USA > New York > Services of the Tenth New York Volunteers (National Zouaves,) in the War of the Rebellion > Part 16
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Among pleasant memories of these oasis days in the desert of our army experience comes back the recollee- tion of hours passed at night, while lying on blanket or poncho thrown upon the sward outside of the tent. The sadly echoing bugle call of " taps " has been re- peated from camp to camp, dying at last softly and mournfully into stillness. Lights are extinguished, and our provost camp in the magnificent oak forest is silent. Would it ever be possible to describe the exquisite pleasure of those hours of reverie and forgetfulness? The months of confusion, battle and hardship fade into
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THE NATIONAL ZOUAVES.
oblivion, and we are gazing through the leafy canopy above and at the star-flecked heavens beyond, dreaming of the far away and pleasant. The daily noise and bustle of a bivouac of thousands of men have not al- together driven the whip-poor-will from his familiar woods, and at intervals he pipes his questioning note. Now the far away and melancholy hoot of an owl is heard. In a half-waking, half-dozing dream we have been trans- ported to seenes far distant from the battle-ridden fields of the Old Dominion and the mind is only drawn back to the present by the fragrant scent of killikinick, blown from the omnipresent pipe. Our briar-wood friend al- ways was and still is a reminder of camp life.
Orders to again move, which came September 12th, were obeyed regretfully by both officers and men ; the pleasant days passed here having proved most aceept- able, contrasted with the rough campaigning of the pre- ceding months. Camp was soon struck, the Second Corps crossing the Rappahannock on the same day (the 12th), and marching the next three days slowly, but steadily, preceded by cavalry, who met the enemy seve- ral times, driving them back in each encounter. A po- sition near Robertson's River was taken on the 17th.
On the 18th, two deserters from regiments of the Third Division were shot by a detail from the battalion. This was the first and last work of the kind which fell to the lot of our men while upon duty as provost guard. The details were carried out by Capt. Field, acting as Provost Marshal. He had relieved Capt. Tait from the duties of that position a few days previous- the latter assuming command of the battalion. Capt. Field was afterwards complimented by Gen. Hayes for his action on this ocasion. These melancholy seenes
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EXECUTION OF DESERTERS.
were common in the army during the autumn of this year ; each Friday witnessed the execution of deserters from one or more of the corps-five or six sometimes undergoing the death penalty on the same day. The frequent and wholesale desertions were rapidly demo- ralizing the army ; good soldiers becoming infected, in some cases, by the pernicious example of the hordes of unscrupulous men who joined the army only to leave it at the first opportunity. If the remedy was a severe one, it was efficacious, and saved the morale of the Army of the Potomac.
The corps remained in this locality until October 5th, watching the enemy, who were intrenched south of the Rapidan. Upon that date it was relieved by the Sixth Corps, and returned to Culpepper Court House, going into camp about a mile north of the town.
The forward movement of Gen. Meade, it will be seen, had been slowly and cautiously executed ; no genuine attempt to cross the Rapidan having yet been made; but, on the 10th inst., an advance was com- menced. It was immediately discovered, however, that Gen. Lee had also conceived a plan of action, and was even then reconnoitering upon Meade's right with a strong force of cavalry, supported by a body of infantry. This, of course, necessitated an immediate change of action by Meade, and the Army of the Potomac began a backward movement across the Rappahannock, fearing that its communication with Washington would be sev- ered. The Second Corps (now under command of Maj .- Gen. G. K. Warren, in whose brigade our two years' regi- ment had served) crossed the river on the 11th; but the next day it recrossed to the south side, formed in col- umns of division and advanced in this order of battle
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some six miles, to a position near Brandy Station, where a bivouac was made, as if for the night. At half-past twelve, A. M., however, march was again taken to the rear, and the Rappahannock again crossed-the third time within three days.
Our cavalry, with small portions of infantry, had meantime been engaged upon the right ; but Lee's main force was evidently crossing the Rappahannock at its upper fords, and Meade's only resort now seemed to be a retrograde movement upon parallel roads with the enemy, which was immediately put into execution.
