USA > New York > Memories of the 149th Regt. N. Y. Vol. Inft., 3d Brig., 2 Div., 12th and 20th A. C > Part 25
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Feb. 11. Pheasant and cold : remained in camp : a large detail was made to build a corduroy road in the swamp near the river, the men car- ried rails for the purpose half a mile on their shoulders : foragers came in to-day with plenty of fresh pork, flour and sweet potatoes ; the men found a quantity of ham in an old well near camp.
Sunday, Feb. 12. Pleasant ; broke camp at & A. M., 3d Brigade in rear, with wagon train : the head of the 2d Division arrived at Jeff- coter's Bridge on North Edisto River at noon, and found the enemy's cavalry occupying the north bank, supported by two or three pieces of artillery ; the enemy tired a few shells, killing six men and wounding the Colonel of the Esth Penn. V. V. : the 3d Brigade went into camp on the south side of the river at 5 p.M. : day's march $ miles.
Feb. 13. Pleasant but cold : broke camp at 5 A.M., our skirmish- ers, consisting of the 60th N. Y., in advance, and exchanged shots with the enemy, who showed a thin line in opposition : after advancing half a mile beyond the river, the Bd Brigade halted, while the balance of the corps, with the wagon train, crossed the river on a bridge constructed during the night by the pioneers; at ? A.M. the 3d Brigade fell in and marched 5 miles, joined the division, and camped at 9 o'clock P.M. : day's march 5 miles.
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Feb. 14. Cloudy, and rained and froze at night ; marched at day- light, and bivouacked at 3 p.M. at the crossing of the Lexington and Or- angeburg with the Augusta and Columbia Railroad ; day's march 6} miles : 149th detailed for picket, and had a hard rainy night of it.
Feb. 15. Cloudy and rainy ; broke camp at ? A.M .. and marched until noon to a valuable bridge just destroyed by the enemy ; bridge restored in an hour by the pioneers while the men ate dinner : after noon marched to Two Notch Road, and went into camp two miles from Lex- ington ; a few minutes after entering camp the 3d Brigade and a bat- tery were detailed to occupy Lexington : in support of the 13 th, who were thrown forward as skirmishers, the brigade entered town, driving a considerable force of the enemy's cavalry before it : created barricades guarding the approaches and remained in town during the night, pro- texting private property and the rights of the people, while the boys lived high : day - march 12 miles.
Feb. 16. Pleasant : broke camp at f A.M., relieved by members of the 14th Corps, and joined the division where it was left the night be- fore : after dinner marched on the Columbia road, and camped at 4 P.M. within four miles of the Congaree River, and within five miles of Co- lumbia : day's march & miles.
Feb. 17. Pleasant but windy ; broke camp at 9 A.M .. and after marching about one mile in the direction of Columbia. turned to the left and moved west of the city, and camped at 4 P. M. at Zion's Church ; the 15th Corps entered Columbia in the afternoon, and were the only troops that did so : day's march 3 miles.
Feb. 18. Pleasant : marched at 9 A.M .. the 3d Brigade in charge of the wagon train ; crossed the Saluda River on pontoons during the forenoon, and camped at night at Faust's Mills on Bush Creek : day's march 9 miles.
Sunday, Feb. 19. Pleasant ; remained in bivouac until 2 P. M., and then moved as train guard. repairing roads through a swamp and assisting the wagons through : camped at Freeling's Ferry on Broad River at 10 r.M. : day's march 5 miles.
Feb, 20. Pleasant : broke camp at 11 A.M., crossed Broad and Lit- the River- on pontoons ; marched towards Win-boro, and Fivouacked for the night on Owen's farm, at Kincaide's Cross Roads ; day's march 9 miles : a large detail of foragers, sent out in the morning, came in with all they could carry : boys lived high.
