USA > New York > Saratoga County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Saratoga County, New York > Part 26
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August 16 the regiment left Harrison's Landing and proceeded to Hampton, near Fortress Monroe, where transports were waiting to carry the Sixth Corps to Alexandria, where it arrived August 23. Its next engagement was in the battle of Crampton Pass, following which it participated in the battle of Antietam. Lee's invasion of Maryland
1 When Colonel Mckean tendered his resignation, Secretary Stanton, instead of accepting it, granted him an indefinite leave of absence, and advised him to go to his home at Saratoga Springs and try to regain his health. He did so, but his health did not soon return: So ill was he that for six years he was unable to practice his profession. In July, 1863, while confined to his bed, he again tendered his resignation, which was finally accepted.
2 Several other less important changes are noted in succeeding pages in this chapter.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
was being pushed with all the haste possible. In the Confederate gen- eral's rear was Mcclellan's whole army. On the night of September 14 Lee fell back to Antietam creek and took a strong position in the vicinity of Sharpsburg. On the morning of the 15th there was some sharp but desultory fighting between the Union and Confederate cavalry. During the afternoon the Federal advance, coming in on the Sharpsburg road from Keedysville, received the opening salutes. from the Confederate guns on the Antietam. But nightfall came without a serious conflict. On the following morning there was great activity of preparation in both armies. Later in the day General Hooker's corps, on the Union right, was thrown across the stream which separated the combatants and brought into a favorable position for action. In this quarter of the field the Confederate left under General Hood was assaulted and driven back a haif mile in the direction of Sharpsburg. The rest of the day an irregular cannonading was continued. During the night General Mansfield's corps crossed the Antietam on the north bridge and joined General Hooker.
On the morning of September 17 both commanders had their armies well into position, the Union forces being strongest in number and the rebels having the advantage of an unfordable stream in their front. It was of the first importance that General Mcclellan should gain and hold the four stone bridges by which only his forces could be thrown to the other side. General Burnside, who was ordered to take the lower bridge, cross over, and attack the division of A. P. Hill, encountered unexpected delays and was greatly retarded in his movements. On the right Hooker renewed the battle at sunrise, and until late in the after- noon the conflict raged with almost unabated fury.
In this engagement Captain Babcock of Company K was in command of the Seventy-seventh. The regiment rushed forward and received the fire bravely, and though far ahead of all other regiments, it stood its ground and steadily returned the fire. Volley after volley cut down the soldiers, still they never wavered in their unprotected position until ordered to do so by General Smith. When it formed again it had thirty-three men killed or wounded. But the advent of the corps to which it belonged had decided the contest upon the right of the line, and after the first charge of the Third Brigade the battle lulled. Be- fore the next day General Lee withdrew his shattered forces from their position and recrossed the Potomac into Virginia. This conflict cost each army more than ten thousand men, but was indecisive in its results.
225
THE SEVENTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT.
Before the army left Harrison's Landing Major French and Lieutenant Caw were sent to Saratoga Springs to recruit for the Seventy-seventh. Soon after their arrival a war meeting was held, and a large number of men enlisted. In October, 1862, these officers, with the new recruits, rejoined the regiment, when the former, now Lieutenant-Colonel French, took command of the regiment and reorganized it. Companies F and K were consolidated, the latter was replaced by the new com- pany from Schuylerville, and the remainder of the new recruits were assigned to Companies D and I. Soon after the first battle of Fred- ericksburg occurred, but the regiment, being held in reserve, met with no losses. It soon after went into winter quarters at White Oak Church, where it remained until spring.
On the second day of May, 1863, the Army of the Potomac once more crossed the Rappahannock and the valiant Sixth Corps was ordered to carry the heights of Fredericksburg by storm. The Seventy-seventh Regiment led the Third Brigade as a skirmish line, crossed the plain at double-quick and in perfect line, under command of Lieutenant-Colo. nel French. Inspired by the coolness and bravery of the latter officer, the men acted as if they were simply manœuvering for practice, with no thought of an enemy. In the face of an awful hail of musketry, grape and canister the brave fellows charged onward. Men fell every instant, but others sprang into their places and with cheers continued to lead the assault, their bayonets fixed determinedly. Their rush was splendid, irresistible, and the rebels retreated in confusion. The Sev- enty seventh, unwavering in its advance, was the first to reach the summit of Marye's Hill, where it captured two heavy guns, great num- bers of small arms, a stand of colors belonging to the Eighteenth Missis- sippi Regiment, and a large number of prisoners, among whom was Colo- nel Luce, commander of the latter regiment. The Seventy-seventh lost heavily, but it covered itself with glory in making one of the most brilliant and successful charges of the war. Among those killed was Captain Luther M. Wheeler of Company I, who fell at the foot of Marye's Hill.
