USA > New York > Dutchess County > The "Dutchess county regiment" (150th regiment of New York state volunteer infantry) in the Civil War; > Part 3
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On the 26th the march was continued westward, and was marked by no unusual event, save the grumblings of those whose feet were in such a condition that it was pain- ful for them to walk. At the close of the following day, June 27th, after another hot and tiresome march, the regiment reached Monocacy Bridge, and climbed to the top of a high hill, where it remained over Sunday, the 28th.
From this hill we for the first time caught sight of that grand old Army of the Potomac. Across the river, as far as the eye could reach, the hills seemed to be covered with a moving mass of soldiers, together with horses, army wagons, artillery, and the general paraphernalia of an army, with flags flying at every quarter.
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THE DUTCHESS COUNTY REGIMENT.
Our men stood as if spellbound and gazed with aston- ishment at the magnitude of that famous army, of which they were to become a part. Pen cannot describe the feelings of those who for the first time beheld that great body of troops, of which they had so often read, knowing it was composed of men who had passed through many a hard-fought battle, and were now engaged in the pur- suit of their enemy, who had left the Old Dominion state, and whose advance guard was at that very moment in Pennsylvania, threatening to burn and destroy.
This was the scene of which it has been said-whether truly or not I do not know-that it furnished to Mrs. Julia Ward Howe the inspiration from which sprang that immortal song,-" Battle Hymn of The Republic." It is easy to believe that she may have stood on the crown of some hill similar to that on which we were camped, and there, as she viewed the seemingly endless processions of armed hosts, travel-worn, dust-covered, and mud- stained, but marching resolutely and resistlessly onward, there sprung to her lips the first line :
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord ;-
And then, when darkness had closed in, and all the landscape, away to the distant horizon of the great South Mountain range, was lit up by myriads of campfires, did not the heart and soul, rather than the intellect, re- ceive the inspiration which gave form to the second verse, beginning,-
I have seen Him in the watch-fire of a hundred circling camps,-
And again, as she witnessed in the morning once more that living, swaying column, crowned with its line of
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FROM BALTIMORE TO GETTYSBURG.
rifles gleaming in the dawn, did the sight furnish the in- spiration for the third verse? Listen to its opening :-
I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel ;-
As the far-reaching notes of the bugle echoed and re- echoed throughout the vale, did that give the key-note to another verse ?
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat!
The tale may have been drawn from some one's imagination, but the conception fits the scene, and one in whose memory the picture still gleams undimmed can easily believe that under the stimulus of these great events the soul of the poet rose to that glorious exaltation in which partisanship is eliminated, and she urges the dedica- tion of the loyal nation to the higher cause of Humanity, giving expression to this exalted sentiment in the last verse.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me. As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, While God is marching on.
She must have witnessed this, or some like scene, to have caught the flow of that perfect refrain,-" march- ing on."
The members of the regiment now began to realize the greatness of the war in which they were engaged, and again they renewed their vows that they would, if neces- sary, devote their lives to maintain the best government that was ever built.
On the morning of June 29th we marched down the hill, over the bridge which here spans the Monocacy river, and, resting at the roadside, awaited our turn to take our position in the marching line. Along with two
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Maryland regiments we had been formed into a brigade, which was placed under command of Brig. Gen. Henry H. Lockwood, and the brigade thus formed became known as "Lockwood's Independent Brigade." It soon took its place in the First Division of the 12th Corps.
While the brigade was waiting by the roadside we were most unmercifully guyed and blackguarded by the veterans of the army as they passed by, for carrying such loads on our backs, but when the time came for the regi- ment to move a great change had taken place in the men's appearance, for the heavy baggage that had been lugged all the way from Baltimore lay scattered around where we had been waiting. No one wished to retain anything that was not really indispensable, and the boys were now stripped for the work which was before them.
Thus lightened of their burdens, having had nearly two days of rest, and their feet relieved of much of their soreness, they were now able to make a pretty good show- ing on the road as compared with the hardened veterans of the Army of the Potomac. On that memorable march from Monocacy Bridge to Gettysburg, we camped on the first night near Frederick City, the place known as the home of the brave Barbara Frietchie. Here the boys began to show signs that they were fast learning to be " veterans," for some of them started out foraging on their own account, and it is believed that some of the officers as well as the enlisted men, partook of a better meal that night than they had been accustomed to having, as a steady diet, for several months.
