w- ft Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924089930634 In compliance with current copyright law, Cornell University Library produced this replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39.48-1992 to replace the irreparably deteriorated original. 2001 Qfitrnell ImuMstty ffitbratg JItttaca, New llorh THE JAMES VERNER SCAIFE COLLECTION CIVIL WAR LITERATURE THE GIFT OF JAMES VERNER SCAIFE — ^v.^, CLASS OF 1889 1919 THIRTEENTH REGIMENT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE VOLUNTEER INFANTRY IN THE WAE OF THE EEBELLION 1861-1865 A DIARY COVERING THREE YEARS AND A DAY BY S. MILLETT THOMPSON LIEUTENANT THIETEENTH N. H. TOLUNTEES8 BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON, MIFFLESf AND COMPANY Wit "BMatxeX&t Pceee, CambriUse 1888 Copyright, 1888, Bt S. MILLETT THOMPSON. AU rights reserved. The Riverside Press, Cambridge: £lectrotyped and Priated by U. 0. Houghton & Co. DEDICATION. To my own family, to my Comrades in the Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry now surviving, to the memory of the dead, and to the families of all, I most heartily dedicate the historical pages of this hook. S. MiLLETT Thompson. Providence, Bhode Island, April 27, 1888. PREFACE. In this book the Thirteenth Regiment is treated of as a unit. All personal items, whether concerning myself or any other member of the Regiment, are entered to do an act of justice, to relate an occurrence either of a limited or a general interest, or to fix a date or fact. Eulo- gies, obituaries, and the making any one person prominent to the dispar- agement or exclusion of others, have been carefully avoided. Repetitions and duplication of statements have been entered only to make the nar- rative more clear, or as matters of corroboration ; the book, running between a narrative and a diary, must needs be complete with each day, and still maintain the form of a narrative. I have nothing to say against the collective body of the regular volun- teer officers and soldiers of the Southern army as such ; though fre- quently carried out of the right by the external pressure of their own section, they were infinitely better than the order of things which they represented ; they were the very best men the South possessed, and I cannot, and would not if I could, detract from or wipe out their bravery, courage and honor. Adhering to plain facts, I have endeavored to reproduce, as nearly as may be, the affairs, sentiments and spirit of the times of the war ; for the spirit of a day, a time or an age is the very soul of its history, with- out which a string of bald facts is a bit of mere book-keeping. It is desired that the reader of this book shall gain some idea of what it cost, in labor, fighting and suffering, to re-unite the dissevered States of the American Union ; for every regiment in the Northern army had experiences similar to those of the Thirteenth, and many of them suf- fered more severely and lost more heavily, — and to gain that idea in some measure multiply this Thirteenth Regiment's work and sacrifices by 2,050, the number, equivalently, of regiments in the Northern army engaged in that war. vi PREFACE. Slang phrases, and a sort of camp language, were used in the army immensely ; they are not classic, but when a happy plirase, or a slang phrase of a reasonable character, condenses a page into a line and con- veys its meaning clear, that phrase should be written until it becomes classic — grammai-ian dignity is the stage-coach, terse phrase the light- ning express. Still, we hold all marred language under protest. In making the sketches and tracing the maps, the chief aim has been not to be artistic, but by outlines to enable any person, with this book in hand, to find the exact spots where the Thirteenth camped or fought ; and nearly all the plats and maps look the way the Thirteenth faced or moved. Both sketches and tracings I made with my pen, and they are reproduced here by photogravure process. The official maps used were those of Brevet Brig. Gen. N. Michler. No statements have been drawn from cheap newspaper accounts, popu- lar yarns or realms dimesque. The negro is represented without preju- dice or favor, and as I saw him ; and the bi'oad things said of him, or by hini, have been entered merely to show what he was. Swearing enough was done in the army to last any reasonable people until the millennium, and I have seen no need of repeating it here. The ideas and opinions ventured are such as I have entertained for many years, some during the war, and liave seen no reason to change. It was thought best to use the word battle for all engagements inscribed upon the flag. Names are attached to quotations by courtesy, to show whence the statements came. Col. Stevens was applied to for historical data the same as all the other officers of the Regiment and large num- bers of the men, but he furnished nothing for this book. The war was no holiday excursion, and but for the soldiers' fun the army had gone half mad ; the few jokes in this book have been put in as a common property ; the Thirteenth, as well as the army as a whole, laughed far more than it wept, and will remember its enjoyments far beyond the fading of its woes ; but to reproduce the sports of the sol- diers, to describe their merry-making and fun, to relate their yarns and stories, to write their laughable anecdotes and jokes with any reasonable degree of clearness and justice, were impossible for any man, and I will not presume to make the attempt, and have carefully avoided all attempts at being funny. My interest in the war and its results was increased by the fact that when a boy, twelve to fifteen years of age, I had served as a conductor on the Underground Railroad ; that is, guiding numerous escaped slaves through New Hampshire woods toward Canada. PREFACE. vii While temporarily engaged in business in the West in 1877-9, I employed a number of evenings in writing for my family such reminis- cences of my army life as came to mind. Upon informing Asst. Surgeon Sullivan of this in 1880, he first of all suggested to me the idea of writ- ing this book, and urged me to do it. I hesitated for a while, but finally undertook the work — not because of any ability of mine to do the sub- ject full justice, but simply because no one else arose to do a much needed work — the meagre early accounts of her Regiments reflecting too small a measure of credit upon our State. Though entering upon the work with hesitancy, I believed it to be the sheerest folly for history to wither upon the stem of any man's modesty — such stems are too dry and dead : modesty was not instituted to choke facts into oblivion, excepting such facts as are most shameful and unfit to print. The most of this book has been written offhand. I am not a profes- sional writer ; and whether able or otherwise, after examining the many letters, diaries and papers required in the work, after reading every reliable publication that I could obtain bearing upon the particular service in which the Thirteenth took a part, after visiting the fields and camps in Virginia twice for data and measurements, after making all the tracings and sketches, after the necessary correspondence and the arranging ^nd writing of all, and attending to my private business at the same time, I have had no spare time in which to smooth sentences or polish para- graphs, — this book must be taken, as it were, in fatigue dress, there is no attempt at dress-parade about it, and the plain facts must stand as tliey are in their plain words. In tlie compilation of data for tliis history I have drawn my information from the following^ sources ; Of&cial papers and statements furnished by, and diaries and letters "written during- the "war by, Lt. Col. George Bowers ; Lt. Col. William Grantman ; Lt. Col. Normand Smith (letters) ; Maj. Nathan D. Stoodley (diary and letters) ; Capt. Charles O. Bradley ; Capt. George N. Julian (letters) ; Capt. Charles H. Cur- tis ; Capt. M. T. Betton ; Capt. Buel C. Carter ; Capt. James M. Durell (official papers) ; Capt. William J. Ladd ; Capt. Ruf us P Staniels (diaries) ; Quarter-master Mortier L. Morrison ; Asst, Surgeon John Sullivan ; Lieut. W. H. H. Young ; Hos- pital Steward and Lieut. Royal B. Prescott (diaries and letters) ; Lieut. S. Millett Thompson (diary and letters) ; Lieut. Henry Churchill ; Adjt. Nathan B. Boutwell ; Adjt. George H. Taggard (diary) ; Sergt. Major James M. Hodgdon (diary) ; Mu- sicians : James M. Caswell ; Charles W. Washburn (letters). Ssrgeants : W. G. Burnham ; Charles W. Batchellor (letters) ; Thomas S. Wentworth. Privates : Cyrus G. Drew (diary) ; Albion J. Jenness (letters) ; Horace W. Waldron ; Henry S. Paul ; William B. Luey (diary) , and others both officers and men whose names are mentioned in the text. Above diaries and letters were written at the front. Besides the above, the following named sources of information among others were consulted : via