[
105]
Chapter 6: siege of Wagner.
Early on the morning of July 19, the men of the Fifty-fourth were aroused, and the regiment marched down the beach, making camp near the southern front of the island at a point where the higher hills give way to a low stretch of sand bordering the inlet.
On this spot the regiment remained during its first term of service, at
Morris Island.
That day was the saddest in the history of the Fifty-fourth, for the depleted ranks bore silent witness to the severe losses of the previous day. Men who had wandered to other points during the night continued to join their comrades until some four hundred men were present.
A number were without arms, which had either been destroyed or damaged in their hands by shot and shell, or were thrown away in the effort to save life.
The officers present for duty were
Captain Emilio, commanding,
Surgeon Stone,
Quartermaster Ritchie, and
Lieutenants T. W. Appleton,
Grace,
Dexter,
Jewett,
Emerson,
Reid,
Tucker,
Johnston,
Howard, and
Higginson.
Some fifty men, slightly wounded, were being treated in camp.
The severely wounded, including seven officers, were taken on the 19th to hospitals at
Beaufort, where every care was given them by the medical men,
General Saxton, his officers, civilians, and the colored people.
