The History Of The Tenth Massachusetts Battery Of Light Artillery In The War Of The Rebellion

John D. Billings...

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Introduction

Soon after the close of the Civil War, Major J. Henry Sleeper, for his own information and enjoyment, obtained permission from the Adjutant General of the U. S. A., to have an exact copy of the Morning Report Book of the Tenth Massachusetts Battery made. For various reasons the historian of the company in preparing its history some years since made but slight use of this book. The lapse of time has shown the survivors of the Battery that this omission on the part of their historian was a mistake

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Preface

At the close of the war in 1865, John P. Apthorp, a member of the Company whose story is herein narrated, prepared for publication a manuscript history which he had designed to print In the autumn of that year; but when the work was complete, and his canvass of the members for subscriptions had been made, their response was so limited and inadequate to the outlay necessary for its issue that he abandoned the enterprise. That manuscript was made the basis of the present work. About Thirteen years

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I.

It was mid summer of 1862. The disastrous failure of the Peninsular Campaign had shrouded the country in gloom. Thousands of the flower of the nation's youth who, burning with the most ardent and unselfish patriotism had been marshalled in the ranks of the magnificent Army of the Potomac, had crossed another river never to return. It was One of the darkest periods in the history of the Civil War. A triumphant enemy was likely to be an aggressive One. The disaster must be repaired and that right

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II.

Way The time spent in our own State may be regarded as the infancy of our organization. Song and sport prevailed, and from the appearance of the camp One would hardly have supposed it occupied by a body of men assembled with the serious purpose of devoting themselves to the deadly earnestness of battle. But when, at last, positive orders to depart for the seat of war came, the spirit of the scene changed. Men had run guard and Taken furloughs for the last time, and all felt that the play of the

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III.

Everything is a Hundred years behind the age here, was the general exclamation the next morning, as daylight gave us our First view of the surroundings. The Capitol loomed up grandly with its massive proportions, a few Hundred yards distant, but was so surrounded by wretched Southern hovels and dirty beer-shops, instead of the costly dwellings and clean streets which would have distinguished the locality in a Northern city, that it seemed like a precious jewel cast into a basket of rubbish. The

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IV.

Friday Morning, Dec. 26, about 10.30 o'clock, we turned our backs on Camp Barry with little reluctance, and moving up Maryland Avenue past the Capitol into Pennsylvania Avenue, thence on through Georgetown, we entered the main road leading to the upper Potomac. The weather had been mild for several days, and the roads being dry and hard enabled us to move along easily. The tempting persimmon trees near the roadside, bending with their luscious fruit, now fully ripened by the frost, allured the c

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V.

After leaving Poolsville we marched until 10 o'clock P. M., when, having travelled about Six miles, we halted for the night, going into park on a little knoll near the roadside. This spot will be remembered by comrades of the Company for the sickening stench, filling the night air, from some animal carcasses rotting near by. We unharnessed and stretched the picket-rope across the caissons, a plan usually adopted in temporary camps. To this the horses were hitched, between caissons, soon to be fe

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VI.

Sulphur Springs— or Warrenton Sulphur Springs, as they are usually termed to distinguish them front the more famous White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia— the spot selected for the encampment of the Third Corps, is situated some Six miles from Warrenton, on the north bank of the Rappahannock River. Before the war it had been a fashionable watering-place for wealthy planters and their families, who frequented it in large numbers from the States farther south. The buildings originally consisted o

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VII.

Gen. Lee, having thrown forward a light line to Bull Run to mask his purpose, entered upon the destruction of the Orange and Alexandria (now called the Midland) Railroad, which had been our sole artery of supplies. Every rail was removed for miles, and having been placed across piles of burning ties was rendered temporarily unserviceable. Every bridge, too, was thoroughly destroyed, and any movement of a nature contemplating the continued use of this road must involve some days of waiting for it

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VIII.

Having once become fairly located in camp, we began to make more extensive preparations for our bodily comfort, in the line of stockades— a branch of architecture in which, thus far, we had had almost no experience— and comparatively spacious fireplaces communicating with lofty chimneys built of wood and lined with the red, clayey soil of Virginia. These, in common with the most aristocratic F. F. V.'s, we built outside our dwellings. But as rumors of further active operations were rife, we were

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IX.

The attention of the army was now occupied in settling itself comfortably in winter-quarters about Brandy Station. For miles in all directions sprang up the tented villages and cities, as regiments, brigades, or divisions pitched their white canvas or built their more substantial log cabins. There were the aristocratic establishments for Army, corps, or division headquarters, with spacious surroundings, enclosed in many cases by a hedge of pine, and having tastefully arched entrances. Apart from

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X.

It was with something of a thrill that, in the afternoon of May 3d, we heard orders for drill countermanded by those foreshadowing a march at dark. We did not shrink from the prospect as did some of the older soldiers, who had been scarred and battered in the months gone by. There was that about it which made all unwilling to be left behind. We wanted to have a part in the great campaign soon to begin. We wished to banish every trace of Band-box from the Battery and make a record as famous as th

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XI.

It had become evident that Lee's position was now so strong, all attempts to force him from it by direct assault would be simple madness. Accordingly a new movement to the left flank was begun, in which the Second Corps, preceded by Torbert's cavalry, led off. The movement began on the evening of May 20, under cover of darkness. The Battery broke park about 12 P. M. and joined Tyler's heavy artillerists. Our march was along the road to Fredericksburg in an easterly direction until we reached Mas

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XII.

