USA > Rhode Island > History of the Fifth Regiment of Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, during three years and a half of service in North Carolina. January 1862-June 1865 > Part 4
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Here, amid these inclement surroundings this detachment passed the night, and never was a morning more welcome than the one that followed it. While these men were enduring such discomfort the members of the other detachment were more fortunate. A letter says :
"At last, completely exhausted by our march, the men dropped down around some fires in a farm-yard which had been left by the troops that had preceded us, and they were soon asleep. I had the good fortune to get into an out-building, a negro hut, where some stragglers from the Fourth Rhode Island were cooking a savory smelling mess in the broad fire-place. I accepted their cordial invi-
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FIFTH RHODE ISLAND HEAVY ARTILLERY.
tation to sit at their table, and was soon absorbing moderate doses of a very good chicken soup. I had the satisfaction of calling in Captain Wright and Lieutenant Hall, and inducing them to partake of some of the same timely and nourishing diet. This was about nine P. M., and we had tasted nothing since morning. At about half-
Capt. William W. Douglas.
past one o'clock the men were roused up and we resumed our march, through water and more clayey mud. We came, about half-past three o'clock, to the other companies of our battalion.
"The enemy had made elaborate preparations to - defend New Berne, which is situated on the Neuse River at the point formed by the junction of the Trent, which flows in from the west. A line had been selected some three miles south of the Trent, which may 3
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be briefly described. Commencing at the Neuse, a strong earth- work had been constructed which completely commanded the channel of the river, and also the landside as far as the railroad. which is here about three-fourths of a mile from the river. It was mounted with thirteen guns, four of which bore upon the approach by land. Extending west to the railroad was a breastwork defended by an abatis of trees felled in its front to give a proper field of fire as well as make a formidable obstruction, and also by a deep ditch along its whole front. At the railroad it ended in a strong bastion command- ing the approach from that direction. This much had been learned by General Burnside's scouts sometime previous to the expedition. But what he probably did not know was that the enemy had erected, west of the railway, a line composed of thirteen small redans on a group of six low hills that extended from the railway to an impas- sable swamp, a mile further to the left. The low hills on the left of the railway present a tangle of low ridges interspersed with open, swampy places between. There were, on the whole of this line, forty-six guns. of which some were field artillery. To oppose this formidable array of ordnance we could bring into the field six small. brass, boat howitzers, each dragged along and manned by twelve men from the ' Marine Brigade.' The enemy, under the command of General Branch. were reported to be 8.000 strong.
" There was nothing to do but to make a direct attack in front and trust to the dash and courage of the men to carry them through. And the order of battle was as simple as the plan of attack. As usnal, General Foster's brigade had the lead, and was to go into line in front of the strong work on the river, known as Fort Thompson. General Reno was to connect with General Foster's left, and con- tinne the line to the railroad. General Parke's brigade, in which was our battalion, was to form on the right centre, and go-as re- serves always have to go in such cases-where the battle is the hot- test and men are most needed. On this occasion the brigade comprised the Fourth and First Battalion of the Fifth Rhode Island, and the Eighthi and Eleventh Connecticut Infantry. And it was still further weakened by the Eleventh Connecticut having already been sent to aid General Foster, whose brigade was in position early in the morning (the 14th), and became so heavily en-
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FIFTH RHODE ISLAND HEAVY ARTILLERY. 35
gaged that extensive changes in the line had to be made; the works of the enemy at this point proving too strong to be carried by direct attack. In the meantime General Reno was struggling along the railroad to the place assigned to his brigade in the plan of the battle, and he soon became aware, from the deadly fire of the enemy on the hills west of the railroad, that instead of overlapping the rebel right he himself was exposed to an attack on his flank in case he should penetrate their line. By this time General Foster's brigade had been fought to a stand-still, and his howitzers as well as some of his regiments had nearly exhausted their ammunition. General Reno could do nothing but to attempt to carry the works in his front by direct assault, and he could only spare a portion of one regiment for that purpose. Four companies of the Twenty-first Massachusetts, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Clark were selected for this almost forlorn hope. The advance was made under a galling fire by this small band of brave men, who carried their flag over the breast- works and there rallied around it. 