PREFACE. Gen. A. A, Humphreys' Virginia Cam- Tenny's Civil War. paign of 1864 and 1865. Military and Civil History of Connecticut. Capt. Frederick Phisterer's Statistical Capt. James A. Sanborn's MS Hist. lOth Record. N. H. Regiment. New Hampshire in the Rebellion. Pollard's Liost Cause. Burnside and the Ninth Army Corps. Greeley's American Conflict. C. C. Coffin's — ' Carleton's ' — vrritings. Lossing's Civil War. Adjt. Generals' Reports of all the New Moore's Rebellion Record. England States, New York and New N. H. Adjt. Greneral's Reports. Jersey. A bound volume of New Hampshire Official papers, letters and rolls in State Newspapers sent by A. S. Batchellor, House, Concord. Esq., of Littleton. Lt. Gen. U. S. Grant's Memoirs. Muster out Rolls of the Thirteenth. The manuscript, excepting the addition made after the Reunion of 1887, was read before publication by Major Nathan D. Stoodley, Asst. Surgeon Sullivan, Lieut. Royal B. Prescott and Sergeant James M. Woods of the Publication Committee, who were privileged by the writer to correct, amend, add to, or cut from, the text as in their judg- ment was in the interest of the history. The Thirteenth and the writer are gi-eatly indebted to these gentlemen for their unwearied efforts, painstaking care, and unswerving, hearty fidelity to the best interests of this history, its subject and its writer. We have worked together as one, in the spirit of the belief that the noble acts of each member of the Regiment are the joint property and heritage of aU, — nevertheless the writer assumes all responsibilities, and takes to himself all blame that may attach for any inadvertences occurring in the book. Previous to the committee's examination the writer had revised the manuscript in consultation with Major Stoodley, Lt. Col. Grantman and Lt. Col. Smith, — the purpose being to furnish so far as possible an abso- lute record to stand as an authority. S. MILLETT THOMPSON. CONTENTS. Authorities fob the Work ....... Preface I. JULY 1, 1862, TO DECEMBER 10, 1S62. PAGE Call for Troops 1 Camp Colby, at Concord N. H 2 March to the Seat of War . • 9 Camp Chase, at Arlington Heights 11 Camp Casey, at Fairfax Seminary 20 March through Maryland to Fredericksburg .... 27 II. DECEMBER 11, 1862, TO FEBRUARY 8, 1863. Battle of Fredericksburg 36 Camp opposite Fredericksburg 88 Move from Fredericksburg to Newport News . . . lOS III. FEBRUARY 9, TO MAY 16, 1863. Camp at Newport News Ill Camp near Suffolk 117 Siege of Suffolk 126 Battle of Providence Church Road ■ 139 IV. MAY 17, 1863, TO APRIL 18, 1864. Camp in 'The Pines,' at Getty's Station 161 ' Blackberry Raid ' 171 Camp Gilmore, at Getty's Station 195 Thirteenth goes Home to vote 238 X CONTENTS. V. APRIL 19, TO MAT 11, 1864. Spring Campaign of 1864 250 March to Yorktown, and Camp there 251 Move to Bermuda Hundred 256 Battle of Port Walthall 259 Battle of Swift Creek 263 VI. MAY 12, TO MAY 27, 1864. Advance on Richmond 279 Battle of Kingsland Creek . . .... 279 Battle of Drury's Bluff 284 Camp at Bermuda Hundred 322 VII. MAY 28, TO JUNE 15, 1864. March to Cold Harbor . . • . . . . " . . 335 Battle of Cold Harbor 338 Move to Front of Petersburg ....... 374 Battle of Battery Five 382 Thirteenth captures a Redan with Five Cannon . . . 387 vrii. JUNE 16, TO SEPTEMBER 27, 1864. Siege of Petersburg. In the Trenches 404 Sketches of Life in a Military Hospital 405 Mine Explosion and Crater ... .... 431 Return to Bermuda Hundred . . .... 447 IX. SEPTEMBER 28, 1864, TO FEBRUARY 28, 1865. Battle of Fort Harrison 458 Before Richmond 490 Battle op Fair Oaks 499 Winter Camp near Fort Harrison 508 Company C in Redoubt McConihe 527 CONTENTS. xi X. MARCH 1, TO APRIL 12, 1865. Last Campaign 537 Roster of Gen. Devens' 3d Division, 24th Corps .... 549 Surrender of Richmond . 552 First Flag hoisted in Richmond 659 Thirteenth the First Regiment in 563 XI. Close of the War — Peace 589 assasination of president lincoln 589 Scenes in Boston, April 3-16, 1865 590 Welcoming the Homing Army Corps 595 Thirteenth mustered out and starts for Home .... 606 Personal Notes 612 Band of the Thirteenth 625 XII. Roster of the Thirteenth 638 Reunion at Boston, April 5, 1887 686 Index 709 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS. PAGE Flags of Thirteenth Frontispiece Regiment of Infantry in Line of Battle 7 Camp Chase 17 Part of Fredericksburg Battle-field 43 Part of Fredericksburg Battle-field 47 Fredericksburg 51 Kegion near Falmouth Camp 91 Providence Church Road 149 Suffolk and Vicinity 155 Camp Gilmore and Vicinity 197 Swift Creek — Plat 271 Swift Creek — Map 275 Drury's Bluff and Vicinity 313 Drury's Bluff 317 Berjiuda Hundred 331 Cold Harbor 353 Cold Harbor and Vicinity 377 Confederate Battle Flags 391 Battery Five 399 Petersburg Front 411 Position of Thirteenth on Petersburg Front .... 415 Fort Harrison 469 Fort Harrison and Vicinity 473 Fair Oaks and Vicinity 505 Forrester Papers 561 Richmond and Vicinity — Two Maps 636, 637 FEONTISPrECE— DESCRIPTION. The flags at the right — National — and at the left — State — ■were received by the Thirteenth at Concord, Oct. 5, 1862. These two flags and the two small flags — * Markers ' — were carried by the Thirteenth through its term of service, its camps, marches and battles, until Dec. 27, 1864, when the first flag, the miarkers being retained, was returned to the custody of the State. The flag in the centre was received Dec. 27, 1864, with the names of the bat- tles inscribed thereon — see page 519; and this one with the old State flag were the two carried into Richmond by the Thirteenth on April 3, 1865. All these flags are now preserved, in a glass case, in the rotunda of the Capitol at Concord. THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. I. July 1, 1862, to Decembek 10, 1862. July 1. Tues. At the instance of the Governors of seventeen loyal States, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, on this day issues a call for 300,000 volunteers, and under this call enlistments at once commence, and there enlists for three years : — THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE VOLUNTEER INFANTRY. Rockingham, Hillsborough, and Strafford Counties each furnishing two companies, and Merrimac, Grafton, CarroU, and Coos Counties one company each ; assembling from all parts of the State, from Connecticut River to tlie lakes of Maine, from tide water to Canada line. Under this call for 300,000 men for three years. New Hampshire fur- nishes 6,390 men — 1,337 men above its quota. Total enlistments in all the loyal States and Territories are 421,465 men — 86,630 men above all their quotas. " We are coming. Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more." Sept. 1. Mon. Capt. N. D. Stoodley's 130 men for Company G met for drill, for the first time, Monday, August 18, in Peterboro', and have since been drilling there. About the same time 104 men, enlisted in and about Littleton for Company D, by Capt. Farr, and Lieutenants Kilburn and Saunders, commenced drilling ; and in the other recruiting centres about equally early and speedy activitj' and preparation have been going on. Sept. 6. Sat. Company E drilling ; a part at New Market, and about sixty men in the Town Hall at Exeter. The writer enlisted as a private, and knew nothing whatever about military drill. Capt. Julian promised to have him appointed First Sergeant of the company, if he would drill the men before they went into camp at Concord. Whereupon the writer purchased a book of tactics, borrowed a gun, shut himself up in a room for a day and a night of hard study, then met his men in the Town Hall, Exeter, and commenced a month of drill — amateur in every respect. The men had assembled, and drilled some- what, previous to this date. THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862 CAMP COLBY, NEAR CONCORD, N. H. Sept. 11. Thurs. Company C, enlisted by Capt. Bradley and Lieu- tenants Curtis and Staniels, goes into camp at Camp Colby, Dark Plains, near Concord. The first company in camp. Each man of the Tliirteenth, on coming into camp, receives a woolen blanket, a rubber blanket, a knife, fork, and spoon, all wofully cheap, a tin plate and a tin dipper. Sept. 12. Fri. Co. G goes into camp at Dark Plains to-day. Co. E leaves Exeter and New Market at 5 p. m., arrives in barracks at Camp Colby at 9 p. m., having been delayed for a time in Concord while waiting to receive blankets. There is much mud in the road, the even- ing is rainy and very dark, most of the men are merry and full of sport, some can sing, all can yell, and the trip, on the whole, is one not soon to be forgotten. The Littleton Company, D, ai'rived in camp to-day, about half an hour after the arrival of Co. G. Every man of Compan}- D can read and write, and there are but few in the whole Regiment who cannot. Camp Colby is about one and one fourth miles from Concord, near the Chichester road. Sept. 13. Sat. The men of the 13th, in the barracks, last night, represented the entire animal creation, and for six or eight hours nearly five hundred men together howled, crowed, bleated, barked, i-oared, squealed, yelled, screamed, sung, and laughed to the limit of vocal powers. Ihey lay on boards, " boxy-shelves," having a blanket and about two I'yestraws per man for a bed. Thej' aie all up at 5 a. m. to- day, the roll is called, and all are set at work to clear, of brush and bushes, the ground for their tents. The larger part of the Regiment comes into camp to-day, — a total of seven or eight hundred men. A motley company, many in their worst suits of clothes, the most looliing as if they had not slept for a week. Last night's entertainment used up many of (he men. Bedlam, Noah's Ark, a Hen Convention, and the Plain of Babel were all sought to be outdone twice over. One more such night would fit all the men fo!