USA > Vermont > Rutland County > History of Rutland County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 13
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The regiment remained stationed at Yorktown until the 24th of October, suffering during that period very severely with malarial diseases, which were prevalent in that locality. Thus far in its career the regiment had seen little of actual battle in the field ; but the unusual sickness which attacked the men
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at Yorktown was far more demoralizing than would have been an active cam- paign. At one time out of three hundred and fifty men present, but thirty-six privates were fit for duty.
On the 24th of October the regiment sailed for Newbern, arriving on the 29th, and were ordered into Newport barracks, at the junction of the coast mail route with the railroad, where they performed garrison and picket duty with ten detached companies of artillery and cavalry, Colonel E. H. Ripley, of the Ninth, in command of the post.
On the 12th of November a detachment of one hundred men went on a reconnaissance to Cedar Point, N. C., twenty miles distant, returning on the 15th. On the 2d of December the regiment met with a severe loss in the death of Major Charles Jarvis, who died of wounds received in a slight skirmish in which he was endeavoring to effect the capture of a squad of rebels. He was a brave and patriotic officer. He went out as captain of Company D.
On the 24th of December Colonel Ripley, with a portion of the regiment, accompanied by Colonel Jourdan and a portion of the One Hundred and Fifty- eighth New York and two gun boats, went on an expedition down the coast, which resulted in the destruction of extensive rebel salt works and the bringing in of a large body of negroes.
On the 3Ist of January the regiment, in company with the troops in the sub-district of Beaufort, under Colonel Jourdan, engaged in an expedition to Onslow county, N. C., and returned after an arduous march of seventy-five miles in the mud, having captured a lieutenant and twenty-seven privates, with considerable valuable property.
On the 2d day of February the enemy made an advance upon Newport with about 2,500 infantry, a dozen pieces of artillery and 400 cavalry. The outposts, then held by companies H and B, were first attacked, followed by an advance upon the barracks. At the time of the first attack the new recruits which had joined the regiment were still unarmed, and the Ninth itself num- bered less than 200 muskets. Before the attack reached the post arms were placed in the hands of the recruits, they were hastily instructed in loading, and with their pockets full of cartridges were taken to the skirmish line. A gallant resistance to the attack was made and the position held until dark, when the regiment was forced to fall back across the bridges and burn them to escape capture by the rebels; the command then retired to Morehead City by way of Beaufort. In this affair the regiment lost two lieutenants and sixty-four men killed, wounded and missing. The regiment was commanded on this occasion by Captain Kelley of Company B, Lieutenant-Colonel Barney being in com- mand of the post and Colonel Ripley having just left for Fortress Monroe with prisoners and dispatches for General Butler. The regiment was reinforced and returned to Newport on the 5th of February. The losses on the 2d were con- siderable, Lieutenant Bolton, Company C, being among the wounded, and 8
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Lieutenant Holman, Company G, missing. The official reports say that the Ninth Regiment fought well and did itself great credit.
On the 16th of March Major Amasa Bartlett died. He went out as cap- tain of Company E and had but a short time previous received his well-earned promotion.
On the 26th of April Captain Kelley, Company B, with twenty men cap- tured a fishing party of six on Bogue Bank, sent out by the rebel commissary department ; and on the 29th, with forty men, he made a dash into Swansboro, capturing a lieutenant and sixteen men, with horses, arms and other stores.
On the 20th of June the regiment, in company of other troops, marched seventy-five miles into the interior, with the object of cutting the Willmington and Weldon railroad. The expedition was absent a week, but returned with- out accomplishing its object.
On the 11th of July four companies under Major Brooks were ordered to Newbern and assigned to duty on the various outposts, and during the succeed- ing ten days the remainder of the regiment followed.
On the 3Ist of August the regiment was ordered to Bermuda Hundreds and they soon entered upon a more active campaign. They arrived on the 15th of September and were assigned to the First Brigade, Second Division of the Eighteenth Corps. On the 17th the regiment was joined by 170 recruits, bringing its effective strength up to nearly 875.
On the 29th of September the battle was fought at Chapin's Farm. The regiment broke camp at I o'clock a. m. and crossed the James River at Aiken's Landing at daybreak. The advance of four miles to Chapin's Farm was made, where the brigade (comprising the Eighth Maine and the Ninth Vermont regiments) was ordered to charge one of the rebel works at that point. The Maine regiment became entangled in a swamp and the Ninth made the charge alone, over a half mile of rough brush-covered ground, carried the work and captured two guns and about fifty prisoners. The regiment was under fire the entire day and every man behaved with the utmost bravery. The casualties were seven killed and thirty-eight wounded.