'Meeting with the fire of a field battery which opened upon them, they charged and captured these guns. By this time the enemy saw that it was a comparatively mere handful of men who had penetrated their line, and they ad- vanced an overwhelming force against it. General Reno's position was so critical that he could not spare a man to aid Lieutenant- Colonel Clark, and the latter made a reluctant but skillful retreat to our lines, leaving the captured guns behind. This crisis was the op- portunity for what there was of the Third brigade that could be made available. When the battle opened on the right it had been ordered into a position where it could support either Foster or Reno. General Parke found the ground he was to occupy very broken, composed of alternate low ridges with swampy swails between. By lying down behind these ridges the men could find some cover from the shot and shell sweeping the field in front. As may be readily seen the first and second brigades here, as at. Roanoke Island. were given the position of honor. in case the enemy were easily routed from their works. and here the weak Third brigade was made still weaker by having one of its strongest regiments. the Eleventh Con- nectient, detached to aid General Foster almost as soon as his brigade came under fire. But the time had come when General Parke's men
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could no longer be denied. The Fourth Rhode Island, in going into position, had been followed by the Eighth Connecticut, but that regi- ment, with true, soldierly chivalry allowed the Fifth Battalion to follow the Fourth Regiment, and hence it came, though it was not so understood at the time at headquarters, that all through this fiercely contested battle these two Rhode Island organizations shared the same dangers and gained the same honors in charging and fighting during the rest of the day. The position these regiments occupied was so much exposed that Colonel Rodman, of the Fourth, moved them forward to the railroad cat, which afforded better shelter. From this point he witnessed the gallant charge made by the men of the Twenty-first Massachusetts, and their sullen retreat from the position they had so courageously won. Ordering his men to be on the alert, he met Lieutenant-Colonel Clark, as he came from the enemy's works and from him learned enough to determine his future course in the action. He gave the command, and away sprang the Rhode Island men, and soon they were seen swarming over the enemy's works. closely followed by the Eighth Connecticut, Colonel Rodman, in the meantime. having sent word to his immediate superior telling, not of what he proposed to do, but of what he had done.
" Once within the enemy's lines the little force was directed to the right. and it fought its way from gun to gun until it had captured nine of them. General Foster observing the commotion among the rebels in his front, caused by the progress of Colonel Rodman's men, ordered his line to advance, and it was soon inside the breastworks. But the enemy on the left of the railroad were still unbroken and undaunted, and stubbornly continued the battle. The successful Rhode Island men now turned their attention to them, again winning honors, if there be special honor on a field of battle where all are alike equally brave, and all alike do their very best."
It will, however. be left to two officers who were participants in this battle to give accounts of the part borne by our battalion, ia more graphic and fuller detail. In a private letter one of them says :
"At last we came to a deep ravine, or rather a series of low hills and gullies thrown together in an inextricable contusion, and were there told that the great battery of the enemy had been taken by the
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Massachusetts Twenty-first, but that they could not hold it, owing to their small numbers, and it had been retaken by the enemy. We were ordered to fall in behind the Fourth Rhode Island and the Eighth Connecticut, but the Eighth halted and allowed us to take our position next to the Fourth. Then, ' charge, Rhode Island !' was the cry, and away we ran over stumps and fences, up a steep bank, across an open space, the bullets all the while whistling close in our ears. and we halted only when inside the breastworks, the Fourth having gone into the main battery-the enemy in retreat. The fire from the left of our new position still continued, and, after forming line under it to repel an expected charge, we were ordered to turn to the left, take up a position under the brow of a small sand ridge, covered as was the whole battlefield, with tall trees and thick underbrush. Here, after having twice crossed the hot fire from the rebel rifle-pits and battery, beyond the railroad, we fired our first real volley, advancing to the brow of the hill to do so, and retiring a few steps to load. Prisoners afterwards told us that that first volley killed fifteen of their men. The fog, and smoke, and the dense woods prevented us from seeing anything for awhile, but as a puff of wind cleared our view for a moment in front of us, we saw with joy the gray coats and caps of the enemy. Now, the Fourth which had been doing good service somewhere about the centre of the enemy's line, were ordered into position near us, and to advance with their flag as we had none. They filed past us on our lett, and advancing through the woods to the front, rushed down over the rail- road, across rifle-pits and gullies, and with one shout carried the battery beyond and decided the victory. Our advance was now un- disputed and triumphant. The railroad and the turnpike led us straight into New Berne. We took two camps in which the fires were still burning. and the bread left in the mixing troughs. The Fourth was stationed in one and the Fifth in the other. Just as our tired limbs were warning us that they could not carry us much further, the news was brought us that 'our gunboats are at the wharf in New Berne.' We arrived at our camp in time to eat warm bread baked by the enemy."
