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 5
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There was no opportunity for a laugh then ; . it had to be deferred until after drill, when a chorus of five hundred voices howled in unison, "Move! Move! for God's sake, you little bandy-legged man, move!"
This incident ruined Herbert ; though a good soldier, and later a lieutenant in the regiment, he never could live it down. After serving through the entire term he was mustered out with the regiment, then disappeared, and has not since been seen. He dared not face the ridicule of the " boys."
Another peculiar phase of Phelps' character was shown in the manner he treated an attempt to " get solid with the General."
While the regiment was at Newport News
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the whole country in that vicinity had been de- serted by the inhabitants. They evidently were fearful of the soldiers and had departed hur- riedly, in most instances leaving all household property behind them. Everything in the shape of furniture, cooking utensils, etc., was left in the homes of the people entirely unpro- tected. In order to check vandalism the Gen- eral had issued strict orders against foraging. Two of Company A's boys, who, like most of the others in the regiment were from New York City, evidently imagined that military orders were like city ordinances, only to be observed by those who had no " pull." They proceeded at once to get their "pull " by cooking to a turn a foraged turkey, and nicely arranging it on a foraged china platter, with which they marched up to headquarters to present it to the General. At the moment he was not present, but the platter and contents were received by the orderly, who was strictly enjoined to inform the General whence it came. When the Gen- eral returned and his eye fell on the well- cooked turkey and the china platter, he ex- claimed, "Well! Well! How nice! That is really thoughtful ! Orderly, where did that come from?" Saluting, the orderly replied : "Two men of Company A, of the Zouaves, sent it to you with their compliments, Sir." "My.
"WORKING A PULL" WITH THE "OLD MAN"' 69
My!" said the General, "how very kind and thoughtful. Orderly, go with the corporal of the guard, point out the men, and have them brought here." The men were very much elated when told the General desired to see them, and started with alacrity, doubtless think- ing the interview would result in an invitation to dine with the " old man."
What actually occurred was about as follows :
Corporal ---- "General, these are the men the orderly said you wanted."
General (to men)-"Did you bring these things here ? "
Men (in chorus, promptly)-" Yes, sir."
General-"That's the way you obey my orders against foraging, is it ? Corporal, take them to the guard-house !"
The two crestfallen Zouaves and the grinning corporal marched away, and history does not record whether the General ate the turkey or not.
This lesson may not have stopped foraging in the Ninth Regiment but it effectually ended all attempts to make General Phelps an acces- sory.
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CHAPTER IV.
RECONNAISSANCE BY COMPANIES A AND F - SKIRMISH WITH THE ENEMY - TROUBLE ABOUT THE RELATIVE RANK OF OFFICERS -DECIDED BY DRAWING LOTS - GENERAL BUTLER SUPERSEDED BY GENERAL WOOL - SPECIAL ORDER FOR EXPEDITION TO HAT- TERAS INLET-THREE COMPANIES OF THE NINTH JOIN EXPEDITION -- ARRIVAL OFF HATTERAS-BOMBARDMENT OF FORTS --- SURRENDER - AMOUNT OF MATERIAL CAPTURED.
W HILE the regular drills, parades, and other ordinary routine duties of camp life continued, the task of reconnoitering the adjacent country by companies, or smaller de- tachments, was performed at regular intervals.
The immediate vicinity was occupied by the enemy, and it called for extreme alertness and watchfulness to guard against surprise and keep informed of his movements.
On June 29, 1861, Company A, Captain Graham, was sent out to reconnoiter, as was usual. While moving along the road some dis-
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RECONNAISSANCES BY COMPANIES.
tance from camp the company suddenly came upon two Confederate soldiers, evidently on scouting duty. They were gathered in and taken before the Colonel. They were dressed in a uniform very similar to that worn by the 5th N. Y. (Duryea's), and they informed their captors that the name of their organization was the "Louisiana Tigers." The condition of their clothing was such that it was removed and burned as a matter of self defense.
But there were sometimes losses as well as captures. A certain regiment at the post had frequently reported losses from its companies while they were on reconnoitering duty. Colonel Phelps finally sent for the colonel of this regiment and questioned him as to the cause, remarking that while his regiment reported losses, the Ninth seldom went out without bringing in prisoners. The Colonel could not explain this, but the losses from this time were less numerous.
