USA > Ohio > Itinerary of the Seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, 1861-1864, with roster, portraits and biographies > Part 13
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Lieut. Frank Paine, who by reason of continued ill health was unable to endure the severe marching and inclement weather to which Shields's division continued to be sub-
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jected, and whose resignation in consequence had been accepted on June 10, 1862, relates that while returning on foot from Luray to Front Royal he obtained a glass of milk at a farmhouse near by, which soon produced severe nausea and vomiting, leading him to fear and believe that he had been poisoned. After walking a short distance, and while experiencing great agony, he threw himself under a tree to die, when Comrade W. P. Tisdel came along in charge of the supply train, gathered him up and conveyed him to Front Royal, where medical attendance was soon had, and his life saved. Both of these comrades yet sur- vive.
As an indication of the condition of Shields's division when it reached Bristow Station, it can be shown that a close inspection revealed the fact that during the past month and a half he had, including the casualties in two brigades on the expedition to Port Republic, lost 4,000 men, three- fourths of whom had been placed hors de combat by the vicissitudes of the march, inclement weather, exposure, and insufficient rations.
In his memorandum furnished in order that his men might be reclothed, he mentioned 4,000 blankets, 12,000 shoes, 20,000 stockings, 12,000 pants, 10,000 blouses, 12,- 000 shirts. 12,000 drawers, and 3,500 rubber blankets, which indicates that his "brave boys" were at that time a little light on wardrobes.
On the 25th the Seventh was called out to witness the presentation of a handsome and spirited horse, fully capari- .soned, with sword, shoulder straps (denoting the rank of colonel), sash, spur and field-glasses-a present from the officers and men to Col. William R. Creighton. The pre- sentation address was made by Capt. James T. Sterling of Company B, and Colonel Creighton having been so over- come by emotion that he could not make suitable reply, Gen- eral Tyler did so for him.
General Shields was relieved of his command on June 26 and did not again appear in the theater of war. On June 27 the Third Brigade took cars for Alexandria, arriving on
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SEVENTH REGIMENT OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
the 28th, and embarked upon the steamer North America for the Peninsula, but on the morrow went ashore and en- camped on the heights beyond Alexandria. On July 4 the brigade assembled at General Tyler's headquarters, located in a house surrounded by trees, where Sergt. Charles P. Bowler of Company C read the Declaration of Independ- ence, and addresses were delivered by General Tyler, Chap- lain Wright, and Hon. A. G. Riddle of Cleveland. On the 5th the regiment surrendered the old converted flint-lock muskets, which it drew at Camp Dennison, for Springfield rifles, probably one of the best guns then in use. This was a welcome and agreeable change.
On the 9th the brigade was again at General Tyler's headquarters to listen to addresses, as the General had a fondness for exhibiting his brigade to any and all of his friends who came from Ohio and elsewhere to visit him.
However, this pleasing diversion, with now and then a day on grand review, was about all the duty the brigade performed during the four weeks it was stationed there. Mrs. Creighton and Mrs. Crane came to camp on July II and remained a couple of weeks, which proved a pleasure to the members of the entire regiment, who were pleased to look upon their happy faces once more.
With light duty and liberal passes to Washington, Alex- andria, and Mount Vernon, the members of the Seventh Ohio yet remember the four weeks spent in camp near Alexandria in July, 1862, as the only "soft snap" of its en- tire service.
On June 26, 1862, President Lincoln issued an order creating the "Army of Virginia." which was to consist of Fremont's, Banks's, and McDowell's corps, as well as the · troops in the defenses of Washington under General Stur- gis (changing the number of Banks's corps from the Fifth to the Second), and assigning Maj .- Gen. John Pope to its command.
General Tyler's brigade was ordered to report to General Banks, then near Little Washington, west of Culpeper Court House. Taking cars over the Orange & Alexandria Rail-
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road on July 25 it reached Warrenton the next day ; marched out near Gaines's Cross-Roads on the 31st, joining General Banks's corps the next day near Little Washington, in a beautiful country occupied by a large force, which ap- peared grand and war-like.
On Sunday, August 3, Maj .- Gen. Pope arrived, and re- viewed and inspected the entire corps.
