November 6. Started early, and marched through Piedmont, where the railroad passes. Travelled ten miles and camped for the night. One hundred men detailed for picket under Captain Doten. Very cold, and toward night it began to snow. Colonel Barnes was officer of the day; the guards were posted in a forest, about a mile from camp; the wind blew a gale, and the night was so dark, that the officers in command of the pickets found it impossible to establish the line. When daylight came, the ground was covered with snow to the depth of several inches. Upon reaching camp early in the morning, it was found that the other regiments in the Brigade were preparing to march, while the men of the Twenty-ninth, who had remained in camp, were still asleep in their tents. General Meagher observing at this moment the lack of preparation on the part of the regiment, rode down to the camp, and accosting Colonel Barnes, inquired the reason why the regiment was not under arms. The Colonel told the General they had received no orders to that effect, whereupon the Adjutant-General of the Brigade was taken to task, and a disturbance at headquarters seemed imminent. But it afterwards transpired that such orders had been given to a certain officer of the regiment, and that he had neglected to transmit them. This piece of negligence resulted in giving the boys a severe march that day; for while they were preparing to move, the rest of the Brigade started, and was not overtaken till late in the afternoon.
On this day, the news of the death of Major-General Richardson, who formerly commanded the division, reached the regiment. General Richardson died at the house of Mr. Pry, near the battle-field of Antietam, from the effects of the wound received in that battle, and his death cast a deep shadow of gloom over the entire army, and particularly over the Second Corps, in which he had long served, and in connection with which he had won a most enviable reputation as a brave and skilful soldier. The loss of such an officer as General Richardson was an event which might well have called forth a more universal expression of sorrow.
The 7th of November also witnessed a change in the command of the Army of the Potomac, though this was not known to the troops till the 9th, when the fact was promulgated by general order. At this time the army was massed in and near Warrenton; and here the farewell address of General McClellan, and the order of General Burnside, announcing his assumption of the command of the army, were read to each regiment.
The Twenty-ninth arrived at Warrenton on the 9th, where it remained for several days inactive, as did the rest of the army here assembled. On the 15th, it started from its camp, marched nearly nine miles, passed through the village of Warrenton, and halted beside the road to spend the night. The movement of the army was in the direction of Falmouth, and on the following morning the regiment broke camp, being on the skirmish line a part of the time, and marching through morasses and tangled woods. The men had a severe day’s work. Water was scarce, and they were hurried along, with but few halts, till near sundown, going nearly twenty miles in the course of the day. When they stopped for the night, they threw themselves upon the ground in a sort of hopeless spirit, believing that the morrow would bring them another hard march. Their prediction proved true, for on the next day they were at the rear of the whole army, and had severe duty as guard of the wagon train, reaching Falmouth toward nightfall, when they found that their Brigade,—from which they had been separated during the day,—having been ordered by General Sumner to cross the Rappahannock to capture one of the enemy’s batteries, was rapidly moving towards the river. The regiment, without making a halt to rest, hurried forward to join their brave comrades in this perilous undertaking; but after proceeding a short distance, they learned that the order had been countermanded, meeting the other regiments of the Brigade returning to camp. General Hancock, commanding the division, complimented the Brigade for the quickness with which it moved after the order was given to cross the river, saying to General Meagher, “This is quick work, sir!”
While our army was at this point, Belle Plain Landing, on Potomac Creek, was its base of supplies. This Landing was only ten miles distant; but the railroads had been torn up by the enemy, and all the provisions were hauled over the rough, muddy roads in wagons. The enemy’s cavalry were constantly raiding over the country through which the roads passed, and every train went strongly guarded. On the 21st, a detail of fifty men was made from the Twenty-ninth, to guard a train of thirty-five teams, which went to the Landing for provisions; the roads were so heavy, that two days were occupied by the journey, several of the horses and mules dying on the way.
On the 22d, the regiment moved its camp in order to get out of the range of the enemy’s guns, which were stationed on the westerly side of the Rappahannock. Half of the term of enlistment of the seven old companies expired this day, and the men did not fail to speak of it, and make it a subject of conversation, recounting the experiences of the past, and speculating as to the year and a half before them.
November 27 was the day appointed for Thanksgiving in Massachusetts, and in most of the loyal States. The men had for dinner, “hard-tack” and salt beef. The Chaplain, Rev. Mr. Hempstead, read the proclamation of Governor Andrew, in which occurred the usual expressions of gratitude and thanks to God, for the bountiful harvests, and so forth. Although the fare of the soldiers had been of the coarsest and simplest quality, and their hardships and privations almost numberless, yet they had indeed much to be thankful for; their lives had been spared through great dangers, and their toils and hardships had been endured, to the end that the Republic might survive the shock of civil war.
About this time a little trouble arose concerning the proposed presentation of a green banner to the regiment. General Meagher and his brother officers of the Sixty-third, Sixty-ninth, and Eighty-eighth New York regiments had very kindly caused a fine silk Irish flag to be made in New York City for the Twenty-ninth Regiment, and had arranged for its presentation by General Sumner. It was intended that the gift should be of the nature of a surprise; but by some means, the project came to the knowledge of Colonel Barnes, who also learned that it was the desire of General Meagher that the flag should be carried by the regiment. While the Colonel would have been proud to receive the flag for the regiment as a token of the respect of their Irish comrades, yet he objected to the flag being carried by the regiment, on the ground that it was not an Irish regiment, feeling assured that this was the sentiment of the officers and men of his command. He accordingly made known to General Meagher these objections, whereupon the offer of the flag was withdrawn; and by arrangement of the parties interested, it was afterwards presented to another regiment.
Closely following this incident,—namely, November 30,—the Twenty-ninth was by order of General Sumner transferred from the Irish Brigade to that of Colonel B. C. Christ, General William W. Burns’s division of the Ninth Corps, the latter being then commanded by General Orlando B. Willcox.
On the 3d of December, the regiment was sent on picket opposite Fredericksburg. The Confederate pickets, on the opposite shore of the river, were poorly clad, only a small number having overcoats, though the weather was cold. On the next day, at dark, the regiment was relieved, and on the 5th, a detachment was again sent to Belle Plain as a guard to a wagon train; the weather was very severe, a cold, driving snow-storm lasting nearly all day. The movements of General Burnside, which resulted in the battle of Fredericksburg, were now in progress; inspections of the troops were frequent; and on the 9th, Colonel Barnes made an inspection of the arms and equipments of the regiment.