Another reconnaissance was made shortly after that of Company A, which brought the men to a stern realization of actual warfare and the duty of a soldier in the presence of the enemy. This was conducted by Captain Ham- mill and his Company, F.
Starting out on the evening of July 3d, they bivouacked for the night some distance from
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NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
camp, and by daybreak the next morning were on the road. After marching a short distance they suddenly came upon a force of the enemy - principally infantry, some cavalry, and at least one piece of artillery-which was appar- ently on an expedition similar to that in which they themselves were engaged. This force was still in camp with no pickets posted, and if there was a guard at all it was simply a camp guard. A lively skirmish at once developed. The rebels were thrown into confusion as soon as the attack was made, while the men of Company F were alert, paying close attention to com- mands and attending strictly to the business in hand. Some of the enemy evidently supposed the attack came from another party of their own men, as there were shouts of " Washington ! Washington !" "Arlington ! Arlington !" probably the parole and countersign, and cries of "Cease firing !" The cavalrymen rushed for their horses, mounted, and in wild confusion rode through their camp and over their own infantry, who held their ground for a few moments only, then broke and fled. There were no casualties to report in Company F, but later it was learned from an item in a Richmond, Va., newspaper, which reached the Union camps, that the enemy lost in the affair a Colonel Dreux, of Louisiana, and one captain killed, and seven or eight pri- vates wounded.
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COMPANY A'S PLIGHT.
The Zouaves returned to camp without further adventure.
On another occasion (July 8th) Company A was sent to reconnoiter. The command left camp late one afternoon, was on the march all night in various directions, and just after sun- rise on the following morning, encountered the enemy's pickets near Warwick Court House. These fell back after exchanging a few shots with the advancing Zouaves. The main body of the detachment, while looking for some demonstration in the direction of the retreating rebel picket, were about to fall back leisurely, feeling that the object of the expedition had been accomplished-locating the position of the enemy-when they suddenly became aware that a large cavalry detachment of the enemy was advancing rapidly in their direction. These troops were followed by what appeared to be at least a regiment of infantry, which was rather an unexpected stirring up of a hornet's nest. Nothing remained but to seek the cover of the woods about an eighth of a mile distant. Being outnumbered ten to one an engagement was considered foolhardy. The alternative was a precipitate retreat with the certainty of a good run at first, and the probability of an ultimate surrender. While double quicking for shelter a bright idea occurred to the captain, and he
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NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
ordered the bugler to sound, "Rally on the Re- serve." At that time both armies used the bugle and drum calls of the old U. S. Army, and the rebels recognizing the call, halted, adjusted their infantry line, and dismounted their cavalry.
By this time the Zouaves had gained the woods, and after proceeding a short distance therein were halted, formed into rather a close skirmish line, took position behind trees and stumps, and prepared to offer such resistance as they could to the advancing enemy. Soon the snapping of twigs and dry branches under the feet of the advancing skirmishers was heard, but instead of directly approaching the position where the company was concealed and awaiting them, they moved diagonally toward the left of the line, advancing at an angle of about forty- five degrees to the company front, passing its left flank, and disappearing in the woods to its left and rear.
This discretionary ruse of the commanding officer in ordering his bugler to sound the call for rallying on the reserves, showed the quick wit and good sense for which he was noted. The foolhardiness of attempting de- fense against so overwhelming a body of the enemy was apparent to everyone. Had they been captured, either with or without resistance, they would have been certain of a more or less
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TROUBLE ABOUT RANK OF OFFICERS.
protracted stay in Richmond; and while that city was the admitted objective point of every Union soldier in Virginia, no one cared to visit it as a prisoner.
After the enemy had disappeared from view, the company was re-formed, moved still farther into the woods, but in the direction of the rebel territory, where a halt was ordered, rations eaten, and the men, with the exception of the guard, permitted to have an hour or two of sleep; after which a bold push was made for the James River, where, in case of attack, the atten- tion of the gunboats could be attracted and assistance secured with little delay. Much to the relief of the men of the company the enemy was not again seen, and after an exciting day and a long march the detachment returned to camp at Newport News with no casualties to report, but thoroughly tired.
While at Newport News an unpleasant incident occurred, which for a time threatened to disturb the harmonious relations among the line officers.
