Chapter VI

After the death of Col. Chatfield, Redfield Duryee was appointed Colonel of the Sixth, rising from Adjutant to that position at a single step. He had been North on recruiting service for eighteen months previous to his appointment, but after securing that position he hastened to join the regiment in the field. The appointment was not received very pleasantly by the officers of the Sixth, nor by the privates, who expressed much dissatisfaction at his appointment. Those who had been with the regiment through thick and thin and had borne the brunt of the battles, were more justly entitled to promotion to that position than Redfield Duryee, who had been home for half of his term of enlistment. But merit is not always justly rewarded, and the appointment had to be endured, although it was not according to our taste. Our new colonel enjoined upon the regiment severe drills and guard duties, while it was tasked severely and laboriously with fatigue duty every day and often far into the night. We found it difficult to endure the loss of Col. Chatfield. Few men, living in the Col. Chatfield lived, the entire regiment would no doubt have re-enlisted; but as the command passed into other hands, the number did not exceed 200 who consented to remain till the close of the war. Lieut. Col. Speidel and Capt. Leach resigned their commissions and left the regiment in August, 1863. Ill health was the cause of their resignations.

Col. Speidel never fully recovered from the wound received at Pocotaligo, and the regiment was loth to part with him, as he endeared himself to the boys by his soldierly bearing and commanding ways. He was a brave officer and never flinched on the field, but always inspired the men with true courage and patriotism.

October 20th, five companies of the Sixth went on provost guard duty, relieving the Eighth Maine. We occupied the provost building and had charge of a large number of rebel prisoners, as well as others from Union regiments, who had been guilty of some crime known to military law. Among the rebel prisoners was a Captain Monroe whom the Sixth captured, with others, on Morris Island. He was son of the Mayor of Charleston, and a most bitter

Volunteering having partially subsided in the State, and as the government was in need of more troops, drafting commenced in other States as well as in Connecticut. The Sixth received about 200 men in October; some were conscripts and others drafted men, as but few volunteered for the service. Their advent was not hailed with much pleasure or satisfaction by the old regiment, as they claimed that “forced” men would not fight and could not be trusted in case of an emergency. Some were vile roughs and were frequently in the guard house; while others manifested a disposition to do their duty, and did make very good soldiers. Three of the substitutes deserted from the regiment while on picket, but were captured and placed in close confinement at the provost guard house. While there they succeeded in getting away twice; the first time they were found in Ossanabaw Sound and were returned Capt. Tracy of the Sixth was president, found guilty and sentenced to be shot to death by musketry. They were then chained hand and foot to a post inside of the provost quarters; and, notwithstanding these precautions, together with a strong guard, they succeeded in getting away again. They took a boat near the pier and made off; but while in Warsaw sound near the shore, their boat grounded and they were captured by a picket boat from the gunboat Patapsco. They were very bold, ingenious men, and their skill and perseverance might have won them honor if rightly applied. The culprits were Germans by birth: privates Henry Schumaker, of Co. “C,” Henry Stark, of Co. “E,” and Gustav Hoofan, of Co. “B.”

In the case of the latter an error was discovered in writing his name, the name Hoofan having been written Hoffman by the Judge Advocate. Col. Duryee wishing to be merciful to the full extent consistent with duty, availed himself of this technical error and protested against his execution. This protest was allowed, and he was saved from death and ordered to return to duty with his regiment. The man was more than pleased at this announcement, but the Judge Advocate, a lieutenant of the Eighty-fifth Pennsylvania regiment, was severely censured in general orders for his inexcusable carelessness and fatal error.

General Orders, No. 7.

Headquarters Hilton Head, Hilton Head, S. C., April 16, 1864.

