USA > Rhode Island > Battery F, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery in the Civil War, 1861-1865 > Part 7
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At Baltimore Store the enemy overtook and attacked my rear guard with vigor, but was quickly and hand- somely repulsed by it, with the aid of a section of Bel- ger's Battery, the two pieces being alternately fired and retired to new positions. The enemy in this affair lost at least one officer and some few men, whom they aban- doned till we had passed on.
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BATTERY F,
The command bivouacked at New Kent unmolested, and, on the 8th, the cavalry being out of forage, which the country did not afford, were sent ahead, arriving at Williamsburg the same evening. The infantry bivouacked in order of battle at Burnt Ordinary, and to-day returned to their former camp, having marched during the four days of their absence 33, 28, 18, and 25 miles, respect- ively, with alacrity and cheerfulness, and almost without straggling, the colored troops being in this respect, as usual, remarkable. With the exception of a little loose- ness of discipline in one or two of the cavalry regiments in returning, the conduct of officers and men, both in action and on the march, was everything that could be desired.
The whole result of the expedition, in addition to one or two prisoners captured and a few refugees, escaped Union prisoners, and negroes picked up and brought in, is the obvious fact that a small force in this vicinity. act- ively handled, can and should hold a much superior force of the enemy in the immediate vicinity of Richmond, in- active except for its defence.
I have the honor to be, Major, with great respect, your obedient servant,
ISAAC J. WISTAR, Brigadier-General Commanding.
Maj. R. S. DAVIS,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
This report of General Wistar was forwarded to Major-General Halleck by General Butler with the following letter :
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FIRST R. I. LIGHT ARTILLERY.
HEADQUARTERS EIGHTEENTH ARMY CORPS, FORT MONROE, February 12, 1864.
GENERAL : I have the honor to forward to you with commendation the report of Brigadier-General Wistar of his brilliantly and ably executed movement upon Rich- mond, which failed only from one of those fortuitous cir- cumstances against which no foresight can provide and no execution overcome.
By the corruption and faithlessness of a sentinel, who . is now being tried for the offence, a man condemned to death, but reprieved by the President, was allowed to es- cape within the enemy's lines, and there gave them such information as enabled them to meet our advance. This fact is acknowledged in two of the Richmond papers, the Examiner and the Sentinel, published the day after the attack, and is fully confirmed by the testimony before the court-martial, before which is being tried the man who permitted the escape. I beg leave to call your attention to the suggestion of General Wistar in his report that the effect of the raid will be to hereafter keep as many troops around Richmond for its defence from any future movement of the Army of the Potomac as we have in this neighborhood.
I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,
BENJ. F. BUTLER,
Major-General Commanding.
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BATTERY F,
In April, 1864, the battery was turned out to wit- ness the execution of a private of the Second New Hampshire Volunteers, a substitute and bounty jumper. The enforcement of Army Regulations in this case was prompt, as will be seen by the follow- ing order :
1 HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES, YORKTOWN, VA., April 12th, 1864.
General Orders No. 10.
Private John Egan, Company A, Second New Hamp- shire Volunteers, deserted his regiment on the roth inst., was arrested on the 11th, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death on the 12th by a general court-martial.
The proceedings, findings, and sentence of the court- martial having been approved by the brigadier-general commanding and forwarded to the major-general com- manding, have been by him confirmed and ordered to be executed.
Private John Egan will be shot to death with musketry on the plain below Fort Yorktown between the hours of five (5) and six (6) o'clock to-morrow afternoon, the 13th instant.
The provost marshal is charged with the execution of this order.
By command of Brig .- Gen'l I. J. WISTAR,
JAS. FAIRGRIEVE, Lieut. & A. A. A. G.
:
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FIRST R. I. LIGHT ARTILLERY.
After the formation of the troops on the field and the arrival and placing of the prisoner for the execu- tion, an order was received to "stay the execution," which was done until Monday, April 15th, when he and another from the same regiment were shot. But one section of the battery was ordered out the second time. Such summary punishment was deemed necessary to stop the wholesale desertions among the substitutes recently arrived for that regi- ment.
A full account of the execution was published in the Yorktown Cavalier, issue of April 15th, as fol- lows :
EXECUTION OF EGAN AND HOLT.
A Warning to Bounty Jumpers.