The strength of the Second Corps was then reported as consisting of 15,962 men, while Sigel ( formerly Fremont) had 14,310 and General McDowell 25,607, total 55,879, composing the "Army of Virginia," in the field under Gen- eral Pope. The following is self-explanatory :
"HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF VIRGINIA, "CAMP NEAR SPERRYVILLE, VA., August 2, 1862. "Special orders
No. 32.
"Section II. The brigade brought to this place yesterday by General Tyler will be consolidated with the brigade un- der General Geary, which will be known as the First Bri- gade, General Augur's division.
"General Tyler will return to Washington and report to General Sturgis to organize a new brigade.
"By command of Maj .- Gen. Pope.
"R. O. SELFRIDGE, "Assistant Adjutant-General."
With this order in his possession General Tyler regret- fully bade his old regiment and brigade an affectionate good-by, his moistened eyes plainly indicating the depth of his feelings.
The so-called brigade of General Geary was found to con- sist of the Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania Infantry, composed of some 1.800 men, and Knap's Pennsylvania Battery, just needing the four Ohio regiments to make it what it should be, not only in the number of regiments, but its numerical strength as well.
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SEVENTH REGIMENT OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
This organization served together until June, 1864, and made its mark upon many gory fields.
On August 6 the main body of the Second Corps, under command of Maj .- Gen. N. P. Banks, marched beyond Woodville; on the next day to Hazel River, and on the night of the 8th encamped about that pretty county-seat, Culpeper Court House.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE BATTLE OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN.
General Pope stated, in an official report, that when he assumed command of the Army of Virginia it was the wish of the Government that he should cover the city of Wash- ington from any attacks from the direction of Richmond ; make such dispositions as were necessary to assure the safety of the Valley of the Shenandoah; and at the same time so operate upon the lines of communication in the di- rection of Gordonsville and Charlottesville as to draw off, if possible, a considerable force of the enemy from Richmond, and thus relieve the operations against the city of the Army of the Potomac.
To this end early in July he ordered General Sigel to take post at Sperryville; Banks at from six to ten miles east of that point, while Ricketts's division of McDowell's corps moved to Waterloo Bridge on the upper Rappahannock, with King's division, also of that corps, at Fredericksburg, and all of his cavalry scouting well to the front.
Crawford's brigade of Williams's division of Banks's corps was soon advanced to Culpeper Court House, while his cavalry pushed forward to the Rapidan, in the direction of Gordonsville.
On July 14, while the troops under the command of Gen- eral Pope were in position as above indicated, he ordered a substantial cavalry raid to be made upon the railroad near Gordonsville and Charlottesville, but this movement failed miserably with no good results.
On July 29, more than a month after he had assumed command of the Army of Virginia, General Pope left Washı- ington to join his troops in the field, and on August 7 there were assembled along the turnpike from Sperryville to Cul- peper 28,500 men, with King's division yet on the lower
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SEVENTH REGIMENT OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
Rappahannock, while his cavalry was guarding his front along the Rapidan, Robertson's River, and at Madison Court House.
Soon after the battle of Port Republic on June 9, Stone- wall Jackson hastened to Richmond and the Peninsula ; helped defeat the Army of the Potomac, and on July 13 was ordered to Gordonsville to watch the movements of the Army of Virginia, when, learning of the strong force under General Pope he requested General Lee to reinforce him, which was done by sending A. P. Hill's division, so that while the Union forces were concentrating in the direction of Culpeper, Stonewall Jackson was on the qui vive below the Rapidan with a force of some 20,000 men, seeking an opportunity to engage them.
On August 7 Rickett's division reached Culpeper Court House, and Jackson, learning that only a part of Pope's forces were there, and hoping to arrive in time to defeat them in detail, also marched for that point.
While at Sperryville on the afternoon of the 7th, Pope learned of the enemy crossing the Rapidan, and reached Culpeper the next morning. Here he again learned of the advance of the enemy, and pushed Crawford's brigade in the direction of Cedar Mountain, to support his cavalry un- der General Bayard, then slowly retiring in that direction. He also ordered Banks and Sigel to move promptly to join him at Culpeper.
