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 9
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" We all believed that the enemy were receiving reinforcements. Just before daylight we were surprised by the command to . Fall in!' No drums were beaten. No noise was made that could be avoided. All commands were given in a subdued tone ; and soon we were on the move. away from the town, at a rapid march."
We quote from General Foster's official report :
" It was my intention to pursue the enemy to Tarboro, but the ex- hausted condition of the men, most of whom had been sick during the
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last two months, and had not yet recovered their strength, and the fact that the provisions had become nearly exhausted, so that I had to sub- sist the command by foraging, as well as the fact that the enemy were being largely reinforced by rail, changed my plans, and on the following day I countermarched the column, reaching Hamilton the same night."
The march was made through one of the most fertile and well cultivated sections of Eastern North Carolina, and the autumn har- vest had been abundant. The men fairly reveled in " soldiers' luxu- ries," such as chickens, sweet potatoes, and home-cured bacon. Every man in the expedition. will tell of the immense quantity of honey that was found during this march towards Tarboro. A man would hand his musket to a comrade, go to a hive, the bees being stiff with the cold, break off the side, and taking the great slabs of well-filled golden comb under each arm. push on and overtake the column, and distribute his prize among the "boys." As the day grew warmer and the bees became lively, he would pick up a hive under one arm with the bottom to the rear. and run thumping the top to drive out the bees which would fly back to the stand from which they came, and, instead of attacking the marauder who was robbing them of their home and winter's stores, would make it hot for the last man who tried to get a hive.
An incident occurred while on the march to this point. The sur- geon, who always looked for stragglers. fouml one man intoxicated beside the fence, who only responded with a grunt when shaken, and who fell like a dead man when set upon his feet, whereupon the doc- tor set him up in a fence corner. holding him up with his knee against his breast, and slapped his head, first one side and then the other, with his flat hands. A few cutfs sobered him enough to resent the treatment, and he exclaimed. with an oath. " Doctor Potter. I won't be abused that way ; I'll report you for striking an enlisted man." The doctor, busily loading him with his blanket, haversack, canteen, and gun, told him he couldn't report until he got into his place in his company, and the man went on, swearing vengeance. After march- ing three or four miles. the line was halted, and the man came back to the rear to apologize, saying he didn't want to be left behind for the " Johnnies," and was thankful for the treatment he got, and if he had said anything out of the way in his drunkenness. he begged
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the doctor's pardon. Poor " Country !" he lies among many other brave men in the national cemetery at New Berne.
It must be borne in mind that this was the first campaign of many of the men, and that even the veterans of Roanoke Island, New Berne and Fort Macon had been doing only camp and guard duty during the summer and early autumn, and hence were illy prepared to en- dure continued forced marches over bad roads in inclement weather. The weather had become threatening during the afternoon of the 6th, and in the night a heavy rain began to fall. Not long after our re- turn march began, on the 7th, the cold increased, and in the after- nood the rain became snow and sleet, and marching became painful in the extreme. The men's shoes were filled with snow and mud ; the leather grew soft and spongy, losing all shape, and " running over " so that heels and soles were often on the side of the feet in- stead of on the bottoms ; so many threw them away. The mud and sand caused such painful blisters that every step was agony. An officer, Lieutenant Bateman, was seen limping along quite barefoot, and finally he had to be carried to the hospital-boat, and he was dis- abled for a long time. The men had no tents of any kind, and many had no other protection from the storm than their rubber blankets ; and from this cause alone the sufferings of these brave fellows were intense. Private Edwin H. Gould became completely exhausted, was sent to the hospital-boat. and finally died from the results of the exposure of this march, and there were other cases of a similar nature.
