USA > Pennsylvania > Dauphin County > History of the 127th regiment, Pennsylvania volunteers > Part 11
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These celebrated Heights were occupied by General Lee, with an army of about 79,000 men; and to storm them direct, or pierce the center on the Napoleonic idea, seemed like madness, without operating a large force of the army upon the right and left flanks of the enemy. From the stone wall, the ground rises gradually to the top. On the slope were two lines of rifle pits, dug all along the ridge, one above the other, which were well manned during the engagement. On the summit, siege guns and hundreds of other artillery pieces were placed in position to defend the entrenched, and annihilate those attacking their position. The Army of the Potomac faced
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MEMORIAL HISTORY
those works in the middle of December, 1862, and again on May 3d, 1863.
During Sunday, the 14th of December, there was quiet along the line. It was cold and foggy. A truce was de- clared for the purpose of burying the dead. Corporal Adam Carmany, of Company "E," was known to have been severely wounded in front of the stone wall at Ma- rie's Hill during Saturday afternoon; so permission was granted members of Company "E" who went in a fur- ther search for Corporal Carmany's body ; but were unable to find him. The official records report him "Wounded and missing in action," but he undoubtedly died within a few minutes after receiving his wound, which was con- sidered mortal.
During the early morning, the enemy had stripped all of the Union dead of their clothing, which added to the difficulty of identifying any corpse. This is confirmed by the Century War History, which reports, "Nearly all of the dead were stripped entirely naked by the enemy. A woman who lived in one of the houses in front of the stone wall related, 'the evening after the battle, the field was blue with bodies; but the morning after the battle, the field was white.'"
Shortly after sun down, an order came to Lieutenant- Colonel Alleman, in command, to march the 127th Regi- ment back upon the battlefield, and place it in position on the advance line, relieving the 6th United States Regulars. When taps were sounded, it was presumed that the regi- ment would be rested for the night; but it was quickly formed in column and marched out the same street it had traversed the day before; but the caution order was given for no man to speak above a whisper, and to march as quietly as possible. When the regiment reached the edge
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127TH REGIMENT, P. V.
of the city, it was temporarily halted. To our left was a large frame house, set back a short distance, which was converted into a hospital. Here the surgeons cut off the arms and legs of the wounded by the cart loads. The cries of the patients were heart-rending, sounding like running the gamut, commencing in a high key, and gradually going down, down, until the voice was inaudible. It required nerve to hear all this, not knowing how soon we might be in the same hospital, or dead upon the field. Colonel Alleman gave the command, "Forward, March!" and leading the regiment, it picked its way through the darkness, over the old battlefield ; but a little more to the right, which line rested on the Richmond pike. The hill seized was somewhat higher than the one we occupied on the previous day, affording just a little better protection. When we relieved the regulars, the officers advised us to protect ourselves, as the reported casualties during the day was 130, from sharpshooters. Picks and shovels were brought out, and the vidette pits were dug in front of each Company formation, for two men each to occupy. These excavations or vidette pits were dug at the top edge of the hill, and during the day the men crawled in and out of them prostrate. They were relieved every two hours by the Reserves in the rear. These videttes were required to watch the enemy, and to protect our line from surprise. Vigilant activity was required all night long ; while vidette and picket firing was the prevailing rule.
Just after midnight, Lieutenant George Hynicka, of Company "G," who was on the "look out," reported to Colonel Alleman (who was then in consultation with Ma- jor Rohrer and Lieutenant Wise, then acting adjutant,) that a man came to the edge of the hill, wearing a broad brimmed hat, stopped for a moment, about faced, and
j
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MEMORIAL HISTORY
went away. This indicated that he was probably a spy, so an extra vigilance was ordered. Soon afterwards, a force of the enemy advanced on our immediate front, with the evident intention of feeling our strength; but they were met with repeated volleys from the whole line of the regiment ; repulsed and driven back in confusion. At this time, General Howard was on an inspection of the picket line; but when the firing commenced, he hurried back to headquarters with the probable intention of giving neces- sary orders ; fearing a general attack by the army of Gen- eral Lee. An investigation showed that a detail of the Confederates had been sent to feel our line, and ascertain whether we maintained our position, or whether we had retreated. They opened fire on us, but evidently got the worst of it, fell back, and we had comparative quiet the remainder of the morning.