The following day the fight was resumed and the Sixth Corps was compelled to fight Lee's entire army; but again the Seventy-seventh Regiment held the left front of the line and maintained its position as firmly as a stone wall. A few days afterward the regiment, with the rest of the army, went into camp near White Oak Church, where it remained until ordered to pursue Lee into Pennsylvania. In the march
15
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
to Manchester, Pa., they forced their way over a hundred miles in four days, and then, almost exhausted, they were compelled to proceed at once to the relief of General Reynolds at Gettysburg. All night and all day they picked their way through fields, over fences and ra- vines, up hill and down, marching thirty-six miles in fourteen hours with almost no food or drink. This corps was not called into actual action in this terrible battle of the first three days of July, but was held in reserve until Lee's shattered legions began their retreat, when it followed the rebel forces over the mountains to Waynesboro.
The remainder of the summer and the fall were passed in compara- tive quiet by the Seventy-seventh, which proceeded by easy stages to the Rapidan. While encamped for three weeks at Stone House Moun- tain the line officers of the regiment presented to Colonel French a handsome sword, following which were festivities of a most pleasing character.
Winter was now coming on. On December 1 the short campaign of Mine Run began, followed by the return to camp at Brandy Station. Here the Seventy-seventh held the extreme right front in the attack, and when the army retreated across the Rapidan it acted as rear guard to the entire corps.
May 4, 1864, the regiment broke campat Brandy Station and marched across the Rapidan, participating actively the following day in the first of the great battles of the Wilderness. On the 8th they reached Spott- sylvania, and two days later took part in one of the most terrific and bloody charges of the war. The Seventy-seventh, and eleven other picked regiments, were placed under command of Colonel Upton, who led them in a charge against the right centre of the Confederate line. It was desperate work, and the rebels would not retreat until forced to do so at the point of the bayonet, in a hand-to-hand fight; but the first intrenchment, then the second, and finally the third were captured and the rebels driven from their rifle-pits. The fire of the enemy was ter- rible and did great havoc, but not a man faltered for an instant. The enthusiasm in the face of such deadly peril was tremendous. The Union ranks were frightfully reduced, however, among those killed being Captain William B. Carpenter of Company D, and Second Lieutenant William F. Lyon of the same company.1
May 11 occurred the fight in the "bloody angle," when the regiment
1 Lieutenant Lyon was officially reported as missing, but is believed to have been killed in this action,
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THE SEVENTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT.
fought hand to hand with the enemy. In all the awful "battles of the Wilderness " the regiment participated, generally standing the first shock of battle, and likewise sustaining severe losses. This experience was repeated at Petersburg on June 10, when the ranks of the regiment were still further thinned out.
On July 9 the First and Second Divisions of the Sixth Corps started for the defense of Washington against the threatened attack under direction of General Early. On this day the Seventy-seventh Reg- iment left the Army of the Potomac forever. It arrived at the national capital July 13, where it received a perfect ovation from the inhab- itants, who had been fearful of being compelled to flee from the city.
General Early had stationed his forces in front of Fort Stevens, and Colonel French was ordered to take the Seventy-seventh New York, the Forty-ninth New York and the Seventh Maine Regiments and dis- lodge the daring rebel commander. Colonel French's command made a brilliant charge, which was witnessed by President Lincoln and other prominent officials who were in the fort, putting the rebels to flight. Still the latter made a stout, though brief, resistance, firing as they re. treated and doing great damage to the pursuing brigade.
The " campaign in the valley," which virtually ended the war, gave the noble Seventy-seventh Regiment one more opportunity to add to the many laurels it already had won. After helping to drive Early from before Washington the regiment, with the Sixth Corps, was assigned to the Army of the Shenandoah, which had been placed in command of the valiant Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, succeeding General Wright. Its first engagement, as a part of this army, was the battle of Win- chester. The troops placed at Sheridan's disposal numbered nearly 40,000, and with these he at once moved up the valley. On Septem- ber 19 he came upon Early's army at Winchester, attacked and routed him in a hard-fought battle. In this fight the Seventy-seventh again met with heavy losses. After Winchester, Early retreated to Stras. burg, where he occupied a very strong position; but Sheridan, un . daunted, assailed his position and once more routed the daring rebel chief.
