USA > New York > Perry's saints; or, The fighting parson's regiment in the war of the rebellion > Part 9
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[May,
1
the sides of the hills, where they could most effectually resist the advance of our troops. Some two or three of these battalions lay down near the railroad which ran around the valley at the foot of the hills, to be out of the way of our fire, and at the same time be ready to engage in the action if required. These offered altogether too tempting an opportunity to be resisted, and, rushing down to the turnpike, which at this point ran parallel to and very near the railroad, we opened on them a terribly galling and destructive fire. It was a sad pre- dicament, for they could neither return our fire, nor change their position, without ex- posing themselves to the fire of our main line. When, however, this wavered and fell back, they were at liberty to devote themselves to us, and, with a yell of rage, they precipitated themselves into the deep cut of the railroad, and for a few moments the whistle of bullets about our ears was like the hum of angry bees, whose hive had been disturbed. A large number of Company E of the 7th Connecticut regiment had been doing good work, but with no officer to command them. These joined with our men,
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and, by carefully availing themselves of such shelter as offered, both companies were brought out of the fiery shower with but slight loss.
Proclamations from headquarters announced the complete success of this expedition, but those who participated in it were unable to discover the success. The whole Confederate force should have been captured, for, once driven into the valley, there could have been no escape for them. Only one division of our corps was engaged, and that not seriously. A portion of the railroad and telegraph line was destroyed, causing a temporary interruption of communi- cation between Richmond and Petersburg. The losses on both sides were small. Dunn, orderly sergeant of Company E, deserves special mention for his coolness and bravery, but every member of Company E is to be commended. Although dreadfully exposed for a few moments, they obeyed orders as if on parade, and it is to their prompt obedience and strict discipline they may impute their safe conduct out of their perilous position. The material of the company was of the best, and it had been specially fa- vored in having such commanders as Coan and
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[May,
Lockwood. Had Sergeant Dunn showed less soldierly pride (which, however, was very no- ble in him), he would have avoided the painful wound from which he suffered so long.
On the 8th, we rested ; on the 9th, we fought with what were generally called in our camp Gilmore's rifles. In other words, we worked on the intrenchments with picks and spades, and occupied the intrenchments at night. The firing was heavy all about us, and it was ru- mored that Butler would be able to enter Petersburg in the morning. On the 10th, we shouldered the Gilmore rifles again, but at ten o'clock in the forenoon were ordered to the front, to support Colonel Howell, who was reported falling back ; were exposed during the day to the fire of the enemy, but were in much more danger from the fire in the woods, which were burned to clear them from Confederate
sharpshooters. Quite an engagement occurred in our front, in which our batteries did fearful execution. General Foster, who went out on flag of truce, reported seeing heaps of Con- federate dead in the edge of the woods, many of them half-burned. General Butler did not
2
1864.]
PERRY'S SAINTS.
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ANY
LINE OF DEFENCE AT BERMUDA HUNDRED.
1
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1864.]
enter Petersburg, being deterred from making any forward movement by the battle in his rear (so it was said).
On the 11th, we rested, and early in the morning of the 12th started away from our intrenchments at Bermuda Hundred, and marched all day in the rain. Rested at night as best we could, with no shelter but the drip- ping trees (for the rain continued through the night). On the afternoon of the 13th, we moved forward and up to the turnpike, about two miles, where from the tops of the trees those so inclined obtained a view of Richmond and Fort Darling. Again on the 14th, we moved forward into the advance to relieve the 76th Pennsylvania regiment, having up to this time acted as reserve. Our position was about in the centre of the main line, with our right near the Richmond turnpike. Generals Terry and Ames were on the left, and steadily moving forward. That night we occupied the old lines of the Confederates, from which they had been driven by General Gilmore. The 15th was a trying day, for the most of the regiment were out on picket duty, or skirmishing through the
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[May,
woods in our front. The firing of the Confed- - erate sharpshooters, many of whom were sta- tioned in trees, was very annoying, until our men, becoming desperate, hunted them from
PICKETS ON DUTY.
their places of concealment, and before night that mode of warfare was effectually stopped. No quarter was given, and no mercy shown. Still, the firing from the rifle-pits was kept up without intermission, and quite a number of our men were wounded.
