The most severe loss was sustained by Company D,[16] which lost seven killed and nine wounded,—a total of sixteen. The loss in the brigade in killed, wounded, and missing was four hundred and fifty-one; in the division one thousand one hundred and ninety-three.
[16] In this action Captain Buffum acted as Major, and his Company [D] was commanded by Sergeant Brooks until he was killed. The company was then under command of Sergeant Liberty W. Foskett, until the arrival of First Sergeant John A. Stearns, from recruiting service, May 15th. Sergeant Foskett was wounded at Petersburg, June 17th, 1864.
During the entire night of the 12th the men were hard at work felling trees and erecting breastworks, and by daylight we had a strong defensive line. The 13th passed without special incident. The skirmish-firing was sharp and unremitting, and one man, Private William H. Doyle, Company B, was badly wounded. A feeling of dread uncertainty pervaded the troops. An assault upon the enemy's works was ordered, but before any movement could be made the order was countermanded. At times the rain fell in torrents, and our position was very uncomfortable.
On the 14th the men belonging to the Twenty-ninth Massachusetts, whose term of service expired that day, were sent to the rear to be transported to Washington for muster-out. They were followed, on the 16th, by the remainder of that regiment, seventy-six in number, whose terms of service expired at various dates between the 14th and 21st of May. Immediately after the action of the 12th the attention of General Burnside was called to the circumstances of the case, and he at once ordered that the survivors should now have their discharge, and caused them to be sent to Washington. The departure of these comrades caused a material reduction of our effective strength; but we rejoiced in their good fortune, and bade them God-speed homeward. We regarded them as brothers, and parted from them with deep regret. They were transferred to our regiment on the 30th of January, 1864, while in Tennessee, under circumstances of peculiar hardship, owing to what has always been considered a too literal interpretation of a general order. For more than three months they had been identified with our command in all the hardships and privations of the spring of 1864. They evinced the spirit of true Massachusetts soldiers, and nobly performed their duty to the last hour of their service. Their courage and devotion at Spottsylvania are worthy of the highest praise. Eight of these men, Sergeants Mosher and Hamer, Privates Mansfield, Alexander, Fisher, Ward, Morton, and Murphy, having but a few, some of them only two, days longer to serve to complete the honorable record of three years' service, went into that battle and sealed their devotion by pouring out their blood and dying in defence of the nation's honor. To us it seemed hard, indeed, that these men could not have been sent to the rear on the morning of that day, or assigned to some duty whereby that sacrifice need not have been extorted. But, like good soldiers, they went forward as ever under the folds of the flag that before nightfall was to be crimsoned with their blood. All honor to the noble band, also, twelve in number, who were wounded on that day; and all honor to the gallant regiment in which they were trained to such performance of duty!
The storm continued throughout the 14th. In the night the enemy drove in our pickets three times, and the men were under arms, hoping that the enemy would attack the main line. This, however, they declined to do. Sunday, the 15th, was stormy and dismal. The long rain rendered our position very trying and uncomfortable. We had but little shelter, and the exposure to the constant bad weather, the scarcity of food, the want of sleep, and the mental strain, now began to have perceptible effect. Many cases of sickness were reported, and Assistant-Surgeon Bryant, the only medical officer with the regiment, afforded what relief the limited means at hand would permit. The supply of ammunition was replenished, and the lines were thoroughly inspected by General Potter, who ordered a traverse built in rear of our regiment. Although the weather was dark and gloomy, and there were many discouraging circumstances, the day was rendered comparatively happy by the arrival of Captain Smith, First Lieutenant Brigham, and nine non-commissioned officers, who had been absent since February on recruiting service in Massachusetts. They received a soldier's welcome, and proved to be a timely and valuable reinforcement.
On the 16th Captain Buffum, in charge of the skirmish line, advanced the pickets, and strengthened and improved the front line. This was not agreeable to the enemy, who made several ineffectual attempts to force us back. A strong demonstration was made on our part, and the firing was severe. The enemy was found to be in full force, and no attack was made. Cannonading and skirmishing continued through the 17th, and the position of some of the corps was changed. The Fifth and Sixth Corps moved to the left, leaving only Birney's division of the Second Corps on the right of the Ninth. Corporal Marcus Keep, of Co. E, was mortally wounded. During the night it became evident that a new movement was on foot. Troops were in line of battle in our rear, and we were ordered to be in readiness to move in any direction at a moment's notice. At four o'clock, on the morning of the 18th, the artillery opened along the entire line, under cover of which a portion of the Second Corps, with the Second Brigade of our division, made a vigorous attack upon the enemy's line. The enemy had slashed timber along his front, and the abatis was almost impenetrable, and by eleven o'clock, after three attempts to storm the works, the effort was abandoned, although considerable ground was gained, and a good position secured. The enemy's artillery fire was very severe, and directed especially against our division; but the loss in our brigade was very slight. Toward evening the attacking column was withdrawn, and the Second Brigade was massed in our rear.
The newly commissioned chaplain, Rev. Nathaniel Richardson, reported on the 18th, and was assigned to duty in the Field Hospital, among the sick and wounded.
At midnight the regiment was aroused by an aide-de-camp, and ordered to move silently and rapidly to the rear. Upon reaching the open ground, where we formed on the morning of the 12th, we filed toward the left of the line, and after a very tedious march, over rough corduroy, stumps, and fallen timber, halted at daylight near the Anderson house, where a large portion of the army was massed. At eight o'clock the corps marched by the flank toward the left, in a southerly direction, and while on the march were passed by Generals Grant, Meade, and Burnside, who were greeted with loud cheering. It soon became evident that a general movement was in progress. After marching three or four miles a halt was ordered, and the division filed into a large open field, and went into line of battle on the left of the corps; afterwards the division was faced to the left, and formed in two lines of battle, the First Brigade in front. The brigade was then formed in column by regiments, the Thirty-sixth being in front, and moved forward across the field to the edge of a forest, where companies A and G were deployed as skirmishers under the eye of General Potter. We moved through a belt of fine woods, and halted in front of a broad, open plain, at a point where three roads intersected. Here we were ordered to intrench. A high rail fence formed the basis of the line, and in a little while we had a strong defence. Jones' Eleventh Massachusetts Battery was put in position on our left, and by noon the line was firmly established, and the men lay down to enjoy the much-needed rest.
That afternoon we received the first mail since leaving Catlett's, fifteen days before; and many hearts were made happy by loving words from home. The dangers and fatigues of the past two weeks were soon forgotten or transcribed to paper, for we now had our first opportunity for writing as well as receiving letters. Scattered through the woods in all directions could be seen the brave soldiers, who but yesterday were engaged in deadly conflict, recounting to the loved ones at home the story of the marches, bloody battles, and sad losses of the past two weeks. Ours was, proverbially, a "letter-writing" regiment, and the mail for our single regiment often exceeded that of the remainder of the brigade.