On October 19 the regiment took part in the famous battle of Cedar Creek, "with Sheridan twenty miles away." At a point when the vic- torious rebel column were driving the disorganized fragments of the Eighth and Nineteenth Corps through the ranks of the Sixth corps, the latter band of veterans, "the wearers of the Greek Cross, whose fame
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
was already among the choicest treasures of American history, was to show to the country and the world an exhibition of valor which should tower above all the grand achievements of the war. The corps, num- bering less than 12,000 men, now confronted Early's whole army of more than thirty thousand men, who, flushed with victory, already bringing to bear against us the twenty-one guns which they had just captured from the two broken corps, rushed upon our lines with those wild, exultant yells, the terror of which can never be conceived by those who have not heard them in the field. With fearless impetuosity the rebel army moved up the gentle rise of ground in front of the Sixth corps, and the attack from one end of the line to the other was simul- taneous. It was like the clash of steel to steel. The astonished col- umns were checked. They had found an immovable obstacle to their march to victory."1
The greatest shock of the attack fell upon the Second Division. Bid- well's Brigade made a desperate charge, and the rebels fled in confusion down the hill which they had just ascended with such confidence. But our men were driven back by a fearful fire from the rebel artillery. In the engagement many lives were lost. General Bidwell fell while per- sonally directing the charge. Captain Martin Lennon of Company I fell mortally wounded .? First Lieutenant William J. Taber of Com- pany K and First Lieutenant John W. Belding of Company I were killed while making the charge.
The wounding of General Bidwell, who was horribly torn by a burst- ing shell, left Colonel Winsor B. French of the Seventy-seventh in command of the brigade. Under his directions the broken line was once more quickly formed as the rebels advanced again up the hill with their hideous yell. Once more the brigade stood firm as a rock; then came the counter-charge, which once more drove the rebels back in disorder, down the hill and across the creek. The field was now cov- ered with the dead and wounded of both armies.
But the Confederates had gained a distinct advantage, and the Union forces felt they were losing ground, despite their desperate fighting. The latter retired and the rebels pursued them as far as Middletown, two miles in the rear, and there, believing the victory complete, paused to eat and rest. This was Early's fatal error.
After Sheridan had posted his army on Cedar Creek he felt secure,
1 Dr. George T. Stevens's account.
2 Captain Lennon died from his wounds November 1, 1864.
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THE SEVENTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT.
at least temporarily, and rode to Washington on important business. In the meantime Early had surprised the Union camp and, as described in the foregoing, sent the routed troops flying in confusion toward Winchester, as far as Middletown. On the previous night the gallant Sheridan had returned to Winchester, and was now coming to rejoin his army. On his way he heard the sound of battle, rode his magnifi- cent horse twelve miles at full speed under the spurs, and met the panic-stricken fugitives not a moment too soon. His approach was hailed with the wildest cheers and other manifestations of delight on the part of the well-nigh discouraged Northern troops. As he came onward at a wild gallop and passed the long trains of ambulances in which lay hundreds of his beloved troops, with shattered limbs or mangled bodies, they rose and cheered their commander with the wild- est enthusiasm.
Reorganizing the line, another advance upon the astonished rebels was ordered, the Second Division being ordered to proceed slowly. Colonel French, in command of the Third Brigade, which was sub- jected to galling fire, with heavy loss of life,' said to General Getty, " I cannot take my brigade over that field slowly." "Then go quickly," responded General Getty. With a rush and prolonged cheer the men crossed over the field and drove the rebels from their strong position. Soon the Confederate line was put to rout, the Sixth Corps pursuing it through the valley in one of the wildest races ever beheld in any battle. For three miles they chased the panic-stricken rebels, capturing hun- d'reds of prisoners and many batteries without stopping to reload their guns. This ended the battle and the participation of the gallant Sev- enty-seventh Regiment in the war.
Soon after this the regiment was ordered to Saratoga Springs, where it arrived November 23, 1864, after three years of hard fighting. It was received with a remarkable demonstration on the part of a large concourse of people from all parts of Saratoga and surrounding coun- ties. But the regiment was a regiment in name only. Of the thirteen hundred and sixty-nine men who, three years before, had left for the front amid huzzas of the assembled multitude, but fourteen officers and one hundred and five men had returned!