In obedience to General Orders No. 50, Department of the South, Hilton Head, S. C., April 15, 1864, the sentence of private Henry Schumaker, of Co. “C,” and private Henry Stark, Co. “E,” Sixth regiment Connecticut Volunteers, who were tried before a court martial assembled at Hilton Head, S. C., March 4, 1864, for the crime of desertion, and were sentenced to be shot to death with musketry, will be carried into execution at this Post on Sunday the 17th day of April, 1864, at three o’clock P. M., on the field beyond the causeway and in the presence of all the troops of this command. All fatigue work within the line of the entrenchments will be suspended on that day during the afternoon, and every officer and man not upon the sick list or upon other duty, will be present. The firing party will be furnished by the Sixth Connecticut Volunteers. Capt. E. S. Babcock, 9th U. S. C. T., Provost Marshal, will make the necessary arrangements for the execution. The several regiments and detachments comprising the command will report at two o’clock P. M. to Lieut. Woodruff, A. A. D. C., who will be stationed there to direct them to their positions.

By order of Col. REDFIELD DURYEE,

Walter Fitch, 1st Lieut. 6th Conn. Vols., Post Adj.

Official:

D. A. Woodruff, 1st Lieut. 6th Conn. Vols., A. A. D. C.

Rev. Mr. Hasson, a Catholic priest who was in the department, was sent for and ministered to them. It was for a long time difficult to convince them that their case was hopeless, but Mr. Hasson’s arguments finally forced conviction, and, after hearing their confession twice, he performed all the rites of the Church that were practicable. The prisoners were taken from their cells at about two o’clock, placed in army wagons and seated on the coffins in which they were to be buried. The column was formed as follows:

Capt. E. S. Babcock, Provost Marshal, mounted. Capt. J. P. King, Asst. Provost Marshal, mounted. Drum Corps in two ranks. Firing Party of 24 men detailed from 6th Conn. The Prisoners in wagon seated on their coffins. Ambulance containing Rev. Mr. Hasson, and Chaplain Woodruff, of the 6th Conn.; Rev. Mr. Taylor of the Christian Commission; the Surgeon of the Provost guard house, and the Surgeon of the 6th Connecticut.

The funeral escort, consisting of a corporal and eight men, marched to funeral music, with arms reversed. Capt. Babcock, they fired and the victims fell upon their coffins. Schumaker was pierced with nine bullets and Stark with eight. They lay just as they had fallen till the whole command marched past them on the way to camp, when they were put into the coffins and buried.

On the 20th of April, Capt. Lewis C. Allen, Jr., died of disease. He was formerly a member of a militia company in Georgia, and afterwards removing to New Haven, was drill officer of the New Haven Blues. He went out as 1st Lieut. in Capt. Root’s company in the Third three months troops, and later as captain of the “Brewster Rifles,” Co. “F,” of the

Lieut. Col. Klein, with the re-enlisting veterans of the regiment, were given a thirty days furlough after re-enlisting; they sailed for the North and were received in New Haven with demonstrations of respect, escorted to Music Hall, where Mayor Tyler addressed a welcome to the returning soldiers, after which they sat down to a banquet provided for them.

The regiment remained at Hilton Head through the fall and winter months of ’63 and ’64, engaging in an occasional scout after the Johnnies, drilling and doing fatigue duty in various ways. If a battery was to be built or earthworks thrown up, the Sixth was sure to have a hand in it. Many of our officers having resigned and our ranks being depleted by disease, we were finally ordered, with our corps, to join Butler on the James River, and we bade adieu to South Carolina on the 27th of April, 1864, and sailed for our new scene of labor and strife. We arrived at Hampton Roads after due time and landed at Gloucester Point, opposite Yorktown. Here we found large numbers of troops encamped in very close proximity to each other, and indications pointed to a general advance along the line. The Gen. W. F. Smith, were ordered to pack up all the surplus clothing belonging to the officers and men, and the cooks were divested of all their cooking utensils except two camp kettles. Large quantities of clothes and goods were put in boxes and barrels and shipped to Norfolk, where they were to be stored; but, unfortunately, the steamer containing the goods of the Sixth sprung a leak and sank, the crew barely escaping with their lives. Butler ordered the command to go as light as possible in regard to clothing and effects, and the rations were cut down to such extent that we were to be deprived of many articles that were palatable to a soldier. Beef, beans and potatoes were excluded from our bill of fare, and bacon and salt pork were to be more freely used. Half rations of soap and full rations of whiskey and quinine were among the items which were considered necessary for our comfort, and lastly, two pairs of Uncle Sam’s brogans were ordered for each man, fearing, perhaps, that the sacred mud of Virginia might draw off one pair while experiencing a march after a gentle fall of dew.

