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PERSONAL NARRATIVES

OF EVENTS IN THE

WAR OF THE REBELLION

No. 4. SECOND SERIES.

THE MARINE ARTILLERY WITH THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITION,

AND THE

BATTWE OF CAMDEN, N.C.

WILLIAM. B. AVERY.

 
PERSONAL NARRATIVES

OF EVENTS IN THE

WAR OF THE REBELLION,

BEING PAPERS READ BEFORE THE

RHODE ISLAND SOLDIERS AND SAILORS

HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

No. 4... . SECOND SERIES.

PROVIDENCE:
N. BANGS WILLIAMS & CO.
1880.

 
u

SS —eai

‘

THE MARINE ARTILLERY

WITH THE

BURNSIDE EXPEDITION

AND THE

Copyrighte
opyrighted by BATTLE OF CAMDEN, N. C.

N. BANGS WILLIAMS,
1880.

BY WILLIAM B. AVERY,

[LATE CAPTAIN FIRST REGIMENT MARINE ARTILLERY, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS. |

PROVIDENCE:
N. BANGS WILLIAMS & CO

1880.

 

 
‘

PS

THE MARINE ARTILLERY

WITH THE

BURNSIDE Hex PH DILLON:

[READ BEFORE gue Society, APRIL 16, 1879.j
Copyrighted by
N. BANGS WILLIAMS.

1880. que Burnside Expedition left Annapolis, Mary-

land, on the eighth day of January, 1862, and on the
eighth of February the island of Roanoke was cap-
tured, after a desperate fight, and the whole north
was electrified by the news of one of the first real
successes to the union forces. Every one connected
with that expedition and conversant with the subse-
quent events in eastern North Carolina will remem-
ber the Marine Artillery. The writer, who had gone
out in command of one of the boats of the fleet,
which was intended to be used as a floating battery,
was invited to join the regiment about that time ;

 
6
THE MARINE ARTILLERY

ee so it happened that a Rhode Island wig became
oe a Now York regiment, and attained
= mnence in that department as an officer
of the famous “ Horse Marines,” as we wer
ally called by the rest of the troops. ee
To that regiment belonged many of the men b
whom the government transports were eae, 4
some of them were present and took active a
nearly every skirmish, engagement or ex eG
that took place from the time we reached 5 fe a
Inlet till our final disbandment in tase aie
ae first detachment, especially, was sida up of
Ne and hardy men; and asa sailor never think
of flight in time of danger, so these men ee
See eet pucod manfully to their ane:
Seas among the different vessels of the fleet
ae e we left Ney York, and under the com-
ie eae not fuer own officers, they endured
eae ps - a sailor’s life, in that stormy season
ae ee ous coast, without a murmur. At
Sea oe Berne, some of them landed with
see ae er command of Captain Dayton, of the
ighlander, and fought as bravely as did

eg TL OI ESI

WITH THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITION. it

the rest of the troops. As boatmen in landing the
soldiers, they were invaluable.

T shall proceed to mention some of the c
nd then give a brief narra-

hief char-

acteristics of the corps, @
any fights in which we took part,

tive of one of the m
a sample of our mode of operating with the army,

as

hoping that I may thus be abl
also add my mite to the history

e to entertain you for

a brief period, and
great struggle for freedom, my part in which

of our
upon with feelings of satisfaction

J always look back

and pleasure.
The regiment was organized in New York by its

colonel, William A. Howard, than whom a braver and
truer officer never lived. Early in life he had been

a midshipman in the navy, but the war found him

enior captain in the United States Revenue Marine,

8
gs new

which position he temporarily left to form thi

branch of the service. The idea itself originated

with him, and to his energy and zeal can be attribu-

ted much of the success of the undertaking. Similar

organizations were afterwards formed in other de-

partments and proved very effective,—notably, the

« Naval Brigade,” on the Mississippi river, and Gra-
fo) ? ?

