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Chapter 25: Chancellorsville Campaign.
Volunteers again cross the river.
Capture of Marye's Heights.
When
Burnside had fully determined upon the plans for the
Chancellorsville Campaign, the Eleventh and Sixth Corps were crossed below the city and the rest of the Army at Bank's and
United States fords,—the Nineteenth regiment remaining in camp with its brigade.
The force below the city could be seen from the hills back of the camp, as it moved across the plain and engaged the enemy.
On April 30, the Eleventh corps was withdrawn and marched to the upper ford.
On the same day the Nineteenth regiment packed up, struck tents and bivouacked, and prepared to march.
There was a delay of two days, however, and in the small hours of Sunday morning, May 3, the men marched to the
Lacy House, halting very near the same spot as on the morning of the memorable 11th of December, 1862.
Lieut. Col. Devereux called for 20 volunteers who, after being joined by a like number from the 20th Massachusetts regiment, were to cross the river in boats.
The required number at once stepped forward and
Lieut. Ferris volunteered to command them.
The squad moved away in the darkness, toward the river.
When near the high bank overlooking the river road, they halted near two pontoon boats.
Each man felt then that the expedition was to be a repetition of the 11th of December on a smaller scale.
Lieut. Ferris explained that each party would fill one of the pontoons and, together, charge across the river and engage the enemy.
He said it would be a ‘very hot job’ and that the most of the squad would be killed.
As for himself, he said that he expected to be killed, and his closing words were: ‘If there's any man here who's afraid to go to hell within the next few hours he wants to go back to the regiment.
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Now is your chance to go back.
I don't want a man to go back on me after we get started.’
No one faltered and the little squad at once moved down the bank into the road, followed by the pontoon boats, and marched quietly up by the side of the stream until opposite a mill which stood just outside the city, where a detail from the Twentieth Massachusetts, commanded by
First Lieut. McKay, was met.
Lieut. McKay, being the ranking, officer (
Lieut. Ferris being a
Second Lieutenant) took command of the detachment.
The boats were taken from their carriages, pushed into the stream and manned.
The orders were to wait until the guns of
Gen. Sedgwick's skirmishers were heard, as they advanced at daylight into the lower part of the city, then immediately to cross and engage such of the enemy as were found picketing the river near the mill above the city, thus making a small diversion in
Sedgwick's favor.
The small detachment waited there, anxious for and yet dreading the approach of day. At daylight the guns of
Sedgwick's skirmishers were heard as they advanced.
The oarsmen were ready and the boats pulled out into the stream.
The firing had increased and was now heard well into the city, showing that the men of the Sixth corps were gaining ground.
Down opposite the
Lacy House the men of
Sedgwick's corps were occasionally seen as they moved in and out among the buildings in their work of driving out the enemy.
On reaching the middle of the river, the boats were headed down stream and just as the sun cast his first rays over the waters, the men landed on the
Fredericksburg shore, at the same place where the Nineteenth Massachusetts and the Seventh Michigan landed on Dec. 11, 1862, without firing a shot or hearing a bullet whistle.
Here they rested until the bridge was laid and the regiment crossed.
Lieut. Col. Devereux considered the act of volunteering as commendable as though the work had been done as intended and marked each man
1 for promotion.
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The regiment crossed upon the bridge as soon as it was laid, preceded by a storming party of 100 volunteers from the First Brigade, and joined
Sedgwick's main force near the depot, where they made a halt.
The work of clearing the city having been done by
Sedgwick's main force, the division then moved out to the right of the city, the Nineteenth leading, and formed in line of battle along a road.
The purpose was to turn the left of the enemy's position on
Marye's Heights.
Being under artillery fire from the enemy's works on the hill in front, the men of the Nineteenth were ordered to lie down in a hollow by the roadside, behind a fence ridge.
Skirmishers, commanded by
Major Rice, were sent forward and found that the enemy had destroyed the bridge, thus making the canal impassable.
It was necessary to rebuild the bridge to make an assault.
During the delay caused by the rebuilding of the bridge across the canal,
Gen. Sedgwick came up with the Sixth Corps.
He became impatient at the delay on the right, notwithstanding it was unavoidable, and decided to assault directly in front of the enemy's centre.
He pushed forward a storming party with
Col. Burnham's command of the Sixth Maine in the lead.
In the column could be seen the white flags of the three
Massachusetts regiments.
As they came up Hanover Street, over the ground on which the Nineteenth Massachusetts had been so badly cut up on the memorable 13th of December, the rebel batteries opened fire full upon them.
The assaulting column moved forward in gallant style without firing.
Blue smoke burst from the enemy's rifle pits at the base of the hill, behind the famous stone wall.
It curled upward over the grassy slope, mingling its color with the deep green, making the hill look as though covered with a beautiful carpet, while the deadly hail made sad havoc in the ranks of the advancing boys in blue.
Notwithstanding the bullets, they moved steadily forward until, when near the first rifle pit, a rush was made and the line was carried.
The ‘Johnnies’ jumped out and rushed up the hill to their main works, followed so closely by the exultant ‘
Yanks’ that they had no time to turn at the top
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but scurried off across the plain.
The occupants of the works at the top immediately left them and hastened to the rear.
The men of the Second Corps arose and cheered the victors and then were set in motion and in a quick march moved through the city, out by Hanover street and halted in colunm by division en masse on the grassy plain in the rear of the
Confederate fortifications, in front of which they had lain for some time.
Early's Division and
Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade, who had occupied the position with artillery, fell back and the dreaded
Marye's Heights were at last taken.
Among the guns captured was a portion of the Washington artillery and two or three of the guns which the rebels had ‘borrowed’ from the
Union forces at the
first Bull Run.