May 4th, the whole command embarked at Gloucester Point and ascended the James. The infantry,

The 6th of May the entire force landed at Bermuda Hundred and pushed inland. The day was extremely warm and the extra pair of brogans that “Bennie” made us take were soon thrown off, as well as blankets and knapsacks,--anything to lighten our load. The march through the woods and fields was strewed with these articles, but none could tell whether they would ever be needed again, for we wist not what was before us. We marched about eight miles and halted for the night in a piece of pine woods, where we threw up a rude entrenchment to cover us against a sudden attack. The night passed with no general alarm, although the advance pickets skirmished with the enemy. We were up betimes in the morning and on the move, passing many swamps and deep morasses, which made progress slow. A large detachment

On the 9th of May our division moved on to the Petersburg & Richmond R. R., at Chester station, where we cut the telegraph wires and tore up the track, burning the ties and poles. Our brigade pried up the rails as we stood close together, and tumbled them down a steep bank. Over a half mile of track was thus disposed of at a time. We destroyed about three miles of the track at this time and guarded the turnpike and all approaches, while the 18th army corps engaged the rebels near Richmond, but with little success, except to find their position. The next day Gen. D. H. Hill’s corps advanced from Richmond and our forces engaged them all along the line. After a sharp contest which continued over two hours, the rebels withdrew from the field and we retired a short distance to the rear. The casualties of the Sixth were one killed (Capt. Jay P. Wilcox), twenty wounded and four missing.

Captain Wilcox left Waterbury as a private soldier in the Sixth, but was soon promoted to the rank of corporal and thence passed rapidly to that of captain. As an officer, Capt. Wilcox gained the honor and respect of all under his command. Resolute, bold and fearless, he proved an honor to the cause, and the Union lost one of its noblest defenders.

On the 14th of May the Sixth was ordered, with Gen. Butler ordered the Quartermasters to bring up all camp equipage and establish our camps there before commencing operations still farther in advance. We knew, however, that we could not advance very much farther except by bringing on a general engagement, as the enemy were strongly entrenched a short distance from us, as we could see them working on their batteries every day. The evening of the 15th the Sixth occupied the extreme front at the center of the line, on picket. The night passed with but little firing on either side. Just before daylight, while a thick fog prevailed, the rebels massed their forces and made a very determined dash in our front, charging upon us furiously, shouting with that peculiar yell so characteristic of the Johnnies. We knew they outnumbered us, and to stand alone as a picket line would be of no avail; yet we emptied our rifles at them several times and fell slowly back upon the reserve. They proved too strong for our corps and it gave way gradually. We did not “retreat,” but “changed front to the rear,” and contested every foot of ground; but the enemy knowing our strength, forced us back slowly but surely. The turnpike being the safest ground to pass over, was besieged by

The loss on our side was much larger than that of the rebels. The Sixth suffered severely, considering the numbers engaged: seven killed and fifty-three wounded. Among the wounded were Lieut. Col. Meeker, Captains Charles H. Nichols and John N. Tracy, Lieutenants Bennett S. Lewis, Charles J. Buckbee and Norman Provost. Capt. Horatio D. Eaton, of Hartford, was killed while encouraging his men forward. He served through the three months campaign and afterwards went out as lieutenant of the Sixth. He was greatly beloved at home by a large circle of friends, and possessed the esteem of the regiment. Capt. Biebel and twenty others were captured by the enemy.

The day after this battle the men of the Sixth who had re-enlisted came back from their furlough and reported for duty, but found our position rather warmer than they anticipated,--quite unlike the

The old Sixth was again engaged on the 20th of May with the enemy; the Johnnies fought stubbornly and seemed determined on driving us back. We held our ground, but made no advance. After about four hours they were repulsed and fell back. Lieut. Bradley and two privates were mortally wounded, and died soon after being brought into camp. Thirty-two of the regiment were wounded and one missing. Thus the ranks of the Sixth were constantly reduced by these frequent skirmishes, and duty fell pretty severe upon those who were able to perform it. Scarcely an hour passed, day or night, without being shelled by the enemy, and rest seemed out of the question. The pale faces and haggard looks of the men told too plainly what they endured. Yet few reproached the cause in which they were engaged.