The battalion had marched along the road to a point within about three-fourths of a mile of the enemy's works when the following
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narrative commences : "At this point General Burnside had stationed himself, with some members of his staff. Here, just as we came up, a shot from a rebel battery came along and cut off a large limb of one of a clump of trees, under which they were sitting on their horses. The animals danced around considerably for a time, and here the excitement of the approaching battle began to tell on the men. A cheer was started, but it was suppressed by the officers on account of the close proximity of the rebels. it being thought that it might give them an idea of our movements. Here the head of the column was turned to the left, and, after going on the double-quick for some time, we came ' on the right by file into line ' in front of the rebel abatis. This they had made along their whole front, by cutting down the forest trees, leaving their bodies, branches, and the underbrush tangled in every direction for a depth of over a quarter of a mile. It seemed impenetrable even to a line of skirmishers. When the line was formed we were ordered to ' lie down,' and there we waited for developments, and here the enemy's fire of musketry and artillery became somewhat annoying. We waited patiently for some time, and began to wonder what next? when the firing became hotter, and we noticed a commotion in the abatis in front of us, and immediately we saw some men breaking through it. who proved to be of the Twenty-first Massachu- setts. They told us that they had been inside the rebel breastworks with four companies of their regiment, that they were not in force enough to hold their position and they had been driven out. and some of their men had been captured. Just at this moment an aide came along with orders for us to move. Counter-marching to the right and rear we moved on the double-quick still further to our left. It did not take us long to get over considerable ground, and the first thing we knew we were at the railroad, whose embankment at this point was about ten feet above the surrounding level. We were then moved along the line of the road, plunging over logs, and through gullies, over ditches, and through mud and water, till at last we found ourselves inside the rebel works.
" The point where we entered was the brick-vards, and here there were several buildings in which a large number of rebel sharp- shooters were posted. As we entered the works those in the houses
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. just-skeddadled ! The Eighth Connecticut, which was on our right, turned to the right, while our battalon kept straight ahead for some distance, when both formed in line, ours at the crest of a ridge which gave us an excellent position to bring our fire to bear on the flank of the rifle-pits across the railroad, while the Fourth Rhode Island charged them in front. We were to engage their attention by keeping up as brisk and steady a fire as possible, until we heard the Fourth cheer when they charged. The rebels replied to our fire with a vim, and here we sustained our severest loss. We had not been under fire three minutes when Lieut. Henry R. Pierce, of Company D, was killed, while cheering and encouraging his men. I passed to the right of his company and told Captain Grant that the lientenant was shot. Ordering me to take command in his place the captain went down where the lieutenant was lying and had him removed to the rear. The captain soon returned and seemed deeply agitated at the loss of his friend and vowed revenge. Taking a musket from one of the men he commenced firing away. Soon the order to cease firing was given, but the captain and a man by the name of Ryan went some twenty paces to the front and fired a few shots on their own account across the railroad. The captain re- turned with two muskets instead of one, and informed me that Ryan had been shot through the head. I went up to where the man lay and found that he had a bullet hole in his right temple.
