All the Demonism of a Battle: A New Yorker at Third Winchester

   In the bloodiest engagement of the 1864 Valley Campaign, the 114th New York took the sad honors of losing more men than any other regiment engaged at the Battle of Opequon/Third Winchester. "A ragged sleeve, a twinge of the arm, and the remonstrances of the Doctor remind me that I am not entirely whole from the fight," one captain noted. 

    Captain James Franklin Fitts commanding Co. F of the 114th New York, numbered amongst those wounded survivors of the fighting of September 19, 1864. He recalled the battle itself as an impressive sight, if frighteningly dangerous. 

    "But the sight that met our eyes barely 200 yards across that clearing—who that was there can ever forget it? Three Rebel battle flags were tossed defiantly in the air from a line-of-battle apparently four times the length of our own, while the smoke of an incessant discharge of musketry and artillery welled away from the field. Two hundred yards is a small measure of ground, but when it is considered as the space separating two hostile lines; filled with screaming, bursting shells, and whizzing balls, and with all the demonism of a battle raging over it, it becomes fearfully narrowed. I had supposed it impossible that a more galling fire could be encountered than that which swept through our ranks before Port Hudson, but at Winchester our loss was proportionately greater by one-sixth. Not merely from our immediate front but from both flanks a murderous fire was poured upon us," he wrote. 

     The 114th New York was assigned to the First Brigade (Colonel George L. Beal), First Division (Brigadier General William Dwight), of General William H. Emory’s 19th Army Corps; other regiments of the brigade included the 29th Maine, 30th Massachusetts, 116th New York, and 153rd New York. Dwight’s division arrived on the field around 11 a.m. and was held in reserve initially, then went into action in the afternoon on the right of Dwight’s division. The regiment subsequently lost 188 men killed or wounded, the highest number of any regiment at the battle.

    Captain Fitts survived the wound and the war; he died January 11, 1890 in Lockport, New York and is buried at Cold Springs Cemetery. Co. F, 114th New York Volunteer Infantry. His account of Opequon/Third Winchester originally saw publication in an October 1864 edition of the Chenango Chronicle published in Norwich, New York. 

The 114th New York was raised in central New York state and mustered into service September 3, 1862 before being sent to the defenses of Baltimore. The regiment was tapped to join General Nathaniel P. Banks' expedition to Louisiana where it took part in the subsequent operations at Port Hudson. The New Yorkers remained in Louisiana through mid-summer of 1864 and after participating in the Red River campaign, traveled by sea to Virginia where it joined General Phil Sheridan's Valley army as part of the 19th Army Corps.  


In the field near Harrisonburg, Virginia

September 26, 1864

Editors Chenango Chronicle,

Just one week has elapsed since the great battle and victory near Winchester, of the 19th instant, and after a close pursuit of the flying enemy of more than 70 miles, General Sheridan's army has halted for a brief rest. An opportunity is now given me to furnish you with a description of the important part taken by our regiment in this action, and to attempt to do justice to the glorious record which it has made. You will probably be furnished by others with complete lists of the killed and wounded, and with particulars of individual bravery on the field which I would gladly mention if time and space allowed. It has seemed to me that a comprehensive summary of what the 114th New York did in this engagement—how it fought, where, how long, and under what circumstances—must be of deep interest as well to the friends and relations of the gallant slain and wounded, as to the host of those who feel pride in the regiment and its good name; and to a mention of these particulars you will permit me to confine myself. With the field at large I had nothing to do, but of that part of it held by the 114th, and of the action at that point, I can speak with almost entire accuracy.—Should the narrative grow lengthy under my hands, the deep interest of the subject must be my apology.

