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 39
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This battery afterwards took part in the engagements at Winchester and Fisher's Hill. At the battle of Cedar Creek, Captain Adams again brought his battery into timely and efficient action, displaying the most masterly mili- tary skill and unsurpassed personal bravery, receiving the highest reward of the soldier in the commendation given him by General Wright, and his assur- ance that, by his cool and dauntless courage, he had saved the lives of thou- sands of men.
" In this sanguinary engagement the battery met with heavy losses. Six men were killed and twenty-one wounded. Three of the wounded men were taken prisoners. Thirty-six horses were killed, and two guns and two cais- sons lost. The guns were recovered in the victory of the afternoon. Captain Adams, with a corporal and one private, stood by their piece when all other support had left, and until every horse was shot and the corporal and private shot down beside him. He was then forced to retire."
Captain Adams received a commission as major by brevet from the President, to date from the 19th of October, " for gallant and meritorious ser- vices at the battles of Opequan, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek." In present- ing his elaims for promotion to the governor of Rhode Island, his commanding general, Wheaton, writes :
"I am glad of this opportunity of calling to your Excellency's attention, the very distinguished merits of Captain G. W. Adams. In my opinion, he has few superiors in the service, and his admirable battery has been so skill- fully and gallantly handled in battle, that he has earned in this command the highest reputation as an able soldier and fine artillerist. At the battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia, while we were with Sheridan's army, Captain Adams's services to this division were most valuable and important. I never saw a battery more ably and desperately fought, and under circumstances to severely test the fine abilities of this officer, who fairly earned upon that day, the promotion he has long deserved."
The following letter accompanied this :
" I most cordially endorse all that is said within by General Wheaton, in behalf of Captain Adams, and take pleasure in presenting his name as a candidate for a majority in his regiment. Captain Adams, who is, with one exception, the senior captain in his regiment, is not only thoroughly compe- tent to discharge the duties of an advanced grade, but has claims for promo-
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GEORGE W. ADAMS.
tion earned in many a hard-fought field, and I am only discharging a duty in commending him to the favorable consideration of his excellency.
" A. G. WRIGHT, Major-General Commanding."
This recommendation also bore the endorsement of General Sheridan.
After the battle of Cedar Creek, Major Adams returned to Camp Barry, where his battery received a new outfit of guns and equipments and pro- ceeded to the front, at Petersburg. The following article appeared in a paper of that date :
"I am inclined to believe that some great military enterprise is on foot by the army of the Potomac, from the simple fact that Captain Adams, of battery G, has received orders to proceed to the front. Captain Adams, who, I am glad to state, has recently been breveted major, is one of the first artil- lery officers in either the regular or the volunteer service. His whole soul is in his profession, and though a strict disciplinarian, he is loved and respected by the officers of his command. He has striven to make soldiers of his men, and the fact is admitted that he has succeeded. His battery is always ready for the march or to go into action. Half an hour after he receives marching orders he can sound 'boots and saddle,' and half an hour afterwards be on the road. Battery G is not surpassed by any battery in the service, and has a record for hard fighting that the state may well be proud of."
At Petersburg, during Colonel Tompkins's temporary absence, Major Adams acted as chief of artillery. In the spring of 1865, General Wright was preparing for an assault upon the enemy, and Major Adams, with his characteristic daring, proposed to enter their works with the attacking col- umns, seize their guns and turn them at once upon the rebel force. General Wright, in consenting to this proposal, warned him of its extreme danger. He selected seventeen men from his battery and carefully trained them for the service. On the morning of the 2d of April, he advanced with the corps. and rushing in with his detachment of cannoniers, succeeded in performing one of the most perilous exploits of the war, and one that contributed mate- rially to the success of the charge. The moral effect of this daring deed was inspiring, and awakened the greatest enthusiasm. In recognition of the value of this service, the War Department, in May, 1866, directed handsome bronze medals struck in honor of the event, to be presented to the seventeen men engaged in this daring act.
Major Adams was breveted lieutenant-colonel by the President, April 2d. 1865, for " gallant and meritorious services before Petersburg." to which was afterward added the brevet of colonel.
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RHODE ISLAND OFFICERS.
