USA > New York > Rensselaer County > Landmarks of Rensselaer county, New York, pt 1 > Part 12
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During its stay in New York the regiment was quartered at Devlin's building on Canal street. May 21 knapsacks, canteen, haversacks and
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THE FIRST TASTE OF BATTLE.
camp equipage were provided, and the next day the command em- barked on the steamer James Adger, which arrived at Fortress Mon- roe May 24. After disembarking the regiment marched that noon to the main land, where tents were pitched and pickets thrown out. This encampment was the first in Virginia outside of Fortress Monroe of volunteer troops in the service of the United States after the com- mencement of the war. The camp was named Camp Troy by Colonel Carr, but it was soon changed to Camp Hamilton by order of General Pierce.
Soon after the arrival of the Troy regiment at Camp Hamilton, five other regiments arrived and camped near by, June 7 companies E and G, of the 2nd Regiment, under Major Bloss, were ordered to pro- ceed by land to Hampton, three miles away, on a reconnoitering espe- dition. The next day a small force was met near New Market Bridge, where one of the Union soldiers was captured. This was followed by a skirmish, when the Union forces retreated to camp.
As soon as it was learned at the fort that a rebel force was so near, the remaining companies of the regiment marched beyond Hampton, two field-pieces being carried by Company F. On the evening of June 9 Company F, in command of Lieutenant Cross, marched to Hampton with the two field pieces. Part of his men were left there with the artillery, and soon after midnight the remainder, twenty-seven in num- ber, took two twelve-pound howitzers and proceeded toward Big Bethel in company with the Third New York Vols. Before it was yet day- break they were met near Little Bethel by the Seventh New York Vols. under Colonel Bendix who, mistaking them for the enemy, opened tire upon them. The fire was returned and a hot tight had just begun when the two bodies recognized each other and a useless slaughter of friends by friends was averted. The forces then united and proceeded toward Big Bethel under command of General Pierce. As they were approaching this place they were fired upon by partially masked rebel artillery. After recovering from their surprise they placed their artil- lery in position and returned the fire. The battle then commenced continued for nearly five hours, from nine o'clock in the morning till nearly two in the afternoon. As soon as this engagement began the remaining companies of the Second Regiment and the First Regi- ment left Camp Hamilton and proceeded toward the scene of action. Lieutenant Greble at once brought into action the piece of artillery brought with the reinforcements, but after it had been fired the third
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time he was struck by a eannon ball and instantly killed. During the engagement but one other man was wounded.
July 6, after examination of the regiment by a medical board, 118 men were reported as discharged and soon afterward were returned home. Many of these were unquestionably in good health and the majority of those relieved of duty re-enlisted. August 5 the regiment broke camp and was taken by water to Camp Butler at Newport News. Lieutenant-Colonel Kenyon and Major Bloss had resigned soon after the battle of Big Bethel, and August ? announcement was made of the appointment of Captain Olmstead of Company B to be lieutenant- colonel and Captain Otis of Company C to be major.
An incident occurred at Camp Hamilton August 15 which for a time threatened the peace of the little military colony. The men had re- eeived no money since the first pay day, June 15, when they had been paid by the State. When the morning of August 15 arrived, therefore, the camp was a scene of disorder, the arms of the regiment having been stacked in the company streets and the men themselves having refused to perform further duty. A score or so of men who were sup- posed to have led the insurrection were at once sent as prisoners to the " Rip-Raps," a fortified prison on a small island at the mouth of the James River. In the afternoon about eighty-five more men who had refused to perform guard duty in the morning were likewise impris- oned. To the men who were left General Phelps explained the duty of the soldier and the rights of the government and gave all till the following morning to make up their minds whether they would be obedient or not. So great was the determination of the men, how- ever, that on the following day 210 still refused to perform the duties to which they were assigned and they, too, were sent as prisoners to the " Rip-Raps." After a week's imprisonment most of the men sent in a request that they might be allowed to return to their regiment. Their request was promptly granted by General John E. Wool, then in command of Fortress Monroe, and August 23 all the prisoners except a dozen or thereabouts, leaders who were held for trial, were taken baek to their regiment.