On the night of June 30th, we were encamped near Littlestown, about twelve miles from Gettysburg. On the next day, July Ist, the whole 12th Army Corps was
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FROM BALTIMORE TO GETTYSBURG.
moved to the vicinity of Two Taverns, a small hamlet or cross-roads near Littlestown, and only eight miles from the field where both the armies were gathering for the great struggle.
While lying here, occasionally hearing the distant boom of cannon, we became aware that the fight had already begun, but a few miles away, and it was soon evident to all that the 150th New York Volunteers was to receive its initiation into real battle. The brigade was formed and made ready to move when and where it might have orders to go, and Colonel Maulsby, addressing his regiment of Maryland Volunteers, told them that they were soon to go into battle, and exhorted his men to stand firm and do honor to the brigade, none of the three regiments having yet been in an engagement.
Our own Colonel Ketcham, being a man of action rather than of words, said but little to his men, but by his looks, and those of his command, it was evident that their friends at home would have no cause to be ashamed of the boys they had sent to stand between them and their Southern foes.
Very early in the morning of July 2nd, came the order for us to move, and it was done with a will. There was no thought given then to sore feet, and, the line moving out promptly, the distance between the camp and the battlefield was covered in a short time.
So the " Dutchess County Regiment " was at last really a part of the great Army of the Potomac, and engaged in the most important battle fought during the century. It was a battle which then seemed likely to decide the fate of the nation,-and perhaps it did.
CHAPTER IV. BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.
By JOSEPH H. COGSWELL.
Approaching the Field-Held in Reserve-Entering the Engagement-Developing the Enemy-"Good Fighting Anywhere"-Those Who Fell-Pickett's Grand Charge-Burying the Dead-The List.
The part borne by the 150th New York Volunteers, Colonel John H. Ketcham, in the battle of Gettysburg can be briefly told. It is not my purpose to write a history of the battle, which is the most celebrated battle ever fought on United States soil, but only to relate the modest part borne by our regiment on that occasion. To do this I find it will be necessary to allude to the regiments with whom we were immediately connected, and to add a brief description of the culmination of the battle on July 3rd, known as "Pickett's Charge." Those who wish a report that will cover the whole field can find their desire grati- fied by consulting the works of hundreds of ambitious writers.
My story begins with the "long roll " that roused us from our slumbers as we bivouacked in a piece of woods eight miles south-east of Gettysburg, near a place known as Littlestown, Thursday, July 2, 1863. Scant time was allowed for coffee and hardtack, and at 3 A. M. we were in line awaiting the order to march.
A provisional brigade had been made up, consisting of the Ist Maryland Regiment, Potomac Home Brigade, Colonel William P. Maulsby ; the Ist Eastern Shore Mary-
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land Infantry, Colonel James Wallace; the 2nd Eastern Shore Infantry, and the 150th New York Volunteers. These four regiments were organized under the command of General Henry H. Lockwood, a graduate of West Point who had long been in civil life, but whose patriot- ism was of too fine a grain to allow him to remain inactive when his country was imperiled. Only three of these regiments were at Gettysburg however, as the 2nd Mary- land Eastern Shore Regiment was kept at Baltimore, and did not receive orders to join us until July 6th. Upon reaching Gettysburg we were formally assigned to the 12th Corps, commanded by General Henry W. Slocum, (its corps badge being the five-pointed star), Ist Division, commanded by General A. S. Williams, of which ours was the 2nd Brigade, commanded by General Lockwood.
At this point let me state that later, just before we crossed the Potomac, the three Maryland regiments re- fused to leave the state, claiming that they were " Home Guards," and then we were assigned to the 3rd Brigade, Ist Division, 12th Corps; our brigade commander being General Thomas H. Ruger, and our co-regiments, from four of whom we never parted till the end of the war, were the 2nd Massachusetts, 3rd Wisconsin, 27th Indiana, 13th New Jersey and 107th New York. The Indiana regiment left our brigade at Savannah, Ga., January, 1865. It at once became and continued to be a matter of pride with us that our soldiership in every respect should win commendation from the seasoned veterans of the Army of the Potomac.
