Vermont riflemen in the war for the union, 1861 to 1865 / A history of Company F, First United States sharp shooters

by William Young Warren Ripley

At about three o'clock P. M. the division of the rebel General A. P. Hill appeared in front of McCall's line, and severe fighting at once commenced. About one hour later Branch's division arrived to the support of the rebel general, and vigorous and repeated assaults were made at various points on the Union line; the fighting at Ellison's Mills being of a particularly desperate character. Porter's old division, now commanded by Morell, was ordered up from its camp at Gaines Hill to the assistance of the troops so heavily pressed at Mechanicsville. The sharp shooters, being among the regiments thus detailed, left their tents standing, and in light marching order, and with no rations, moved out at the head of the column. Arriving at the front they took post in the left of the road, in the rear of a rifle pit occupied by a battalion of Pennsylvania troops and on the right of a redoubt in which was a battery of guns. It was now nearly dark, the force of the attack was spent, and the sharp shooters had but small share of the fighting. The night was spent in this position, and the rest of the soldiers was unbroken, except by the cries and moans of the rebel wounded, many of whom lay uncared for within a few yards of the Union line. Some of the men of Co. F, moved by pity for the sufferings of their enemies, left their lines to give them assistance; they were fired on, however, by the less merciful rebels and had to abandon the attempt. Before daylight the order was whispered down the line to withdraw as silently as possible. The men were especially cautioned against allowing their tin cups to rattle against their rifles, as the first sign was sure to be the signal for a rebel volley. Cautiously the men stole away, and, as daylight appeared, found themselves alone.

They were the rear guard and thus covered the retreat of the main body to Gaines Hill. As they approached the camp they had left on the preceding afternoon a scene of desolation and destruction met their astonished eyes. Enormous piles of quartermaster and commissary stores were being fired, tents were struck, the regimental baggage gone, and large droves of cattle were being hurried forward towards the lower bridges of the Chicahominy—the retreat to the James had commenced. Halting for a few minutes amidst the ruins of their abandoned camp where, however, they found the faithful quartermaster-sergeant with a scanty supply of rations, very grateful to men who had eaten nothing for twenty hours and expected nothing for some time to come. They hastily commenced the preparation of such a modest breakfast as was possible under the circumstances, but before it could be eaten the pursuing rebels were upon them, and the march towards the rear was resumed. A mile further and they found the Fifth Corps, which was all there was of the army on the south bank of the Chicahominy, in line of battle prepared to resist the attack of the enemy, which it was apparent to all would be in heavy force. The position was a strong one, and the little force—small in comparison to that which now appeared confronting it—were disposed with consummate skill. Dust—for the day was intensely hot and dry—arising in dense clouds high above the tree tops, plainly denoted the line of march, and the positions of the different rebel columns as they arrived on the field and took their places in line of battle.

Deserters, prisoners, and scouts, all agreed that Jackson, who had not been up in time to take part in the battle of the previous day as had been expected, was now at hand with a large force of fresh troops, and it was apparent that the Fifth Corps was about to become engaged with nearly the whole of the rebel army. Any one of three things could now happen, as might be decided by the Union commander. The force on Gaines Hill might be re-enforced by means of the few, but sufficient, bridges over the Chicahominy and accept battle on something like equal terms; or the main army on the right bank of the river might take advantage of the opportunity offered to break through the lines in its front, weakened as they must be by the absence of the immense numbers detached to crush Porter on the left bank; or the Fifth Corps might by a great effort, unassisted, hold Lee's army in check long enough to enable the Union army to commence in an orderly manner its retreat to the James. Whichever course might be decided upon, it was evident that this portion of the army was on the eve of a desperate struggle against overwhelming odds, and each man prepared himself accordingly.

In front of Morell's division, to which the sharp shooters were attached, was a deep ravine heavily wooded on its sides, and through which ran a small stream, its direction being generally northeast, until it emptied into the Chicahominy near Woodbury's bridge. The bottom of the ravine was marshy and somewhat difficult of passage, and near the river widened out and took the name of Boatswain's swamp. On the far side of this ravine the sharp shooters were deployed to observe the approach of the enemy and to receive their first attack. In their front the ground was comparatively open, though somewhat broken, for a considerable distance. At half-past two P. M. the enemy's skirmishers appeared in the rolling open country, and desultory firing at long range commenced. Soon, however, the pressure became more severe, and a regiment on the right of the sharp shooters having given way, they, in their turn, were forced slowly back across the marshy ravine and part way up the opposite slope; here, being re-enforced, they turned on and drove the rebels back and reoccupied the ground on which they first formed, soon, however, to be forced back again. So heavily had each of the opposing lines been supported that the affair lost its character as a picket fight, and partook of the nature of line of battle fighting. The troops opposed at this time were those of A. P. Hill, who finally, by sheer weight of numbers, dislodged the sharp shooters and their supports from the woods and permanently held them. They were unable, however, to ascend the slope on the other side, and the main federal line was intact at all points. There was now an interval of some half an hour, during which time the infantry were idle; the artillery firing, however, from the Union batteries on the crest of the hill was incessant, and was as vigorously responded to by the rebels. From the right bank of the Chicahominy a battery of twenty pound Parrots, near Gen. W. F. Smith's headquarters, was skillfully directed against the rebel right near and in front of Dr. Gaines' house. At six o'clock P. M. Slocum's division of Franklin's corps was ordered across to the support of Porter's endangered command.