- the madhouse. The funny fools were all there, and the dl-unken fools also ; all striving and straining to see who could be the most fool- iA\, and each seemed to exceed all his fellows. A few feathers were the cause of a furious struggle for possession by at least an hundred men. One man found a few straws, cut them up into iiuli jiieces, distributed the pieces to his friends, who solemnly placed them on the boards, under various parts of their bodies, and instantly fell to snorin-;- loud enoun-h to wake the dead. But this only served to provoke numerous contests in the bunks. Bottles were passed ai-ound, em])tie stantial headway, while its confusion and doubt continued. August came in with the South at the flood tide of confidence, now sure of swee])ing away the Northern army like chaff ; while the repeated calls in the North for more troops, and in almost countless numbers, threw more and more of burden upon our people and shook the confidence of many. August went out in blood, disaster and retreat ; another Bull Run. Alarm for the Capital spread anew, and the calls for lint, bandages, nurses and medical help, coupled with the vast lists of the dead and wounded, sent a shiver of horror throughout the whole North. September found the South magnificently victorious, and our army in Virginia terribly shat- 6 THIllTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRK REGIMENT. 1862 tered, ending, in short, with the drawn battle of awful Antietam, " The bloodiest day America ever saw." And the far away successes in the Southwest have had but little effect in raising the depression in New England, caused by the terrible disasters nearer home. To cap the whole, Gen. Lee, in these very days, has raised himself apparently above all our Generals, and almost to the level of the greatest miUtary names in history. His prowess and ability are greater causes of anxiety than our country has felt at any time during this war ; while the English aiistocrats, using the rebellion sympathizers in the Northern States, the Copperheads, as a cave of echoes, jjraise and extol him without measure. Surely the Thirteenth enlisted, and came into camp, on a day, when war, despite all our successes, never in this country wore so grim a vis- age, and was so monstrous in every aspect ; and to sign an enlistment ])aper seemed like signing one's own death warrant, to be executed by the slow torture of labor, exposure, danger, hair-breadth escapes, fear, sickness, incurable diseases, wounds, pain, dismemberment, and rotting alive ; and after death a burial, uncoffined, in some unmarked hole in the ground, or left above ground to the buzzards, beasts and vermin, our toe and finger bones to be picked up and wrought into necklaces and cuj-ios. The prospect is not Elysian. Still, to-night, our camp is rapidly filling up by our men and officers returning cheerfully from their little furlough ; and with them there also rush to arms over 80,000 men in less than one month. Oct. 4. Sat. Fair. All this pleasant week wives and sweethearts, mothers and sisters, fathers and brothers, children and friends have flocked to our camp, and still they come ; while a crowd of all sorts of people has gathered so great that a cordon around camp is a necessity. The Thirteenth feels the first tight giip of a provost guard. To see friends outside of camp, or to receive them within, a pass must be shown. The Thirteenth has the name of being the most orderly regi- ment that has been organized in this camp. Company D claims the honor of being the only company which came into camp with every man sober. This statement, however, meets the following : " Company G came into camp with 12.5 or 130 men, all sober. N. D. S." Every company came in remarkably free from intoxicated men. There has been a generous rivalry to see which company would appear the best. Oct. 5. Sun. Fair. Thirteenth marches to Concord from Camp Colby in the afternoon, and receives its colors — a State flag, a National flag and two guidons — from the hands of Hon. Allen Tenney, Sec. of State, in front of the State House, and in the presence of a large assem- bly of the people. Later in the day the Regiment returns to camp ; sick of buncombe speechifying, and the patting of " our departing heroes " on the back, by the brave homesmen, the men who do not enlist. The Thirteenth is armed with Springfield rifles, weighing with the bayonet nine and one fourth pounds, calibre 58 ; for a minie bullet weighing 500 grains, and propelled by about sixty grains of powder. The bayonet. '^ ^ ^ la fi 2J o w d ^ OJ hJ 1— ( 55 ») a -,1 g 5: f-H -> O CO w P3 ;:> h-i .-1 &^ f^ i< a —" Cd a H -1 PS n t-H td l-H m z: ^ U w > TA) a < o P^ a. < ^ o 18C2 CAMP CHASE. 19 guard Long Bridge, about 10 men from each company. The guard has headquarters at an old hotel, by some called the " Revere House,'' just at the Virginia end of the bridge. (What appears to be the same old battered hulk is now standing, May 1885, on the right hand side of the road as you pass into Virginia.) Oct. 30. Thurs. Pleasant. Monthly Reports now bother the Cap- tains' heads ; and to make bad matters worse the wrong kind of rolls are furnished, the work done twice over. A large detail from the Thir- teenth are throwing up entrenchments in the rear of Fort Richardson. It is on a high hill, and we can see the country for miles and miles around — a vast camp, a wide region of country laid waste, and hun- dreds of residences in ruins. The Vermont Brigade marches past camp in grand procession, the soldiers as green as their own native hills. We now begin to feel like Veterans. Oct. 31. Fri. Pleasant. Thirteenth reviewed, and mustered for pay by Col. Dexter R. Wright of the 15th Conn. Vols., now Acting Brig. General, and commanding our Brigade, consisting of the 15th Conn., 13th N. H. and 142d N. Y. Regts. During this month the Thirteenth has enjoyed the privilege of unend- ing drill — manual, squad, company, battalion, slow, quick, double quick and run — under Lieut. Penrose of the Regular Army. "He is smarter than a steel trap, and is mounted on a little wiry horse, a double-concen- trated combination of git up and git." The 13th had to stand in one position, at " shoulder-arras," for over two hours at one time to-day while on Review. A knapsack-hook set in the gun strap, and allowed to seize the belt, saves much pain in these matters. The forenoon of to-day was occupied by a special drill preparat3ry to the afternoon's review. The officers have their wit and patience sorely tried now by their first " Monthly Report in the Field." Reveille is the " Cock-crow '' of the army. To one who has risen before the first call, and is in a position to see as well as hear, the scene is most interesting. A single bugle call is heard, when instantly the proper officer, in every regimental camp guard, rouses the Drum-corps ; they beat the Reveille, the sound rolling in from every direction, far and near ; the First Sergeants are i-unning down the company streets, parting the tent openings, and shouting inside, " Turn out here for Roll-call ! " The men tux-n out, in every imaginable state of dress, answer to their names in every tone and compass of which the human voice is capable, a perfect Babel, and are assigned their duties for the day, if the First Sergeants can possibly find out beforehand what their duties are to be. Occasionally tiiis is arranged on the previous evening. The whole noisy breeze is past in five minutes, and the work of the day begins. But let us not forget the poor little drummer boy in this noise of Reveille, as he stands at his tent door, or a little away, half awake, half dressed, " niit nottings on sgacely," unkempt, shivering, or half frozen, peddling abroad his unhappy " r-r-rap-tap-tap," cursed by half the Regiment, while the 20 THIRTEENTH KEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862 teeth in his unhung jaws can be heard for their chattering nearly half as far as the sound of the drum. CAMP CASEY, NEAR FAIRFAX SEMINARY. Nov. 1. Sat. Very fine day. At noon the 13th receives orders to be ready to move in two hours, lively work, but we strike tents, pack, and are ready