USA > Rhode Island > Battery F, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery in the Civil War, 1861-1865 > Part 8
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Tuesday, May 3d, the battery marched from York- town to Newport News, leaving at about noon and ar- riving at about seven o'clock in the evening. The next day, May 4th, embarked at Newport News, the
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pieces on two canal barges and the horses on three schooners, viz., Onrust, Mist and Myers. The work was completed on the morning of the 5th, working all night of the 4th, and the men detailed to the sev- eral vessels. Captain Belger embarked on the schooner Myers ; Lieutenant Simpson was assigned to the Mist; Lieutenants Smith and Adams to the barges, and Lieutenant Chase to the Onrust. The total strength of the battery present for duty was five commissioned officers and one hundred and seven- teen men. It also had one hundred and nine service- able horses.
The vessels upon which the battery was loaded, with others, were taken in tow at about two o'clock in the afternoon of the 5th, heading up the James River. There were thirteen vessels in the tow, con- sequently slow progress was made. At night an- chored off Lime Creek. The next morning at day- light the tow continued to move slowly up the river, but soon a more powerful vessel arrived, took the tow and more rapid progress was made, arriving at Ber- muda Hundred at about half-past twelve o'clock, noon, of the 6th. The infantry of the force had ar- rived on the evening of the 5th, convoyed by the
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navy, landed and taken possession of City Point and Bermuda Hundred, meeting with no opposition, ap. parently a complete surprise.
The battery was immediately disembarked, moved
Sergt. Albert R. Walker.
forward about three miles to the line occupied by the infantry and went into bivouac. A considerable force of infantry with Follett's battery D, Fourth United States Artillery, moved out on the 7th for the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. They suc-
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ceeded in destroying a portion at Port Walthall junc- tion, having had a spirited engagement in so doing with troops just arrived from South Carolina. The appearance of the Army of the James at City Point and Bermuda Hundred created great consternation
and excitement at Petersburg. Telegrams were sent calling for troops, and in response thereto troops were forwarded from all points where they could be spared. General Hagood's brigade from South Carolina ar- rived at Petersburg just in time to meet the force sent out on the 7th to strike the railroad. This brig- ade was on the way to Richmond, and was halted at Petersburg for the purpose. General Beauregard has stated that " Petersburg would inevitably have fallen into the hands of the enemy had not General Hagood been halted there at that most opportune hour."
The Army of the James commenced intrenching immediately at Bermuda Hundred, and soon had a strong line of earth-work extending from the James River on the right to the Appomattox River on the left striking the Appomattox near Port Walthall. During the first days of occupancy at Bermuda Hundred expeditions moved out in the morning and returned behind the works at night.
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BATTERY F,
Monday, May 9th, the battery was under orders to march at daylight. The right section, Lieutenant Simpson commanding, joined General Heckman's brigade ; the left and centre sections with Captain Belger in command were assigned to' General Wis- tar's brigade. The whole force advanced towards Petersburg, moving up the north side of the Appo- mattox. Chester station and Port Walthall junction on the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad were reached, and the road destroyed for some distance. Heckman's brigade advanced to Swift Creek, about two miles from Petersburg, but did not cross.
. After advancing about four miles Captain Belger with the two sections was directed to return to a cross-road and take position guarding the same. Be- fore night he was ordered inside the works of the Tenth Corps, where he remained until the next day, Ioth, when he was directed to return to camp near Bermuda Hundred, the troops having in the meantime returned from the direction of Petersburg.
Wednesday, May 11th, the battery received orders to move at daylight the next morning. At about sun- rise on the 12th it marched out of the works, having been assigned to Gen. Isaac J. Wistar's brigade,
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which held the advance. The column soon struck the Richmond and Petersburg turnpike, a broad highway connecting the two cities, and, facing to the right, the advance brigade marched towards Rich- mond. Skirmishing commenced immediately, con- tinuing until the column reached a small stream called Redwater Creek, where, at about ten o'clock in the morning, the enemy opposed, with artillery, further advance.
Two guns of Battery F were placed in position on the broad road, when a lively artillery duel followed, continuing about a half hour, at the end of which time the enemy's artillery withdrew. The loss in the battery during the short time engaged was Guidon David Daley, killed, Privates Sylvester J. Easter- brooks, Henry Hall and Frederick D. Macomber wounded, the first two mortally. Private Easter- brooks died May 24, 1864, at United States Army General Hospital, Hampton, Va., and Private Hall at Brattleboro, Vt., Sept. 28, 1864.