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Feb. 21. Pleasant : marched at 6 A. M., and entered Winsboro at 11 A.M. : moved about two miles and tore up and destroyed two miles of the Columbia and Charlotte Railroad : at dark returned to town and camped for the night : day's march BB miles.
Feb. 22. Pleasant : returned to railroad and destroyed three miles more of track, burned the ties and twisted the rails, making tive miles in all, to Adger - Station : at 3.80 p. M. marched up the railroad to White Oak Station, turned to the right and camped at 9 p. M. at Waterre Church : day's march 15 miles.
Feb. 23. Cloudy and rained hard at night : broke camp at 6.30 A. M. B Brigade in charge of the wagon train ; marched 11 miles to Waterce, or Catan ba River, and crossed on pontoonsat Rocky Mount : the approaches were very bad, and fourteen men helped each wagon up the steep hill on the further side ; the men had a disagreeable time in the mud and rain, and camped three miles from the river at midnight ; day's march 12 miles : after the crossing of the 20th Corps, the pontoons Were
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.swept away by high water and food-wood, leaving the 14th Corps on the right bank of the stream, causing a delay of two or three days to the left wing.
Feb. 24. Rained hard all day and night : broke camp at 9. A.M. : marched 3 miles in the forenoon, ? in the afternoon, and camped at + P.M., on Hillard's farm : day's march 5 miles.
Feb. 25. Rainy; on account of the weather, the order to march was countermanded and the troops remained in camp.
Sunday, Feb. 26. Cloudy but pleasant ; broke camp at 9 A.M .. the 3d Brigade as wagon guard : roads bad and muddy, especially dur- ing forenoon : reached camp at Hanging Rock after dark : day's march 6 miles.
Feb. 27. Pleasant in forenoon, but rained at night; broke camp at 2 p.M., and moved across Hanging Rock Creek and camped ; day's march 3 miles.
Feb. 28. Rainy : broke camp at 6.30 A.M., 3d Brigado second in line : roads very bad, had to corduroy most of the way ; after reaching Little Lynch's Creek, the 3d Brigade returned 3 miles to assist the wagon train through and repair roads ; crossed Little Lynch's Creek at noon, and bivouacked for the night near Claybourn's Store at 3 P.M. : day's march 9 miles : made a memoranda muster : the 119th was detailed for picket duty.
March 1. Rainy : broke camp at 12 M., crossed Big Buffalo and Big Lynch's Creeks, the latter at Miller's Bridge, at dark : camped at 9 P.M. on Breemer's farm ; day's march 12 miles : the crossing of Lynch's Creek was by means of an ordinary bridge : the circumstance was so unusual it occasioned much comment ; the men said the enemy had for- gotten to burn it.
March 2. Cloudy and showery ; the 3d Brigade was detailed as wagon guard ; broke camp at 9 o'clock A.M., and marched to Big Black Creek, and camped at 4 P.M. ; day's march 7 miles ; the 1st and 3d Di. visions had to build a bridge over the ercek, which caused a short de- lay ; the foragers did not come in, so the men had short rations and lived on corn.
March 3. Lowery : the 3d Brigade wagon guard, and broke camp at 9 A.M. ; crossed Big Black Creek ; roads very bad and muddy, and the men built corduroy and assisted the wagons all day ; camped at 11 P.M .. near Chesterfield C. H. ; day's march 14 miles.
March 4. Rainy: broke camp at 7 M.M., the 149th in advance of .the division ; marched most of the day along the State line between North and South Carolina : roads very bad, and much work was done in corduroying it ; two grist mills were taken possession of, and a large quantity of corn ground for the use of the brigade : camped at 5 P.M. near Sneedsboro. 3 miles from the Pedee River : day's march 10 miles.
Sunday, March 5. Pleasant ; remained in camp during the day. while the 14th Corps went to the front and laid pontoons over the river at Sneedsboro: the 149th was detailed for pioneer duty. and worked part of the day in building a corduroy road : another grist-mill was taken possession of and run during the day for the benefit of the division.
