USA > Pennsylvania > Concise history of the camp and field life of the 122d regiment, Penn'a volunteers. Compiled from notes, sketches, facts and incidents > Part 22
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But a few moments when the fight became general, and our entire Third Corps were engaged to the left. General BERRY's Division, the Second of our Corps, was next forced back, when the tide of battle, was swept upon us. The Regi-
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ment had again been ordered to lie down, in which position we were compelled to remain, until the rebel column was close upon us, when with a cheer we arose and delivered a most furious volley into their front and flank, which had the effect of completely staggering their advance. At this junc- ture of the situation, Acting Brigadier-General FRANKLIN ap- peared end encouragingly appealed to the men to stand their ground, placing himself in most imminent danger, while one of his aids, Lieutenant H. P. RAMSDELL, detailed from the 124th Regiment, N. Y. V., received a scalp wound and lost his cap-Lieutenant JOHN C. LONG, of Company D, being then left as as his sole escort. The right of the Regiment was next advanced under Lieutenant-Colonel McGOVERN, when all became fiercely engaged, whilst the left, with the 124th Regiment, N. Y. V., received the renewed advances of the rebel column, and gallantly as well as securely held them at bay, checking their further advance for a short time. Major STEVENS next urged the boys of Companies K and I, who were already doing good execution, to continue firm and steadfast ; next Company H was found to be without any commissioned officer to take command, owing to the circum- stances of Captain L. C. AUDENRIED having been on the absent sick-list and confined at general hospital for a long time previous, whilst Second-Lieutenant THOMAS SUMPTION had been detailed for and was then in charge of the Ambu- lance Corps, and First-Lieutenant EMANUEL GUNDAKER had been prostrated by a sun-stroke on the afternoon of Satur- day, the 2d, during the first attack upon our line, from the effects of which he was still suffering and therefore unfit for duty. Therefore, Lieutenant D). K. SPRINGER of Company K was detailed to take command of Company H, but had just assumed charge when he was badly wounded in the elbow by the first volley thereafter from the enemy. How- ever, he yet stood his ground manfully and urged the men to do their duty, until overcome by the loss of blood he was forced to retire, when he demanded to be "taken out with
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his face to the foe rather than be shot in the back," where- upon Second-Lieutenant EMANUEL DORWART, of Company K, was next detailed to take command of Company H. Company K was then found to be deprived of its com- missioned officers, owing to the circumstance of Captain W. F. DUNCAN having been suddenly taken ill in the rear, when the charge and command then devolved upon Sergeant GEORGE F. SPRENGER for the balance of the day and its emergencies.
It was then about 9 o'clock A. M., when the rebels again made a determined advance, breaking through our Second Division and progressing as far as our earth-works across the Plank Road, whereon they attempted to plant their colors, but in the endeavor did not succeed; for, at that moment, the right of our Regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Mc- GOVERN, was swung around to the left, whereby were captured quite a number of rebel prisoners, who be- longed to General JAMES D. KERSHAW'S and General W. T. WOFFORD'S Brigades of Major-General LAFAYETTE MC- LAWS' Division. It was at this juncture of affairs that Cor- poral HARRY HARTLEY and the author of these historical sketches observed the advancing color-bearer, whereupon both fired simultaneously and down went the colors : however, they were immediately taken in the hands of another and planted upon the earth-works, but didn't re- main there any length of time; for, considerable confusion then prevailing, Corporal HARTLEY and Sergeant SPRENGER, both of Company K, amidst the shower of flying bullets, rushed forward in the direction of the rebel flag with the determination of capturing it, in which they succeeded as well as capturing its wounded bearer. However, as we arrived upon the bank for that purpose, we were met by two members of the "Scott Legion." of the 68th Regi- ment. P. V., who came there just at the same time with the same object in view, one of whom then and there had received a scalp wound; whereupon, all four seized the 14
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standard and stripped it of its flag* tearing it in parts, and dividing it among themselves as captors.
At the same time Company K succeeded in capturing a number of other rebel prisoners, belonging to the 3d South Carolina Regiment, one of whom was Major R. C. MAFFETT, who, upon being asked to surrender his sword, protested against doing so, for the reason that he preferred surrendering / it to a regular commissioned officer, nearly corresponding to his rank ; whereupon Private HENRY NIXDORF, then a mere boy, brought down his piece to a charge, and said : " Are you going to unstrap that sword, or rather take the conse- quences of being run through with the bayonet?" To this rude and rash demand the officer, though very reluctantly, immediately succumbed. The sword proved to be a very beautiful and costly one, (pearl-handled dress-sword,) and must have been regarded as a souvenir, as the inscription thereupon proved it to have been a gift from citizens of Charleston, S. C.
