CHAPTER XI

 

FALMOUTH • VISIT OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN• CROSSING THE RAPPAHANNOCK • GRAVE OF MARY WASHINGTON • LOVE BUBBLE • CEMETERY • MARCH TO GRAY'S LANDING • EMBARKATION FOR THE PENINSULA • VOYAGE TO WHITE HOUSE • MARCH TO DISPATCH STATION

 

THE town of Falmouth is situated on the east bank of the Rap­pahannock, below the Falls, and nearly opposite Fredericksburg, with which it was connected by two bridges, one at the upper and one at the lower end of the town, the latter being used by the Aquia Creek Railroad, but both of which were burned by the enemy, with several steamboats and a number of sailing crafts upon our approach. A church in which several denominations formerly worshipped, a cotton factory, and several store houses constituted the brick portion of the town, and about eighty houses, mostly in a dilapidated condition, constituted the frame portion of it. Deep water gullies were worn in the streets, and the whole place presented the appearance of decay. What few articles the inhabitants offered for sale com­manded enormous prices, but soon the town was filled with our sutlers, storekeepers and photographers, who gave new life to it.

On the 1st of May, Private E. M. Woodward, Company H, was appointed Sergeant-Major of the regiment, vice A. T. Cross, promoted Adjutant. On the 3d, Easton's, Cooper's and Kern's batteries arrived. On the 4th, the Third Brigade, General Ord, arrived, and on the 11th, Company A, Captain Neide, came in with the Fifth Reserve, Colonel Simmons, from Bristoe Station, where they lost William Holmes, the first one of the regiment that died. On the same afternoon, the enemy drove in our outposts of the Second New York Cavalry, under Major Duffie, on the Bowling Green Road, back of Fredericksburg, but coming upon the reserve, they were handsomely repulsed, with the loss of the Lieutenant and ten men prisoners, one killed and several wounded; our loss being but one horse. The en­

 

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emy in our front were under the command of General Anderson, and numbered about fifteen thousand men. On the 12th, there was great rejoicing in camp upon the reception of the news of the evacuation of Yorktown, and the destruction of the Merrimac by the enemy, in honor of which a salute was fired of forty-four guns. About the same time, William Goucher, of Easton, Pennsylvania, was appointed sutler of the regiment, and soon after arrived with a good supply of stores. Lieutenant Robinson, with his recruiting party, also arrived from Philadelphia with a number of recruits.

At Falmouth a large bakery was established by Captain James B. Clow, division commissary, which was capable to turning out twenty-one thousand six hundred loaves of bread per day. The Re­serves picketed as far as eight miles up the river, and in a circle around Falmouth, about two miles from camp. Several of the Eighth Regiment were killed while on duty at the mines.

Near the upper end of the town resided Mr. J. B. Fickner, a noted secessionist and a gentleman of great wealth, who owned large tracts of land on both sides of the river, the upper bridge and a factory. While we were on cattle guard at his farm, he frequently vis­ited and conversed with us. He deeply lamented the war, not on account of the destruction of the Government, but of his property, but he consoled himself with the belief that the Government would have to pay for the damage done by the rebels. To this we fully agreed, and suggested to him the propriety of applying for a pension for his son, who was wounded while in the Confederate service. The old gentlemen looked somewhat confused at this, he not being aware that we were acquainted with his own and his son's antecedents.

While we lay here, Dr. Edward Donnelly, of Philadelphia, Sur­geon Fifth Reserve, was transferred to our regiment, vice Dr. Tho­mas B. Reed, promoted Brigade Surgeon.

On the 21st, at nine o'clock in the morning, we formed and marched about two miles to a large open field, where our brigade was reviewed and inspected by General Van Rensallaer, Inspector­ General of our corps. At the review, the bands of the five regiments numbering some eighty instruments were joined, producing the most soul inspiring music. It was three o'clock in the afternoon before the inspection was got through with.

On the afternoon of the 23d, His Excellency the President of the United States, accompanied by the Honorable Secretary of War, and other members of the Cabinet, Major-General McDowell, staff and cavalry escort, reviewed the first corps about three miles from camp. As the President rode down the line on a fine spirited horse, the troops presented arms, the standards and colors drooped, offic-

 

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ers saluted, drums beat, trumpets sounded, and a salute of twenty-one guns fired. Long and loud cheers for the honored chief broke forth from the men, as he passed along the line.

As early as the 17th, General McDowell had been instructed to move upon Richmond by the general route of the Richmond and Fre­dericksburg Railroad, as soon as joined by General Shield's division, which came in after long and fatiguing marches on the 22nd, and it was decided upon at a consultation between the President and the Generals that the movement should commence on the morning of the 26th. But on account of the advance of the enemy under "Stone­wall" Jackson down the valley of the Shenandoah, rendering the position of General Banks' force critical, General Shield's, King's and Ord's divisions and four companies of the "Bucktails" under Lieutenant-Colonel Kane were on the 25th dispatched to his relief.

