USA > New York > History of the Tenth regiment of cavalry New York state volunteers, August, 1861, to August, 1865, pt 1 > Part 25
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Friday, June 24th, opened clear, hot, and dusty. It was to witness the most desperate fighting ever donc by Gregg's gallant Second Division ; the First Divis- ion and Sheridan himself had gone forward to the James River. We moved out about three miles to St. Mary's Church, halted about noon, dismounted, and or- dered to get dinner; had just commenced preparations when the familiar " Boots and saddles" was blown. We marched forward say a half-mile, dismounted and formed line of battle; the Second Brigade was already fighting. Our Regiment was posted along the edge of a piece of woods and partly in it. I with my squadron, Company A, commanded by Lieutenant Perry, and my company, L, was on the left of the Regiment across an old wood-road leading through the strip of wood say three hundred yards wide, the rebs in plain view beyond the wood. They com- menced to advance in earnest about 3 p. M., when Major Avcry ordered mc to take my squadron to support Captain Porter, who, with his squadron, Companies C and G (Company C commanded by Licutenant Hinckley), on the right, was bc- ing hard pressed by greatly superior numbers. When I arrived he had been forced back out of the woods to the edge of the field, where he had hastily thrown up slight works of fence-rails, etc., about two feet high. I soon found this position untenable, and fell back in good order about four o'clock to a new posi- tion about one hundred and fifty yards to the rear behind a fence and ditch ; the fence was placed on top of the earth thrown from the ditch, which formed a good breast work. The rebs kept up a heavy fire from the woods for a few minutes, then out came a cloud of skirmishers, followed by a heavy line of battle ; the skirmish- ers were soon absorbed by the main line ; then with their peculiar yell they charged. We held our fire until they were within fifty fect, then gave them such a terrific
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fire with carbines and revolvers they could not stand it ; they broke and fled pell- mell for the cover of the woods, our, men dropping many of them on the way. They opened fire from the woods again in short order, the shells from our battery in our rear bursting in among them. It was a hot spot for us, the shells from both our own and the reb battery screaming over our heads, and the bullets strik- ing the fence-rails and now and again a man. After some little time they came out of the woods and charged again right up to the fence; but the withering fire our boys gave them compelled them to break for the rear again, notwithstanding the frantic efforts of their officers, who upbraided them with curses. It was of no avail ; they kept on to the cover of the woods again. There must have been more dead and helplessly wounded lying on the ground in our front than there were in our whole battalion. Their charging line I calculated was at least fifteen hundred men. A continuous fire was kept up, they at our heads and we at the smoke in the edge of the woods. " Fire low !" was the order constantly given to our men. We were getting short of ammunition, so I sent back for more. None coming, it looked as if we could not hold our position much longer ; in fact, it did not seem possible that any one could get up to us from the rear, as they would ' have to come over an open field a quarter of a mile down a slight incline, in full view of the enemy's lines. Sergeant L. P. Norton, of my Company L, came to me for more ammunition for his part of the line. I stated the case to him that I did not think any one could get to us alive. He said, "Captain, I know it's risky, but I'll chance it." He soon returned with a supply and distributed it along the line safely. He had a narrow escape ; a bullet spoiled his hat (he has the same hat yet), one went through his coat-sleeve and coat between his side and arm ; three or four other bullet-holes through his clothing, and one through his canteen. The rebels tried their best to kill him, for they could see him with the box, and knew just what he was bringing up.
