nd of October was signalized by the execution of a member of one of the Pennsylvania regiments, who had been found guilty of sleeping upon his post while on picket duty. Infliction of the extreme penalty was rare in the army, but occasionally the commanding general found it necessary to make an example of a particularly flagrant case, in order that the men might not think the articles of war a dead letter. The firing party was taken from Company E of the Twelfth Massachusetts, and the execution witnessed by the whole di- vision.
General Meade had now determined to advance against the enemy, and it seems that General Lee had made up his mind to do the same thing. On the 7th the Union Signal corps, posted on the top of Cedar Mountain, discovered that the enemy was moving large bodies of troops ; their signals had been interpreted also, and Meade was soon informed of the movement against him. Inasmuch as Lee had moved first,
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THE NINTHI NEW YORK.
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Meade was compelled to assume the defensive. Lee's plan seems to have been well laid-it was to move Hill's corps to the northwest and cross Robertson's river, the north fork of the Rapidan, near its source, and approach Culpeper from the north, while Ewell's column should advance by way of James City on the southwest. The success of this plan would com- pel Meade to fight a battle in order to regain his communica- tions, and as the Union army was somewhat scattered, Lee was hopeful of being able to accomplish his design. The withdrawal of the enemy's pickets from the south side of the Rapidan, on the morning of the 9th, led Meade to believe that Lee was retreating, and he ordered an advance across the river. Meanwhile, news of the enemy moving around the right flank of the army was received ; Stuart's cavalry had already struck the outposts and approached James City near enough to shell the town, seven miles from Culpeper. Hill had reached Griffinsburg, five miles northwest of Culpeper. During the 10th Meade seemed to be at a loss just what course to pursue, but the developments of the day made it neces- sary for him to fall back, and in the evening he ordered the army to retire behind the Rappahannock.
At nine o'clock in the night the NINTH was in line es- corting the wagon train. The march was in an easterly direction ; Stevensburg was passed, and the column pushed on, crossing the Rappahannock at Kelly's Ford; thence striking north, and reaching Bealton at noon of the 11th. The Union cavalry had an arduous task to perform during the retreat of the army, and manfully did they execute it. Lee was not aware that Meade had fallen back, and when his troops were in position-as he thought -- to strike the Union army at Culpeper, that army was a dozen miles away.
On finding that Meade had retreated Lee still pursued his plan of turning the Union right, and on the morning of the 12th Hill was marching north towards Amisville, while Ewell was pressing on the Warrenton road, which crosses the river eight miles northwest of Rappahannock Station. Meade, in order to determine the exact location of Lee's army, ordered
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1863
UNION ARMY AGAIN RETREATS.
the Second, Fifth and Sixth corps to recross the river on the morning of the 12th, and advance towards Culpeper. Buford's cavalry covered the front and flanks. It will thus be seen that the two armies were marching almost on parallel lines-but in opposite directions. Buford encountered considerable op- position before he arrived within sight of Culpeper ; he found. of course, that the Confederate infantry was not there, and when he informed Meade, that officer was at a loss to know where his adversary was. By a strange concurrence of events, the Union cavalry, who were opposing Stuart and Hill, were unable to notify Meade of the advance of the Confederates on his right and rear. It was not until ten o'clock in the evening that he learned the true condition of affairs-that the enemy had crossed the river at Sulphur Springs! The line of the Rappahannock, therefore, was lost, and nothing was left for him but to retreat-as Pope did in 1862-to the next best de- fensive position. But Meade had profited by the experience of his predecessors and he determined to fight his battle on the heights of Centreville. The Compte de Paris says : History of the Civil War in America, Vol. III., page 755 :
" This resolution was not worthy of the conqueror of Gettysburg. He ought to have known that his adversary had not more than thirty-six thousand infantry present under arms ; even had he believed him stronger, he should not have allowed himself to be pushed back almost under the guns of Washington without a serious effort to prevent it."
At half-past two in the morning of the 13th reveille turned the men out, and at seven o'clock they were on the march, four companies in advance, the balance of the regiment in rear of the corps wagon train. On arriving at Weaver's Mills, at about two P. M., the regiment was relieved, and ordered to join the brigade. The march was continued till late in the evening, when, upon reaching the vicinity of Bristoe Station, . the command halted for the night. The third corps was at . Greenwich, the Second at Auburn, the Sixth a short distance beyond Kettle Run, while the Fifth was near the First, at Bris- toe. It must be borne in mind that the Confederate infantry was all north and west of the Union army, endeavoring to turn its right flank, but Stuart, with the cavalry, is south and east
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THE NINTHI NEW YORK.
October
and, in his impetuous manner, has been trying to break or pene- trate the Union line of retreat. At night he finds himself, with a portion of his command, hemmed in between the Union forces at Catlett's Station and Auburn. Fortunately for him his precarious position is unknown to the Union generals.
At daylight of the 14th the troops were again put in motion. In order to protect the line of march skirmishers were sent out on both flanks, and Centreville was reached without molestation at about one P. M. During the afternoon a portion of the corps, including Baxter's brigade, was sent forward to the north and west, and line of battle formed north of the Stone Bridge, by which the Warrenton road crosses Bull Run. The Sixth corps occupied the extreme right of the army, and was in position near Chantilly. During the day the Second corps, the rear guard of the Army of the Potomac, in its march from Auburn to Catlett's Station, encountered Stuart's cavalry ; on the march to Bristoe it also had a. sharp engagement with portions of the Confederate infantry, defeating the enemy and capturing some guns and battle-flags. For these two engagements, " Auburn " and "Bristoe" were inscribed on the colors of the regiments of Warren's corps. After dark, Warren, knowing that he had nearly the whole Confederate army upon his left flank, quietly withdrew, and by daylight of the 15th was safe, having formed a junction with the left of the army, on the east side of Bull Run, at Blackburn's Ford. When Lee found the Union army occu- pying such a strong position, he declined to attack.
During the 15th the NixTi, with the brigade, moved to the rear and right, in order to connect with the Sixth corps, and remained in this position until the 19th. While resting, it may be well to note some matters of interest that occurred during the late march.
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