The History of the Twenty-ninth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry / in the Late War of the Rebellion

by William H. Osborne

The field and staff of the regiment were as follows: Colonel, David W. Wardrop of New Bedford; Lieutenant-Colonel, Charles Raymond of Plymouth; Major, John H. Jennings of New Bedford; Adjutant, Austin S. Cushman of New Bedford; Quartermaster, Edward D. Allen, Fairhaven; Surgeon, Alexander R. Holmes, New Bedford; Assistant Surgeon, Johnson Clark, New Bedford; Sergeant-Major, Alberti C. Maggi, New Bedford; Quartermaster-Sergeant, Frederick S. Gifford of New Bedford.

It is not our purpose or province to write a complete history of the Third Regiment; but the fact is eminently worthy of notice, that it rendered some of the most important service performed by any body of militia that went into the war from Massachusetts. It is also a noticeable fact, that many of its officers and men, subsequently to their three months’ service at Fortress Monroe, filled high military positions. Thus its Colonel was commissioned Colonel of the Ninety-ninth New York Regiment; Lieutenant-Colonel Raymond was appointed to the same office in the Seventh Massachusetts Infantry; Sergeant-Major Maggi became Colonel of the Thirty-third Massachusetts Infantry, and distinguished himself as a soldier; Captain Doten was made Captain in the Thirty-eighth; and Captain Ingraham, a superior soldier, was promoted to the colonelcy of the last-named regiment.

When the Third Regiment was despatched to Fortress Monroe, the tenure of the Government there was decidedly precarious. There had been no open hostilities on the part of the insurgents in that department, but they were everywhere carrying forward the most active war measures. A battery of seven guns had been erected at Sewall’s Point, at the mouth of the Elizabeth, and obstructions had been placed in the channel of the river. Forts Norfolk and Nelson, which commanded the approaches to the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, were in the hands of the Confederate Militia; but still lying in the river, near these cities, were the United State vessels “Pennsylvania,” “Cumberland,” “Merrimack,” “Germantown,” “Dolphin,” “Raritan,” “Columbia,” and “Plymouth.” The Norfolk navy-yard was one of the most extensive and valuable naval depots in the United States. The grounds, three-fourths of a mile long and about a quarter of a mile wide, were filled with machine-shops, foundries, storehouses, and dwellings for officers. There were three large shiphouses, and a dry-dock built of granite. The whole property of the yard was estimated at about nine millions of dollars.

On the 18th of April, the Confederate General Taliaferro arrived at Norfolk, and took charge of the insurgent militia, whereupon a large number of naval officers resigned their commissions and at once entered the Confederate service. Commodore McCauly, who commanded the yard, was wavering and uncertain in his convictions of duty, but Commodore Pendegrast and Captain Marston of the “Cumberland” were fixed in their determination to serve their Government.

At about six o’clock in the afternoon of April 20, the Third Regiment, which had arrived at Fortress Monroe a few hours before, was ordered on board the United States gunboat “Pawnee,” commanded by Commodore Paulding. After passing Sewall’s Point in safety, the steamer neared Fort Norfolk, then in the hands of the enemy. The channel lay near the shore, and it was expected the Confederates would fire upon the gunboat the moment she came within range of their guns. The soldiers were ordered to lie down upon the deck, the marines paraded the quarter, and the sailors were at battery. The moon was shining brightly; it was clear and calm; the fort was plainly visible; even the suppressed tones of its garrison could be heard on board. When just abreast the fort, some one called aloud from the parapet, “What ship is that?”—“what ship is that?” No reply was made, and the soldiers who heard the hail whispered to each other, “Now it will come!” and their hearts beat quick and fast as they lay, faces downward, expecting every instant to hear the crash of guns and the howling of cannon-balls. But it did not come; the war had scarcely begun; there was still lingering in the hearts of the enemy some respect for the old flag, and a wholesome dread of firing upon it. Nearer the navy-yard lay the United States ship “Pennsylvania,” broadside across the stream. The “Pawnee” approached her, and was hailed as before. The hail was answered, but apparently not heard, and in a moment the black and gloomy-looking sides of the “Pennsylvania” were illumined. The ports had been opened. At the same time a voice from her gun-deck, “Shall I fire, sir?” caught the ears of those on the “Pawnee.” A watchful old gunner on the latter vessel stepped up to the executive officer, and said, in slow and measured words, as though it was the most commonplace affair in the world, “They are going to fire on the ‘Pawnee,’ sir!” The officer at once leaped into the rigging, and, with his trumpet, cried, “Pawnee! Pawnee! Pawnee!” in a voice that was heard far and near, and echoed over the waters and silent town. “Pawnee! Pawnee! Pawnee!” was shouted back from gun-deck and quarter, and then loud cheers and hearty cries of welcome came out of the open ports of the “Pennsylvania.” This was a similar mistake to that which arose in the early morning of this day, at the fortress, as to the identity of the steamer “State of Maine,” that had on board the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, and came even nearer proving fatal, for the lanyards were already in the hands of the gunners of both vessels, and but for the prompt action of the executive officer of the approaching steamer, there would have been a bloody encounter between these soldiers and sailors of the Union.

Upon arriving at Norfolk, about nine o’clock, the whole regiment was ordered ashore into the navy-yard, and, under the commands of the officers, began immediately in the work of destruction, which was already in full progress. Twenty men were detailed from Company B of Plymouth to mine the dry-dock, while the balance of the force, aided by the sailors and yardmen, went to work throwing into the river shot, shell, revolvers, carbines, and stands of arms.

There were nearly three thousand heavy guns in the yard, many of them columbiads and fine Dahlgrens. These were spiked as best they could be, but very imperfectly, as the Confederates afterwards managed to use them. At midnight, the barracks in the yard were set on fire, and then the shiphouses, in one of which was the partially-completed ship “New York.”

The “Pawnee,” taking the “Cumberland” in tow, and having on board the Third Regiment and all the men from the yard, except those who were left to fire the trains, started down the river, and sent up a rocket, which went high into the air, and then “burst in shivers of many-colored lights.”

This was the signal to fire the trains. Simultaneously, flashes of fire were seen running about on the decks of the deserted ships “Pennsylvania,” “Merrimack,” “Dolphin,” “Germantown,” “Plymouth,” “Raritan,” and “Columbia,” and in a few seconds they were wrapped in flames. Says an eye-witness:—

“I need not try to picture the scene of the grand conflagration that now burst like the day of judgment on the startled citizens of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and the surrounding country. Any one who has seen a ship burn, and knows how, like a fiery serpent, the flame leaps from pitchy deck to smoking shrouds, and writhes to their very top, around the masts that stand like martyrs doomed, can form some idea of the wonderful display that followed.”