The Ninth Regiment remained stationed in this vicinity, with some unim- portant changes, until the evacuation of Richmond. On the 27th of October they participated in the engagement on Williamsburgh road (Fair Oaks), fully sustaining the record for bravery already acquired by them. Early in Novem- ber the regiment was transferred to New York city, where they performed ex- cellent service during the troubled times of the election of that year, and on the 17th of November they returned to the brigade. During this time Colonel Ripley was in command of the brigade ; in December he resumed command of the regiment.
When the reorganization of army corps occurred in December the Ninth was attached to the Second Brigade, Third Division, Twenty-fourth Corps. At
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the inspection of regiments, under general orders of January 17, 1865, to de- termine which were the best regiments in brigades and divisons, the Ninth Vermont gained the post of honor in its division On the 20th of February the regiment was first pronounced the best in the brigade, and under provisions of a general order was excused from all picket and outside detail for one week. On the 6th of March they were again pronounced the best in the brigade and excused again from all picket and outside duty for a week; and on the 10th of March, after careful inspection at division headquarters, they were announced in orders to be the best regiment in the division, - a division comprising twenty regiments and which was, in the opinion of the corps commander, "as completely fitted for the field as a command could well be, "-and the regi- ment was again excused from details for an additional week. The officers and men of the regiment were justly proud of the distinction thus obtained, not merely on their own account, but for the honor thereby conferred upon their State. Before the period had terminated during which the regiment had been excused from details, the men of the regiment made application to be allowed to again go upon duty to relieve their comrades of the brigade whose duties were rendered exceedingly arduous by the excuse of this regiment. This act of genuine good-will called forth another complimentary order from division headquarters.
The regiment was one of the first to enter Richmond after its evacuation and was stationed at that city until mustered out. On the 13th of June the original members of the regiment and the recruits whose terms of service were to expire before the Ist of October, were mustered out. The remaining members of the regiment were consolidated into a battalion of four companies, which was stationed at Richmond for a time, and then moved to Portsmouth, Va., and mustered out December 1, 1865.
First Regiment Sharpshooters, Company F. - This company was recruited in Rutland county, being distributed through the various towns about as follows: Brandon, 4 ; Castleton, 2; Clarendon, 5; Danby, 12; Fairhaven, 5 ; Ira, 4; Mendon, 1 ; Mount Tabor, 10; Pawlet, 6; Pittsfield, I; Pittsford, I0; Poultney, 4; Rutland, 19; Sherburne, 3; Shrewsbury, 2; Sudbury, 1; Wal- lingford, 5. These figures were increased so that the company numbered one hundred and fifteen men; it was mustered into the service at Randolph on the 13th of September, 1861, for three years. The company officers were as follows: Captain, Edmund Weston; first lieutenant, C. W. Seaton; second lieutenant, M. V. B. Bronson ; first sergeant, H. E. Kinsman ; second ser- geant, E. W. Hindes; third sergeant, Amos H. Bunker ; fourth sergeant, Milo C. Priest ; fifth sergeant, L. J. Allen ; first corporal, Daniel Perry ; second cor- poral, Fred. E. Streeter ; third corporal, Ai Brown; fourth corporal, W. C. Kent ; fifth corporal, H. J. Peck ; sixth corporal, W. H. Taft; seventh corpo- rall, C. D. Merriman; eighth corporal, C. W. Peck; bugler, Calvin Morse ; wagoner, Edward F. Stevens.
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The company left the State on the same day they were mustered and went into camp at Weehawken, near New York. September 24 they proceeded to Washington and on the 26th went into an instruction camp a short distance from the capital. Some of the field officers of the regiment proved incompetent, and on the 29th of November, 1861, William Y. W. Ripley (now of Rutland) was appointed lieutenant-colonel, vice Frederick Mears resigned. Colonel Ripley had seen service for a brief period in Company K, First Vermont Reg- iment, as heretofore mentioned. The regiment remained at the camp of in- struction through the whole of the winter, perfecting itself in discipline, drill, marksmanship, etc. On the 20th of March, 1862, the regiment received or- ders to report to Major-General Fitz John Porter, at Alexandria; and from this time on, so varied were the services of the sharpshooters that we can only mention in the merest outline its important movements. Meanwhile the regiment was armed with Colt's revolving rifles, a weapon that proved entirely inefficient.