After the fall of Petersburg, battery G took part in the battle of Sailor's creek. Colonel Adams closed his long and active military service only at the surrender of General Lee, when his battery joined in firing the salute in com- memoration of the event. He gained during his connection with the army, a distinguished reputation for knowledge of his profession, military skill and great personal bravery. His battery returned to Providence, June, 16th, numbering one hundred and thirty-five enlisted men and three officers; and was mustered out of service June 24th, 1865.
By order of General Meade, the names of the following battles in which the battery had meritoriously participated, were directed to be inscribed on its colors or guidons, viz .: Yorktown, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Fred- ericksburg, Marye's Heights, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Opequan, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek.
JEFFREY HAZARD.
BATTERY H.
APTAIN JEFFREY HAZARD, son of John Hazard, was born in Exeter, Rhode Island, September 23d, 1835. He received his education in the Provi- dence high school, and, previous to the breaking out of the war, was engaged in the Manufacturers' Bank as teller. He was commissioned second- lieutenant of battery A, in the first regiment of Rhode Island light artillery, on the 5th of October, 1861, and appointed regimental adjutant. While connected with this battery, he distinguished himself by his bravery in the many battles in which it took part. Among these were Ball's Bluff, Yorktown, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill and Antietam. At the latter engagement, the only officers present with Captain Tompkins were Captain Hazard (then first-lieutenant) and first-lieutenant Charles F. Mason. The battery gained for itself great eredit at this battle, holding as it did an advanced and important position under a heavy artillery and infantry fire.
On the Ist of October. 1862, he was promoted to the captaincy of battery H. This battery was organized in Providence, under Captain C. H. J. Hamlin,
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JEFFREY HAZARD.
and recruited more than four times its complement of men. From this num- ber, men were sent to the several batteries in the field, to replenish the ranks which had been reduced by the casualties of war.
" At the time of the battle of Chancellorsville, one section was ordered, by General Abercrombie, to be taken to Rappahannock Station, where it remained nine days with the 12th Vermont regiment. Upon the return of this section, the whole battery was ordered to Chantilly, where it remained until Hooker's army passed through to Maryland and Pennsylvania. The pur- pose was to join the army in its march against Lee, who was concentrating his forces at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It marched on the 28th, to Arlington Heights, reported to Brigadier-General Barry, and was ordered to Camp Barry, near Washington, D. C. Here it remained two days, then marched to Long Bridge and reported to General DeRussy, and afterwards to camp near Fort Ward, reporting to Colonel H. L. Abbott, commanding the third brigade, department south of the Potomac. On the 17th August, 1863, Captain Hazard resigned, and on the 30th of September, Lieutenant Crawford Allen, Jr., of battery G, was promoted to the captaincy of battery II. Up to this time the battery had not been in any engagement, having been retained in the depart- ment of Washington. This position gave it fine opportunities for drill and general improvement. In November following, Lieutenant Charles F. Mason, of battery H, who had distinguished himself by his gallantry at the battle of Antietam, was appointed on the staff of Colonel Charles H. Tompkins, chief of artillery, sixth army corps, where he served with honor until he resigned his commission, on the 2Ist of April, 1864."
JOSEPH S. MILNE.
IEUTENANT JOSEPH S. MILNE was a son of the late A. D. Milne, editor of the Fall River News. He was born in Bolton, Warren county, New York, and educated in Glen's Falls, same county. He was by occupation a printer. In September, 1861, at the age of twenty, he enlisted in battery E, first Rhode Island artillery, and was elected sergeant. After the battles of Williamsburg and Fair Oaks, in which he took part, he was promoted to a second-lieutenantcy in battery B. He was in nearly every battle of the Peninsular campaign, in the second battle of Bull Run, and in the two battles of Fredericksburg. A few weeks before the battle of Gettysburg, he was transferred to the fourth United States artillery, and during that battle, when the commanding officer was killed, he succeeded to the command of the bat- tery. In the last of the three terrible charges which the rebels made upon our centre, in the effort to break it, on the 3d of July, 1863, he received his fatal wound,-a bullet passing through the left lung,-from which he died six days after.
CRAWFORD ALLEN, JR. BATTERY H.
