USA > New York > The Ninth regiment, New York volunteers (Hawkins' zouaves); being a history of the regiment and veteran association from 1860 to 1900 > Part 25
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About two weeks after their arrival at the fort they were gratified by receiving marching orders. The first move was to Portsmouth, Va., where they encamped on Paradise Creek. From there they were sent to Folly Island, S. C., where they arrived in the early part of June, and were assigned to Alvord's Brigade, Second Division, 18th Army Corps.
While here the regiment had plenty of actual war service, taking part in nearly all the en- gagements up to and including the capture of Fort Gregg; the men so conducting themselves in these engagements as to receive the con- mendation of their superiors.
443
CAMPAIGNING IN VIRGINIA.
In March, 1864, it joined the Army of the Potomac at Glouster Point, Va., and later was transferred to the Army of the James, where it saw plenty of service both at Bermuda Hun- dreds and at the front of Petersburg. In the fight at Drewry's Bluff, or Newmarket Road, it participated in a brilliant charge, capturing and holding the enemy's line for a time, but was afterwards outflanked and compelled to retire. Severalof the boys of the Ninth greatly distinguished themselves here, notably Ser- geant Todd and acting Sergeant-Major Avent. The latter rallied the men, after the repulse above noted, and there being no commissioned officer present with that portion of the regi- ment, which had become separated from the rest of the command, established a line in the face of the enemy and held it successfully for several hours until relieved of command by the arrival of a commissioned officer, Lieuten- ant James H. Reeves.
The regiment was engaged in the attack on the enemy's intrenchments on the north side of the James, under General " Baldy " Smith on the day the Army of the Potomac formed the junction with the Army of the James. The movement as a whole was not a success, if it had been the siege of Petersburg would have been unnecessary, but the division to which
444 NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
the regiment belonged, after being twice re- pulsed in the attempt, succeeded in capturing that part of the line in their immediate front, turning the enemy's guns upon them and fired their own shot and shell at the retreating rebels.
The regiment joined the besieging army in the works before Petersburg, and during its stay there was repeatedly engaged. It took part in the mine fiasco and was part of the command which held its ground for so many hours in the crater.
While stationed at Chapin's farm a number of vacancies among the line officers of the regi- ment were filled by promotion from the rank and file, five of the positions falling to men who had been transferred from the Ninth, viz .: George WV. Rogers, John Knowles, James Rockwell, George E. Avent and E. K. Whiteman.
When the Fort Fisher expedition was organ- ized the Third was ordered to join it. The regiment did its full share of fighting, and suffered its proportionate loss in the memorable attack and capture of that work. Several of the men of the old regiment greatly distin- quished themselves in the desperate hand-to- hand conflict which preceded the capture of the fort. Edward K. Whiteman, one of the Zou- aves, who although a commissioned officer,
443
DISTINGUISHED GALLANTRY.
had not been mustered and was still doing duty as a sergeant, led a detachment of the regiment over the parapet in the most gallant manner, driving the defenders successively, step by step, from traverse to traverse, encouraging his men by voice and example and winning the admiration of all who saw him, until he fell dead, literally in the ranks of the enemy, on the eighth mound which his party had won by their gallant and determined efforts. Thus fell a heroic soldier, giving " the last full measure of devotion" to his country, and reflecting honor on his regiment and on the cause in which he served.
This was the last engagement in which the regiment participated. It had become reduced to a mere handful in numbers, not so much from the casualties of battle, although its losses had been large, as from the rapid discharge of the men, some of whose terms of enlistment began to expire almost as soon as the con- solidation had been effected. The first man from the Ninth to be discharged from the Third was Samuel H. Marsh, who had enlisted for two years, just sixteen days after the muster-in of the old regiment. From that time onward it dwindled away very rapidly, some of the men being discharged almost daily. This paucity of numbers prevented the muster-in of
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446 NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
a number of officers who had been promoted for gallant and meritorious services or for marked soldierly ability. From among the recruits of the Ninth sixteen men were promoted to be commissioned officers, and thirty-two to non-commissioned positions, a total of forty- eight promotions out of the two hundred and sixty-four transferred, or a fraction over eighteen per cent.
