CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

CORNELL

UNIVERSITY

ComaH Uni>Mr8lty Ubiwy

E521.5 13th

Hialarlcal elwtch of Co. "Dj"l3th„Realm

elln

Cornell

University

Library

The

original oftliis bool< is in

tine Cornell University Library.

There

are

no

known

copyrightrestrictions in

the

United States

on

the

use

ofthe text.

HISTORICAL

SKETCH

Co.

"D

,"

13th

Regiment, N.

J.

Vols.

PABTOPTHE

3dbrigade, 1st division, 12th

ARMY

CORPS,U.S.A. .

I WITH THE

I

Muster

Roll

of

the Company.

*

Compiled and Printed for theuse of its members by the Au'JHORiTY OF"

_D

"Society.

NEWARK,

N.

J.,

1875.

NEW

YORK'.

D. H. GlLDEBSLEEVE&CO.,PUBLISHERSANDPriNTEKS,

loiChambersStreet.

Enteredaccording toActof Congress,inthe year187S,

By'D"SOCIETY,

PREFACE.

Tras littlebook makes no pretense to rank-with the

"_Literatureof the Eebellion,"nor doesitoweitsorigin to any ambitiontotake place as ahistory, in anysense

of the word. The same feeling which prompted the

survivors of

Company

D

of the Thirteenth Regiment,

N.J. Volunteers, to band themselves into a society to perpetuatetheassociationsandfriendships growingout of theirarmy experience in the great struggle for the

maintenance of the Republic,has also

moved

them to

put indurableform therecordofthe partthey tookas

amilitaryorganizationinthat struggle.

And

this, too, not onlyfortheir

own

satisfaction, and forthe informa-tion ofthose who, intime, shalltaketheirplacesonthe society roll,butalsoas a sacred dutytothe

memory

of theircomrades

who

died onthe fieldof battle, orfellas victims to the exposure and perils of soldier life. If,

then,

by

reason of its appearing in print, this record

PREFACE.

army

ofthe Eepublic.

The

record claims for itself at

leastonedistinguishingquality, andthatisauthenticity. Itisnotthe compilationof a single writer; butits facts

are taken from notes

made

at the time on the

com-pany"sroUs; fromthe privatejournals, andthe

recollec-tions of the actorsinthe scenes themselves.

Not

afact

stated but has been rehearsed again and again inthe hearingof the society,and submitted to their severest

scrutiny, untQ at lastthe record, asit

now

stands,isthe

unanimousverdict ofthewhole society.

This little book, then, disclaiming aU pretensions to other merits, rests itself on the one claim

—

that its

record is true.

"^se^

HISTORICAL

SKETCH

Co.

"D," 13th Regiment, N,

J,

Vols.

As

a

component

part of the ThirteenthRegiment, the liistoryof

Company

D

must, of course,formpart

and parcel of the history of the regiment. This

regiment was raised

by

the State of

New

Jersey,

under the second call

made

by

the President of the

UnitedStates forthreehundredthousandmen,Charles

S. Olden being then the Governor of the State" of

New

Jersey.

ColonelEzra A. Carman, formerly of the Seventh

Regiment,

New

Jersey Volunteers, was

commis-sioned as colonel of the regiment, and the next

commission issued

was

that of a second lieutenant,

to George A. Beardsley,

who

proceeded at once

to raise the

company

; this

was

ou the

seven-teenth day of July, 1862; William G. Boggs,

on the same day, was mustered in as the iirst

privaterecruited for the company, and received the

com-HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D,

menced

in earnest.

On

the 19th the following

ad-vertisement appeared in the

Newark

Daily

Ad-vertiser:

RALLY

—

RALLY

—

RALLY

!

COMPANY

D,

13th

REGIMENT,

N.

J.

v.—

Col.

Carman.

Thesabsuribcr, having received authority to raise Co. D.,

of the 13thRegiment, N. J. Vol., is

now

enlistinggoodmen

betweenthe ages of 18and45 years, at305 Broad St., and

No. 1 FerrySt. Itisdesired thatthis companyshallbe com-posed, asnearascan be, of menof the characterwhichwill

makethe societyin camp as pleasant as that of our home

circles. Letgoodmen,

who

love their country, rallyto the

support of our glorious flag which traitors are seeking to

tramplein thedust. Geokge A. Beakdsley, Recruiting Officer.

Through

theinfluenceof

Thomas

B.Smith, Messrs.

Macknet, Wilson, and Baldwin, gave the use of an

ofiiceforrecruitingpurposes. Recruiting progressed favorably for

some

days,

when

it

was

interferedwith

by

otherrecruiting officers oifering an extra bounty of fivedollars eachto the next tw^enty

men.

Lieu-tenant Beardsley, feeling the necessity of doingthe

same,-applied to the

Hon.

Frederick T.

Freling-huysen,

who

had

received a contribution of funds

to be distributed for this object,

and

received from

him

the

sum

of one hundred dollars, which

was

ap-plied asextrabounty, andrecruiting

was

againpressed,

good

men

coming

forward freely.

By

the 15th

mus-THIRTEENTn REGIMEKT, N. J. VOLS.

tered in, and the

work

ofi-ecraiting ceased. These

recruits were, as rapidly as they were musteredin,

forwarded to

Camp

Frelinghuysen, the regimental

encampment

sitviatedon theMorris Canal, abouttwo milesfrom

Broad

street, in the purlieus of the city of

Newark.

The

company

beingfull was then officered as fol-lows, viz.

:

George A.

Beardsley, captain.

Thomas

B. Smith, first lieutenant.

Charles

H.

Canfield, second lieutenant.

The

first muster roll of the

company

shows the

following

names

:

BEARDSLEY,

GEORGE

A., Captain.

SMITH,

THOMAS

B., UtLieutenant.

CANFIELD,

CHARLES

H., 7dLieutenant.

SEKGEANTS.

Whitfield,,George G., Is*Sergeant. BoGGS, William G. I Miller, John R. Decker, John P. [ Patterson, Edward. CORPORALS. Conselyea, Ira

W.

Hoyt, Edwin. Lawrence, Geo.

W.

Lefurge,AndrewW. Milburn, SamueL Paige, JamesC. Runyon, Peter H. Spence, JoliuA. PRIVATES. Armstrong, JamesC, Private. Atlia, ThomasH., " Atkins, Abram, "

HISTOKICAL SKETCn OF COMPANYD,

PRIVATES

.

Burlew, JohnJ. C, Private. Burlew, Jacob, "

Baldwin, GeorgeF., " Cook, CharlesE., "

Curren, JohnJ., " Carter, Alfred, " Cole, JesseR., " Colyer, Joseph, " CoUard, DavidB., Bodd, WilliamH., Devor, ThomasR., Davis, GeorgeT., " Day, Ludlow, " Edwards, LemuelH., " Edgar,Moses, ' ' Egbert, JohnH., •"" Fields,GeorgeH., " Freeman, Stephen, " Faitonte, JoshuaF., Green, Aaron, " Griffin, John, "

Garabrant, JamesE., "

Hetzel, Jacob, ' Hopper, ByronC, " Hargreaves,John S., Harrison, HenryT., " Harrison, GeorgeR., " Harris,AbramM., " Jeroleman,WilliamH., " Jenkins, Leander, " Kinsey, George, Lyon, Washington, " Love, James, " Lewis, John, "

Lambert, William, Private. Morgan, David, " Mason,Albert, Musician.

