Bermuda Hundred Campaign [May 1864]
Port Walthall Junction (VA047)
Swift Creek (VA050)
Chester Station (VA051)
Proctor's Creek (VA053)
Ware Bottom Church (VA054
4 May, ‘64.
We struck camp, got aboard the propeller Montauk and, towards night, joined the fleet at its rendezvous off Newport’s News.
5 May. For the third or fourth time the 23rd assisted in one of those mighty pageants in which the North showed its power and resources by sending a whole army at once, all transports, to its destination. In the vanguard, except for the heavy skirmishing line of monitors and gun-boats, we ploughed the waters of the James, which, since McClellan left nearly two years before, had seen little of war, except the occasional passage of a flag-of-truce, exchanging prisoners. Once our propeller “took bottom,” but the neighboring "Nellie Pentz “"soon pulled us off.
Stately mansion and lonely hut alike seemed tenantless. The dilapidated landings, stretching their sun burnt length across the flats to the channel, showed as little life as the crumbling ruins of historic Jamestown. A solitary Negro could occasionally be seen, capering on the bank, and waving the bandanna of exultation. Even to his slow apprehension the conviction came
“It must be now that the time am coming,
The year of Jubilee.”
Once we paused a while to land a force of colored troops whose formation, during the past winter, had so tardily realized the suggestion and prediction of Gem Burnside at the Astor House breakfast, as we passed through New York in November, 1861.
The signal party at Bermuda Hundred so little idea of our coming that they were all busy fishing in the river. So speedy was their retreat that even the fresh caught fish in their boat, as well as all the equipment of their camp, fell into our hands.
Hickman’s brigade was first to land. A heavy picket, including companies B ‘and H of the 23rd, was thrown out and ere dark, Gen. Butler held uncontested posses-Mon of an easily-defended base within twelve miles of the rebel capital.
6 May. Just as the line was getting ready for the march, Capt. Center of ‘C,’ who was overhauling his revolver (seeing to the condition of its caps, etc.), had the ill-luck to discharge it and send a ball through one of his toes.He persisted in attempting to march towards what we all supposed would be a speedy, near battle, but was compelled, shortly, to give up.
Our forward movement was, not resisted but, observed by a force which called for caution. Our skirmishers saw, several times, a mounted rebel, who, very properly keeping himself at a safe distance, cheekily beckoned our column to advance. Before noon we reached Cobb’s Hill, on the Appomattox, the extreme left of Butler’s future line. Here the brigade had a permanent camp during most of the marching and fighting of May. We helped throw up the fortifications in its front and always returned to it until after the Cold Harbor expedition.
The rise from the landing was so gradual as hardly to give a New Englander the ideathat he was surmounting a hill. The river bank on our left and the declivity on our front were however steep and of considerable height. It was a terribly hot place, that May noon, while the brigade " resting in place “ saw the army come up and file off to the right. .Towards four p.M. Heckman’s Star Brigade,”become posed of the 23rd, 25th and 27th Mass. and the 9th N. J, some 2700 strong (men, largely, seasoned in battle and, pretty thoroughly,sifted of that element, which, snuffing the battle afar off, keeps its distance), went out into the fire of that battle-mouth which was destined to reduce it to a mere handful of war-worn men.
The battle-field, or skirmish-ground, of Walthall Junction, sometimes called " Mary Dunn’s Farm,” and in the brigade (perhaps because we had it all to ourselves on the 6th, and it was our part of the more extended field of the 7th), Heckman’s Farm, permitted unusual opportunity to see fighting on a largish scale.
It was a parallelogram of cleared fields, undulating, but so nearly level that many points commanded a view of the whole. As we entered, at the corner nearest Cobb’s Hill, the enemy was discovered at the further end and near the diagonal corner. The 23rd was sent along the lower end, somewhat masked by a swell of the land and by some farm buildings, to hold the woods on our left and guard that flank. We were not actively engaged and could clearly see the maneuvering of the skirmished lines, the unfaltering advance of the 27th, the steadiness of the 25th,—under fire without cover. And could observe the precision of their wing-firing when they came into action our battery was in full sight and so was the disturbance it made among the rebels behind their rail fence and railroad bank.
There was a great temptation to go on. it was quite on the cards that we could whip and probably capture the opposing force, but, others not to risk bringing on a general engagement were peremptory, the recall was sounded and, leaving our eight dead on the bullet-swept field, we fell back to Cobb’s Hill, with our sixty wounded. The 23rd suffered no loss. Leaving a field in the hands of the enemy was a novel experience to the men of Heckman’s command.
7th May.
Your historian was ordered to report at the Field Hospital and had an opportunity to see something of the Strachan house and surroundings before much had been done towards its transformation into “Point of Rocks Hospital.” It was a neatly-painted four-roomed house of one storey. Already, one room had been set apart for the wounded and another for surgeon’s quarters. Some of the women of the family attempted to remain and occupy The other rooms, but a few hours convinced them of their mistake, and, of their own accord, they sought other quarters. The shady orchard, around the house, offered a cool refuge for the sun-struck, who came back in such numbers from the front, and, in a few days, convenient space for our hospital tents.
In the early days, at least, the hospital was only a halt-big place in which to renew the hasty dressings of the field, to perform necessary operations, and, generaly, to prepare the sick and wounded for their journey to Hampton and the North. The number of our patients and our consequent labor varied much. After an action, crowds were heaped upon us. Then, house, tents and all the shady corners of the orchard were crowd& with sufferers and groups of surgeons were busy at their operating-tables, not only all the livelong day, but, far into the night. Perhaps the next day, the steam-boats had carried away almost all our patients, and, our light duties over, we speculated, over the contemplative pipe, upon the outcome of the thundering war, so audible from the not-distant front.
