USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 43
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killed or wounded. A thousand brave officers and men fell in the brigade that day, and the living slept amidst the bloody horrors of the field. The fierce struggle was renewed on the morning of the 6th, the enemy having fallen back a short distance and slightly entrenched Again and again during the day was the Vermont Brigade assaulted with the most determined vigor, but the heroic troops from the Green Mountain State were equal to every demand upon their bravery, and after signally repulsing the last attack, retired to the entrench- ments they had thrown up on the Brock Road; late in the afternoon another desperate attack was made by the enemy upon this line, but again he was re- pulsed and defeated. On the morning of the 7th a strong skirmish line from the Sixth Regiment was sent out and drove back the skirmish line of the enemy, revealing the fact that the main body of rebels had fallen back. Soon after dark the flank movement toward Spottsylvania was begun.
The brigade crossed the Rapidan on the 5th with 2,800 effective men; the losses in the two days' fighting were 1,232- 45 killed, 220 wounded in the Second Regiment ; 34 killed, 184 wounded in Third Regiment; 39 killed, 189 wounded in Fourth Regiment; 28 killed, 179 wounded in Fifth Regiment ; 30 killed, 152 wounded in Sixth Regiment. Among these were Lieutenant Orvis H. Sweet and Colonel John R. Lewis, of Burlington, the former being mor- tally and the latter severely wounded.
During the whole of the night of the 7th of May the brigade was on the march, arriving at Chancellorsville the next morning; here they were detailed to guard the Sixth Corps train. About 4 o'clock P. M. they were ordered to the front ; a forced march of four miles was made and the battle field of Spott- sylvania Court-House reached just before dark,. The 9th was spent fortifying their position, and on the roth the skirmish line was advanced driving in the line of the enemy, the Fourth Regiment receiving high commendation for its conduct. During the day the Second Regiment, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel S. E. Pingree ; the Fifth, under command of Major C. P. Dudley, and the Sixth, under Lieutenant-Colonel O. S. Hale (the whole under command of Colonel Thomas O. Seaver), formed a part of the column which charged the enemy's works, the Vermont troops being in the rear line. The Fourth and a part of the Third Regiment were engaged as skirmishers. The front lines were at first successful, capturing the works and many prisoners, but were driven back. The Vermont troops mentioned then advanced under a terrible fire and occupied the rebel works, the other regiments falling back. Orders were now given for all to fall back, but the order failed to reach the Second Regiment, which per- sisted in remaining at the front until positively ordered to retire. `It was in this charge that Major Dudley fell of the wound which caused his death. The brigade remained almost constantly under fire through the 11th of May, and early on the 12th moved to the left to co-operate with Hancock's Corps. The latter had captured the enemy's works at that point, and the rebels were
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engaged in a desperate attempt to retake them, when the Vermont Brigade marched into position under a heavy fire. Two lines were formed on the ex- treme left, and skirmishers thrown out under a brisk fire. Quoting from the official reports, " At this time the enemy were making the most determined effort to retake the line of works carried by Hancock and now held by the Sixth Corps, the key of the position being at the angle in the center, and that being the point at which the most desperate attacks were made. Brigadier- General Grant, with the regiments of the second line, was ordered to the right to assist General Wheaton, and Colonel Seaver was left in command of the front line and the skirmishers. General Wheaton with his brigade was endeav- oring to advance through thick brush and in the face of a deadly fire from the enemy's rifle pits, and the Vermont regiments moved up promptly to his sup- port, the Fourth Regiment taking and holding the front line. It was found impracticable to carry the enemy's works upon the right by a direct attack, and the enemy were gaining advantage in the center. Leaving the Fourth Regiment in its position, General Grant returned to the center, and being joined by Colonel Seaver with the residue of the brigade, the whole were put into the engagement except the Sixth Regiment, which was held in reserve."
This was a critical point and a critical time for both armies, and the fight- ing was of the most desperate character; the combatants were separated by a mere breastwork of logs and rails, and the conflict was practically hand to hand. The terrible struggle continued for eight hours, when the Vermont Brigade was relieved ; the works were held, but the losses were heavy. The brigade camped for the night on the extreme right.