While the two guns were engaged in the road Cap- tain Belger directed that another be placed in posi- tion in an open field at the left, from which point a cross fire could be opened. While the third piece
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was moving to the front to take position in the field it passed a limber from one of the guns in action in the road going after ammunition. The lead driver of this limber was Private Macomber, mentioned above as wounded, whose left arm was shattered and hanging by his side. He had pluckily remained at his post after the wound, and did not leave his horses until the engagement was nearly over.
The third piece fired but a few shots, when the enemy retired. It is not positively known that the enfilading fire of this gun caused the enemy to retire, but it is believed that such was the case.
During the artillery duel a line of battle was formed by General Wistar's brigade, to which the battery was attached, with its left on the turnpike extending to the right. The line advanced slowly, and bivou- acked for the night of the 12th near Proctor's Creek, the bank of which the skirmishers reached during the night.
The line moved forward with continual skirmishing on the 13th, but the battery did not become engaged.
Early on the morning of the 14th a further ad- vance took place, during which a portion of the outer works of the enemy at and on each side of the
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turnpike was occupied, the enemy having evacuated during the night. One section of Battery F took position at these works, at and near the turnpike on the right, at about ten o'clock in the morning, which position it retained during the remainder of the day, and kept up a slow, continuous and well directed fire upon Fort Stevens, a strong earth-work in front and to the right of the position, perhaps a thousand yards off. No casualties in the battery occurred on the 14th. At night the battery was ordered to retire about a half mile to an open field, where it bivouacked and remained until Monday morning the 16th.
General Butler's forces had been successful to this time, and were in the best of spirits. They had ad- vanced in the ten days since landing at Bermuda Hundred until they were before the main defences of Richmond on the south of the James River, and the opposition had not been strong. It was known the enemy were reenforcing and strengthening their position, but probably no one anticipated the disaster so soon to follow.
Monday morning, May 16th, opened with a dense fog settled over the country. When the battery moved to the front to occupy the same position as on
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the Saturday previous, nothing could be seen in its front by reason of the fog. Gen. W. F. Smith stated in his report, "On going out I found a fog so dense that a horseman was not visible at a distance of fif- teen yards." Gen. Godfrey Weitzel, commanding Second Division, Eighteenth Corps, in which was the battery in his report, referred to the fog as " so dense that one could see but a few yards." Under cover of the fog the enemy massed General Ransom's division on his left. Gen. C. A. Heckman's brigade occupied the Union right, but between his troops and the James River about a half to three-quarters of a mile of open country was covered by a small cavalry force. Into the open country General Ransom advanced his division of four brigades under cover of the fog, and at 4.45 o'clock A. M. ordered the attack upon Heck- man's right flank, which proved successful, completely crushing that part of the line, causing much confu- sion and disaster.
In front of the position where battery F was sta- tioned, viz., the Second Brigade, Second division, Eighteenth corps, extending from the turnpike on the left towards the right, joining the left of Heckman's brigade, the enemy opened fire with artillery at about
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FIRST R. I. LIGHT ARTILLERY. 161
the same time that Ransom attacked, and soon after assaulted with the brigades of Hagood and Johnson, striking the Union line at the turnpike directly in front of Battery F. This assault was also successful in forcing the troops back. Battery F opened fire immediately in reply to the enemy's fire, and it is claimed did good work until ordered to retire. The Union line was falling back when the battery lim- bered up. All the pieces started from the front save one, the limber of which had been exploded by the enemy's fire. One other piece became wedged be- tween stumps of trees, and before it could be cleared the horses were disabled, and it was lost. Capt. George E. Ashby's Battery E, Third New York Ar- tillery of twenty-pound Parrotts, was stationed at the turnpike, in fact was sandwiched in with Battery F. That battery lost three of its four guns. The junior second lieutenant of Battery F, who was in charge of the caissons which were parked on the left of the turnpike some distance back, tells of his experience in riding towards the front during the fight. " It was an experience which impressed itself upon the memory, never to be effaced. Men and horses were met going to the rear. It seemed as if the enemy
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must be using explosive bullets, judging from the snapping sound as they struck the trees. Captain Ashby, of Battery E, Third New York Artillery,
. was passed sitting astride the trail of the only gun of his command saved, the blood trickling down his face from a wound in the head. Wounded men and men who did not want to be wounded were pass- ing to the rear in large numbers. Some members of Battery F were met who stated that what was left of the battery was coming to the rear, and I returned to my command, the caissons, to conduct them to what- ever position might be ordered."