On the 12th, while the wagon train of the corps was parked near Bealton Station, Quartermaster Wilcox, of the Tenth, with Quartermaster-Sergt. Harry Sprague, started upon a short visit to one of the houses before men- tioned, near Elk Run. While at the house they were sur- prised by a squad of Rebel cavalry, and, after a short and futile resistance, were captured and sent prisoners to Rich- mond. The particulars of their capture were brought to the battalion, several days after it had occurred, by a negro who was formerly with the quartermaster as a servant, who also averred that they had been shot after capture. Their real fate was only known a month after, through a letter to the adjutant from the quartermaster, then in Libby Prison. He underwent an imprisonment lasting fourteen months, when he was exchanged. Poor Sprague, after a more terrible experience, died at last in the Andersonville Prison Pen-the Government records stating that he was buried on the 16th of August, 1864. He was a brave and high-spirited young soldier, and, in common with thousands of others, deserved a nobler fate. Naturally of a social disposition, and with a vein of humor that never deserted him, he endeavored to
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SKIRMISH AT AUBURN.
amuse and interest his miserable fellow-prisoners until his death, and captives who lived to return home have told of his manly, generous and soldierly bearing, which continued to the last. He had previously been severely wounded at the battle of Gaines' Mill, while a private in Company A.
The Second Corps continued its march northwardly, along the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, and, at daylight of the 14th of October, at Auburn, Hayes' division was suddenly attacked by the enemy's cavalry under Gen. Stuart. In pressing the rear of the Third Corps, which had preceded the Second, Stuart, at the head of some two thousand troopers, had become com- pletely hemmed in during the night of the 13th, in close proximity to Warren's troops. It was sheer neces- sity on his part to move at the first dawn of day, or risk defeat and capture, and therefore a bold dash was made, covered by his guns, which opened with grape and canister on our surprised regiments. Gen. Hayes immediately advanced a brigade (the Third), and over one hundred of the enemy were captured with slight loss to our men. Stuart succeeded, however, in break- ing through with his main force.
Later in the day, when near Bristoe Station, the advance division of Warren was surprised at receiving a heavy fire from Rebel artillery, posted on high ground west of the railroad. Heth's division, of Gen. A. P. Hill's corps, had taken position here, and seemed deter- mined to dispute the progress of our column. Strong lines of gray-clad troops had already emerged from the woods, on the crest of the rising ground to the left. and were steadily advancing towards the railroad. Hayes' division, now second in line, was double-quieked
THE NATIONAL ZOUAVES.
for half a mile, obliquing from the road until nearly opposite the station, where the railroad embankment was considerably raised, thus making an effectual breast- work for whichever side could first reach it. Now, the order, " By the left flank," was given by Gen. Hayes, and, with an impetnosity which his presence always insured, the division advanced with a rush and the embankment was gained-the enemy receiving a heavy fire of musketry, which compelled them to fall back in confusion. They immediately attempted to advance on the flank held by the second division, but were again repulsed.
Arnold's Rhode Island Battery, posted with the Third Division, was served admirably during the action, entirely disabling the artillery of the enemy. Several men of the Tenth Battalion, which was posted imme- diately in the neighborhood of the battery, volunteered as artillerymen for the occasion, and did good service. Four or five hundred prisoners, with a battery of five guns, were the trophies of the fight-the enemy also losing several hundred in killed and wounded, and being completely foiled in the bold attempt upon the rear of Meade's army. Our battalion was almost constantly under fire during the progress of the fight, but no record of its loss is in our possession .*
In a conversation had recently with Brig .- Gen. W. W. Kirkland, who commanded the brigade directly op- posed to Hayes' division, and who was wounded in the action, Gen. K. stated to the author that his own and
" Gra. Lee, in lis , ai ial report, says : " The particulars of the action (Bristoe Station! have not been officially reported ; but the brigades Hill's) were repulsed with some loss, and five weres of artillery with some prisoners captured. Before the rest of the troops could be brought up and the position of the enemy ascertained he retreated across Broad Run."
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BATTLE OF BRISTOE STATION.