All possible precaution was taken to guard the front of the line, but daylight of the 15th revealed the alarming fact that the enemy had also been vigilant during the night. Newly made earthworks were seen on the right of Telegraphı road, commanding a full sweep of the plain oc- cupied by our picket line. The nature of the earthworks could not be seen, and did not manifest itself until about the middle of the afternoon. The orders given Colonel Alleman were to hold the line, and require the regiment to remain prostrate. About three o'clock in the afternoon, smoke was seen belching from the enfilading battery con- cealed by these new earthworks.
The field officers were on a gum blanket, Lieutenant- Colonel Alleman on the right, Major Rohrer on the left, with Acting Adjutant Wise between them-in the imme- diate rear of the center of the regiment, which was in line of battle two deep. A Shrapnell shell struck the ground
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127THI REGIMENT, P. V.
about three yards from Lieutenant-Colonel Alleman, bounding over the three officers, and striking the ground again just beyond them. Fortunately it did not explode ; but a lot of dirt was thrown over the officers. All eyes were now turned to the right. There was another show of smoke, then another shell struck the ground, a few inches nearer from where the first shell struck, passing over the officers as before. Then the artillery got the range of the men, and raked the line from right to left. There was no shelter anywhere on the line except what was occupied by Company "B;" to remain there was certain death. Company "F" moved along the Richmond pike for shel- ter, where there was a low stone wall; but the shells or balls struck the stones, making their position untenable. There was absolutely no protection at all for eight com- panies of the regiment ; and in a dozen or more rounds, the enemy succeeded in getting the exact range of the line occupied by the 127th Regiment-being a gentle slope to the right, extending to the Telegraph Road-enabling the artillery to pick off every man upon it. Confederate sharpshooters were posted in a frame building on the Tele- graph Road, within easy range of our line ; so that when- ever a head was raised, it was almost sure to dearly pay for its temerity. To remain there seemed like unjustifiable des- peration ; and certain death would be the inevitable result. A hasty conference of the officers was held, and it was concluded that a retreat to the town was the only possible way of sparing the lives of the command. Lieutenant- Colonel Alleman reluctantly yielded to the unanimous voice of his associate officers, first, however, satisfying himself that the videttes were comparatively safe in their pits, and that the vidette cordon preserved the line of ad- vance pickets. The reserves then fell back, retreating to
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MEMORIAL HISTORY
the outskirts of the city. Captain Greenawalt marched his men up to General Howard's headquarters, and bold- ly told the General that he did not want his men slaugh- tered; and after telling his story, General Howard said : "Why don't our artillery silence them ?"
The line was held by Company "B" and the videttes. The nature of the ground protected them, the company being safer there than to retreat over an open field.
Just as the Major was wading through the mill-race he heard a shell coming, and stooped. The shell struck the bank and burst about fifteen feet from him, the pieces fall- ing all around. The balls were flying faster than a man could count. Just as the Major turned to enter a house, a Miniè ball struck the shield of his cap, raising it.
Lieutenant-Colonel Alleman turned the command over to Major Rohrer, hastened to headquarters, and reported at once in person to Major-General Hooker, who was then in command in Fredericksburg. Colonel Alleman made his statement, to which General Hooker listened atten- tively, and after sharp and close inquiries, General Hook- er remarked, that while it was unfortunate that the picket line was impaired, he could see no possible cause, or the slightest excuse for censuring either the officers or the men of the regiment for retreating under such a murder- ous fire; unhesitatingly concluding that the retreat was not only justified, but that it was an absolute and impera- tive necessity, and that there could be no possible reflec- tion upon the courage and bravery of the officers and men of the regiment. He then ordered the Lieutenant- Colonel to visit the videttes, strengthen them, if neces- sary, and report their condition to him. Colonel Alleman, 111 full uniform, displaying his rank, at once returned to the broken line, going up the hill three-quarters of a mile in
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127TII REGIMENT, P. V.
constant full view of the enemy, under a heavy fire from both sharpshooters and from the battery which hurled a number of shells at him.