It having become evident that many more men would be needed to put down the rebellion, August 28 Lieutenant-Colonel Olmstead, ae- companied by a non-commissioned officer, was detailed to return to Troy and recruit the regiment to the maximum strength allowed- 1,046 men. September 23 Captain Arts and an enlisted man were
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THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMAC.
sent to Troy to assist him. As a result of their labors 181 men, besides Doring's band of Troy, consisting of sixteen musicians, enlisted and were sent to the camp. The regiment was still further increased in numbers, at various times, by the transfer thereto of volunteers from other regiments. Still more men being needed Captain William MeConihe, Lieutenant James A. Cross and four enlisted men were de- tailed to go to Albany on recruiting service January 1, 1862, but they succeeded in securing the enlistment of only seventeen men.
After the spring of 1862 this section became the theatre for more stirring and important incidents. Captain John Ericsson of New York had invented and built an entirely novel war-vessel with a single round tower of iron exposed above the waterline. It was called the Monitor. The Confederates, meanwhile, had raised the United States frigate Merrimae, one of the sunken ships at the Norfolk navy yard, and had plated its exposed surface with iron. As soon as this vessel was ready it was dispatched to attack the Union fleet anchored off Fortress Mon- roe. Reaching this point about ten o'clock on the morning of March S she began the work of destruction. Before nightfall the Cumberland and the Congress, two of the most valuable vessels in our navy, were sent to the bottom with a heavy loss of life. After the surrender of the Congress an effort was made to remove the prisoners on her by a small steamer sent out from the Merrimac, but the sharpshooters on shore kept up such a hot fire upon the craft that it was obliged to re- turn without having accomplished its mission. The ironclad again opened fire on the Congress and after setting her afire moved away. Soon after most of the officers and crew of the Congress were taken ashore. The Cumberland, meantime, had gone down with the Union tag flying. During these naval battles a detachment from the Second Regiment under Lieutenant George Gould of Company B was engaged with artillery in trying to assist the federal warships to drive the iron- clad away, but their shots did little or no injury to their antagonist. During the night the Monitor arrived from New York and on the fol- lowing morning the two strange monsters fought each other for five hours-the strangest naval battle that had ever been fought. At the end of the engagement the Merrimac, badly crippled, was obliged to give up the contest and return to Norfolk.
April 24, 1862, was the anniversary of the organization of the 'regi- ment. On this day the regiment, excepting Company F, was stationed near Newport News. The day was celebrated by a full dress parade
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and review by General Mansfieldl and addresses by Quartermaster MacArthur, General Mansfield and Colonel Carr and others. The gains and losses of the regiment were reported to be as follows on the anniversary of the day on which the regiment was mustered into the service of the United States, May 14 :
OFFICERS .- Mustered into the United States service with the regiment May 14, 1861, 37; appointed from civil life, 10; appointed from enlisted men of the regiment, 9; promoted ont of the regiment, 2; resigned, 19; belonging to the regiment May 14, 1862, 35; total 56.
ENLISTED MEN .--- Mustered into the United States service with the regiment May 14, 1861, 742; others enlisted before the regiment left New York State, 60; enlisted Oct. 11, 1861, band in New York State, 16; enlisted by recruiting parties in New York State, 198; enlisted with the regiment in Virginia, 6; transferred from Second Maine, Thirteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-first New York Vols., 180; total, 1, 152. Appointed commissioned officers of regiment, 9; transferred to the Tenth Infantry, First Mounted Rifles, New York Vols., 6; discharged July 6, 1861, result of medical examination, 118; discharged at other times for physical disability caused by disease, 67; discharged by special order, musician, 1 ; discharged for incompetency, 3; dis- charged for refusing to take the oath of allegiance, 9; discharged for crime, and by sentence of court martial, 4; died, accidentally killed, 1; died of disease, 7; deserted before leaving New York State, 39; deserted after reaching Virginia, 13; belonging to regiment May 14, 1862, 875.