Milburn, Charles, Primtei McConnell, William, " Milburn, David 8., " Morningstern, Abraham, " Norcross, William, . "

Osborn, Alexander, "

Page, WilliamH., Musician. Prout, FrederickH., Wagoner. Romer,WashingtonI.,Private. Russell, Caleb, " Rindell, AnthonyC, "

Russell,WashingtonR., "

Reighley, Charles^ Jr., "

Reighley,JamesB., '

Riker, John, Musician.

Ritchie, Charles N., Private. Scull, David, " Scull, John, " Stewart, Ezra, " Sherman, Oba, " Swaim, GeorgeM., " Simmonds, Robert, " Stewart, Mortimer, " Shaffer, RudolphA., « Taylor, William, " Terhune, AlbertH., " Vickory, William, "

VanArsdale,GeorgeJ., "

Vanlderstine,

Wm.

H., "

Wilde, JamesB., "

Whetsell,AndrewR., "

THIRTEENTH HEGIMENT, N. J. VOLS.

The

company

commenced

the

work

of instraction

immediately at

Camp

Frelinghuyson, and were tliere

uniformed and supplied with arms; and on the 25th

day of August, with the rest of the regiment, were

m.usteredintothe United States service, by Lieuten-ant

D.

"Watkins, oftlie Fifth U. S. Cavalry.

At

this time it was stated to be necessarythat

some

of tlie enlisted

men

of the

company

should be transferred

to the musterroll of

Company

I,to bring it

up

to the

minimum

number

for musteringin, as wellas to

re-duce

Company

D

toa

maximum.

That none might betransferredbutthose

who

were

willing, volunteerswere called for, with the express

understanding that they should be transferred only

onthe muster roll, and that they werestilltodo duty

with, andin all respects be treated as belongingto,

Company

D

;

whereupon

the following persons

stepped forward and were mustered in, as of

Com-pany

I, viz.:

John

Booth,

Thomas

Giles, Moses

H.

Garabrant,

James

P. Howatt, Martin V.B.Ingram,

John

Ogden.

Therewas but littletime allowedat

Camp

Freling-huysenfor the newly enlisted recruits to learn the

duties of a soldier, or

how

to carry himself under arms. Sooner, far, than any one anticipated, the exi-gencies of the service called instanter forevery

avail-able man, andorders

came

to forward to theseat of

war. Accordingly, on Sunday, the 31st of August,

tentswerestruck, and the regiment marched out of

10 HrSTOKICAL SKETCH OP COMPANY D,

Broad

street,

and on

to the Chestnut streetdepot, of

the

New

Jersey Railroad.

This was a

memorable Sunday

morning, not only

forthe boys oftheregiment, but in the cityat large

;

as the column, coveredwith the dust of the

unpaved

road,

moved

down

Brpad

street, the churches

ap-peared to have been deserted, and the sidewalks

werelinedwithspectators,

who

testified

by

open

dem-onstrations their

sympathy

with the chief actors of the scene. Arrived at the depot, the neighborhood was filled

up

with thefriendsof the regiment.

Here

the last sadleave-takings werehad,

which

separated, in

many

instances, the tenderest of ties; in

some

cases, too, partings which were fated to be forever

;

a delay of about a half-hour,

and

then the shrill

whistle of the steam locomotive

announced

that the

regiment

was

off for a three years' service in the

cause of the Kepublic.

This

was

the first trying ordealthrough

which

the boys

had

to pass; but, once in the cars, and

home

and

friends left behind, the excitement and novelty

of the occasion soon obliterated sad thoughts, and

long faces

and

solemn looks gave

way

to fun

and

frolic.

About

midnight, on the

2d

of September, the

regiment reached Washington.

The

night

was

passed in the depot, resting the weary

body on

the

floors; and, on the

morning

of the 3d, the regiment

was marched to.the " Soldier's Retreat" for

THIKTBENTH REGIMENT, N. J. VOLS. 11

army

rations.

About

noontheregimentwas

marched

across the

Long

Bridge to the Virginiashore, and,

passing along the road to Alexandria,

moved

on to

thevicinityofFort Richardson,onArlington Heights,

where

the first

camp

onthe enemy'ssoil waspitched.

The

Sibleytents, which had been brought with the

regiment ftom

Newark,

made

a fine

show

in the

warliite scene, and contrasted strongly with the

veterans

who

had

just

come

from the Peninsular

campaign and were

encamped

on all theneighboring

grounds, with the sky for a canopy, or, at best,the light protection of the " shelter tent." Itwas then

the boys were thrown

upon

their

own

resources for

comfort; and, if they did not like things as they

found them, they had to exert themselves to

im-prove them.

The

enemy

at this timewas moving in

force toward Harper's Ferry and the fords of the

Potomac

beyond. It was hardly to be supposed

that an attack would be

made

on the strong lines offorts which surrounded

Washington

; but, in view

of any possibility,the regiment, together with the

One Hundred

and Seventh

New

York

(also a

new

regiment, a neighbor in the field, and subsequently brigaded with tlie Thirteentli), was set to

work

at digging rifle-pits, and drilling

how

tofight in them.

This proved, however, nothing

more

than good

practice in soldiers' work, until tlien unlearned.

As, on the evening of the 6th, the

command

broke

camp, and, re-crossingthe

Potomac

•over the

Hock-12 HISTORICAIi SKETCH OP COMPANY D,

ville, about 22 miles distant, reaching there about

5 p. M., where it again

went

into camp, about

two

miles northwest of

and beyond

the town.

The

tents followed the

command

here, together

with a vast

amount

of baggage and regimental

property.

To

such extent did these

impedimenta

of the

march

exist, thaf it is stated that thirty-two

army wagons

were requiredfortransportation of the same.

On

the 9th the tents were pitched

and

the

camp

formed, which

was no

sooner done than orders

came

to

move

immediatelyin light

marching

order,leaving

behindtents, baggage, those

who

had

fallen sick

by

the way,

and

aguard to protectthe

camp

and

prop-erty. This

was

the last theboys

saw

oftheirSibleys,

andthe last, too,that

was

seen of

many

comfortsand

necessariescontainedin the baggage of the

unfortu-nateowners.

The

march

commenced

about 11 a. m.,

and at night Middle

Brook was

reached,

where

the

regimentjoined theThird Brigade,

Second

Division,

Bank's Corps, to which it

had

been assigned, then

under the

command

of Brigadier-General Gordon.

September

10th the

march

continued in the

direc-tionof theBaltimoreand

Ohio

Railroad; the

Monoc-acy River was forded,

and

about

noon

of the13ththe

regiment

was

halted at about one milefromthe

town

ofFrederick,Maryland.

Here

thefirstsoundof battle

was heard

by

the

command, and

the hearts of all

beat fast,as each one thought the hour for the first

THIKTEENTH REGIMENT, N. J. VOLS. 13

On

Sunday, the litb, the battle of Crampton's

Pass was fought, and the soundof thehostileguns

was

distinctlyheard.