As before stated, the commissioned officers in the companies organized at the outbreak of the war were chosen from the old corps-the "New York Zouaves" -- and their positions in line apportioned by mutual arrangement: and when Captain Jardine's company joined the
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regiment at Castle Garden, he became in fact the junior captain, though all the officers were mustered into the United States service on the same day. The question of seniority had been definitely agreed upon. However, at Newport News, Jardine determined to raise the question and have it officially settled. In some manner the belief had gained currency that the drawing of lots by the disputants was the proper mode of determining seniority where commissions bore the same date, and when none of the officers involved had seen former service.
General Phelps was waited upon by a com- mittee of three captains, but declined to interfere officially; simply observing: "There should be no difficulty among gentlemen in deciding the question of rank." Jardine, however, insisted upon drawing lots, and the other captains agreed to the idea, believing it to be customary. As each captain, except Jardine, was satisfied with the rank he then held, it was agreed that he, Jardine, alone should draw the lot. He being junior captain was in any event certain of being benefitted by the change.
There were ten slips of paper placed in a hat, each slip bearing a number from I to Io. It was agreed that Jardine was to draw from the hat one of these slips, and the number appear- ing on it should entitle him to hold the corre-
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THE QUEER DRAWING OF LOTS.
sponding rank among the ten captains; the captain so displaced should take the rank pre- viously held by Jardine - the junior rank. Jar- dine thrust in his hand and drew a slip which bore the figure one. This relegated Graham to the position of junior, his lieutenants occupying a similar rank, while Jardine's were correspond- ingly advanced.
Considerable ill-feeling was for a time felt and displayed; the condition being such that Graham could have insisted on drawing also, but he preferred to let the matter drop.
A strong belief in the unfairness of the draw- ing was afterward created in the minds of some of the officers by a remark of a lieutenant of the regiment, viz .: "Not one of those captains had sense enough to grab one of those slips out of the hat and see if there was any other num- ber than 'one ' marked upon it."
On August 17th Major-General John E. Wool . superseded General Butler in command of the department; the latter being placed in com- mand of all the troops in the department ex- cept the regulars.
General Butler had for some time been aware of the building of the Confederate forts Clark and Hatteras, designed by the Confederate Government to secure to themselves the con- trol of Hatteras Inlet. Having learned through
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some loyal North Carolinians, who for weeks had worked in the forts, of the progess made, Butler, knowing their great importance, deter- mined their capture if possible. After inform- ing General Wool of the situation at Hatteras, and explaining his plans for the capture of the forts, without calling upon General Scott for extra troops, the following order was drawn up and signed :
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF VIRGINIA.
FORTRESS MONROE, VA., Aug. 25, 1861. SPECIAL ORDER NO. 13.
Major-General Butler will prepare eight hundred and sixty troops for an expedition to Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, to go with Commodore Stringham, commanding home squadron, to capture several batteries in that neighborhood.
The troops will be as follows: Two hundred men from Camp Butler and six hundred from Camp Hamilton, with a suitable number of com- missioned officers, and one Company, "B" of the Second Artillery from Fortress Monroe.
They will be provided with ten days' rations and water and one hundred and forty rounds of ammunition. General Butler will report as soon as he has his troops prepared, to Flag-Officer Stringham, and he will be ready to embark at one o'clock to-morrow. As soon as the object of the expedition is attained the detachment will return to Fortress Monroe.
Captain Tallmadge, chief quartermaster, will provide a detachment of eight hundred and sixty men, for the expedition to Hatteras Inlet, with a suitable quantity of water for ten days' consumption, and the chief commissary of subsistence, Captain Taylor, will provide it with rations for the same length of time. These officers will report the exe- cution of these orders by ten o'clock to-morrow if possible.
By command of Major-General Wool.
C. C. CHURCHILL, First Lieutenant, Third Artillery, Act. Asst. Adjt .- Gen.
These forts which the expedition was in- tended to capture were located at Hatteras
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THE EXPEDITION TO HATTERAS INLET.
Inlet, on the " banks," about nine miles south of the Cape. The Inlet was the principal navi- gable entrance from the ocean to interior North Carolina waters, and through it and Ocracoke Inlet, all the commerce of Newbern, Plymouth, Washington, and many other ports on Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds and adjacent rivers, was obliged to pass. It was a point of the greatest importance to the Confederate Government to retain control of this waterway.