1In this charge the color-sergeant of the Seventy-seventh Regiment fell dead. Another ser- geant who seized the flag also fell. Adjutant Gilbert F. Thomas, a handsome and brave young officer, seized the fallen flag, shouted, "Forward, men!" and instantly fell, pierced by a bullet. Thomas was promoted to a corporal in Company C January 6, 1863, and to second lieutenant May 1, 1863.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
These survivors of this awful struggle were escorted to the public hall where they were welcomed by the president of the village, John S. Lake, on behalf of the citizens of Saratoga Springs. After a prayer by David Tully, the first chaplain of the regiment, an address of wel- come was delivered by Colonel James B. McKean,1 to which Colonel French responded. Dr. Luther F. Beecher read a poem of welcome which had been composed by Mrs. M. C. Beecher. In the evening the returned heroes were banqueted at the American hotel, when speeches were made by Hon. C. S. Lester, Hon. James M. Marvin, Hon. A. Pond, Hon. James M. Cook, William A. Sackett, W. M. Potter, officers and soldiers of the regiment and others.
December 13, 1864, the regiment was mustered out of the service of the United States; but the war not yet having terminated, many of the men who had enlisted during the previous winter re enlisted and, with the recruits added to the regiment in 1862 and subsequently, were or- ganized into a battalion under Captain David J. Caw and remained at the front until the close of the war. December 9, 1864, this battalion, with the Sixth corps, returned to Petersburg. While engaged in that vicinity March 25, 1865, several men were killed, including Captain Sumner Oakley and First Lieutenant Stephen H. Pierce. In the final charge at Fort Fisher April 2, the battalion and the Forty-ninth New York led the way, helping to capture thousands of prisoners, many stands of colors and many guns. Following this came the fight at Sailor's Creek, and finally the surrender of the Army of Virginia, which closed the war. The battalion soon afterward returned to Albany, where it was mustered out June 27, 1865. The one thousand three hundred and sixty-nine members of the regiment were reported as fol- lows when the mustering out occurred, December 13, 1864:
1 James B. Mckean was born at Hoosick, Rensselaer county, N. Y., August 5, 1821, a son of Rev. Andrew Mckean and Catharine Bedell. Subsequently the family removed to the town of Saratoga, thence to Halfmoon. While here he taught in the Jonesville academy and other local schools. When twenty-three years of age he was elected colonel of the One Hundred and Forty-fourth Regiment of the New York State militia, receiving his commission from Gover- nor Silas Wright. In June, 1847, he began the study of law with Bullard & Cramer, at Water- ford; was admitted to the bar March 5, 1849, and opened an office at Ballston Spa. June 20, 1850, he married Katharine-Hay, daughter of Judge William Hay, and the following year re- moved to Saratoga Springs. From 1855 to 1858, inclusive, he was judge of Saratoga county, hav- ing been elected on the first Republican ticket ever nominated in the county, probably in the State. In 1865 President Lincoln sent him to Spanish-America to exchange the ratifications of a treaty with Honduras. In 1870 President Grant appointed him chief justice of the Supreme Court of Utah Territory, in which office he served five years, subsequently engaging in the practice of his profession in Salt Lake City.
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THE THIRTIETH REGIMENT.
Mustered out with the regiment.
105
Transferred to battalion and left in field (veterans)
151
Transferred to battalion and left in field (recruits) 364
Killed in action 83
Died of wounds received in action
40
Died of disease
140
Missing in action, most of whom supposed to be dead. 25
Died in rebel prisons 20
Deserted 61
Discharged on account of disability. 300
Discharged on account of wounds received in action
56
Promoted to commissioned officers 24
Total 1,369
THIRTIETH REGIMENT.
The Thirtieth Regiment, New York State Volunteers, ranked second to none in faithfulness of service and valorous deeds in time of war. It was composed of Company A, recruited at Lansingburgh; Company B of Troy, Company C of Schenectady, Company D of Saratoga, Company E of Poughkeepsie, Company F of Saratoga, Company G of Saratoga county, Company H of Hoosick, Company I of Troy and Company K of Valatie and Kinderhook. The regiment was organized by the election of Edward Frisby of Albany as colonel, Charles E. Brintnall of Troy as lieutenant-colonel, and William M. Searing of Saratoga Springs as major. The other officers were: Richard C. Bent- ley of Albany, adjutant; Charles E. Russ of Albany, quartermaster; Dr. Francis L. R. Chapin of Albany, surgeon; Dr. Julius A. Skilton, assistant-surgeon; Robert W. Cross, sergeant-major; Bernard Gilligan, quartermaster-sergeant ; and Thomas Tilley, standard-bearer.