The command

moved

ateight o'clock in the morning, and marched,with frequent halts,for sixteen hoi^rs,

moving

throughby-roadsand

across fields, over the Catootin Hills, to the west of

Frederick, avoiding the

main

roads,which were

ob-structed with trains of artillery, and troops, and wagons, passing through the Middleto-wTi Yalley, the beautiful scenery of which impressed the soldier's

eye and

mind

with alife-long remembrance.

This

was

aday of toil which no one

who

partici-pated in it will ever forget

—

a

memorable

march,

which,to thoseignorantof the causes,seemedwithout

design,

and

a meaningless doubling over the

same

ground.

Long

after midnight,

on

the morning of

the 15th, the exhausted column was halted, and,

under the

command

of Lieutenant-Colonel Swords,

wentintobivouac in a fieldon the road-side, stacking

twenty-seven muskets, and about thirty officers and

men

ofthe entire regimentbeing present.

Througli the balance of the night, and upto

noon

of the next day, those

who

had fallenout exhausted on the

march came

straggling in, and it was not

iintil about one o'clock p. m. that the

march was

resumed.

The

ground over whichthe

command

was

moving

soonbegan to

show

signsof theterrific strife

of the day before; and as the column crossed the

South

Mountain

and approached Boonsborough, the

extem-14 HISTOBICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D,

porized hospitals, sucli as churches, barns, houses, tents,

where

the surgeons

were

busy dressing the

wounded

and amputatinglimbs.

Human

gore

every-where

met

the eye,

and

told a sickening tale to the

new

recruit of things with which he

was

but too soon to

become

familiar.

The

regiment

encamped

for the night just

beyond

Boonsborough.

On

the

16th the

command moved

as far as Keedysville, and

remained there during the day, cooking rations

and

resting in preparation for the struggle which the

morrow

was

to witness.

The

enemy

were

now

posted on the westerlybanks ofthe

Antietam

Creek,

occupying the hills

and

ridges in front of the

vil-lage of Sharpsburg.

About

midnight the

com-mand

was

roused from their quiet slumber and

dreams of happier scenes, and ordered to

move

immediately.

They

crossed the creek in cautious

silence, and after a short march, took position

among

the reserves on the right.

Here

in line of

battle the

command

lay

down

with equipments on,

to catch

what

sleep they

might

duringthe remaining

hours ofdarkness.

At dawn

of day, sleep

was

routed

by

desultory

rifle-firing

among

the pickets; this

was

soon

fol-lowed

by

the noise of regular volleys,

and

then

came

theroar ofartillery,

and

the

combined

dintold that the battle

was

begun.

The

regiment

was

then

moved

to theshelter of a piece of wcfod

on

theright,

andin rear'oftheengaged line,

and

heldfor an hour

THIBTBENTH REGIMENT, N. J. VOLS. 15

Gordon

came

inperson and ordered thecommjandto

thefront.

Moving

over thebattle-field,the regiment

was

formed inline withina piece ofwoodland, onthe

edge ofwhich was a battery, thenengaged in a duel

with the enemy's artillery,andtowhichbattery, tlie

regiment for a while formed a support, but, sofar,

withoutfiringa shot. This was, for thetime being, a

pretty hot spot; solid shot crashed through the

woods, and shells bursted overhead; added to this,

the tops of thelofty trees, as they were cut

by

the missiles from the enemy,

came down

with a

stand-from-undercrash, allofwhich

made

thescene a

try-ing onefor the nervesof a green regiment.

By

fur-ther orders, the

command

then faced tothe rear, and

moved

in line about 500 or 700 yards toward the

extreme right, passing diagonallyacross thefieldand

throughapieceofstanding corn outontothe

Hagers-town road. Here,forthe firsttimeinitshistory,the

command

engagedthe

enemy

;

raw

recruits,

many

of

them

almost ignorant

how

to load theirrifles,but all

fullof pluck,engaged the flower ofthe enemy's

army

—

the veterans of no less a chief than Stonewall

Jackson, ashe was called.

The

command

had gone

over a five-footpostandrailfence,and formed on the opposite side of theroad, in front of a similar fence.

The

ground in front was cleared for

some

fewyai'ds,

16 HISTORICAl, SKETCH OF COMPANY D,

terraces, the enemy, posted in strength, invisible to

mostof the Thirteenth,pouredinsucha gallingfireas

astonished the boys,

and

soon

made

it so hot that it

would have been madness to remain. Acting on the

principle of discretionbeingthe betterpart of valor,

the regiment broke and

moved

inprettylively style

to the rear, halting within the protection of a piece

of woods. It should be mentioned, however, that

Company

D,

being on the left,

and

having on their

leftthe 27th Indiana, under Colonel Colgrove, also

oneof the regiments of thebrigade, ralliedandfought

for a while in the line of the 27th, mitil Captain

Beardsleywithdrewit

and

joined the regiment..

The

appearanceof the fence rails on the road, as

seen after thefight,

amply

testifiedas to the sort of fire tlieregiment

had

beensubjectedto,fortheywere

literally riddled, and the only

wonder seemed

that

any one should have escaped unhurt. In the short

time the regiment

was

engaged on thisspot

many

of

the regiment were puthors de combat.

NAMES

OF KILLKD AND"

WO0NDED.

Captain

H.

C. Irish, of

Company

K,

a

most

valu-able officer,

was

instantly killed and left

upon

the

ground; being bm'ied the next day

by some

of his

command,

during a truce for buryingthe dead.

The

regiment

had

not stood long in this rallying

spot

when

the brigadier

commander,

the veteran

General Gordon, appeared on the left,

and

noticing

THIBTEENTH REGIMENT, N. J.TOLS. 17

repulse in tackling the enemy,lie proposed to the

lieutenant-colonel to tell the boys that" the

enemy

were licked,"

and

to give three cheers. Taking off

his hat

and

swinging it in the air, the

lieutenant-colonel quickly complied, and three rousing cheers

weregiven, whichranlikean electricspark through

the whole

command.

General

Green

having applied toGeneral Gordon,

who

was in

command

of the division, for

reinforce-mentsforliisline,which wasthenengaged on theleft

ofthe

Hagerstown

road, abouta quarterofa'mile to

theleftofwheretheregimentfirstwentin,andsorely

pressed, the Thirteenth was giventohim, again went

tothe frontunder the lead ofGeneral

Green

himself,

and took position in the woods on the left of the

Dunker Church

(a quaint old stone white-washed

building, which stoodon the ground), and onthe

ex-treme rightof General Green's brigade.

Here

the

command

again engaged the enemy, and stoodtheir

ground

likeveterans, loading andfiring atwill, and

under the

commendation

of their officers,

who

had

little else to do but watch the fight and cheer the

boys.

They

stoodthis for about an hour, and then

a smarttrick was played

by

a forcefrom the enemy,

which,

coming

up from aravine in front of

Company

D,

pretended they were going to surrender,andthus

procuring acessation of firing longenough for

them

to carry theirpoint, they passed around the rightof

Company

D,

then on the extreme right of the line,

18 HtSTOKICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D,

cover of thewoods,poured inamurderousfire.

Com-pany

D

was

swung

roundto facetheenemy, butthey were too strong, and the wliole line giving way, the

command

retired again, and after rambling for

some

timein search of the brigade, were,under

command

of the lieutenant-colonel, posted in line of battle

with the balance of the brigade,

who

by

that time

had

been withdrawn from the fight.

The

battle at

this time

was

pretty

much

over.