Sergeant Harlan P. Thompson, of Company A, whom I had posted on my extreme left in an important and exposed position, being just at this time shot down severely wounded, I immediately rewarded Sergeant Norton for his gal- lantry by posting him in Sergeant Thompson's place. By the conformation of the ground it was necessary for a man to stand up behind a gate-post on the left, in order to see the rest of the regimental line. About six o'clock Sergeant Norton reported the Regiment falling back, exposing my left, and I noticed the Regiment on my right falling back closely pursued. At the same time the rebels were advancing with three lines to the charge again. We gave them a volley, as they reached the fence, right in their faces. I then ordered my men to get back as fast as they could, and I set the example (I will state that no one passed me the first three hun- dred yards or so to the top of the rise, where we came to another strip of wood and a log-house). Colonel Huey. Eighth Pennsylvania, was posted there with a few men behind some rails and logs. He ordered me to halt my men and form with him, saying, "we could hold the enemy." I called his attention to a column passing his right. He said they were our men. I told him they were rebs, and that he was flanked on his left, too. I took my men back. It was the last I saw of Colonel Huey. He and his men were captured in less than five minutes. The country was partly wooded and partly open. The rebs ran their battery right on their skirmish-line. As Lieutenant Perry, commanding Company A, and I were hurrying along together, still on foot (our led horses had been sent back out of
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sight) a cannon-ball took off a man's head a few feet ahead of us. He jumped up about four feet and fell near us. I said to Lieutenant Perry, " Walt., go through his pockets." He replied, "I ain't got time." Some distance farther on we came to a line the staff-officers had formed. We passed through this, say half a mile or so, then formed another line. Soon the line we had passed came running through us ; and so the retreat was kept up, running and fighting, till after dark, a distance of about six miles, when the Johnnies stopped chasing us. Our men were com- pletely exhausted and lay down on the ground near the Charles City Court-House as fast as they came in. Some died from heat and over-exertion during the night. I myself was doctored nearly all night. We realized for the first time how it felt to get a good sound thrashing and then be chased for our lives, somewhat as we had served the rebs at Trevillian Station two weeks before. The division lost heavily in killed and wounded, among the number Colonel J. Irvin Gregg, com- manding Second Brigade, wounded; Colonel Covode, Fourth Pennsylvania, killed ; Captain Phillips, division staff, leg shot off (died); Colonel Huey, Eighth Penn- sylvania, taken prisoner. In our regiment, Captain Page, Company M, killed; Cap- tain Porter, Company G, captured; Hospital Steward John E. Cowles, wounded in hand; Sergeant Harlan P. Thompson, Company A, severely wounded; Cor- poral C. II. Horner, Company L, severely wounded and prisoner (died); Private James M. Bacon, Company L, wounded by grape-shot. Sheridan with the First Division came up during the night. The next morning we marched unmolested to Wilcox's Landing, on the James River. Captain B. B. Porter, of Company G, who commanded the First Squadron in the fight and was captured in the final charge, is with me while I am writing this, and says that the rebel officers told him that Sheridan had sent orders to Gregg to fall back at one o'clock, before the fight commenced, but that they had captured the bearer, thus finding out that Gregg was alone with his two brigades. The request forwarded by General Gregg to General Sheridan for orders was also captured, so they, having eight brigades, told Captain Porter they intended to capture General Gregg and his whole com- mand. Instead of capturing us, they only succeeded in forcing us back after a terrific battle lasting about five hours and only captured eleven officers and one hundred and seven men besides our severely wounded. Their wounded, Captain Porter informs me, was greater in number than the whole of our two brigades opposed to them. He says one of our shells struck down eight men near him, killing four of them instantly.
Hon. E. M. Tuton, formerly of Company E, gives the following graphic description of this battle :
On the night of the 23d of June, 1864, our brigade camped at or near Balti- more Cross-roads, on the road from White House over to the James River, my squadron, Companies E and K, doing picket duty at or near the cross-roads and vicinity : some of the men of our picket reserve while coming from a house in the rear with water, in the dusk of the evening, being captured by the enemy, who were in our rear and inside of our pickets. Sergeant Morse, of Company K, while returning, and within a few rods of the reserve, was met by a Johnny, who poked a carbine within a foot of his face, demanding an unconditional surrender. Morse not being ready to comply with his request, leaned over on his horse's neck, out of
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1864
range of the Johnny's firelock, put spurs to his steed with a vicious dig, and soon. landed in the reserve in a somewhat excited state of mind.
We soon had no reserve, as every .man was pot-hunting for a Johnny in the brush, but without success. However, they were unable to take their prisoners with them, they coming in one by one in the bright light of the morning, minus arms, clothing, money, watches, etc., which they were forced to contribute to the pro- motion of the Confederate cause. Few of our pickets or reserves got any sleep that night.