The regiment was finally mustered out of service at Raleigh, N. C., August 26, 1865.
In the autumn of 1862, at the time when a considerable number of the men of the Ninth, who had been wounded at Antietam were con- valescent and preparing to return to the front, a call was published in the New York news- papers, notifying the public generally, that on a specified day a meeting would be held at the office of Mr. Dexter A. Hawkins, for the purpose of organizing and sending to the front a regiment to be designated "Second Battalion Ninth New York Volunteers." Mr. Hawkins was a relative of Col. Rush C. Hawkins, of the Ninth, and one of the many patriotic citizens of the Metropolis who were contributing freely of their time and means in an effort to render assistance to the Government in its desperate struggle against armed treason.
Up to that time the Union forces had gained
447
THE SECOND BATTALION.
few victories and had suffered many reverses, and as a consequence recruiting at the North had almost come to a standstill. Mr. Hawkins and the gentlemen associated with him desired to organize a regiment which would be officered entirely by men who had served at the front and had gained military knowledge from actual experience on the march, in the bivouac, and on the battlefield, and thereby inspire confidence - in such patriotic citizens as might desire to serve their country as soldiers, but who might hesitate to enlist, in the fear that they might be obliged to serve under officers who had no more experience in war than they themselves, and would in all probability be sacrificed on the altar of ignorance and inexperience.
The meeting was held in pursuance to the call, several of the Antietam wounded of the Ninth attending, and a preliminary or provi- sional organization formed, and headquarters for the same established at the corner of Broome and Mercer Streets, New York City. The field officers designated for the proposed regiment were as follows: Colonel, Julius WV. Adams, who was a West Point graduate ; Lieutenant-Colonel, Edward Jardine, then Major of the old regiment and serving with it at the front: Major, Thomas W. Conway, the then Chaplain of the Ninth, who was at the
448 NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
time in New York on leave of absence. The positions of line officers were generally left open, to be filled later as companies were organized, except the few who were designated for the companies which were then started, and these were selected both from the old regiment and from other sources. Charles Curie, of Company C of the Ninth, one of the Antietam wounded, became first lieutenant of one of the first com- panies started. He afterward was adjutant of the new regiment. He at once established headquarters and began recruiting and pro- ceeded with the organization of his company. Recruiting just then was slow work. There were scores of new regiments being organized, the greater number of them, however, remain- ing skeleton organizations for months.
Before the new regiment had secured re- cruits enough to entitle it to "muster-in " to the service, the term of the old regiment had expired and the first excitement attending its home-coming had hardly passed away before a new Ninth New York was organized, which was to be officered exclusively by men of the old regiment. The field and staff of the new organization as first decided on were Colonel Edward Jardine; Lieutenant-Colonel William G. Barnett; Major James R. Whiting, and Adjutant G. A. C. Barnett.
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449
CONSOLIDATIONS AND CHANGES.
There were some changes in the personnel made subsequently, due to casualties and con- solidation with other regiments. A part of the Second Battalion was consolidated with the new Ninth, while the remainder, about two companies, were combined with other skeleton regiments and consolidated into the 178th New York Volunteers.
The personnel of the Second Battalion was changed considerably when the Ninth New York was reorganized, and further changes followed the various consolidations, as above, until finally all the field positions were filled by men who had not been members of the old regi- ment. The consolidation of part of the organi- zation with the new Ninth deprived it of several line officers also, who were former Zouaves. Among those who remained and cast their lot with the regiment, which became the 178th New York, were Harry Wright, who became a lieutenant; Charles Curie, who attained the rank of captain before his final muster-out; John B. Gandolfo, who eventually became colonel of the regiment, 'and John B. Pannes, who was promoted from the 17th New York to a captaincy in the 178th. In addition to the above mentioned commissioned officers, there was a goodly number of ex-Zouaves among the rank and file of the new regiment.
450 NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
About the middle of June, 1863, the first five companies of the regiment proceeded to Vir- ginia, where for a time they formed part of the defenses at Washington. Later they were on guard duty in and about that city, and while there were joined by the remaining companies and the regiment completed.
