USA > Rhode Island > Memoirs of Rhode Island officers who were engaged in the service of their country during the great rebellion of the South. Illustrated with thirty-four portraits > Part 25
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volunteer service, for the purpose of accepting the colonelcy of the seventh regiment Rhode Island volunteers. He was appointed colonel of this regi- ment on the 8th day of August, 1862, and joined the army of the Potomac at Pleasant Valley, Maryland, in the fall of 1862.
Colonel Bliss commanded the seventh regiment at the battle of Freder- icksburg, on the 13th of December. In March, 1863, he was transferred with the ninth corps d' armee to Kentucky ; thence to the army operating against Vicksburg, and commanded the seventh regiment during that memorable siege. He also participated in the campaign against Jackson, Mississippi-its siege and capture. In August, 1863, he was transferred to Kentucky, and in January, 1864, was assigned to the command of the district of Middle Tennes- see, with his head-quarters at Camp Burnside, Kentucky. In April, 1864, he was transferred with the ninth corps to the army operating against Richmond, and was placed in command of the depot of supplies of ordnance, at Alexan- dria, Virginia, On the 5th of May, 1864, he joined the army on the Rapidan, and was placed in command of the first brigade, second division, ninth army corps. He commanded the brigade during the battle of the Wilderness and of Spottsylvania Court House, and until May 15th, when he was relieved on account of injuries received from a horse jumping upon him. He resumed command July 1st, 1864, and commanded the brigade during the siege of Petersburg and the explosion of the mine. He was relieved on account of ill-health, August, 1864, and was appointed president of board of examination, and ordered to West Virginia. He remained there until the regiment was mustered out of service at Providence, Rhode Island, June, 1865, when he returned to his position in the regular army. Colonel Bliss was recommended for promotion to the rank of a brigadier, on three several occasions; and received two brevets in the regular army, for gallant and meritorious conduct.
The following official letter from Captain Daniels, who commanded the seventh regiment in the campaign in Virginia above alluded to, while Colonel Bliss was in command of a brigade, gives the particulars of that campaign :
"HEAD-QUARTERS SEVENTH REGIMENT RHODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS, NEAR PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, June 30th, 1864.
" GENERAL :- I have the honor of making the following report of the part taken by this regiment in the present campaign in Virginia, from its commencement to date.
" With the corps (ninth) we moved from Bristol, Virginia, May 4th, towards the Rappahannock. The next day, we were detached from the
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brigade to guard trains, but rejoined it in time to share in the bloody strug- gles around Spottsylvania Court House. There, on the 10th of May, we formed part of the supporting line, and were exposed to a light fire with no chance of returning it. Lost one man wounded. The night of the 10th, and on the 11th, we picketed on the left of our lines, and in the actions of the 12th and 18th, we took a prominent part, and lost heavily. On the 12th, occupied and held a position from which two large regiments had already been driven, and on the 18th, held a position in front of our lines for six hours, exposed to a raking fire from a battery not ten rods distant; and great credit is due the officers and men for their gallantry in undauntingly facing that storm of shot and shell, until the position was covered by the construc- tion of pits in our rear. Darkness had hardly put an end to the carnage, on the 12th, before we were throwing up intrenchments, and by working all night with bayonets, cups, wooden shovels and a few intrenching tools, morn- ing found us behind friendly works which we occupied, continually skirmish- ing and strengthening our position, until we left them to participate in the engagement of the 18th. We lost in these struggles, sixty-two-thirteen . killed and forty-nine wounded-nearly all in the battles of the 12th and 18th.
