USA > Pennsylvania > Dauphin County > History of the 127th regiment, Pennsylvania volunteers > Part 10
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Shortly afterwards, an order was received detailing Colonel Jennings as provost marshal of Fredericksburg, and Lieutenant-Colonel Alleman was placed in command of the regiment, with which the Colonel made his head- quarters.
About eleven P. M. orders were received to take the i
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regiment to Caroline street, left in front. Company "D" was placed on a cross street, and Company "H" on the op- posite side of the street, one block further on, for patrol duty. Company "H" detailed Sergeant Cover and eight men of Company "H" with whom were two men of Com- pany "K," to patrol one block. After patrolling it several times, the Sergeant concluded to take his men a square further on, and as they marched through the second square, a patrol of about twenty Confederates-indistin- guishable in the dark-came around the opposite corner. They called, "Halt! who comes there?" Sergeant Cover supposing that they were our men, responded, "Friends without the countersign, advance!" The Confederates advanced-and gobbled up the patrol. They were after- wards paroled and returned home from Libby prison about the same time that the regiment was mustered out of service.
The provost marshal and the commandant of the regi- ment took possession of an abandoned, well furnished mansion on Caroline street, and made it their headquarters for the night. The following day, the three field officers, with Adjutant Chayne, Horace Jones and several others of the regiment took possession of the Alsop House, a stately empty corner mansion, one block south of Caroline street, in the aristocratic part of the city. This three-story pretentious building, with a frontage of about fifty feet, had evidently only been vacated that day in frightened haste. The larder was well provided, the officers made themselves comfortable, and did ample justice to the fa- vored opportunity. The regiment was comfortably quar- tered, after a brigade requisition for a strong detail for picket, patrol, and guard duty was duly honored.
Early on Saturday morning, a Major-General expressed
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a decided preference for this mansion as his headquarters, and it was generously given up to him ; so the field officers vacated and took possession of another well furnished · house near the center of the city on Caroline street, and made it the headquarters of the regiment, as well as the office of the provost marshal.
The regiment held itself in constant readiness during the 12th to march at a moment's notice, bivouacking in the street. On Saturday morning, the bloody 13th of Decem- ber, an order reached the regiment of its temporary de- tachment from Colonel Hall's brigade, and assignment to the brigade of General Joshua T. Owen. About nine o'clock that morning General Owen, accompanied by sev- eral staff officers, paid an official visit to the regiment, confirming the assignment, and congratulating himself upon securing such a "splendid body of men," as he prop- erly designated the 127th Regiment. He made a short, patriotic speech to the regiment, cheering them, and pro- phetically declaring that the 13th day of December would be a memorable day in American history; and that it would be the "baptismal day in blood of the 127th Regi- ment." He spoke strong words of encouragement, and ap- pealed to the patriotism and courage of the men to stand firm and fight bravely in honor of the flag, and in defense of the Government.
The Grand Division of General Sumner occupied Fred- ericksburg, with General Couch's Second Corps on the right, and General Wilcox's Ninth Corps on the left. Gen- eral Hooker's Grand Division supported Sumner with his line extending to General Franklin's Left Grand Division.
General Lee had the advantage of position .. The cap- ture of Fredericksburg was comparatively unimportant to him. Longstreet's Corps occupied Marie's Heights,
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joined on the right by Stonewall Jackson's Corps. Fred- ericksburg and its approaches were covered by the 300 ' cannon in position on the Heights ; while the enemy's line, of crescent shape, extended to the river, both above and below the city, enabling them to operate not only from the Heights, but from both the right and left flanks.
The morning was foggy and the air was crisp. Neither army was visible to the other by reason of the fog. About ten o'clock, however, the heavy fog began to lift, and shortly afterwards active preparations were plainly visible on Marie's Hill for hot work during the day. Desultory firing had been heard all morning, and by eleven o'clock the cannonading was general on both sides.