General Pope said :
"To my surprise I received after night on the 8th, a note - from General Sigel, dated Sperryville at 6.30 that afternoon, asking me by what road he should march to Culpeper Court House. As there was but one road between these two points, and that a broad stone turnpike, I was at a loss to understand how General Sigel could entertain any doubt as to the road by which he should march. This doubt, how- ever, delayed the arrival of his corps at Culpeper Court House several hours, and rendered it impracticable for that corps to be pushed to the front, as I had designed, on the afternoon of the next day."
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THE BATTLE OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN
Early on the morning of the 9th General Banks, whose corps by reason of regiments on detached duty, etc., then numbered about 8,000 men, was directed to move forward to Cedar Mountain to join the brigade of General Crawford sent out the day before.
He was to take up a strong position at or near the point occupied by Crawford's brigade; push his skirmishers well to the front; and if the enemy advanced to the attack, to check and delay him; determine his force and intentions, and notify the commanding general, 7 miles away at Cul- peper, at once.
From General Pope's standpoint all this appears to have been a simple matter for General Banks to accomplish, but then General Pope had never had any personal experience in handling Stonewall Jackson, and probably did not then appreciate some things as well as he did later on.
The march to what became the field of battle, by reason of the extreme heat, was necessarily very slow and tedious, affecting friend and foe alike, and was thus aptly described by Gen. John W. Geary :
"At about 8 A. M. August 9, the brigade took up the line of march, taking the road toward Orange Court House. The extreme heat of the day caused many cases of sun- stroke, and the scarcity of water immense suffering among the men; in fact, after a march of five or six miles the road on each side was full of men who had been compelled to fall out from sheer exhaustion, and many cases of sunstroke terminated fatally."
This condition is further emphasized by the fact that it required 6 hours in which to march 7 miles.
The batteries took position on high ground, where they unlimbered and prepared for action, while the troops were near by in ready support. The public highway leading from Culpeper to Orange Court House, and upon which the enemy was expected to approach, was the dividing line be- tween the divisions of Williams and Augur-the former be- ing upon the right and the latter upon the left.
180 SEVENTH REGIMENT OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
Immediately in front of Williams's left, where the main battle was joined was timber, then a wheat-field in which the shocks of grain were standing, then timber beyond, while in front of Augur was an open field-pasture, corn- field and meadow-with Cedar Mountain a mile to the left oblique, as we faced to the front. The road from Madison Court House intersected the road to Culpeper at Colvin's Tavern, some three miles in rear of Banks, where Ricketts's division of 10,000 men was posted to guard against any force which might threaten from that direction. Before General Banks reached the field at Cedar Mountain in per- son, General Bayard, commanding the cavalry at that point, said in a message to General McDowell: "The enemy are advancing in force; artillery, cavalry and infantry wagons in sight. They advance confidently, more than a thousand cavalry in sight. They are attempting to flank us on the left." And yet when General Banks came up and looked the situation over he sent the following message to General Pope :
"August 9, 1862-2.25 P. M.
"The enemy shows his cavalry (which is strong) osten- tatiously. No infantry seen and not much artillery. Woods on left said to be full of troops. A visit to the front does not impress that the enemy intends immediate attack; he seems, however, to be taking positions.
"N. P. BANKS, "Major-General."
The woods on the left referred to the slope of Slaughter Mountain, where a part of General Ewell's division had gone under cover.
Shortly after General Banks sent this message the enemy opened up with six batteries and poured a constant shower of solid shot and shell into our batteries and troops, in plain view in the open fields, while the indication of a desperate struggle became more and more apparent until 4.50 P. M., when General Banks, in another message to General Pope. yet at Culpeper, said :
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ALEXANDRIA ORANGE AMO
BATTLEFIELD OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN, VA.
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THE BATTLE OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN
"About 4 o'clock shots were exchanged by the skirmish- ers. Artillery opened on both sides in a few minutes. One regiment of rebel infantry advancing now deployed in front as skirmishers.
"I have ordered a regiment on the right ( Williams's di- vision) to meet them, and one from the left; Augur to ad- vance on the left and in front.
"5 P. M .- They are now approaching each other. "N. P. BANKS, "Major-General."