The spirit which animated this patriotic soldier is thus described by a member of the battalion : "I found Comrade Gould sitting on a log by the roadside tired out and sick. I offered to remain with him. To this arrangement he would not consent, but with pure unselfishness insisted that I should go on and leave him, saying, ' Never mind me, you go ahead,' although he knew that he stood a chance of being captured by the enemy, yet he did not wish that another should be compelled to share his fate. I was used up myself. being sick with the North Carolina . shakes,' but I plodded on for awhile. till I, too, was obliged togive up, and should have remained by the roadside had not two of my comrades, seeing my condition, took pity on me. While one took my musket, the other grasped me
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by. the arm and assisted me on the march till we arrived at Hamil- ton. where we encamped for the night. I slept that night in what I judged had formerly been a millinery store, and where by the warmth of a blazing fire I recovered somewhat from the effects of the ' shakes.' "'
It was under these circumstances that Hamilton was reached in a severe snow storm. "Oh, how tired I was," said one of the battalion, " it did seem as if I could not drag one foot after the other in the miry snow and mud. When we reached Hamilton it was still snowing, and the wind was cold and cutting. At last I found an old tobacco-house, and I went in and laid down. I might have been there half an hour when some soldiers, who had been detailed as guard to this wretched building, came, and throwing some dirt in on the floor, they made a fire there. The smoke became so thick that it drove me out. So I wandered around in the storm for some time. At length I found an old sugar box, and carrying it to a fire near by, I sat it on end with the bottom of it toward the wind, and half sit- ting, half crouching in it, I slept, it might have been half an hour, and it might have been two or three hours, the sweetest sleep I ever had in my life."
About noon of the following day the march was resumed, and in the early evening the command reached Williamston, where it rested two days, Saturday and Sunday. Here Surgeon Potter taught some of the men to make serviceable moccasins from raw hide. Soon other shoeless men followed the example thus happily set, and many men in other commands wore them during the rest of the campaign. Monday brought us to Plymouth, where the battalion was embarked on one of the steamers of the half naval, half military organization known as the ". Marine Artillery," which has been mentioned before. This steamer was commanded by Capt. William B. Avery, who did all in his power to make our trip as pleasant as the crowded condition of his boat would permit. It was late in the afternoon of the 11th when we landed on the wharf at New Berne to find that all were in a state of great excitement, as a force of the enemy had attacked our picket stations at Bachelder's Creek and Deep Gully. These two stations were some nine miles west of the city. The former was on the railroad. and the latter on what was known as the Trent road,
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and they were some six miles apart. Upon reaching our camp we had orders to sleep on our arms, and be ready to fall into line at the first alarm .* Tattoo and taps were dispensed with, and the company cooks were set to work to prepare rations for our march to the assist- ance of the imperiled stations early the next morning.
It had been feared that the enemy had intended to make a dash on the city during the absence of the troops, and as our battalion was among the first to return it fell to our lot to reinforce the troops at these threatened posts. At daylight on the morning of the 12th we were in line and on our march to Bachelder's Creek. The march along the railroad track was very trying to the already footsore men, and added to this was a want of water, the men having been unable to supply themselves in New Berne for want of time before they fell in line. When we arrived at the creek, in conjunction with the Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, Colonel Jones, stationed there, we sconted some miles to the front and on our flanks, but the enemy had disappeared. We returned leisurely to camp, and resumed the daily routine of our life at that post.
And so ended the Tarboro Expedition. which was originally plan- ned for the purpose of capturing three rebel regiments which were collecting supplies in the vicinity of Washington, and which only failed because of the delay of the column that marched by land to reach its destination in time, while the condition of the roads and the inclement weather prevented further movements than those first designed. As it was, the retreating rebels were only six hours ahead of our advance all the way from near Washington to the vicinity of Tarboro.
While the battalion was absent First Lieutenant and Quartermas- ter Munro H. Gladding died in the general hospital at Beaufort, November 2d. after an illness lasting about four weeks.
November 12th. " We have just received news of Colonel Sis- son's appointment."
. Col. Thomas J. C. Amory, who was temporarily in command of the forces at New Berne in the absence of General Foster, says in bis official report : " The Ninth New Jer-ey, Fifth Rhode Island and Belger's battery having arrived during the night with the gunbont Hunchback, I posted these troops at various points as reserves to the line of rickets, with orders to the infantry in case of an attack, to occupy the riffe-pits extend- ing across the peninsula."