General Franklin, commanding the left Grand Division, was ordered to cross the Rappahannock at Deep Run, or Belle Plain, and was expected to open the engagement, and turn Lee's right wing, when he would be compelled to evacuate his stronghold on Marie's Heights. For some reason or other, General Franklin did not seem to under- stand it that way. The Left Grand Division crossed the river the preceding day and night on two pontoon bridges, and the last of the Grand Division to cross those tempo- rary bridges were the "Pennsylvania Reserve Corps."
General Franklin had been re-enforced by two divisions from General Hooker, so that his force numbered about 54,000 men. General Meade, in command of the Pennsyl- vania Reserves, supported by Generals Gibbon and Doubleday, aggregating a force of 16,000 men, made an advance. They passed on through, opened the fight, crossed five rifle pits, down the plain and back of a wood across the railway, up to Lee's military road, so that the first Confederate line was actually pierced; and if it had been properly supported, Meade would have accomplished
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the purpose of the attack. But Stonewall Jackson turned the left wing of the Pennsylvania Reserves, and got in their rear. The Confederates were re-enforced, and Ewell's division of Early's corps was hurled against Meade's forces, compelling him to fall back with heavy loss; and, although Birney, who came to his assistance, and made a gallant charge, and turned the tide of battle, yet the increasing forces of the enemy were too great to withstand, and their over-powering numbers compelled Meade, who was practically unsupported, to retreat with his gallant force, so that all the advantages of the recon- noisance in force were lost. Had they been properly sup- ported, as intended, the battle of Fredericksburg might have been won. Just why the bulk of the Grand Division were permitted to quiescently look on, allowing the Re- serves to be slaughtered has never been satisfactorily ex- plained, although it is well understood that General Franklin had orders which were conditional in character, and those conditions, it appears, were not fulfilled.
Colonel Jennings requested to be relieved as provost marshal. His request was granted, and he afterwards led the regiment in a quick march out Hanover street, and into Telegraph road, leading directly in the face of the enemy, who were strongly entrenched on Marie's Heights.
In strict requirement of special orders, none of the Field officers of the brigade were mounted.
Shortly before noon, General Owen rode up to the regi- ment and said, "Colonel Jennings, your regiment is now wanted." The command was given, "Attention, left in front, two ranks." General Owen then addressed the men in riding along the line of the regiment, "Men, if you will leave your knapsacks and store them in some building, it will relieve you very much." Accordingly many of the men placed their knapsacks in an empty house at hand.
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The 127th Regiment moved out on the street of many churches and the Richmond pike and on a double quick. They passed through frightful scenes, which stamped themselves indelibly upon the memories of each and every one in that column. On our left the artillery was strung along the curbstone, ready to take position. Shells were flying over our heads and among us continuously ; horses were cut up by shells, and the dead men were lying pro- miscuously over the ground; while wounded men were brought in on the sidewalks from the field; but the men had no time to meditate, they hurried on, nearly out of breath, up the street, and, on the outskirts of Fredericks- burg, were confronted by a deep water mill-race, fully ten feet wide seemingly impassable, except at a broken or torn up bridge, the planks and the flooring all removed, which, notwithstanding the scathing fire in front, was crossed single file on the stringers, all the while exposed to the furious fire of artillery from the Heights, supple- mented by a flank fire operated from a deflection in the high grounds to the right. Both officers and men were obliged to wade or cross on these slender stringers to get over the mill-race. There was a high board fence at the fork of the Telegraph road beyond the mill-race. The regiment was marched by the flank, and was deployed to the left, down along the mill-race about one hundred yards.
Repeated attempts were made to pierce the center, and carry the Heights by direct assault, which were made first by the Division of General French, and then followed by General Hancock with his Division. These failing, Gen- eral Howard, with the Second Division of the Second Army Corps made a determined and desperate effort to accomplish the pet idea of General Burnside, and make
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a lodgment on Marie's Hill. These repeated attempts were made after the lifting of the fog; but each of these three desperate and determined assaults unfortunately failed.
General Owen formed our men in line of battle, the 127th Regiment on the left of the 106th Pennsylvania.