to move in one hour. We march about five miles to near Fairfax Seminary, arriving at 3 p. m. A detachment of 81 men which has been on duty, under Lieuts. Durell and Forbush, guarding Long Bridge (the Virginia end), and the stores at Ft. Runyon, comes rushing up to camp just in time to join in the march. Reg. nmch di- vided ; some of Lieut. Fovbush's men are left behind to guard the Camp Chase property, others join the Reg. after we reach camp, and 500 men are sent, after arriving near the Seminary, on picket, to a point about four miles distant, in the outer line of defenses. The remainder are settled in camp before dark. We passed the Seminary as we came up and are about half a mile beyond it. This camp is on the south side of a hill, overlooking Alexandria, about one or two miles distant, and a wide valley filled with tents and troops as far as one can see. The Orange Railroad runs along the valley a few rods south of camp, and on it hun- dreds of cars are continually passing, all in army use. Just south of camp is a brook called Cameron's Run, and the Old Dominion Mill, a weak affair. AYe have taken the place, duties, and camp ground of Maj. Gen. Daniel K. Siekles's Division, ordered to join the Army of the Potomac ; and are on the gi'ound just vacated by the 26th Penn., which v?ith the 1st and 11th IMass. and the 2d N. H. formed Gen. Hooker's old Brigade. The 2d N. II., with colors tattered, faded and shabby, moves away as we come into camp. A charming story comes to camp. 'T is said that a certain south New Hampshire town possesses a Republican, wealthy very, and closer than the bark to a tree, and a Democrat not very rich but well to do. Be- tween them exists a bitter feud. Inasmuch as the Republican's taxes are f.ir greater than the taxes of any other man, or six men, in the town, tliis Democrat conceives a, brilliant idea to sting this Republican to the in- most quick. The idea is no sooner conceived than executed ; and away drives the Democrat with his swiftest team to all the influential men in the town. The result is, that volunteers from that town are sui'prised by receiving the largest town bounty paid in the State ; and the Republican aforesaid, mucli against his wish, will and exceedingly sensitive pocket, pays the bulk of it all, and the bluff old Democrat is happy. Nov. 2. Sun. Thirteenth settling in new camp. Usual tiresome inspection, much fatigue work, ii Dress-parade, and a little much needed rest. We are still in Col. Wright's First Brigade of Gen. Casey's Di- vision, the Defenses of Washington. Our pickets return to camp about 2 p. m. Hospital Steward J. J. Wliittemore is very sick from exposure in sleeping on the ground last night, and Surgeon Twitchell has Royal 1862 CAMP CASEY. 21 B. Prescott of E appointed in his place as Acting Hospital Steward. AVe hear distant cannon in the direction of Centreville. A raid by the ene- my, who succeed in destroying some railroad property, and in causing Aides to gallop about our camp, with orders that all the regiments be held ready to fall in at instant call. Nov. 3. Mon. Thirteenth receives tents and finishes camp. Ex- pect to spend the winter here, and provide luxuries in the way of stoves, furniture, etc. The men have the huge round " Sibley " tents, and are closely packed in, about 18 men to a tent. The officers have " wall " tents. The writer and Sergt. Van Duzee purchase an " A " tent with floor and bunks ; " bought out a leaver." A piece of board nailed to the top of a stake driven into the ground is a table ; a small stove furnishes much smoke and some heat ; two stools with broken legs are chairs, a potato with a hole in it is a candlestick. Total cost of entire outfit, tent, stove, and all, $3.75. This is a sample of the general job lot. What a come-dovf n from Concord ! Rations now : soft bread, salt beef and pork, and occasionally potatoes and rice. Many are sick. Surgeon's call frequently lasts for two hours, and a daily average of nearly a hun- dred men are prescribed for. The Chaplain's tent is crowded with ex- pectant soldiers when the mail arrives. If the people at home could real- ize how valuable letters are to the soldiers, and esjiecially to the sick, they would be more generous with their pen and ink and spare time. Nov. 4. Tues. Cold, very. Thirteenth much driven with drill, picket and labor on the fortifications, has very little rest, and sickness rapidly increases. A part of the Reg. on picket seven miles from Alex- andria returns to camp this evening. A large squad of rebel prisoners, nearly 400, are brought in from beyond our lines. We look curiously on these strangers. We have no such men up North. A dirty, sallow, pale-faced, yellow-haired troop, looking over-worked and under-fed. Nov. 5. "Wed. Cold, raw day, with rain at night. Reg. reviewed by Gen. Casey. A Captain, two Lieutenants and ninety men of the Reg. go out on picket about five miles from camp. These picket excursions are usually for 24 hours. The shelter is very poor, or none at all, and the men suffer very nnich in the rain, snow-squaUs and cold. While on picket here the men are placed in a line of squads, three men in a squad. One man of each squad is on guard for two hours, then o£B four hours, throughout the day and night. A non-commissioned officer has charge of about four squads. A reserve, of fifteen or twenty men, under a Lieutenant, is stationed at a convenient distance to the rear of the main line of pickets. The captain has charge of all. The men of the Thir- teenth guai'd about one mile of the picket line here. Our Brigade of five regiments sends out 450 men for five miles of the line. Nov. 6. Thurs. Extremely cold. The miserable stoves in the Sib- ley tents fill them with smoke. Several stoves get overheated and set fire to the tents, wet as they are. The guns and equipments get wet, and the smoke and water together rusts the guns terribly. Such men as 22 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 18G-2 are wise roll up guns and equipments in their blankets, and lie down with them alongside. The men were to-day supplied with straw, to sleep on, the first they have received. Nov. 7. Fri. Cold, a high wind. Severe snow storm lasting all day. About six inches in depth all over the country. No one of us can remember any Northern snow storm of equal severity coming so early in the season. It blows into and breaks down tents, and gives no end of trouble. The Reg. is treated again to-night with an excellent mule chorus, from a " camp " of several hundred of them, near by. Mules and snow are incompatible. " For all purposes of discomfort, snow 's (hie) snow ; " as one philosopher to-day observes. He drank that ex- pression in, as it were. Nov. 8. Sat. Pleasant. The snow nearly gone by night, and the mud teiTible. There are many houses near our camp, and the natives sell produce at very reasonable prices. We have an abundance of excel- lent wood for our miserable, smoky stoves. Nov. 9. Sun. Pleasant. Usual Sunday inspection and parade. The army is much infested by a lack-lustre set of religious revivalists. Their zeal is not according to wisdom. The story goes that one of them pestered a certain New Hampshire Colonel, not of the 13th, out of all patience. In the midst of a harangue, he informed this Colonel, that he had baptized eight men of a neighboring regiment, recently. The Col- onel at once turned to his Adjutant, and ordered him to " detail nine men to be baptized to-morrow morning ; " adding by way of explanation, that he " would n't be outdone by any regiment in the service." A rough way of expressing a common opinion of the work of some of these hare- brained enthusiasts. Light things are made of light timber. Nov. 10. Men. Pleasant, cool. Battalion drill under Gen. Casey, the first since we left Camp Chase. We look upon bare ground at night, and next morning see it covered with hundreds of white tents and thou- sands of troops. Nov. 11. Tues. Very fine day. Drill, all day. Fairfax Semi- nary, now used as a Hospital, contains about 1,700 sick and wounded soldiers, and the deaths among them average eight per day. Tlie largest and strongest men are the first to break down, while the small and weakly men appear to be benefited by the rough, hard out-door life. Nov. 12. Wed. Pleasant. Drill. I\Iajor Storer, one day along here, has command of the Reg. when on Dress-parade. Just as he is about to give an order, and has spoken a word or two, he is interrupted by a huge mule near by with a tremendous fit of braying. The mule's noise times in so queerly as to make a most amusing " annex " to Maj. Storer's remarks, and the Reg. nearly breaks up in laughter. This, how- ever, is in the early days of discipline, when half of the Reg. act like a lot of country school-boys, as they are. Nov. 13. Thurs. Pleasant. Drill — the most at a double-quick. Nov. 14. Pri. Pleasant. Reg. has the day to fit up camp, and repair clothing. Rations are short, bad and irregular. 1862 CAMP CASEY. 