Meantime the reorganized Ninth, which while recruiting had been stationed at Sprague Bar- racks, Staten Island, was slowly adding to its numbers. When the "July riots" of 1863 broke out Colonel Jardine and the partly organ- ized regiment at once marched against the mob, which was in almost undisputed control in several different sections of the city, and in one of the fights which followed Jardine was dangerously wounded. This proved to be an injury of such 'a nature as to disable him from further service in the field and to eventually cause his death.
In this fight the troops were at first over- whelmed by the mob which was well armed with carbines from a sacked gun factory, and were obliged to fall back leaving the Colonel, who had already been wounded and was unable to help himself, behind. Assistant-Surgeon White of the old regiment, remained with him, and both fell into the hands of the mob. White, after receiving a blow from the butt of
451
RESCUE OF JARDINE AND WHITE.
a carbine, which laid open his scalp and in- flicted a serious wound, was hurried away by a portion of the mob and preparations began to hang him to a lamp post. Jardine, in the mean- time, with his extraordinary tact and address, which never deserted him under any circum- stances, was parleying with the others in an almost hopeless attempt to gain time, when they were both almost miraculously rescued by the timely arrival of reinforcements.
While Captain Webster and his regulars, of which the reinforcements consisted, with diffi- culty held the mob at bay in the street, Jardine and White were assisted out of the melee and taken to a place of safety.
On the 29th day of August, 1863, two full companies of the Ninth were mustered into the United States service, and on September 2d, under command of Captain James B. Horner -- who returned at the close of the war major of the regiment-were ordered to Fort Hamilton, New York Harbor, to report to Colonel Han- nibal Day, U. S. A., commanding the post, where they did duty with the regular garrison until October 16th, when they returned to Sprague Barracks. The regiment being still incomplete it was here consolidated with other organizations and became the 17th New York Veteran Volunteers.
452 NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
This consolidation had the effect of relegating Jardine to the position of lieutenant-colonel, and leaving Barnett out altogether, the posi- tions of colonel and major falling to. the share of the original 17th, that organization having brought more men into the regiment than any of the others, and it being customary under such circumstances to apportion the officers pro rata.
Barnett afterward accepted a position in the regiment and became the junior captain.
Jardine, owing to his wound, never joined the regiment, and resigned his commission May Ioth, 1864.
The Zouave uniform of the old regiment, which had been adopted by the new Ninth and supplied by the State to the regiment, was so much admired by the officers of the 17th, that it was adopted by them as the regimental uni- form. Many of the characteristics of the old regiment, including their style of drill, was also followed by the new regiment. At the grand review in Washington at the close of the war the appearance of the 17th, in style, uniform and marching, bore such a similarity to the Hawkins' Zouaves that it was com- mented upon by many of the spectators who had been familiar with the appearance of the latter regiment.
Shortly after the consolidation was effected
453
MOVEMENTS OF THE 178th NEW YORK.
the regiment was ordered to the front and near" Washington, D. C., early in the autumn of 1863, became part of a provisional brigade, which was composed of the 178th New York Veteran Volunteers, 17th New York Veteran Volunteers, and the 34th and 35th New Jersey Volunteers. They were ordered to report to General Sherman, who was then on the march from Memphis to join Grant at Chattanooga, and whom they expected to find at or near Eastport, Miss. Sherman had already passed when the brigade arrived at that point, and after a wait of several days for orders it was sent to join Gen. A. J. Smith, at Columbus, Ky.
The 178th was detached from the provisional brigade here and was sent to garrison Fort Pillow. From there it joined Sherman at Vicksburg, becoming part of A. J. Smith's division, and participated in the Meridian raid. It was then, with A. J. Smith's and Mower's divisions of the 16th Army Corps, sent to the Red River country to assist Banks out of his trouble, and participating in all the opera- tions of that campaign rendered such efficient and valuable assistance that Banks' army was saved from overwhelming disaster. It was
then transferred to Arkansas and joined in the pursuit of Marmduke, thence to Mississippi and Tennessee in the Tupelo campaign and
454 NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
the marchings and countermarchings, battles and skirmishes in the pursuit of that most able cavalry commander, Forest. Always on the move with little time for either rest or sleep. From there was hurried to Missouri to assist in heading off the Confederate General Price's movement against St. Louis. Partici- pated in the affair at Franklin, where Price was defeated and forced to retreated. Followed close upon his heels across the State of Mis- souri to the Kansas line, where he was over- taken and again defeated and his army scat- tered. From here the regiment returned to Pleasant Hill, where it arrived October 31st. Between October Ist, the date of the fight at Franklin, until the arrival of the command at Pleasant Hill, the regiment had marched four hundred miles.