Our lines were then compelled to fall back over the Plank Road, and behind the earth-works thrown up by the artillery, where again a sight, never to be forgotten, met our eyes, just back of those redoubts-that of the rebel wounded lying there bleeding and wounded in every conceivable form. They had fallen as victims to our continuous cross-fire-one among them was a peculiarly distressing case, that of a poor fellow whose nose and upper lip had been shot away; in fact the sight was horrid, as it was really astonishing to see how tenaciously they hugged the ground, whilst around and above the air resounded with the well-known "coussin, coussin," "zip, zip," as the death-dealing messengers were sped on their errands of destruction, and most especially to be contem- plated when, with a dull thud, they hit and furnished other
* This flag proved to be of a rather nondescript pattern, save a cross-bar on either side, on which were inscribed the names of the battles of " Fair Oaks," "Seven Pines," " Mechanicsville," and "Cold Harbor," and belonged (as nearly as could be ascertained) to the 16th Georgia Regiment.
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122d Regiment Penn'a Volunteers.
victims. Yet another sad case-that of one of our own brave boys who had been wounded by the fragments of a shell, which had shattered his left arm near the shoulder, so seriously and painfully, that he appealed to the author : " For God's sake, to take the gun from his right hand," as he was unable to release his grip from the same. This, too, was a peculiarly distressing case, as the victim suffered the severest spasmodic pain.
EXAMPLE OF COOL, DETERMINED BRAVERY-THE TIDE OF BATTLE TURNED-WOUNDED CONVEYED TO THE CHANCELLOR HOUSE, WHICH WAS SHELLED BY THE ENEMY.
Directly following upon the foregoing sad sights, there came under our observation an example or incident of cool, determined bravery on the part of a lad, which is worthy of record. Just at the time we received our last charge from the enemy, a youth, about 16 years of age, came to my side, musket in hand, and asked for the privilege "to stand with us and fire his gun." We of course assented, and asked him to what command he belonged; he replied ; "To the 68th Regiment, P. V., General GRAHAM'S Brigade ; that their line had just been broken, and that he had become separated therefrom." For positive cool intrepidity-a rare quality, at least, such as he exhibited-I never saw a practi- cal illustration more praiseworthy. He fired his gun at the enemy, then continued loading and firing, in the meanwhile always sticking his ramrod in the ground " to make time," as he remarked. However, he was permitted but a short time in the practice of that method of warfare, for he was soon shot in the right shoulder, causing him to reel and fall. I, at once, ran to his assistance, but he desired it not, say- ing : " Never mind, Orderly, I will get along directly; it ain't so bad." At that moment the rebs came pouring in upon us, pressing us so closely and hotly that we were com- pelled to move away and leave the youth upon the spot where he fell, to look out for himself. He was then growing faint
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from loss of blood, and we presume either died on the field or was consumed by the fire which swept over that part of the same a few hours later. It was sad enough to be wounded, weak and exhausted from the loss of blood, but oh, how hor- rible to contemplate the circumstance of then burning to death !
About this time the tide of battle began to turn ; about and around us were lying the killed and wounded ; whereupon our hands were full, so to speak, as it was our duty to see that they should be removed to a place of safety to receive proper care and attention. Accordingly details were made from the respective companies to convey the wounded to the rear, direct to the Chancellor House, which had been occu- pied by General HOOKER as his headquarters, during the forenoon, and which had been converted into a field hospital for the wounded of the Third Corps. The enemy, however, having secured proper range upon the Chancellor House, began to shell ti > same, about I P. M, when it was filled at that moment with our poor, wounded boys, and thereby set on fire, causing the wounded to be removed, as speedily as possible, to the pine forest to the northwest, wherefrom it again became necessary, through the repulse of our line, to gather up our wounded men, hurriedly place them into am- bulances, out of range of the flying missiles, and convey them across the river to safer quarters. The right of the 124th New York Regiment joined Company K, both of which stood at that moment the enemy's immediate fire, as well as the brunt of battle ; grape and canister were poured in upon us, cutting off the saplings and underbrush above and about us-in fact, it was miraculous, how one could even escape being hit amidst the storm of missiles which were being hurled through the air and falling among us. During this promiscuous firing, Captain WEYGANT. of Com- pany .1, 124th Regiment, N. Y. V., while at the head of his Company, which directly adjoined the left of Company K, 122d Regiment, P. V., received a scalp wound.
