May 10—Fighting to-day at Spottsylvania Court House. Prisoners still coming in, two more from my company.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
May 10, Tuesday, At the Cabinet, the President read dispatches from General Grant, General Butler, General Sherman, and some others. I had previously seen some of these dispatches. They were all in good and encouraging tone. There have been some conflicting doubts in regard to General Wadsworth, who is undoubtedly slain, and his body is, I think, in the hands of the Rebels. Few nobler spirits have fallen in this war. He should, by good right and fair-dealing, have been at this moment Governor of New York, but the perfidy of Thurlow Weed and others defeated him. I have always believed that Seward was, if not implicated, a sympathizer in that business. No purer or more single-minded patriot than Wadsworth has shown himself in this war. He left home and comforts and wealth to fight the battles of the Union.
A scout came in this P.M. with dispatches from General Grant. He brings information that General Sedgwick was killed yesterday by a sharpshooter. He was among the good and brave generals, though not of the class of dashing officers, and was ever reliable and persistent. The death of no general officer during the war could be more depressing, I apprehend, than this, and his loss at this juncture will be felt by the army and country.
[May 10th] Early in the morning, Arnold’s Rhode Island battery joined us, and after much labor advanced on our right flank by cutting a roadway through the woods to the Shady Grove road. It seemed a dangerous thing to take guns through such a place, and eventually proved to be very much so. Shortly after daylight, and while the artillery men were chopping their way through the woods, Brooke was ordered to find a crossing between the road and Glady’s Run. Colonel Jack Hammil, formerly adjutant of the Sixty-sixth New York commanded the little party that made the attempt, and distinguished himself by the gallant manner in which he dashed across the stream and almost into the enemy’s rifle pits. He found the enemy in full force and was obliged to retire. Shortly after this little advance, the other two divisions of our corps were withdrawn, and we found ourselves alone on the south side of the river. It was not long before the rebels advanced in skirmishing order and opened fire; we could see their lines advancing, and as soon as they came within range, gave them a warm reception and expected to easily dispose of them, but the skirmish line was quickly followed by a line of battle, and it soon became clear we were in for a pitched fight. As the rebel line of battle advanced, Arnold’s guns opened on them, and for a while enfiladed some of their lines, firing shell and canister. Barlow and two or three of us sat looking on, watching the battle for a while, but soon had to retire, as the enemy came on in force, and the guns were obliged to move to the rear. As the battery limbered up, the rebels surrounded the position, and although pretty well held at bay, we unfortunately lost one of the guns, which got jammed between two trees, so that it could not be extricated. The center and left of the line held their position firmly, although furiously assailed; our men had hastily thrown up a loose breastwork of rails alongside the edge of the road, and for a time seemed to have but little difficulty in keeping the enemy in check. General Barlow, accompanied only by myself, rode in rear of the line and was examining the condition of things, when a body of officers from the Third brigade came up and asked the general to relieve Colonel from the command, stating that he was not in a fit condition to have charge of it, and asked the general to assign me to it, offering to waive their rank, if he would do so. The general hesitated a moment and looked at me, then refused, saying he would not make a change just then and told them they must get along as well as they could. How I hoped he would have consented; it seemed such an unheard-of opportunity, a captain to command his old brigade, but it was not to be. Subsequently I learned that Colonel had voluntarily retired and Colonel Brown took command. A moment afterwards, as the enemy were pressing us heavily all along the line, General Hancock rode up, entirely alone, not even an orderly with him, and directed Barlow to immediately withdraw across the river, then turning to me, without saying by your leave to Barlow, directed me to ride at full speed to the reserve artillery of the corps, encamped on open ground about a quarter of a mile in rear on the other side of the Po, and order Captain Hazzard with all his guns into position on the high bank of the river to protect the crossing. John Gilpin’s race was nothing to mine. I flew over the ground, and as I approached the bivouac of the artillery reserve, every one was on the alert, knowing their services were required. Captain Hazzard was standing in front of a tent fly, his flag stuck in the ground beside him, and instantly ordered the bugle to sound the assembly, and I think within a minute half a dozen batteries, some of them side by side, started off at a trot, presently breaking into a gallop. I rode at the head of the column with Hazzard, and never before experienced such exhilaration; the thundering guns dashed over the space and were in position in no time, promptly sending their shrapnel over the heads of our troops into the enemy. The engagement was fought in full view and dexterously managed, the object of our division being to retire in good order, and that of the enemy to try and capture them, and the tactics displayed and splendid bravery of both sides were admirable. The division moved to the rear in eschelon, frequently at the double quick, seventy-five to one hundred yards, faced about and lay down, opening fire on the rebel advance, whilst the ground between them was alive with bursting shrapnel from Hazzard’s guns. When one brigade had retired to a new position and opened fire, the other brigade made a similar movement, and so it continued clear across the open ground, till at last the enemy was obliged to retire under the murderous artillery fire and the infantry recrossed the river in good order, quite elated with their exploit.
When our batteries first opened they received the fire from some of the enemy’s guns in position away off to the left front, and the first shell landed in the battery where I was standing, killing several of the men serving the guns; amongst them a superb looking young sergeant, whose leg was entirely severed. He did not lose consciousness, but looked with melancholy interest at his severed limb, which lay close by. I was so sorry for him. I understood afterwards he died from the shock. Hazzard at once opened fire on these guns and soon blew up one of their caissons, after which they decamped. Our losses were not very serious and the whole affair intensely interesting. We found out from prisoners taken that Ewell’s entire corps had taken part in the attack and expected to capture us without much trouble. Frank’s brigade crossed just below the pontoon bridge through the woods and Brooke over it. By direction of General Barlow I rode down to the extreme left, to see the bridges destroyed, where the Irish brigade had crossed, but when I arrived the work was already done by the engineer corps, and the Irish brigade in a good position. Colonel Beaver, of the One Hundred and Forty-eighth Pennsylvania, was conspicuous in this day’s operation, and Brooke and Miles were as usual superb.