" On the morning of the 19th, that part of our line (the right) was evacuated, and this (first) brigade started at one o'clock, A. M., and moved southerly three miles, formed new lines, again fortified and occupied our works undisturbed until the afternoon of the 21st, when, with the brigade, we moved another three miles still to the south, and took position in front of the enemy's works on the Po river, to cover the forks in the roads and the passing of our columns during the night. When we first took the position the enemy tried to shell us out, but the thick woods protected us. No one was hit. They opened again the next morning, just after we had left to bring up the rear of the line. Two days' hard marching brought us to the North Anna. The second corps had already got a foothold on the south bank, and, on the 24th, our brigade crossed under a heavy fire of artillery from batteries up the river, and took position on the front line and on the right, and that night built more intrenchments ; and until the night of the 26th, we occupied those lines, busy strengthening the works and continually skirmishing, while a large force was pushing towards the Pamunky ; and when, from the north bank of the North Anna we saw the sky crimsoned with the flames from the bridge we had just recrossed, and its carpet of pine boughs that hushed the usual noise of moving columns and the heavy step of feet. Federal artillery covered the crossing of the Pamunky at Hanover City, and by marching
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thirty-one hours out of thirty-six, we crossed there at midnight of the 28th. The forenoon of the 29th, we moved three miles and found the enemy and commenced fortifying, but were soon after relieved and rested during the afternoon. The 30th, we supported the skirmish line, which drove the enemy about a mile, and that night built a line of intrenchments twice our regi- mental front. The next day the second brigade took the advance, and drove the enemy about half a mile, but their line being then too short to cover their ground, the fifty-eighth Massachusetts and seventh Rhode Island joined them, and that night built another line of pits, which we held with heavy skirmishing until June 2d, when another swing to the left was made, and that part of the line consequently abandoned. We moved three or four miles, closely followed by the enemy, and about three o'clock, P. M., stacked arms, the whole of the corps together, in an open field near Bethesda Church. We were none too soon. The rear guard had hardly got in, before the heavy columns of Ewell's corps suddenly and in mass were hurled on our flank ; but the echo of the first gun of the pickets had hardly died away, before three lines of battle were confronting the foe, and our batteries were adding their roar to the din of battle, and the enemy advanced on our lines only to be mown down and driven back. Every attempt was foiled, and at dark, having lost very heavily, they were glad to give up the contest.
" This (first) brigade of General Potter's division, being in the third line, took no active part in that afternoon's work ; but our time came the next morning, when, at daybreak, the brigade formed line for an assault on the enemy, who were intrenched in two lines just back of the battle-field of the day before ; their first line on the edge of a deep swamp, that was covered by a thicket of brush and sprouts, and the second on a ridge beyond. We crossed our intrenchments, charged through the swamp, carried their first line, and took position within sixty yards of their second, returned their galling fire, and soon after commenced constructing cover, which was at first very slow work. All day, like the swelling and ebbing of the voice of the winds, the noise of battle now rose to a hurricane and now sank to a whisper ; but at dark we were as well protected as our foes, and our bullets had made them shy and their fire inaccurate. That night they evacuated, leaving some of their wounded on the field, and many of their dead unburied; and the next day we moved near Cold Harbor, where we built two lines of works, and were skirmishing most of the time until the 12th, when that position was evacuated, and by very severe marching we crossed the Chickahominy the 14th, and the James on the 15th, and in the afternoon of the 16th, formed
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line and dug pits in front of the enemy's works around Petersburg. On our right, their first lines had already been carried ; and the next morning, before daybreak, part of our brigade drove them from the works in our immediate front. In the fighting of the 17th, we were lightly engaged, part of the forenoon occupying a captured battery or fort on our extreme left; and, as the enemy occupied the next battery and completely on our flank, and had sharpshooters nearly in our rear, it was rather a trying position. During the afternoon we formed part of the supporting line, and the first and third divisions (of the ninth corps) again drove the enemy, and at night he fell baek still further; and, on the 18th, was driven into his last line of works, which he still occupies. At this part of the line, we have thrown up works within about a hundred yards of his position, each brigade occupying a place on the advance line two days out of four.