The following account of this venture is taken from the diary of Major Rohrer : "I was in command of the several companies which fell back, and kept them in position, ready for any emergency in the outskirts of Fredericks- burg, protected by the buildings. Lieutenant-Colonel H. C. Alleman did what few men would do, unless ordered to do so by his superior officer. He voluntarily said, 'I must go out on the picket line, and look after my vi- dettes.' General Hooker said, 'Wait until night,' but Lieutenant-Colonel Alleman said, 'No, I will go out now, and look after Company "B" and the videttes.' And I saw him march straight out over the battlefield to the picket line, and then to the left where Company "B" was. All this time the sharpshooters were firing at him, and shells were thrown, and the only thing that saved the life of the Lieutenant-Colonel was, that he was not tall, but slim, and the sharpshooters could not hit him. He seemed to have a charmed life. He afterwards returned, as a tar- get again for the sharpshooters and shells that were fired at him."
Colonel Alleman reached the line safely, and entered each of the several vidette pits, found them all properly manned ; gave the necessary instructions ; visited the re- serves, leaving instructions with them, and then returned to make his report in person to General Hooker, again un- der a galling fire, and was struck by a piece of exploding shell, on the right knee, which, in the hurry and excite- ment he did not mind at the time. He reported within two hours, to the expressed astonishment of General Hooker, who stated that he did not expect the order to be
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executed until the dusk of the evening, and remarked that "it was a most daring act to go up and down that long hill, in broad sunshine;" and that his escape alive was "abso- lutely marvelous." After complimenting him, he directed that the remnant of the regiment should be marched back to the outer line, under the cover of darkness, and re-oc- cupy the former position ; or else, acting upon his best judgment, form and hold a section of an advance line. The order was promptly executed, and Colonel Alleman, although limping from his slight wound, marched the reg- iment up the hill, and placed his men on the outer line in battle array, facing the enemy, which line was maintained until the regiment was relieved about ten o'clock that night, by the 53d Pennsylvania Regiment, commanded by Colonel John R. Brooke, our old brigade commander, who afterwards became the Senior Major-General of the United States Army.
The regiment returned to camp as veterans, feeling however, that its heavy losses of both officers and men were unnecessary sacrifices, caused by apparent blunder- ing in high quarters ; and the great battle, with its tremen- dous list of casualties, was an unfortunate defeat, instead of a well earned victory. The gory field of Fredericks- burg proved to be a veritable slaughter pen.
This was the bloodiest and most disheartening battle up to this period of the great war of the rebellion. The tremendous and unavailing slaughter, with its frightful loss of brave Union soldiers had the same depressing ef- fect upon the morale of the army, as it had upon the great loyal North. Although the Grand Army of the Potomac failed to accomplish a result which was confidently ex- pected, and richly deserved, in its heroic struggle with the veterans of the South, and the flower of Lee's great army,
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127TH REGIMENT, P. V.
both officers and men nobly maintained their reputation for bravery and heroism.
Burnside was confronted by the ablest military tacti- cian of the Confederacy ; while Lee was aided by the most persistent fighters of the Southern army.
The plan of battle was the Napoleonic idea and purpose of piercing the center, and the magnificent, but fruitless assault on the Heights of Fredericksburg was a signal demonstration of the courage of the Northern soldiers. The troops who charged again and again, in well pre- served lines of battle, in face of the awful and deadly fire from Marie's Heights on the 13th of December, 1862, were the equals in bravery and discipline of the soldiers of any age. Alexander's chosen Phalanx ! Cæsar's Tenth Legion ! Napoleon's Old Guards ! Wellington's House- hold Troops! or the immortal Three Hundred at Balak- lava did not excel these Federal stalwarts in gallantry, steady persistency and unflinching courage. That Burn- side failed, was no fault of the noble citizen soldiers whom he commanded.
It appears from an examination of the accepted reports, that the 127th Regiment suffered as great, if not a greater loss than any other regiment in the engagement. There were 203 killed and wounded, and 54 additional wounded who did not report in either the hospital or to the adju- tant, making a total of casualties 257, being nearly one in three of every officer and man of the regiment engaged in battle.
The battle of Fredericksburg, Va., was fought Decem- ber 13-15, 1862.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY
ORGANIZATION.