One year after the departure of the regiment from Troy, on May 18, 1862, it once more broke camp and embarked at Fortress Monroe for Portsmouth, on the opposite side of the mouth of the James river. Thence it proceeded to the famous battlefield of Fair Oaks. The battle which had been fought here a few days before had left this spot in a sickening condition. The heat, following a rain, was extreme, and the stench from the decomposing bodies of men and horses that had been killed in battle and only half buried was extremely manseat- ing, even to the most hardenal.
The brigade was placed in command of Colonel Carr and the regi- ment in command of Lieutenant-Colonel Olmstead June 12, Brigadier- General Patterson being absent on account of sickness. On the morn- ing of the 16th, the enemy having made an attack on the Union picket line, Companies D and E were sent to reinforce the regiment on duty, and forced the Confederates back without any loss to the Second. June 21, about 6 r. M., the regiment, then occupying a redoubt near the Williamsburg road, was attacked but after a sharp engagement repulsed the rebel forces, losing in the fight oue man killed and six wounded, the only loss occurring during the entire engagement at Fair Oaks.
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On the afternoon of the 30th, just after the regiment had entered a piece of woods to rest and escape from the direct rays of the sun, the sound of fighting was heard near by and orders were given to proceed to the left of General Siekles's Brigade, where Company F, without loss of men, captured Lieutenant-Colonel Marge, four line officers and about 40 men, with their arms and equipments, also a battle flag, all belonging to the Seventeenth Regiment, Virginia Vols. During the night the company captured several more of the enemy, losing one man killed and one officer and two men prisoners.
'The next engagement into which the regiment entered occurred July 1 at Malvern Hill, where it gave splendid support to a body of artillery. Early in the evening, after fighting all day, the enemy made a desperate assault, being repulsed with considerable loss after a hard fight of nearly three hours. Colonel Carr resumed command of the regiment on the 6th, General Patterson having recovered from his sickness.
During the next few days the Brigade was increased by other regi- ments which had been ordered thence, and August 4, at 6 p. M., the Second Regiment proceeded toward Malvern Ilill. After manoen- vring for a position, the intention being to surround and capture the enemy on the hills by storm, everything was about ready for an assault when General Patterson unwisely sounded a bugle call. This alarmed the Confederate camp and the Union forces for the time abandoned the contemplated attack. This was August 5. That evening General Patterson was relieved, Colonel Carr was given command of the Brig- ade and the Second Regiment was placed in charge of Captain Wilson. More skirmishing followed and on the 7th the Confederates were driven from their position on Malvern Hill, the loss of the Second Regiment in the action being one man, taken prisoner.
Exhaustion, disease and accident had thinned the ranks of the Second during this trying campaign of the early summer. It was calculated about July 1 that by these means the effective strength of the regiment had been reduced about 250 men, which, with eleven casualties in the engagements that occurred and ten desertions, left about 400 men who might be depended upon for active service. Consequently Company HI was detailed as division provost guard and Captain Boutelle, Lieu- tenant Harrison and ten enlisted men were detailed as a recruiting party. The latter left at once for Troy and entered upon their duties. October 6 these officers were relieved by Captain Qnackenbush and Lieutenant Dickie, who were recovering from wounds they had re-
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ceived, and returned to their regiment. Of the 80 men who enlisted on this recruiting tour but 36 joined the regiment at the front.
Captain George W. Wilson of Company E, then in command of the regiment, was promoted August 12 to the position of major, made vacant by the resignation of George II. Otis. Three days later Harri- son's Landing was vacated by the Army of the Potomac. The oceupa- tion of this point had been a terrible experience for the army, and the Troy regiment suffered with the rest. The excessive heat, bad water, poor food, constant exposure and lack of rest or recreation, added to the disgusting experiences at Fair Oaks, had rendered many of the men nseless as soldiers, having caused a large number of cases of chronic disease. No less than 108 members of the regiment, who but a short time before had been in perfect health, were transported to hospitals, the majority of them finally being discharged for disability.