Tuesday, May 10th.
Heavy cannonading from 8 A. M. to 1 P. M. The Pontoon train has been sent back to Fredericksburg, apparently to get it out of the way, and the army horses are put on half-rations, that is, five pounds of food. Ambulances and army wagons with two tiers of flooring, loaded with wounded and drawn by four and six mule teams, pass along the plank, or, rather, corduroy road to Fredericksburg, the teamsters lashing their teams to keep up with the train, and the wounded screaming with pain as the wagons go jolting over the corduroy. Many of the wounds are full of maggots. I saw one man with an arm off at the shoulder, with maggots half an inch long crawling in the sloughing flesh, and several poor fellows were holding stumps of legs and arms straight up in the air so as to ease the pain the rough road and the heartless drivers subjected them to. These men had been suffering in temporary field hospitals, as no opportunity had been afforded to send them to the rear until we got within reach of the road running to Fredericksburg.
And this reminds me of a scene I witnessed a day or two since which seemed to me to cap the climax of the horrors of war. Passing along a little in the rear of the lines when a battle was raging in which my battalion was not engaged, I came upon a field-hospital to which the stretcher-bearers were bringing the men wounded in the conflict. Under three large “tent flies,” the center one the largest of all, stood three heavy wooden tables around which were grouped a number of surgeons and their assistants, the former bare-headed and clad in long linen dusters reaching nearly to the ground, which were covered with blood from top to bottom and had the arms cut off or rolled to the shoulders. The stretcher-bearers deposited their ghastly freight side by side in a winrow on the ground in front of the table under the first tent fly. Here a number of assistants took charge of the poor fellows, and as some of them lifted a man on to the first table others moved up the winrow so that no time nor space should be lost. Then some of the surgeons administered an anesthetic to the groaning and writhing patient, exposed his wound and passed him to the center table. There the surgeons who were operating made a hasty examination and determined what was to be done and did it, and more often than not, in a very few moments an arm or a leg or some other portion of the subject’s anatomy was flung out upon a pile of similar fragments behind the hospital, which was then more than six feet wide and three feet high, and what remained of the man was passed to the third table, where other surgeons finished the bandaging, resuscitated him and posted him off with others in an ambulance. Heaven forbid that I should ever again witness such a sight!
An attack on our right for the purpose of capturing the wagon train is anticipated, and we make dispositions of troops accordingly. Later the attack was made and repulsed. We learn that a force of cavalry has been sent out to cut the rebel communications with Gordonsville.
by John Beauchamp Jones
MAY 10TH.—Bright, but windy and dusty.
There is an excitement at last; but it is sullen rather than despairing. No one seems to doubt our final success, although the enemy have now some 200,000 in Virginia, and we but little over half that number.
We have nothing from Lee to-day, but it is believed he is busy in battle.
A portion of Grant’s right wing, cut off at Spottsylvania Court House, endeavored to march across the country to the Peninsula. They cut the railroad at Beaver Dam, and destroyed some of our commissary stores. But it is likely they will be captured.
The enemy beat us yesterday at Dublin Depot, wounding Gen. Jenkins.
On the other hand, Gen. McNeal (C. S.) has cut the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, destroying millions of property. Thus the work goes on!
There was no general engagement down the river.
At 12 o’clock last night a column of infantry passed our house, going down Clay Street. Many thought it was the enemy.
I saw a letter to-day from Gen. Beauregard to Gen. Bragg, dated Weldon, April 29th, giving the names of the Federal generals commanding forces on the Southern coast, so that the arrival of any of these officers in Virginia would indicate the transfer of their troops thither. He concluded by saying that if it were desired he should operate on the north side of James River, maps ought to be prepared for him, and timbers, etc. for bridges; and that he would serve with pleasure under the immediate command of Gen. Lee, “aiding him to crush our enemies, and to achieve the independence of our country.”
Gen. Bragg, May 2d, sent this to Gen. Cooper, who referred it to the Secretary of War. Gen. Bragg indorsed on it that several of the Federal generals named had arrived at Fortress Monroe.
The Secretary sent it to the President on the 7th of May.
To-day the President sent it back indorsed as follows: “Maps of the country, with such additions as may from time to time be made, should be kept on hand in the Engineer Bureau, and furnished to officers in the field. Preparations of material for bridges, etc. will continue to be made as heretofore, and with such additional effort as circumstances require.
“I did not doubt the readiness of Gen. Beauregard to serve under any general who ranks him. The right of Gen. Lee to command would be derived from his superior rank.
“JEFFERSON DAVIS.
“9th May, 1864.”
Same camp, May 10, 1864.
The 9th Illinois Infantry lost about 30 men, killed, wounded and missing, yesterday. We find the enemy too strong on the railroad to take, but have succeeded in breaking it so no trains can pass. Gerry’s division, of the 20th Corps, came up at dark, and the rest of the corps is within supporting distance. Rations were issued to us this evening—one-ninth rations of meat for three days just made a breakfast for the men. More rumors are flying than would fill a ream of foolscap. We had orders this p.m. to march to the front at 2 p.m., but did not go.