The camp occupied by the battery on the 14th and 15th of May fell into the hands of the enemy on the morning of the 16th, but before they reached it much property, including shelter tents, overcoats, blankets, etc., was burned by order of some officer, name un- known.
Captain Belger having been taken prisoner, Lieut. Thomas Simpson took command of the four remain- ing guns and conducted the battery to the rear to await instructions. It was soon ordered to return to the fortifications of the Tenth Corps, and occupied the second redoubt from the left that night.
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The official record of the operations of the battery on the 9th and Ioth and on the 12th and 16th of May, including the casualties, are told in the official re- ports, which are as follows :
HEADQUARTERS BATTERY F, IST R. I. LIGHT ARTY., IN THE FIELD, NEAR APPOMATTOX RIVER, May 11, 1864.
Capt. F. M. FOLLETT, Chief of Artillery, Second Division, Eighteenth Corps.
CAPTAIN: I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of Battery F, First Rhode Island Light Artillery during the ninth and tenth instants.
On the eighth I received orders to be ready to march with one day's rations at daylight on the ninth instant.
On the morning of the ninth I moved out of camp with my battery, one section assigned to the First Brig- ade, Second Division, Eighteenth Corps, General Heck- man commanding ; the other two sections were assigned to the Second Brigade, Second Division, Eighteenth Corps, General Wistar commanding. The section as- signed to General Heckman's brigade was ordered by General Weitzel to take position with the Second Brigade, Second Division; and marched on the Petersburg road to within four miles of Petersburg and bivouacked for the night. Returned to camp on the tenth instant. No en- gagements with the enemy.
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BATTERY F,
The two sections assigned to Wistar's brigade moved on the same road about four miles, when I received orders from you to countermarch and take position at a cross- roads about three and one-half miles from camp.
At about two o'clock P. M. received orders from Colo- nel Plaisted, commanding a division of the Tenth Corps, to take a position with my battery inside the works thrown up by the Tenth Corps and near Dr. Howlett's place. Remained in the works until about seven o'clock P. M. tenth instant, when I received orders from General Ames, Tenth Corps, to return to camp, arriving at about eight o'clock p. M. No engagements.
I am, Captain, very respectfully, Your ob'd't servant,
JAS. BELGER, Capt. Comd'g Battery F.
HEADQUARTERS BATTERY F, FIRST R. I. LT. ARTY., IN THE FIELD, May 17, 1864.
Capt. F. M. FOLLETT, Chief of Artillery, Second Division, Eighteenth Corps.
CAPTAIN : I have the honor respectfully to submit the following report of the movements of Battery F, First Rhode Island Light Artillery, during the recent advance of this army.
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On the eleventh instant I received orders to. move at daylight next morning. On the twelfth was assigned to Brig .- General Wistar's Brigade and moved out towards the turnpike leading from Manchester to Petersburg, Va. ; about noon engaged the enemy, losing killed, Guidon David Daley ; wounded, Privates Sylvester Easterbrooks, Fred. D. Macomber and Henry Hall, all severely ; bivou- acked at night in an open field in rear of General Heck- man's brigade.
Thirteenth ; was ordered to advance across a small creek and take position on a hill in an open field about one mile in advance of our position the night previous. No engagement this day.
Fourteenth ; was ordered to send one section to the front and take position behind the enemy's first line of rifle-pits ; kept up a slow fire during the day; took posi- tion at night near our position the previous night.
Fifteenth ; no movements.
Sixteenth ; was ordered to advance to the first line of the enemy's rifle-pits; soon after taking position the enemy opened fire with artillery and charged the works, driving me back with a loss as follows, viz. : one limber blown up by the enemy's fire, two guns and three limbers left on the field, horses all killed and wounded and was unable to draw them off ; killed, Privates James C. Davis and Patrick McCabe ; wounded, Sergeant I. Casper Schmid, slightly ; Corporals Isaac Graham, Joseph Church, Frederic Wilcox, severely, and Albert R. Walker slightly ; Privates Daniel G. Rogers, severely; Daniel W. Barnes,
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BATTERY F,
James P. Clark, John McGuire, and Michael Golden slightly ; missing and supposed prisoners, Captain James Belger, Guidon John McCavanagh, Privates Charles C. Vars, and Benjamin Whitham.