In the early days of December the command, which by that time by reason of their long marches and unkempt appearance, had become known in the army as "Smith's Guerillas," joined Thomas at Nashville and took part in that battle. In response to instructions from General Thomas at that time, directing brigade commanders to report the conduct of com- missioned officers during the battles before Nashville. Colonel E. H. Wolfe, command- ing the brigade to which the 178th was attached, reported :
455
THE SEVENTEENTH NEW YORK.
Without doing injustice, however, to other officers I would respectfully recommend for promotion Captain John B. Gandolfo, commanding the 178th New York Volunteers. This officer I have before recommended for promotion, and the manner in which he dis- charged his duties during the engagement of the 16th, has only strength- ened my former opinion as to his ability as an officer, and I again urge his advancement in the service.
After the destruction of Hood's army the command was ordered to report to General Canby, and was a part of his forces in the movement against and capture of Mobile, which event occurred on April 9th, 1865.
Having practically reached the end of the war the regiment saw no more active service and in due course was regularly mustered out.
The " Seventeenth" remained for a time part of the provisional brigade above referred to, and after the departure of the 178th was engaged in active duty, marching and counter- marching, to pursue or intercept the enemy over a wide extent of territory. It participated in the movement which is designated by those who took part in it as the "Meridian raid," and in the other operations of the army, being almost continuously on the move until the winter was well advanced and the ground covered with snow. The regiment was after- ward sent to Decater, Ala., and during the time the command to which it was attached was operating in that vicinity became, by reason of its various marches and movements,
436 NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
well acquainted with a large portion of north- ern Alabama and northeastern Mississippi.
It finally became part of Sherman's army participating in all its movements, including the battle of Jonesboro, in which in a brillant charge on the enemy's works it lost its Colonel, Wm. T. C. Grower, and a hundred men. The heroism of Colonel Grower and the gallantry of the regiment was so conspicuously displayed on that occasion that it attracted the notice of General Thomas, who afterward, at the grand review at Washington, took pains to publicly thank it for the gallantry shown on that occa- sion.
It was prominently active in the Atlanta campaign and in the memorable siege which terminated that brilliant series of strategic movements and successfully fought battles which followed each other so rapidly during that most remarkable chapter of the war.
It was part of the army of Sherman, when that master in strategy cut losse from his base and started on the famous "March to the sea," participated in all the hardships of that army and shared all its glories. It was actively engaged in many of the battles which were fought during the progress of that great move- ment from Tennessee to North Carolina, and participated and suffered severe losses in the
437
CAREER OF CAPT. BARNETT.
very last one fought, namely, Bentonville, N. C., April 19th, 1865. Three days prior to that date, at Averyboro, N. C., the regiment sus- tained considerable loss, among the dead being Captain William G. Barnett, who was killed while faithfully performing his duty at the head of his company. He was one of the old "Ninth" and his military career was in one feature at least a decidedly singular one. At the very outbreak of the war he entered the service as a captain in the "Ninth," and took part as such in the first battle of the Rebellion, viz .: Big Bethel, June 10th, 1861. He was killed while still a captain in one of the last battles fought, having been in the field in active service almost continuously during the four years intervening.
The following obituary notice, which is from the pen of Dr. J. P. P. White, assistant surgeon of the old "Ninth," and which was published at the time of Captain Barnett's death, will not be out of place here:
AVERYBORO, N. C., April 19, 1365.
In the list of officers killed at the battle of Averyboro, N. C., April 16, 1865, occurs the name of Captain William G. Barnett, of the 17th New York Volunteers.