Companies C, G and H of the Ninth Regi- ment, under command of Colonel Hawkins, were assigned to the expedition. They em- barked on the steamer "Adelaide " August 26, and joining the fleet, set sail, arriving off Hat- teras on the forenoon of the 27th, where they "lay to " until the next day.
The landing of the men from the transports was attempted before daybreak on the morning of the 28th, but owing to the extremely heavy surf and rapid and dangerous currents, which nearly always prevail at this exposed point of the coast, but 345 men in all succeeded in reach- ing the shore. These belonged principally to Company G of the Ninth and to the 20th New York. Some half dozen men only of Companies C and H succeeded in landing with the others. Many of the boats were swamped or water- logged, and the energies of Colonel Hawkins
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and Lieutenant Crosby, of the Navy, were -di- rected toward the dangerous and difficult under- taking of saving the lives of the occupants. The disembarkation proving to be impracticable, any further attempt to land the troops was now abandoned.
Company G, Captain Jardine, had succeeded in landing at a point about two miles up the coast from Fort Clark, where they were hidden from the view of the garrison by a range of sand hills. The company gained the beach through the heavy surf with great difficulty and danger, but happily without loss of life. The landing was covered by the guns of the " Mon- ticello " and "Harriet Lane," which. threw a constant stream of shell into the low shrubbery on the Pamlico shore, driving the enemy out and preventing him from attacking the small force which had landed.
In the meantime the fleet under orders of Commodore Stringham had been hotly engag- ing the forts. The Commodore adopted a system of attack peculiarly his own. Con- stantly moving his vessels in a circle he dis- charged his broadsides while abreast of the forts; then quickly swinging around he returned on the other side of the circle out of range of the fire from the forts. Each vessel imitated the action of the flagship, thus making it very diffi-
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THE ARMY OF OCCUPATION.
cult for the artillerists in the forts to train their heavy guns with accuracy on a ship in continu- ous motion.
The movement was afterward employed with great success by Dupont in his bombardment of Forts Walker and Beauregard.
Stringham never received the credit which was his due, and soon after the surrender of the forts, was, for some mysterious reason, rele- gated to the Charleston Navy Yard to supervise repairs to old hulks, and never again occupied a prominent place during the Rebellion.
Captain Jardine assumed command of the force which had landed, but was not sufficiently strong to justify an attack, and he disposed of it behind the sand hills in the most effective man- ner possible. The weather becoming threaten- ing, the Commodore stood out to sea for safety, leaving the "Army of Occupation" in a most precarious and uncertain position when night closed in. Fortunately the enemy left them unmolested.
The weather having moderated in the morn- ing, the fleet returned and at eight o'clock re- sumed the bombardment. As seen by the troops on the transports-none of whom had ever seen such an imposing sight -- it was an interesting, novel and exciting scene. Company G, having been well closed in on the fort, was in more
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danger from the fire of its friends than from that of the enemy.
During the forenoon the Confederates capitu- lated, and at a most fortunate juncture; for, while the articles of capitulation were under consideration the "Adelaide," loaded with troops, grounded for a while on the bar, while the " Harriet Lane " also grounded and remained fast, and as both vessels were within range of the guns of the fort it was a moment of great anxiety.
The surrender of these forts was the first great success of the war thus far and caused much re- joicing at the North. The captures were: 715 prisoners, 1,000 stand of arms, 30 pieces of cannon one ten-inch columbiad, a brig loaded with cotton, a sloop loaded with provisions and stores, two lightships, a schooner in ballast, five stand of colors, and 150 bags of coffee, all without loss of life on the Union side.
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General Butler in his official report says: "I desire to commend to your attention Captain Jardine, of the 9th New York, who was left in command of the detachment of his regiment, when an accident to the ' Harriet Lane' prevent- ed Colonel Hawkins from landing." Jardine had with him sixty-eight men.
The forts were under the command of Flag- Officer Samuel Barron, C. S. N., formerly an
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IMAGINARY WAR AND REAL WAR.
officer in the U. S. Navy : the garrison being composed largely of raw, undisciplined recruits who had never been in action, but who doubt- less were inspirited by the universal opinion then indulged in by the South, that "one Southerner was the equivalent of five Yankees, or mudsills."