" Not long after we received the order to cease firing we heard cheering. not the rebel Yi! Yi ! Yi! but a genuine Yankee cheer- the cheer we were expecting, and almost immediately we received news that the rebels were in retreat at all points and that we were to join in the pursuit. The announcement was received with cheer upon cheer, and on coming to the road we there found the rest of the brigade. When we reached the banks of the Trent river we found the country road and railroad bridges burning, which rendered further immediate pursuit on our part impossible. The town, on the opposite bank, was in flames in many places, and soon the gunboats were busy carrying across some of General Foster's brigade. Their first duty was to save as much private property as possible, and pre- vent a destruction which the enemy insanely supposed would injure
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us. Our battalion went into quarters in an abandoned artillery camp, and once more enjoyed a little rest."
As an instance of how soldiers in time of war can accommodate themselves to circumstances, it may be stated that one of the shortest men in the battalion ensconced himself in a manger, which was just large enough to admit his whole body. He lay down that night in
Capt. James Moran,
comfort compared to his experience of the night before, and slept the sleep of the just.
At this camp a soldier in one of the companies of the battalion found the following letter which was sent home and published in a Providence paper under the following heading :
A BILLETDOUX FROM A SECESH DAMSEL .- We copy for the amuse- ment of our readers. the following frank epistle found in the rebel camp at New Berne, by Mr. -- , of the Rhode Island Fifth. The war does
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not appear to work altogether satisfactorily to the Secesh fair one, and the writer does not conceal her discontent. We may presume that the rebel (as we suppose him to be) who received the effusion was not a little interested in it. It bears the appearance of repeated perusal. We give it verbatim :
N C CHATHAM COUNTY January th 6 1862
Dear Sir Accordin to promice I seat my self to anseer your kind letter witch came safe to hand witch found me well and this leave me the same and cincerly hope these few lines may find you in Joying the same.
I have nothing very interresting to wright only we have had the dulist times that I ever saw since you left old Chatham you don't know how thing has aulered sence you left here for tha isent a young man fit to look at but big Alfred and the girls hav looked at him so much they have became ugly we have had a verry sorrow Christmas tha hasent binn but very few Wedding nor quilting and not much prospect of any more soon. I think if you all could come home and stay we would have some fun as we used to have in days thats past by and gone for I never expect to forget when last I saw you at Fall Creek so when this you see remember me tho many a mile a apart we. be so I will close by remaining your cincer well wisher until death.
From
Mr to
The following official report of Major Wright of the part taken by the Fifth Battalion in the action is appended here :
Report of Major JJohn Wright, Fifth Rhode Island Infantry. HIDORS. FIFTH REGT., R. I. VOLs., CAMP PIERCE, NEW BERNE, N. C., March 18, 1862.
SIR: I have the honor to submit to you the following report of the operations of the First Battalion of the Fifth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers in the battle of the 14th instant.
At the signal given from the brigade flag-ship, on the morning of the 13th of March, 1862, the boats of the steam transports, Curlew and Eagle, in which the battalion was quartered, were cleared away, filled with men, and dispatched to the steamer Eastern Queen, at about S o'clock. That forenoon I landed with three companies and a half. and with these took my position in line. according to orders, on the left of the Eighth Connectiont. I continued the march until I received orders to halt and bivouac for the night. About two the next morning the adju- tant brought the two remaining companies into camp. At daybreak, the 14th, I formed the battalion in line, awaiting orders, which soon came. and were to continue to follow on the left of the Eighth Connectient. The column moved abont 6.80 o'clock. A. M .. and passed slowly along the
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route followed the day before. Not long after the firing commenced in front, and the orders came to keep well closed up. Soon after Captain D'Wolf came down the line and ordered us to close up, and we com- meneed the double-quick.