The command was given, "forward, right shoulder shift, double quick, march." The line charged to the front, and in the best possible order, went over, through and under the high board fence, saluted by a furious storm of leaden hail, varied by bursting shells, over, around and among them, seemingly drawing the concen- trated fire of the enemy as it marched up the hill in ad- mirable dress parade alignment. Shoulder to shoulder the gallant men quickly closed up the ranks as their com- rades fell bleeding and dying. Here was heroism exem- plified in the unflinching devotion to duty-braving inevi- table death while making the memorable, but desperate charge, on, up to within seventy-five yards of the enemy's line. The advance of those gallant men was the perfection of discipline and patriotism ; they faced death like heroes. It is difficult to picture the thrilling scenes; and words fail to adequately describe the fearful carnage and the dreadful slaughter in that superb charge on the slope of Marie's Heights. The officers who commanded, as well as the men, well knew that the charge was into the very jaws of death; yet they gallantly pressed forward, un- mindful of anything but duty. On they rushed, line after line, and column after column ; and the ground seemed to swallow up the brave men as they were ruthlessly shot down from the terrific fire of the enemy, who handled their cannon with skill, and did most effective work at close range; but our brave boys stood up, and gallantly
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advanced, only to be mowed down in death. Here was fought probably the hottest fight of one of the fiercest battles that ever raged. In ten minutes, during that mag- nificent charge, the Union troops lost upwards of 2,000 men in killed and wounded.
They marched up grade about 800 yards, a small brick house to the right served as a rallying point for the at- tack. The fork in the road, and the brick house were less than 150 yards from the stone wall. A little in advance of the brick house, there was a rift in the ground, afford- ing a slight protection to men, lying down, against the musketry from behind the stone wall; but not against the converging fire of the artillery on the heights.
At this time Generals Couch and Howard, who had climbed the steeple of the court house, got a clear view of the field from above the haze and smoke which had shrouded the entire slope. General Howard exclaimed, "Oh, great God! see how our men, our poor fellows are falling." General Couch in his report states, "The whole plain was covered with men, prostrate and dropping; the live men running here and there, and in front closing up- on each other; and the wounded coming back. I have never seen fighting like that; nothing approaching it in terrible uproar and destruction. There was little cheering on the part of our men; but a stubborn determination to obey orders and to do their duty."
The Confederate General McLaws in his report says, "My line of defence was a broken one, running from the left along the sunken road near the foot of Marie's Hill, where General Cobb's brigade was stationed. During the 12th, the defences of this line had been strengthened be- yond the hills by an embankment thrown up to protect the right from sharpshooters, as also to resist assaults that
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might be made from that direction ; and then the line was retired a hundred or more yards to the foot of the hills in the rear, along which was extended Kershaw's brigade of South Carolina troops, and General Barksdale's Mis- sissippians, from left to right, the brigade of General Semmes being held in reserve. The Washington artil- lery, under Colonel Walton, were in position on the crest of Marie's Hill, over the heads of Cobb's men, and two brigades under General Ransom were here held in reserve. The Heights above Kershaw and Barksdale were crowned with eighteen rifle guns and eight smooth bores belonging to batteries, and a number of smooth bores from the re- serve artillery. The troops could not be well seen by the Union forces, and the artillery on my rear line was mostly concealed, some covered with brush. The Union troops, from their position, could not see the sunken road near the foot of Marie's Hill, nor do I think they were aware, until it was made known to them by our fire, that there was an infantry force anywhere except on top of the hill, as Ransom's troops could not be seen in reserve, and the men in the sunken road were visible at a short distance only from it."
General Longstreet, the Confederate corps commander, in his report of the masterly charge made by the Union troops states that the gaps torn in our lines could be dis- tinctly seen in his position a mile away, caused not only by the artillery fire, but at the base of Marie's Hill there was a stone wall, behind which were entrenched a strong force of Confederate infantry, from which withiering musketry firing poured its leaden hail, tearing great gaps in our ranks. He further reported, "With each charge on Marie's Hill the Federals came nearer than before, but were forced to retire before the well directed fire of
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Cobb's and Kershaw's brigades and of our artillery. By the end of the fifth charge, the ground was so thickly strewn with dead that the bodies seriously impeded the approach of more troops. After the sixth charge and repulse, night put an end to the conflict and the dreadful carnage, and the Federals withdrew, leaving the battle field literally heaped with the bodies of their dead. Our musketry alone killed and wounded at least 5,000; and these, with the slaughter of the artillery, left over 7,000 killed and wounded before the foot of Marie's Hill. The dead were piled, sometimes three deep, and when morning broke, the spectacle that we saw upon the battlefield was one of the most distressing that I ever witnessed. The charges had been desperate and bloody, but utterly hopeless. I thought, as I saw the Federals come again and again to their death, that they deserved success if courage and daring could entitle soldiers to victory."