The Battle of Winchester was fought in a northerly direction from the town of that name, some four miles from the turnpike road running to Berryville, and began at 12 o'clock, noon. The ground upon which it was fought was a succession of woods, clearings, and rolling intervals, with stone and rail fences crossing them. For two weeks previous to the fight, our army had lain in an entrenched camp, several miles east of Berryville. Leaving it at 3 o'clock on the morning of the 19th, we moved across the turnpike and proceeded toward Winchester. Circumstances occurred to delay the 19th Corps so that it did not reach the vicinity of the enemy until 11 o'clock, but in good time, however, for its share in the battle. Several batteries had been throwing shells from the head of the column during the march, the reports of which came back to the rear frequently and distinctly. Reaching a clearing, bordering a wood of unusual thickness, the corps was formed in order of battle under a heavy shelling from some artillery out of sight.

General William Dwight, commanding First Division, 19th Army Corps

Our brigade moved through this wood in column by regiment, the 114th in advance. The 29th Maine had been sent farther to the right, and the 30th Massachusetts was in the rear guarding a wagon train; so that but two regiments followed ours—the 116th and 153rd New York, in the order named. I mention these facts distinctly, as their bearing will presently be seen. Our regiment moved straight to the front, through a half mile of dense woods and underbrush, and during the last quarter shells and bullets burst and whistled over and around it. The fire grew very annoying before we cleared the woods; several of the men were struck and disabled; Colonel Samuel R. Per Lee's horse was wounded under him, and Major Oscar H. Curtis's instantly killed. But there was no sign of faltering or hanging back; the regiment bore itself right through the woods (which for the last 300 yards projected in a triangle having clearings upon either side of it) and halted in the open space several rods beyond it. The order to commence firing was given, and a rapid and effective discharge of musketry was instantly opened. The men loaded and fired with the most perfect coolness, the officers animating and encouraging them, and for more than one hour their fire continued unslackened. All seemed to stand to their work with a will and determination to win.

First Lt. Charles L. Brown
Co. F, 114th N.Y.

But the sight that met our eyes barely 200 yards across that clearing—who that was there can ever forget it? Three Rebel battle flags were tossed defiantly in the air from a line-of-battle apparently four times the length of our own, while the smoke of an incessant discharge of musketry and artillery welled away from the field. Two hundred yards is a small measure of ground, but when it is considered as the space separating two hostile lines; filled with screaming, bursting shells, and whizzing balls, and with all the demonism of a battle raging over it, it becomes fearfully narrowed. I had supposed it impossible that a more galling fire could be encountered than that which swept through our ranks before Port Hudson, but at Winchester our loss was proportionately greater by one-sixth. Not merely from our immediate front but from both flanks a murderous fire was poured upon us. It is my deliberate conviction that at this point the 114th withstood more than a whole brigade. Of 350 in action, 190 were killed and disabled, and the clothes, knapsacks and accoutrements of many of the survivors were found to be cut and torn by balls. The statistics of the war may well be challenged to produce so frightful a record of casualties as this.

For more than an hour this slaughter was endured with firmness, and then, to save his command from utter decimation or destruction, Major Curtis (Colonel Per Lee having left the field, seriously wounded) gave the order to retire. The two other regiments in the meantime had formed one line some hundreds of yards in our rear and were lying down in the cover of the woods when our crippled regiment came back, bearing its wounded, and facing about from time to time to send a volley back to the enemy. A poor remnant was rallied on the colors and moved by the flank to the right of the 116th New York, ready to prolong the contest. The order was given, and the three regiments moved out of the woods and crossed the clearing on the double-quick with a yell of defiance to the Rebel line, from which a furious fire burst out anew. A rail fence crossed this clearing, to the left of which, and much in advance, was the line of woods which the 114th had been compelled to abandon. Halting at this fence, the brigade lay down and opened fire. For three hours this position was maintained unflinchingly, under a terrific rain of shells and bullets, with dead and dying lying thickly around. The brigade behaved nobly, gallantly; and, in spite of the severe ordeal to which it had been subjected for the last hour, the 114th did its full part in the work.

Sergeant William M. Johnson of Co. E of the 114th New York would be killed in action a month later at Cedar Creek. 