The

colonel of the

regiment

had

retired to the shelter of a hospital,

un-able longer to keep up.

The

regiment remained

under

command

of the lieutenant-colonel durina: the

balance of the day

and

night,

_{and was}

three times

moved

by

him, thelast time being about midnight,

when

it

was

postedintheimmediatefront,

and

within firingdistance of the enemy's line, expecting a

re-newal of the battle

on

the

morrow.

On

the day

following, the 18tli, the

Union army

was the master

of the field, the

enemy

having retired across the

Potomac

into his

own

territory.

On

the 19th the

command

was

ordered to move,

and, passing over the entire battle-field,

had

fullview

of the ghastlyspectacle presented;

moving

through

the village of Sharpsburg,

down

the river towards Harper's Ferry,

and

halting on the 20th at a spot in

Pleasant Valley, about four miles from

Sandy Hook,

Maryland, where itremained until the 23d,

and

then

went into

camp

on

Maryland

Heights.

The

casualties of

Company

D

in this greatfight,

THtBTEENTH REGIMENT, N. J. VOLS. 19

and in the Confederate as the battleof Sharpsburg, werefourkilled and eight wounded, as follows

:

Killed

—

JamesC. Armstrong,

JesseE. Coles, GeorgeR. Harrison,

AlexanderOsborne.

WODUDBD

—

GeorgeWhitfield,

Ira

W.

Conselyca,

AbramAtUins,

JohnH. Egbert,

AbramM. Harris,

ByronC. Hopper, who diedonthe 13thOctober

following.

David S. Milburu, who died on the3ilOctober

following.

The

regiment remained at this

encampment

some

six weeks, suffering considerable from exposure and

sickness; the only shelterthe

men

had from the hot

sun. storms, and sharp winds, which drew through

the gulchformedin the mountains on this elevated

spot, was such as was affordedby littlehuts builtof

brush-wood.

On

the 17th of October shelter-tents

were obtained, and distributed

among

tlie

command.

On

the 27th the regimentwas visited by the

Presi-dent ofthe UnitedStates,

Abraham

Lincoln,

accom-panied

by

a brilliant staff" of general and other

ofiScers.

The

regiment

was drawn

out in line of

battle, and saluted ashe passed,givinghearty' cheers

to the commander-in-chief.

On

the 29th, under

orders fromheadquarters, the

command

struck tents

and

marched

up

the

Potomac

to a point on the

20 HISTOniCAL SKETCH OP COMPANY D,

village, and opposite Shepherdstovsm, Virginia,

where

they relieved,with the rest of the brigade,Fitz

John

Porter's

command

inpicketing the Potomac.

While

here,

and

about the 12th

November,

the

regiment

was

divided, the rightwing, with

Company

D

on the right,being

moved

up

the turnpike to a

position about one mile west of Sharpsburg, where

Captain Beardsley established a neat

and

comforta-ble camp, to the

command

ofwhichthe

Lieutenant-Colonel, Robert S. Swords,

was

ordered.

The

com-mand

here held a post of honoi", beingfor the pro-tection of the brigade headquarters

and

stores in

Sharpsburg, which were in a very exposed situation,

and, from thebends of the river, at considerable

dis-tance .from the

main

forces,

and

within easystriking distance of a raid of cavalryfrom the Virginia side of the river, the water of the

Potomac

being at the time

uncommonly

low.

The

right wing, while at this

encampment,

was systematicallypracticedin the

school of the battalion,

and

acquired considerable

proficiency in practice.

At

this time Burnside, in

command

of the

Army

ofthe Potomac, was opposite Fredericksburg onthe

Kappahannock, and preparingforagrand attack on

the enemy,

who

were stronglyposted on the heights

behind the city.

On

the 10th the regiment, under

orders,

was

moved

in thedirectionofHarper's Ferry,

crossing the

Potomac

at that point over a pontoon

bridge on the

morning

of the 11th,

and

moved

by

THIRTEENTH REGIMENT, N. J.VOLS. 31

the

Orange

and Alexandria Kailroad, to andbeyond

Occoquan

Creek, where, on the 16th, intelligence ofBurnside'6failure was received, andthe regiment

moved

back to FairfaxStation.

The

greater part of this

march

was over roadsin

the worstcondition of the season, and the

command

suffered

many

privations and discomforts.

On

the

4th January, 1863, the regiment again

moved

to

Wolf

Run

Shoals; here, in connection with the

Sec-ondWisconsin, a post wasestablishedunder

command

of ColonelCarman, Lieutenant-Colonel Swordsbeing

in

command

of the regiment.

On

the20th the

command

again broke

camp

and

moved

in thedirection of StaffordCourt House,

pass-ing through Dumfries onthe 21st, and crossing the

Quantico Creek (whose waters had

become

swollen

by

a persistent rain),on treeswhich werefelled so as tobridge the creek

—

atthe time arapidtorrent. Tliis

crossing

was

tedious, and

consumed

thegreatei- part of the day, so that the

command

was

moved

nofurther untilthe nextday.

The

stateoftheweather andthe fearful conditionofthe roads

made

thisa

memorable

mud

march

—

the

men

pinning up the tails of their

overcoatstokeep

them

out ofthe

mud. The

command

reachedStaffordCourt

House

on the 24th,and there •

went

intowinterquarters.

While

here,the

command

made

itself quite comfortable, with light -vVork,

con-sistingofguard and picket duty, occasionaldrills,and

the building ofcorduroy roads.

23 HISTORICAIi SKETCH OF COMPANY D,

in

command

of the army,

and

having

matured

his

plans for an offensive

movement, on

the 27th of

April, at 5 o'clock a. m. the

command

broke camp,

and moving

forward rapidly, at daylight,

on

the 29th,

crossed the

Kappahannock

at Kelly's

Ford

; thence

moving

to

Germania

Ford, on the Eapidan, ci'ossed

in four feet of water; about one mile southwest of

the crossing the

company went

on picketdutyfor the

niglit,with scarce adrythread

upon

them. This

dis-comfort was

made

light of,as "in thesilentmidnight

watches" _{acalfwas captured, slain}

and

dressed, and

soon cooked,

making

all glad in tlie refreshment of

the inner man.

On

the

morning

of the 30th the

march was

re-sumed, and the Chancellor

House

soonreached.

On

the following day

(May

1st), the Twelfth Corps, to

wliich the Thirteenth belonged,

was

pushed toward

the United States Ford, to co operate in the crossing

oftheTliird Corps, the

command

having engagedin

sharp skirmishing with the enemy,

and

the object of

the

movement

having been accomplished,returnedto

its former position.

On

the

morning

ofthe

2d

orders were received to build breastworks with abatis in front, which was-speedily done.

During

the afternoon cannonading

was

heardon the left,

and

undertlie impression that

the

enemy

was

retreating, the whole brigade

was

ordered out of their

works

in pursuit, leaving

knapsacks behind; thisimpressionwas soondispelled,

THIRTEENTH REGIMENT, N. J.VOLS. 23

theright, which proved to be from Stonewall

Jack-son's

command,

which completely surprised the

Eleventh Corps, postedon the right of the Twelfth,

anddrove

them

down

the Chancellorvilleroadin con-fusion,runningin

upon

andover the Twelfth Corps.