Cook's brigades of North Carolina troops, of Heth's di- vision, were actively engaged. They numbered nearly 5,000. Gen. Hill confidently supposed that the Fifth Corps, in advance of the Second, was the last on the road, and that the head of Warren's corps was but a rear guard, and he determined to capture the wagon trains. Kirkland grasped the real condition of affairs and de- murred to an advance against the oncoming troops, but he was overruled. His brigade, of 2,500 men, bravely attempted to seize the railroad embankment, but the volleys from Hayes' regiments killed and wounded 600 of his men and officers. They afterwards buried 100 where they fell. Cook's brigade, on the right of Kirk- land, also suffered heavily, while Arnold's and another battery shattered the Confederate guns, killing many horses. Less determined attacks along other portions of the front of our corps were also repulsed. It was a mis- take on the part of Gen. Hill, fully recognized after- wards, and which caused the Confederates severe loss, besides delaying their advance towards Manassas, where they hoped to attack and defeat a portion of Meade's army. Two other divisions of Hill's corps were in the immediate vicinity, and other troops were rapidly com- ing up, and it seems rather strange that they were not put into action against the corps of Gen. Warren. Gen. Lee's statement, that " before the rest of the troops could be brought up, and the position of the enemy ascertained, they retreated across Broad Run," is hardly borne out by facts-our men having ample time to send parties to bring in the abandoned Rebel guns, and it being far into the night when Hayes division crossed Broad Run.
The brigades of Gen. Warren gradually reformed into column during the evening, and evacuated the positions
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THE NATIONAL ZOUAVES.
along the railroad-their interrupted march northward being resumed in silence. The night was dismal and wet, and, as our battalion left the contested ground, the cries of the mutilated Confederates, lying where they had fallen, were appalling. They seemed to implore even their enemies to succor them from the chill air of night and the silently descending rain. It is fair to suppose that they were rescued from death by their own troops, who remained in the vicinity until the next morning.
Hayes' division marched rapidly towards Manassas, and crossed Bull Run at Blackburn's Ford before day- light. Here we threw ourselves down in the mud, or upon a clean spot of grass if such could be found, and slept the sleep of utter fatigue, until long after the break of day.
Along the route of march from Bristoe Station there were numberless stragglers, prinepally from the new levies of drafted men recently sent to the army, and in secluded nooks in the woods parties of these men were to be found, with all accoutrements laid aside, quietly cooking their coffee, as though totally unconscious both of their duty as soldiers and the proximity of the Rebel cavalry, squadrons of whom were known to be very near the Union line of march. The officers and men of the Tenth had positive orders to leave no stragglers behind ; men who were actually sick or worn out were, if possible, put into ambulances, but voluntary skulkers were shown no mercy, being hurried forward at the point of the bayonet, despite their oaths and curses. Notwithstand- ing such efforts, numbers of these cowardly "bounty jumpers," who thus deliberately left the line of march, must have fallen into the hands of the enemy, a fate
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GEN. LEE FALLS BACK.
which they probably courted at the time, but regretted afterwards while rotting in Southern prisons .*
Position was taken on the 15th, by the Third Divi- sion, near the ford-considerable skirmishing and artil- lery practice taking place across the run.
However far north Gen. Lee had originally intended to penetrate, he evidently now thought it best to retrace his steps, and, while making feints of attack upon our lines, he fell back to the Rappahannock, completely de- stroying the railroad from Cub Run to that river. The whole affair had caused the Army of the Potomac con- siderable loss in killed and wounded, and much severe marching, mingled with no little chagrin at the forced retreat before an enemy inferior in numbers and equip- ment.
Gen. Lee, in his report of these movements, stated that his army had "crossed the Rapidan on the 9th of October, with the intention of bringing on an engage- ment with the Federal army." But he had carefully avoided advancing directly upon Meade's front, and
* It is far from the author's motive to lessen the popular sympathy for the Union prisoners of war who endured miseries untold in the reeking prison houses and death-breeding stockades of the South. The records of their sufferings are written in blazing characters upon the archives of the country, and it is possible that the real fulness of their trials will never be known. The tens of thousands of nameless graves found in the neighborhood of these ahodes of filth and disease at the close of hostilities proved that the reports of their sufferings were not myth- ical. And yet it must be acknowledged that thousands of the most cowardly and worthless among the Union troops became prisoners, either voluntarily or by reason of the wretched and demoralizing habits of shirking duty by skulking and strag- gling. These outcasts were generally treated, upon capture, with infinitely less consideration than the brave men made prisoners in actual battle, and it would have been well had the customs of warfare allowed a further discrimination between soldiers and skulkers, and kept the two elas es apart during captivity. The un- principled coward- must assuredly have contaminated their more manly and pa- triotic fellow prisoner ..
15
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THE NATIONAL ZOUAVES.
offering battle upon open ground, which the latter was very willing to accept ; making instead a circuitous flank march, by the way of Madison Court House and Warren- ton, and hoping evidently to surprise the Army of the Potomac, striking it while en route or in detail. He fodlol in the attempt at Bristoe, and this repulse, with the delay it occasioned, possibly hastened his determina- tion to withdraw again to the Rappahannock.
