History of the Twelfth West Virginia Volunteer Infantry / The Part It Took in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865

by active 19th century William Hewitt

(573) The Sixth Corps, having broken the lines in its front, the Rebels soon thereafter evacuated their works in our front. Our brigade then moved to the right toward Petersburg, arriving near the city a little after noon. By this time all the enemy's works southwest of the city had fallen into our hands, except three forts near it, and several thousand prisoners besides. Our brigade participated with great credit that afternoon in the capture of Fort Gregg, and the Twelfth made for itself a proud record. An incident of a little while previous to the capture is remembered. After our brigade had got within a half mile of the fort, marching along we passed near a few soldiers not on duty. They seemed to regard us seriously, as being new troops to them and the Army of the Potomac. One of them looked at us rather dubiously and said in substance: "I wonder if those fellows will stand up to it," implying that they thought there was fighting before us. We, however, had little idea of the serious work just at hand. If those soldiers watched the part we took in the capture of Fort Gregg, they doubtless had their minds disabused of any doubts as to whether we would stand up to it, at least as well as the average soldiers.

(574) Our brigade was marched up and halted in line on high ground facing toward Fort Gregg to the north. All was quiet as yet, there being no firing. When we reached this ground we could see some of our troops, a part of the First Division of our corps, a little to the right of a direct line from us to the fort, and pretty close up to it. They were in a wavering condition, having failed to enter the fort. A little later an aid rode up to Col. Curtis, evidently giving an order. The colonel looked a little pale, but unflinching, and almost before we had time to think, and without any announcement of what we had to do, the order of "Attention, Second Brigade, shoulder arms; right shoulder shift, arms; forward double quick march," was given. The boys seemed to know by a common understanding what was wanted, and, giving a yell, a sort of "Rebel yell," they started on the charge, running like mad their very best, seeming to realize that the sooner they got to the fort, the fewer of them would get killed.

(575) The fort was in plain view from the point from which we charged, and as the ground over which we charged was mainly clean and open, and the lay of the land was such that the fort was not lost sight of at any time during the charge. The distance to be charged over was perhaps 500 yards down a slope and up a slope. In the hollow or foot of the slopes, something less than half way to the fort, there was some low swamp brush. When this was reached the enemy opened on our men, apparently with grape or canister. The balls could be heard striking in the mud and clashing through the brush, but, as seemed surprising, few if any were hit just at that place. The men rushed rapidly on their ranks, necessarily much broken by their passing through the low swamp brush, their different capabilities as runners, and their all rushing toward the one point, the fort. And they never stopped or scarcely so, until the bulk of them were in the deep ditch surrounding the fort. All the time after our men had come within close range, the enemy poured into them a hot musketry fire; but they escaped being hit remarkably, owing to the rapidity of our men's movements, and the Rebels' overshooting, aided materially evidently by the troops of the First Division's drawing the Rebels fire, and by their return fire, compelling the Rebels to a considerable extent to keep under cover.

(576) When the order to charge was given Private J. W. Caldwell of Company D took off his hat and, swinging it over his head, shouted: "That's our fort, that's our fort;" but the gallant boy, falling dead upon the field, failed to witness its capture. Gen. Turner, commanding the division, after the brigade had got part of the way to the fort, and was under heavy fire, believing that the brigade was insufficient to take the fort, sent an order to Col. Curtis to halt his men and await reinforcements, but the men rushed on. Col. G. B. Caldwell, who was adjutant of the Twelfth till the winter of 1864-5, in his eulogium upon Col. Curtis at the reunion of the Society of the Army of West Virginia in 1891, says in regard to the order to Col. Curtis to halt his brigade: "But American soldiers are men of intelligence. With one mind they thought they were more certain to be shot down if they turned their backs than if they went on. They rushed forward." So far as this statement implies that the men heard that order, it appears to be a mistake. It is believed that few if any of the rank and file heard the order. It would have taken a dozen or more men of the greyhound type to have carried that order to the men after they got on the go for that fort.