On the 13th the brigade with small exception was not actively engaged, and took a position towards night on the left near the scene of its former strug- gle. During the 14th the Vermont Brigade held the extreme left. On the 16th Colonel Seaver with his regiment and one from Massachusetts, made a recon- noissance in the direction of Spottsylvania Court-House, gallantly driving in the enemy's skirmishers and accomplishing the duty to which he was assigned. On the morning of the 18th the Second and Sixth Corps charged the enemy's works, advancing about half a mile under heavy artillery fire. The Vermont Brigade held the front line for some time, when the whole were ordered to fall back. Early on the morning of the 19th the brigade advanced with the corps about a mile and fortified its position, remaining there two days. At noon of the 2 Ist the brigade moved about three-fourths of a mile to the rear, leaving a strong skirmish line in their works. Just before nightfall the enemy in strong force broke through this skirmish line, and Colonel Seaver was ordered out with his regiment to re-establish it; the task was gallantly performed. That night the corps marched towards Guinness's Station. The total losses of the Fifth Regiment from the line of the crossing of the Rapidan to this date were 38 killed, 229 wounded and 51 missing, a total of 318. The losses in the brigade were 1,650, more than one-half of the entire force that crossed the river.
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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
On the 15th of May the brigade was joined by the Eleventh Vermont Reg- iment, which had been mustered into service September 1, 1862. Its charac- ter was changed by special order from the War Department December 10, 1862, to heavy artillery, and it was stationed during most of the succeeding year in Forts Slocum, Totten and Stevens, near Washington. It performed service in that vicinity without memorable incident until it joined the brigade, as stated. The preceding table shows the large number of Chittenden county men who went out in this regiment. None of the regimental officers were from this county.
Continuing the record of the brigade, they started on the night of the 21st of May from Spottsylvania ; the brigade made arduous marches to Guinness's Station, thence to Harris's Store on the 22d; to the North Anna on the 23d ; crossed the river on the 24th, and two days later advanced to Little River, destroying the railroad at that point ; on the night of the 25th they re-crossed the North Anna and marched in the mud to Chesterfield Station on the Fred- erick Railroad ; continued the march on the 26th, and on the 27th crossed the Pamunky River three miles above Hanover Town, and moved to the right two miles towards Hanover Court-House, where they remained entrenched two days. On the 29th the brigade marched to a new position on the Tolopotamy River where they remained two days, Major Chamberlain's battalion of the Eleventh Regiment being engaged in skirmishing nearly the whole of one day.
On the Ist of June the brigade marched to Cold Harbor and participated in the attack on the enemy, holding the extreme left, the Fifth Regiment be- ing in support of a battery. A charge was made by the Second Regiment and Major Fleming's battalion and Captain Sears's company of the Eleventh, under a destructive fire, displaying great gallantry. On the following day the division containing this brigade held a portion of the enemy's works, which had been captured under a destructive fire. In the general attack on the enemy on the third, the Third and Fifth Regiments were in the front line of battle and greatly exposed ; their losses were heavy. During the night the Third and Fifth Regiments and two battalions of the Eleventh, under Colonel Seaver, relieved a portion of the front line. The casualties in the brigade from the 2 Ist of May to the 5th of June were, in the Second Regiment, 2 killed, 13 wounded ; in the Third Regiment, 1 I killed, 60 wounded; in the Fourth Regi- ment, 4 wounded; in the Fifth Regiment, 8 killed, 22 wounded; in the Sixth Regiment, 2 killed, 18 wounded; in the Eleventh Regiment, 13 killed, 121 wounded.
From the 3d of June to the 11th the brigade held the front line at two im- portant points, and on the evening of the 12th moved back to a new line of works, a mile in the rear, leaving the Fourth Regiment in the front as skir- mishers, and about midnight started on the march for Petersburg. For twelve days the brigade had been under almost incessant fire, evincing the most
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heroic bravery and almost marvelous endurance. Major Richard B. Crandall, of the Sixth Regiment, a gallant young officer, fell on the 7th. From the 4th to the 10th of June the Fifth Regiment lost 3 wounded, and the Eleventh 2 killed and 17 wounded.
Regarding the conduct of the Eleventh Regiment, which was new to active service in the field, it is but just to quote from the reports of Brigadier-General Grant, who said : "Special mention ought to be made of the officers and men of the Eleventh for their gallant bearing in the charge of May 18. This was the first time they had been under fire, but they exhibited the coolness and noble bearing of the 'Vermonters,' and fairly stood beside the veteran regi- ments of the old brigade."