Col. Redfield Duryee resigned his commission on the 27th of May, as failing health, it is said, incapacitated him for active service in the field. The captain of the 1st Connecticut Battery, Alfred P. Rockwell, was chosen to fill the place. Col. Rockwell was brave and fearless, and held in esteem by the members of the Sixth.

The 2nd of June the enemy again tried to force our lines and did drive back some portion of the 3d New Hampshire, but they were repulsed and the line regained. The artillery duel on both sides waged hot for a few hours, and it was difficult to determine which would come out best in the end. One rebel colonel was killed and brought within our lines, and a lieutenant and twenty-six men deserted to us, being, as they said, tired of the war. The loss to the Sixth was only three wounded.

Part of the command, including the Sixth, were sent across the Appomatox River on the 9th of June, to engage the enemy at a certain point, while the cavalry destroyed a railroad. We came upon the outposts of the enemy, drove them in, were subjected to a severe shelling, but with slight loss on our side. The cavalry, it was said, accomplished its object, and the next day found us back to our old line of works. One morning the videttes reported that the Capt. Nichols was captured by the enemy.

The weather was excessively warm and no exertion was required to produce perspiration. The thermometer on June 22d rose to 103 degrees in the shade. We were apprised of the fact that our worthy President, Abraham Lincoln, was near us, and all that were not engaged on duty were ordered to appear near the regimental quarters and render a proper salute. He came on horseback, attended by Gen. Butler and staff. The troops greeted him pleasantly and gave hearty cheers along the whole line. The President looked careworn and troubled. Undoubtedly the trials through which the nation was passing had much to do with his depression of spirits.

The next day we received some rebel papers which had an article headed, “What mean those cheers?” In allusion to the cheers which they distinctly heard, they inferred that we had received some good news of a recent Union victory; but as no such information had come to them through their sources, they finally came to the conclusion that it must be some scheme made known to the troops from the fertile brain of that “beefy, bloated Massachusetts Yankee,” as they called Gen. Butler.

Sheridan’s cavalry were at the “White House,” and were ordered to join Grant at the rear of Petersburg on the 25th of June. Some of our division 2d Lieutenant, went on the picket line on the evening of June 29, in charge of the pickets of the Sixth. The rebels fired upon the line, wounding Lieut. Grogan in the thigh. He was carried to camp and the surgeons found it necessary to amputate the limb to save his life. The operation was performed successfully and he fully recovered. Lieut. Grogan was exemplary in his habits and was a consistent Christian; respected and loved by the regiment, and it was with sorrow that we were obliged to part with his services. It will be remembered that Lieut. Grogan bore Col. Chatfield from Fort Wagner after the Colonel was twice wounded in that memorable assault on the night of July 18th.

Gen. Butler issued an order calling for volunteers for fatigue duty upon his famous Dutch Gap Canal, offering eight cents an hour extra pay and two rations of whisky each day. The work was very laborious, the enemy keeping a continuous fire upon the working parties, which together with the excessive heat, rendered the service anything but desirable; yet many availed themselves of the offer. The pickets

The report that Gen. A. P. Hill, of the rebel army, was advancing south of Richmond in the direction of Petersburg, aroused our General commanding, and Gen. Smith’s corps was ordered on the move. The Sixth was accordingly ordered to cook up the usual three days rations. We left the front shortly after midnight on the morning of the 14th of August, and at about 5 o’clock Sunday morning we crossed the James River on the pontoons, drove in the advance pickets and rapidly pushed forward, skirmishing with the enemy at different points. We soon heard the rebel yell, and the enemy came pouring upon us with all their fury. Our regiment, divested of knapsacks, immediately charged upon them and captured two lines of rebel earthworks, driving the enemy before us at a place called Strawberry Plains, near Malvern Hill. We skirmished with the enemy all day, and when night came on our division occupied