Although this unforeseen circumstance prevented the contemplated advance of McDowell, on the 26th, at eleven o'clock, A.M., we broke camp and marched toward Falmouth, halting at the aban­doned camp of the Twenty-Second New York, where we put up our tents, but had hardly got through with our work, when we were ordered to again move. Striking tents, we marched to the river and crossed over on a trestle bridge, and entered Fredericksburg. The day was drizzly and the streets muddy, but with our unfurled ban­ners and martial music we marched merrily through the city. The houses of the rich were mostly closed; a few old folks and young children gazed out of the windows at us, and at the corners the Negroes were collected in knots and appeared in a very happy mood. Passing through the city, we moved out William Street about a half mile beyond the cemetery on the heights back of the city where we bivouacked in some scrub-oak brush to the right of the plank road, strict orders being given to avoid injuring the growing crops of the neighboring fields. Considerable rain fell during the night, and the next morning we moved to the left of the road, and encamped on a gently sloping hill commanding a fine view of the city.

Fredericksburg is an ancient city, situated on the western bank of the Rappahannock, and is principally noted for the refinement of its inhabitants, their aristocratic characteristics and the beauty of its women. Prior to the war it contained about five thousand inhabitants, and its exports amounted to some million of dollars yearly.

The first account we have of this locality is that given by Captain John Smith who ascended the river in 1608, and fought the Indians on the present site of the town.

It was here that Mary, the mother of Washington, resided for many years prior to her death, which occurred on the 25th of Au-­

 

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gust, 1789. Her grave is near the outskirts of the town upon the edge of a pretty bluff near the cemetery. Some years ago an attempt was made to erect a suitable monument to the memory of this good and estimable lady, and the corner stone was laid by President Jackson, but for want of public spirit the project fell through. Some years afterwards, a merchant from New York, who was doing business there at the time, fell desperately in love with one of the Lewis branch of the family and her money, and to advance his suit determined to complete the monument, but before it was finished his firm collapsed and his bright visions of love and gold vanished like a soap bubble. In the cemetery nearby are several pretty monuments, and among them that of Hugh Mercer, M. D., a son of General Hugh Mercer, who fell so gloriously at Princeton. The General, prior to the Revolution, practiced medicine here. There also, in newly made graves, rested in quiet repose some three hundred Confederate soldiers, victims of the mad ambition of their reckless leaders. Though mostly strangers from the far South, the hand of sympathy had decked their graves with flowers, and already the "Love-entangled" and "Forget­me-not," had taken root in the new earth.

Soon after General McDowell arrived, work was commenced on the Aquia Creek and Fredericksburg Railroad, which was soon put in running order. The railroad bridge was also rebuilt across the river, a bridge of canal boats completed below it, a trestle one above, and a pontoon thrown over opposite Falmouth. Stockades and block houses were built to protect the approaches to these, and artillery commanded them on the eastern bluffs.

On the 9th of May, Mr. Hunnicutt commenced the reissue of his paper The Christian Banner, which he was forced to suspend ex­actly one year before on account of its loyal sentiments. Until the retrograde movement of the enemy, three secession sheets were issued here. The advent of the Northerners soon made a marked difference in the appearance of the town, they opening stores, restaurants, bakeries, etc.; in front of which were displayed numerous American flags. Although the streets were thronged with soldiers, we did not hear of any insult being offered to any of the inhabitants.

On the day of our crossing, General Reynolds was appointed Military Governor, and such was the course of his administration as not only to receive the warm thanks of the Mayor and Council, but when he was taken prisoner at the battle of Gaines Mill, they sent a deputation to Richmond to intercede for his release.

On the 26th, Henry Webb of "F," our detached battery company, was drowned.

 

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On the same day, our advance posts were eight miles from the town and on the 29th, our cavalry advanced twenty miles beyond, skirmishing and driving the enemy. On the 30th, the regiment was paid off by Major Pomeroy, and the same night orders were received to have one day's cooked rations in haversacks. The next morning at eight o'clock the men were ordered to fall in without knapsacks, but at noon orders came to pack up all, and passing through Fredericks­burg, crossed the river to the east side, where our artillery was posted upon the high banks, and we moved about a half mile back to the vacated camp of the Twenty-Second New York.

The cause of this movement was: it being ascertained the enemy under General Anderson had moved toward Richmond, destroying the bridges in his rear, and on account of the weakening of our forces, by sending reinforcements to General Banks, we were unable to follow him, it was determined to place the Rappahannock between us and them, so as to spare reinforcements to McClellan.

About this time our brigade was furnished with white linen leggings and orders issued requiring the men to have two pairs of shoes.* The officers here took lessons in sword exercise from a Mr. O'Rouke, who as the only Irishman we ever met who was base enough to deny his nationality. On the 4th of June, the river became so swollen from the effects of continued rains that fears were entertained for the safety of the bridges, and as a matter of precaution the pontoon was taken up, but in the afternoon the pile or trestle bridge being unable to resist the pressure, gave way, and was swept down the river, where its timbers coming in contact with the railroad bridge, carried it away also, and the wreck of both coming in contact with the canal boats, broke them from their moorings, destroying the bridge that rested upon them, sending them drifting down the river. The gunboats fortunately were enabled to get out of the way, and succeeded in recovering them all. As soon as it was known in the city that our bridges were in danger, the inhabitants of both sexes collected upon the shore, and as each structure gave way they demon­strated their joy by loud cheers and the waving of handkerchiefs.