 
8 THE MARINE ARTILLERY

ham’s “Army Gunboats,” on the James river. Be-
longing to the army, and under the direct control
of the commanding general, expeditions by water
could be undertaken without the aid of the naval
forces, which were not always at hand when needed.
After nearly two years of good and efficient service,
and during the absence of the colonel on account
of sickness, certain troubles arose in the regiment
which finally led to our being mustered out by order
of the Secretary of War, though it was believed at
the time that had Colonel Howard been present such
would not have been the case. As it was, the mem-
bers mostly all entered other branches of the service

—one or two other officers and myself entering the

navy, where we received good appointments, and
the department seemed glad to avail itself of our
services.

Rev. Mr. Woodbury, in his excellent book, “ Burn-
side and the Ninth Army Corps,” in one place speaks
of the Marine Artillery as “an amphibious kind of
force of a few hundred men;” and that phrase is
very expressive of the real nature of our duties, as
we were at all times ready for service either on land

a A a

 

geen ag i Rn TB

WITH THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITION.

or water, and many of us were frequently ands
water even, in the course of our varied experience.
During our passage from Fortress Monroe to Hat-
teras, the Grenade had her rudder disabled, and but
for my exertions in getting her repaired, would have
been left at the inlet when the fleet moved up to
take Roanoke. In order to get her ready in time to
receive the company of Zouaves that went uP on
her, I had to work two hours up to my neck in the
cold water, and part of the time had to be under
water entirely. But most anything was preferable
to being left by the expedition, so eaEe were we
all to be present at the attack on the island. :

The uniform of the regiment was nearly like that
of the navy. The officers wore a gold bane on the
cap, but no sash under the sword belt. The oe
der strap was red, with a cross cannon and anc se
wrought in silver, afterwards adopted by Be gener
as the emb!em of the Ninth Corps. The line alter
wore double-breasted coats, and the clothes of the
men were all of dark navy blue. The arms were
short Belgian rifles with the sword bayonet for those
who acted as infantry, and pistols and cutlasses for

 
10 THE MARINE ARTILLERY
those who worked the howitzers, which latter were
_ of the naval pattern and used either in launches on
the slide, or on shore mounted on a carriage with
trail-wheel and drag-rope. We were especially well
drilled in the use of naval light artillery, either afloat
or ashore.

The gunboats, on which about half of the regiment
was quartered, and by whom several of them were
manned, had good batteries of thirty-pounder Par-
rotts and thirty-two-pounder smooth bores, in the
exercise of which we were also proficient. We were
like the navy in drill and discipline, and were in real-
ity army gunboats. , during a portion of the
time in the fall and winter of 1862, at which time I
was in command of the Lancer, mountin

guns and two twelve-pounder Wiard stee
having on board my

& six large
l howitzers,
whole company, we acted di-

rectly with the navy, being ordered to report for
duty to Lieutenant Commander Flusser,
we served on.several different expeditions, and by

whom I was treated with the utmost courtesy and
respect.

with whom

We lay one week up the Roanoke river, above

11
WITH THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITION.

Plymouth, taking our regular turn at picket eps
waiting for the rebel ram to come down, the oe
istence of which we knew at that early date. It di
not succeed in getting down that year, however, but
the next year it did come down, and the havoc ate
by the ram Albemarle is familiar #0 ne .
brave and chivalrous Flusser lost his life, and the
ram remained triumphant at Plymouth till seater
by the daring Cushing, who was one of ere
officers at the time we served together the year
ee large sounds and a great number of ae
flowing into them from the eastenn Pane of pe
Carolina, gave us plenty of opportunities fon expedi
tions by water; and as we had a oN of gs ee
mission, we were enabled to be doing someting a
the time. Aside from our Oneranone with the my
in general, we undertook expeditions by ayes
at which times we would often Poueusis inlan ae
fifteen to thirty miles before returning to our boa 2
in which we had gone as far as possible up en
the rivers. With headquarters at aoenckS len ‘
the colonel would direct our movements as informa-

 

 
12 THE MARINE ARTILLERY
tion arrived from the surrounding country, or orders
were sent up from department headquarters at New
Berne. In operating with the army, our most effec-
tive weapon was the howitzer, we acting as a field
battery; but when making strikes by ourselves,
often at some of the guerrillas, we generally went
light, with only rifles or pistols. Sometimes making
forced loans of horses we rode, or if at night, and
the distance to be covered was short, we went on
foot, and generally returned to our boat without
making any halt at all. When once on board, how-
ever, we had comfortable quarters and plenty of
opportunities for needed rest and refreshment, for

‘which reason the health of the men was generally
good.