The Thirtieth was organized under the first call of President Lincoln for 75,000 men to serve two years. The line officers of the several companies comprising it were as follows:
Company A .- Captain, Samuel King; first lieutenant, John H. Campbell; second lieutenant, Francis Dargen.
Company B .-- Captain, Walter L. Laning; first lieutenant, Philip Casey; second lieutenant, J. Seymour Scott.
Company C .- Captain, B. M. Van Voast; first lieutenant, M. V. V. Smith, second lieutenant, Edward Van Voast.
Company D .- Captain, Miles T. Bliven; first lieutenant, Mervin G. Putnam, sec- ond lieutenant, John H. Marston.
Company E .- Captain, Harrison Holliday ; first lieutenant, Edgar S. Jennings; sec- ond lieutenant, Nathaniel Palmer.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Company F .- Captain, Albert J. Perry ; first lieutenant, Andrew M. Franklin ; sec- ond lieutenant, James M. Andrews, jr.
Company G .- Captain, Morgan H. Chrysler; first lieutenant, William T. Conk- ling ; second lieutenant, Asa L. Gurney.
Company H .- Captain, Walter P. Tillman; first lieutenant, Lemuel Ball; second lieutenant, F. W. Barnes.
Company I .- Captain, John M. Landon ; first lieutenant, Samuel W. Potts; second lieutenant, Alonzo Alden.
Company K .- Captain. Bartholomew Pruyn; first lieutenant, Gilbert W. Becker; second lieutenant, Adam Lampman.
This organization was completed at Albany, June 1, 1861, when the regiment was mustered into the service of the United States for the term of two years. For a while before leaving for the front it en- camped on the old Rensselaer county fair grounds between Troy and Lansingburgh. The regiment was armed with ancient flint-lock mus- kets altered to cap-lock, and on June 26 left Albany for Washington, by way of the Hudson river. From Washington it made its first camp at Bright Wood, near where Fort Stevens was built. From there it proceeded to Arlington, where it was brigaded with the Twenty-second and Twenty-fourth New York and the Brooklyn Fourteenth (afterwards the Eighty-fourth New York), making the First Brigade in the First Division of the First Army Corps.
From this time until April, 1862, the First Brigade spent the most of its time in building forts and doing picket duty between Washington and Fredericksburg. In the latter month General McClellan prepared to move the grand Army of the Potomac toward Richmond, and all felt that the capture of the Confederate capital and the subjugation of the rebellious South was a matter of a few months only. This army numbered nearly 200,000 men. The advance proceeded as far as Ma- nassas Junction and Centre Hill, the Confederates falling back and forming a new line of defenses on the Rappahannock. At Manassas the skirmish line moved forward, and carried the works of the enemy by assault-only to find that the rebels had fled five days before. Soon after the entire First Division proceeded to Fredericksburg. It partici- pated in the action at the latter place, described in the story of the Seventy seventh's career; then, until August, 1862, it performed picket duty and made reconnaissances. In the latter month it was joined by the army of General Pope, engaging under his command in the battles of Cedar Mountain, Rappahannock Station, White Sulphur Springs, Gaines's Corners, Grafton and the Second Bull Run. It then entered
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THE THIRTIETH REGIMENT.
McClellan's army again and fought in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. In the battle of Chantilly, August 30, 1862, Colonel Frisby was killed, and sixteen other officers and two hundred and four- teen men were either killed or disabled. Lieutenant Colonel Searing was immediately promoted to the command of the Thirtieth Regiment.
From here the army, now in command of General Meade, pursued the enemy to Fredericksburg, where they were engaged December 12 and 13. Soon after they went into winter quarters at Belle Plain, Va., General Wadsworth then being in command.
Among those killed in the battle of Chantilly were Captain Samuel King and Lieutenant Frank Dargen of Company A. Lieutenant Philip Rice of Company G (Saratoga) was killed in the night attack at Grove- ton on August 29. The brigade became popularly known as Hatch's Iron Brigade or foot cavalry,' being highly complimented for its be- havior under fire. Early in the summer of 1863 the Thirtieth Regi- ment was ordered home, and on June 18 was mustered out and dis- charged at Albany. A number of the officers and men subsequently joined Lieutenant-Colonel Morgan H. Chrysler, who organized the Second Veteran Cavalry Regiment, re-entered the service in October, 1863, and served with distinction until the close of the war.
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