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

by William H. Osborne

The steamer lay off and on for an hour or more; the men were all on deck, looking anxiously in the direction of the fortress, waiting with throbbing hearts for the first gleam of approaching day; questioning, doubting, the while, which flag—that of their country or the insurgents—would reveal itself to their sight.

Meanwhile the dark form of the steamer had been observed from the fortress, and doubts as to the character of the vessel, not less troublesome than those of the volunteers on board, had seized fast hold upon the garrison. The guns of the “Water Battery” were shotted and manned, and every preparation made to repel the attack of the possible foe.

At last the morning sun lighted up the low walls and green parapets of the fort, and from its tall flagstaff the Stars and Stripes were seen floating gracefully in the wind. The old flag flying from the peak of the steamer caught the watching eyes of the garrison at the same moment; the grim guns in the “Water Battery” were unshotted, and, instead of angry defiance, sent out loud peals of welcome. The men on board the steamer replied with hearty cheers; the boat hauled up to the wharf; the men immediately disembarked and marched into the fortress, where they were received with every manifestation of joy. The safety of the fort was now assured, confidence took the place of dark doubts, and the cause of the Government in that department wore a brighter hue.

By this opportune arrival of the Fourth Regiment, and the Third also, which came a little later in the day, Fortress Monroe was undoubtedly saved to the Government, and for this almost priceless service to the country, the people are largely indebted to the unsleeping vigilance of John A. Andrew, and to the ardent patriotism of the volunteers of the Third and Fourth regiments of Massachusetts Militia. From the time of the arrival of the Fourth Regiment till the 27th of May, its men were almost constantly on duty in and about the fortress, mounting cannon, and having an experience similar to that of the Third Regiment.

On the 21st of May, the steamer “Cambridge” arrived from Boston, bringing, among other troops, the companies commanded by Captains Doten, Leach, Chipman, and Barnes. Captains Leach’s and Barnes’s companies, and, subsequently, that of Captain Clarke, were assigned to the Fourth, and the others to the Third Regiment.

The number of troops in and about the fortress was now sufficient to justify the occupation of a greater extent of territory. On the 26th of May, an order was issued, directing the establishment of a camp at the mouth of the James River, at a place known as and properly written “Newport’s News,” though more commonly written Newport News,[10] which spelling we adopt, as it is better known to our soldiers by that name. Newport News was a cultivated plateau of nearly two miles in length, extending back from the river a distance of half a mile, where it bordered upon an extensive forest of pine. The banks of the James here rose to a height of thirty feet, from the sides of which bubbled out numerous springs of pure water.

Colonel John W. Phelps was given charge of this expedition. He was a celebrated artillerist. Born in Vermont in 1813, he graduated at West Point in 1836, and was brevetted to the Fourth Artillery. A First Lieutenant in the Mexican war, he served with distinguished gallantry on Scott’s line. At Contreras and Churubusco, in command of a company in the storming brigade of Riley, his services were conspicuous and exceptionally brilliant. For this he was brevetted a Captain, but declined the distinction. He was the originator of the text-books for heavy artillery in use before the war, and commanded a battery in the Utah expedition of Albert Sidney Johnston, and at one time commanded Fort Brown, Texas. He was an uncompromising enemy of human slavery, and, becoming dissatisfied with what he regarded as the pro-slavery sentiment of both the army and the administration, in 1859, resigned his commission and at once settled in Brattleborough, Vt. In the spring of 1861, he was made Colonel of the First Vermont Militia, and shortly afterwards came to Fortress Monroe, as has already been stated. Colonel Phelps was a superior soldier, and a most valuable acquisition to the army in any department.

The troops which composed the expedition to Newport News were the Fourth Massachusetts Militia, First Vermont Militia, and Colonel Bendix’s Seventh New York (German),—all infantry. Captains Barnes’s and Clarke’s companies went with the Fourth Regiment, while Captain Leach’s company was, by order of General Butler, retained in the fort to perform garrison duty. The troops embarked at an early hour on the morning of the 27th. As the steamboat which had on board the Fourth Regiment was passing into the mouth of the James River, the Confederate batteries on Sewall’s Point opened a brisk fire upon it. One of the shots, a huge missile, passed over the decks, just above the heads of the men, while the others fell short.

The Fourth Regiment was sent from Fortress Monroe to this distant post with a very small supply of ammunition. Captain Barnes’s company had only twenty rounds of cartridges and ten percussion-caps to each man; while Clarke’s company, which had a kind of arm different from the rest of the command, had brought from Boston a large supply of ammunition, about 14,000 rounds of ball-cartridges and 20,000 extra percussion-caps. No tents were supplied the troops that went to Newport News until about a week after they reached there. In the meantime, the men lived in huts made of rails and covered with branches of trees and bushes.

As soon as Colonel Phelps arrived, he began the erection of earthworks. These were of semi-circular form, terminating at either extremity on the bank of the river, and were nearly half a mile long. In the ditch in front of the works were placed obstructions of the nature of chevaux-de-frise. On the main works commanding the plain and forest were mounted a number of heavy guns, while on the bluff facing the river was a battery of five large pieces, and among them a Sawyer and James rifle. Upon these works the men of the Fourth Regiment and those of Barnes’s and Clarke’s companies labored for many days, and at a time when the weather was extremely hot. The men were wholly unaccustomed to such work, being compelled, from the scarcity of draught animals in the department, to draw from the adjacent forest the logs which were used on the fortifications.