Thisstampede through the lines of theTwelfth, of

men, horses,mules, wagons, etc., etc., was enoughto demoralize any

command

; butin the midstofall the

confusion,

Company

D

held its position iramoved', iTutil ordered to fall back,

when

a

new

line was

formed.

Having

left their haversacks and blankets

inthe breastworks vacated in the afternoon, some of

the

members

of the

company

sought,in the

dark-ness ofthe night, torecoverthem.

On

reachingthe

works, they found

them

occupied

by

soldiers whose

character

was

noteasily discernible inthe darkness;

a closer inspection, however^ revealed the fact that

they wereof the Confederatearmy, andthen it was

runfor the

Union

lines,which allsucceeded in

reach-ing save Charles

N.

Ritchie,

who

was taken

prisoner.

On

the morningof the 3d (Sunday)the regiment,

•wdth the brigade, advanced and vigorouslyengaged

the enemy,

who

was

in strong force in front, the

fight lasting until the ammunition was expended,

when

theThirteenthwasrelievedbyothertroops.

On

the afternoon of the

2d

the

command

of the

regi-meat

fell

upon

Captain Beardsley, who, says the

24 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D,

i.Slightly.

encomiums

ofbothinferiors

and

superiors."*

During

thisbattlethe

company

suifered severely

—

casualties

as follows

:

Killed

—

William^artlett, William Vickory,

AndrewR. Whetsell.

Wounded

—

GeorgeJ. VanArsdale,whodied,onthe8th. WilliamTaylor, -whodiedonthe 18th.

First Lieutenant T. B. Smith, thenadjutant of the regiment.

Second Lieutenant George G. Whitfield

(pro-motedfrom the ranks),

who

soonafterdied of hiswounds. MosesEdgar, 1 JamesLove, AnthonyC. Rindell, Washington B.Russell, j

The

regimentwasagainordered inon the extreme

left, on the

Kappahannock,

where

they took position

andawaited the attack.

The

enemy, however,

had

re-tired to check General Sedgwick,

who

was

advanc-ing from Fredericksburg with the Sixth Corps.

While

these

movements

were going on, and the

op-portunity for the

Union

troops to attack

was

favor-able, for causes

unknown

to the

command,

theywere ordered to reerossthe river, and they wearily

moved

through

mud

and water back to their old camp,near

Stafford Court House,

and

the

campaign was

ended.

Here

the

command

found itself in a very destitute

conditi&n, havinglost almost every thingduring the

THIRTEENTH REGIMENT, N. J. VOLS. 35

previous ten days' campaign; but it was soon

moved

to a healthier location,

where

the

men

were

re-clothed, andfell once

more

into the routine of

camp

duty.

In the

mean

while

Lee

had

moved

again to the

upper Potomac,and'threatened

Maryland

and

Penn-sylvania.

On

the 13th June,

Hooker

put his

army

inmotion;the regiment

moved

inthe

same

direction,

by

way

of Dumfries, Fairfax Court House,

Drains-ville,andLeesburg,crossingthe

Potomac

atEdward's

Ford; thence to Poolville, Point of Pocks,

Knox-ville, Frederick,

Woodbury,

and Tarrytown,to

Little-ton, Pennsylvania, a distance of 200 miles,

where

the

command

arrived on the 30th June.

On

the

morningof the 1st July, the

command

broke

camp

atfive o'clock, and marclied

by

way

of two taverns in the direction of Gettysburg. Before reaching this place, the Eleventh Corps, which was in the

"

advance,

was

attacked

by

the enemy, and pressed

back throughthe town.

The

Thirteenth washurried

forwardon the double-quick,andinan exhausted

con-dition

was

deployed as skirmishers on the right of

the Baltimore pike.

At

night the

command

was

withdrawn, and lay in support of Battery

M,

First

New

York

Artillery.

July2d, the

command

moved

to the left of

Taney

Spring, and assistedin building breastworks.

Gen-eral Sickles beingseverely pressed onthe left, at 6

p. M. the regiment was orderedto his assistance,but

26 HISTOEICAL SKETCH OP COMPAKT D,

Meanwhile, Early

had

assailedtherightwithsuperior

numbers,and

upon

their return to their

works

the

Thirteenth found a portion of

them

inthe possession

of the enemy.

Some

prisonershaving been taken at

thispoint,

Company

D

was

detailed to take charge of

them

; these,

knowing

thedesperateeffortthatLee

would

make

on

the

morrow

to dislodge the

Union

army, and, thinkinghe

would

succeed, desired to be

taken further to therear.

On

the

morning

of the3d,

Company

D

took these prisoners' to "

Two

Taverns," and

handed

them

over

to the provost-guard.

On

the return of

Company

I)

to the front, the impression of these prisonersas to

Lee

proved to be, in

some

respects, correct; lie

had

made

a desperate attack,but atthe closeof day,with thinned ranks and disappointed hopes, he

had

retired

from his position. In the evening of the 3d, the Thirteenth,with others,was sent to support a cavalry ;

reconnoissancetothe right, but

no

enemy

could be

'

found.

The

dawning

4th, thenation's birth-day,

was

made

more

glorious

by

the declaredvictories to the

Union

armies.

The

enemy

had

retired, leaving the field in

possession of the victors.

The

Thirteenth

moved

to

its formerposition in the line.

July5th,the

march was

resumed,

and

the

command

reached Frederick, Maryland, on the

morning

ofthe

7th, then proceediugto Middletown,

Crampton

Pass,

Rohrersville,Keedysville,

Smoketown, and

Fair Play,

THIRTEENTH REGIMENT, N. J. VOLS. 27

had

fortifiedfortheir protectionwhile

making

prepa-rations to cross the river.

The

Thirteenth were at

once set to

work

bmldint;; earthworks, and but for thereligions scruples of the

commanding

general as to fighting on the Sabbath, the

enemy

would have

beenattacked the next day (Sunday). Early

Mon-day morning an advance was made,butthe

enemy

had

made

themostofthe delay,andrecrossed thePotomac, leavingone smallbrigade,which wascaptured.

From

this place the

command

moved

to Harper's Ferry,

where they remained

among

familiar scenesfor three

days, and then

marched

to Kelly's Ford, Virginia, viaSnicker's, Askby's,and Manassas Gaps, Eichtors-town,'Thoroughfare Gap,

Hay

Market, Greenwich,

Catlet Station, and

Warrentown

Junction.

While at Kelly's

Ford

the company, in

common

with the entirebrigade, was employed in picketand

guard duty, with occasional drills.

On

the 15th

September, General

Meade

having determined to

attack at Culpepper Court House,the

army

crossed the

Rappahannock

; the Tiiirteenth crossing at

Kelly's

Ford

and marching to

Racoon

Ford,

on

the

Rapidan.

While

here orders werereceived to detach

the Eleventh and Twelfth Corpsfor service in

Ten-nessee, under General Hooker.

The

Thirteenth then took farewell of the

Army

of the Potomac,in

whichit had seen so

much

hardservice, and received

its baptism of fii'e and blood.

On

the 24th

Septem-bertheregiment started for Bealton Station, where,

Washing-28 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D,

ton City, Maryland,

West

Yirginia, Ohio, Indiana,

Kentucky,

and

Tennessee, to Stevenson,

Alabama,

where

itarrived

on

the 4tli

day

of October, having

in sevendays traveled 1,100miles.