And what of Stonewall Jackson ?
On August 9, when at Locust Dale, twelve miles from Culpeper, and five below Cedar Mountain, he said in a mes- sage to Gen. R. E. Lee :
"General: I am not making much progress. The ene- my's cavalry yesterday and last night also, threatened my train. Hill, though at Orange Court House yesterday morning, having encamped in a mile of the town on the other side, reported last night that he was not more than a mile on this side, thus making only two miles yesterday. Ewell's division, which is near this point, marched about eight miles. Yesterday was oppressively hot; several men had sunstrokes. To-day I do not expect much more than to close up and clear the country around my train of the ene- my's cavalry. I fear that the expedition will, in consequence of my tardy movements, be productive of but little good. My plan was to have been at Culpeper Court House this forenoon. The enemy's infantry, from reports brought in last night, is about five miles in front; his cavalry near ours."
From the foregoing it appears that while he was in- formed as to the location of Crawford's brigade near Cedar Mountain, he had not as yet learned of the advance of the rest of Banks's corps to that point, and that nothing was farther from his expectation than that of fighting that after- noon one of the most destructive battles of the war.
182 SEVENTH REGIMENT OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
In his official report of the battle, after stating that the Federal cavalry displayed unusual activity, endangering his train, and rendering it necessary to detach a brigade of in- fantry to guard it, he said :
"On the 9th, as we arrived within about eight miles of Culpeper Court House we found the enemy in our front, near Cedar Run, and a short distance west and north of Slaughter Mountain. When first seen his cavalry in large force occupied a ridge to the right of the road.
"A battery opened upon the cavalry, which soon forced it to retire. Our fire was responded to by some guns beyond the ridge from which the Federal advance had just been driven. Soon after this the enemy's cavalry returned to the position where it was first seen. General Early was ordered forward, keeping near the Culpeper road, while General Ewell, with his two remaining brigades, diverged from the road to the right, advancing along the western slope of Slaughter Mountain. General Early pushed forward, driv- ing the Federal cavalry before him to the crest of a hill which overlooked the ground between his troops and the opposite hill, along which the enemy's batteries were posted. In his front the country was for some distance open and broken. A corn-field, and to the left of it a wheat-field upon which the shocks were yet standing, extended to the opposite hill, which was covered with timber. So soon as Early reached the eminence described, the Federal batteries were opened upon him. Large bodies of cavalry were seen in the wheat-field to the left. General Early having retired his troops under the protection of the hill, Captain Brown with one piece, and Captain Dement with three pieces of artillery, planted their guns in advance of his right, and opened a rapid and well-directed fire upon the Federal bat- teries.
"By this time General Winder, with Jackson's division, had arrived, and after having disposed Campbell's brigade under cover of the wood, near the wheat-field; Taliaferro's brigade parallel to the road, in the rear of the batteries of Poague, Carpenter, and Caskie, then being placed near the
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THE BATTLE OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN
road, and Winder's brigade as a reserve, he was proceeding to direct with his usual skill and coolness, the movements of these batteries, when he was struck by a shell from which he expired in a few hours. Latimer's guns were planted upon an elevated spot on the northwest termination of Slaughter Mountain about two hundred feet above the val- ley below, which opened with marked effect upon the ene- my's batteries. For some two hours a rapid and continuous fire of artillery was kept up on both sides.
"Our batteries were well served and damaged the enemy seriously.
"About 5 o'clock the enemy threw forward his skirmish- ers through the corn-field and advanced his infantry until then concealed in the woods, to the rear and left of his bat- teries. Another body of infantry apparently debouching from one of those valleys, hid from view by the undulating character of the country, moved upon Early's right, which rested near a clump of cedars where the guns of Brown and Dement were posted."
General Banks said he had ordered Augur to advance on the left and in front. General Augur said :
"I caused Geary's brigade to advance, which it did stead- ily and quickly, and when within range opened a regular and well-directed fire upon the enemy. I then caused Prince's brigade to advance in like manner upon the left, which it did under its gallant leader, handsomely and in good order, and when in position opened its fire."