" Both officers and men that crossed the Rapidan with us through the hardships and carnage of this long campaign, have nobly faced exposure, privation and death at every call of duty, and deserve great credit, with one or two lamentable exceptions among the officers now absent, and four or five among the men. The former, though they may be good soldiers in time of peace, though far from the trying scenes of a soldier's life they may do their duty well; so long as the cracking of rifles mingles with our thoughts of home, so long as our dreams are so frequently moulded by the roar of artillery, so long as battle-fields, where a soldier is stamped as such or branded as an imposter, come so often, will probably deprive us of their assistance. Fear not for them though the rebels expect them. "Life is too precious to shorten its span." Of those officers that are with the regiment now, all have worked nobly; and some of those now absent, deserve our thanks for their services while here. Captains Potter and Allen, both deserve praise for the part they took while with us; and Lieutenant Peckham, on brigade staff, deserves much credit for his share in the work-brave and determined, he has won the con- fidence of all. His conduct on the 2d of June, when, alone and with a small pistol, he captured three armed rebels, deserves special mention.
" The places of two-thirds of our fighting force of two months ago are vacant. Where are our missing companions? Look on the blood-stained hills, in the desolate valleys, and among the battle-scarred forests from the Rapidan to the Appomattox, and you can see where many of them sleep, and though their places are vacant, their names are sacred and encircled with a halo of glory. Many others have returned to their friends, maimed with
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deformities they must carry to the grave; but they while here will be cared for and loved, and when they pass away their names shall be remembered. Better, far better, the fate of either, than to be worthy the curses of sire or son, or merit the scorn of mother or sister. Hard, indeed, has been the work and terrible the carnage of the past two months; and not soon shall we forget the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 18th of May, when we shared in the hard struggle around Spottsylvania, nor the fighting of the 24th, 25th and 26th, across the North Anna. The skirmishes of the 30th and 31st of May, and Ist and 2d of June, at Tolipotamy Creek, will, too, be remembered, and the bloody charge of the 3d of June, when nearly one-third of the regiment went down, will never be forgotten. The work of the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th of June, at Cold Harbor, will also claim their place in memory, and the continned work of the past two weeks here will make a deep mark on the records of the brain. Our hard marches also, which have not been few, have left their impression, as well as the many nights we have used the shovel and pick in the trenches and pits. But, through all the seventh has shown a gallantry, coolness, fidelity and perseverance worthy her native state, and we hope no Rhode Islander can look on our record with any but the feelings of pride, though his joy must be tinged with sadness for the fallen brave. They have added much to the bright laurels won in previous campaigns, and nobly earned a soldier's brightest reward-the approbation of his superiors. Our decimated ranks tell of the hard work we have done. You would hardly recognize our short line of to-day as all that is left of the nine hundred that left Rhode Island with us less than two years ago, but though the chances of war have called us to weep over the graves of so many noble comrades, those that remain are true as steel, as has been proven on many a hard-fought field. May the future be as free from dishonor as the past. For the sake of giving a corrected report, I have infringed on the jurisdiction of two other com- manders,-Captain Winn, who commanded the regiment from the opening of the campaign to the forenoon of the 18th of May, and Captain Channell, who commanded from the 15th of June to the forenoon of the 17th of the same.
" Enclosed please find a complete list of the killed and wounded in the regiment, from the commencement of the campaign to date.
" I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
" PERCY DANIELS, " Captain Commanding Seventh Rhode Island Volunteers."
" To Brigadier-General E. C. MAURAN, Adjutant-General of Rhode Island."
THOMAS POYNTON IVES.
HOMAS POYNTON IVES, only son of Moses B. and Anna A. Ives, was born at Providence, Rhode Island, January 17th, 1834. He received his early ยท instruction in his native city, and much of it from Mr. Reuben A. Guild, the present librarian of Brown University. His favorite amusement, after the confinement of the school-room, was in the management of his yacht, on the waters of Narragansett Bay. He was thus early led to devote much thought and attention to maritime affairs, and to cultivate that fondness for the sea which influenced his subsequent life.
As he grew towards manhood, he exhibited an increasing interest in the study of physical science. After an extensive and thorough course of reading with Mr. Guild, Mr. Ives became a member of the scientific school of Brown University, and received its degree of B. P., at the commencement of 1855. He then pursued the study of medicine with Doctor J. W. C. Ely, M. D., of Providence, and at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of the city of New York, with an attention which would have ensured success, had he desired to receive a diploma and to enter upon the practice of the profession.