The writer on one occasion landed sixty men from
the Lancer at Shilo, on the Pasquotank river, just
after dark, marched all of them twenty miles, and a
portion of them thirty miles, inland toward Rich-
mond, recaptured several union prisoners on their
way to “Libby,” dispersed the gang of guerrillas
who had them in charge, recovered a large quantity
of ordnance they had stolen, and returned to the

 

WITH THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITION. 13

ship the next night without the loss of a man or gun.
I need scarcely mention that to get over so much
distance, I had mounted myself on a good horse,
“borrowed from a neighbor,” and that the twenty
men who went with me the last ten miles were
mounted in five of the two-wheeled carts of the
country ‘and drawn by horses, all of which had been
appropriated quite unceremoniously for the occa-
sion, but of course were afterwards returned to their
owners. In justice to some of the residents, I will
say, however, that many of them were good loyal
people, ready with information, and seemed to be
willing for us to use their stock with which to chase
the guerrillas. My taking the horses without their
consent was in reality a kindness to them, as they
would not then be obliged to incur the hatred of
their neighbors by seeming too willing to help us.
The narrative which I now give was written only
a few days after the events therein recorded, and
was intended only for home use; but as I found it
among my war letters, I will give it substantially as
then written. It is therefore rather personal in its

character, and if I dwell somewhat largely on my
2

 

 

 
 

 

14 THE MARINE ARTILLERY

own doings, I trust that I may be pardoned in that
regard.

Reports having been received that two or three
iron gunboats were building at Norfolk to come
down here and destroy our shipping in the sounds,
and that supplies of corn were being conveyed up
through the Dismal Swamp canal, an expedition was
set on foot for the purpose of destroying the lock at
the lower end of the canal, and of cutting off and
capturing any body of troops stationed south of that
point. The fight of which I am about to speak,
took place some two miles from the lock, in Camden
county, North Carolina, and not far from River
Bridge. Our force consisted of five regiments of
infantry and two detachments of the Marine Artillery,
with two twelve-pounder boat howitzers, and two
other howitzers belonging to the Zouaves. . Colonel
Howard had general command of this artillery force
of some fifty men, but it was under the immediate
command of Lieutenant George Gerrard and myself,
who landed from the Virginia, of which we were at
that time officers. General Reno was in command
of the expedition, and had come up from New Berne

 

 

WITH THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITION. 15

with two regiments of infantry, the Twenty-first
Massachusetts and the Fifty-first Pennsylvania, on
the transports Cossack and Northerner. The other
three regiments came from Roanoke, and were the
Ninth and Eighty-ninth New York, and the Sixth
New Hampshire.

We left Roanoke Island on the eighteenth of April,
1862, and came to anchor just below Elizabeth City
about nine o’clock in the evening. We, with the
Virginia, towed up the schooner Edward Slade, hay-
ing on board Messrs. Mallifeurt and Hayden, sub-
marine engineers, with apparatus and powder for
destroying the lock and bridge. A landing was
immediately begun, and by midnight all of the troops
from Roanoke — three regiments and the Marines —
were on shore and ready to march. The transports
from New Berné being aground, Colonel Howard
went down with the Virginia to their assistance, and
remained with them till all the troops were landed.
About two in the morning of the nineteenth, Colonel
Hawkins received orders to move on with the force
already landed, and we fell into line in rear of his
regiment, which was the advance of the column.