The incessant showers of leaden hail were here and now beyond human endurance, and the general order came, "Drop prostrate upon the ground and protect yourselves ;" so the men endeavored to screen themselves from the deadly balls and shells by crouching behind the dead bodies of men and horses, lying thick all over the field. This was the only possible hope of avoiding instant death ; and in this perilous position nearly sixty rounds of am- munition were fired by our regiment at the enemy, when Colonel Jennings gave the command, "Cease firing." The mud was several inches deep from the melting of the snow; but we were compelled to lie in that mud or be destroyed.
In this exposed position the regiment remained for five hours, resisting as best they could, a pitiless fire of mus- ketry and artillery. Cannonading was deafening, and play-
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ed havoc botlı from the enemy's guns in the front, and from ours in the rear, while every head raised a few inches from the ground was a target for the sharpshooters, perched in trees, and more or less shielded within the en- emy's lines. Lieutenant Shoemaker, unguardedly lifting his head to take an observation, received a Miniè ball in the forehead, killing him instantly. The regiment held its respective positions unflinchingly for those deadly five hours, suffering severely, and chaffing for an opportunity to do retributive damage.
This splendid heroism failed to meet its purpose. The triumphant Confederates, safe in their rocky shelter, shouted and yelled in their triumph; while our men felt that they were targets for the merciless enemy's balls and shells, without being able to make any impression upon the foe. To lie still and tamely submit to be shot at, was a terrible strain to the strongest nerves, and a trying or- deal to the bravest of the brave.
Shortly before five o'clock, the Third Brigade of the Second Division of the Second Army Corps, to which the 127th Regiment belonged, but from which it was tempo- rarily detached for this battle, made a charge, with the 19th and 20th Massachusetts regiments on the right, and the 42d New York, or Tammany, regiment, on the left, passing through and over our line. They endeavored to form a section of an advance line, on reaching which, however, they were met by a terrific fire. In charging through our line, they said, "Lie still, boys," and passed through, cheering. The 42d New York came back al- most instantly in great confusion, and then the Massachu- setts regiments, crying "Retreat ! Retreat !" In their de- moralized condition they broke, rushed back, trampling on our men, and in the confusion forced a great portion of the regiment out of their position, carrying some of it, in
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the sweep, with them. Company "B," being on the ex- treme left, was not reached, and so was luckily saved from being forced out of its place. This retreat gave encour- agement to the enemy, and the fearful fire which was poured into the front line, which stormed the stone wall, drove them back in confusion, carrying the remnant of the regiment with them. As the men hearing the order, "re- treat," concluded that it was given by authority, they acted accordingly, and some of them got mixed up among the brigade. The Colonel was with the color bearer, Ser- geant Schaeffer, who held the colors when the bulk of the regiment fell back, but when it was reformed by the Lieu- tenant-Colonel and the Major at the base of the hill, im- mediately joined them. It was utterly impossible to live or stand up under such a murderous fire. The line was reformed along the mill-race, in good order, in readiness to renew the charge; but under instructions, they re- mained in line, holding themselves in readiness for the ex- pected order to again advance. It was there that Colonel Jennings was slightly wounded-a shell splinter pene- trated his boot and entered his instep.
A section of artillery was brought in front of our battle line on our right, and after firing only a few shots, most of its men were killed or wounded. All of the horses were killed, and the guns were, later on, drawn away by the men. What the object was in bringing the artillery in front of the battle line where even infantry could not live, seemed inexplicable.