RAWFORD ALLEN, JR., son of Crawford and Sarah S. Allen, grandson of the late Reverend Nathan B. Crocker, D. D., was born in Providence, on the 2d of April, 1840. He received his education at Brown University, and, upon leaving that institution, made an extensive tour through Europe ; after which he made a voyage to China, and, at the same time, visited various islands in the East Indies. Soon after his return, he set out for California, but had hardly reached San Francisco, when the news reached that city of the breaking out of the rebellion, and the general uprising of the people to sup- press it. Mr. Allen lost no time in returning home, and, immediately on his arrival, enrolled his name in a battery of light artillery then being formed in Providence. On the 7th of November, 1861, he was commissioned by Governor Sprague, as second-lieutenant in battery G, Captain Charles D. Owen, com- mander, and, on the 18th of November, 1862, was promoted to first-lieutenant. This battery left for Washington, on the 7th of December, 1861. In March, it joined the army of the Potomac, and took part with it in the campaign on the Peninsula. On withdrawing from the Peninsula, it marched by way of Yorktown to Hampton, where it embarked for Alexandria. The guns were sent forward by transports, in charge of Lieutenant Allen. Captain Owen, with the other officers, having the horses in their care, followed in another. In the battle of Antietam, on the 17th of September, the battery under Captain Owen fought with great bravery. After various marches during the months of October and November, it joined the army of the Potomac, then encamped opposite Fredericksburg, early in December, and took part in the battle which followed. This battery, also, took a prominent part in the second battle of Fredericksburg, on the 2d and 3d of May, 1863,
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CRAWFORD ALLEN, JR.
when Lieutenant Allen received a slight wound. Lieutenant Torslow was also slightly wounded, and Lieutenant Benjamin E. Kelley was killed. The other casualties were twenty-four men killed and wounded and sixteen horses lost.
Soon after this action, Lieutenant Allen was made adjutant of the regi- ment, and acting adjutant-general of the artillery brigade, sixth army corps; which positions he continued to hold until the 30th of September, 1863, when he was promoted to the captainey of battery H, to fill the place of Captain Jeffrey Hazard, who had resigned. During the remainder of the year, the battery was removed to various points, all, however, within the defences of Washington. Captain Allen commanded Fort Richards near the falls of the Potomac, for several months.
In the spring of 1864, battery H was transferred to a more active field of operations. On the 6th of May, it marched to Rappahannock Station ; thenee to the Rapidan, Chancellorsville to Spottsylvania Court House; where it joined the artillery reserve of the army of the Potomac. A few days later, it continued its march to Marye's Cross Roads, Fredericksburg, to Belle Plain, where it joined General Abercrombie's division. The battery remained here until the 24th of May, when it returned to Washington. After various marches during the summer, it left Camp Barry for City Point, on the 28th of October; reported to the head-quarters of the army of the Potomae, and was assigned to the artillery reserve.
Early in the following January, the battery left City Point and marched to Warren Station, where it joined the artillery brigade of the sixth army corps. Passing over the winter life of the battery, the next prominent feature of its remaining history is the part it took in the final grand assault upon the rebel works before Petersburg, on the 2d of April. On the evening of the Ist, orders were received to join the first division, sixth corps. The movement was completed by midnight. At half-past four o'clock, A. M., on the 2d, the battery moved forward with the division, and, after crossing the rifle-pits, opened upon a section of artillery which had a flank-fire on the Federal infantry. It was soon driven off, when the battery ceased firing, moved to the left, brought up the eaissons and awaited orders. It then moved forward with the skirmish line and engaged with a rebel battery, which soon had to leave its position. It was followed up until arriving at the Whitworth House, where battery H went into position. The enemy placed a rifle battery in position on the left, and obtained an enfilading fire at one thousand seven hundred yards, being beyond the extreme range of Captain Allen's guns. He was then ordered by Major Cowan to withdraw his guns, which he did, .
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and went into park in rear of his first division head-quarters for the night. In this day's action, four men and ten horses were killed, and six men were wounded. General Wheaton, commanding the first division of the sixth corps, in his report to Major Whittlesey, under date of the 15th of April, says :
" During our advance towards Petersburg, Captain Crawford Allen, Jr.'s battery H, of the first Rhode Island artillery, was admirably handled and his losses were severe. His guns were always in front, frequently in advance of the skirmishers; and, as our lines moved forward, he invariably forced the enemy's batteries to retire, and followed them closely. Earlier in the day, when the assault commenced, Captain Allen very handsomely compelled a section of the enemy's artillery to retire. If these gums, occupying one of their intrenched works and thoroughly enfilading our lines, had not been silenced, they might have materially retarded our advance."