23 Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, under Order of Nov. 14, 1862, as- sumes command of the Army of the Potomac, relieving Maj. Gen. Geo. B. McClellan. The army is near Warrenton, Va. Gen. Burnside organ- izes it in three Grand Divisions ; the Right under Maj. Gen. E. V. Sum- ner ; the Left under Maj. Gen. W. B. Franklin ; the Centre under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker. The Union Army numbers about 120,000 men, and soon is in motion toward Fredericksburg. Nov. 15. Sat. Fair, cold. The vfhole Reg. goes on picket ; that is, all who are able to go. Many of our men are sick. The Band es- corts the Reg. out about 2J miles. The first picket duty of the whole Regiment. We are to do picket duty by regiments, each out for two days. President Lincoln issues an order — read in camp : " Enjoining the orderly observance of the Christian Sunday by the officers and men in the military and naval service of the United States." Hope so ! Nov. 16. Sun. Fair. Reg. all on picket, five miles from camp. The first death in our Reg. occurred last ni;ht, Henry S. Sleeper of H, disease, typhoid fever. Was getting well, but had a relapse from eating some bread and cheese. The air here is not so invigorating as in the North, and a man more readily breaks down. Sleeper is buried to-day near Alexandria. Twenty-eight men sick in regimental Hospital. Charles A. Young, a boy about sixteen years old, came with the Reg. as far as Worcester with his brother, Lieut. W. H. H. Young. There the idea of a boyish venture seized him, and he came along with the Reg. to its Virginia camp. Riding a tractable mule he visited camps, forts, lines and places to his heart's content, and obtained an inside view of the soldiers' life ; shared their rations, their marches, and their tents — and especially their shiverings on frosty nights — until the venture lost its charm. He decided to return home. Traveling northward in these days is not so easy as one might imagine. To cross that Long Bridge over the Potomac, down yonder, requires a pass. The affair is ex- plained, and laughed over more or less, and a pass or furlough in full and regular form is made out, and signed by all the officers in rank up to Col. Wright, and armed with this the young gentleman leaves camp for home. Somehow his name, in later days, became identified with the Reg., and Adjt. Gen. Head furnished him with a Discharge from the ser- vice, the same as (other) soldiers receive. He has received numerous letters from military sources, and even official communications from the U. S. Pension office. This history could not possibly be complete with- out a little sketch of " Y " Company, averaging in point of years the youngest company in the military service of the United States. Nov. 17. Mon. Very cold. The Thirteenth, about 700 men, re- turns from picket to camp about 3 p. m. Have had a hard, cold piece of work for 48 hours, on a line three and a half miles long, consisting of a line of picket squads at the front, three men together ; half a mile in their rear several stations of reserves ; still another half a mile farther back the Grand Guard, and many patrols employed between. The picket duty 24 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862 a practical drill, with continual changes. The total strength of the Reg. now fit for duty, is about 700 men, about 200 men are sick in tents. Our Band meets the Keg. on the road to camp and escorts us in. The Band plays well. Another burial, of a member of the 13th, to-day. Gen. Sumner with his Right Grand Division approaches Fredericks- burg. He proposes to cross the river, and to occupy the city and the heights back of it, with his advance, consisting of the 2d Corps under Gen. Couch, and the 9th Corps, under Gen. Wilcox. Nov. 18. Tues. A heavy rain-storm to-night. Reg. in camp. Many of the men are very sick. The average number of men reported sick, by the Surgeon, every day for a month past, has been nearly twenty men in each company. It is the soldier's privilege to growl and grumble, and now, in this camp and service, there is a plenty of reason for it. Nov. 19. Wed. Rainy, cold. Reg. in camp. Rations have gi-eatly improved of late. We now have beef, fresh and salt, salt pork, potatoes, beans, rice, hard bread, fresh flour and brown bread, coffee, tea, sugar, molasses and pickles. In the absence of butter, and in the presence of jaundice, the last two items are in great demand and favor. Again the Captains in the Thirteenth are furnished with the wrong rolls in blank, and after expending many hours of labor upon them, receive correct blanks, and, with the proverbial cheerfulness of patriotic soldiers, do the work all over again. The work consists of writing the names of a hmi- dred men, and appending numerous remarks to each name. Nov. 20. Thurs. Heavy rain-storm. Reg. with the Brigade started out for a Review, but it is postponed on account of the storm. Chess, checkers and cards while away many a dreary, slow hour in a rainy camp. Nearly 300 men to-day on the sick list. The three great ■' cure- alls " in the army are quinine, mercury and whiskey. Our regimental Hospital is in an old house formerly occupied by overseers or slave driv- ers. This has been a cold, wet week, and sickness increases so rapidly that the Medical Inspector demands the exercise of greater care of the men, and u, shortening of the hours of drill and labor. Dress coats re- ceived — made of a sort of blue broadcloth. Nov. 21. Fri. Clearing. Reg. at work on its camp. Cooking utensils are inspected, and every man is provided Avith a new tin plate, tin cup, knife, fork and spoon ; and every Company with its full number of kettles and cooking utensils. As a result things look more nicely now when the men file around to the cook's tent for their boil, roast, hash, souj), coffee and bread. After drawing their rations the men go, sit down, and devour them like gentlemen, and hogs. One soldier of the 13th writes home : " When we get home again we will not any more sit at table to eat. but will seize our grub in our fists, and cat it on the wood pile, or in the back yard ^ like soldieis." Gen. Burnside's army is concentrating along Stafford Heights opposite Fredericksburg. Generals Hooker and Sumner desire to ford the Rap- pahannock, the bridges having been destroyed and the pontons delayed 1862 CAMP CASEY. 25 in coming. Gen. Burnside regards the attempt too hazardous and refuses to give his consent. Gen. Lee about Nov. 18th reenforced his small garrison in and about the city and is now rapidly occupying the heights beyond. He believes that Gen. Burnside can, and will, cross the river, and proposes to fight him after he has crossed. Gen. Sumner to-day de- mands the surrender of the city — Gen. Patrick, Pi-ovost Marshal Gen- eral of the Army of the Potomac, crossing the river under a flag of truce with the demand — which is refused. Nov. 22. Sat. Fair. Beg. expends a great deal of (wasted) labor in grading and tumpiking its Company streets. The " bulge-barrel," the old stubs of brooms, the shovels and an old plantation hoe or two carried by the police gang in procession all about camp, is one of the pictures of camp life not to be forgotten. The police gang is composed of men sen- tenced to clean the camp as a punishment for small misdemeanors. They almost always behave with the utmost stupidity, mere automatons, never looking up or exhibiting a spark of intelligence while at work. The worst labor in the affair is done by the Corporal, and his guard, who must keep the men at work, whether the camp needs cleaning or not. The " bulge-barrel " has two sticks nailed to the sides,, both sticks with long ends extending so that it may be carried upright by two men. Nov. 23. Sun. Exceeding cold and raw, wind northwest. Reg. goes on picket for 48 hours, beyond the earthwork defenses, and about seven miles from camp, toward the southwest, their position said to be near Falls Church again. Whole Reg. excepting the sick leaves camp at 8 a. m. with two days' cooked rations. The First Sergts. now have to look after the rations, baggage, cooking utensils, etc. This is too much care. Some of the Companies have a non-commissioned officer and four or five men, whose especial business it is to see to these matters, detailed by the First Sergt. and reporting to him. Royal B. Prescott appointed Hospital Steward ; and receives $30 per month for doing work enough for two men. He is overworked, and would break down if he had not an exceedingly strong physique ; his endurance is wonderful. Nov. 24. Mon. Very cold. " Water freezes solid in more than a hundred canteens,'' as the men carry them at their side while on picket. A body of Union horsemen, coming in from a scout, create a pretty little scare in the night. One timid youth declares that he can see " three species of cavalry," and the phrase becomes a by-word. Virginia weather, and mud, is responsible for nine tenths of the profanity in the army. One man in the Thirteenth has suddenly given up the use of profane language ; declaring that " no hard words can possibly do the weather and mud here any degree of justice, and he is tired of trying." Nov. 26. Tues. Cold, raw, rainy. The Band again meets the Reg. a short distance out, and escorts it to camp. Reg. returns from picket about noon, and is soon set at work upon the camp ; this is too much labor and exposure after a long march, and tlie men very tired and wet — it is abominable cruelty and foolishness. Many men are made sick by this needless job. There is much hard talk, and mutiny is threatened. 