 

 
 

 

16 THE MARINE ARTILLERY

Rebel pickets were soon routed, but being mounted
they escaped to give information of our approach.
Our march had now begun in earnest; and such a
march. Deliver me from another like it, As after-
wards ascertained, we took the wrong road, and
instead of fourteen miles on a good road, as the
general and his two regiments had, we went thirty-
two miles, and on a very bad road. On our first
landing I sent Mr. Hand, clerk of the Virginia,
who had been out in the first three months troops
from Philadelphia, and who went along as a volun-
teer, to procure horses" from some farmer near

there. He succeeded in finding one for each

piece, to which we soon had them harnessed. We
had to depend mainly on the drag-ropes, however,
at which the men constantly relieved: each other.
Our road at first lay across several fields, ploughed
and ditched; the ditches we were compelled to fill
with rails in order to get our guns across them.
The horses would break away from the piece, and
the men were obliged to work hard in the soft
ground till we at length reached the road. It was
hard marching even for the infantry, but for us with

 

 

WITH THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITION. 17

the guns, and in the darkness of night, it was terri-
ble, and we all had to strain every nerve to get
through. On reaching the road it was not quite so
bad, but still bad enough.

About daylight my horse began to give out, and I
went in search of another. Coming to a large farm-
house near the road, I accosted the planter, who was
walking his front porch, and demanded of him a
horse. He replied that he had only plough-stock,
and pointed to a fine pair of mules which one of his
negroes was just hitching to a plough to begin
his day’s work. I told him they were just what I
wanted, and ordered the man to follow me with the
mules and harness, which he very cheerfully did.
With these and a spare horse for the other piece,
we got along better. The harnesses being rather
old, were constantly giving out, at which times we
kept our place in line by dragging the guns wholly
by hand, and hitching on the animals while march-
ing; otherwise the infantry would crowd past us
and we lose our place in line. They seemed rather
inclined to think us of little account anyway, and
that we might as well be left behind; but they

 

 
 

18 THE MARINE ARTILLERY

afterwards thought better of us, and were glad to
have us in their rearon the return. The negro boy,
Enoch, was indispensable with the mules. They
seemed to have a great abhorrence for strangers,

and would often make it manifest. by a free use of

their heels in a manner particularly obnoxious to the
sailors. Had Enoch been asked to “ clew up a royal
and furl it,” probably he would have known as much
about it as the sailors did of harnessing the mules
and making them work. He was also of assistance
in caring for the mules while we were engaged in
the fight, and brought them up as soon as it was
over. Some three or four miles further on we

overtook a negro with a load of wood, whose cart -

we took to convey our ammunition, rations, and the
pea-jackets, which the men were by this time begin-
ning to throw away. We made him up a good load
and relieved the guns of much weight, thus making
them easier to handle. He also was very willing to
go with us, and even seemed pleased at the idea.
With an occasional rest, we marched along through
a fine, level country, beautifully cultivated, and bear-
ing everywhere the marks of thrift, till about eight

 

WITH THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITION. 19

in the morning, when we made a short halt for rest
and breakfast. By this time the men were begin-

- ning to be foot-sore, not being accustomed to march-

ing: They, however, kept up with the soldiers,

proving to them that if not so used to it, they would

not be left in the rear. After a hasty meal we pro-
ceeded, and soon the hot sun and dust began to tell
on all of us, especially the New Hampshire men, who
were on their: first long march. On our left we
heard firing from the gunboats, which were shelling
the woods and proclaiming our approach to the
enemy. Our men took off their shoes, and bare-
footed they toiled at the pieces, lifting on them at
-the numerous ditches and bad places with which the
road was filled. About eleven o’clock we came up
with the general and the other two regiments, which
-we had thought were behind us. They had taken
the right road, and though starting some hours after
we did, had been waiting there some time for us to
come up. There was also with them the two guns
belonging to the Zouaves, which Colonel Howard had
succeeded in landing and bringing along behind the
army wagons, these having been landed from the

 
 

 

 

20 THE MARINE ARTILLERY

Slade and used to convey the blasting apparatus
and powder.

