After resting for a brief period on the summit of the Heights, the Corps pushed rapidly up the turnpike leading to Chancellorsville, no effort being made to take possession of the still higher ridge at the left, to which a portion of the enemy had retreated, and were now tossing an occasional shell at us. The country presented a beautiful appearance, with its green meadows and vast fields of cereals stretching out in every direction. Gen. Brooks’ Division, which now took the advance, moved rapidly forward, but instead of meeting with Hooker’s pickets, encountered a heavy force of the enemy, about four miles ahead, near Salem. They were concealed in a forest, into which our infantry were imprudently advanced before it was shelled. The rebels immediately rose from their masked position, and delivered a murderous fire. Gen. Brooks quickly formed his men in line, and soon became hotly engaged. While the conflict was at its height, a body of the enemy suddenly opened upon him from the left, and he changed front to meet them. The battle now became very sanguinary, the rebels rapidly thinning our ranks with their cross fire. Darkness came to our relief and the fighting ceased, not, however, before we had lost twelve hundred men. Seven hundred of this number belonged to Bartlett’s Brigade—consisting of the Twenty-seventh New York, among other Regiments,—who fell in twenty minutes time. The woods afterwards took fire from our shells, and many of the wounded belonging to both parties perished in the flames.
The little army slept soundly that night after the arduous duties of the day. But there were many officers as well as men who lay down to rest with serious apprehensions of the morrow. No troops had been thrown forward to occupy the higher ridge at our left. What should prevent the enemy from circling round under cover of night to this crest, and descending get between us and the captured but now abandoned Heights in the rear?
The dawn of Monday proved how well grounded had been these fears. At eight o’clock a heavy rebel column was observed streaming down the mountain side, and pushing rapidly for Marye’s Heights. Not a picket had been thrown out to give warning of their approach, or a single gun to sweep the gully through which they had to pass. A scene of utmost confusion now ensued. The road leading from the city out to the army was crowded with straggling soldiers, going on to rejoin their Regiments, supply wagons, ammunition trains and ambulances filled with wounded from the previous evening’s fight. The soldiers scattered through the fields in all directions. The teamsters and ambulance drivers dashed furiously into the city, or turned back to the army, thereby escaping. A few, losing presence of mind, cut their horses loose from the wagons, and, mounting them, rode away, in hot haste. Gen. Gibbon, in charge of the city, sent up one or two Regiments left with him as a patrol, to check the enemy. But it was useless for them to attempt doing so, and after firing three or four rounds, they fled out to the army. The rebels now pressed forward and re-occupied the Heights, delivering as they did so, one of their characteristic yells, so much resembling a wolf howl.
After resting for a moment they were deployed out to the right of the Heights, and forming an extended line, swept rapidly up after the Sixth Corps. A Union battery, planted on a bluff up the river, one mile from the city, immediately opened a hot fire on their backs, and so interfered with his plans that the commanding officer was content to draw in his forces and mass them around the Heights.
Fredericksburg, as well as Falmouth, was now perfectly defenceless, all the troops not with Sedgwick having been sent up to the support of Hooker, and a few siege guns planted on Stafford Heights, comprising almost our only artillery. The enemy, had they known it, could have passed down into the city with impunity, paroled our fifteen hundred wounded, and then, seizing our pontoon-boats, pushed over the river and captured Gen. Hooker’s headquarters and the immense supplies at the Falmouth depot. Why they did not at least descend to the city still remains a mystery. Perhaps they were intimidated by the show of resistance made by a few stragglers, whom some wounded officers collected about the streets and posted along the edge of the city. Capts. Root and Cole, and other officers in the hospital, sent their swords and equipments over the river, expecting to be made prisoners. As the day advanced, however, and the enemy did not come down, preparations were made for transferring the wounded to the opposite bank, and before night they were all taken over, together with the materiel of war, which had collected there.
The Sixth Corps was now placed in a most critical position by this coup-de-main of Gen. Lee, having the enemy in front, left and rear, and an unfordable river on the right. No wonder that Gen. Butterfield, Chief-of-Staff, when he rode down to the Falmouth side of the river and comprehended the situation, remarked to Gen. Fogliardi, the Swiss General who accompanied him, “Sedgwick has gone up.” That indomitable hero, however, had no idea of “going up,” but immediately set about rescuing his command from the dilemma in which Hooker and his Chief-of-Staff had placed it. Hooker and his Chief-of-Staff, we say, for it was in accordance with their orders that the Sixth Corps had been pushed on, regardless of the higher ridge at the left.
The diagram on the opposite page represents the positions of the different forces of both armies as they then were.
First on the west our main army, then Lee’s main army, then the Sixth Corps, then a rebel Corps, and then our siege guns, planted on the east side of the river—a most extraordinary sandwiching of opposing forces together.
Instead of attempting to cut his way through to Hooker in front, or Fredericksburg in the rear, Gen. Sedgwick drew back Brook’s Division, still in the advance, and arranging his army in the form of an arc, fronting towards the enemy, gradually contracted the lines until the wings extended nearly to the river. By this movement the rebels were thrown out of the rear to his left front. The lines continued to stretch out towards the river, until they enclosed Banks’ Ford, six miles above the city, over which communication was immediately established with Falmouth, and Gen. Sedgwick sent for supplies. The announcement of this fact dispelled much of the gloom prevailing at headquarters, for it was then known that if the Corps could hold out until night it would be able to draw back to the ford, under cover of darkness, and escape.