Horses killed, wounded and abandoned twenty-seven ; wounded and brought off, eight ; was ordered by Captain
Corp. Joseph Church.
Elder, Chief of Artillery, Eighteenth Corps, to return to the fortifications of the Tenth Corps, arriving at about two o'clock P. M., and was ordered by Colonel Abbott, First Connecticut Artillery, to take position with the re- mainder of the battery in the second redoubt from the left, where it now is.
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Expended about three hundred and seventy-five rounds of ammunition.
I am, Captain, very respectfully, Your ob'd't. servt., THOS. SIMPSON, First Lieut. First Rhode Island Light Artillery, Commanding Battery F.
On the 17th of May the following was issued :
HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION, ISTH ARMY CORPS, IN THE FIELD, May 17, 1864.
General Orders No. 7.
The General Commanding desires to thank the officers and men of this Division for their patience, endurance and bravery during the operations of the last twelve days.
A perfect stranger to the Division on assuming com- mand of it. his experience with it, during the above pe- riod, has given him the most perfect confidence and grati- fication.
By order of Brig .- Gen'l. WEITZEL, E. E. GRAVES, Lieut. & A. A. A. G.
It was thought, and so reported, that Private James C. Davis was killed on the morning of the 16th,
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but later it was learned that he lived until May 30, 1864, when he died in Richmond, Va., a prisoner of war, from wounds received on that morning.
The casualties among the officers and men from May 12th to 16th, inclusive, was about seventeen per cent. of those on duty, and of the horses a fraction over thirty-two per cent. Deducting those with the caissons, which were not actually under fire, and the loss among the officers and men was about twenty per cent., while among the horses it was very great ; it is impossible to state accurately, because some horses were sent from the caissons to take the places of those disabled, but from the best information possible to obtain it is believed to have been near sixty per cent. -
Greatly to the surprise of the members of Battery F, Brig .- Gen. Isaac J. Wistar, commanding Second Brigade, Second Division, Eighteenth Corps, in his report of the engagement on the 16th, used language reflecting upon certain troops, among them Battery F. A copy of the report reached the battery, and the following was immediately sent to Headquarters Department of Virginia and North Carolina :
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HEADQUARTERS BATTERY F, FIRST R. I. LIGHT ARTY. IN THE FIELD, VA., May 24, 1864.
Major R. S. DAVIS,
Asst. Adj. Gen'l.
SIR: The following having appeared in the official re- port of Brig .- General I. J. Wistar, commanding Second Brigade, Second Division. Eighteenth Corps, of the action of May sixteenth, 1864, reflecting on the conduct of offi- cers and men of this Battery, I respectfully request that a Court of Inquiry be appointed to investigate the cir- cumstances :
HEADQUARTERS SECOND BRIGADE, SECOND DIVISION, ISTH CORPS, May 17, 1864.
Capt. W. H. ABEL,
A: A. G., 2d Div., 18th Corps.
The officers and men generally behaved excellently. Captain Edward E. Bedee and Second Lieut. James W. Saunders, both of Twelfth New Hampshire Volunteers, with some men of same regiment for some time loaded and fired one gun (abandoned) of Battery F, First R. I. Light Artillery. They report one of the Lieutenants of that battery as lying concealed in a ditch during the time. The same officers limbered up a 20 pdr. Parrott gun of Ashby's battery, deserted by its gunners, and moved it by hand some distance to the rear, on the turnpike, when they turned it over to some men of the battery with in-
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structions to take it to the rear, which was neglected and the piece abandoned, owing as they allege to the want of horses. The guns lost were abandoned without spiking. Captain Barker, commanding Twelfth New Hampshire Volunteers; had previously thrown forward sharpshooters, who dispersed and drove away the enemy's sharpshoot- ers who attacked these guns.
I have the honor to be, Captain,
Very respectfully your obd't. serv't.,
I. J. WISTAR; Brig. Gen'l. Comd'g.
I have the honor to be, Major,
Very respectfully your obd't serv't, THOMAS SIMPSON, First Lieut. First R. I. Lt. Arty., Comdg. Battery F.