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Very early on the morning of the 16th, we were conscious that something serious was im- pending. The irregular firing of musketry was first heard on the extreme right; this was soon followed by regular volleys, mingled with the roar of artillery, and as it continually ap- proached, we knew that it meant a serious disaster to our troops; we could feel the con- · flict rolling up against us, and quickly disposed our men along the irregular and broken line of wall and fence. Unfortunately, no attempt had been made to construct a regular line of in- trenchments, and there was little protection for our troops. About 8 o'clock in the morning, the regiment on our right gave way, and left our flank exposed, and the Confederates poured in upon us in overwhelming numbers, but the brave men of Company E, who held the right of the line, would not give way, but stood their ground as firmly as if no danger threatened, while the Confederates surged in upon them in such masses that it seemed impossible that a single man could escape. The position which they occupied was somewhat in advance of the remainder of the regiment, on a little natural
216
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[May,
terrace, so that it was some time before the com- manding officer was aware of the critical situa- tion in which we were placed, and the order to retire was not received until that little knoll was literally covered with the dead and dying. Corporals Smalls and Brassell, and poor Jock- ers, the brave little man from the Enfans Per- dus, with eleven others, lay dead or wounded, while others, less severely injured, had made their way to the rear.
In the very hottest of the fire, Lawson, the orderly sergeant of the company, hobbled up to where I was stationed, and, saluting, said, "I am wounded, sir." "Go to the rear " was the re- ply. A ball had passed completely through his thigh. Corporal Barton, almost for the first time in battle, having, for the most part, been employed as a clerk at division or corps head- quarters, came to me, and, saluting, exhibited his wound, while every line of his countenance told the anguish he was suffering. A ball had shattered his hand while he was in the act of loading ; but he would not go to the rear with- out the order of his commanding officer. Never shall I forget the brave soldier Vreeland,
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1
UK
........
FORT DARLING.
1864.]
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1864.]
who, stationed behind the little apple-tree, con- tinued loading and firing, until fairly dragged away, so grievously wounded that there was no hope of recovery. As I write, I feel that every name in that heroic band, the living and the dead, should be inscribed in letters of gold on the pages of history. Such faithfulness, such heroism, such discipline, I never saw ex- hibited elsewhere. Better soldiers never lived; braver men never died. Not a man left that knoll without permission till the order came to retreat. But what confusion followed ! Who of those present will not recall that strug- gling mass of broken regiments ; hopeless, and distracted, until the cool self-possession of General Terry brought order out of the confu- sion, and led the way out to safety and secu- rity. Not a moment too soon, for as we toiled our weary way up the hillside, the shot and shell from the Confederate batteries in the turnpike made many avenues through the retreating columns. And very glad were we when the distance and intervening hills se- cured us from further annoyance.
We should here state that the right of the
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[May,
line, which was the first to give way before the Confederate assault, was under the com- mand of General Wright ; while the left of the line, under General Terry, resisted every attack, and only retreated when the danger of being cut off and captured became imminent. That night we spent in our old camp, near the in- trenchments at Bermuda Hundred; and the following day rested. On the 18th, did some picket and skirmish duty, and on the 19th were still in the front, enjoying the music of shot and shell ; and to the 28th, there was little rest, night or day, between fatigue, picket, and skirmish duty. The enemy made frequent at- tacks on our outer lines, but without success ; and we could observe them for the most of the time engaged in constructing intrenchments. General Butler was not accomplishing the work allotted to him. Petersburg was not taken, and no important advantage had been gained.