October 19th, the Second Corps recrossed Bull Run, following the enemy's rear guard closely, and halting for the night near Bristoe, on the ground occupied by the enemy during the fight of the 14th. The many newly- made graves silently and pathetically told of the losses they had sustained on that day. After some marching our corps went into position near Warrenton, remaining in camp here until November 2th, when a general move- lunt was made across the Rappahannock.
The Second and Third Corps deployed for Kelly's Ford, the latter corps-in advance, under Gen. French- laying a pontoon bridge and crossing it in the face of a heavy fire, capturing five hundred prisoners. The two corps then advanced to a position near Brandy Station and bivonacked. A strong fort and two redoubts at Rappahannock Station had also to be reduced, and this was done by a storming party of Russell's and Upton's brigades of the Sixth Corps, supported by other portions of that and the Fifth Corps. The gallant attack ended in the capture of 1600 prisoners, 4 guns, 8 flags, 2000 small arms and a bridge train.
A brisk snow storm had set in during the afternoon, continuing nearly all night, and, at daylight next morn- ing, the divisions which lay in bivouac in the vicinity of Brandy Station, and still in slumber, seemed to be wrapped
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A WINTER CANTONMENT.
in a winding sheet of spotless white. Five or six officers of the Tenth had taken position for the night in a good soft spot, stretched out like sardines in a box, with their feet towards a huge burning log, which was stirred up occasionally by a sleepless contraband. Their blankets and a tent-fly made the bed and coverlid, and here their slumber was as unbroken as though it had been enjoyed upon the legendary bed of down. The two or three inches of snow which fell during the night increased per- haps the warmth and comfort of the couch, and it was broad daylight before they concluded to arise ; the sound rest they had enjoyed seeming to have given a wonderful zest to their appetites for hot coffee, pork and erackers.
On the 10th, Hayes' division erossed Mountain Run and went into camp near Stevensburg, a hamlet composed of two or three houses, as many dilapidated barns and a blacksmith's shop. It seemed that winter would now put an effectual stop to further campaigning, and the entire army proceeded to construct winter quarters or huts.
This last-mentioned work was always an interesting and absorbing occupation, and, until all were comfort- ably housed, it monopolized the attention of every offi- cer and man. Logs were to be cut and hauled from the woods to the proposed camp, and then hewn and fitted to each other, until at last each company street was per- feet with its even row of lilliputian houses, with sides of logs and roofs of canvas. The fireplace and chimney was a scientific and sometimes troublesome part of the labor, and to obtain a perfectly dearing chimney, with its out- side ornamentation of empty barrels, if such could be had, was always a triumph of engineering skill. A uni- form size for the huts was, of course, generally insisted
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THE NATIONAL ZOUAVES.
upon, if the regularity of the camp was at all considered; but the workmanship varied according to the mechanical talents of the workmen. The officers' huts were, as a rule, of superior style-the regimental pioneer corps being generally employed in their erection. The men composing this corps owed their positions to their pre- sumed skill in engineering and mechanies ; although, in truth, the size and strength of the man, and his deftness in handling the axe and felling trees, were counted as several points in his favor. The log houses generally accommodated four men cach, and although even one who has been a soldier will now often wonder at the diminutive quarters in which he once existed, the com- forts of such an establishment were not to be despised, especially when the keen wind whistled through the com- pany streets, and the snow, penetrating the crevices, served to remind the occupants that there were still worse conditions in which to be placed. The huts built by the Tenth were, perhaps, not as well put together as were those of some of the regiments from the rural districts, but they were nevertheless comfortable, and the chim- neys, as a rule, were built with considerable ingenuity.
November 25th, Capt. Dewey returned to the bat- talion from duty in New York. Becoming tired of re- eruiting service, he had applied for permission to return to the field, and now assumed command of the battalion. being the senior officer in the absence of Maj. Hopper.