(577) When within 50 yards of the fort Sergt. Emanuel M. Adams of Company D, color-bearer, fell wounded. The colors were picked up and bravely carried forward by Private Joseph R. Logsden of Company C, as the brigade charged on over the dead and wounded of the First Division. After our men had got into the ditch surrounding the fort, they remained there perhaps twenty minutes before they made an entrance. In the meantime the Rebels were throwing dirt, stones and various kinds of missiles upon them. At length as a movement toward entering the fort, the gallant Logsden undertook to plant the flag of the Twelfth upon the parapet, and was killed, falling back into the ditch. The colors were then seized by Lieut. Joseph Caldwell of Company A, who leaped upon the parapet, and in attempting to plant the colors there was killed, falling also into the ditch. The flag fell inside of the fort. Then the brave boys of the Twelfth rushed to the parapet to recover their flag. They were joined by comrades of the rest of the brigade. Pouring a volley into the Rebels, the boys of the Twelfth leaped into the fort and planted their flag on the parapet—the first colors on the Rebel works. The fort and its brave defenders were soon ours, all the troops present joining in their capture. But the reduction of the fort was at fearful cost to the Union troops, the loss being in killed and wounded 715, as will be seen in Col. Caldwell's address at Huntington, herein given.

(578) After events seem to show conclusively that this great sacrifice was unnecessary, for the fort would have been evacuated the following night without it. But it was here that the Twelfth won its eagle, and Col. Curtis his star, and Capt. Bristor won promotion for his gallant conduct. It was here, too, that Lieut. J. M. Curtis won a medal of honor, and Andrew O. Apple of Company I and Joseph McCauslin of Company D also won their medals of honor. And to add to the grace and beauty of the distinction, those medals were pinned upon the lapels of the boys' coats by the fair hands of the daughter of Gen. John Gibbon, our corps commander. There are very respectable members of Private George H. Bird's Company (I), it should be added, who believed that he should have had a medal of honor, as he was among the first few who climbed upon the parapet of the fort.

(579) The next morning, the 3rd, after the capture of Fort Gregg, it was found that the enemy had evacuated Richmond and Petersburg, and nearly all the troops before these cities, including our division, started immediately in pursuit. And not to prolong the history too much, it will simply be said that we followed the Rebels for several days, there being more or less fighting and captures of prisoners by some part of Grant's forces every day. However, a material matter somewhat closely connected with the history of the Twelfth regarding this particular time, should not be omitted. On the 6th, the Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania and another regiment of infantry, with a squadron of cavalry were sent out in the direction of Farmville under command of Brig. Gen. Theodore Read to burn a bridge near there in advance of the retreating Rebels. But they were surrounded by a large force of the enemy, many killed and wounded, including Gen. Read killed, and the rest all captured. The Eighth, two divisions of our corps, the First Division and the Independent, marched all day and until 11 o'clock at night, making in that time, it was said at the time, a distance of 35 miles. We did not then precisely know the object of this forced march. We did not know but that we were following the Rebels, but we found afterward that we were being pushed to cut off their retreat.

(580) An incident concerning a private of Company I, Alexander B. Allison, is perhaps well worth telling here. The boys of the Twelfth, like those of other regiments perhaps, were much given to discussing the probable outcome of any military undertaking. On this forced march the boys struck up a discussion as to the probability of overtaking Lee's army, the likelihood of a battle, and the probable result of it. Finally some of the boys said that they had seen enough of the Johnnys and that they wished that they, the Johnnys, would go on until they should run into the Gulf of Mexico. Fighting the Johnnys was no longer a picnic. The time had passed when the boys were "spoiling for a fight," and as the average man is generally willing to postpone a possibly fatal ordeal, so the most of the boys were doubtless willing to delay an engagement with the enemy. Private Allison, however, then about 19 years of age, spoke up showing the grit to perform a disagreeable duty immediately, saying: "Boys, if I have to fight the Rebels at all I am willing to do it right now. I do not desire to follow them for a week or two, and then have to fight them at last."

(581) We camped this night in a piece of woods to the side of the road not far, as we learned afterward, from the Southside railroad. It happened that the cavalry a short time before had captured a train of cars containing subsistence for Lee's army, and the train was lying not far from our camp. One of the boys of Company I somehow found out that the train was there, and he got by some sort of management a large piece of bacon, as much as he could well carry, and brought it to camp, dividing it among a number of the company. This was a welcome supplement to the rations.

(582) Before daylight on the morning of the ever memorable 9th of April, a day that will stand out as conspicuously in our history as that of the surrender at Yorktown, if not more so, we started to cut off and surround the Rebels in their retreat, to engage and vanquish them in their Last Ditch, and give a finishing stroke to the Lost Cause; and thus to give to the loyal people of the Nation the fruition of their indomitable struggles, through hope through darkness and doubt, for four long and bloody years; to illuminate the land with joy, and to fill it with a great gladness such as it had not known for generations.