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Between the time of the return of the battalion to New Berne, on the 11th of November and the first days of December, a large num- ber of recruits arrived in camp. The first of these men were as- signed to Company F, and others which arrived later formed Com- pany G, of which Captain Wheeler was placed in command. Save the incidents attending the routine of camp life, nothing occurred until the first week in December, when rumors of serious trouble in the garrison of Roanoke Island became current. The following narrative is as good as any that can be written :
" We had an ' expedition ' to Roanoke Island this week. There came a report Tuesday that the Marine Artillery there had mutinied, killed one of their officers who had tried to make them do their duty, taken possession of the batteries and the gunboat stationed there, and defied anybody to interfere with them. Tuesday night our battalion, with the Tenth Connecticut and Morrison's (New York) battery em- barked on steamers and started early the next morning to . subdue ' them. Thursday morning we arrived there to find that two men had refused to do duty, but after a little punishment went on again. It seems that the men of this organization had been promised the same rank and pay as men in the navy, but were only recognized as infantry ; so there was dissatisfaction. That was all. So we steamed back to New Berne, right glad not to have to fight our own men."
CHAPTER VIII.
THE GOLDSBORO CAMPAIGN.
G ENERAL FOSTER bad been urgent in asking for reinforce- ments during the latter part of the summer, saying among other things that the enemy showed increasing activity, not only in preventing any advance on his part, but a disposition to re- gain what they had lost, while on the other hand. the debilitating influences of the past malarious season had so weakened the older regiments that there was then scarcely available more than one-half of their nominal strength. It was in response to these pressing requests that some " nine months " regiments had been sent to him in Octo- ber. to be used when active operations should begin after cool weather had set in.
The Tarboro Expedition, while not fruitless in results, was not entirely satisfactory, and General Foster's ambition to achieve real successes was but stimulated by it. The situation in front of Wash- ington, in Virginia. was such as to make a strong movement in this department especially desirable. Therefore, while the Army of the Potomac was making preparations to cross the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg. and the rebel authorities were straining every nerve to reinforce their army at that point. it was deemed a fitting oppor- tunity to make a movement from New Berne against the great southern and coast line communications at Goldsboro. If success- ful such an operation would not only divert men from the rebel army in Virginia, but by severing the line of railway at Goldsboro it would also severely cripple their means of supplying subsistence to that army. A movement on Wilmington was planned to follow the Goldsboro Expedition. Accordingly. after the return of the Tar- boro Expedition steps were at once taken to make a more vigorous
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campaign than had yet been undertaken since the one that had re- sulted in the capture of New Berne and the fall of Fort Macon in the early spring.
The troops for this expedition were assembled at New Berne early in December, and the force finally designated for the campaign con- sisted of twenty regiments of infantry, numbering in all about 10.000 men, seven batteries of artillery, and sections of two inde- pendent New York batteries, or a total of forty guns, and one regi- ment of cavalry. the Third New York, at that time numbering about six hundred and fifty men.
To oppose this force the enemy had in the immediate vicinity of Goldsboro about eight thousand men. with headquarters at that point, and ample railway facilities to add half as many more at short notice, from Wilmington on the one hand and Weldon on the other.
The infantry of the expedition was divided into four brigades. The second brigade, under the command of Colonel-now Brigadier- General-Stevenson, was composed of the Fifth Rhode Island, Captain Job Arnold commanding : the Tenth Connecticut, and the Twenty-fourth and Forty-fourth Massachusetts infantry, and Bel- ger's Battery F. of the First Rhode Island Light Artillery.
The march from New Berne commenced on the morning of De- cember 11th, yet the state of the roads was such that the moving of the wagon train made the progress of the column very slow. When the battalion bivouacked for the night it was but little beyond the outer picket line of New Berne. An incident showing the spirit that animated the men of the Fifth at this time is worth relating. When the orders to fall in for the march were given, Surgeon Potter sent some fifteen or twenty men out of the ranks. They were convales- cents whom he knew were unable to stand the fatigues of the coming march. These men left the camp without leave before the regiment commenced its march and waited some five or six miles out for it to come up, when they fell into their places. Nearly all of them .. fag. ged out" before night, and had to be sent back : but the kind-hearted doctor could not even scold them, on account of the spirit that actu- ated them.