The Seventh Ohio had the right and front of Geary's brigade, with its right resting upon the road to Orange Court House, and had the honor of opening the fierce in- fantry fighting which ensued.
The Thirteenth Virginia Infantry, of Early's brigade, was directly opposed to the Seventh in front, and gave us a warm reception, while a part of Taliaferro's brigade, in line of battle to Early's left and beyond the road to Orange, also poured destructive volleys in a right oblique fire into our
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184 SEVENTH REGIMENT OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
right wing, rapidly reducing our ranks, while the concen- trated artillery fire of the batteries then but a short distance away rapidly insured our complete annihilation.
General Geary said :
"The Seventh and Sixty-sixth Ohio, under the destructive fire of at least five times their number, were being terribly cut up, but retained their ground, closing up their deci- mated ranks and still pressing toward the enemy. Seeing their condition I ordered the Fifth and Twenty-ninth Ohio to their support. They promptly answered the command, the Twenty-ninth passing immediately to the support of the Seventh, and the Fifth to the left of the Sixty-sixth."
General Williams, whose troops were on the right of Geary, said :
"About 5 o'clock, by direction of the major-general com- manding corps, I ordered Crawford's brigade to occupy the woods in front, preparatory to a movement which it was thought might relieve the left wing severely pressed by the enemy, especially by a heavy cross-fire of artillery, one bat- tery of which would be exposed to our infantry fire from the new position."
General Crawford estimated the wheat-field in his front as being 300 yards wide, which he must cross in plain view of the brigades of Jackson's old division and the batteries already in position to receive him. He said :
"My regiments were immediately formed, the Forty- sixth Pennsylvania on the right and the Twenty-eighth New York and Fifth Connecticut on the left. The Tenth Maine was advanced through the woods on my extreme left under the immediate direction of a staff officer of the major-gen- eral commanding corps, and was some distance from the other regiments.
"I then gave the order to advance to the edge of the woods, to fix bayonets and to charge upon the enemy's posi- tion. Steadily in line my command advanced, crossed the
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THE BATTLE OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN
fence which skirted the woods, and with one loud cheer charged across the open space in the face of a fatal and murderous fire from the masses of the enemy's infantry who lay concealed in the bushes and woods in our front and flank. Onward these regiments charged, driving the ene- my's infantry back through the woods beyond.
"The Twenty-eighth New York, Fifth Connecticut, and part of the Forty-sixth Pennsylvania entered the woods and engaged in a hand-to-hand contest with vastly superior numbers of the enemy, reaching the battery at the heart of the position, but the reserves of the enemy were at once brought up and thrown upon our broken ranks.
"The field officers had all been killed, wounded, or cap- tured; the support I looked for did not arrive, and my gal- lant men, broken, decimated by that fearful fire, that une- qual contest, fell back again across the space, leaving most of their number upon the field.
"The slaughter was fearful. Most of the officers had fallen by the side of their men, and the color guards had been shot down in detail as they attempted to sustain and carry forward the colors of their regiment."
The battle had been joined in earnest and the grim mon- ster was reaping a bountiful harvest. The courage and dash exhibited by Crawford's troops in the gallant and heroic charge so vividly described by their commander was of the highest order, and should be recorded high up on the Tablet of Fame.
Resuming what Stonewall Jackson said :
"The infantry figlit soon extended to the left and center. Early became warmly engaged with the enemy on his right and front. He had previously called for reinforcements.
"Thomas's brigade was sent to him and formed on his right. While the attack upon Early was in progress the main body of the Federal infantry moved down from the wood, through the corn and wheat-fields, and fell with great vigor upon the extreme left, and by force of superior numbers, bearing down all opposition, turned it and poured
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SEVENTH REGIMENT OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
a destructive fire into its rear. Campbell's brigade fell back in disorder. The enemy pushing forward, and the left flank of Taliaferro's brigade being by these movements exposed to a flank fire, fell back, as did also the left of Early's line. During the advance of the enemy the rear of the guns of Jackson's division became exposed and were withdrawn.
"At this critical moment Branch's brigade of Hill's divi- sion, with Winder's brigade farther to the left, met the Fed- eral forces, flushed with their temporary triumph, and drove them back with terrible slaughter through the woods."
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