The large bounties paid to volunteers in some of the eastern states attracted the attention of a great number of unprincipled and worthless vagabonds from all parts of the country, who have been making a business of traveling from one state to another, enlisting, receiving bounties, and then seizing the first opportunity to desert and repeat the operation at another point. Among the regiments that have suffered most from this species of rascality are those of New Hampshire and Connecticut, and the necessity of putting a check upon desertions by
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BATTERY F,
force of unrelenting example has been nowhere so deeply felt as in the commands where regiments from those states are serving.
In this command alone there are charges and specifica- tions pending against some eighty of these "bounty jumpers," who had deserted their regiments at different points with munificent bounties in their pockets, but were, unfortunately for their villainous designs, unable to elude the vigilance of the authorities in making their way out of the lines.
These wretches are being dealt with here with the promptness and severity which their crimes demand. A court-martial was convened at this place on Tuesday last for the trial of deserters, and immediately proceeded to investigate the case of Private John Egan, of Company A, Second New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, who deserted his regiment at this point on the tenth instant, in com- pany with about a dozen others of his regiment, and crossed the York River at a point below the fort. He was picked up on Monday by our vigilant soldiers on the other side of the river, whilst endeavoring to work his way to the rebel lines.
The testimony against him was conclusive, and he was sentenced to be shot to death with musketry, which sen- tence was ordered to be executed on Wednesday last be- tween the hours of five and six P. M.
Egan, who was a true type of the heartless, soulless, unprincipled vagabond, heard his sentence without ex- hibiting any signs of emotion, and apparently regarded
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FIRST R. I. LIGHT ARTILLERY.
his speedy doom as something which one of his class might at any time expect.
As the hour of execution drew nigh, the troops in and about the fort were drawn up on the plain a short distance below the fort, to witness the execution.
The prisoner was brought out of the jail about five o'clock, and, seated upon a rough coffin in an open wagon, attended by his spiritual adviser, was conducted through the fort and past the camp of his regiment towards the place of execution. In passing the camp Egan stood up in the wagon, and, lifting his cap with his. manacled hands, waved it about his head and threw it toward the camp.
When the prisoner had nearly reached the place of execution, and had, doubtless, given up any hope he may have entertained of official clemency, General Wistar re- ceived a telegraphic order from the department head- quarters to suspend the execution till further orders. There was little time left in which to carry out the order, and, upon receiving the first three words of the dispatch- " Stay the execution "-the operator at this point, without waiting to hear the remainder, hastened to the office of Captain Reynolds, assistant adjutant-general, and de- livered verbally the words he had received and then re- turned to his instrument to receive the rest. In a mo- . ment the captain had communicated the intelligence to General Wistar, received his orders, and, mounting a horse, without waiting for spurs, started at breakneck gait on his life saving mission. Near the gate one of his 18
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· BATTERY F,
stirrups gave way, but there was no time for delay on this account, and the captain, at the imminent peril of his own neck, to say nothing of the awkwardness of his posi- tion, succeeded in keeping his saddle without slackening his speed, and had the satisfaction of transmitting the order to Captain Fleming, the provost-marshal, before the dismal procession had quite reached its destination.
Nothing was said to the prisoner at the time in regard to the reprieve, and if, upon being driven back to the guard-house, he entertained the idea that he was par- doned, or his sentence commuted, he was doomed to be bitterly disappointed.
The troops, who had been drawn up on the plain, were marched back to their quarters, and the crowd that had gathered to witness the execution dispersed in quiet good order.
Whilst everybody was wondering at the supposed clemency of General Butler in a case where stern justice was so much needed as an example, the court-martial which tried Egan was sitting in the case of one of his associates, who, with others of the same gang, had been picked up by a gunboat at the mouth of the York River, while attempting to cross over into Maryland in a dugout.
The result of the trial, and the intention of the mili- tary authorities here to deal summarily with this class of deserters, will be seen in the following order, which was read at dress parade on Thursday evening last :
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FIRST R. I. LIGHT ARTILLERY.
HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES, YORKTOWN, VA., April 14, 1864.
General Orders No. 11.