After following the main road a short distance farther we turned off to the left and entered the woods. Just after we turned a cannon ball passed over our heads, which showed that we were approaching the battery, and caused us to press forward more eagerly to support the at- tack. After passing through a swampy place we came to a halt on the brow of a bluff, where we awaited further orders and the further move- ments of the Eighth Comiccticut. As the bullets flew very thick over our heads we were ordered to lie down. When the Twenty-first Massa- chusetts was driven from the battery and the enemy made a sally the orders. came to fix bayonets and prepare to receive a charge. We formed in line of battle, left in front, but as they were driven back be- fore we saw them, we continued as we were before that. Our orders were still to continue on the left of the Eighth Connectient. At last the orders came to turn the right flank of the enemy. We passed down into the hollow, filed off still farther to the left, and passed over another elevation. when we came to the railroad just below the brick-yard. Then, with General Parke at our head, we pushed on. passed in rear of the breastworks of the enemy, and as we came upon the high open ground behind it we came under a raking fire from the rifle-pits across the railroad and the brick-yard, where the enemy lay in large force.
We pashed on at the double-quick until we came under cover of the trees, where we formed in line of battle and prepared to charge on the enemy in the battery. As they had retired. I was ordered first to send one company and afterwards the whole battalion, and to proceed cautiously and find out what the firing was on our left. I sent the adju- tant ahead to find out the direction we should take. As it was pointed out by the general's aide. Lieutenant fydig. we passed down into a hollow, and ascended the left-hand side cautiously until we reached the brow of the elevation, when we came in view of the enemy and immedi- ately opened upon them a brisk fire, which immediately had an effect. for their fire slackened and stopped when we ceased firing. We opened upon them two or three times afterward until we were afraid of firing upon the Fourth Rhode Island, who were advancing npon them on our right. When the Fourth charged upon them we ceased firing and awaited orders.
It was on this hill that we met with the greater part of our loss. As we had no colors. I was ordered to fall in the rear of the Eighth Con- neetient, and. leaving a few to take care of the killed and wounded, we passed down to the railroad, and at 11 o'clock took up our line of march for the city of New Berne. When we reached the main road. which crossed the railroad, we turned to the left, and continued our march
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until we received orders to halt, and take possession of a rebel camp off to the right from the road, which had been occupied by rebel artillery.
I am very respectfully, Your obedient servant,
JOHN WRIGHT, Major Comg. First Bat. Fifth R. I. Vols.
CHARLES T. GARDNER,
Asst. Adjt. Gen.
Col. Ed. Graham Haywood, commanding the Seventh Regi- ment of North Carolina Infantry, made an official report of this action. It was embodied almost word for word in the official report of Gen. S. O'B. Branch, commanding all of the rebel troops in this battle. That portion of it relating to the assault made by the four companies of the Twenty-first Massachusetts under Lieutenant Colonel Clark, and the subsequent assault made by the Fourth Rhode Island, the First Battalion of the Fifth Rhode Island, and the Eighth Connecticut, is of such a character that it is interesting reading, to say the least. It is as follows :
"They (his regiment) held their positions until flanked on the right by the enemy. They were then ordered to leave the trenches and charge bayonets upon the enemy, which they did, driving him beyond the breastworks with great slaughter. and retaking a section of Brem's battery which had fallen into their hands. I then held the breastworks until flanked again by the same direction, with a greatly increased force, some six or eight regiments, when I fell back into the woods in rear of Colonel Vance's camp and there formed. Seeing no hope of defeating the enemy, I then, with the command, retired from the field."
The total loss in this battle was eight officers and eighty-two en- listed men killed. and twenty-eight officers and three hundred and fifty-two enlisted men wounded. In the battalion it was one officer, Lieutenant Henry R. Pierce. and one man, private Ryan, killed. and eight enlisted men wounded.
The death of Lieutenant Pierce was regarded as almost an irre- parable loss in the battalion, so great was the love and esteem of both officers and men for him. Nor was this regard confined to his
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immediate comrades, but it was shared by all who knew him at home or in the field. The following deserved tribute to his worth is quoted from that standard history, Burnside ond the Ninth Army Corps: " Lieutenant Henry R. Pierce was killed in the second charge upon the enemy's lines. He was a teacher. by profession, had applied for and received his commission in the finest spirit of duty. He was a man of very estimable and worthy character, of scholarly attainments, and of manly principles. He stood in the very front rank of his profession in the State of Rhode Island. and his death was felt as a public calamity by many who were beyond the circle of his personal friendship."
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