In response to the request of Lieutenant Simp- son, a court was appointed June 13, 1864, twenty days after, as the following order shows :
HEADQUARTERS TENTH ARMY CORPS,
IN THE FIELD, NEAR HATCHERS, VA., June 13, 1864. Special Orders No. 48.
4. Pursuant to instructions from Department Head- quarters and upon the application of First. Lieut. Thomas
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Simpson, comd'g Light Battery F, Ist Rhode Island Ar- tillery, a Court of Inquiry, consisting of the following named officers, is appointed to investigate and report, without loss of time, upon so much of the report of Brig. Gen. I. J. Wistar, dated May 17th, as contains strictures on the conduct of the officers and men of Light Battery F, Ist R. I. Artillery in the engagement of 16th May last :
Detail for the Court.
Captain A. P. ROCKWELL, Ist Conn. Light Battery.
Captain G. T. WOODBURY, 4th N. J. Light Battery. Ist. Lieut. I. P. SANGER, Battery D, Ist U. S. Arty.
Ist Lieut. W. A. SABIN, Battery C, 3d R. I. Arty., Recorder.
By command of Major-General Q. A. GILMORE,
ISRAEL SEALY, Capt. 47th N. Y. Vols., Act. Ass't. Adj. Gen.
Whether the Court convened or not it is impossi- ble to state positively. But no report or other evi- dence can befound showing action. It was dissolved by the following order :
HEADQUARTERS TENTH ARMY CORPS,
IN THE FIELD, July 26, 1864.
Special Orders No. 84.
6. The Court of Inquiry convened by Special Orders
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BATTERY F,
No. 48, current series, from these Headquarters, is hereby dissolved.
By command of Major-General BIRNEY,
ED. W. SMITH, Ass't. Adj. General.
If the charge made by the New Hampshire offi- cers be true, it is but just that the reputation of the bat- tery should suffer. If, on the other hand, the charge was not warranted by the facts, then it was an out- rage upon the members of the battery. It is not claimed that Battery F did not have among its mem- bers a man or a few men whose courage failed in times of emergency ; the organization that can sub- stantiate such a claim is indeed to be congratulated ; but the action of the members as a whole is generally taken as an indication of the efficiency and courage of the body. In view of the fact that the Court of Inquiry can throw no light upon the matter, a few quotations from official reports, in connection with the percentage of loss sustained by the battery, are here produced, leaving each person who may read these pages to pronounce judgment according as it may seem just and right. The amount of ammuni- tion expended, about three hundred and seventy-five
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rounds, would indicate that the guns were worked quite a time.
As previously stated, the percentage of casualties to men engaged in the battery was about twenty, while the loss in horses was about sixty per cent., certainly showing that the position occupied must have been under severe fire.
Maj .. Gen. William F. Smith, commanding Eight- eenth Army Corps, states, see official report dated June 8, 1864 : "A short time before day- light on the morning of the 16th I found everything quiet on my lines. There was at that time a thin film of clouds over the sky, but not so heavy as to inter- fere seriously with the moonlight, and giving no indi- cations whatever of a foggy morning. I returned to my quarters and to my bed, but was shortly after- ward aroused by a heavy musketry and artillery fire on the right of our line. On going out I found a fog so dense that a horseman was not visible at a distance of fifteen yards. I proceeded to the turnpike, where I established my headquarters and communicated with Generals Weitzel and Brooks. At this point I sent word to have the artillery withdrawn, as the fog was so dense it could not be used, and it was so far
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advanced that it was in danger of being captured. The order did not reach some guns most exposed until it was too late," " the enemy made furious assaults on my front, consisting of the brig- ades of Wistar and Burnham, in the divisions of Weitzel and Brooks."
Brig .- Gen. 'Hiram Burnham, commanding Second Brigade, First Division, Eighteenth Corps, whose command occupied the line extending from the turn- pike towards the left, and being immediately on the left of Battery F, states in his report, dated May 22, 1864:
" On the morning of the sixteenth instant my com- mand was under arms at 3.30 o'clock. Immediately after daylight the enemy commenced an attack upon our lines. My brigade was shelled quite severely, while the enemy made a furious attack with his in- fantry on the troops to the right of the pike."
Lieut .- Col. M. B. Smith, commanding the Eighth Connecticut Volunteers, officially reports under date . of May 18, 1864 :
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