March 6. Pleasant : broke camp at 9 o'clock v.M .. and marched down the river about 10 miles to Cheraw, which had been taken by the 17th Corps ; a large amount of artillery, ammunition, cars, public and private property was found in the city, which had been sent up from Charleston for safe keeping ; the & Brigade remained in town for sex-
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eral hours, while the wagon train was crossing the river on pontoons :. after dark the brigade erossed, and went into camp after midnight 5. miles from Cheraw ; the roads were very bad ; day's march 15 miles.
March 7. Pleasant ; broke camp at 6.30 A.M., and about noon crossed the State line into North Carolina, at 106 Miles Station on Rock- ingham and Wilmington Railroad; went into camp at 1 r.M. ; day's march 13 miles; passed two turpentine distilleries on fire, the smoke forming an arch over the moving column as it passed.
March S. Rained hard all day ; broke camp at noon, 2d Division in rear : atter marching about two miles, halted, built roads, and as- sisted the wagons in getting through the mud ; reached camp at & P.M. ; day's march ? miles: 149th detailed for picket.
March 9. Rained hard in the afternoon ; broke camp at ? A.M., 2d Division in rear : soon after starting, the column was joined by a large pontoon train from the 14th Corps, the 3d Brigade was detailed to guard and assist it through the mud ; built corduroy road all day, and reached camp at & p.M. in a hard rain storm ; day's march 8 miles ; crossed Hill Creek during the day.
March 10. Lowery ; broke camp at S A.M., crossed Buffalo Creek. Lumber River, and a large swamp which the rain had overflowed : roads very bad and marching heavy ; camped at ? p.M. ; day's march ; miles.
March 11. Pleasant ; broke camp at 6.30 A.M .. the 149th leading the division : overtook the 1st Division about 11 o'clock A. M., at Rock Fish Creek : the 2d Division was then assigned to guard the corps wagon train, five hundred in number : crossed Young Beaver Dam, Rock Fish, Cat Tail, Beaver, Black Branch and Puppy Creeks, and camped at 9 P.M .: day's march 15 miles ; the 149th detailed for picket.
Sunday, March 12. Pleasant : broke camp at 11 A.M., and ar- rived withm two miles of Fayetteville at sundown ; the 14th Corps had captured the town in the morning, and a gunboat arrived from Wil- mington at noon : the command halted by the roadside, and ten minutes were given to write messages home, the first in six weeks, to be sent on the gunboat : camped after dark : day's march 14 miles.
March 13. Pleasant ; broke camp at 1 p. M., and passed in review before Gen. Sherman at Fayetteville ; crossed Cape Fear River on pon- toons, the enemy having destroyed the ordinary bridges, and camped three miles east of Fayetteville at 4 r.M. : day's march 5 miles.
March 14. Pleasant : remained in camp during the day ; an officer of the 20th Penn. was killed while foraging ; the white and black refu- gees, which had followed the different commands, were sent off to-day overland under escort to Wilmington.
March 15. Lowery and occasional thunder showers ; broke camp at & a.M., the ed Division in advance ; moved up the plank road leading to Raleigh three miles and turned to the right on a road leading to Black River, taking charge of the corps wagon train, while the Ist and 3d Di- visions proceeded northeris on the plank ; it rained hard during the af- ternoon, the roads were very bad and had to be corduroved most of the way ; at 4 o'clock the command went into camp three miles from Black River, while a small detachment was sent forward to secure a crossing : this detachment was afterwards increased by four regiments from the 3d Brigade, leaving the 13 th and 149th with the wagon train ; day's march 10 miles.