He was desirous of an accurate acquaintance with the resources of the country, awaiting their development by the schools of science. With this view, he prosecuted, in 1856, an extended journey through the mineral regions of the west. Ilere he gathered further materials for the superstructure of economic knowledge, for which he had laid an ample foundation. During his first European tour he devoted much observation to industrial and chari- table institutions, becoming familiar with statistics and details, which he hoped would one day be useful to his native state. On his return, he was elected a
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trustee of the Butler Hospital, and of other philanthropic institutions, in which he always manifested a warm and generous interest.
On the decease of his father, in August, 1857, Mr. Ives succeeded to his place in the house of Brown & Ives, and to an ample fortune. He was at liberty to indulge in any favorite pursuit, or, had he chosen private life, to consult no one's profit but his own. With a love of hospitality and a keen sense of humor, which he had cultivated by intercourse with men, and by familiarity with the best authors, he, not unreasonably, as it seemed, looked onward to a life beneficial to others and pleasurable to himself. He might have anticipated the varying of the fulfillment of important trusts and the cultivation of his Warwick farm with a voyage to Europe, whenever an espe- cial display of its scientific or artistic treasures invited the pleasure-seekers or the students of the world. Such hopes of the future soon gave place to stern and immediate duties.
As war became imminent, Mr. Ives resolved, with the conscientious devotion to duty which always distinguished him, to take his part in pre- serving our national life. He would not procure a substitute, and sit down an unconcerned spectator, nor did he inquire how he could best make public calamities tributary to his private fortune. In common with so many of his contemporaries in vigorous manhood, Mr. Ives earnestly desired that Rhode Island should be surpassed by none of its fellows in devotion to the Union, from which, in an especial manner, it derived its stability and its title to respect. There was much to stimulate this patriotic feeling. Mr. Ives inherited a pride in his native state, and loved its history and traditions. From the settlement of Providence his family had borne a prominent part in its affairs, and, in its earlier days, had contributed much to its commercial prosperity. Some of them had aided in the adoption of the Federal consti- tution, and he had a filial desire that their work should not perish. At the opening of the rebellion, he was just recovering from a severe attack of pneumonia. Although further rest was deemed necessary by his friends, Mr. Ives left his sick-room and commenced preparations for active duty. He offered to the government his own yacht, the Hope, and his personal ser- vices, "without pay, in any department in which they might be available." He determined to continue them to the end of the war, if he should be permitted to see it.
The navy of the United States, weakened by secessions and unfurnished with the vessels required by the new emergency, was to be reorganized and
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augmented. For every new or vacant place there were multitudes of appli- cants, besides those in the regular line of promotion. Every means by which commissions were secured was in cager requisition. Though the patriotism of Mr. Ives's offer was appreciated, there was not, at that time, any expedition in view, in which vessels like the Hope could be available. Through the friend- ship of Governor Sprague and the Honorable Henry B. Anthony, he received May, 1861, from Mr. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, a commission in the revenue service. This was not what he sought, but his sense of patriotic duty did not permit him to refuse what was tendered, though it offered no attractive prospect to ambition. In his own words : " I made application for service. I never applied for revenue service, but was ready and willing to take it any- where." He did not regret this preliminary experience, for, as he wrote at a subsequent period: "I have had ample opportunity to observe the folly of inexperienced men in accepting positions which they are incompetent to fill."