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122d Regiment Penn'a Volunteers.
Our position was desperately precarious, for we were badly in need of re-inforcements-but every appeal for them met with no response ; next the report was received that Major- General HOOKER had been dangerously wounded during the forenoon, and Major-General H. G. BERRY had been killed in the charge made by me Second Division. Major- General SICKLES was on the field rallying his men at every point; for, it was very evident that, unless we were re-in- forced, we would have to fall back, as the rebels had been continually re-inforced as well as engaged in massing their troops in our front and on our flanks. It was only a moment later when we were compelled to fall back; and, as our ammunition ran out, also forced to make a rapid retreat, which was done in good order. During the re- treat, we observed the disabled horse of an artillery officer, lying wounded and tied to the wheel of a caisson, in the saddles of which was sticking a pair of beautiful pistols. The temptation to capture them was so great that we made the attempt, and thereby became separated from our command. It was then almost dark, when we wended our way toward the Chancellor House, where we happened to meet with Cor- poral HARRY HARTLEY and Private CHARLES GALLAGHER, also of Company K. All was then confusion in our midst -- everybody seemed to be hurriedly falling back, with the view of taking care of themselves -- so that when night came on, having become estray from the Regiment, we concluded to go into a woodland, which was directly in our rear, where we found a small running brook, from which we quenched our thirst, and oh, how refreshing and delicious the draughts proved ! We built a fire in a hollow place, along a ravine, and whilst preparing some coffee were joined by a member of Battery C, Fourth United States Artillery, who stated that his battery was nearly annihilated-that, out of 160 men belonging thereto, only five could be found-most of them having been wounded and carried to the rear during action. Poor fellow, he came to us without overcoat, blanket and cap,
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and looked distressed ; so we shared with him our scanty meal, after which we sank down upon the sward to rest. 'That rest, however, was of short duration, for we were aroused within two hours by a roaring noise, which was caused by the leaves of the woodland, just in front of us, being on fire and approaching in one mass of flame. This caused another hasty retreat ; in fact, a rather sudden vacation of our posi- tion. We fell back over the hill and then soon struck the main road, where we found part of the 11th Corps men along the road, who promptly halted us; whereupon, we laid down among them until day-break. We then immediately ventured out from among them to see the sights, and soon found this part of the woods well filled with the wounded of our Third Corps strewn here and there about. They had been hastily conveyed thither as a place of safety, owing to the fact that the enemy had shelled and set fire to the Chancellor House, at that moment being used by our Corps as a hospital, and the report was also received that a number of our more seriously wounded had been consumed in the burning building. Here, too, we met and recognized Captain AARON DUNKLE, of the COLLIS ZOUAVES (formerly a printer of Lancaster, Pa.,) who had been wounded in the hand ; whereupon, after exchanging conversation with him, we started to hunt up our Regiment and Brigade, which were soon reached, and the men thereof found to be busily engaged in throwing up earth-works, while the first report that greeted us was the following list of casualties in the Regi- ment during action as nearly as could be ascertained, viz:
KILLED). WOUNDED. MISSING.
Company A, .
I 6
II 6
5
do B, .
4
do C, .
O
6
·
5
do D, .
5
4
do E, .
5 do F,.
2
5
do G, .
I
6
5 6
do H, .
2
4
O
do
do I, K, .
2
5 9
4 6
Total, .
14
62
49
Y
4 6
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122d Regiment Penn'a Volunteers.
Also, that Colonel KENWORTHY, of the S6th Regiment, N. Y. V., had been killed, and Major JAMES CROMWELL, of the 124th Regiment, N. Y. V., had been slightly wounded both of which Regiments belonged to our Third Brigade, and Colonel POTTER, 12th Regiment, N. H. V., of the Second Brigade of our Division, severely wounded in the leg.
COMPANY K.
There's a cap in the closet, Old, tattered and blue, Of very slight value, It may be, to you, But a crown, jewel-studded, Could not buy it to-day, With its letters of honor -- Brave "Co. K."