Killed 420
3,270
490
4 180
9th
44
111
1,067
152
1,330
3rd
16 Centre 44
145
832
202
1,179
5th
$6
71
207
1,669
300
2,176
1st
66
Left
347
2.428
561
3,336
6th
66
=
66
54
332
70
456
TOTAL LOSSES
1,284
9,598
1,775
12,657
Strength of the Union Army
Strength
Losses
Per Cent.
Right Grand Division 2nd Corps
16,000
5,180
3215
Centre
-
3rd
64
16,000
1,179
8
64
5th
16,000
2,176
1312
Left
1st
18,500
3,329
18
46
11
6th
19,000
456
212
Cavalry
9,500
7
113,000
13 657.
66
18,000
1,330
712
9th
Confederate forces engaged 78,513, killed 668, wounded 4,116, missing 653. Total Confederate losses 5,377. Only about 20,000 Confederates were actively engaged.
General Burnside has been sharply and severely crit- icised about the Fredericksburg campaign. If the theory is correct, that the original plan of battle was to flank the enemy, it was certainly a well planned battle; but if, on the contrary, it was his intention to carry the Heights by piercing the center, (and the result indicated a plan of that kind), then the sequence shows that he minimized both the force and the stronghold of the enemy, and reck- lessly consigned his army to slaughter and inglorious de- feat. In his defence it is claimed that his subordinate of- ficers either did not carry out his orders, or that they plead a misunderstanding of them, which is something in his favor ; and it must also be taken into consideration, that he was in the enemy's county, with a deep river behind him, and whatever he lacked in both the plan and execu- tion of the battle, he is certainly entitled to the credit of a masterly retreat.
By placing artillery on the left of the city in broad day-
Wounded
Missing
Total.
2nd Army Corps Right Grand Division
.
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127TH REGIMENT, P. V.
light, in full view of the enemy, he made a bold show of a determination to renew the attack; and coupled with the fact that he poured a large body of fresh troops over the pontoons before dusk, was confirmation of his intention to renew the engagement. This, however, was only strat- egy, as those fresh troops were massed along the banks of the Rappahannock, and in the darkness of the night, after the pontoons had been well sanded, to prevent or deaden the sound of a tramping army, they were rushed back across the river on the upper pontoons, enabling the demoralized troops, whose ranks had been unmercifully thinned during the engagement, to retreat to the northern bank of the Rappahannock, under cover of night. This strategic movement was so cleverly carried out, that dur- ing the night of the 15th of December, 1862, the whole of the Burnside army escaped, and day light of the morning of the 16th found the city of Fredericksburg completely evacuated, and the pontoons floating down stream, with the remnant of the Army of the Potomac safe on the northern banks of the Rappahannock.
CHAPTER V.
Camps and Camp-Life.
W ITH all the attending hardships, privations and sufferings, there is a fascination about camp life which endears it to the memory of an old sol- dier, notwithstanding the monotony of regular routine duty, varied with picket duty, fatigue duty, patrol duty and special detail duty. There was something in the association of comrades, which makes pleasing the remin- iscences of home in camp, and they have all the attractions of beautiful oases in the desert of the term of enlistment.
No difference how luxurious the life of a soldier may have been as a civilian, he soon toned down to the neces- sities of the situation, and became accustomed to the rough but substantial fare doled out to him by his Govern- ment ; and his appetite was sharpened by daily drill, po- lice, guard and fatigue duty, with other requirements in his role as soldier, and intensified by the unctuous odors from the Dutch oven of the company cook, making him relish his "salt horse," his "hard tack," his bean soup, his "flap-jacks" and his sugared coffee, as much, relatively, as the epicure relishes his dainty bill of fare at Delmonico's, or the Waldorf-Astoria.
The life of a soldier in camp was something of an indo- lent life, particularly when he got into the guard-house, or played "old soldier," or "hospital bummer." He was not required to do much, if any thinking for himself, ashis officers were expected to do that for him. He was simply expected to act a good deal as an automaton; so that his
146
PRIVATE CYRUS RESSLEY LANTZ. Co. "E." 127th Regiment, P. V.
TI 0 LAK PUBLIC LIL RASY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS R L
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127TH REGIMENT, P. V.
brain was never burdened about "manoeuvres," "ad- vances," "retreats" and "strategy;" but he was simply expected to act when required, and to obey orders.