He originally entered service in April, 1861, as captain of "B" Company. 9th New York Volunteers, "Hawkins' Zouaves," serving through all the trying and glorious campaigns of that organization with great distinction, and contributing perhaps more than any other officer of the line to the perfection of drill, which so distinguished it, as well as to the efficiency which was so nobly displayed on many a hotly contested field.
468 NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
Wounded early in the battle of Antietam he refused to leave his command which sustained the first shock of the furious flank attacks of the enemy late in the afternoon of that eventful day. His term of service having expired, he, with Colonel Jardine, attempted to re- organize the 9th Regiment, holding the position of lieutenant-colonel. During the period allotted for that effort a severe wound received by Colonel Jardine in one of the conflicts with the rioters of 1863, in which Captain Barnett participated with his usual gallantry, frustrated their plans for the future, and on the consolidation with the 17th, he accepted with characteristic modesty the position of captain in the latter, shrink- ing from no personal sacrifice in his efforts to aid the cause for which he gave up his life.
Peculiar considerations and influences, better understood in his regi- ment than elsewhere, prevented his promotion to a rank commensurate with his abilities, and his name adds another to the long list of heroes, forgotten while living, but honored in their graves. Lulled to sleep by the thunder of victorious guns, the last sad salute, the rifle shots of his gallant men, he is lying on a well-fought field, the long moss of Carolina forests "dewed with nature's tear-drops," waving gently over his silent resting place. We leave him to future and coming generations, who shall, with reverent feet, hasten to honor the martyr who gave his life to regenerate and purify the country.
As man may he fought his fight, proved his truth by his endeavor; Let him sleep in solemn night, sleep forever and forever.
Leave him to God's watchful eye, trust him to the hand that made him, Mortal love weeps idly by, God alone has power to aid him.
The war was now practically over, and after taking part in the grand review at Washing- ton, the 17th, together with the other gallant regiments of which the armies were composed, were mustered out, and the individual members of all of them were soon absorbed in the civil body, and became again the ordinary unpre- tending citizens of the Great Republic.
These brief sketches of the regiments in which so many men of the "Ninth" completed their military careers, is simply for the purpose of continuing the history of the old regiment
439
THE INFLUENCE OF THE NINTH.
under its other designations. At the time of the muster-out of the Ninth-a two year regi- ment-the war was scarcely half over. A large majority of the men who had survived the "Accidents of field and flood," at once re-en- tered the service. Two hundred and sixty-four men whose terms of enlistment had not ex- pired remained in the field as the 3d New York. As soon as the Ninth had been mus- tered out, numbers of the discharged men at once re-enlisted in the Second Battalion, and still greater numbers in the reorganized Ninth, when that regiment was started. In the field these men exerted a powerful influence for good on their respective organizations. They, both commissioned and enlisted, set up their old regiment as their standard of excellence and strove to bring their respective regiments up to that standard and to keep them there. The esprit de corps of the Ninth was always present and nearly always in the ascendancy, and to it was largely due the honorable records these regiments made in the service.
In addition to those who clung together in groups and so enlisted in their respective regi- ments, a considerable number entered the ser- vice separately. Some of these had strong preferences for other arms of the service than infantry, while others scattered to their homes
460 NINTH REGIMMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
in more or less distant localities, in New York and other States, and entered regiments which were recruiting in those localities.
It is neither desirous, nor would it be prac- ticable to give the names of any considerable proportion of such men as thus enlisted singly, but as a matter of corroboration to the above the names of the following members of the Ninth who continued their service as commis- sioned officers in other regiments. than those mentioned in this history are here given.
First Sergeant D. J. Green, of Company F, was commissioned in one of the North Caro- lina regiments recruited at Plymouth, and served with honor and distinction till the end of the war; Latham A. Fish, of Company C, served his second term as a captain in the 174th New York Volunteers; Lieut. James H. Fleming, of Company I, entered the cav- alry after serving his full term in the Ninth, and died heroically at Falls Church, Va., while in command of his company; Serg .- Maj. Au- gustus Dusenbury entered the 35th New Jersey Volunteers, and finished his second enlistment a captain; John S. Harrison, lieutenant in Company D, joined an Iowa regiment and became captain ; Lieut. George WV. Debevoise, of Company A, after being discharged for dis- ability, the result of wound, was commissioned
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