On the 25th, Captain Lockwood left us, to return to civil life. It was a great loss to the regiment, for he was a good officer, an intelli- gent man, an agreeable companion, and a loyal
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friend. The places of the old officers, so many of whom have fallen in battle or have voluntarily left the service, cannot be filled. They were royal men, who were borne into the service by that first fresh, pure wave of patriotism which swept over the North in the earliest days of the war. Of them all, Lock- wood was my most intimate friend - respected, trusted, and beloved. Returning home, he en- `gaged in the business of manufacturing, in which he continued until his death, which oc- curred some years after the war closed. He and Lieutenant-Colonel Strickland were law partners in New York city at the breaking-out of the war.
CHAPTER XV.
Assigned to 6th corps. On the way to the Army of the Potomac. A dreadful march. At Cold Harbor. Trying situation. Assume command. A gallant charge. Grand success. Severe losses. Driven back. Lack of support. Incidents of the battle. The demoralized general. Further account of Cold Harbor. Occupy- ing the Confederate line. A sad picture of war. An uncomfort- able situation. Relieved. Close work. Change of base. Grand but perilous movement of the army. The old church at Jamestown.
ON the evening of the 28th, we broke camp, and marched all night towards City Point, which we reached about daylight on the morn- ing of the 29th. We remained there until after- noon, when, having embarked on the steamer Delaware, we proceeded down the river. By this time, it had become generally understood that our division of the 10th corps had been temporarily united with the 18th corps, and that we were on our way to join the Army of the Potomac. About the middle of the fore- noon of the 31st, we landed at the White House, on the Pamunkey River. Here rations were dis- tributed, the men got their dinners, and late in the afternoon the order was given to fall in.
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Nearly all night was spent on the march; and when we halted it was not to rest, but to do picket duty. Early on the morning of June 1, we resumed our march, and continued all day, resting occasionally, as the men became too ex- hausted to keep on. The heat was almost in- tolerable, and the dust so filled the air that at
GENERAL SMITH'S HEADQUARTERS, COLD HARBOR.
times it was impossible to see the distance of a company front ahead of us. When the com- mand to halt was given, the regiment seemed to melt away, and it was with the utmost diffi- culty that the march could be resumed. Many men were reported as fatally exhausted and left to die by the roadside from the commands that had preceded us, and it required the com-
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[June,
bined efforts of our own officers, and the ex- ample of patient and cheerful endurance on their part, to keep our men from falling away and straggling. Arrived at Cold Harbor, late in the afternoon, we were ordered into the woods -as we supposed, to encamp. But alas ! a soldier may never rest, till he or the enemy is dead.
After standing in line, with arms stacked, for a half-hour, the order came to move forward to engage in an attack on the enemy's works, first from the brigade commander, afterwards from the division, and finally from corps head- quarters. The 47th New York regiment, which was on our left, had already moved away, and still no word of command was given. What should we do ? The greatest excite- ment prevailed. Finally, in the absence of Major Coan, who had been detailed on special duty, and at the earnest solicitations of several officers, the writer assumed command, although not the ranking officer present. The situation was peculiar, and the emergency desperate ; and when the order was given to take arms, they were seized with an alacrity which told of the
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feeling that prevailed. The officers expressed their satisfaction, and the men moved with a promptness which signified the relief they felt for their rescue from the impending disgrace. "Shoulder arms ! Left face ! Forward march ! By the right flank, march! Left oblique ! Double quick ! " and we had joined the brigade. "Charge bayonets!" across the field, and into the woods; and the first line of the enemy's rifle-pits was occupied. Here the men stopped, and commenced firing; but a lull in the fire of the enemy enforced the order to move forward, and in little more time than it takes to write it we had captured and occupied a section of the main line of Confederate works, and had more prisoners marching to the rear than the whole number present in the regiment. Will any of our readers recall the name of the little corporal of Company G, scarce five feet high, at whose command, as he stood on the top of the works, at charge bayonet, "Come out of there, you d-d rebels," a lieutenant and nearly a dozen men emerged from the works, and humbly and quietly proceeded to the rear with the other prisoners ?