Among General Wheaton's recommendations for promotions of officers in the first division, sixth corps, is the name of Captain Allen, as major by brevet, " for distinguished gallantry and most valuable services at the assault on the enemy's works at Petersburg;" which promotion he received from the Presi- dent, bearing date April 2d. Subsequently, he was breveted lieutenant-colonel, by Governor Smith. On the 6th of April, the battery went into action at Sailor's Creek, but suffered no casualties. From the 1st to the 13th of April, six hundred and thirty rounds of ammunition were expended. Great credit was due both to officers and men, for the manner in which they behaved while under a very hot fire.
" The battle of Sailor's Creek, though less severe than the assault in which the sixth corps engaged on the 2d, was nevertheless a hard-fought action, and resulted in the entire rout of the enemy. Lieutenant-General Ewell was captured, with most of his corps, including four general officers. On the following day, battery H continned with the sixth corps in pursuit of the flying rebels to Farmsville, where a fight occurred, and from which place Lieutenant-General Grant sent a note to General Lee, suggesting that a sur- render of liis armies would prevent a further effusion of blood, and offering honorable terms. This proposition was held in abeyance until the 9th of April, when it was accepted, and the war of the rebellion in Virginia practi- cally ceased. In honor of this glorious triumph, battery H joined with other artillery in a national feu de joie," and, we may add, on the authority of an officer who was present, that the first gun discharged in the country in honor of Lee's surrender, was from battery H.
The war being ended, the battery set out for home, and reached Provi- dence on the 16th of June, where it was received with military honors, and was handsomely entertained at Washington Hall. It was mustered out of the service on the 28th of June, 1865.
NATHAN GOFF, JR.
ATHAN GOFF, JR., was among the first to enlist in his country's cause, receiving, as early as June, 1861, a commission as captain in the second Rhode Island volunteers. In the battle of Bull Run, Captain Goff gained an honorable reputation, which was gallantly sustained on the bloody fields of the Peninsula. Antietam, and Fredericksburg. For meritorious ser- vices he was promoted to the rank of major, and was afterwards advanced to the lieutenant-colonelcy of his regiment.
When the government called for officers to command its colored troops, Colonel Goff promptly offered his services, and passed successfully the board of examination under General Casey, receiving a commission as lieutenant- colonel of the first class. He was ordered to the twenty-second regiment of United States colored troops, then at Philadelphia. To bring these troops to a high degree of discipline, Colonel Goff devoted all his energy and abilities. The soldierly bearing to which this regiment arrived may be judged from the following extract from the general order of the commander of the post at Fort Magruder, Virginia, relieving the twenty-second from further duty :
" The commanding officer avails himself of this occasion, to express to the officers and men of the twenty-second regiment, his high appreciation of the rapid progress which they have made in attaining soldierly character and bearing during the comparatively short time they had been at this post. A continuance of such progress, cannot fail to make their regiment conspicuous and powerful. Their comrades here, both officers and men, will note their career with sincere good wishes, and will hail tidings of their success, with unalloyed satisfaction and pleasure."
While serving in this regiment before Petersburg, he received a severe wound, and was carried to the hospital at Fortress Monroe. While here, he
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RHODE ISLAND OFFICERS.
received a colonel's commission, and, soon after, was assigned to the command of the thirty-seventh United States colored regiment. At the head of this regiment. Colonel Goff rendered efficient aid in the capture of Fort Fisher After the surrender of Wilmington, he was appointed commandant of the post, and held this position until his regiment was ordered to another point. Early in March, 1865, Colonel Goff received from the President, a commission as brigadier-general of volunteers by brevet, in consideration of "long and faithful services and gallant conduct on the field." General Goff is now in command of the defences of Cape Fear river, head-quarters at Smithville, North Carolina.
HARRY C. CUSHING.