About three o'clock in the afternoon, the 27th, the enemy was found near Bristoe Station near the railroad. Colonel Carr was then in con- mand of the brigade. Soon afterward another regiment of the brigade joined the Second, and the enemy opened a brisk fire by both artillery and musketry. In the sharp battle that followed a large number of our men were either killed or wounded. Included among the latter were Captains Quackenbush, Maguire and Perkins, and Lientenants Egolf, Kirker and Temple. Captain Park, who had been placed in temporary command of the Second on account of the prostration of Major Wilson by the heat of the day, seeing that the regiment was un- supported and that it would not be able to maintain its position, ordered a retreat to the edge of the woods in the rear, where the regiment re- mained until the close of the engagement. Roll call that night revealed the fact that ten men in the regiment had been killed, and six officers and forty-nine men wounded.
About It A. M. of the 29th the Second Bull Run battle field was reached while that bloody fight was in progress. Line was formed and at 2 r. M. the brigade was ordered to the front and given a dangerous position to maintain. Regiment after regiment broke and retreated, but the Second maintained its position until the supporting regiment next on its left gave way. Then the enemy were seen both on its left and in its rear and the order to fall back was given, the Second- firing as it retreated in good order The loss during the battle was found to be one killed, three wounded and nine prisoners. Action was renewed about two o'clock on the afternoon of the 30th. At twilight Colonel
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THE WINTER'S CAMPAIGN.
Carr, in response to orders, moved the brigade in retreat towards Cen- treville, where it arrived completely tired out soon after midnight and bivouacked.
September 10 Lieutenant-Colonel Olmstead, having recovered from his long sickness, returned and resumed command. Three days later Colo- nel Joseph B. Carr, on the recommendation of Major-General Hooker, received his commission as brigadier general of the the United States Volunteers. Several other changes among the commanding officers took place about this time. In addition to the promotion of the brave General Carr, he was, on September 24, relieved of the command of Third Brigade and assigned to that of the First Brigade, Second Divis- ion. September 27, Brigadier-General Daniel E. Sickles succeeded General Grover in the command of the Second Division. September 30 Brigadier-General F. E. Patterson assumed his old command, that of the brigade of which the Troy regiment formed a part. October 15 General Carr was assigned to the command of the Second Brigade, formerly General Sickles's command. October 17 Captain Sidney W. Park of Company F, having been appointed colonel of the Second Regiment on the recommendation of General Carr, received his com- mission and assumed command.
On the morning of November 1 orders were received to be ready to move at a moment's notice. The regiment proceeded to near Fairfax Seminary, there joining the rest of the division; thence moving to a point about six miles back of Alexandria. The next day it proceeded past Centreville and Bull Run, and that night bivouacked near Black- burn's Ford. On the 9th, while the regiment was encamped at Manas- sas Junction, Lieutenant Colonel Olmstead was relieved of duty with the Second Regiment and given the command of the One-hundred and Fifteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. On the Ioth announce- ment was made of the promotion of Captain William B. Tibbits of Company G to be major, to succeed Major Wilson resigned.
December 4, while the regiment was encamped on the road between Boscobel and Falmouth, its officers presented to their late commanding colonel, Brigadier General Joseph B. Carr, a fine set of cavalry equip- ment, as a token of their remembrance of him and the high esteem in which he was held. On the morning of the same day the entire Second Division was tendered a reception by General Hooker.
The great battle of Fredericksburg began on the morning of Decem- ber 11. Early on the afternoon of the 13th the Third Brigade followed
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other bodies of men to the support of Franklin's Division, the left wing of the army. Crossing the pontoon bridge the Second Regiment led the brigade to the front of the scene of action, near the first line of battle. The only loss to the Second Regiment during this engagement was four prisoners, all stragglers.
Christmas day brought another surprise to the soldiers, when Briga- dier-General Joseph W. Revere was transferred to the command of the Second Brigade, and Brigadier-General Gershom Mott assumed com- mand of the Third Brigade.