I. Private Henry Holt, of Company F, Second New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, deserted his regiment on the roth instant, was arrested on the 11th, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death on the 13th by a general court-mar- tial. The proceedings, findings, and sentence of the court having been approved by the brigadier-general com- manding, and forwarded to the major-general command- ing the department, have been by him confirmed and ordered to be executed.
Private Henry Holt will be shot to death with mus- ketry on the plain below Fort Yorktown, between the hours of 9 and 10 A. M. to-morrow, the 15th instant.
II. Private John Egan, of Company A, Second New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, heretofore ordered for execution, in pursuance of the sentence of a general court- martial, for desertion, and the execution suspended till further orders, will be shot to death with musketry at the place and time herein aforesaid.
III. The provost marshal at Yorktown is charged with the execution of this order.
By command of Brig-Gen. WISTAR,
STEPHEN R. REYNOLDS,
Capt. and A. A. G.
·
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BATTERY F,
Upon reading this order to the prisoners, Provost-Mar- shal Fleming, acting under orders from General Wistar, assured them that they need entertain no hope of clem- ency, that their fate as read to them was irrevocably sealed.
At nine o'clock on Friday morning the procession again left the jail, in the same order as before, with the exception that another wagon and coffin and doomed " bounty jumper " were added to the train, and more sol- diers were added to the little party that brought up the rear, to perform the unpleasant duty assigned them.
Holt, as the procession passed through the fort, looked as though he did not consider the bounty money for which he enlisted and deserted of sufficient value to re- munerate him for passing through the horrors of the ordeal of death. Fear and despair were marked upon his features, though he tried hard to conceal it and imitate the example of studied indifference which he had before him in the person of Egan.
The latter conducted himself as though he was used to being shot going through the affair of riding to the place of execution with the same outward show of unconcern that he evinced on the previous occasion.
With the exception of one section of Belger's Battery, none of the troops in the fort were paraded at the execu- tion, and most of them were on drill when the prisoners passed through the fort. At the gate the crowd that fol- lowed the miserable wretches were stopped by the guard, and none but officers were permitted to pass through.
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FIRST R. I. LIGHT ARTILLERY.
Many, however, reached. the ground by passing out at other points and taking a circuitous route.
The spot selected for the execution is below the con- traband camp, where the Second New Hampshire, a regi- ment of colored troops, and one section of Belger's Bat- tery were drawn up, forming three sides of a square, the execution taking place at the open side.
Arriving at the ground the preliminaries were arranged with all practicable haste. The prisoners alighted from the wagons with an air of careless indifference entirely out of keeping with the position they occupied on the verge of eternity, and when the coffins were placed on the ground at a short distance from each other, they walked to their positions in front of them with an evident determination (which has been the ambition of great villains in all ages) to die " game."
The detachment of provost guard, twenty-four in num- ber, were marched to the front, and took their positions fifteen paces from the coffins, twelve being assigned to the execution of each culprit.
The charges, specifications, finding and sentence in each case were then read, together with the order for their execution. They then knelt with the priest, who in a fervent and impressive prayer commended them to divine mercy, after which he bid them adieu and retired. Provost Marshal Fleming then proceeded to prepare his prisoners for the execution. Egan submitted to his eyes be- ing bandaged with the same sham carelessness that he had preserved throughout. Holt, on the contrary, grew
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BATTERY F,
very restless as the moments sped, and when the light of earth was about being shut away from his eyes forever, he intimated to the provost-marshal that he had some- thing to say. He was informed that it was too late, that his time was already up.
Taking leave of the miserable creatures, Captain Flem- ing retired a few paces, when the order was given, "Ready-Aim-Fire !" Twenty-two bullets were sent on their fatal mission, and two wretched "bounty jumpers " received their deserts.
A surgeon in attendance advanced to ascertain whether life was extinct. The bodies were found to be com- pletely riddled, nearly every ball having taken effect. In both cases death must have been instantaneous. The bodies were buried near the place of execution.
The summary manner in which Egan and Holt were dealt with is having a beneficial effect. Since the execu- tion not a case of desertion has been reported, whilst pre- vious to it they were occurring by dozens. It is gratify- ing to know that but few, if any, of the deserters from this command who have left their regiments recently are now at large. They have generally discovered that it is no easy matter to elude the vigilance of the authorities here.
The court-martial which tried and sentenced Egan and Holt is still in session, sitting without regard to hours, and it is generally believed that pretty clean work will be made of the desertion cases.