March 16. Rainy : the 18 thand 149th were assigned to duty with Gen. Pardee, commanding the 1st Brigade ; broke camp at & oclock
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A.M., and moved east to the river, mending roads and assisting the wag- ons on the way ; a detachment of the enemy's cavalry was driven away from the further side of the river by the 60th N. Y., while a detachment of Michigan engineers constructed a bridge, on which the command. with the waron train, made a successful crossing at a place known as Graham's Bridge ; rained hard during the afternoon ; camped on Jack- son's farm, near the 15th Corps, at 5 o'clock P.M. ; day's march & miles. Peach and apple blossoms were seen for the first time during the day : intelligence was received at night of the battle of Avery-boro between the enemy and a portion of the 14th and the Ist and 3d Divisions of the 20th Corps.
March 17. Remained in camp during the day ; the ambulances and empty wagons weresent off, under escort of the ad Brigade foragers, to convey the wounded of the 1st and 3d Divisions to Fayetteville : the 102d was sent out for forage and subsistence and returned with poor success.
March 18. Pleasant : broke camp at 12 M .. and moved in charge of the wagon train : crossed Little Coharrie Creek ; the roads were very bad : the head of the column arrived in camp at 10 p.M. and the rear at 4 A.M. of the 19th : day's march & miles.
Sunday, March 19. Pleasant ; broke camp at sunrise and marched in charge of wagon train ; at noon heard heavy cannonading to the left in the direction of Bentonville : at 4 o'clock the train was left in charge of the 2d and 3d Brigades, and the Ist Brigade was ordered to join the corps at Bentonville : the head of the command went into camp at 5 p.M. and the rear at midnight ; the 149th was detailed for picket duty ; day's march & miles.
March 20. Pleasant : at 1 a. M. the 149th was relieved from picket duty and, with the 3d Brigade, directed to report at Bentonville : ar- rived at destination and joined the corps at 6.30 v.M. ; remained in sup- port of the 3d Division on Harper's farm during the day ; day's march a miles.
March 21. Rainy : in the afternoon the 19th was detailed as train guard, carrying the wanted to division hospital near Goldsboro ; after marching about 15 miles, overtook the ed Brigade with the corps wagon trains ; rained hard during the afternoon : the roads were very bad and rough, and the wounded suffered very much. many being carried in the ordinary baggage wagon ; camped at midnight at Falling Creek ; day's - march 18 miles: part of the wagons crossed the creek at night and the balance in the morning
March 22. Pleasant : 149th relieved from duty with the wagon train and started to join the brigade : marched three miles in the dirce- tion of Cox's Mills learned that the corps was on its way to Goldsboro. so the regiment returned to the morning's bivouac and camped at 5 A.M .: three miles in advance of the corps ; day's march 6 miles.
March 23. Pheasant and warm : broke camp at & v.M. and joined the brigade and division ; crossed the Neuse River at Cox's Bridge on pontoons, and camped at 4 P.M., near Beaver Dam Creek ; day's march S miles.
March 24. Pleasant : broke camp at S.A. M. and marched unen- cumbered through Goldsboro, the command passing in column by com- panies, and was reviewed by Gen. Sherman : marched north of Golds. boro, near the Weldon Railroad, and camped for the night : day's march & miles.
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COLONEL NICHOLAS GRUMBACH
CHAPTER XXX.
SURRENDER, GRAND REVIEW AND HOME.
Ox Monday, the loth day of April, 1865, this regiment broke camp at six o'clock in the morning, and after joining the division. moved south to Goklsboro. At the latter place the 20th Corps, the Ist Division leading followed by the 24, moved west along a road running just north of the WHAT WAS LEFT AT GOLD-BORD. Neuse Riverto Smithfield, at which place the enemy was supposed to be. The 20th was followed by the esd, while the 14th pursued a route further north along the line of the railroad, and the 15th and 17th, after moving a few miles north in the direction of Nahauta, also took a road leading westerly in the general direction of the position sup- posed to be occupied by Johnston's forces.