Once war came to us. The rebels, from across Appomattox, then entirely in their hands, began shelling, regardless of our yellow flag. One of our number, not yet long enough commissioned to have learned that standing-fire comes, sometimes, into a surgeon’s duties,raised a laugh by jumping upon his horse and frantically spurring the poor beast—still securely fastened to the hitch rig-post.
The Point of Rocks, whence the name, was a pictureqse, craggy promontory, jutting out into the river within one hundred yards of the cottage. It commanded a beautiful country. The view of waving grain, hanging woods, and winding, island-dotted river, with the spires of Petersburg in the distance, was sadly changed as the year passed. The smiling fields were trampled to dusty wastes. The bosky hill-sides. Were bare and frowning with forts and batteries. The river became a mere break in the double line of works. The spires were targets for scores of cannon. The air was filled with the roar of “ Parrotts “ and the shriek of "Whitworths," while musketry, from the bickering of the pickets to the clamor of a line of battle, must have been almost as continuous as was, in those early days, the ripple of Appomattox, washing the base of the cliff.
Meanwhile the troops had gone out again over much the same ground as yesterday.Heckerman’s brigade went to the very spot. The 23rd, this time with the 25th, moved again to the left and were just in time to prevent, a flanking movement of the rebels. To-day the brigade had little more to do than listen to an artillery duel, till Gen. Brooks, on our right, turned the rebel position, and destroyed a stretch of railroad. Our loss from the enemy was slight, but the men suffered severely from the sun. They were for some hours of midday, unprotected in the open field. Scores were prostrated. We found our dead of yesterday, not only unburied, but, stripped and shamefully mutilated.
8th. Sunday and a day of comparative rest in camp. The rebels showed across the river, but a few shells scattered them. . Organized work on the lines began.
9th. Third movement towards Petersburg. The turn-pike was reached, as well as the railroad, and telegraph, as well as track, destroyed. After noon the forces formed line of battle and moved direct upon Petersburg. The enemy fell back fighting, making a short stand at every ridge, till driven within their strong position at Swift Creek.
At this time, the rebel officers, having conceived the idea (based, not quite without reason, upon our disjointed, ineffectual movements since landing) that our troops were “ ninety day emergency men “ and easily handled, encouraged their rank and file with that extra-. Ordinary preparation for making a soldier whiskey and gunpowder (the canteens on the battlefield proved this) and assumed the offensive in force.
“I was about to relieve my front-line with the second, but, instead, closed up, instructing my colonels to fire at a given signal. The Confederates came on in splendid style, with the peculiar “rebel yell “ till within forty yards of our line, when our crushing volley swept them over the brow of the kill, and across the creek into the arms of their comrades, who were holding a redoubt which covered the force. It was a gallant charge and a bloody repulse.”20
The brigade was drawn up across the turnpike, the 27th Mass. supported by the 9th N. J., on the right, and the 25th Mass. supported by the 23rd on the left. A section of the Fourth U. S. Reg. Art’y occupied the road, in the; front line: but but, speedily discovering that the enemy had the range too exactly to leave the position tenable, had left before the charge. The attacking force was so broken and demoralized by the volley of the flout line that it was not very serious work for the second line to drive the remnant back to their works.
The intervening space was thickly strewn with rebel dead and wounded. More than two scores could be counted in one little glade among the copses. In another place were five of our enemies in one gory heap. The
Heckman in “Bearing Arms,” p. 248a
The accompanying map is from a sketch furnished by E. T. Witherby (late of Co. ‘K ‘25th Ma V. I.). He quotes from Gem Johnson Hagood, who commanded the opposing force, “On the 9th, 1 was ordered to take part of my brigade and make a reconnaissance in Iron t of this line. I took the 21st, the 11th and a detachment of the 25th” (S. C Inf.) “Under Capt. Carsen. The object was accomplished, but, from the broken and wooded nature of the ground, I became more heavily engaged than I desired with the heavy force in my front, and my loss was severe.” Task of burying the dead and succoring the wounded was speedily undertaken. The tender care for the latter contrasted strongly with the treatment our dead received on the battle ground of the 6th.
All this time the heat had been intense. Scores more were prostrated by the sun. Many lost their reason. Some filled the air with their insane yells. Some needed force to prevent them from dashing alone upon the enemy. Others, it is said, turned their weapons upon themselves.
The night gave little rest. On our own front the enemy had received lesson enough to keep him quiet, but, before dawn, three ineffectual charges, directed to the right or left of our position, called up the whole line to repel possible assault.
Casualties at Arrowfield Church in the 23rd were,
WOUNDED.
Eldridge, Elisha, Sergeant, Co. I.
Lapham, Otis W., Corporal, “E.
Salkins, William, Private, “B
Cobbett, James, “ “K.
Some confusion has arisen as to the name of this action. Swift Creek, naturally adopted by the enemy, who was contesting its passage in defense of Petersburg, is shared by two other battle-fields, and Pocahontas, the name of a suburb of Petersburg, is open to the same objection. Arrowfield Church was a building between the lines, in front of the 27th Mass., where its well-peppered walls still stand.
The surgical staff at Point of Rocks started out, early on the 9th, for service in the field. We were misdirected and, before noon, established tables, etc., at a farm-house which proved to be too far from the scene of action. Moving two miles further, we found a neat, modern, four roomed house, on a terraced hill-side, and not far, I think, from Walthall Junction.
Part 2