The Hope was ordered to Williamsburg, New York, to be armed in the United States dock-yard. When fitted for service, she carried two twelve- pound James rifled guns, and two field howitzers. Her crew, besides the lieutenant and the executive officer, Mr. Henry G. Russell, consisted of two quarter-masters, the pilot and nineteen seamen. Early in June, 1861, Mr. Ives received orders to proceed to Baltimore with the Hope. On his arrival he entered at once on the discharge of his duties. At that critical period the revenue service suddenly assumed an unwonted responsibility and importance. It was laborious and not without danger, while its acts gave little employ- ment to the telegraph and filled but small space in the journals. The public attention was fixed on the enlistment of soldiers and upon naval vessels endeavoring to protect American commerce. Little thought was bestowed upon officers engaged in the prevention of an evil as destructive to the inter- ests of the United States as piracy on the high seas. The slender mechanical resources of the south could not furnish its military supplies, and for many of these it relied upon the disloyal wealth of great northern cities. The offer- ings to the cause of rebellion made by traitorous sympathy or by avarice, seeking to profit by public calamities,-arms, stores, drugs, cloths, percussion caps, correspondence,-were to be intercepted in their transit across the Chesapeake to the camps and arsenals of the south. Ingenuity in the con- cealment of contraband goods, and cunning, wearing the disguise of inno- cence and ignorance, were to be encountered by a corresponding thorough- ness and discernment in detecting subterfuges and equivocations. It was the
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duty of the commander of the Hope to stop and examine all vessels, and to search and seize those in correspondence with the enemy. There was need of unresting vigilance to ascertain the character and destination of nearly fifty vessels a day. All this was to be done in a climate unfavorable even to firm health, and under an almost tropical sun. Southern sympathy was loud and defiant, and the friends of the Union spoke only with "bated breath." The efficiency of the service required that its operations should be withheld from the newspapers. There was no possibility of brilliant exploits, but an occasional exposure to a rebel bullet from the Virginia shore. The civil officers of the United States were reluctant to act against their secessionist neighbors, and threw the whole responsibility on the commander of the Hope. It was soon evident that whatever errors the Maryland functionaries might commit would not be due to excess of patriotic zeal. Such service tested the persisteney of a volunteer, but Mr. Ives applied himself to its duties with con- scientious and quiet earnestness. He did not turn aside to inquire whether his fulfillment of his orders were acceptable in the port of Baltimore. Unpopu- larity on its exchange was the best testimony to the thoroughness of his work. The effectiveness of the revenue service in cooperation with the naval blockade became manifest in the slow and embarrassed preparations of the south. Although the transit of supplies and mails could not be wholly prevented, yet the amount was greatly diminished. The moral effect was considerable, in discouraging the exertions by impairing the profits of north- ern allies of rebellion. It was wearisome work during the long summer days even for the strongest constitution, but it upheld the government, and that was a sufficient compensation. Mr. Ives thus expressed his feeling in a letter from the Chesapeake, July 28th, 1861: "I have not gone into this work for fun or pay, but to add my mite to the good cause. I consider it the duty of every one to do so in that line in which he is most fitted to act. If not here, I would join Fremont's expedition on the Mississippi. It is time now for every one to do what he can for his country, or he will presently find that he has no country to do for." The daily routine of service in the Chesapeake was occasionally varied by consultations with General Dix, and other officers of distinction, who knew Mr. Ives, and appreciated his careful observation and watchfulness in the discharge of his duty. His experience in the bays of New England, in which he had gained a knowledge like that of a professional navi- gator, left him little to learn of nautical discipline and economy. His men duly appreciated his care for their comfort and welfare, and manifested their
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feeling when he was transferred to a higher position. At this time, Mr. Ives offered to build, at his own cost, a larger and more powerful vessel if he could be appointed to her command. Before any action upon this proposal, an opportunity offered for gratifying his first desire of active service. As the year was drawing towards its close, he received from his friend General Burn- side, an earnest invitation to join him in a great expedition, whose object was not yet divulged, together with a promise of one of the best steamers in the army fleet.
On the 4th of November, 1861, Mr. Ives forwarded his resignation to the Secretary of the Treasury. In his reply, Mr. Chase, after giving final instructions, thus communicated his sense of the conduct of Mr. Ives: "In acceding to this proposition, I must express to you my thanks for the zeal and alacrity with which your personal services, as well as your vessel, were tendered for the public service under circumstances so creditable to your patriotism." Mr. Ives remained in active duty until November 12th. The Hope was in constant service to the close of the war. After a brief visit to Providence, in attendance upon his private affairs, Mr. Ives received from Governor Sprague, the commander-in-chief, a commission appointing him assistant adjutant-general in the state service, with the rank of captain. By an order of the same date, he was "relieved from duty, to take part in Gen- eral Burnside's coast expedition, at the special request of General Burnside."
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