The departure of the regiment from Goldsboro was slightly delayed by being detailed as ordnance train guard. The day was disagreeable and opened with a drizzling rain which in- creased to a fierce storm before night, yet the hearts of the men were light and happy in the belief that the Army of the Potomac was in hot pur-uit of Lee's disorganized and retreat- ing forces, known to have evacuated Richmond, and in look- ing forward to a speedy termination of the war.
A small detachment of the enemy's cavalry, encountered by the advance at a small steam known as Beaver Creek, was
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quickly disposed of with slight loss; but at Moccasin Creek the whole force of the enemy on that road, consisting of a regiment of cavalry, was found strongly posted with flanks protected by alnost impassable swamps, the road in front built on a narrow causeway, easily defended, and the bridge over the stream partially destroyed. The enemy exhibited pluck and made a spirited opposition, yet soon gave way to the matchless valor of the men of the Ist Division, who forced a passage and camped on the other side of the creek that night. Owing to the darkness and rain the ed Division went into. camp on the eastern side of Moccasin Creek .at ten o'clock in the evening, having made a distance of ten miles during the day.
At six o'clock Tuesday morning the regiment, having been relieved as train guard, joined the brigade, crossed Moccasin Creek, and soon afterwards another stream known as Borden Creek, and arrived at Smithfield at about two o'clock in the afternoon, having made a very trying and laborious march of fourteen miles in a hot and sultry atmosphere, fearfully taxing the endurance of the men and causing several cases of sun- stroke. It was found that Johnston had retired from Smith- field in the direction of Raleigh, burning the bridges over the Neuse River behind him. This occasioned a delay in bringing forward and placing pontoons for a crossing. The 14th Corps was about two hours in advance of the 20th in occupying Smithfield, and were reported to have encountered a consider- able force of the enemy, who made a desperate defense, tight- ing stubbornly in the streets, and erecting barricades, but whose opposition did more to frighten the women and children in the place than to delay the sturdy men of the old 14th Corps. who pressed steadily forward and soon occupied the town.
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Smithfield is an ancient city, but at this time was neither wealthy nor beautiful. Its most conspicuous buildings were the court-house and jail which stood in the public square in the center of the town ; but the most curious thing found, and which most attracted the attention of the soldiers, was the
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public stocks standing at the side of the jail in the public square. Before leaving, Uncle Sam's soldiers destroyed this relie of barbarism and burned the fragments in the streets.
The Neuse River winds along the edge of the city, and at this time its steep banks were covered with flowering shrubs clothed in the fresh livery of Spring. The inhabitants of Smith- field, evidently looking forward to a speedy termination of the war, were more than usnally outspoken in their political senti- ments, and not a few expressed themselves as gratified at the prospect of a speedy restoration of the Union. The cordiality of the ladies towards the Union soldiers, however, depended largely on their relations with the Confederate Army.
Smithfield will always be remembered by the members of this regiment as the place of receiving the welcome news of the surrender of Lee to Gen. Grant. The division had just formed in line to resume the march, on the morning of the 12th, when a courier having delivered a dispatch to Gen. Geary, he immediately brought his command together and imparted the glad news. After the formal announcement the General made a neat speech, which was received with cheers and many demonstrations of joy. The following is the official dispatch of Gen. Sherman to his command :
"The General commanding announces to the army that he has official notice from Gen. Grant, that Gen. Lee surrendered to him his entire army on the 9th instant at Appomattox Court Hone, Virginia. Glory to God ! and to our country, and all honor to our comrades in arms, to whom we are marching. A little more labor, a little toil on our part, and the great race is won, and our government stands regenerated after four years of bloody war."