26 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862 Nov. 26. Wed. Cold. Eeg. drilling all day. Capt. Stoodley is taken down with jaundice, aggravated by the extreme fatigue, exposure and labor of the last three days, including yesterday's useless work on the camp. Many more men than usual require medical treatment this morn- ing. Raised flour bread, from the bakery at Alexandria, sometimes comes hot to our camp, and welcome. Nov. 27. Thurs. Thanksgiving Day. Reg. at work until 10 a. m., also have a Dress-parade about sundown ; all the rest of the day is ob- served as a holiday. Many boxes, filled with good things, are received from home, and the oflicers and men enjoy tliemselves generally. Some of the men have no home, nor friends, to receive boxes from, and those more fortunate share with them liberally. Capt. Julian entertains, roy- ally, Capt. Rollins, and friends, of the 2d N. H. V., now on their way to Washington from the front. Nov. 28. Pri. Warm. Reg. drilling, and at work on camp. The stragglers' camp is about one mile distant, of men unfit for duty, but not sick enough for hospital treatment : " Like a dress too clean to wash, but too dirty to wear," as one soldier of the 13th writes. Another writes : " Many men are sick with fowlness of the stomach." Nov. 29. Sat. Reg. drilling. The most intelligent men give the least trouble. As one soldier puts it, Sergt. Batchellor of D, " The grum- blers in the army are chiefly those who never see the inside of a book or of a paper." Down at Fredericksburg Gen. Lee, his army 80,000 strong, is en- trenching on " Marye's Heights," and along the Rappahannock, undis- turbed ; and Gen. Burnside prepares unwillingly to cross the river. A battle is to be fought because of political necessity, and after various de- lays have stolen away the promise of success. " Public feeling demands a movement ; " and the public that entertains that feeling has not enlisted. Nov. 30. Sun. Pleasant. Orders are received to be ready to march to-morrow at noon ; in heavy marching order, with shelter tents, and two days' cooked rations in haversacks, and five in teams. All is now bustle and hurry. There are tents after tents as far as the eye can see in any direction ; the whole camp, thousands of men, are like oui^ selves, preparing to move. Many of our men are still very sick. Capt. Stoodley, and several other members of the Regiment are dangerously ill. They are to be sent to Washington. There is a sudden weeding out, and several men are discharged the service. The first, and new, shelter tents issued to the Reg. There is no Sunday in the army. Col. Dexter R. Wright's 1st Brigade of Casey's Division, for the march to- morrow, consists of the loth Conn., 13th N. H., 12th R. I., 25th and 27th N. J. Regts. We march under sealed orders, and take 100 rounds of ball cartridge per man. The men have been expecting to remain here during the winter, have taken much pains to fit up their quarters, and have been at no little expense besides, and do not at all relish a move ; " all their fixings and expense to be left here free gratis for nothing," as they put 1862 CAMP CASEY. 27 it, for the benefit of some one else to them unknown. On the other hand they are very desirous to take a strong hand in putting an end to the war, and their patriotism and devotion to the cause of the Union out- weigh all other considerations. The camp resounds to-night with liymns and patriotic songs. Notwithstanding the fact that the Thirteenth are raw troops, and have been put into rough military service at once as if they were hardened veterans, and allowed little rest for many weeks, still in the main they have borne and endured their labors and exposures cheerfully and admirably ; relieving it all by the sport, play and merrj'- making common to a camp of young men and boys. Some person of genius invented a steel vest warranted proof against minie bullets at short range. Hundreds of officers and soldiers have pur- chased them and worn them until reaching the front, and a few days longer ; but generally with the result indicated by the following remark made in a letter by a member of the Thirteenth : '' The soldiers, both of our own regiment and of others, throw away their steel vests, and one can pick up any quantity of them about the camp — too heavy to carry. The men use them for frying-pans with cleft sticks for handles." MARCH TO FREDERICK3BUKG. Deo. 1. Mon. A warmish day of drizzling rain. The Thirteenth breaks camp at 12 noon, gets fairly in line about 2 p. m., and with the First Brigade marches to Washington over the Long Bridge, and on be- yond the Capitol, across the Eastern Branch of the Potomac into Mary- land, and bivouacs about 7 p. m. in a field near the village of Uniontown, six miles below Washington, after a march of about fifteen miles from Fairfax Seminary. Many who attempt to march are so sick that they have to give up their arms and baggage to the teams, and follow as best they may, and others weaker still halt along the way. The writer and three or four other men give up their arms and knap- sacks on Long Bridge. On reaching Capitol Hill in Washington about 6 p. m. they are obliged to stop, from sheer exhaustion. They sit down and lean against the trees and fences, feeling forlorn enough, and are taken up by the ambulance about 9 p. m. All of us have been sick for a number of weeks, and as it happened all had been offered their discharge from the service that very morning, and had refused to accept it ; and the ambulance is turned into a debating hall, the question being whether to go ahead or to give up. But the " Ayes " have it, and we decide to go ahead. The writer and one other man were of the Thirteenth, the rest were from other regiments; and one was a pale, thin, but plucky little stripling ap- parently not eighteen years of age. On reaching the camp the writer is invited to turn in, under a large tent, with the non-commissioned staff of the 13th — the tent crowded full. During the night his bedfellows, being too warm, throw off their blankets upon him, and when he wakes in the morning he is in a proper condition to be run through a wringing ma- chine. But the sweating does more effective 8ei*vlce against the chills than a peck of quinine. 28 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862 The Regiment marches under many disadvantages. Teams are not to be had in sufficient numbers, many stores purchased with the hospital fund, and much needed, have to be left behind, and the men have only what they can carry with them upon their persons. The sick in Hospital and a number of half sick men belonging to the Thirteenth, and to the rest of the First Brigade, 283 in number, are left behind at Camp Casey in charge of Dr. Twitchell and Quarter-master Cheney, the latter having charge of the property of the Brigade which is left behind. Dec. 2. Tues. Very fine day. Reg. continues its march at 8 a. m., down into Maryland. At Surgeon's call a number of sick men are sent back to Washington. The writer, and others of the sick, who can go ahead, are allowed to march as they please, and where they please ; only required, if possible, to keep with the brigade. Our Brigade bivouacs at 6 p. m. on the south side of a large hill, four thousand men on a few acres, and very much crowded together. Distance to-day fifteen miles. We are one mile from Piscataway. The roads are magnificent, the coun- try rich, with pigs, chickens, and other small ' fruits ' in plenty. Dec. 3. Wed. Pleasant, cool. Reg. marches at 10 a. m. and passes Piscataway. Wo pass Ft. Washington (or Foote) and the men strain their eyes to catch a glimpse of Mount Vernon, said to be in view. Tlie men are heavily loaded with guns, knapsacks, blankets, rations, cooking utensils, shelter tents, and a multitude of things which more ex- perienced soldiers never carry — a heavy marching order indeed. Off they go, however, this morning, half the Thirteenth and as many more men from the 12th Rhode Island, in a wild chase after a large lot of pigs, lambs, hens, turkeys, etc., and they do not come empty away. We have a rush to-day with the 1 2th R. I. and 89th N. Y. Regts. They were in rear of the 13th yesterday, 'and pressed us hard, calling us the " New Harapshiie babies," and other petty names. To-day we get in their rear, and march straight through the most of them, pushing them as hard as we can, and taking advantage of all their short halts to rush on past them, and leave them straggling all along the roadside. Distance to-day called twenty miles. We encamp to-night about 6 p. m. in an oak grove, six miles northerly of Port Tobacco. Several men have an excellent din- ner at a farmhouse for six cents each. The host remarking, when they paid their scot: " 'Boutther cost on 't, er'ekn." Dec. 4. Thurs. Very fine day. Reg. marches about 9.30 a. m. Our camp last night was a pell-mell huddle, as usual. Plenty of wood, and rail fences feed a thousand fires. An army encamped at night is a fine spectacle. The 13th were close on the roadside, and until very late at night stra-jolers kept coming in ; and when any one inquired for the camp of the 12th R. I. or of the 89th N. Y. they were invariably directed wronT; — a toiu-h of soldier's fun. Many of the men this morn- ing practice wJth their rifles on the numerous gray squirrels in the gi-ove. A man of Co. E brings down two from the top of one of the tallest ti-ees. To-day we march about twelve miles, and encamp at 5 p. m. at a place 1862 MARCH TO FREDERICKSBURG. 