March 22 the regiment embarked on steamer for Fortress Monroe, arrived safely and on the 28th led the advance at Great Bethel; Company F was the first to come under fire. No loss was suffered by the regiment. April 4 the advance upon Yorktown was made, the sharpshooters again in the advance. In the skirmishing at the opening of the long siege of Yorktown, the sharp- shooters were in the line and Company F was very active and efficient in silenc- ing the enemy's artillery. Corporal C. W. Peck was here severely wounded. The regiment was highly complimented the next day by General Porter. During the battle of Williamsburgh, May 5, Companies A and C of the reg- iment bore honorable part ; but Company F was held in front of Yorktown.
In the battle of Hanover Court-House May 27, the sharpshooters accom- panied the troops that destroyed the railroad bridges over the North and South Anna Rivers, and headed the column that turned upon the rebel force which had come between the expedition and the main army. In the severe fighting that ensued Company F was prominent and the regiment suffered considerable loss - about twenty men killed and wounded ; three of the latter were from Company F - Sergeant Lewis J. Allen, Benjamin Billings and W. F. Dawson ; the latter died from his wound on the Ist of June.
Between June 25th and 30th occurred the engagements on the Chicka- hominy, at Mechanicsville, Gaines's Mill and Charles City Cross-Roads, in all of which the sharpshooters were conspicuous for efficient services. For mi- nute details of this period of action we must refer the reader to General Rip- ley's admirable little book on the career of Company F, and to other works. On the 27th at Gaines's Mill the company suffered heavily, losing B. W. Jordan and James A. Read, killed, and E. H. Hindes wounded.
On the 30th of June the sharpshooters reached Malvern Hill and that night bivouacked on the ground over which they were to fight on the follow-
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ing day. At dawn they took the front skirmish line, covering the left of the Union army. Here the midday attack was awaited and about noon on came the rebel columns. Artillery firing opened the battle and soon became heavy. At half-past two the rebel infantry rushed from the edge of a forest. Bugler Morse, of Company F, was ordered to sound the order to begin firing, and from the unerring rifles of the sharpshooters was poured such volleys that the advance was checked and the enemy sent back to the cover of the wood. It was, however, but a momentary repulse, for another line soon appeared from the trees. Still the sharpshooters clung to their ground, firing rapidly and thinning the rebel ranks. At this juncture a line of the enemy's skirmishers began firing at point blank on the right flank from the shelter of a roadway, and the sharpshooters were forced to retreat far enough to escape the assault. Now the enemy's artillery came dashing out into the open field and made des- perate efforts to open their firing, but under the storm of musket shots which fell upon them, the artillerists were swept away, leaving their guns on the field without having fired a shot. The advanced position of the sharpshooters was now no longer tenable and they were withdrawn to the rear of the Fourth Michigan Regiment. At the critical moment in the final desperate assault of the rebels under Magruder in the afternoon, which was heroically repulsed, the sharpshooters, having been placed in line on the right of the Michigan regi- ment named, bore a conspicuous part. Repeatedly did the enemy come on to attack and as often were they repulsed. In the second attack the sharp- shooters found their ammunition gone and they were withdrawn from the front. In this battle the regiment lost many officers and men. Colonel Rip- ley, Captain Austin and Lieutenant Jones, the last two of Company E, were among the wounded, with Lieutenant C. W. Seaton, Jacob S. Bailey and Brig- ham Buswell, of Company F.
After the Peninsular campaign the army lay at Harrison's Landing, and there the following changes occurred in Company F : Sergeant Amos H. Bunker, Azial N. Blanchard, William Cooley, George W. Manchester and Charles B. Odell were discharged on surgeon's certificates of disability, and Brigham Buswell was discharged on account of disability resulting from wounds. Benjamin W. Jordan and James A. Read died of wounds received at Gaines's Mill, and W. S. Tarbell, of disease. E. F. Stevens and L. D. Gro- ver were promoted sergeants and W. H. Leach and Edward Trask were made corporals. At this camp also Captain Weston resigned and Lieutenant C. W. Seaton was appointed captain ; Second Lieutenant M. V. B. Bronson was promoted first lieutenant and E. W. Hindes second lieutenant. Major Trepp was promoted lieutenant-colonel, vice William Y. W. Ripley, and Captain Hastings of Company H, was made major. The regiment remained at Har- rison's Landing until the army left the Peninsula.