At seven o'clock the divisions of Hill, Longstreet, Whiting and Jackson were massed for a final attack on the small but undismayed federal force, who yet held every inch of the ground so desperately fought for during five long hours.

Whiting's division led the rebel assault with Hood's Texan brigade in the front line. The attack struck the center of the line held by Morell's division, and so desperate was the assault and so heavily supported, that Morell's tired men were finally forced by sheer weight of masses to abandon the line which they had so long and so gallantly held. Had the rebels themselves been in a position to promptly pursue their advantage, the situation would have been most perilous to the Union forces. The enemy had now gained the crest of the hill which commanded the ground to the rear as far as the banks of the Chicahominy. This deep and treacherous stream, crossed but by few bridges—and they, with one exception, at a considerable distance from the field of battle—offered an effectual barrier to the passage of the routed army.

But while the federals had suffered severely, the losses of the rebels had been far greater. The disorganization and demoralization among the victors was even greater than among the vanquished; and before they could reform for further advance the beaten federals had rallied on the low ground nearer the river and formed a new line which, in the gathering darkness, undoubtedly looked to the rebels, made cautious by experience, more formidable than it was in fact. Their cavalry appeared in great force on the brow of the hill, but the expected charge did not come; they had had fighting enough and rested content with what they had gained. The least desirable of the three choices offered to the Union commander had been taken, as it appeared, but a precious day had been gained to the army already in its retreat to the James. A fearful price had been paid for it, however, by the devoted band who stood between that retreating army and the flushed and victorious enemy. Of the eighteen thousand men who stood in line of battle at noon, only twelve thousand answered to the roll call at night. One-third of the whole, or six thousand men, had fallen. They had done all that it was possible for men to do, and only yielded to superior numbers. It is now known that less than 25,000 men were left for the defense of Richmond; the rest of the rebel forces, or over 55,000 men, had been hurled against this wing of the Union army hoping to crush it utterly, and the attempt had failed.

Co. F had done its full share in the work of the day, and, although out of ammunition, retained its position with other companies of the regiment on the front line until the general disruption on the right and left compelled their retirement from the field. Tired, hungry and disheartened, they lay down for the night on the low ground a mile or more in the rear for a few hours of repose. At about eleven o'clock P. M. they were aroused and put in motion, crossing the Chicahominy at Woodbury's bridge and going again into bivouac on the high ground near the Trent Hospital some distance in the rear of the ground held by the Vermont brigade on the northern, or right, bank of the river. During the night the entire corps was withdrawn and the bridges destroyed. A fresh supply of ammunition was obtained and issued at daylight, and at ten o'clock A. M. the sharp shooters, with full cartridge boxes, but empty haversacks, took up their line of march towards the James. In this action the regiment lost heavily in killed and wounded. B. W. Jordan and Jas. A. Read of Co. F were mortally, and E. H. Himes severely wounded. Passing Savage Station, where the 5th Vermont suffered so severely on the next day, the regiment crossed White Oak swamp before dark on the twenty-eighth, and went into bivouac near the head of the bridge.

Wild rumors of heavy bodies of Confederate troops, crossing the Chicahominy at points lower down prepared to fall upon the exposed flank and rear of the federals were prevalent, and the dreaded form of Stonewall Jackson seemed to start from every bush.

During the night, which was intensely dark, the horses attached to a battery got loose by some means and, dashing through a portion of the ground occupied by other troops, seemed, with their rattling harness, to be a host of rebel cavalry. A bugle at some distance sounded the assembly, drums beat the long roll, and in the confusion of that night alarm it seemed as though a general panic had seized upon all. The sharp shooters, like all others, were thrown into confusion and momentarily lost their sense of discipline and disappeared. When the commanding officer, perhaps the last to awake, came to look for his command they were not to be found; with the exception of Calvin Morse, bugler of Co. F, he was alone. The panic among the sharp shooters, however, was only momentary; the first blast of the well known bugle recalled them to a sense of duty, and, a rallying point being established, the whole command at once returned to the line reassured and prepared for any emergency.