Little of importance transpired after this until April 30, when word was received that the Union forces had succeeded in crossing the Rappahannock above Fredericksburg, at the United States Ford, and had turned the enemy's left. The brigade at once proceeded towards this point, crossing the ford May I and going at once on picket duty. Two days later firing became general and several men in the regiment were either killed or wounded. Captain MeConihe received a severe wound in the breast, and while the regiment was advancing to the front line Colonel Park was shot in the knee, the injury being so great that his leg was amputated at once. Lieutenant-Colonel Olmstead succeeded Colonel Park to the command, and the regiment changed its position and opened fire on the enemy. But ammunition soon became scarce and the brigade was ordered to the rear. While Lieutenant-Colonel Olmstead was looking for ammunition he learned that the brigade had been ordered to return to the United States Ford, and consequently he hastened to rejoin his regiment. It was on this occasion that the good judgment of Brigadier General Carr doubtless saved a great and un- necessary loss of life. Colonel Olmstead's information was correct. The entire division had been ordered back to the ford by General Revere, who had assumed command on the death of General Berry, and the Second Brigade had started to obey; but General Carr, in command of the First Brigade, had refused to recognize the order and had at once communicated the same to General Sickles. The result was that the foolhardy Revere was placed under arrest while General Carr was ordered to take command of the entire division.
When Lieutenant-Colonel Olmstead arrived at the fort he reorgan- ized the regiment and started for the front. Soon after the rebels attacked the left flank, but were repulsed and driven back beyond their breastworks by the Third Brigade, which were held by that body as a shelter. After nearly an hour's continuous fighting in this
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position a heavy body of the Confederates advanced. The Second regiment was kept well under cover until the enemy had reached the right point, when our men opened a severe flanking fire upon them. Many of the enemy were driven within the lines of the brigade and hundreds of men and seven or eight flags were captured. Following this temporary victory a large force of the enemy were massed in front and attacked our lines, which were soon driven back to a second line which had been formed while the Third Brigade had been fighting in front. Before daybreak on the morning of the 8th the regiment jomed in the retreat of the whole army. Fifty men of the Second were killed, injured and taken prisoners in the engagement, as follows: Three enlisted men were killed; three officers were severely wounded and two slightly; two enlisted men were mortally wounded, twelve severely wounded and twenty-six slightly wounded; one enlisted man was wounded and taken prisoner, and one man capable of service was captured.
But little more remains to be told concerning the work of the Sec- ond Regiment. On the morning of May 14 orders were received from General Siekles, in command of the Third Corps, directing that the regiment should start that day for Troy and there be mustered out of the service of the United States. Those who had enlisted for three years, however, were transferred to the Seventieth New York Vols. to serve out the balance of their time. In General Sickles's orders he called attention to the fact that the regiment had shared with Hooker's veteran division " the honors and perils of the campaign before Rich- mond. It served with credit under General Pope in front of Rich- mond, and with increased distinction under General llooker in the recent operations on the Rappahannock. Fair Oaks, Glendale, Mal- vern Hill, Bristoe, Manassas and Chancellorsville should be borne on the regimental colors and ever remembered by the officers and soldiers of the regiment."
The regiment arrived at Jersey City on the afternoon of the 13th, where it was met by a committee of the citizens of Troy, accompanied by Doring's band, and escorted to New York, where it embarked on the steamer Cornelius Vanderbilt for Troy. On the morning of, May 14, about seven o'clock, the troops arrived home, where a rousing demonstration of welcome awaited them. The wharf and the streets were filled with friends of the returning soldiers, including the wives and sweethearts of many of them; and when at eight o'clock the regi-
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ment took up the line of mareh through the principal streets, escorted by the Common Council, the Twenty-fourth Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y., the Fire Department and the Young Men's and Moulders' Associations, the enthusiasm was intense on all sides. The regiment was welcomed home in a speech by Mayor William L. Van Alstyne, to which Lieu- tenant-Colonel Olmstead responded, when the parade was continued until it was dismissed at noon. The arms and accoutrements were deposited in the State armory and the men were dismissed with orders to report May 19, on which date it was announced they would be mus- tered out of the service. But many of the regimental and company records having been lost or destroyed the muster-out rolls were not completed until May 26. On the afternoon of that day the regiment made its final appearance upon the streets of the city, after which, at the armory, Captain C. H. Corning of the Seventeenth Infantry, United States Army, performed the brief service by which the regi- ment, consisting of 36 officers and 437 enlisted men, was mustered ont of the service of the United States. Two days later the regiment pre- sented to the Common Council, for the city, the flag received on the day it left Troy for the front, which flag is now in the State military museum in Albany.
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