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FIRST R. I. LIGHT ARTILLERY.
Saturday night, the 28th of February, 1864, Gen. Judson Kilpatrick left Stevensburg with a force of 4,000 cavalry and a battery of horse artillery with the object of entering the Confederate capital and re-
Bugler Thomas W. Locke.
leasing the Union prisoners of war at Libby and Belle Isle.
On the first day of March, 1864, a force consisting of the First New York Mounted Rifles, Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and
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BATTERY F,
Twenty-second United States Colored Troops, and Battery F, First Rhode Island Light Artillery, the whole commanded by Colonel West, left Williams- burg to go up the peninsula and meet General Kil- patrick's forces.
Battery F was in quarters at Yorktown when the marching orders were received on the first of March. The orders directed that four days' cooked rations be taken. Preparations were quickly made, the ra- tions cooked and issued, and, at six o'clock same evening, the battery moved out of park at Yorktown to join the expedition at Williamsburg, where it ar- rived at about half-past nine same evening. About eleven o'clock the order "Forward " was given, and, amid snow, rain, and hail, the temperature freezing cold, the command marched out of Williamsburg for New Kent Court-House. It was a night to test the power of endurance of both men and horses, the recollection of which causes feelings of pride in the achievement. At about one o'clock on the morning of the 2d the wind changed to the northwest and · blew very cold. The clothing being completely wet, froze, thus adding to the discomforts of the march. The command marched all night, halting for a half-
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FIRST R. I. LIGHT ARTILLERY.
hour at seven o'clock in the morning for breakfast, then continued until two o'clock in the afternoon of 2d, when it arrived at New Kent Court-House. After caring for the horses, the men of the battery secured about an hour of rest. At about four o'clock same afternoon came the order to " Hitch up," and the battery remained in position nearly all of that night, while the cavalry scouted the country in front. On the morning of the 3d of March one section of the battery, under Lieutenant Simpson, joined with a regiment of cavalry and marched some distance be- yond " White House." One section in command of Lieutenant Smith was ordered to report to Colonel Duncan, who, with a part of the infantry, followed the main body of the cavalry up the peninsula, travel- ing, however, but about two miles, when they halted and waited for developments.
General Kilpatrick's force was discovered on the night of the 2d by the cavalry of Colonel West's division, and, on the morning of the 3d the two com- mands came together. The return march immedi- · ately commenced. Colonel Spear's Eleventh Penne sylvania Cavalry remained at New Kent Court-House for the night; the infantry and battery marched to
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BATTERY F,
Barnesville, where they bivouacked, and General Kilpatrick's troops passed the night at "Burnt Ordi- nary." On the morning of the 4th the march was resumed and the battery arrived at its quarters in
Bugler William H. Young.
· Yorktown at about eight o'clock in the evening, hav- ing halted for a couple of hours at Williamsburg on the way.
General Kilpatrick's command carried with them evidences of the hard service they had performed
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FIRST R. I. LIGHT ARTILLERY.
during the five days previous. Many of the men were without hats or caps, wearing handkerchiefs tied over their heads, and the appearance of both men and horses gave proof of the hardships encoun- tered on that great raid. Their route of march could be traced by the horses, dead from hard riding and exhaustion, lying by the roadside. Although the object of the raid was not accomplished, un- doubtedly much injury to the lines of communication between Richmond and the Army of Northern Vir- ginia was inflicted.
On the return of the expedition Colonel West re- ported to General Butler as follows :
"We captured, going and coming, a few guerrillas. Colonel Spear met General Davis at Turnstall's Station, and I met General Kilpatrick about 4 miles beyond New Kent Court-House. My outpost reported heavy mus- ketry firing in the direction of the York River Railroad, and I was on my way out with the cavalry, infantry, and artillery, to render such assistance as I could, when we met the two columns coming in. My instructions did not authorize me to go beyond New Kent Court-House, but . as they were not very definite I thought the circumstances justified me in exceeding them to the extent I did. Dun- can's colored brigade performed a march of 42 miles in twenty-two hours, the first part of which was made
.
.
