General Augur was at the rear and near the Plains Store and witnessed the occurrence: The battery guns went to the rear before the right wing left its position. Col. Stone lost both his horses, captured. At night Co. B went on picket.
The 48th lost two killed, several wounded and prisoners in the fight today.
May 22. Co. B was relieved from picket by Co. F. Calvin A. Farrington of Co. B was missing at roll call, having been taken prisoner. Lieut.-Col. O’Brien and Captain Stanwood were requested to come to Maj.-Gen. Augur’s headquarters, which they did, and were complimented very highly for the part sustained by the right wing in yesterday’s battle; and also some of the officers and men of the left wing who rallied on the colors. The numbers in the right wing were so few that the General supposed at the time that there was but one company. He said the regiment did as well as any but veteran troops would do under the circumstances; that they had by mistake been placed in the wrong position and were very badly posted on either side of the road. He kindly criticised Lieut.-Col. O’Brien and told him that he made a great mistake by trying to make a wheel to the rear in the face of an aggressive enemy, his men being under fire for the first time; none but seasoned troops could do that safely. He said the Lieutenant-Colonel should have ordered the right of his command forward and met the enemy, and taken the aggressive, and he had confidence, from what he witnessed of their steadiness, that the men would have supported him. He then complimented the men for coolness under fire and said no doubt the regiment would feel chagrined at the outcome of their first battle, but no doubt an early opportunity would be given them to retrieve themselves. He also said that if the regiment should be called upon for volunteers for an assaulting party, in a future assault (which he thought would be the case very soon) he directed Captain Stanwood of Co. B and his company not to feel as if called upon, but to remain with the main body of the regiment, that he would not be expected to volunteer in any forlorn hope or assaulting party. His 1st Lieut. (Rollins) detailed to Col. Chapin’s staff. Lieut. Merrill was acting Quartermaster of the regiment for some considerable time.
May 23. Alarm in the night—long roll beaten—regiment turned out under arms, but the alarm proved to be false. 48th ordered far down to the rear of the 1st Battery fight on the Bayou Sara road.
Co. E’s men proved themselves good foragers, bringing in quantities of poultry and pigs.
May 24. Regiment ordered to march to the front with one day’s rations at 6 o’clock A. M. Co. B was detached and sent forward skirmishing into a narrow strip of woods; the mud and water were very deep and almost impenetrable. They advanced, however, with great difficulty through the woods to within about 300 yards of the rebel works and there remained through the day, lying in the edge of the woods, and witnessed the artillery battle between the opposing batteries in our immediate front till nearly dark when they were relieved by the Massachusetts 49th.
May 25. There was a smart fight near night upon our right in Gen. Grover’s Division and some rebs attempted to cut their way out but failed and were taken prisoners. The regiment ordered to sleep on their arms tonight.
May 26. One false alarm during the night. Regiment got into line promptly, but as promptly dismissed. Orders received from headquarters for volunteers for a “Forlorn Hope” to charge in advance of the brigade line, and storm the enemy’s works tomorrow morning.
There were more than the required number came forward from the brigade (the call was for 200 men from the brigade) and ninety-two men were accepted from the 48th Massachusetts. The following are the names of those accepted from the 48th: Lieut.-Col. O’Brien; Co. A, Capt. Woodward, Lieut. Morrison, Privates E. C. Varina, N. F. Peabody, Isaac F. Porter, Henry M. Cross; Co. C, Lieut. Emery; Co. D, Private J. F. Kinsman; Co. E, Privates Geo. Wagner, John Lewis, H. Mansfield, Henry Krone, J. F. Stoddard; Co. F, Lieut. Noyes, Privates Austin Smith, George Bocock, P. Noonan, A. Mullins, John McDougal, J. P. Blanchard, D. C. Morrill, E. J. Oakes; Co. G, Capt. Schoff; Co. H, Capt. Rogers, Lieut. Frawley, Lieut. McGinness, Sergts. Thomas McLaughlin, John W. Leyes, Richard Ward, Corporals Timothy Lehiffe, Robert Leach, James Gildee, Daniel Desmond, Privates Michael Farley, Morrissey A. Hearn, Joseph Burgess, John Boyle, John Bradley, Michael Bates, Patrick Cullins, Patrick Dumey, Wm. Finnigan, James Gilogby, Matthew R. Gleason, John Kelley, James Leach, Dennis Leon, Dennis Noonan, James Walsley, Thomas Scully, Peter McCauley, Patrick Manus, William A. Murphy, Patrick Murray, James O’Connell, Wm. Powers, James Quigley, Patrick Riley, James Spear, Edward Slyne, William Tagget, Hugh Willey; Co. I, Capt. Smith, Lieut. Ricker, Lieut. Bassett; Co. K, Lieut. Harding, Privates Daniel Crowley, Ed. Ryan, J. Gallagher, James Rand, J. Keenan.
May 27. Before the men had had their breakfast orders were received to assault the enemy’s works. Immediately we advanced quietly to the extreme edge of the woods where we laid on our arms till about 2 o’clock in the afternoon, the “Forlorn Hope” under command of Lieut.-Col. O’Brien in the advance. At that hour and before the main line had fairly formed for the assault we received a volley from the enemy’s guns and at the same time the zip of the rebel bullets was getting unpleasantly frequent. General Augur, who stood very near, seeing the men dodge their heads at the disagreeable sound said, “No use boys to dodge them after you hear them,” a fact we soon learned by experience. The “Forlorn Hope” had commenced the charge, O’Brien saying, “Come boys! pick up your bundles and follow me,” and General Augur gave the command, “Forward the Brigade,” and the whole brigade advanced into the “slashings.” The whole forest of large trees and small had been felled and the limbs lopped off and left upon the ground, which was entirely covered with the stumps, logs and brush; and through this almost impenetrable Chevaux de Frise, the men attempted to charge, and over which a perfect storm of shell, canister and rifle bullets flew like hail; no formation could be maintained over such grounds and in a few moments it was every one for himself. The “Forlorn Hope” and the main line became inextricably mixed, and advanced together, charged nearly up to the rebel works, but the fire was so severe that human endurance was not equal to the task set for us, and the men were compelled to drop behind stumps and logs, and take advantage of any shelter to be found, and acted as sharpshooters, hoping that reinforcements might be sent up and continue the assault. The 2d Louisiana from Dudley’s brigade came up the road later, but too late to be of any service, and the assault was abandoned, and the men dropped back individually to their old line as best they could. Col. Chapin, 116th New York, commanding the brigade, Lieut.-Col. O’Brien, 48th Massachusetts, commanding the “Forlorn Hope,” and many others were killed; Capt. Rogers, Co. H, Capt. Smith, Co. I, Lieuts. Morrison, Frawley, Maginnis, Ricker, Bassett and Harding, and many others wounded, and a large number of the rank and file of the regiment were killed or more or less seriously wounded; Lieut. Ricker suffered the amputation of his leg. As we came back from the front, we had our first sight of the dreadful effects of a battle and burial of the dead in one line, about twenty dead bodies lying at the side of the road, and the long trench all ready to receive them. Poor fellows, with no coffin and no shroud but the blue uniform in which they had shed their blood for the flag they loved.