We now continued our march, though most of us *

were pretty well used up. About half-past twelve
Colonel Howard, who was in advance with the skir.
mishers, discovered the enemy well posted at the
far end of a large open plain, through which the
road ran and on which several houses had been
burned and were still smouldering. He at first
thought the enemy had left, but when within about
five hundred yards they opened fire on him from
their battery, placed across the road. He observed
well their position, while an aide was sent to hurry
forward the artillery, and as fast as it could be got
to the front it was by him stationed for action. As
for us with the guns, we needed no orders to go
forward, but with the first sound of “the cannon’s
opening roar,” strained every nerve and muscle. to
get to the front.

By this time the men were quite exhausted, and
the road had become almost impassable on account
of mud. Just as Lieutenant Fearing rode back to

us with orders, and we were trying our best to get

 

WITH THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITION. 21

the guns out of the mire, in which they were nearly
axle deep, both mules jumped clear out of the har-
ness, and it seemed for a short time as though we
were never to get any nearer the enemy. The in-
fantry had already given out, and could render us
no assistance; but by constant urging and encour-
agement, our men, fatigued as they were from con-
tinued hard work, managed at last to get the guns
out of the mud and soon into a good position in front
of the enemy. Then commenced an artillery duel,
with four guns on each side. The enemy’s firing
was very good, and their shot fell among us thick
and fast; but we gave them as good as they sent,
and the colonel, who was watching our fire, was well
pleased at the result. The general had meantime
ridden up to us and ordered me to keep the enemy
occupied while he sent a couple of regiments to
flank them. Now that we were at last fighting in
good earnest, our men forgot their fatigue and be-
haved splendidly. A prettier fight could not have
been desired.

Up to this time the Marines had been working
all of the guns, but now Lieutenant Morris of the

 

 
 

22 THE MARINE ARTILLERY

Zouaves came out to us with a detail from his regi-
ment, and took charge of and fought their two pieces.
They had only just learned that their guns had been
brought forward by Colonel Howard, and supposed
they were still on the transports. With this addi-
tion to our force we made lively work for the rebels,
and kept their battery employed while the infantry
were being stationed preparatory to a general assault.
By occasionally moving our guns a little we avoided
much damage to ourselves, and at the same time
planted our shell into the midst of the enemy. They
fired only solid shot, so I suppose they had no shells
with them, else we should have suffered more se-
verely. After giving time for the flank movement
we ceased firing, as the enemy had already done so,
and we thought they had fled.

Colonel Hawkins now formed his regiment and
prepared for an attack in front. When within some
four hundred yards, he observed the enemy posted

on the edge of the woods, and at once charged at

the head of his men, who, with their wild yell, rushed
ahead in fine style, but were received with such a
shower of canister from the rebel battery and so

 

 

 

WITH THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITION. 23

furious a discharge of musketry from the Georgians
posted in the woods behind the trees, that they were
completely staggered and fell back on the Highty-
ninth New York, which were behind them. They
at once rallied, and with the other two regiments
kept up a good fight. The infantry firing was now
heavy, and quite a lively battle was in progress.
The Sixth New Hampshire moved up in line of bat-
tle and delivered a volley at the word of command,
which was as well executed as though they had
been on parade. Though the resistance of the
enemy was stubborn, and they were well protected
by the woods, still they could not withstand the
attack of our troops, and after a while withdrew up
the road toward the bridge.

During this time we moved forward with our guns
to within good canister distance, and by sharp work
succeeded in drawing the fire of their battery again.
But so effective were our discharges, together with
the furious onslaught of the infantry, that we finally
compelled them to “ limber to the rear,” and the day
was ours; not, however, till they had given us a
good dose of canister, which, fortunately, was not

 
24 ; THE MARINE ARTILLERY

very destructive. Some of us were struck, but it
was mostly spent and did us little harm.