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BATTERY F,
during a heavy rainstorm. The roads were thus ren- dered very bad for footmen. No loss is reported save the slight wounding of one colored soldier by a bush- whacker. The cavalry did well. Colonel Spear reports the destruction by him of a large saw-mill containing new engine and about 20,000 feet of lumber; also a large · baggage-car, some trestle-work, and a portion of the railroad track. This at Tunstall's Station, on the York River Railroad, on the 2d instant.
On the 8th of March one section of the battery, under command of Lieutenant Smith, was ordered to report to Lieutenant Hunt, commanding Battery L, Fourth United States Artillery, for a raid. Lieuten- ant Smith with his section crossed the river to Gloucester Point at about six and a-half o'clock same evening and reported as directed. On his return, about ten oclock at night, on the 12th of March, Lieutenant Smith reported that the object of the raid was to learn something of Col. Ulric Dahlgren, one of Kilpatrick's command, who was missing, re- ported to have been killed and his body mutilated. The report was found to be correct, and, in retalia- tion for the treatment of the dead officer much prop- erty and many buildings in the vicinity of King and Queen Court-House were destroyed. General Kil-
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FIRST R. I. LIGHT ARTILLERY.
patrick wrote General Butler on the 12th of March, 1864: "My cavalry have returned. The people about King and Queen Court-House have been well punished for the murder of Colonel Dahlgren."
On the 22d of March two sections of the battery received marching orders. A driving snow storm was prevailing at the time and the prospect for an enjoyable trip was not pleasant ; but before the time arrived for the start, six o'clock in the evening, the orders were countermanded, and this further attempt to capture Richmond by the forces at Yorktown and Williamsburg, if such it was, was abandoned.
During the month of April, 1864, the Tenth Corps arrived at Gloucester Point, opposite Yorktown, and other troops rendezvoused at that place and York- town, preparatory to the opening of the campaign of 1864. Saturday, April 23d, Battery F was assigned to the Second Division, Eighteenth Corps, Brig .- Gen. Godfrey Weitzel commanding, and from that time until the end of the month inspections and reviews were in order. A salute in honor of the arrival of Governor Yates of Illinois was fired by the battery on the 28th of April. On the 30th of April a part of the Eighteenth Corps was reviewed by Maj .- Gen.
.. ...
Imini sit o
.
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BATTERY F.
Benj. F. Butler, the First Division, one brigade of the Second Division, and eight light batteries ap- pearing in line. The artillery marched in review in " column of batteries," a formation seldom witnessed because of the large space required in its execution.
By the end of April all surplus stores and com- pany property had been turned over to the quarter- master's department for storage, officers' baggage re- duced to the minimum, and all preparations made for participating in the campaign of 1864, which was looked forward to by all as likely to test the efficiency, courage and endurance beyond anything thus far ex- perienced.
CHAPTER VII.
BERMUDA HUNDRED AND DRURY'S BLUFF.
M AY 1, 1864, the battery was quartered at York- town, Va., awaiting the opening of the cam- paign. Early in March, 1864, Gen. U. S. Grant was commissioned lieutenant-general and assigned to the command of all the armies of the United States. His plan for the campaign, as plainly indicated in his letters to Major-Generals. William T. Sherman (April 4th), and George G. Meade (April 9th), contemplated an almost simultaneous movement by all the separate armies. To General Sherman he wrote : " It is my design, if the enemy keep quiet and allow me to take the initiative in the spring campaign, to work all parts of the army together, and somewhat towards a common centre."
The force assembled and encamped at Yorktown and Gloucester Point in the spring of 1864 formed
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BATTERY F,
one of the parts of the army. It consisted of the Tenth Corps, commanded by Major-Gen. Q. A. Gil- more and the Eighteenth Corps, commanded by Major-Gen. William F. Smith. The two corps con- stituted the Army of the James, Major-Gen. Benja- min F. Butler commanding. Battery F was a part of this army assigned to the Eighteenth Corps, Second Division.
The Army of the James was to be operated on the south side of the James River with Richmond as the objective point, and there was to be cooperation be- tween it and the Army of the Potomac (see Grant's instructions to General Butler under date of April 2, 1864).
Sunday, May Ist, orders were issued by Major- Gen. W. F. Smith, commanding United States troops at Yorktown and Gloucester Point, for five light batteries, Battery F among the number, to march to Newport News on the morning of the 2d of May, but subsequently was countermanded.
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