It was as late as the evening of the 18th before the advance came in contact with the enemy. posted at the crossing of Southwest
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Creek, some five miles this side of Kinston. The official report says : .. The enemy were strongly posted there, but by a heavy artil- lery fire in front and a vigorous infantry attack on either flank. a passage was forced without much loss." One gun was taken in this engagement.
Lieut. Charles E. Douglass.
On the morning of the 14th the advance on Kinston was resumed. The march was a most fatiguing one, the roads being either clay and water or sand and water ; and the advance was kept constantly busy removing the trees which the enemy had felled across the road to obstruct our march. It was soon rumored that we were nearing Kinston, and, following the troops in front, we did not notice at the time that we had turned off of the main road and were in a by-road
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known as the Vine Swamp road, of which more hereafter. The first boom of the guns had put every man on the alert, and our brig- ade was advanced rapidly, accompanied by Belger's battery. At length we came to a cleared field on the left of the road, within about half a mile of the bridge. Here the brigade was formed in line of battalions in mass, two regiments on the right and two on the left of the road, with the battery unlimbered in the centre. We bad no more than completed the formation when an aide came with an order for the Tenth Connecticut to move forward .* The Tenth seemed to be no more than out of sight beyond a piece of woods some hundred yards in advance, when another aide came with orders for our bat- talion to move forward. When in the road our march was quickened to a run, amid the cheers of the men, and. after going some two hundred yards, we met General Foster, who directed the head of the .column off of the road to the right, where we formed line in a corn- field. We were no sooner in line than an aide came with orders for us to advance, and moving but a few yards to the front, we came out into an open space, only to see the last of the rebels running over the bridge, and men from one of our regiments rushing on to it. scatter- ing into the water the flaming material with which the enemy had endeavored to burn it. Here. also, we found the rest of the brigade, and here a section of Belger's battery was unlimbered, and sent shell upon shell after the rebels, some of whom could still be seen running up the rising ground opposite the bridge and back of the town.
We quickly crossed the bridge, and our battalion entered the town and halted near the centre of it on one of the principal streets, which was strewn with guns and knapsacks. blankets,-which were often old quilts-and haversaeks, and the many things a soldier carries, and throws away in his dight from a lost battlefield. A correspond- ent writing at the time gives this incident in the battle at this point, which is quoted here in order to keep up the connection with the one relating to our battalion and Belger's battery which follows it :
* It seems no more than simple justice to allude to the gallantry of this regiment, ready at all times to bear the brunt of battle. We can pay no more deserving tribute to their bravery than by quoting from General Foster's official report :
" The Tenth Connecticut Volunteers under Lieutenant Colonel Leggett (as they always have done), behaved in the most gallant and dashing manner, making a charge under a fire which in twenty minutes killed and wounded to men out of 340."
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" While the artillery was playing upon the enemy who were flying . through Kinston, preparatory to our crossing the bridge, General Evans sent by a flag of truce his compliments, etc., to General Fos- ter and requested time to place the women and children in safety, as he intended to return the fire with his artillery. Our guns ceased firing, and the women and children that could be found were con- ducted to a place of safety, when we found, on again preparing for action, that the bird had flown ; that during the flag of truce General Evans had succeeded in conducting safely away what remained of his entire command."