HIS officer was born at Baltimore, Maryland, on the 8th of November, 1841. He was the fourth son of George W. and Sarah S. Cushing. When he was comparatively young, his parents removed to Providence. There he attended the grammar and high schools, and, at the outbreak of the rebellion, was a student in Brown University. Unable to remain at home, when so many of his young companions were hastening to the defence of the republic, he enlisted in May, 1861, as a private in the renowned second battery, which was then being recruited by Captain William II. Reynolds. His subor- dination and attention to duty, soon procured for him an appointment as cor- poral ; and as such, he was present at the first battle of Bull Run. There his gallantry was so conspicuously displayed, that he was promoted to be a sergeant in his company ; and was shortly afterwards further complimented in October, 1861, by a commission as second-lieutenant in the fourth United States artillery. Immediately joining his company, which was battery F, he served through Banks's campaign in the Shenandoah valley, and participated in the battle of Winchester; was with Pope in his unfortunate and brief cam- paign, and at the battle of Cedar Mountain. He was also with Banks in his retreat on Washington ; and fought his guns under MeClellan at the battle of
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HENRY C. FITTS.
Antietam. After the battle of Antietam, having been promoted to be first- lieutenant, he was ordered to join General Rosecrans's army in the west, and commanded battery H, fourth United States artillery, through all of the cam- paigns, from Nashville to Chattanooga, participating in the battles of Stone River, Woodbury, Chickamauga, and the siege of Chattanooga.
In the spring of 1864, he was ordered east to join horse battery E, fourth artillery, then serving with General Sheridan's cavalry corps, and shortly after his arrival was assigned to duty as inspector of the horse artillery of the cavalry corps. He participated in the operations of the cavalry from the time of Grant's departure from Culpepper, in May, 1864, until the close of the campaign of General Sheridan in the valley of Virginia, in the winter of 1864, being engaged in most of the conflicts in that well-fought field. In February, 1865, he was ordered on recruiting service, having been in the field continuously from the opening of the war; and, consequently, he missed being present at the final struggle before Richmond. He was breveted first- lieutenant, captain and major, for services at Cedar Mountain, Stone River, and the operations with the cavalry, and is now on duty with his regiment.
We append a list of the various battles in which Major Cushing partici- pated : Bull Run, Middletown, Winchester, Cedar Mountain, Rappahannock Station, Antietam, Stewart's Creek, Stone River, Woodbury, Chickamauga, siege of Chattanooga, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Todd's Tavern, Beaver Dam, South Anna, Yellow Tavern, Richmond, Hawes's Shop, Old Church, Cold Har- bor, Bottom's Bridge, White House, and besides these, various hotly-contested skirmishes.
HENRY C. FITTS.
APTAIN HENRY C. FITTS enlisted from East Douglass, Massachusetts, was appointed first-lieutenant of the second Rhode Island cavalry, November 12th, 1862, and was promoted to a captaincy, July 15, 1863. Soon after, in consequence of severe losses, the regiment was reduced below the minimum allowed, when, by a general order from General Banks, it was con- solidated and united with the first Louisiana cavalry. Mr. Fitts was then, with other officers, honorably mustered out of the service. He was again commissioned as captain of the third cavalry, January 6th, 1864, and died on the 19th of December following.
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GEORGE H. BROWNE.
N the 4th of August, A. D. 1862, President Lincoln ordered the levy of a grand army of three hundred thousand men. The twelfth regiment of Rhode Island volunteers was one of those raised in response to this call. It was recruited in the short time of twenty-four days. On the 18th of September, 1862, the Honorable George H. Browne was commissioned as colonel to raise his command. On the 13th of the next month, it was mus- tered with full ranks and ordered to the front. The recruiting and march were accomplished with such rapidity, that the men did not receive their bounty or arms till their arrival in Virginia.
Colonel Browne was a native of Glocester, Rhode Island, a graduate from Brown University in the class of 1840, and by profession and practice a coun- sellor at law. For six consecutive years prior to 1851, he had been a member of the legislature of the state, having been reelected till he was appointed attorney of the United States for Rhode Island district. This office he held through two presidential terms, resigning it upon his election to the thirty- seventh congress, of which he was a member at the time of his appointment to the command of the twelfth. Colonel Browne's earnestness in the Union cause, secured to him a hearty cooperation in promoting enlistments.
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