June 13 the brigade crossed the Chickahominy after a march of twenty- four miles, and encamped. The march was resumed next day and on the 17th they occupied the rebel works near Petersburg which had been captured. During the day the enemy was attacked in his new position and driven back, the Second and Fifth Regiments holding the skirmish line. The lines at Petersburg were held under heavy artillery fire until the evening of the 20th, when the brigade was moved to the left, relieving a division of the Second Corps. On the evening of June 21 the Sixth Corps was moved six miles to the entire left of the army, and on the night of the 22d the Vermont Brigade took position about a mile from the Weldon Railroad. The 23d was occupied in the destruction of the road, during which the enemy made an attack from the woods on the right and closing on the rear of the Fourth Regiment and Major Fleming's battalion, cut them off. A desperate fight ensued, and the men surrendered only when driven to the last extremity.
On the 29th of June the Vermont Brigade led the advance of the Sixth Corps to Reams's Station, on the Weldon Railroad. After one day out they occupied their former position until July 8th, when they marched to City Point, and on the 9th embarked for Washington. The casualties in the brig- ade from the 4th of June to the 26th were, in the Second Regiment, 2 killed, 9 wounded ; in the Third Regiment, 2 killed, 3 wounded ; in the Fourth Regi- ment, 6 killed, 23 wounded ; in the Fifth Regiment, I killed, 4 wounded ; in the Sixth Regiment, 2 killed, 5 wounded ; in the Eleventh Regiment, 13 killed, 47 wounded.
On the 13th the brigade marched to Poolesville, Md., where the rear guard of the enemy was overtaken and routed; thence they marched to Snicker's Gap and on the 23d returned to the capital. On the 26th they again left Washington for Harper's Ferry, going into camp on Bolivar Heights on the night of the 29th. On the 30th they returned to Frederick City, Md. This was Sunday, and Major Aldace F. Walker, in his book on The Vermont Brigade in the Shenandoah Valley, says : "It was the hardest day's march we ever made. The heat was intense; the day was the very hottest of all the
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season ; the clouds of dust were actually blinding ; the pace almost a gallop ; the poor men struggled bravely, ambulances were crowded, shady spots cov- ered with exhausted soldiers, men falling out of the ranks at every rod, over- powered by the heat and positively unable to proceed ; actual cases of sun- stroke by the score and by the hundred ; a great scarcity of water ; but no halt or chance for rest until toward night we reached Frederick City." No more vivid and truthful picture could be drawn in a few words of a forced march under a southern sun.
On the 5th of August the brigade proceeded to Harper's Ferry and up the Shenandoah valley to Strasburgh, where in a skirmish the Second Regiment lost two men on the 14th. The 16th the brigade returned to Charlestown, Va., remaining until the 21st, when the enemy attacked and the brigade was subjected to a destructive fire from 9 A. M. until dark. The casualties in the brigade were 23 killed and 98 wounded.
The brigade lay at Harper's Ferry from the 22d to the 29th of August, when they moved to Charlestown, remaining in that vicinity until September 19, making, in the interim, a reconnoissance to the Opequan, where a slight skirmish occurred. On the 19th the brigade crossed the Opequan in early morning and went into position, under heavy shelling, on the Winchester pike. The advance was made rapidly over a rising crest of land in face of a galling musketry fire, and the enemy was driven back in confusion. About one o'clock the brigade was forced to fall back about half a mile, having suffered severely. About three P. M. the entire line again advanced. The Vermont Brigade was. exposed from the time when they reached within a mile of Winchester to a heavy musketry fire in front and an enfilading fire from artillery on the left. More than two hundred prisoners were captured by this brigade. The casual- ties in killed and wounded in the brigade were 246.