The head that it sheltered Needs shelter no more ! Dead heroes make holy The trifles they wore ; So, like the chaplets of honor, Of laurels and bay, Seems the cap of the soldier, Marked "Co. K."
Bright eyes have looked calinly, Its visor beneath, Of the work of the reaper, Grim harvester Death ! Let the muster-roll meagre So mournfully say, How foremost in danger Went "Co. K."
Whose footsteps unbroken Came up to the town- Where rampart and bastion Looked threat'ningly down? Who, closing up breaches, Still kept on their way, Till guns downward pointed ? Faced "Co. K."
Who faltered and shivered ? Who shunned battle-stroke? Whose fire was uncertain ? Whose battle-line broke? Go ask it of history, Years from to-day,
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And the record will tell you- Not " Co. K."
Though my darling is sleeping To-day with the dead, And daisies and clover Blo ~ over his head, I smile through my tears As I lay it away- The battle-worn cap Lettered "Co. K."
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5
CHAPTER XXIV.
MEAGRE REPLIES TO ROLL-CALL-EARTH-WORKS A MASS OF MUD --- REBEL SHARPSHOOTERS DRIVEN FROM THE WOODS-AGREEABLE SURPRISE AND LUCKY FIND-ATTACK UPON CAVALRY -- ARTILLERY MOVEMENTS-COMRADE JOHN M. BENSON SERIOUSLY WOUNDED-MAJOR-GENERAL WHIP- PLE SHOT, AND OTHER CASUALTIES.
MONDAY, MAY 4, 1863 .- About 6 o'clock this morning the company rolls were called throughout the Regiment, when the replies were found to be very meagre. In Com- pany K twenty-four absentees were reported ; however, as the morning waned away, hour by hour, we received acquisitions to our ranks, as our comrades, who had become scattered during the confusion and dismay incident to the battles of yesterday, were returning to their wonted places in the Regiment. Owing to a heavy shower of rain accom- panied by thunder and lightning, our new line of earth- works was rendered one mass of packed, tough mud ; which, being our line of defence, was properly supported, as one portion of the artillery had been concentrated there during the night, with another portion of the same am- bushed in the forest to our rear. Directly in front of our earth-works was an open space, about 600 to Soo yards in extent, bordered by dense sections of woodland, upon the trees of which were perched the rebel sharpshooters who were constantly picking off such of our men as were exposing themselves. About 10 A. M., BERDAN'S SHARPSHOOTERS were deployed, and moved over the open space towards the woodland, for the purpose of dislodging the enemy ; imme- diately afterward, they were followed by the remnant of the
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gallant " New York Irish Brigade," with General THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER at their head, who, coolly lighting his pipe and drawing his sword, ordered his line forward with the same object in view. As they crossed this open space quite a number were picked off, when the stretchers were brought into requisition to gather up the wounded and con- vey them to safer and more comfortable quarters ; but then, shortly afterwards, the scene changed, for the rebel sharp- shooters were perceived to be hastily getting down from the trees and scampering away to more favorable situations- some especially came down rather sudden, as BERDAN'S men were noted as very certain and unerring shots. The result was that the rebels were then driven back through the woods, whereupon our skirmishers then fell back to the open ground in front of our earth-works, where they laid down in the high grass awaiting the enemy's advance, occasionally rising upon their elbows to deliver a volley into the woodland, and then again lying down for another favorable opportunity. How- ever, it soon appeared that the rebels had not all been forced from their lodging-places in the trees, for several of our men were wounded whilst lying down in the grass; where- upon an advance was ordered, which had the effect of caus- ing many more to drop from the trees, farther to the left of our line. Having somewhat successfully dislodged the enemy's sharpshooters by that move, our line of advance re- turned, when their places were taken by several pieces of artillery, with which the woods were shelled to great effect, insomuch that a spell of quiet ensued for a brief interval.
About this time we, or rather some of us, were very agree- ably surprised as well as favored. In looking over the ground to the rear, attention was suddenly attracted to an object floating about in the muddy water of a pool which had been formed in the road, over and through which our artillery had passed. Rushing up to it, investigation proved it to be a good-sized chunk of salted mess-pork which had evidently been jolted out of one of the caisson-boxes during its rapid
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122d Regiment Penn'a Volunteers.
transit. After securing the same, we took it to a pool of clean water close by, where we washed the mud off of it, cut it into fairly-proportioned slices, and divided it among the boys-oh, how gratefully acceptable did it prove to be, as our rations had already run out on Saturday night ! So, therefore, we proceeded to build small fires, and make small forked sticks, by means of which we toasted our slices of pork before the fires, and as we were very hungry there will not be a doubt, when we state the fact, that we ate it with keen relish.