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[June,
How much was crowded into the short time that we occupied that line of intrenchments. Lieutenant Ingraham, for the first time in ac- tion, having heretofore been detailed in the com- missary department, with many others, was shot in the very moment of victory. It was a dreadful place to hold, with the rebels massed just at the foot of the hill, on the right, and pouring in upon us a deadly flanking fire. Repeated messages were sent to the com- manding general, explaining our situation, and · urging an attack on our right, or re-enforce- ments to enable us to do it; but no help, and no word of any kind, was received. Efforts were made to induce the commander of the 47th New York, which was separated from us by a little ravine on our left, to unite with us in a charge down the hill; but without avail, for either our purpose was misunderstood owing to the distance between us, which made communication difficult, or disinclination or positive orders forbade, and so we were com- pelled to wait and suffer, hoping that some general officer would become interested to find our whereabouts, and organize some new move-
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POSITION OF GENERAL SMITH'S COMMAND AT COLD HARBOR, VA.
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ment, by which we would be relieved. The order to charge down the hill would have been welcome, but it would have been madness to have attempted it without support. While we waited, and our numbers were rapidly dimin- ishing, we could plainly see the Confederate reserves gathering in the distance, across the meadow at the foot of the hill, and knew that . we could not hold our position long unless help came.
At this time, the adjutant-general of the brigade that had charged across the same ground that we had come over, came to me, and offered his services, stating that his brigade had been routed and scattered, and nearly all the field officers of the command killed or wounded. While explaining to him the position of affairs, and urging him to go to the rear and endeavor to hurry up re-enforcements, a bullet pierced his brain, and he sank in death. I remember Corporal St. John of Company G, who, finding a sword which had belonged to a rebel officer, kindly presented it to me, as un- mindful of the bullets which whistled about our heads as if they were not freighted with
230
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[June,
missions of death to himself or comrades. Of such men was the regiment composed. But, as the shadows deepened about us, there came a rush. The enemy was fairly upon us ; and, be- fore we could gather ourselves to repel the attack, some one, without authority, had called out to retreat, and, in the confusion which fol- lowed, the colors were seized and held by the enemy, not, however, without a fierce but hopeless struggle. Back through the woods we went, broken and dispirited. After secur- ing a victory, we had been left alone and unsupported, to be shot down like sheep, and the men knew that it was time to seek a place of shelter.
There was a rally at the edge of the woods, where we found the commander of a division reclining under a tree, apparently deserted by every one, and in a state of complete helpless- ness and demoralization. Although he has since occupied positions of great prominence and responsibility, we never hear his name without recalling his appearance, when, emerg- ing from the woods, we discovered him in the situation described, and learned his name and
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rank. Completely beside himself because of the defeat and dispersion of his command, he in- sisted that the feeble line of officers and men who collected in his vicinity should renew the attack, when a whole division had been defeated and scattered. Fairly out of the sound of his voice, we left him to his own reflections. Already darkness had settled down upon us, and, after a little council of war, with Lieuten- ant Barrett and others, we lay down for a little rest, in the field over which the regiment had so gallantly charged that afternoon. It had done nobly, and, with the other regiments of the brigade, can claim the only substantial suc- cess attained by the division; for we believe they were the only troops who succeeded in capturing the main line of rebel intrenchments.
At the point which we occupied, this line passed across the top of a hill, which sloped down to a meadow in front, and on the right dropped more abruptly, to what seemed quite a deep ravinė. The Federal line stopped with the right of our regiment, and evidently no successful attack, if any at all, had been made on our immediate right. After we commenced
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PERRY'S SAINTS.
[June,
our charge across the field, no communication whatever was received from our commanding officers, while it has always seemed to the writer that, if the success which we attained had been followed up, most important results would have been achieved. It is possible that the troops who preceded us in the attack reached the first line of the enemy's rifle-pits, for at that point we inet with little opposition. But they penetrated no farther, and, either unaware of their partial success, or exhausted in the effort, they became so completely scat- tered that we saw no trace of them.