The brigade participated in the engagement at Fisher's Hill on the 2Ist and 22d, and at Mount Jackson on the 23d. On the Ist of October they were in camp at Harrisonburgh, and on the 5th moved to New Market, the 6th to Woodstock, on the 7th to Strasburgh, on the 10th near Port Royal, on the 13th to Milltown, and on the 14th to Middletown. On the 19th of October the army lay upon the easterly side of Cedar Creek, the Sixth Corps on the right, and the Vermont Brigade having but one brigade on their right. At day- break the enemy attacked in strong force on the left; the Sixth Corps was moved to that part of the line and formed nearly at right angles to its former position, there being now but one brigade on the left of the Vermont. Before the troops could take position Major Walker's battalion of the Eleventh Regi- ment, and the Fifth and Sixth Regiments, under command of Major Johnson, of the Second, were thrown forward as skirmishers and drove in the rebel skirmish line. The brigade then advanced with the division and were soon engaged in a desperate struggle, checking for a time the impetuous advance of
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ยท the enemy. About this time the right gave way and the division fell back' a short distance, the Vermont Brigade in the center, the First Brigade, under Colonel Warner of the Eleventh Regiment, on the right, and the Third Brig- ade on the left. Upon this line the enemy made a desperate attack, the brunt of which fell on the Vermont Brigade. General Ricketts, commanding the corps, being wounded, and General Getty, who commanded the Second Di- vision, taking his place, General Grant assumed command of the division, and Lieutenant-Colonel Tracy, of the Second Vermont, who was then the ranking officer of the brigade, took command of the brigade. Again the enemy assaulted the lines and were repulsed with great loss, and the left of the brigade suffered severely. The persistent and gallant resistance of the Sixth Corps, of which the brigade was a part, gave opportunity for proper prepara- tions for the final stand in the engagement. Up to that time the tide had been against the Union forces, and the losses had been very heavy. The enemy now made a most determined attack, the Eighth and Sixth Corps receiving the heaviest of it ; the whole line soon gave way and were pressed backward to- ward Newtown.
At this crisis General Sheridan made his memorable appearance on the field. Riding down the pike he halted in front of the Second Brigade and asked what troops they were. " The Sixth Corps !" " The Vermont Brigade !" was shouted simultaneously from the ranks. "Then we are all right !" he ex- claimed, and swinging his hat over his head he rode away to the right amid the shouts of the men. Upon his return General Wright took command of the Sixth Corps, General Getty of the Second Division and General Grant of the Vermont Brigade. During the remainder of the engagement the Vermont Brigade shared in the heaviest of the fighting, holding a position much of the time far in advance of the other troops until the enemy was finally driven back and across Cedar Creek, their lines entirely broken up. Reaching Cedar Creek, the infantry was reorganized, and there also the Vermont Brigade, after a pursuit of the retreating enemy a distance of three miles, was found in ad- vance of the remainder of the troops. The casualties in this engagement were two killed and seventeen wounded in the Fifth Regiment, and nine killed- and seventy-four wounded in the Eleventh. Among the killed was Lieutenant Oscar Lee, of the Eleventh. Lieutenant Edward P. Lee, of the Eleventh, was among the wounded, and Lieutenant Thomas Kavanagh, of the Fifth.
The brigade moved to Strasburgh on October 21, and remained until the 9th of November ; thence to Newtown, and thence on the 10th to Kearnstown, where they performed picket duty until December 9. They were then trans- ported to Washington and thence to City Point; thence to Meade's Station, and on the 13th moved out on the Squirrel Level Road to works occupied previously by the Fifth Corps. Here the brigade went into winter quarters ;. but the picket duty was very severe. On the 25th of March the corps as-
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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
saulted an entrenched picket line of the enemy in front of Fort Fisher, and captured nearly the whole line. One man was killed in the Fifth Regiment and seven wounded ; and in the Eleventh one killed and twelve wounded ; one of the latter was Lieutenant Wm. G. Dickinson, of the Eleventh.