About 8 A. M. on the morning of the 24th we pulled out, and after some three or four hours' marching in a southerly direction we turned to the right and marched west perhaps a couple of miles, some of the boys claiming we had flanked the Johnnies and were going right into Richmond by the side-door. The Regiment was here halted and turned to the left into an open field. The Johnnies had just left their fires, which were still burning, some of their cooking utensils being scattered about in dire confusion.
Companies F, M, G, and H were dismounted and sent down into the woods in our front as skirmishers, while our squadron did mounted skirmish duty in the open field. This field was flanked on the left by a dense strip of woods, while the left of our line of mounted skirmishers were close up to the woods, and we could distinctly hear the Johnnies knocking about in the brush, getting ready to make some of us fit subjects for a funeral. Lieutenant Van Tuyl rode down to our left to investigate and see how many there were of them, and while peering into the woods one of them fired at him at point-blank range, fortunately not hitting him. We then received peremptory orders to dismount and drive them out, which we did without any loss to us, and, so far as I could see, none to them.
After clearing this strip of woods we were ordered down to the front line, and on arriving at the edge of the wood at the lower end of the field were halted and ordered to tear down the rail fence and build temporary breastworks, which we did, they serving as a protection from the bullets of the enemy as they advanced on our front through the woods an hour later.
We were on the extreme left of our line, the fence spoken of extending into the woods on our left flank, and, to use a military expression, our left flank was in the air. my company being in the corner of the field, with woods to our front, left, and left rear. About 3 P. M. a spattering fire commenced down on the right and ran along up our line to our front, where could be seen the Johnnies dodging from tree to tree and advancing upon us. By this time the rattle of our carbines and the yells of the rebs as they came for us extended to our right for a quarter of a mile or more. But in our immediate front they did not get nearer than five or six rods of us, we driving them back by the fire of our revolvers after giving them all we had in our carbines.
After the demonstration on the part of the Johnnies they fell back out of the range of our fire, and there was a lull in the firing along our line, except now and then an occasional shot from them at some of our boys who ventured out in front to inventory the number of killed and wounded of the rebels. We spent about half an hour in this manner, adding to the strength of our line and discussing the situation, when on our right was heard the " Ili-yi-yi" of the robs as they again advanced upon us, and it did seem as though we could not stop them, they coming up within twenty feet of where we lay behind the rails. But, the reception they
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HON. E. M. TUTON, 1890.
E. M. TUTON, RECRUIT, 1863.
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GRAPHIC ACCOUNT BY HON. E. M. TUTON.
met with being warmer than they anticipated (our boys being all at home), they left without as much as saying good-by. During that little fracas the writer of this was struck by a minie-ball in the left breast and knocked out of the fight for some five minutes, and the query was where it had gone, the hole where it entered being about one inch to the left of the buttons over the breast. But there was no time for further investigation. I still lived, and things were getting lively- the rebs were coming again, and to our surprise bayonets were in our front, and, while we worked our carbines and revolvers for all there was in them, we could not stop their onward course. My carbine got so hot that it went off as I drew the lever-block up to its place in the breech. On casting my eye along the fence that extended through the woods to our left, I was almost paralyzed to see about a dozen rebs on our left, and on our side of the fence, some four or five rods away, while as far as I could see along the fence to our left in the woods they were com- ing over like so many sheep. Discharging my carbine at random in the crowd, and yelling to our boys to "get out of this," I started in a diagonal course back across the clearing at a pace none of our boys equaled, followed by a shower of bullets that just made my hair stand on end. I had got back to our right and rear somne six or eight rods, in the open field, near to a second growth of pine- trees, when an officer galloped toward us as if intent on checking the break in our line, which was now fast giving way. As he came under the pine-tree, his horse being on a stiff run, a shell from a reb battery struck the top of the tree, exploded, and down went horse and rider, torn to pieces by that shell, killing the horse and taking off the leg of the officer, who died before they got him from the field. Ile proved to be Captain Phillips, First Maine Cavalry. I saw an orderly carrying Captain Phillips's leg as we left the field some time afterward.