The next day, June 2, the remnant of the regiment capable of duty was ordered to oc- cupy a portion of the Confederate line, to the left of that captured by us the night before. As we filed through the woods, we passed a
- little pale-faced boy. Separated from his com- rades, he struggled on through the underbrush. with wearied steps, uncared-for and alone. His feeble hands scarce held the musket which he dragged along. All his remaining con- sciousness seemed concentrated on the effort to do as others did, and as we hurried past
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him, he turned on us a dazed, bewildered look. We could not stop, else we would have taken him by the hand, and led him away from the danger he was in, to the protection and care of comrades and friends, as we longed to do. We found him when we came back, but he had passed beyond the sphere of human sympathy and aid. The look of painful weariness was gone from that little upturned face. He had found rest. It seems strange, but that picture is burned into the memory with such distinct- ness that it comes up before the eye whenever the touch of recollection brings back the in- cidents of army life. That day, on those intrenchments, we lay down beside the dead and dying of the regiment relieved, to serve as targets for the enemy, who were close at hand, and familiar with the locality. We did not remain long, and were glad to get away. Du- ring our stay, the greatest precaution was necessary, on account of the near vicinity of the enemy. Lieutenant Barrett, who was al- ways at the point of danger, while obeying the order of the commanding officer to lie down behind the log which lay across the path, at
234
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[June,
the foot of the intrenchments, received a pain- ful wound, which kept him in hospital for months afterwards. A member of company G, who had sheltered himself behind a stump, which rose about two feet above the top of the earthworks, received, as he supposed, his death-wound, and gave audible expression to his dying agonies, but, as the effect of the shot, which had nearly spent itself in the rotten stump, passed off, the sharp whizzing of a bullet, which came uncomfortably near his head, brought him to life, so suddenly that, starting up with a spring, he darted away for the in- trenchments as if the Evil One were following, and did not fully recover his senses until he found himself in a place of safety, outside the * wood. The nature of the situation in which we were placed may be judged by the order which I was constrained to give in respect to the manner of retiring when we were relieved ; namely, that the men should go out one at a time from the extreme left of the line, hug- ging closely to the earthwork as they crawled to this point. This was accomplished without a single casualty, and the writer resumed com-
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mand just outside the danger line, where he found the regiment formed as if for parade. It was a constant pleasure to be associated with such officers in the command of such men. That night we remained under arms near our intrenchments, which had been thrown up after our repulse of the day previous. From the journals before me, I learn that the casual- ties in the regiment, during the twenty-four hours, were five officers killed, four wounded, and eighty enlisted men killed, wounded and missing,-a very large proportion of those en- gaged, especially of officers.
June 3, no special duty, but frequently moved from one point to another along our works. Some hard fighting was going on near us at different times in the day, and we were constantly under an irregular but annoying fire. June 4, moved up into an exposed posi- tion in the rear of our advanced line of works. June 5, although the men built intricate lines of rifle-pits, with most ingenious contrivances for protection, they were still very much ex- posed, and several were wounded. In the evening occupied the very front line. A sharp
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PERRY'S SAINTS.
[June,
attack was made on our left, but without avail. During the afternoon of the 6th, the firing ceased for a little while, and we had an opportunity of seeing the Confederate works, which in our immediate front were somewhat disconnected and not as strong as ours. It had been danger- ous to expose even a hand, so close were the Confederates, and so sharp the firing; and it was good to be relieved from this for a few
moments. When the short truce was over, some of our men commenced singing, " We'll hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple-tree," which so enraged the Johnnies that they made it warm for us until the singing ceased.
The 7th was a quiet day, but we had need of watchfulness. The 9th corps, under Burnside, was on our right, and formed the right flank of the Federal army. In front of some parts of our lines, the Confederate works were ap- parently within a hundred yards, and extreme precautions were necessary to guard against a sudden rush. Men were stationed outside, in rifle-pits, so near that they talked with the Confederates similarly posted. These men could only be relieved in the darkness of the
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