On the 28th of August the sharpshooters reached Bristow's Station and
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on the 29th took part in the battle of Gainesville ; they were the last to leave an advanced position and then only because they were out of ammunition. Corporals H. J. Peck and Ai Brown and private W. H. Blake, of Company F, were wounded.
At Antietam Septemher 17, and Blackburn's Ford, the 19th and 20th, the sharpshooters were engaged, but suffered no losses. They remained near Sharpsburgh, Md., until October 30, in the mean time being reclothed, and on the date named they crossed the Potomac at Harper's Ferry and moved south towards Warrenton; the same night of their arrival they were placed on picket at Snicker's Gap. Thence they proceeded to Warrenton, where Mc- Clellan, much to the regret of the men, was relieved of his command. The sharpshooters were at Fredericksburg December 13, but did not cross the river and were not actively engaged. The regiment wintered at Falmouth, and in the spring, when Hooker reorganized the army, were transferred to the Third Corps, under General Sickles. In February Lieutenant Bronson re- signed and was succeeded by Lieutenant E. W. Hindes, while Sergeant C. D. Merriman was promoted second lieutenant.
At the battle of Chancellorsville, May 1-5, the sharpshooters were again especially utilized, generally in the front as skirmishers and often so closely drawn up as to form a practical line of battle. Such was the case of the 2d, when, after having swept back one line of the enemy, the regiment changed front to the left, where a hotly contested position was finally taken by them, with the capture of nearly the whole of the Twenty-Third Georgia Reg- iment. In this affair Edward Trask and A. D. Griffin, of Company F, were wounded. On the third day of the battle the sharpshooters, and particularly Company F, won the highest encomiums for brave and determined services ; they were always in front. Michael Cunningham, J. S. Bailey and E. M. Hosmer, Company F, were wounded on this day. On the fourth day Com- pany F was relieved from picket duty, rejoined the regiment, which led Whip- ple's Division in a brilliant charge. In the fighting that followed General Whipple was killed. On the 5th of May the regiment was again placed in front on picket. Martin C. Laffie was slightly wounded later in the day. The sharpshooters now returned to their Falmouth camp.
Here the regiment remained until the 1 1th of June, when they broke camp and left their temporary home for the third time. On the 25th, after rapid marching, the Potomac was crossed at Edwards's Ferry. On the 29th the march to Taneytown was made, and the next day to near Emmetsburgh. On the morning of July 1 they heard the guns at Gettysburg and started for the field of action, which was reached at sunset. The fighting of that day was over. We cannot follow the command through this memorable battle ; it must suffice to say that the service performed by the sharpshooters was, as usual, of the most valuable and heroic character. On the 2d of July Company F lost
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Sergeant A. H. Cooper, killed, and George Wooley and W. H. Leach wounded. In the two days succeeding the regiment suffered severely and L. B. Grover and Charles B. Mead, of Company F, were wounded. On the 19th the sharpshooters had returned to Snicker's Gap, their former halting place.
On the 23d the sharpshooters took the advance in the Wapping's Heights affair. Proceeding southward the 3Ist of July found the regiment near White Sulphur Springs where they lay until September 15. They then marched ten miles farther south to Culpepper, and remained to October 10. On the 13th they took port in the Cedar Run engagement, Edward Jackson being wounded, and the next encampment was made at Catlett's Station, where the sharpshoot- ers lay until November 7. On that day was fought the engagement at Kel- ly's Ford, in which Captain Merriman and Company F captured over five hun- dred of the enemy inside a line of works. Patrick Murray was killed and Eu- gene Mead, Watson P. Morgan and Fitz Green Halleck wounded. For their gallantry in this affair the sharpshooters were highly complimented.
In the battle of Locust Grove, November 27, the regiment was again con- spicuous, and E. S. Hosmer, of Company F, was killed ; and A. C. Cross, Eugene Payne, Sherod Brown, and Corporal Jordan wounded. Three days later the regiment was engaged on the skirmish line at Mine Run, and drove the enemy three-fourths of a mile. December I they went into winter quar- ters at Brandy Station, remaining until May without important action.