From

the latter

place the regimentreturned toWartrace, Tennessee

;

thence

moved

to

TuUahoma, where

itremained ten

days, during which time

Company

D

built

them-selves comfortable houses, the materials for which

were supplied

by

an unfinished church

and

vacated

houses.

On

the

23d

Octoberthe regiment

was

again

moved, to take part in the battle of

Lookout

Moun-tain; but their withdrawal

from

the railroad gave

opportunity to the rebels to tearit up,which they

did; and, on arriving at Anderson,

Alabama,

the

regiment

was

orderedback to Wartrace bridge,

Ten-nessee, reaching there on the 27th. Expecting to

have rest here, the

company

set about

making

for

themselves comfortable quarters;

when

these were

nearly completed, as usual, marching orders came,

and on the 3d

November

tents were struck, and the

regiment

moved

to

Duck

River Bridge, on the

Nash-ville and Chattanooga Railroad. There being good

hope ofremainingiherc during the winter, the

com-pany

again

went

to

work

building quarters,

and

suc-ceeded in

making

themselves very comfortable.

The

time here

was

occupied in a variety of

work

;

build-ingforts,cutting railroad ties,patroling therailroad,

guard

and

picketduty, withoccasional drills.

Captain

George A.

Beardsleyhaving received

THIRTEENTH REGIMENT, N. J. VOLS. 39

1864, 1st Lieutenant E. D. Pierson, of

Company

E,

was

assigned to the

command

of

Company

D, by

regimental order No.3, and was mustered as captain on the 15th

March

following.

The

variety of duty,

and thelibertyallowed while at

Duck

River, broke the

monotony

of

camp

life, and the winterpassed

by

quickly and pleasantly. Fish were taken iu the

streamandrabbits from thefields.

The

privilege of visiting

among

thefarmersof the vicinity was freely

accordedto the

members

of the

command,

and the

society of their families and fair daughters added

greatly to the comfortsand amenities of thesoldier's

life. Ifever the boyswere

happy

in their experience of

army

life,theywere so during this

camp

at

Duck

Kiver.

With

April

came

orders to prepare for a

spring campaign.

On

the 26th April the regiment

broke

camp

and

marched

to Tullahoma,a distance of

nine miles; thence to Dechard, about 13 miles

;

thenceto University Place,ona spurofthe

Cumber-land Mountains. April 30th the

command

marched

about 14 miles, and

encamped

for the night in

Cumberland

Valley, near Battle Creek; thence it

proceeded to Bridgeport,

Alabama

; thence to Shell

Mound

and

Lookout Valley; thence to Eoseville,

Georgia, Lee, and Gordon's Mills,

and Pea Vine

Church, to the foot of Taylor's Ridge; thence, on

the 13th

May,

througli Snake Creek

Gap

to Resaca,

where anattempt was

made

to dislodge the enemy.

30 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D,

corpshaving given way,it

was

sent to their support.

General Knipes being in the advance, the

enemy

was

by

liim drivenfrom the iield.

On

the following day(Sunday, 16th) the 13th took

apositionona ridge in an openfield,and

commenced

making

a breastwork of rails; but before this was

completedthe

enemy

made

desperate

and

continuous

charges

upon

them.

The

position, however, of the

Thirteenth being a

commanding

one, and partially

protected bytherails,theregimentsuffered butlittle,

while the enemy'sloss

was

so greatthat hewas

com-pelled to retreat to Dallas,the 13th following

him

by

way

of Casseville, where the

command

partici-pated in a lively skirmish,

which

resulted in driving

the

enemy

from the town.

The

command

again

came

in contact with the

enemy

at

Pumpkin

"Vine

Creek,where

Moses

H.

Garabrant* received

wo

imds

from which he afterward died.

A

vigorous pursuit

of the

enemy

was

now

kept up, and skirmisheswere

of daily occurrence.

On

the 17th of June, in a

skirmish near

Kenosaw

Mountain, SergeantEdwai'd

Patterson was killed,

and

on tlie 22d, at Kulps

Farm,

near Marietta,

Washington

Lyoij

was

wounded.

Here

the

enemy

made

a desperate effort to drive

back the brigade, which

had

taken position across the

Sandtown

road, over whichapart of their

army was

to retreatif dislodged from Kenesaw.

A

flank

movement

of

Sherman

at this time caused

THIRTEBKTH KBGIMENT, N. J. VOLS. 31

the

enemy

to retreat,

who

was followed until the

regiment reached the Oattahoochie river, where it

remained several days.

While

on picket at this

place, July 14th,

James

Dobson, a recruit

who

en-listed

August

21, 1863, received

wounds

from which he died, August 24th. July 17th, the

command

crossed the river, and on the 18th

made

a reconnois-sance,and

came

in contactwith the

enemy

atNancy's

Creek, and drove

them

to near

Buck

Head,tlien

returned againto the brigade. July 20th, the

com-mand

took part inthe battle of Peach-tree Creek. July22d, the

enemy

havingwithdrawn,anadvance

was

made

towardAtlanta,and,afterabrief skirmish,

the

command

entrencheditselfwithin afew hundred

yards of tlie fortitications of tlie city.

The

enemy, not liking the close proximity to their works, occa-sionally sentin very

unwelcome

messengers,

by

one

of which, on the 23d, "Washington I.

Komcr

was

wounded.

On

the 27th theregiment was selected for

impor-tant special duty. There being irregularity in the line, which it

was

desirable to straighten, it was

ordered that .one regimentfrom each division in the

Twentieth Corps should unite ina demonstration

on

theenemy's works,under cover of which the

neces-sary

work

should be done, and the position of his

fortsatthe

same

timebedeveloped.

The

Thirteenth was selected from the First Division forthis duty,

beins ordered at the

same

time to burn several

sharp-32 HISTOHICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D,

shooters

had

kept

up

an annoying fire.- This

work

was

accomplished With

some

loss to the regiment,

but none to

Company

D.

On

the

morning

of tlie 30th the regiment again

advanced, taking about sixty prisoners,

and

taking

position near the enemy's forts, thi'ew

up

breast-works, a part of the

men

keeping

up

a steady fire

while thesewere being constructed. After establish-ing this

new

line, the Thirteenth

was

relieved,

and

fellback to our line of works in the rear. In this

short encounter, William

H.

Van

Iderstine

had

his

hand

so badly shattered

by

afragment of an

explod-ing shell as to renderamputation necessary; Joseph

Colyer

was

also

wounded

in the shoulder and side

by

the

same

shell.

On

the 5th of August, while

arranging his tent,

George

Kinsey was slightly

wounded by

arifle-ball,

and

on the 18th

Oba

Sher-man

was struck

by

a piece ofshell while cooking his

breakfast.

General

Sherman

not being able to take the city

by

direct assault, except at too great an expenste of life, concludedto try his favoriteplan of " screwing"

them

out; so the siege was raised,

and

the

Twenti-eth Corps,

on

the25th

August,was marched

backtothe CattahoochieRiver toguard thebridgeandstoresthat

had

accumulated there; while the balance of the

army,

by

a circuitous route,

marched

to tliesouthof

THIRTEENTH REGIMENT, N. J. TOLS. 33

other demonstratioDSofjoy exhibited

by

citizensand

soldiei-y.