All along our front the line was crumbling away, soldiers falling back, assist- ing their wounded comrades to places of safety ; officers and orderlies dashing hither and yon, swearing, cheering, striving to make the men stand up and face that terrible front and flank fire. But back we went to the brow of the ridge on . which our artillery was posted-four or six pieces, I can not now tell which. But the way those artillery boys fed it to the rebs coming up on their left flank in the field and woods was terrific. The guns were discharged as fast as a man could count, double-shotted with canister, at a range not to exceed two hundred yards in the farthest place, the muzzles of the pieces depressed so that the case-shot struck the ground or trees in front of the advancing line, causing the timber and brush to bend and reel as though struck by a cyclone. The shrieks of the rebels when struck, followed by the cheers of our men who witnessed the work of those guns, rose above the din and roar of the artillery, and to us, who were striving so hard to live to fight another day, it was indeed cheering. I stood there a mo- ment while the air was full of bullets, unconscious of danger, watching those artillerymen do their work. And they did it in grand style, while horses, riders, and gunners went down under that terrible concentration of fire that was turned upon that battery; but they could not maintain their position. Some forty or fifty of us. under the leadership of an officer I did not know, protected the left flank of the battery by lying down behind a garden fence and keeping the rebs back on the other side of the garden until the battery limbered up and dashed to the rear down the incline out of range. We also limbered to the rear ; and had we not done so, the chances are we would have been there yet. So back we went-
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troopers looking for their horses, pack-mules braying for water, shells dropping here and there, coming where from no one seemed to know-back to the field hospital, where it was a scramble to get such of our wounded as could be moved upon horses back out of danger. It was here that I assisted comrade Daniels, of Company G, to mount a horse, he having been severely wounded in the hip, and his brother succeeded in getting him safely from the field. Near here we overtook our horses making to the rear in charge of our No. 4's men, and, mounting my charger, I felt that Richard was himself again.
Still back we went. The sun had set and dusk was falling fast. About eight or nine o'clock that night some ten or fifteen of us went into an oat-field, and, tying my horse to a rail I had taken from a fence, I lay down, with the rail for a pillow, utterly exhausted, where I remained unconscious of the surroundings until carly daybreak the next morning, when I was aroused by a perfect babel of shouts, calling to the members of various regiments who were just coming in : " Tenth New York, this way; Sixth Ohio, over there ; First Maine, here; First Massachusetts, yonder ; First Jersey, other side," and so on down until nearly every regiment in the division was named and its location pointed out.
After partaking of some hot coffee and hard-tack, supplemented with a smoke of some Old Virginia leaf, I began to feel the sense of demoralization passing away, and set about taking an account of stock. I still possessed my horse, arms, and accoutrements, and in addition I found the ball that struck me the day be- fore. On entering the service I took with me two old-fashioned daguerreotypes in cases, the picture of one on glass, the other on sheet-iron. For safe keeping I had wrapped them in two folds of the cloth of an army overcoat, securely tied with strong twine, and carried them in the inside pocket of my cavalry jacket. The ball having struck just over them, going through cloth, cases, and glass, im- bedded itself in the sheet-iron of the inside picture. At this day I consider it the best investment I ever made in life insurance, and am the proud possessor of that ball and the remains of those pictures. I have no record of the losses of our regi- ment, but they were heavy, among the killed being Captain Page, of Company M. As we fell back from our first line, which we did in confusion, I noticed an officer of the First Maine Cavalry cheering and encouraging his men, and right well did they respond. While only a private, and a young one at that, yet I knew a Buck- eye man from a Pine-tree fellow, also the difference between a P. V. and a Ny Yarker."