Just as the sun was lowering over Marie's Heights, a Division, led by Major-General Howard on horse-back, came on the field cheering, but those cheers were very short lived. The whole range of Confederate artillery was put to work on this daring division, and notwith-
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standing the gallantry of the officers in urgently rallying the men, they were so badly cut up, that the regiments could not be held together. General Meagher's brigade suffered severely. There was terrible slaughter, and noth- ing beyond brave acts of heroism was gained.
The ground, as far as the eye could reach, was thickly strewn with the dead and the dying; and the heart-rend- ing shrieks and moans of the sufferers struck terror into the most callous hearts, causing a sickening sensation, and, intensifying through the ear, the ghastly. horrors everywhere visible to the eye.
While the explicit orders from General Owen, our tem- porary brigade commander, prohibited officers taking their horses on the battle field, like orders were either not issued to other brigades, or else were unscrupulously dis- regarded ; for hundreds of dead and wounded horses were manifest over the field; and, painfully sickening as were the cries, the shrieks and the agonizing groans of the wounded men ; they were not comparable to the frightful, nerve-distracting dying agonies of the wounded horses, which were heard and readily distinguishable over and above the human voices, even above the rattle of musketry and the terrible thunders from both mortars and cannon.
Appalling as were the casualties, and the record of the dead and wounded for the day showed that the 127th Regiment suffered severely, and was entitled to rest ; yet it remained on the field and ready for another charge until long after hostilities ceased, and hours after dark, when it was relieved, and then only, returned to its improvised quarters on Caroline street, better satisfied with its per- formed duty, than with the result of an ill-advised and badly planned, or wretchedly executed plan of battle. Both officers and men lay on their arms that night, in
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readiness for a renewal of the engagement. Darkness only put an end to the dreadful slaughter of that mem- orable day of horrors.
Major W. Roy Mason, Confederate, writes, "The day after the battle, Sunday, I witnessed with pain the burial of many thousands of Federal dead that had fallen at Fredericksburg. The night before, the thermometer must have fallen to zero, and the bodies of the slain had frozen to the ground. The ground was frozen nearly a foot deep and it was necessary to use pick-axes. Trenches were dug on the battlefield, and the dead collected and laid in line for burial. It was a sad sight to see those brave soldiers thrown into the trenches, without even a blanket or a word of prayer, and the heavy clods thrown upon them; but the most sickening sight of all was when they threw the dead -some four or five hundred in number-into Wallace's empty ice house, where they were found, a hecatomb of skeletons, after the war."
The knapsacks, as well as their blankets and belongings, which the boys stored, were stolen. There was nothing left of their effects but what they had on their backs, and it took some ten days to get out a complete outfit for them again. This, too, in the rigors of winter.
Although Colonel Jennings was one of the youngest Colonels, if not the youngest regimental commander, in that memorable battle, besides being the first time that he was under fire, he displayed remarkable coolness, great tact and conspicuous courage. He ordered the colors of the regiment to be kept flying, and bravely stood by them, with field glasses in hand, calmly surveying the field be- fore him, and deliberately issued his orders, regardless of the fact that he made a target of himself for sharpshoot- ers, and necessarily drew the fire of the enemy.
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Marie's Heights is about a mile in the rear of Freder- icksburg; is a fine elevation of farm land, comprising a range of hills, studded with fine brick buildings, facing the city, with lofty trees along its front edge, and around the houses, which were owned by the wealthy citizens at that time, and was considered a very desirable locality for private residences. These Heights extended up the river beyond, opposite Falmouth, where they make a turn to the Rappahannock ; then extend southeast, below the city, where a turn is made, nearly at right angles to the south- west, some distance, to a ravine, near the base of a bluff. A stone wall is built at the edge of the hill, running for miles above and below the city. The Richmond pike fol- lows this wall to the end. These Heights now belong to the United States Government, which converted the grounds into a National Cemetery, where there are now collected and buried over 15,000 Union dead, of which number over 12,000 are marked "unknown." This is ac- counted for, principally, by the robbery of the clothing and equipments of the Union dead, thus destroying all means of identification.
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