Early in the afternoon the quietude was broken, for another attack was made upon our extreme right by the rebs-upon a portion of our cavalry under General W. W. AVERILL ; when several light field batteries were hastily despatched along our rear to their assistance. Just back of our line, in a ravine, the Surgeons were at work, amputating shattered limbs ; therefore, being of a somewhat curious nature, we ventured near and were speedily afforded the sight of one poor fellow being put under the influence of chloroform. He at first ranted and protested against " being double- teamed;" then, oh! how he swore, when he found he had to succumb to the operation ! However, in short order, his shattered limb was contributed to the main pile which had been rapidly increasing. Next, we observed two members of our Regiment moving along with some one confined in a shelter-tent; whereupon, we hastened to their assistance and discovered them to be Privates , OB BLICKENSDERFER, of Company F, and THOMAS J. GILGORE, of Company E. who were conveying Private JOHN M. BENSON, of Company A, to a place of safety for proper surgical care and treat- ment-poor fellow, he had been shot through the breast, and become very faint or weak from loss of blood, as he had been compelled to lie about, quite a length of time, in his helpless condition. Among other wounded, we there found our old school-mate and fellow-comrade, ABIJAH D. GYGER, of Company 1, with a severely-shattered arm, received in
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action from the effects of a shell, who was awaiting his turn for amputation and treatment.
We were soon compelled to leave them and return to our Company (K), which was then about 4 o'clock P. M. ; when, as we arrived at our post, we learned that our beloved Division Commander, Major-General A. W. WHIPPLE, whilst engaged with his field-glass in scanning the field, was shot by one of the rebel sharpshooters who had been perched on one of the trees in the woods opposite our position. This occurred just behind the earth-works occu- pied by Company K of our Regiment, and beneath a large oak tree. It was soon ascertained that the ball had pierced his left breast, when several of his staff officers hurried to his side and rendered all the aid in their power. In the brief space of a half-hour an ambulance arrived also, which contained two Catholic priests, and had been driven all the way from the river-a distance of four miles at such rapid rate, that the horses were fairly lathered with froth or foam ; for the clergymen had come to administer the last religious rite-the Sacrament-to our then dying hero. Major-General WHIPPLE was truly an able and highly esteemed commander, always kind, though very ex- acting as a disciplinarian; yet this occurrence cast quite a gloom over his entire command, creating many sad hearts at this fatal stroke, especially among the boys of the 122d Regiment, P. V., whose constant friend he had been-inso- much that many were the eyes that wer Himmed with the stealthy tears of regret and sorrow that trickled down their cheeks as he was borne away. Our loss in General officers had been quite severe within the past few days-that of Major-General D. B. BIRNEY and Brigadier-General GERSHOM MOTT seriously wounded, whilst Major-Generals 1. W. WHIPPLE and H. G. BERRY had been killed while bravely leading their men in the midst of the battle.
BERRY and WHIPPLE " have gone ! They sleep well their last sleep ;
And though the lightnings may flash, and the thunders may rattle,
They heed not; they hear not; they have fought their last battle."
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122d Regiment Penn'a Volunteers.
These casualties, as well as the general lengthy list at head- quarters, fully demonstrated, as conclusive evidence, that the gallant Third Corps had borne or withstood the brunt of battle from the early hours of Saturday morning, May Ist, until the close of this eventful day. As evening came upon us, by way of diversification, we again received a few volleys from the enemy in our front, but our artillery on the left were promptly brought into service for the purpose of shell- ing the woods, whilst a detachment of infantry were moved off to the left and southwest of our position to reconnoitre. However, by night-fall, they returned again, when all be- came quiet, and we laid down on our arms to sleep and rest, bidding adieu to all care-that is, those of us who were not on guard. That the opportunity then afforded to find sweet repose was gladly hailed and readily embraced, we need only state, that we were speedily rolled and covered within our blankets to dream, of the scenes, the incidents, the trials, the sufferings, and the sad, fatal occurrences that transpired during the fearful struggles at Chancellorsville.
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