Early on the night of the 1st, [says Hancock, in his official report,] I commenced withdrawing my corps in obedience to instructions from the Major General commanding. My orders required me to mass near army headquarters, but were afterwards changed, and I was directed to make every effort to reach Cold Harbor as early as possible to reinforce Wright's (Sixth Corps) left. Every exertion was made; but the night was dark, the heat and dust oppressive, and the roads unknown. Still we should have re

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XIII.

Rumors of another move were now currently reported, and although men were busy constructing a line of breastworks in the rear, we had long since discovered that such an indication was no augury on which to base calculations for a continued stay. It was on the Sabbath, June 12th, that our caissons were moved from the cross-roads, Two miles further to the rear. This. surely looked ominous; but rumor, to our minds, was resolved into certainty when, late in the afternoon, all the bands struck up liv

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XIV.

It is a well-known fact, that, inasmuch as the artillery of the army was abundant, and the opportunities to use it all had been limited, there were several batteries which had scarcely been called into action during the campaign, unless for siege duty at Cold Harbor, having been kept with the Reserve artillery. As the Tenth Massachusetts had not been of that number, it was not unlikely, so we reasoned, that we were now to Lie off awhile, rest the horses and men, and give some One else a chance;

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XV.

The expected attack against Warren's left, in anticipation of which we had moved down to our present position, did not take place. One division of the corps was said to be occupied in tearing up the track, One was in the front line, and the Third (Barlow's) lay near us ready for any emergency. But in the afternoon of Tuesday, the 23rd, the bands struck up lively strains, and in accordance with precedent orders soon came for us to move. It was about noon that General Hancock ordered the First Div

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XVI.

As there must come an end to all things earthly, so we found our season of rest no exception to the rule, and the camp began to wear a business-like aspect. By the 11th of September we were once more supplied with the requisite number of horses and harnesses, rubber buckets, tarpaulins, and all the paraphernalia of a battery completely equipped. September 20th a detail went down to City Point and brought back Four 3-inch Parrott guns. They were beauties and gained our regard at once, completely

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XVII.

Having marched some distance to the rear, we came to a halt in a large field near Fort Bross. This was a fort at the extreme left of our rear line of defences, near the Norfolk Railroad. Here we were joined by more artillery and Two divisions of infantry. No further movement was made Tuesday, and we lay whiling away the time, hearing and circulating Yarns as to the destination of the prospective move. The battery wagon and forge were sent to City Point, which gave color to the story that all non

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XVIII.

Fort Stevenson, in which we were now located, was the largest fort in the rear line of works before Petersburg. In a day or Two the left section of the Battery was detached to Fort Blaisdell, a smaller work in the same line further east. Captain (now Major) Sleeper He had been breveted Major by general orders for gallant and meritorious service. returned from leave of absence, and resumed command of the Battery. New quarters were built and the usual careful preparations made to stay. On the 26th

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XIX.

“The Battery remained in this camp [says Capt. Adams] until the morning of March 29th, when, under orders, I reported to Gen. Hays, In conformity with instructions issued from Gen. Grant's headquarters on the 24th, and thence promulgated, the Second Corps moved at 6 A. M. on the 29th, Crossed Hatcher's Run, and took position covering the Vaughan Road, with its right resting within supporting distance of the Twenty-fourth Corps, which had taken the place of the Second Corps in the intrenchments.

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XX.

By degrees— by very slow degrees, we began to realize the great fact of peace. No more rattling shots of the pickets fell upon the ear; no booming of cannon in the distance; and the discharges of artillery at headquarters, fired to signalize the triumph, had lost their sting even for our foes, for the report was followed by no screeching shell. They were firing blank cartridges— a discharge obsolete with the Tenth since February 22, 1863. But now our advance was ended, and our footsteps must nee

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Appendix The Experience Of Those Who Were Taken At The Battle Of Reams Station

We were with the Battery until July 19, 1863, when I received orders to select Three good men, and with them return to Berlin, Md., for mules and harnesses. We were then some Twenty miles into Virginia. Having selected Comrades Allard, Abbott, and Chase, in the latter part of the afternoon we took our departure, mounted, for Berlin, all feeling in good spirits. On our arrival at Harper's Ferry we dismounted, fed our horses, ate our rations, and bivouacked. On the following morning early, after f

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Roster And Roll Of The Company Recapitulation

The above recapitulation counts men who were promoted more than once. The exact number of different men in the Company was Two hundred and sixty-four....

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The Tenth Massachusetts Battery Association

Shortly after the close of the war, an attempt was made to inaugurate the plan of holding an annual reunion of the Company. The First One was held at the home of Comrade Augustus C. White, No. 2 Bowdoin Street, Boston, Oct. 24, 1866, and One or Two supplementary ones for perfecting the organization at the rooms of the First Massachusetts Infantry Association, corner of Essex and Washington streets; for various reasons they proved only partial successes. But Feb. 4, 1879, in answer to a call issu

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Index A

Abbott, Alvin, 42, 48, 109, 116, 117, 148, 203, 272. Abell, Samuel, 29, 47, 86. Adams, D. D., 302, 303, 349. Adams, Lieut., J. Webb, 18, 31, 42, 82, 83, 84, 86, 137, 201, 202, 323, 348, 352, 359, 380, 382, 385, 386, 387, 395, 400, 403, 405, 407, 409. Adams, Capt., Zzz. Webb, 410, 413, 435, 436. Adams, L. W., 205, 207, 208, 326, 339, 398. Alden, S. Augustus, 31, 80, 86, 109, 116, 117, 148, 151, 303. Allard, L. R., 39, 82, 87, 109, 117, 148, 203, 272, 397, 404. Allen, J. P., 351, 406. Allen, Willi

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