29 called Cedar Hill on Robert Ferguson's farm ; but on abominable ground, low, wet and muddy, six miles west' of Port Tobacco, which tumble-down place we passed about noon. The citizens are not all friendly, if any are. The writer and Lieut. Carter went a little out of the way, to-day, at Port Tobacco, to see the town, and interview a few of the natives whom we saw lounging about. They were so uncomfort- able and surly, however, we left them to their meditations. About midforenoon, the writer, Lieut. Carter, and several men struck across a field to avoid marching around a bend in the road, and as we came out near a house by the roadside, and ahead of the Brigade — a house that we had no notion of approaching, excepting as the path we followed led close by it — two bullets whistled past our heads, and struck the house with a loud noise. Turning quickly we saw, on a hill, some five or six hundred yards dis'.ant, three men with guns, and with them two or three women. The house was closed, and the fool- ish inmates had retreated to the field. We passed on without receiving any more of their cowardly compliments, while a squad of cavalry was seen taking them in hand. Dec. 5. Fri. Morning cold and cloudy. Reg. marches at 8 a. m. Shelter tents have been scarcely unrolled during the very pleasant weather we have had since we left Camp Casey. The boys have in- dulged in any amount of fun ; and many a camp song, and especially My Maryland, afterwards had this refrain : " how the pigs and chickens suffered ; When we marched — down — thar ! " Tobacco too, tons of it, hanging in the barns to dry, is made use of lib- erally, " for fear it may spoil." Little or no wanton mischief has been done. The soldiers care for little besides something nice and fresh to eat, and they obtain at farmhouses a great many things by purchase. But there is one black sheep, at least, in every flock. To-day, however, ends all the enjoyment to be had in our march through Maryland. Half the route has been through forests of pine and oak ; and " Maryland, my Maryland," has been sung a thousand times, making the woods ring, and ring again. Five or ten thousand soldiers singing together yield a tremendous volume of sound. The whole body on this march numbers about fifteen thousand men. At 11 a. m. a severe storm of rain sets in, and under tlie tramp of the soldiers' feet, the clayey roads soon become a succession of hillocks and quagmires. A number of men are badly ruptured by slipping on the wet ground. At 2 p. m. the Reg. is halted, in a grove, about two miles from Liverpool Point, " Blue Bank," and preparations are made for the night. Soon after the Reg. is halted, the rain turns to snow. The slielter tents afford but little protection against the driving storm. All the neighboring barns, stables, houses, etc., are turned into temporary barracks. Albion J. Jenness, Company E, 13th, writes home, grimly, of to-day ; 30 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862 " We went into the woods to camp, on the afternoon of Dec. 5th, and built large fires ; beside which we soon got dry — as it began to snow instead of rain." Another writes : " The rain commenced in the morning of Friday, rained untU 2 p. m., then turned to snow, and near morning of Saturday cleared very cold." The writer, and about a dozen other half-sick men, not daring to sleep in tents, after the Reg. encamps push on through the snow a mile or two, and hire lodgings at the house of Mr. Childs, near the bank of the Potomac, and enjoy an excellent supper, night's rest, and breakfast in the huge kitchen, where a great, roaring fire is kept burning aU night on the ample hearth. There had been trouble here during the day, Dec. 5th, between Mr. Childs's family and some soldiers of a New Jersey Regiment — they of the white leggings, they said - — and we mount guard over the family and premises all night. The most the guard has to do, however, is to keep the fire burning, for which purpose one man of the party is awake, a fire guard, gun in hand, and with a bayonet for poker. The night is very cold. The trouble of the day came of a dispute be- tween the " bummers " from the N. J. Regt. and Miss Cliilds. As near as we could learn, they attempted to burglarize the house, or something of the sort, when Miss Childs, a spare, tall, lithe, spirited lady of per- haps eighteen summers, seized a shot gun and fired upon them. They caught her and took away the gun. There was a fierce struggle, in which nearly aU her clothing was torn off, leaving scarcely anything upon her but her dress waist, stockings and slippers. She broke away, and in this light running costume, ran through the snow, rain and freez- ing air half a mile to a neighbor's house ; some of the bummers following and trying to catch her, but they could as easily have run down a deer. She escaped with no further harm than a few slight scratches and bruises. This occurred but a few hours before we reached the house. The bum- mers, smarting with the well deserved dose of small shot from the young lady's gun, had threatened to return, and Mr. Childs, when we arrived, was preparing to set out for Hdqrs. to procure a guard. We could serve as well, having ten guns, and ammunition for them, and he accepted our offer to protect the house. On the morning of Dec. 6th, we are let off scot free, with the blessing of Mr. and Miss Childs. She is remarkably pretty, and beauty lends a special grace to any young lady's blessino-. The cook was set at work early, and each man of our party, on leaving the house to rejoin the Reg., now waiting down on the river bank to cross, is presented by Miss Childs with n fine large " hoe cake,'' cooked in Virginia's best style, with : " Here, please take these, and maj^ God bless you." The family were not Secessionists. At one house where we applied for lodgings, we saw a few young slaves, two of them girls twelve or fifteen years old, sweeping snow off the piazza and steps. They had on scarcely clothing enough to cover their nakedness, and were barefooted. We remonstrated with the man of the house in reference to such treatment. He said : " It did n't hurt 'um 1862 MARCH TO FREDERICKSBURG. 31 • any, they had n't got theii' winter clo'se yit, he wur n't treaten 'um hard ; and besides, he loved them as well as he did his own children." They were light mulattoes — and we told him we beUeved all he said, and passed on. " Hosp. Steward Prescott, Charles W. Green of B, Heniy Howard of E, Manson S. Brown of C, and Robert Rand of K, also went to a farm- house about dark and procured lodgings. The farmer had six very fat hogs, in a pen a little distance from the house, besides otlier stealable pi'oj)erty near by, and wanted a guard. The party were received by the farmer, who dragged in feather beds and spread them upon the floor of his best room, and built a large iire, for his lodgers. They wanted him to drive his hogs up nearer to the house, but he said they were too fat to drive, and they were left it. the pen where they were. The lodgers were to stand guard for two hours each, during tlie night, upon the piazza of the house, having the pen in view. All went well until Green came on at the third watch. He stood for a while, when utterly overcome by weari- ness he laid aside his gun, came in, threw himself upon the feather bed, and soon was sound asleep. Very early in the morning the whole party were roused by a furious storm of profanity in an adjoining room. It was from the farmer. While the guard slept the wearers of the white leggings had rapped every hog on the head, and can-ied them all off ; not a squeal or a bristle left." Prescott. Dec. 6. Sat. Very cold. Six inches of snow on a level. Army shoes are poor things excepting upon dry ground. The snow partly dis- appears in a plenty of mud made