After the
Heights were carried,
Gen. Sedgwick with his main force started on toward Salem Church, driving the enemy before him. Two brigades of
Gen. Gibbon's division were left behind to hold the town, protect the railway and bridges and the depot of supplies at
Aquia Creek.
Hall's brigade was left on the south side of the river to act as provost guard for the city of
Fredericksburg.
This work was given to them in recognition of the fact they had twice crossed the river in the direct front of the enemy at the head of the
Union forces.
At nightfall, the regiment was sent to the right again to about the same place it had occupied in the morning.
As everything was supposed to be safe, and the enemy was being driven before
Sedgwick's forces, only the ordinary precautions were taken to picket the line about the city.
The rest of the brigade had reason to expect a good night's rest.
As the men marched through the streets they were verbally assailed by some of the women.
The officers and men bivouacked in the street.
After a day of strenuous activity, all looked forward with pleasure to a night of rest and quiet.
At an early hour of the next day there were indications of movements of the enemy and, later, artillery firing in the direction of
Gen. Sedgwick's position roused the troops to activity.
Before eight o'clock the enemy's troops appeared in the works
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on the
Heights and the regiment, with another, was placed in position at the crossings of the canal to meet the enemy's evident intention of attempting to enter the city.
The attempt was made, but not with great persistence, was easily repelled and was not seriously renewed.
The works on the
Heights were occupied by a force sufficient to require constant watchfulness by the
Union troops and a frequent exchange of musket shots caused them to be kept in readiness to meet any movement of the enemy.
In the performance of this duty, several houses were occupied by the regiment and prepared for defence in the event of an attack in force.
From some of these houses there was a fine view of the field of action of the previous day, which was as well that of the great battle of December previous in which the regiment bore its part with heavy loss.
The regiments in the centre of the brigade line succeeded in holding the two bridge heads on the
Fredericksburg side of the canal, the right wing resting in a small grave yard.
During the night there was no activity displayed on either side.
During the following day there was some skirmishing as the enemy appeared, filing into the works on the hills from the east and working their way along the front, but late in the afternoon everything appeared quiet and the efforts of the enemy were either never intended to be serious assaults or they were satisfied of their uselessness.
The regiment was sent down one of the streets up which
Sedgwick's forces had previously charged, and ordered to take possession of certain houses, make loopholes in them and on no account allow the enemy to carry the road and drive them out. The houses were little forts in themselves, and, without artillery, there was little or no danger to those within.
The works of the enemy could plainly be seen, swarming with gray coats.
Although some distance from the enemy, the men could hear them and the orders came thick and fast.
The Forty-Second New York regiment held a line of rifle pits a little to the left of the position of the Nineteenth, while in its direct front there were no troops and a good road to advance upon.
Slowly the time passed and the men were anxiously expecting
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an attack.
Suddenly a line of skirmishers jumped from the rebel rifle pits in front of the Tammany regiment.
The rebel commander was heard to say: ‘Don't molest anything when you get into the city.’
They advanced a little, halted, dressed their line, faced to the front again and immediately received a volley from the men of the Forty-Second.
They dashed back into their pits, leaving one or two of their number stretched on the sod. They had not expected to meet opposition until they had crossed the canal.
Another attack was momentarily expected, but the minutes became hours and no sign was made.
Finally, the sound of heavy firing was heard far away on the right and very soon movements among the rebels indicated that something was going to happen.
The men clutched their muskets, but soon they found that the enemy were retiring from their works and going out to engage
Sedgwick at Salem Church.
The roar of the artillery could easily be heard and the shells were plainly visible as they burst in the air. Even the volleys of musketry were heard and it was evident that
Sedgwick was being roughly handled.
During the afternoon the anxiety of the men was intense, although those in the city were safe.
Just at dusk the cheers in the rebel works intimated that they had won a partial victory.
In the early part of the night it was determined to withdraw the force in
Fredericksburg to the north side of the river.
The Nineteenth was on the right of the line and became the rear guard.
Rifle pits were dug at intervals across the street leading directly to the pontoon bridge to enable the men to resist a sudden onslaught during the night or when it came time for them to move, the hour being set for earliest dawn.
The tired men of the regiment slept soundly, only the commander and the necessary guard being awake.
About three o'clock in the morning a heavy fog settled over the valley and when the time arrived, the left wing of the regiment, furthest from the river, was ordered to move noiselessly to the river bank and hold the head of the poontoon bridge, awaiting there the rest of the regiment.
This accomplished, the right wing was as silently withdrawn, the men through the fog, looking like ghosts on a ghastly parade as they stealthily marched along.
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They all felt that the enemy knew they were evacuating and would be on the alert to push the rear guard but were delayed by the fog. It was also felt that hidden watchers were only awaiting an opportunity to communicate with the enemy, and this fear proved well founded for soon a rebel yell was heard and concealment was no longer of avail.
Some women tried to get out to the enemy, but were caught and held until there was no longer any danger.
Then came the rush of pursuing feet, through the fog. The right wing was hurried down to the river on the double-quick to join their comrades, and with one company lying in the rifle pits across the street, they waited events.
The enemy knew exactly the route the regiment would be compelled to take and came on pell mell.
Just as they turned the corner they were greeted with a volley which threw them into confusion and turned them back.
The men of the regiment made a rush for the river, gained the pontoon bridge, and
Major Rice, with
Lieut. Donath and half a dozen men with axes severed the shore lines which held the bridge on the south side, then leaped into the boats and poled across.
The bridge slowly drifted down with the current to the north shore and the enemy did not dare follow, as the north side frowned with batteries.
Chancellorsville, so far as the Nineteenth Massachusetts was concerned, was over.
Casualties May 3-4, 1863.
wounded