The Sixth moved again on the 15th of August and fought the battle known as Deep Run. We were posted in the woods with Hawley’s brigade, looking for the position of the enemy; but the woods were so dense that we could scarcely stand in line. The rebel earthworks were in our front, but their exact position or strength was unknown to the brigade. We fixed bayonets and cocked our rifles preparatory to an advance and charge. Gen. Terry informed us in whispers, as near as he could, the location of the enemy, and directed us to creep through the underbrush till we came to a certain tree, and then charge. The word “forward” was given and the brigade moved through the woods as fast as the tangled underbrush would permit. The enemy discovered our

With our force engaged and with the rebel force in front, it was deemed imprudent to remain on the captured ground and we fell back slowly, harrassed by the rebel sharpshooters. Once they charged upon Capt. Woodruff suffered the amputation of his arm and endured severe pain for a few weeks, till released by death. He entered the army as a private and was steadily promoted for good conduct. He was brave and faithful, beloved by the regiment, and his untimely death was regretted by all. The color guard of the Sixth was worsted in this engagement, the sergeant with two corporals were wounded, and one was overcome by the heat. The remaining corporal, Edward S. Downs, seized the flag and brought it off the field in safety.

The second day after this engagement the rebels, emboldened by the fact of the Union lines not being advanced, made a simultaneous attack all along our lines, and drove in our pickets, but were repulsed R. R. near Ream’s Station, in the rear of Petersburg.

Here we were again posted at the front. The Sixth occupied one side of the railroad track with the rebels on the other. Tents were out of the question. When a regiment moves from one place to another and halts for a season, to use a military term, “we pitch our tents;” but in this Virginia campaign tents were obsolete, and the term now used was, “we dug our holes.” Tents served to attract the enemy and draw their fire, and it was very unsafe to sleep in one even if we could do so; but in the holes in the ground we felt comparatively secure. It was rather a ludicrous sight to a casual observer to find an army of men burrowing in holes in the earth like so many woodchucks, and yet such was the fact. The whole of Grant’s line, extending from the south of Petersburg along the line of the Appomatox River down across Bermuda Hundred to the James, the army, when not

Shelling from the rebels and from our side was kept up day after day and night after night for weeks, and when the tired soldier had a few moments to sleep he quickly availed himself of it, and no amount of shelling would disturb his slumbers; but let the clear notes of the bugle sound through the air and he was quickly at his post. We knew the bugle call meant work; either some advance was threatened, or the line ordered to move to another quarter. It required but little time to pack up our household goods, and we were not required to run after drays to load them, but the clothes we wore were our bedding, and any hole we found when night overtook us was our bed, with the sky for a covering and with a consciousness that we were battling for the right, made sleep attractive to the Union soldier.

Gen. Hawley’s brigade was ordered out on the morning of Sept. 3d to witness the execution of a soldier of the 7th Connecticut by hanging. The brigade formed three sides of a hollow square around the gallows and saw the victim yield up his life at the end of a rope. He had some real or fancied grudge

The Sixth remained in the trenches around Petersburg, indulging in frequent skirmishing and entrenching themselves, occasionally holding short confabs with the rebel pickets, getting their views on the war question, till the 11th of September, 1864, when they were ordered a short distance to the rear and drawn up in front of Gen. Terry’s headquarters, where the non-re-enlisted men were mustered out of service. Their term of three years had expired, and the rebels, as if to give a parting salute, threw a shell into our midst which exploded, doing no damage, however, as the word “cover” was given in earnest this time. Gen. Terry, in a speech to them, said: “The State of Connecticut might well be proud of the record of the Sixth.” He thanked us personally for our valor on the field, and hoped that we would live many years to recite the marches and battles on the field to the loved ones at home; and expressed a wish that the conflict would soon terminate, that he might also enjoy the blessings of civil life. Cheers were given with a will for our brave commander, and many a silent prayer went up for his welfare.

“Three days rations” were issued to the boys for the last time, and they bade an affectionate adieu to the comrades who were to remain. Many a tear glistened in the eyes of the old soldiers as the last good-bye was said, and all expressed a wish that the war would soon be over and they also be permitted to greet their friends at home. The boys “changed front to the rear,” and took the cars to City Point, and there embarked on the steamer United States. After a pleasant sail and the usual delays, we reached New York early on the morning of Sept. 15, landing at the foot of Canal street, North River; marched down Canal to Broadway, and down Broadway to the Battery, where a bountiful collation was served