At daybreak, the Thirty-third, together with three other Regiments of Gen. Neill’s Brigade, had been sent out to attack a body of rebels who appeared on the higher ridge, some distance further on from the point where they finally descended. After a spirited fight, the enemy were put to flight. The Regiment had now returned, and was posted on the left curvature of the arc formed by Sedgwick, about one mile from the Heights, and near the road leading from the city. Occupying a commanding position, and being so near, they could perceive all the operations of the flanking force, which numbered twenty-five thousand. The reader can imagine their feelings at seeing the Heights which they had so gallantly stormed on the day previous, now reöccupied by the enemy. After being arranged in line of battle, the men amused themselves by firing at the rebel skirmishers, who crept up behind the trees and fences to reconnoitre our position. Several were killed in this manner. Lieutenant Carter, seizing a musket from the hands of one of his men, brought down a general officer, who persisted in recklessly riding out in front of the line.
As the morning advanced, members of the Regiment proceeded out on the road, and brought in one of the wagons abandoned by the teamsters, which proved to be well stocked with delicacies for a General and his Staff. This was a rich prize for the men, who, now having subsisted for six days on the scanty contents of their haversacks, were as eager for food as the famished Arab in the desert, who, discovering a bag of gold, mourned that it did not contain dates.
Towards noon a Brigade of rebels charged upon the earthworks thrown up in front of the Brigade, but were handsomely repulsed, and two hundred of them made prisoners, by a counter charge.
Our forces remained in two lines of battle, expecting every moment a fierce onslaught from various points. But the day wore away without an attack, and the men were beginning to think that none would be made, when suddenly, about four o’clock, a heavy column of reinforcements for the enemy were observed descending the upper ridge. This meant battle. Imagine a semi-circle within a semi-circle, and you have the relative positions of the opposing forces at that time.
An hour later, the rebel hordes rose quickly from the Heights where they had lain all day, and rushing forward with cheers and yells, precipitated themselves upon our line. At the same moment the siege guns at Falmouth opened a fire on their rear. Gen. Neill’s Brigade, being the nearest to them, bore the brunt of the attack, and though assaulted by overpowering numbers, maintained its position and repulsed the enemy. One Regiment, the same which broke at White-Oak Swamp, gave way, thereby bringing a destructive cross fire upon the Thirty-third. As the rebels fell back in disorder through the fields, it was only by the greatest exertions that Col. Taylor could restrain his men from following. A few squads did rush forward and secured several prisoners.
But unmindful of the havoc made in their ranks, the enemy again pressed on, determined to crush the Brigade. At the same time they attacked other points in the extended arc, and Gen. Neill, seeing that there was imminent danger of his position being turned, fell back, not, however, before having incurred a loss of one thousand men. Gen. Sedgwick now gave instructions for the entire lines to recede, in accordance with the plan which he had previously decided upon, viz: to slowly fall back fighting to the river, until darkness should come on. As the lines drew back, the enemy steadily pursued, a vigorous fire of musketry and artillery being kept up on both sides. Our batteries literally mowed the pursuers down, as they repeatedly charged upon them in solid columns. The gunners reserved their fire until the charging forces came within a few rods, and then poured the grape and cannister into them at a fearful rate. Having broken the columns, they would fall back to new positions, and again resist their approach.
In this manner the retreat was conducted most successfully, though not without great loss. The Thirty-third, which suffered severely at the outset, likewise lost many men in falling back, including Lieuts. Porter and Rossiter. While scaling a fence at one time, which through some culpable negligence had been left standing, several were killed and wounded. Gen. Neill being stunned by the falling of his wounded horse, Col. Taylor temporarily took command of the Brigade.
To assume command of a Brigade in the confusion of a retreat, when the enemy was pressing on all sides, was a most hazardous undertaking. Col. Taylor, however, did not shrink from the responsibility, and with the assistance of the Major of the Seventh Maine, who stepped forward when he called for volunteer Aids, soon arranged the Regiments in proper line.
SALEM HEIGHTS.
Charge of the Thirty-third.
Darkness closed upon the combatants and prevented further pursuit by the enemy, though skirmishing continued for hours afterwards. Never had men watched more eagerly for the going down of the sun, and now that night had spread her sable mantle over the scene, great was the sense of relief experienced.
But the joy at their deliverance is suddenly dispelled by a report that the bridges thrown over the river at Banks’ Ford have been destroyed, and thus the way of retreat cut off. During the afternoon the enemy between us and Hooker had succeeded in planting several guns near the ford, and kept pounding away at the bridges for hours. One of them was seriously injured, but before they could complete its destruction, batteries were got into position on the opposite side of the river, and drove them away. Happily, then, this rumor was without foundation.
The scenes of that night vividly recalled the memories of the seven days’ retreat on the Peninsula. Though no panic prevailed, there was the utmost confusion. Owing to the darkness and the large number of wounded, and immense amount of war materiel which had to be conveyed over, many of the wounded were left where they fell during the battle, it being impossible to bring them away. This was the case with most of those belonging to the Thirty-third. Lieut. Rossiter died in the hands of the enemy. By morning the entire Corps was safely over, and encamped along the flats on the opposite side. The Thirty-third crossed the bridge about 8 o’clock, A. M.
The next morning the rebels commenced shelling the troops from the west bank, which caused them to draw back immediately from the river. Brooks’ and Newton’s Divisions moved a few miles to the northward, Howe’s remaining in the vicinity. During the following night the main army re-crossed above, under cover of a fierce storm. Wednesday and Thursday were spent in getting back to Falmouth. Howe’s Division returned to White-Oak Church during Friday, now for the third time.
The Thirty-third encamped in a field about three-quarters of a mile from its former position. It was a sad sight, those thin and decimated ranks; of five hundred and fifty brave men, who two weeks before marched out to meet the enemy, less than three hundred now returned.