The scene that followed the announcement can be better imagined than described. Ont of a very great darkness, an unexpected light appeared, and many longing hearts, that had hoped against hope, could now see home and the familiar forms of dear friends, from whom they had long been separated, looming up before them to be possessed and enjoyed in the
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MEMOIRS 149th N. Y. INFT.
near future, and they were thankful to God for his very great merey. In the delirium of their joy they gave expression to their feelings as their different dispositions prompted. In such a large body, where there was common sympathy and a com- munity of interest, excesses were the necessary sequence. Some laughed, some eried ; some stood on their heads ; some pelted their comrades with their belongings, and all shouted and threw their caps in the air. The men hurrahed themselves hoarse, and if whisky had been accessible, there would not have been a sober man that day in Sherman's army. It was a merey to the men that they were pursuing a fleeing enemy and not in the presence of an active foe; for rigid discipline was scarcely sufficient to control the excessive exuberance of the men.
Where is there a middle-aged man or woman whose heart does not thrill, as no other event can make it, as he or she re- members the receipt of the glad news, " Lee has surrendered." as it was conveyed by the electric telegraph throughout this broad land ? but words are simply inadequate to express the feelings and the joy which thrilled the hearts of the 149th boys when they heard the glad intelligence after nearly three years' waiting, fighting, deprivation, and weary marching nearly around a circle, in the enemy's country, of a thousand miles in diameter, the longest route ever passed over by a similar,com- mand. They did "honor their comrades in arms in the Army of the Potomac, to whom they were marching " for the gallant service they had performed, and at the same time, they felt proud of their own achievements, which had so materially con- tributed to the circumstances which made it possible for the Army of the Potomac to perform this inestimable service.
At ten o'clock the ed Division, which was third in line, moved across the Neuse with bands playing and the hearts of the men lighter than ever before since the beginning of the war. The command made about fifteen miles during the day, which was hot and oppressive, and went into camp at sundown on Swift Creek. At six o'clock the following morning the march was
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resumed and Raleigh occupied at an early hour by the Union forces without opposition ; Johnston having retreated west- ward along the line of the railroad, with Hampton's Cavalry as rear guard burning the depot as it retired. A slight show of resistance was made when Kilpatrick approached by one of the enemy's cavalry, who attempted to shoot that well-known officer ; but the would-be assassin was quickly captured and hung to a tree for his temerity. The 3d Brigade, not entering the city except through the suburbs, went into camp near the Lunatic Asylum and railroad, within a line of entrenchments one mile southwest of the city. The Lunatic Asylum was a large and commodious building surrounded by well-kept grounds, and as the column filed past, the faces of the inmates were seen peering through the grated windows at the novel spectacle. This institution was visited during the stay by some of the men, and on one occasion by Gen. Sherman and one or more of his staff. While passing through one of the wards, it was reported the General was accosted by one of the inmates, formerly from the North, who demanded his release. The General replied that when his papers came before him in dne form he would consider his case, and in the mean time he must be quiet and put his trust in God. After surveying the General for a moment, he replied that he believed in a Divine Providence, but when it came to trust, he thought any one who went through the country whipping rebels the way the Gen- . eral had was entitled to it as much as any one.
Soon after the ocenpation of Raleigh it was rumored that Johnston had opened negotiations to surrender his army, but no authoritative announcement was made until the morning of the 15th, when a semi-official report prevailed to that effect. The men were happy, and cheered and marched with bands of music from one head-quarters to another serenading favorite generals and extorting additional information. All whisky that could be obtained flowed free, and there were great de- monstrations of joy ; but there was none of the wild exuber- ance of feeling manifested on the prior occasion ; Johnston's
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surrender was too much in the line of what was expected-it was looked upon as a logical sequence of former events. Two or three days later, when it was understood that terms had been agreed upon and submitted to the authorities at Wash- ington for approval, the end was considered as come and all hearts were turned towards home. The surprise and chagrin, therefore, can well be appreciated when on the morning of the 25th the men broke camp and moved west on the Holly Spring Road to renew the old conflict with Johnston's forces. The 2d Division marched about twelve miles and camped at Jones Cross Roads, where it remained until the 28th and then re- turned to Raleigh; the final surrender of Johnston having been authoritatively consummated in the mean time.
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