On the 4th of May, Company F, numbering two officers and forty-three enlisted men, crossed the Rapidan with the main army, and the following day, in the Wilderness, they were deployed on the left of the Vermont [Brigade, Company F having the right. The troops on the right being forced back, the sharpshooters were attacked in flank, the force of the blow falling on Company F. They were forced to retire, their loss in five minutes being five killed or mortally wounded, and two taken prisoners. Corporal David M. French, W. J. Domag, and E. E. Trask were killed on the field ; A. C. Cross and William Wilson were mortally wounded, and M. Cunningham, Spafford A. Wright, John C. Page, S. M. Butler, and William Mckeever were severely wounded. The next day the were engaged in the severe battle on the Plank Road, losing one man killed, Jacob Lacoy. On the 7th Company F, and one other com- pany, were deployed on the right of the road, the remainder of the regiment being on the left and advanced about a mile, driving in the enemy's pickets and advancing within forty yards of their entrenchments. Here the were or- dered to charge ; but the enemy opened a heavy fire, and they were forced to retire about a hundred yards to the rear, until a general movement to the left was made. In Company F Edward Giddings and Joseph Hagan were killed, and Lieutenant Kinsman, D. R. Barean, Henry Mattocks and Edward Lyman wounded.
The regiment was engaged in skirmishing daily until the 12th, on which
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day the Second Corps charged upon the strongest position of the enemy at Spottsylvania, capturing several thousand prisoners. Company F was en- gaged during the entire day and Henry Mattocks (whose former wound was slight), Thomas Brown and John Bowen were killed, and Amos A. Smith and J. E. Chase wounded.
On the 21st of May the regiment marched twenty-eight miles, crossing the Mattapony, skirmishing more or less, and on the 23d reached the North Anna, where they were engaged on the skirmish line every day until the evening of the 27th, when they marched to the Pamunky River, and crossed it on the 28th. Here they were further engaged until June 1, when they moved to Cold Harbor. In this battle, from the Ist to the 5th, the sharpshooters took part, but suffered no losses. Picket duty followed to the 13th of June, when they marched to the James River, crossed on the 14th, and the next day marched twenty-five miles to Petersburg. From the 16th to the 20th of June they were engaged every day in important service. On the 16th Caspar B. Kent, Company F, was killed, and on the following day fell Corporal Charles B. Mead. Henry E. Barnum was mortally wounded and died on the 14th of July ; John Quinlan was severely wounded. On the next day Silas Giddings was wounded, and in the severe fighting of the 21st, Barney Leddy and Peter Lafflin were killed; Watson P. Morgan was wounded and taken prisoner, and Sergeant Grover and David Clark were wounded. From this time to the 26th of July the regiment was employed much of the time on picket, but without important incident.
On the afternoon of the 27th the corps, with the sharpshooters, crossed the James River, marched a little northward where they were in camp to the 12th of August ; then the march towards City Point began. No one knew their destination. Down the river on transports, then after some hours at anchor, again turning up the stream, the troops landed on the morning of the 14th at Deep Bottom. On the 15th the regiment was detached from the Second and ordered to the Tenth Corps. Moving toward the front they found themselves in the afternoon on the extreme right of the army, where they were deployed against the rebel skirmishers, who were repulsed. Again on the 16th severe fighting occurred, but without loss to Company F, although the regiment at large suffered considerably. On the 17th the regiment rejoined the Second Corps, and marched towards the James River, which was crossed on the night of the 19th and the regiment took its position in the lines surrounding Peters- burg, relieving the Fifth Corps. On the 20th of June Companies C and A were discharged, their term having expired. Of the original one hundred and three men mustered in with Company F, there were now left only twenty-five, present and absent. Of these six had re-enlisted; the remaining nineteen were as follows: C. D. Merriman, Spafford A. Wright, Curtis P. Kimberley, W. C. Kent, Eugene Payne, Cassius Peck, Fitz Green Halleck, H. E. Kins-
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man, Edward E. Robinson, William Mckeever, Almond D. Griffin, E. F. Stevens, Watson N. Sgrague, James M. Thompson, Thomas H. Turnbull, W. W. Cutting, David O. Daggett, George H. Ellis, and H. B. Wilder ; of these nine only were present with the company for muster out.
During the few days remaining of their term of service the sharpshooters were almost constantly engaged, skirmishing by daylight and on picket at night. On the 21st of August they drove the enemy from a rifle-pit on their front, capturing forty prisoners, just four times as many as were in their own ranks.
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