While

thus unconscions of the true state of affairs, Slierman struckthe enemy'slineof

communi-cation, south ofthe city, and he was thu^,

when

too

late to help himself,forced torealize his condition.

Hood,

who

wasin

command

oftheConfederatearmy,

sentouthisforce to cleartheway,but failingin this,

and

knowing

that it was madnesstoattempt longerto

hold the city, heordered the destruction of locomo-tives, cars, munitions of war, and

immense

quantities

of other property which he could not move, and

abandonedthe cit}' toher fate.

The

burstingofshells, andthe conflagrationwhich ensued,attracted the attention oftheTwentiethCorps

eight miles to the northward.

And*

the following

day, September 2d, the

command

entered the city,

andcould truthfully say "Atlanta's ours, and fairly

won."

On

occupying the city, the Tliirteenth

en-camped

temporarily on the easterly side, but, as

or-ders

had

been issued indicating a few weeks of rest,

tlie

command moved

to a pleasanter location, and

built houses after the most approved style.

While

here, thefollowingaccount, in verse, of the startling

eventsof thefewpreceding days waswritten by a

member

of

Company

D.

Atlauta, tliostroDghold of treason, rebellion,

Hasfallen atlastin thehandsof the brave

;

And now,letthe voiceoftheNorth'stwenty million

34 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D,

AtRingold, JoeJohnsonhad, justwhere he wanted,

Themudsillsandvandalsof Sherman'scommand,

And

therebs, intheirtrenches,feltsecureandundaunted,

And

thought themselvesable allcharges to stand. Butstrategy, by "old Sherman," the hero,

Drewfromtheir entrenchmentstlie deludedhost,

And

onthesmallhillsataplace called Resaca, Theyfound thattheytheir positionhadlost.

And

then, further south, ata placeknownas Dallas,

And

atKenesaw Mountaintheymadeabold stand. Butstillwewenton, sweepingallfrombefore us

Who

daredtoinsultthefair flagofourland.

Bythistime JoeJohnson wasof opinion.

That heandhisarmynolonger couldstand Beforeth"edefendersof liberty, union,

And

sohe gaveoverhis weakened command. ThenHood,#thesuccessor ofGeneral Johnson,

Thoughtthathehissuperiorskillwouldshow,

Bymassinghistroopsinacoveredposition,

And

drivebackthe Yankees byone sudden blow.

Butwhenheadvancedinstronglinesofbattle.

He

foundthatthe Yankees wouldneverretreat,

And

itdid nottakelonghimthe question tosettle.

Whetherheor "old Sherman" hadsuffereddefeat.

Havingthusfailed in hisfirstgrand endeavor

Todrivebacktheloyal, thetrue, andthe brave. Then camethe question of importance, whether

He

thecityofAtlanta couldsave?

So, inthedefensesherallied his forces.

TheGeorgiamilitiaandveteranscombined,

Butsoon, to hissorrow, hereceivedleadendoses

THIRTEENTH REGIMENT, N. J. VOLS. 35

Now

thehopeoftherebelsgavewaytodepression,

And

they burnedupmunitionsofwarthereinstore,

And

soonthegatecitywasinthe possession OfJoe Hooker'sveterans,the TwentiethCorps.

WritteninAtlantaGa., Sept., 1864.

The enemy

having

moved

to Sherman'srear, with

aview to operate on his line of communication, a

forcewajjsent tooppose him, and on the 5th October

the regiment was

moved

to the westerlyside of the

city,

and

occupied the works built and held

by

the

enemy

before their evacuation of the city.

While

here theregimentassistedin buildinganinteriorline

of defense, andoccasionally went out from 15 to 20

miles on foraging expeditions. General

Hood,

with

his army, being

now

far in our rear, and General

Thomas

having sufficient force at Chattanooga to

prevent

him

(Hood) from going toofar, the sublime

thought of marching from "Atlanta to the sea"

presented itself to Sherman's mind. Preparations

were at once

made

to carry out this great move.

The

railroads in and aroundthe citywere destroyed;

depots and public buildings were burned, andevery

thing whichcouldbe oftiseto the

enemy

destroyed.

All being ready, onthe 15th the column was put in

motion, forwardto the sea, passingthroughDecatur,

Social Circle, Madison, and Miledgeville. Before reaching thelatterplace the GeorgiaLegislaturewas

in session; but, asSherman's column headedthatway.

Governor

Brown

very wisely suggested an

36 mSTOKICAI, SKETCH OF COMPANY D,

one looking outforhimself, and standing "not

upon-tbe order of .his going."

On

the arrival of the

Twentieth Corps, the

American

flag

was

raised over

tlie State Honse, and

some

ofthe officers, organizing

in the

Assembly Chamber,

passed resolutions to the

tunc' of "

Where,

oh,

where

! have the legislators

gone?"

_November

_{26th,as the column approached}

Saundersville,

some

of the enemy's cavalry showing

a disposition to disputethepassage,the regiment

was

deployed in skirmish line, and drove the

enemy

throughthe town.

Here

the Georgia Central

Hail-road was struck and destroyed as the column

ad-vanced.

December

9th,

when

within fifteen miles

of Savannali, the

command

came upon some

earth-works occupied

by

the

enemy

; after taking their

dinners, the Thirteenth, with others of tlie brigade,

got

upon

their flank

by wading

through a

rice-field, covered

by two

feet of water. This move,

through a field which they

had

looked

upon

as a

sure defense, so surprised the

enemy

that they fled

in haste to the city.

On

the following day the

march

was continued unmolested, the

column

reach-ing the city of

Savannah

in the afternoon.

During

allthis

march

from Atlanta, the

men

had

Hved

almost entirely, and well,too, oflfthe country;

but

now

that the barren wastes that

bound

thecity

of

Savannah

on the west

were

reached,

and

there being

no

supplies, there was not a little suflering for

food in tlie

command

; tosuch an extent, indeed, that

thede-THIRTEENTH REGIMENT, N. J. VOLS. 37

fences whicli were being thrownup. Three spoon-fuls ofrice, anda small pieceoftoughbeef,were the

rationsof a day. This term of starvation,however,

was

of short duration, foron the 16th the

command

crossed to Argyle Island, in the Savannah River,

where any quantity of rice

was

to be had, and at

almostanyprice, asthe negroes did not

know

a

ten-cent stamp fromafive-dollarbill. Earthworkswere

thrown

up

here as a defense against the guns of the

enemy

in position onthe South Carolina shore; but

as soon as the

command

crossed to that sidethe

en-emy

fellback fromtheriver. This

move

threatening

to close hislast lineof retreat from Savannah, the

enemy

was

compelled to evacuate the city, which

was done during the night of the 19th December,

General Geary's division occupyingit on the 20th,

and the Thirteenth reerossing to the Georgiashore,

where, onthe 23d, it

went

into

camp

in a live-oak

grove,thusterminating a

march

of over three hun-dredmiles,and oneof themost remarkable campaigns onrecord.

The

company

now

remained comparatively idle

until the lith of January, 1865, when,with the

regi-ment, it

moved

into the city on detached service,

and

was

connected with a provisional brigade, acting

as guard at the grand depot of supplies connected

with the quartermaster's department.

To

effecta junction with General Grant at

Rich-mond

was

now

the next object to be gained.