Feeling satisfied with our day’s work, we took
positions assigned us to prevent surprise, and at
once began to think of something to eat. A heavy
thunderstorm now came up, and our boys took pos-
session of an old cow-shed that had not been burned,
and thus secured partial shelter from the rain. The
foragers brought in hens, geese and pigs, and prepa-
rations were in progress for a fine supper, when a
message from’ headquarters caused me to appear
before the general. I at once received orders to
mount a horse that had been captured from a rebel
picket by our colonel, and return to the fleet and
arrange with Commander Rowan for two or three

of the gunboats to come up the river and take on

board our wounded. It was now about half-past five
o’clock in the afternoon, and the landing place was
fourteen miles away ; but hastily swallowing a little
coffee and bread, and accompanied by one of the
negroes on a mule as a guide,I was off like the
wind, and just at dark hailed one of the steamers
for a boat. Covered with mud and wet through, I

WITH THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITION. 25

presented myself on board the flagship, and after
attending to the duty assigned me, went on board
our vessel and was soon fast asleep in my own berth,
with nothing to molest me till morning.

I remember that Captain Thomas Poynton Ives
was on board the flagship, where he had been dining
with the flag officer, and was much amused at my ap-
pearance as I presented myself in the cabin. He
was at that time in command of the Picket, which had
been General Burnside’s flagship.

When I left camp it was the intention of the gen-
eral in command to push on at daylight the next
morning and complete the work we had so well be-
gun, but for reasons best known to himself, early in
the night he ordered the troops into line and began
the march back to the landing place. Colonel How-
ard, with our two howitzers and one company of
infantry, composed the rear guard, which honor was
considered by all to have been bravely earned and
well merited.

It had been arranged by Commander Rowan that
I was to go up the river on one of his gunboats the

next morning, and so be enabled to join my com-
3

 

 

 
26 THE MARINE ARTILLERY

- mand and be with them for further work. Judge
then of my surprise at daylight in_seeing on the
river bank the advance of our troops, and of learn-
ing from them that the whole force had fallen back
during the night, They immediately began to re-
embark, and by afternoon we were on our way down
the river. Four companies of the Highty-ninth New
York came down with us, and if ever there was a
worn-out looking set of men, it was on board our
boat. The crew all slung their hammocks and
turned in for sleep, and to get a man on deck was
next to impossible.

Thus ended the expedition to River Bridge, which,
although not entirely successful, was in no way dis-
astrous to us. The loss on our side was about one

hundred, killed, wounded and missing, Many of
these were of the Ninth New York Zouaves, Colonel

Hawkins being shot through the arm, and the adju-
tant killed. The latter had been with tho regiment

only about a week, having just arrived from New
York. We took a few prisoners belonging to a
Georgia regiment, from whom we learned. that the
battery which had opposed us was the famous Hen-

 

 

WITH THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITION. 27

ningson battery, named for the fillibuster of that
name; and also that we were supposed to be the
advance of the whole of General Burnside’s com-
mand, about to attack Norfolk from that side. How
much.that fight had to do with it is not known to the
writer, but it is certain that very shortly afterwards
Norfolk was evacuated by the rebels, and we gained

* possession of the canal and surrounding country.

When General: Burnside moved his army to join
General McClellan, a few months later, he took a
portion of it up through the canal to Norfolk, and 1
was for quite a time employed in carrying dispatches
from Roanoke to Fortress Monroe, and keeping open
the canal. I had two guns and twenty-five men on
the steamer Emily, and made regular trips up and
down all through the summer. In conversation with
people who were in Norfolk at the time of our fight
at, Camden, they informed me that at the time we
were falling back to the boats that night, the rebels
were in full retreat toward Norfolk, and all the avail-
able forces were being mustered to assist General
Wise in the defense of that city; but so few were

: al ne rnaj 3
they in numbers, that had General Burnside been so

 
fas

pode ste | Reet

28 THE MARINE ARTILLERY
disposed, he could have ¢
As it turned out, howev
he remained quietly in

aken the city very easily.
er, it was just as well that

New Berne with his army,
and let them evacuate at their leisure.

T have thus briefly and imperfectly sketched one
of the early incidents of the War of the Rebellion.
If less important in its results than some of the sub-

sequent events of our great national drama, it will

always deserve its place in the theatre of that great
struggle, which, though it has left a dark void in

many a household, is ever alive in thrilling reminis-
cences and immutable friendships.

 

eee