On Sunday morning, the 8th, orders were received to prepare to march and, after spending the day in cooking rations and making other necessary arrangements, at sunset we struck tents, packed knapsacks and got into line. It was a clear and beautiful moonlit * The object of this order was to decrease the transportation of the Division Quartermaster Department, and as. Captain Hall did not carry a knapsack on the march he doubtless considered it a brilliant idea. Nine-tenths of the shoes were thrown away by the men on the march.

 

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night and, as the brigade bands pealed forth their soul inspiring airs, we marched off, winding our way through the woods and over the hill to the Rappahannock, down which we marched the distance of seven miles, bivouacking at two o'clock that night in Cedar Lane. The next morning after cooking breakfast, we marched to Gray's Landing, one mile distant, where were collected a fleet of steam­boats to receive us. By four o'clock our wagons, baggage and supplies were embarked, and marching aboard we hauled out into the stream. Soon after General Reynolds pushed off in a skiff, and was received with loud cheers, when our bands striking up we steamed down the river, as happy a set of blue coats as ever trod this planet. At sundown we came to anchor off Port Royal, where we remained all night, as we had no pilot. The steamer Canonicus a was a fine large boat, but as she had our regiment and five companies of the First and Eighth aboard, she was rather crowded, and by the time we all got ourselves laid out for the night, there was scarcely a square foot of deck unoccupied.

The next morning at five o'clock, we weighed anchor, and again started on, accompanied by the ferry boat Chancellor Livingston, and about one P .M., came to anchor near the mouth of the river, where the rest of the flotilla soon afterwards arrived. The day had been a stormy one, but as the wind lulled in the course of a few hours, we again got underway, and passing into Chesapeake Bay, headed to the south and at sunset entered the York River, passing by Yorktown and Gloucester City and coming to anchor during the night off West Point at the confluence of the Pamunkey and Mattapony Rivers. Early on the 11th we again got underway and entering the Pamunkey, steamed rapidly up it. The river winds through a low, flat country, and on account of its exceedingly crooked course, it was interesting to watch our flotilla with their bows sometimes pointing in every direction. In fact when a strange steamer was discerned, it was impossible to tell whether she was going up or down the river, and when one was but a half mile from us in a direct line she was many times that distance off by the river. A "dark," who had resided in the neighborhood, it was said, answered that it was so crooked in some places that it was impossible to cross it, as no matter how often one rowed over, he would invariably find himself on the same side. We soon commenced meeting Government transports, mostly steamers and schooners laden with forage for the cavalry and artillery. The farther we ascended the more numerous they became, until they numbered hundreds lining the banks of the river for a long distance and obstructing the navigation. About nine o'clock we arrived at the White House, where we landed and stacked arms, awaiting orders.

 

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White House is situated on the Pamunkey where the Richmond and York River Railroad crosses, and was a position of great impor­tance, being the depot of supplies for the army in front of Richmond. The house itself is an object of interest, being the spot where Washington met and loved Martha Custis in 1758. At the landing there was a forest of masts, and for a half mile the shore was covered with commissary stores and ammunition. There were thousands of tons on the wharf boats, and thousands more awaiting to be landed. There were many commissary, sutler, guard and other tents there and many soldiers, sutlers, Government employees and contrabands, who, with innumerable wagons and orderlies, continually moving to and fro, and the arrival and departure of trains, presented a scene of life and activity. Some distance back from the river was a canvas town, con­sisting of several hundred hospital tents, arranged in regular streets, with board floors and beds in them, and every thing prepared for the wounded of the coming battles.

The boys, having had time to wash themselves and replenish their stock of tobacco, the brigade formed and marched up the rail­road about two miles, passing an establishment "for the embalming the dead," whose proprietors distributed to their anticipated cus­tomers a bountiful supply of handbills. Moving into a field to the left, we bivouacked for the night. Here our baggage was reduced to the lowest possible amount, the officers being required to send to the landing all but a small valise or knapsack, and the companies being allowed their cooking utensils only. Orders were issued to cook three days' rations, we borrowing from the First and Fifth kettles for the purpose.

            At nine o'clock the next morning, we formed and marched off up the railroad which runs nearly due west from here, passing Tunstall's Station. The country through which we moved was mostly low, heavily wooded, and interspersed with numerous swamps. In some places where there were deep cuts, there were large deposits of marine shells and corals that indicated that at one time this por­tion of the Peninsula had been the bed of the sea. The same forma­tion was found in other portions of the Peninsula. The day being excessively warm, many of the men threw away their overcoats and blankets to lighten their loads. About four o'clock, we passed Dis­patch Station and moved to the right of the road and encamped on the edge of a heavy wood near the Chickahominy River, we having marched ten miles. Through the day we heard the slow fire of heavy, guns.

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