But to return to our Littlestown camp. Soon came the order to march. On the afternoon of the day before we had heard, for the first time, hostile cannonading. All
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THE DUTCHESS COUNTY REGIMENT.
sorts of rumors had reached us, evolved mainly from the inner unconsciousness-of-the-truth of the narrators. We learned however, that in the first shock of battle, July Ist, Lee's army had forced our line back with heavy losses, and that our General John F. Reynolds had been killed.
The forced march of two hours, covering eight miles, was without particular incident, and at 5:00 A. M. we really became a part of the Army of the Potomac. The position to which we were assigned placed us on the ex- tension of the 12th Corps' line south from Culp's Hill, with only the cavalry on our right, which made us the extreme right of Meade's infantry. All we had to do here was to " possess our souls in patience " and wonder how soon it would be our turn to enter the fight, whether we would come out alive or be objects of attention for some "burial squad;" and should we "conquer in the strife !"
As the day wore on the incidents of a battlefield were wanting in our immediate vicinity, but to our left, and along the longest part of our line from the extreme left on Little Round Top towards Gettysburg, which, as we stood, was exactly in our rear, there was an engagement going on that taxed to the utmost our veterans who were confronting the Army of Virginia.
Lee tried all day to find a weak spot in Meade's armor, and strong assaults were made at Culp's Hill, and along the line to Gettysburg. The right-centre, the centre and the left-centre all were tested, but discomfiture to the enemy was the result in every case, until at last Lee observed that the 3rd Corps, commanded by General Sickles, was somewhat out of position with an inverted
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BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.
" V " shaped angle extended to the front. This discovery, with an idea he entertained that our extreme left at Round Top had been left unguarded, induced him to throw a mass of soldiers against us there. And he almost succeeded !
The Peach Orchard, the now famous Wheat Field, the Bloody Angle, Devil's Den and Round Top! Their story of deeds of heroism is safe!
It was conjectured by the Union commander that Lee would at once reinforce his right and make a further assault on our extreme left. Our troops at that part of the line had about reached the limit of soldier-endurance and fresh forces were needed. They were obtained by withdrawing regiments from the right and sending them across the field, a mile or more, to the point of danger. Our regiment was a part of the force so placed, and in the brief march which began at 6:00 P. M. we saw for the first time the terrible and ghastly aspect of a battle- field. A few shells from the enemy's batteries flew over our heads, but fortunately did us no harm.
When near the end of our march, which had been by the flank, we reached an open space at the north of Little Round Top, and forming in line, battalion front, ad- vanced across the fields to a point about half a mile west of where the line had been formed. The position to which the regiment advanced that night is now indicated by a granite marker near the Trostle house. The enemy had fallen back upon the first approach of reinforcements and were now concealed from view. We neither saw them again, nor discharged a musket, and soon after nine o'clock took up our line of march to the position which we had occupied on the right during the day. Three pieces of
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a Rhode Island battery which had fallen into the enemy's hands, but were later abandoned by them, were drawn off the field by Companies B and G of our regiment.
Not long afterward we regained our former position and found no trouble in dropping to sleep, but a fusillade from some source swept over our line with a sharp sing- ing tone, cutting branches and twigs overhead. It
brought us to our feet in an instant. We expected that something worse was coming, but nothing further dis- turbed us, and to tell the truth I think we were all glad that no more such battlefield reminders came through the night; and thus ended Thursday, July 2nd, at Gettys- burg, as far as we were concerned.
We come now to the experiences of Friday, July 3rd. While the extreme right of our line had been drawn upon so heavily the night before to reinforce the left, as hereto- fore stated, the enemy took advantage of the fact and at once occupied a part of our breastworks at the right of Culp's Hill, which had been thrown up by the 12th Corps. A sharp fight in the dark by the returning regi- ments to regain their breastworks was only partly success- ful, but the necessity of restoring our broken line was so vitally important that arrangements were made during the night for an early morning attack.