This ignorant confidence, and contempt for Northern people, caused them to fall into the common impression held by people generally who had never been in action, which is, that war consists in shooting at and killing "the other fellow;" therefore, when the "other fellow" began to shoot and to kill also, the whole transaction assumed an entirely different phase to them, and they lost any interest they might at first have had in the action and were ready to quit- which they did.
On Sept. 9th, 1861, General Wool, wrote General Scott: "I shall detail a company of regu- lars and send forward the balance (seven com- panies) of Hawkins' regiment, recalling Max Weber's German regiment, much complained of by the inhabitants for depredations and various outrages upon them."
CHAPTER V.
COLONEL HAWKINS ASSUMES COMMAND OF POST -- COR- RESPONDENCE BETWEEN COLONEL HAWKINS AND GENERAL WOOL-EXPEDITION TO BEACON ISLAND- LIEUT .- COLONEL BETTS AND FIVE COMPANIES REJOIN REGIMENT - SURRENDER OF GUNBOAT "FANNIE" - ATTACK ON 20TH INDIANA - GENERAL WILLIAMS SUPERSEDES COLONEL HAWKINS-CON- STRUCTION OF NEW FORTS-ANTIPATHY OF MEN TO WILLIAMS-BOYS "SCOUTING" FOR FRESH PORK SERIOUSLY ALARM THE GENERAL - HAWKINS DIS- PLEASED, WRITES GENERAL WOOL - MAJOR KIM- BALL AND TWO COMPANIES ARRIVE FROM NEW- PORT NEWS-ARRIVAL OF BURNSIDE EXPEDITION- ALL READY FOR ROANOKE ISLAND-RATIONS FROM THE SEA - WINE LABELS PASSED AS CURRENCY- ROBBING POTATO HOUSES.
B Y virtue of rank, Colonel Hawkins assumed command of the land forces at Hatteras on August 30th, making his headquarters at Fort Clark, while Colonel Max Weber, with part of the 20th New York, was stationed at Fort Hatteras.
Instead of following instructions from Wash- ington to close Hatteras Inlet by sinking two
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CORRESPONDENCE WITH GENERAL WOOL.
schooners loaded with sand which were with the fleet for that purpose, General Butler de- cided to disobey orders, and after the surrender at once sailed for Washington to report the result of the expedition and explain his reasons for not closing the Inlet as directed. His action was sustained. Had it been otherwise Burnside's expedition would never have been 1 organized.
Early in September Colonel Hawkins wrote General Wool a voluminous letter, setting forth the condition of affairs in the new department and making numerous suggestions as to the future operations he deemed necessary, among others that Roanoke Island should be at once occupied, it being then held by the enemy, and urging General Wool to impress upon the Government "the importance and necessity of immediate action in this department," the wisdom of this being justified later by Burn- side's departure for that strategic point.
Among the communications and documents transmitted to the authorities by the Colonel about this time were the following, which may be of interest:
FORT CLARK, HATTERAS INLET, Sept. 6, 1861.
MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN E. WOOL,
Commanding Department of Virginia, Fortress Monroe, Va.
GENERAL :- On the 30th day of August I landed from the fleet and took command of Fort Clark, where I still remain with the companies which I brought with me from Newport News. During the afternoon
86 NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
of the 30th ult., a delegation on behalf of the citizens of this island waited on me and placed in my hands a paper, a copy of which is here- with inclosed, and marked "A," and is as follows:
TO THE COMMANDER OF THE FEDERAL FORCES AT HATTERAS INLET:
DEAR SIR :- We, the citizens of Cape Hatteras, do ask of your honor that you will allow us to return to our homes and property, and protect us in the same as neutral citizens, as we have never taken up arms against your government. nor has it been our wish to do so. We did not help by our votes to get North Carolina out of the Union. Believing that your clemency will not allow you to treat us as rebels, who have always been loyal eitizens, we do earnestly request, for the sake of our women and children, that you will comply with our wishes, as we seek protection from your honor.
Yours very respectfully, CITIZENS OF HATTERAS.
In answer to this communication I requested that as many citizens as could might meet me next day for the purpose of arranging terms by which they would be permitted to remain here. Agreeably to the request about thirty men came to see me. The terms were contained in an oath, a copy of which is here transmitted, and marked "B" as follows:
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, HYDE COUNTY.
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