The History of the Twenty-ninth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry / in the Late War of the Rebellion

At Antietam it chanced to be placed in a favorable position, while two other regiments of the same brigade, on its right and left, were nearly annihilated; at Fredericksburg it secured exemption from dreadful loss by a timely transfer to another corps of the army, made in the ordinary course of military changes, without the efforts of its officers, or the knowledge on the part of any one as to what results would follow.

Even a cursory glance at the records of some of our Massachusetts regiments which lost heavily in the war, will show that their losses were mainly the fruits of unfortunate positions, and, in some instances, that the major part of all their losses were sustained in a single battle, as was the case of several at Ball’s Bluffs, Antietam, and Gettysburg. While we have shown that this exemption of the regiment from heavy battle casualties was in the main the result of accident, yet, from the nature of things, it cannot be wholly so.

The death-lists of many new regiments were often largely increased by the mere inexperience of the troops, and the insane idea sometimes possessed by their officers, that recklessness and wanton exposure were evidence of valor.

The Twenty-ninth was long in the field; its soldiers, for the last three years of their term, were in every sense veterans, having learned, by actual experience, the many little arts and devices always employed by old soldiers to protect themselves while in perilous positions,—a knowledge that the Confederate officers imparted to their soldiers early in the war, and resulted in the saving of life, and the winning of more than one important victory over our armies. The romantic notion which for awhile possessed the soldiers, that it was unmilitary and unsoldierly to make any effort to be comfortable, or to shield themselves from the death-dealing minie, or the howling cannon-ball, soon gave place to more sensible ideas; and long before the close of the war, a rock, a fence, a log, a tree, or even a stump or bush, were often used with great effect for defensive purposes, and saved more than one soldier his life; while his cover, slight as it was, enabled him to fire with greater precision and coolness.

Notwithstanding the remarkable escape of the regiment in many battles, yet its list of the dead, as the reader will perceive, is by no means insignificant; and though but a small part, it yet constitutes a precious part, of the terrible price of human life which the Republic paid for its final victory over treason and rebellion.

A regiment of soldiers is in some respects like a family, having its own quarrels and jealousies, which family pride usually keeps hidden from the knowledge of the world, and which family sufferings and common interests finally cause, in a large measure, to be buried and forgotten.

To his comrades, the author, in closing, would say, let us all, as members of the same regiment, forever forget the petty bickerings and jealousies of the war, if they are not already forgotten; forgive with a generous spirit all who wronged us,—even those who fought against us in the field,—and turn our eyes upon the pleasant spectacle of a Republic and a nation rescued from anarchy and ruin, in part by our own efforts; and, finally, let us hope, that the record of our deeds as volunteer soldiers, saved, it may be, from forgetfulness by this printed volume,—humble as the deeds which it chronicles,—may in the years to come serve, as has that of our fathers of the Revolution, to keep bright and warm the fires of patriotism, and nourish a love for the nation’s flag, and the principles it symbolizes, that neither suffering nor danger can quench.

THE ROSTER OF THE REGIMENT.

NOTE.

There are some facts about the rolls of the regiment that demand explanation. The published rolls of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts give the Twenty-ninth a total membership of eighteen hundred and twenty commissioned officers and enlisted men. Of this number, fourteen commissioned officers59 and three hundred and thirty-four enlisted men were transferred to it from the Thirty-fifth Massachusetts, June 9, 1865. A large proportion of these enlisted men are placed upon the rolls of the Twenty-ninth, without remark or note indicating that they were transferred, and appear upon our rolls as recruits for 1864. As they joined our regiment after the close of the war, and have their record with the Thirty-fifth for all except about a month of their entire service in the army, there seems to be no reason for publishing their names in this volume. The Twenty-ninth is charged with the desertion of some of these men, while in point of fact it derived no benefit from their service.

Besides these men, and those who are placed upon the following company rolls, there are found, as recruits for 1864, the names of about ninety men on the published rolls of the Twenty-ninth. After a careful consideration of all the facts, I have concluded to print the names of seventy of these soldiers, though it is very doubtful whether all of them actually served with the regiment. I print them in a roll by themselves, for the reason that it does not appear with certainty with what companies of the regiment they were connected. Five of these men are reported to have died in the service, and I have placed their names at the end of the roll of our dead.

The names of the following soldiers of the regiment do not appear at all upon the Adjutant-General’s rolls: Thomas Burt, Edwin H. Hosmer, Charles Kleinhans, Edward L. Pettis, of Company E; Leander Clapp, Henry W. Pettee, of Company F; John Usherwood, Charles Young, George S. Welsch, of Company H; Ira A. Clark of Company I; and Martin Bird, Joseph A. Brown, David Dockerty, and William H. Moore, of Company K. The name of Moore does not appear upon any of the rolls of the regiment which I have been able to find.

The reader will observe that I have noted upon the following rolls the death and wounding of certain soldiers. This has been done because their names were omitted from the list of casualties given in the narrative portion of the work.

The published rolls of the regiment give a list of forty-nine “Unassigned Recruits.” There could not have been any unassigned men who actually joined the regiment for duty, and the publication of this list only shows the unsatisfactory condition of the records of both the War Department and of our own State. With the help of kind comrades in each company, I have closely examined this list, and taken from it all identified names, and placed them with the companies to which they belonged; and it may interest the comrades to know that, but for this examination, some of the best soldiers in the regiment would have suffered the mortification of seeing their names printed in a list of “unassigned recruits.” After all the labor bestowed upon this matter, there are still several soldiers in the list referred to whom we have not been able to identify, and the conclusion is they were never members of the regiment.—Author.

THE ROSTER OF THE REGIMENT.

At Date of Organization of Regiment, December 13, 1861.

Appointed Subsequent to Date of Organization of the Regiment to Fill Vacancies, Whose Names Do Not Elsewhere Appear Upon the Rolls.

Note.—Promotions from Companies to the Field and Staff will be found on the Company rolls.—Author.

ROLL OF COMPANY A.

The following soldiers originally composed this Company, enlisted April 20, 1861, and were mustered into the United States service, May 21, 1861:—

Joined in 1861 (July 31).

Joined in 1862.

Joined in 1863.

Joined in 1864.

ROLL OF COMPANY B.

The following soldiers originally composed this Company, enlisted April 18, 1861, and were mustered into the United States service, May 14, 1861:—

Joined in July, 1861.

Joined Later in 1861.

Joined in 1862.

ROLL OF COMPANY C.

The following soldiers originally composed this Company, enlisted April 20, 1861, and were mustered into the United States service, May 22, 1861:—

Joined in September and December, 1861.

Joined in 1862.

ROLL OF COMPANY D.

The following soldiers originally composed this Company, enlisted April 20, 1861, and were mustered into the United States service, May 22, 1861:—

Joined in January, 1862.

ROLL OF COMPANY E.

The following soldiers originally composed this Company, enlisted May 6, 1861, and were mustered into the United States service, May 22, 1861:—

Joined in 1862.

ROLL OF COMPANY F.

The following soldiers originally composed this Company, enlisted in the autumn of 1861, and were mustered into the United States service, December 30, 1861:—

Joined in 1862.

Joined in 1863.

Joined in 1864.