While we were at a halt in the town, as stated before, and some of the men were picking up and examining the contents of haversacks abandoned by the rebels, and these haversacks were simply small canvas bags, often containing nothing but a little corn meal, General Foster rode up to Captain Arnold and said, his face expressing great anger and his horse foaming with sweat : " The rebels have deceived me. They wanted time to remove their women and children, and I granted it, but instead of removing their women and children. they have removed themselves by running away. They are just over that hill yonder, and I have ordered Belger's battery forward, and I want the Fifth Rhode Island to go with them as quick as possible and give them -! " We started at once on the double-quick and joined the battery on a road leading from the town. Here the guns were un- limbered and a rapid fire was opened on the retreating enemy, but they were in too great a hurry to make any reply. Then some squadrons of cavalry came thundering over the bridge, and soon passed by us in pursuit. The brigade was then assembled and bivou- acked for the night in the open fields outside of the town. Consider- able impromptu foraging was done after the battle. In one case some non-combatant members of the battalion went to a large house and found two wagons at the door, with the mules hitched to them. These wagons were partially loaded with household goods, but had been abandoned when the rebels ran away. Their contents were soon tumbled out, and a quantity of bacon and other necessa- ries of a soldier's life were loaded in, and the wagons and teams taken to the battalion, which had already stacked arms on the ground it was to occupy for the night. Here the prospect was cheerless
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enough. for most of the officers and men had fasted since early morn- ing. The wagon trains were not up, and it seemed that the hungry ones must go supperless to such beds as they could make on the frozen ground. Finally. permission was given to slaughter some cattle that were in an adjoining feld, and the men thus managed to get some- thing to eat.
The rebels had made elaborate preparations to burn the bridge by soaking piles of cotton with turpentine and placing charged shells among it, to be exploded by the flames, and thus prevent any one from approaching to extinguish it. It is stated that some of these shells exploded sooner than intended, and several of the rebels were killed while firing this inflammable material. One poor fellow. who was shot by our meu while he was setting fire to the bridge, fell into the flames he himself had kindled, and his clothing was burned off him. The body was thrown off the bridge with the burning cotton and other materials, and lay where It fell, with the limbs drawn up and horribly contorted. They also set fire to a large quantity of cotton in the town. but our men extinguished the flames and saved nearly all of it.
No better summing up of the results of this well fought and spir- ited battle can be given than that of the official report. which says :
"We advanced on this town and found the enemy strongly posted at a defile through a marsh bordering on a creek. The position was so well chosen that very little of our artillery could be brought into play. Tho main attack. therefore. was made by infantry, assisted by a few guns pushed forward on the road. After five hours' bard fighting we suc- ceeded in driving the enemy from their position. We followed them rap- idly to the river. The bridge over the Neuse at this point was prepared for firing, and was fired in six places, but we were so close behind them that we saved the bridge. The enemy retreated by the Goldsboro and Pikeville roads. Their force was about six thousand men and twenty pieces of artillery. The result is that we have taken Kinston. captured eleven pieces of artillery, taken four hundred to five hundred prisoners, and found a large supply of quartermaster and commissary stores."
The night in Kinston passed without incident, and soon after day- light we were again on the move. Near the bridge road in town we saw a smouldering heap of small arms. which had been abandoned by the enemy. They had been gathered, the stocks broken by strik-
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ing them on the ground, thrown into a heap and then set on fire. We did not want them for our own troops, and had no means to carry them away, so they were destroyed in this manner. Recrossing the bridge to the south bank of the Neuse, we saw but little evidence of yesterday's struggle for it. The dead had been buried and other indi- cations removed from sight. The line of march was along the principal county road, which generally ran parallel to the river. The whole column was strung out along this one road, and most of the artillery was near the head of the line. The advance had not only to feel its way. but to remove the felled trees and other obstructions placed in it by the enemy. The low places were mud. and in passing them the advance would gain on the men struggling through the de- file behind, while the rear would close up and often come to a halt till the men in front had got through. Once through one of these places. the steps of the tired men would have to be quickened. sometimes to a run, to close up with those alead, only to go through the same operation again. And. after a hard day's march, we bivonacked for the night only some fifteen miles from Kinston. As night drew near. and it became reasonably certain that we would halt in a short time, some of the men seized rails from the roadside fences and shouldered them. The example became contagious, and soon the whole line. as far as the eye could reach to the front and rear, presented the singu- lar and striking spectacle of a column of marching men apparently armed with fence rails. That night the men had an ample supply of fuel.
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