The members of a company were as one family ; while the other companies of the regiment were close and inti- mate neighbors of that family ; and while the greater inti- macy existed between the members of the company, yet there was a strong fraternal tie, and firm bond of union between each and every member of the regiment.
Most, and probably all of the members of the "Dauphin County Regiment" saw their first service as servants of "Uncle Sam" in Camp Curtin. Here the men and line of- ficers were mustered into service, and here too, after the expiration of their terms of enlistment, they were mustered out of service and received their "honorable discharge." They strolled singly, or were marched into camp in squads, or as separate companies ; and while they were in- spired by patriotic feelings, and enthused by martial music, they soon learned, after passing the sentinels in Camp Curtin, that they were under restraint ; so the first thing they were required to learn was obedience to orders, and subjection to discipline. They found that they were unable to leave camp without a pass, and they were re- quired to be punctual, and respond with promptitude to the tap of the drum. The order of an officer was absolute law, required to be obeyed without question, or suffer the penalty of disobedience, and the soldier soon learned that he was no longer permitted to exercise the pleasure of his own "sweet will," and, however restraining this seemed to be at first, he soon found that it was good policy to bow to the inevitable.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY
CAMP CURTIN.
Camp Curtin was his first and last camp. Here he un- derwent a physical examination ; it was here where he first slept in his blanket upon some meagre straw, or on the bare hard ground; it was here where he first learned to take a meal in a primitive fashion ; where he received his first training in the manual of arms; and where he be- came isolated from his friends, his family and his old as- sociates. It was a new and untried experience ; deprived at most times of newspapers and the current news of the world, he became dependent mainly upon the gossip of the camp for news. But he had plenty of time to think of the dear ones he had left behind him, and it was these thoughts which frequently produced "home sickness," and made him feel that "life was not worth living." How- ever, the association of one hundred men brought together as a company is recruited, necessarily developed many dif- ferent characters and dispositions, which eventually somewhat assimilated ; but those who were so happily con- stituted as good story tellers, soon became the popular fa- vorites of the company.
Short as camp life was at Camp Curtin, there was a general feeling of expressed delight when the orders came to cook provisions and fill their haversacks with five days' cooked rations, "strike tents," which they seemed to know by intuition meant a change of base ; so there were no ex- pressed regrets at leaving Camp Curtin, which was named after the great war Governor of Pennsylvania. The gen- eral inquiry was, "Where are we going?" and the imagin- ation of each and every one was exercised to its fullest ex- tent ; but the great bulk of them guessed that they were going immediately to the front, and that it meant fight, for which each and all nerved themselves.
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127TH REGIMENT, P. V.
The railway ride from Harrisburg to Washington was a sort of a general picnic ; but when the march was made across the Long Bridge into Virginia, they began to feel that they were approaching the country of the enemy.
CAMP WELLES.
All of the subsequent camps of the regiment were of regimental formation, and the next camp located was in the line of fortifications back of Arlington, and was named "Camp Welles," in honor of the Secretary of the Navy. It was here that the boys wrote home that they were expecting daily to meet the enemy, and they no doubt wrote brave words of what they would do, when the op- portunity would present itself, of meeting a "Gray Back" face to face. This was the first camp in the front, and here all sorts of rumors of expected battles were rife, so that the boys were kept on the qui vive, generally jump- ing to the conclusion that the next order would be a march to the battlefield.
On the very first day that the regiment occupied this Camp, an order came from Major-General Whipple, at Arlington, requiring the Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel to report at headquarters for orders; the result of which placed Colonel Jennings in command of a brigade, and Lieutenant-Colonel Alleman in command of the regiment. In this camp, which was not particularly inviting, nearly the entire time of the men was occupied in squad and com- pany drills. Major-General Whipple visited Camp Welles and the surrounding camps, selecting regiments to join General McClellan in his march through Maryland, to intercept Lee, who was threatening an invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania. While the selection of green
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MEMORIAL HISTORY
troops was made, General Whipple was careful to retain some of the best material for the defences of Washington ; and among others he selected the 127th Pennsylvania Regiment, and assigned it to duty near Fort Ethan Allen ; in charge of Chain Bridge, and in emergency, to man the Fort-commanded by Colonel Doubleday, of Fort Sump- ter fame-in the Division of General Abercrombie, about six miles northwest of this camp.
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