by yesterday's rain. The ground being but little frozen, the slushy mixture is knee deep, and scolded about enough, as it fiUs up, or pulls off, the men's shoes. The Reg. marches at 10 a. m., plunging through the snow and mud, and reaches the Poto- mac, at Liverpool Point, at 11.30 a. m., after a march of about two miles. Here we have to stand in the slush, exposed to a strong down-river wind, the cold increasing all the while, until near sunset, nearly seven hours, waiting for transportation. Only one regiment can cross at a time, and we are the fourth one in our Brigade to go on board. We go on board the steamer about 6 p. m. Here on the boat we are packed and crammed for over two honrs ; some are almost roasted, and others, exposed to the sharp north wind, are nearly frozen, while crossing the river, a distance of about five miles. The wind grows very severe, and the temperature falls below zero. We debark at Aquia Creek at 8.30 p. m., stand about on the wharf a while, with no protection from either wind or cold, then mai'ch about two miles inland, and bivouac at 10 p. m. just below the railroad on a rough hUlside falling to a ravine, among some fallen timber, and in six inches of snow. A part of the Beg. crowd into some old rebel barracks with the roofs off. The Reg. is not fairly settled before mid- night. It is a clear, starry, moonlit night, and exceeding cold. The field and staff officers of the Reg. have neither tents nor blankets, mess- chest nor eatables ; all these having been left across the Potomac to follow 32 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862 in the next steamer, which is late, and cannot land on account of the ice. Some of the field and line officers " bunk down " with the men, who have shelter tents, while others tramp, thrash their hands, whistle and scold around the fires all night long. This is the toughest bivouac the Thirteenth ever experiences in all its history. Just as the 13th approaches the wharf to cross the river, a black boy, about 20 years old, appears and wants to cross to Vii'ginia, and so escape from slavery. He is provided with a suit of Uncle Sam's army uniform, and a gun, by the men of Co. E, dons these honors in a moment, enters the ranks, and passes to freedom unchallenged. He is at once employed as a servant by Capt. Julian ; and a more honest, faithful, true and desir- able servant, no man ever had, than this same Charley Bush. He remained with the Regiment, in Captain Julian's employ for about a year, and then enlisted as a Sei'geant of (colored) cavalry. On many occasions he held their watches and large sums of their money, when the officers of the Reg. went on picket or reconnaissance. He learned to read and write very soon after joining his fortunes with the Thirteenth, with the members of which he was a universal favorite. A squad of four men — Hosp. Steward R. B. Prescott, Privates Chas. W. Green of B, Henry C. Howard of E, and Robert Rand of K — are left behind on tlie Maryland shore, to guard the regimental baggage, and suffer extremely from the cold. There are but three matches in tlie pos- session of the party. Two of these are lighted only to be blown out by the wind ; if the third fails the party will freeze. By using the utmost care they succeed in kindling a small fire, which they keep burning, as tihere is no wood on the bare plain, only by means of leaves and twigs found by scraping away the snow. Over this wretched little fire they huddle together all night, in the vain endeavor to keep warm. 'T is next to impossible to sleep, even if it be Jiot suicide to allow sleeping at all. And so they brave the night out ; while the water in the canteens at their sides freezes to solid ice. The intense cold causes them to crowd so close to the fire that tiie clothing and blankets of all are burned and Pres- cott's boots ai'e ruined. Dec. 7. Sun. Very cold, clear. Fires roast one side of us wlule the other side fieezes. We present a sorry spectacle this morning. Blan- kets that we slept on last night are frozen fast to the snow, and many of them are torn while being detached from it. We remain here all day, fix up tents, build fires, munch our half frozen food, and suffer generally. Many of the men are frost-bitten, many are utterly used up. The Poto- mac is frozen over so far out, that steamers cannot land until the ice is broken. To test its strength, an old horse is driven out, and walks a long distance on the ice before he goes down. An experiment very in- teresting to the horse ! The snow scarcely melts any. Some of the Reg. are encamped among fallen timber, some in the woods, and some in log huts used by the Confederates last winter. One man of the 13th writes home : " Mail came this morning. Twenty (20) of us slept last night in 1862 MARCH TO FREDERICKSBURG. 33 an old rebel barrack with the roof taken off, a box about twenty feet square. We had a fire in the middle of the room, and also one at each end. They say we have burned up twenty-five mUes of rail fence since we left Washington." Quarter-master Cheney was left at Camp Casey, in charge of 283 men, from all the regiments in our Brigade, who were unable to march because of illness. Surgeon Twitchell was also left at Camp Casey in care of the sick in Hospital. Lieut. W. H. H. Young was left there sick ; but on Dec. 5th he was put in command of these 283 men. All were placed on board a steam-tug, and a scow in tow, at Alexandria, and they join the Reg. to-day at Aquia Creek. The care of this large number of half sick men, when sick himself, so prostrated Lieut. Young that he was unfit for duty for several weeks. The Confederates evacuated Aquia Creek about three weeks ago, de- stroying everything which they could not take with them. Lieut. Col. Bowers, in the absence of his mess-chest, revives his ex- periences in the Mexican war — though he cannot bring those torrid days into this polar atmosphere — by planting himself in front of a fire, and, like a warrior of old, roasting a piece of meat on the point of his sword. Deo. 8. Mon. Very cold a. m.. noon warmer. Huge fires are roar- ing on every hand, and their smoke -fills the land. We thaw out suffi- ciently to eat a poor breakfast. Civilians can have no idea how inexpres- sibly good to the soldier hot coffee is, on such a morning. Coffee made very strong, sweetened a little with pale brown ' army ' sugar, well stirred in with an icicle, which settles it, is a drink fit for the gods and top roy- alty. The Reg. receives calls from members of the 6th, 9th, lltli, and 12th N. H. encamped near by. To-night we have another cold bivouac, though less severe than on the 6th and 7th, and the men have learned to make better use of their shelter tents. The writer and two other men have enjoyed a chateau, made on a sharp hillside by throwing a shelter tent and a few armfuls of pine brush over a fallen pine tree resting se- curely on a stump, raising it three or four feet from the ground. This tree serves for eight or ten men, who are tucked under it from one end to the other. All sorts of curious and ingenious " coops " are found on every hand ; anything is welcome that protects us from the arctic weather. The field and staff officers' baggage, tents, blankets, mess-chest, eat- ables, etc., have waited tx'ansportation across the river for nearly two days. Up to this time these officers have had only such blankets and other cover as they could borrow, and have spent two nights in such poor, improvised coops as they could make or get made for them. All these severities, however, have scenes of relief. Among these are overcoated men in war traps and costumes crouched down and watching the hundreds of little pint and quart tin pots of coffee boiling around the camp fires ; each pot with a green stick laid across it, to prevent its boil- ing over, the steam curling white and gracefully up alongside the darker smoke of the fires, and the delicious coffee aroma speeding abroad on every side over camp and snow. 34 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862 'Then, too there is Pictare No. 20, in this Aquia Creek gallery: A number of cold, hungry and thirsty officers of the 13th gather around a mess-chest, arrived not long since from across the river — open, bur- glarized, empty. Attitudes, gestures, remarks, plans for detecting the fellows.' Pi(;tuie No. 21. ' A cosy nook deep under the river bank among dense trees, half a mile from camp. A fire. Three or four pri- vate soldiers taking a very private lunch, and something stimulating. At- titudes, gestures, remarks (t' other kind), plans to avoid detection.' (After nearly twenty-five years, these two pictures are described to the writer by a man who helped enjoy the lunch under the river bank.) Dec. 9. Tues. Warmer. Snow disappearing. Reg. inarches from Aquia Creek, with a large body of troops, at 2 p. ni., and after a tramp of six miles or so, straight away for Falmouth, Stafford Heights, across fields and through brush,