Colonel Hunt, Meade's Chief of Artillery, posted dur- ing the dark hours four batteries on an elevation and in a position to reach the enemy who had made themselves at home in our breastworks. At 2:00 A. M. our regiment was put in motion and after a short march was halted in line of battle twenty rods in front of a piece of woods having dense underbrush. Companies A and F, on the right of the line, were ordered to deploy as skirmishers
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BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.
and advance to the edge of the woods, covering the regi- mental front. Had we known that a few rods from us, well protected behind breastworks in those woods, the " Johnnies " were waiting for us, our feelings might have been different.
In an hour we were ordered back and Colonel Ketcham was directed to place our regiment on the left of one of the batteries I have mentioned, and in its support. Colonel Maulsby's Marylanders supported the same battery on the right. At 4:30 A. M. the battery, six brass 12- pounders, opened, directing its shot into the woods on our front. After a half hour, in which the guns were served with great rapidity, an aide galloped up and im- parted an order to General Lockwood to take one of his regiments and advance into the woods which had been so vigorously shelled, and develop the enemy. As Maulsby was on the right and nearest the place indicated, the General directed him to execute the order, and as he marched away the right division of our regiment, five companies, moved from its position on the left and became the support of the battery on its right.
When the Marylanders, who moved away by the right flank, reached the open glade in front of the woods where our two companies had been deployed, as before stated, they formed in battalion front and advanced. The shelling had ceased. It was a fine display. As their line was parallel to the edge of the woods they were all out of sight at once, and we waited in dread suspense, but not long. A thousand rifles opened from the contending forces, but our men suffered the most, as the enemy had our captured breastworks for protection.
Our wounded who were able to come back drew out
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of the woods and limped to the rear. A regiment of Regulars charged the enemy's right flank at about this time, and soon the breastworks were retaken and our line established as it existed before the troops were with- drawn the night before. The loss to Maulsby's men in those few minutes was 24 killed and 72 wounded. The foe they met was the Ist Maryland Confederate Volun- teers, and mainly Baltimoreans.
By this time, about 6:00 A. M., the battle was joined and pressed with more or less vigor from our extreme left at Round Top to the village of Gettysburg, and to the extreme right, near where we were. There was "good fighting anywhere," as General Phil. Kearney once graphically described a similar situation, and the impres- sion on the men was as varied as their several tempera- ments. How would they feel and act under fire? We were not long in finding out, as at once we began march- ing by flank off to the left. An aide from some officer's staff was our guide and we turned to the right from the main road into woods with Culp's Hill in front. We swung into battalion front, and when the Colonel's com- mand, "Forward, 150th !" was given, we advanced at double-quick with a rush and a cheer.
Ours not to reason why, Ours but to do and die!
Our course of forty rods led up over a ridge and then down a slope where we found a long line of hastily built breastworks filled with soldiers who were pouring an incessant fire into the valley below. We then learned that our duty was to relieve a regiment which had been on this firing line two hours, and as we took its place we found it was the Ist Eastern Shore Maryland Infan-
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BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.
try of our brigade, which had arrived that morning. Our orders were to load and fire till relieved, and right earnestly was the order obeyed. It is estimated that we expended 150 rounds to a man. The woods in our front were branched low and full of undergrowth. Very seldom was there a living target to be seen, but our shots went down into that valley continuously.
Coming under my own observation the first man to fall was Charles Howgate of Company A. He had ex- hausted his cartridge box, and gone back a few rods to get a new supply from some boxes of ammunition which had been brought on to the field. His position was above the level of the breastworks and easily within range of the enemy's fire. A gaping wound was torn through the top of his head. I had time only to reach him, grasp his hand and speak to him, but it was all over. Possibly he never knew what hit him. I hope so.
A little later Edward Tuttle spoke to me, saying, " John Van Alstyne has got it!" and I beheld, close to the breastworks, the stalwart form of that big, good soldier sink slowly to the ground. A bullet had struck him just below the inner corner of the eye, and his life- blood gushed out in a torrent.