On the 2d day of April the Vermont Brigade was hotly engaged in the struggle which resulted in the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond. In the night of the Ist the brigade moved out from camp and took position near the skirmish line entrenchments, which had been captured from the enemy a few days earlier. The Second Division was in the center of the Sixth Corps and the Vermont Brigade on the left of the division. At one o'clock the corps was in position and laid down to await the attack. About two o'clock a heavy fire was opened along the entire skirmish line, which was vigorously re- plied to by the enemy. During this fire Brevet Major-General L. A. Grant was wounded, and the command of the brigade devolved upon Lieutenant- Colonel Tracy, of the Second Regiment. At the signal agreed upon the brig- ade moved out of the entrenchments and pressed forward toward the enemy's line, driving in their skirmishers ; then with a cheer the command charged for- ward towards the enemy's works five hundred yards distant. When half the distance was passed they were assailed by a heavy rain of musket-balls with an enfilading artillery fire from the forts on either hand. The line wavered momentarily, but again pushed on under terrific fire, all vieing with each other in the race to be first at the works. The enemy could not withstand the as- sault and fled ; two earth works, one on the right of a ravine, containing four guns, and the other on the left, with two guns, were captured. The honor of being first to break the enemy's line was awarded to the Vermont Brigade, and Captain Charles G. Gould is said to have been the first man of the Sixth Corps to mount the enemy's works. His regiment was in the first line of the brigade, and in the charge he was far in advance of his command. Upon mounting the works he was severely wounded in the face by a bayonet thrust and was struck by clubbed muskets; but he slew the man who wielded the bayonet, and retired only when his command had come to his assistance and the rebels were routed. Beyond the works the brigade was halted briefly to re-form, and then the pursuit of the flying enemy continued for about four miles near Hatcher's Run - a charge that must go down into history as one of the most brilliant and successful of the war. Nothing could withstand the onward-press- ing troops. Brevet Major Elijah Wales, of the Second Regiment, with two men captured a piece of artillery, and turning it on the enemy, fired a charge which the rebels themselves had placed in the gun. Major Wm. J. Sperry, of the Sixth, and Lieutenant George A. Bailey, of the Eleventh, with a few men captured two guns and turned them on the routed enemy. Cap- tain George G. Tilden, of the Eleventh, with about a dozen men captured two pieces, eleven commissioned officers and sixty-two men of the Forty-second
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Mississippi. Sergeant Lester G. Hack, of Company F, Fifth Regiment, charged a squad of rebels surrounding a stand of colors, knocked down the bearer and captured the flag. Corporal Charles W. Dolloff, Company K, Eleventh Regiment, also captured a stand of colors ; but there were too many deeds of individual heroism to mention here. About nine o'clock A. M. the brigade moved back along the line of works to a point about three miles south of Petersburg and formed in line of battle with the Eleventh on the right, the Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth and Fourth Regiments on its left, in the order named. An advance was made and a battery of artillery captured in the yard of the Turnbull House, where General Lee had his headquarters. Captain Robert Templeton, with a squad of men of the Eleventh, was conspicuous in planning and executing the feat. That night the brigade established its head- quarters at the Turnbull House. The last stand of the enemy before Peters- burg was ended.
The brigade joined in the pursuit of Lee, exhibiting the same endurance and patience on that hard march that had before characterized their move- ments. Reaching Farmville on the 7th, the brigade was detailed to guard sup- plies, and remained there until the surrender of Lee on the 9th. From there they returned to Burkesville Junction, where they remained until the 23d of April, when they left for Danville ; here they remained until May 18, when they were transported to Manchester, Va., and there remained to the 24th. They then marched to Washington and remained in camp near Munson's Hill until mustered out. On the 28th of June the Vermont Brigade, one of the grandest organizations of the army, ceased to exist as an organization. Battal- ions of the Second, Third and Fourth Regiments, remaining in the service, were assigned to the Third Brigade, First Division of a Provisional Corps, and a battalion of the Eleventh Regiment was transferred to the defenses of Wash- ington.
We have given this noble brigade liberally of our limited space, perhaps to the detriment of the records of other organizations ; but the heroic service of this organization seems to demand that no less should be said ; indeed it should be far more. Its full history is written in G. G. Benedict's excellent Vermont in the Rebellion, Vol. I.
The Seventh Regiment .- This organization made its rendezvous at Rutland and was mustered into the service on the 12th day of February, 1862. Com- pany A was recruited mainly in Burlington, and the regiment received acces- sions from other towns of this county, as shown in the table. Company A went out under command of Captain David B. Peck, of Burlington, who rose to the rank of colonel. Edwin W. Trueworthy went out as assistant surgeon and was promoted to surgeon. Edward M. Knox, of Hinesburg, enlisted as pri- vate in Company A, was promoted to corporal, sergeant and first sergeant ; re- enlisted February 29, 1864, and was promoted to first lieutenant Company A
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October 28, 1864. Riley B. Stearns, of Burlington, enlisted as private in Com- pany A, and was promoted to first sergeant February 12, 1862; promoted to first lieutenant Company A October 15, 1862, and honorably discharged May 15, 1865. Myron Owen, of Essex, a private in Company E was promoted to sergeant and commissioned first lieutenant March 1, 1866. Hiram B. Fish, of Jericho, commissioned second lieutenant January 14, 1862, resigned October 15, 1862.
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