A soldier's life, in active service, is one of constantly expected surprises, if we may use the paradox. Changes are always in order and hardly ever cause wonder, al- though often lamented and growled at. So, in this case. when orders were received to break camp, pack up and move on Thanksgiving day (26th), we lost no time in
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THE "MINE RUN" CAMPAIGN.
vain regrets or useless surmises. Rueful grimaces were made at the thought of leaving the warm huts, which had been occupied but two weeks, and venturing upon a campaign in the biting cold weather which then existed ; but all things were got in readiness and the Third Divi- sion, with the rest of the corps, moved out as daylight of the 26th glimmered. The flocks of crows and buzzards. which had hovered over the camps of late, soon settled upon the deserted grounds and commenced their feast- their screeches and eaws being the only sounds heard where an hour before thousands of soldiers had been encamped.
Gen. Meade, as cautions as he always proved himself, had awaited the rebuilding of the bridge and railroad across the Rappahannock, and the complete restoration of his lines of communication, before he had again or- dered an advance against the enemy. They were strongly entrenched south of the Rapidan River and along Mine Run, a small and shallow tributary of that river, where steep hills on one side and almost impenetrable marsh land on the other, afforded excellent defensive positions, of which Gen. Lee had months before taken advantage.
The Second Corps crossed the Rapidan at Germania Ford, advancing about four miles and bivouacking about eight, P. M. During the day the news of Gen. Grant's victory at Chattanooga was read to the troops, who re- ceived it with enthusiasm and an expressed determina- tion to do likewise, if opportunity were afforded.
The next morning Gen. Warren moved the Second Corps through the " Wilderness" to the Orange turn- pike, and thence to Robertson's Tavern, where the one- my's skirmishers were found and, soon after, driven some distance by a bold advance of Col. Carroll's First Bri-
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THE NATIONAL ZOUAVES,
gade-the entire corps taking position in line of battle. Ewell's strong corps was in its front and seemed deter- mined to dispute the further progress of our forces. Misunderstandings had meanwhile arisen regarding the movements of the Third Corps (Gen. French), which bad crossed the Rapidan at Jacob's Mill, west of Germa- nia Ford, and had been ordered to push forward to War- ren's support. Staff officers being sent by Gen. Meade to expedite the forward movement of this corps, Gen. French answered that a force was being thrown towards his right flank, and that a forward movement would be hazardous. Skirmishing and some fighting ensued with part of Ewell's troops, lasting during the afternoon- the day being lost to Gen. Meade by the failure of his plans to connect the wings of his army. *
It was not until the succeeding morning (the 28th) that Warren, now reinforced by the First and Second Corps, advanced under a cold and pelting rain to find that the enemy had withdrawn to their main works along Mine Run. No operations of importance trans- pired during the day, the Rebel works being so formid- able that it was deemed imprudent to attempt a direct assault. It was determined, instead, that the Second Corps should turn the right flank of the enemy, and that the Fifth and Sixth Corps should attack their left, while the First and Third were designated for a demonstration upon their centre. Late in the night the
* Gen. French, commanding the Third Corps, in an official report, made Janu- ary 12th, 1864, said : "On the morning of the 27th, the head of my column, on the march to Robert-on's Tavern, only about three miles distant, became engaged with the Rebels, which resulted in a general engagement, 'as.ing from half-past two to seven, P. M. ยท *
* . This battle : Orange tini vel opened the road to Robert- n's Tavern. My les was nine hundred and fifty. killed and wounded. The enemy's loss was much greater, particularly in officers of rank."
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THE "MINE RUN" CAMPAIGN.
Second Corps started from its position, marching back past Robertson's Tavern ; thence by winding roads in a southerly direction, to a point near Antioch Church, which was reached soon after daylight of the 20th. Here position was taken across and south of the Orange Plank Road, and a little over four miles by bee-line from Robertson's Tavern, though the route taken had seemed twice the distance.
This movement of Gen. Warren to the left had been made with the intention of striking the enemy suddenly on his right; but the latter seemed to be as alert as usual, and not unprepared, as the hastily constructed intrenchments confronting our forces, and halting the advance, plainly evinced. Three additional divisions from the Third and Sixth Corps were, during the day, sent to reinforce the Second, and orders were issued for an advance upon the enemy's lines at eight o'clock the next morning (30th), in conjunction with simultaneous attacks by the rest of the army. At dawn, Warren's now strong command took a position considerably nearer the enemy's works, and all knapsacks and unnecessary articles were left in piles-the men bracing themselves for the expected attack. A bugle-note was to be the signal for the advance of the line, and it can easily be surmised that the suspense grew almost unbearable as the moments slowly passed. The Tenth Battalion, in its capacity as provost guard, was deployed twenty paces in the rear of its division, which position it was to retain during the advance.
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