Not long afterward my youngest boy, little Johnny Wing, of slight build and not yet eighteen, and Levi Rust, one of the oldest men in the company, were killed by the same shot. Johnny was squarely behind Levi, and they dropped almost instantaneously.
Privates Jedidiah Murphy, Co. E; Barnard C. Burnett, Co. G; William H. Barnes, Co. I; and Tallmadge Wood, Co. C, were the other four who drew the deadly blanks,
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but I can add no particulars of their mortal wounding. The number wounded was 23.
In about two hours we were relieved and fell back of the woods, giving place to another regiment. Later we again rallied on the same rifle pits and poured our leaden hail on " whom it might concern." At one time a squad of four score of the enemy displayed a flag of truce and we ceased firing long enough for them to get over the breastworks and join our other prisoners in the rear. A little before noon we again fell back from the trenches, being relieved by other troops, and took our place in the reserve at the rear.
The grand climacteric of the day and the battle was at three o'clock in the afternoon of that day, when Lee made his mighty culminating effort to break our lines. At one o'clock he had placed the artillery of Hill's and Longstreet's Corps, 115 guns in all, opposite our centre, and opened the heaviest and most terrific cannonading witnessed during the war. Our thin line on Cemetery Ridge was the target, but many of the shells flew over the ridge and landed uncomfortably near us. It had been alleged that Lee's ammunition was defective; cer- tainly hundreds of shells exploded high over our heads. Colonel Hunt, our Chief of Artillery, says that he could muster only 80 guns to oppose the 115 guns of the enemy. Hle divined Lee's purpose and husbanded his men and resources, slackening his fire until the enemy's plan was fully developed. At 3:00 P. M., Pickett's famous charge was seen to be in motion.
Let no one ever sneer at or try to belittle the Southern soldier. No one will who saw or has correctly under- stood this heroic movement. For a mile these troops
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BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.
had to march under the most galling fire, most of the way up a rising ground. They came on in three lines, 15,000 men in fine alignment, banners flying, and with a fixed purpose to carry the day. The centre of the 2nd Corps was their objective point, and when Hunt saw that they were near enough his guns opened on them. Those in front had a point-blank range, while those at the right and at the left had a partially enfilading fire. Their cannon shots were going over the heads of our infantry line, which was holding its fire.
But the time came when the enemy was near enough to be within easy range of the infantry, and our thou- sands of rifles mowed them down by hundreds and hun- dreds. Still they came on, until they reached the stone wall, behind which our thin line met them in a hand to hand conflict, but could not, at every point, withstand the impact, and a few of the charging force actually crossed our line; but it was unimportant on the general result.
Our infantry and batteries to the right and left of the main body of the enemy now delivered an enfilading fire which did terrible execution in their ranks. Pickett's brave men were half a mile from any support, and the Confederate artillery could not be used without inflicting as much damage on their own troops as on ours. To retreat was as bad as to advance, for a considerable part of their forces, and they became prisoners. That part which could, fell back, but received the attention of our guns and small arms until out of range. The place at which our line was broken is now indicated by a sub- stantial marker, and is known as the "High-Water Mark of the Rebellion."
In anticipation of the possible needs of the day, several
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THE DUTCHESS COUNTY REGIMENT.
regiments, ours being one, were massed in rear of the 2nd Corps, and held in reserve. We were protected by ris- ing ground, and had the pleasure of seeing a few thou- sand of the prisoners taken there marched to the rear. The battle was over and the field won; but at a fearful cost.
Towards sundown we returned to the right and held a part of the breastworks during the night. We did not know that the battle was ended, the troops being kept alert as though they might be assailed at any minute, and no vigilance was relaxed. Saturday morning, July 4th, Colonel Ketcham was ordered to take our regiment out on an exploring tour to find where the enemy was. We marched to the front, well beyond the positions held by the enemy on the two previous days, and much to our delight found no " Johnnies " anywhere. Lee had drawn back his left flank, but held his position in front of our left. The day passed without incident, and Sunday morning, July 5th, Lee was in full retreat for the Potomac.
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