Lieutenant James Matthews, of Company M, writing of the St. Mary's fight, says :
I was detailed to take charge of the horses that day, as I had a boil on one of my eyes, which nearly made me blind. The men fought dismounted. We were attacked by a large force of cavalry and infantry, and were badly routed. The shells flew thick and fast, and so did the men. It was "every man for himself and the devil take the hindermost." One of General Gregg's aides told me to mount every man I saw, regardless of regiment " or previous condition." It was an extremely busy night. The tide set in for Charles City Court-House, without the least semblance of order. When we arrived at the Court-House it was burn- ing, and a babel of voices were calling for this regiment and that. They stum-
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ACCOUNT BY LIEUTENANT DAVID PLETCHER.
bled and rode about, searching for lost comrades and companies. Notwithstand- ing the confusion, some little headway was made, so that early in the morning I had quite a squad of Tenth boys gathered together, but hardly a man was astride the horse that belonged to him. They appropriated everything found in the haversacks or overcoats. It was amusing to hear the expressions made by the real owners when they found their horses, later on, minus sundry personal arti- cles.
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We got pretty well straightened out the next day. Colonel Avery was out till late. It was thought that he was killed or captured, but he and Captain Weir finally came in together. I was greatly disheartened the night of the 24th, think- ing the entire regiment was killed or captured. Captain Page and private Phil- lips, of my company, were killed in the early part of the fight.
Lieutenant (afterward Captain) David Pletcher describes the battle in these words :
On the return of General Sheridan with his command from Trevillian Station to White House Landing, he found that the rebel cavalry, which had been moving almost parallel with him on his right flank, had reached that point in advance of him, and from the hills, about a mile away on the Richmond road, were shelling the large wagon-train which was parked about the landing and the one regiment of infantry left there to guard the place. A gunboat, which was lying in the York River came to the rescue, and by a few well-directed shots from one of her guns- one of which played sad havoc with the enemy's artillery, blowing up a caisson and killing several horses-held the enemy back, while the frightened and almost panic- stricken train-men crossed the river on a dilapidated old bridge. Several mule- teams with their wagons became unmanageable on the bridge and went off into the river. General Sheridan, on learning of the situation at the landing, ordered Gregg's division forward. Reaching a point opposite the landing, after crossing, we camped for the day in the woods. When darkness came, Davies's brigade was taken across the river on the old bridge, the men breaking step on account of weakness of the bridge. On reaching the south side the command was formed in line of battle, a short distance out from the landing, where we hurriedly threw up breastworks in anticipation of a night attack; but none was made, and we rested quietly on our arms until morning. After resting at the landing for a day or two, General Sheridan started with the command and the large wagon-train for the James River. The First Division accompanied the train, while Gregg's division moved out on the Richmond road to guard the right flank. Reaching a point near St. Mary's Church, General Davies's brigade came upon the enemy on a road leading from Charles City Cross-roads toward Richmond. The fight was soon on, and the Tenth New York got the familiar order, " Prepare to fight on foot," and went into position on the left of the road, the right resting on the road in the woods with a small stream in its front. Colonel Avery detailed me as aide to him on this occasion, and instructed me to help form the line and then report the situation to him at once, saying he would send my horse down to the edge of the woods for me. While forming the line in the woods along the stream, Anthony Astil, of Company F, was hit by a minie-ball in his right knee, causing a wound which necessitated the amputation of his leg, and from which he died in a few days. I sent him back to the ambulance on my horse, which was at the skirts of the woods, and reported
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to the Colonel on foot. There was a rail-fence near our line, and by direction of Colonel Avery I had the Pioneer Corps throw the fence into piles, so as to form a sort of breastwork on which the Regiment could rally in case they were forced to retreat. The battery went into position on a knoll a short distance in the rear of the line and to the right of the road. The First New Jersey Cavalry was just going into position on our left, when the rebs succeeded in pushing their line forward across the stream, and turned Captain Page's flank, he being the officer in command of the left, thus enabling them to sweep the left of our line, which they did with telling effect. Harris Daniels, of Company K, was shot through the groin at this point. The fighting was hard along the whole line, and, from the reb yell that went up as they pressed our lines, it was plainly to be seen that we were not only outnumbered but outflanked on either side. The Regiment was forced back out of the woods as were the troops to the right of the road. Captain Sceva and myself rallied the squadrons of the left of the Regiment at the rail-piles, and fought the advancing rebs hand to hand, they coming over and into our temporary works with club muskets. The onslaught of the enemy was so heavy that we could hold out but a few minutes, and were forced to retreat, leav-
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