To

go

38 HISTOnlCAL SKETCH OP COMPANY D,

Sherman,

knowing

what

manner

of

men

he

com-manded, their ability

and

willingness to

go

where-ever he might lead, thought to

march

through the

Carolinas

would

be as quick a

way

to transfer his

army, and

would

result

more

disastrously to the

enemy, as he could cut their lines of

communica-tion, and thus compel

them

to evacuate the coast.

To

this plan no objection could be made, and about

the 10th of January, 1865, the

army was

putin

mo-tion, heading northward.

On

the 17tli, the

regi-ment

crossed on pontoon bridges, to Hutchinson

Isl-and, thence across the

main

channelof the Savannah

river, to Palmetto Island.

The

roads on these

isl-ands were in verj'

bad

condition,

and

the

command

were orderedto remain behind and assist in getting

the train over. Before this could be accomplished,

a heavy rain-storm set in,which caused the river to

rise to such a height as to compel the

command

to

abandon

their position and return to Savannah,

which separated theregiment fromthe brigade. So

great

and

rapidwas the rise of water, that

some

of

the teams were caught, and

wagons

and mules sunk

beneath the flood, boxes of hard-tack

and

barrels

of "salt junk"_{floating off rapidly}

_down

_{the stream.}

The

regiment remained in the city untilthe 27th,

when, the water being still too highto cross at that

point, the

command

marched up

the right

bank

of

the

Savannah

Kiver, about forty miles, to

Lower

Sister'sFerry,

where

itcrossed, on the4th February,

THIETBENTH REGIMENT, N. J. TOLS. 39

From

thence the

command

marched

to

Koberts-ville and Lawtonville; on the 7th crossed the

Coo-sawatchie

swamp;

on the 8th crossed the

Salka-hatchie Kiver; and on the 9th

marched

to within

olie mile of Blackville, astation on the Augusta and

Carolina Kailroad,where the

command

againjoined

the brigade, from whichit

had

been separated since

the 14thJanuarypreceding.

From

this point the

march was

devious, for the

purpose of misleading the enemy.

On

the 17th the

command

encamped

within a few miles of the cityof

Columbia, which was occupied the

same

day by the

Fourteenth Corps.

Day

after day the

march was

continued, passing through towns andvillages,

ford-ingrivers, etc., until the 27th,when, reaching

Hang-ing

Rock

Greek, the

command

rested fora day, and

the muster-rolls were

made

out.

From

here the

command

moved

in the direction of Chesterfield

Com't House, where, on the 1st of March, they had

a skirmish with the enemy.

From

thence marched

to Cheraw, and crossed the Great Pedee Kiver;

thence to the Little

Pedee

and

Lumber

Rivers. In

this section there was great difficulty, not only in

gettingthetraintlirough,but evenin gettingthrough

the

command

itself.

A

greatstorm was

upon them

;

the rivers wereswollen,andthe roadsin terrible

con-dition.

However,

after great labor,and

some

suffer-ing, the

command

reached Fayetteville,

North

Caro-lina, on the 11th, at 10 o'clock, p. m. This place,

-40 HISTORICAL SKBTCn OF COMPANY D,

Confederates,who, a

week

before,

had

declared their resolution to defend the city to the last; butthey

adhered to their established rule

—

to

move

when

Sherman

did.

March

13th,the

command

passedthrough thecity;

was

reviewed

by

Generals

Sherman

and Slocum,

and

went

into

camp

a short distance out.

The

14th

was

spentin foraging and procuringcorn.

On

the 15th

marched

about 15 miles north, on

the Ealeigh plank road,

and encamped

near

Cape

Fear River; the

command,

while disposing

them-selves here comfortably for the night,

and

while

smoking

their after-supper pipe,

was

ordered to

strike tents

and

move.

The

brigade was

moved

rapidly forward about four miles to near

Averys-borough, in tlie rain, over roads inwhich the

mud

was

in places teninches deep, to support Kilpatrick's cavalry, which

had

met

the enemy's infantryat that point.

The

front

was

reached at about midnight, and the

command

spent the best part of the

re-mainder of the night in drying their clothes and

freeingthemselves from the accumulated

mud.

At

early

dawn

Kilpatrick broughthis band to thefront,

and the strains of

"Our

FlagisThere"

_was

_cheerily

given, with tantalizing effect on the ear of tlie

enemy.

The

ground here was such as to preclude the

operation of the cavalry, which

was

withdrawn, the

freshly-arrived infantry taking its place.

_Soon

_the

THIKTBENTH BEGIMENT, N. J. VOLS. 41.

to therigbt,

when

achargewas

made

andthe

enemy

driven to their strongly-fortified position ; this

posi-tion was a

good

one for defense, for in th^r front

the quicksands prevented the use of artillery; and ,

in advancing our

men

were,

some

of them, inwater

twofeet in depth.

At

night the Thirteenth was

re-lieved, and

went

into

camp

intherear.

For

some

reason or other, the

enemy

retired

during the night.

A

feigned pursuitwas

made

the

next day, to give the impressionthat Ealeigh was

Sherman'sobjective point. Soon, however, the

com-mand

retraced their steps, and pushed forward in thedirection of Goldsborough, corduroying portions

'of the road as they advanced.

On

the 19th the

regiment wasordered to

move

rapidly forward in the direction of Bentonville, near which place General

Slocum's

column

had developednearly the whole of

Johnson's army.

The

command

hurried up, and halted in rear of

the Fourteenth Corps, which was already engaged.

While

waiting for orders,'aforager

came

rushingin,

and reported that the

enemy

in large numbers was

coming

up

a road on the extreme left. General

Williams at once ordered theThird Brigade beyond

theleftof the Fourteenth Corps.

The

brigade had no sooner got into position than the Thirteenth was orderedto cross a ravine, and toput itselfin asgood

a position as possible. This order was promptly

obeyed, and temporary works constructed.

While

43 HISTOKICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D,

.Corps, whicli

had

beea sorely pressed,

gave way, and

exposed the right of the Thirteenth.

The

regiment

quickly changed front,

and

formed at right angles

with the

main

line. This

was

scarce done ere the

enemy

appeared in front of the Thirteenth,

moving

forward at adouble quick; being unconscious of the

presence ofthe regiment,

and

thinking themselveson

the extreme left of our line, they

moved

forward in

good

style into the jaws of disaster. Waiting until

they had approached within easy range, the

Thir-teenth opened

upon

them, theirfire partly enfilading theirline,

and

instantly throwing

them

into disorder.

Orders having been givento fallback, a part of the

regiment retreated into and across the ravine; but

Company

D,

with five other companies, seeing the

demoralizingeffect of their first fire, held fastwhere they stood, and kept

up

a brisk fire, causing the

ene-my

to seek slielter in the woods, and finallyto dis-appearfrom thefront.

The

regiment

won

great praiseon this occasion

—

and

the achievement

was

deserving of it, for it had

saved the

army

from disaster,

and

thrown the

enemy

into confusion

—

and that, too,without sustaining any

lossitself.

During

the 20th and 2l6t the regiment

remained in the

same

position.

On

the

23d

the

march

was resumed, passing through Goldsborough

on

the 24:th, which place

had

been previously

occu-pied

by

General Schofield,and

went

into

camp

about

two miles north of the town.

The

regiment