I had intended, in writing this account, to avoid all mention of individuals, because all behaved well; but in speaking of this fight upon this second line, I cannot refrain from alluding to the noble death of First Lieutenant Edward E. Breed, of Co. H. The color-bearer had been wounded on the first line, and Lieutenant Breed carried the flag when the brigade moved forward to the fence. He was wounded mortally, in the breast, not a yard from me and carried to the rear. Many, very many, had been stricken down beside me in death, or with painful wounds, but to him my attention had been particularly drawn. His conduct was gallant from first to last, and a brave, true heart grew still when he died. Peace to his ashes, and lasting honor to his memory!

After a lapse of two hours, it was plainly to be seen that the Rebel fire was slackening. Their line had not advanced a foot from the first, from which fact I infer it was much cut up. But just at this time the cartridge-boxes were completely emptied, and it became necessary to fall back across the clearing into the edge of the wood, in order that the men might not be unnecessarily exposed while out of ammunition. The brigade retired in the very best order, took up a new position, received a fresh supply of cartridges, and again renewed its fire. For another hour it continued the fight, while our men fell fast around us; one stern, terrible hour more of effort and exposure, and then General Emory rode up to the line. I fancied that the veteran looked sadly at our shattered and wasted ranks, as he was told that this little handful represented the 114th New York. "I will relieve you," he said, and we were at once withdrawn with the Brigade into the cover of the wood.

The 8th Corps, which had not yet been in the action, was moved up past us; a stirring cheer burst from their long line, and the charge which ended the day's work followed. Our brigade joined in the pursuit which was instantly commenced, and passed over the field. It was completely strewn with the dead and wounded of both sides, with arms, accoutrements, knapsacks, and all the horrible debris and wreck of the battlefield. A few shells from the retreating Rebel batteries exploded in front of us, but the work had been done which sent the Rebel army flying panic stricken through the streets of Winchester, and a cavalry charge near the town completed the rout. One hundred and twenty men were all of the 114th that were with its colors the following morning, and today there are less than 170 available men present.

A post-war flag bearing the fan-leafed cross with the hexagonal center, the emblem of the 19th Army Corps. 


I will state here what I omitted to say in its proper place—that a portion of the Second Division of our corps had been repulsed in front of the first position of the 114th, and that a disorganized mass of stragglers fell back upon us. Many of these were rallied to our colors and acted with us during the remainder of the day. The official report of Major Curtis, which I have been permitted to read, will, I think, corroborate every essential statement which I have made. When it is considered that the regiment fought for over an hour in an advanced position, without supports on either flank, and with a vastly superior force of the enemy, losing more than one half of its numbers—that it fell back only at the last moment, in the last extremity, and then carried all its wounded from the field—that it afterward renewed the fight with the brigade, and continued to fight for four hours, on a footing with two regiments which had not before been seriously exposed—that through all this fiery ordeal it kept up its organization, carried its colors, and when the day was gained, joined in the pursuit—when these facts are remembered, I  think the judgment of our people at home upon the 114th must be, "It has done well."

I should apologize for occupying so much of your space, at the same time that I omit the services of the regiment during the pursuit of the enemy up to this day. Some other hand, I hope, will describe the stirring scenes of the 24th instant, when our regiment was on the advanced skirmish line, and again measured arms with the enemy; the thousand and one moving incidents of the battle-field, with its accumulation of horrors, its dead, its dying, it groans of pain and writhings of distress, and its appearance after the fight, with its burden of ghastly slain—these I have no heart to particularize. They are the inseparable attendants of every battle, but never have I been so deeply impressed with their painful aspects as in this, the greatest battle of the Shenandoah Valley.

The praises of the Regiment should perhaps be sounded by some other than one of its number, but in this statement, I have merely repeated facts which are well known throughout the entire corps, and talked of by every camp fire. A copy of General Dwight's congratulatory circular accompanies this letter, which please publish. Well as I have known the bravery of this regiment, I know it now still better. Its reputation for unflinching courage under fire has been established beyond all cavil, and it has gained for itself a name of which we are all justly proud. Ours is the only Regiment in the Division complimented by the General for its work on the 19th.

A ragged sleeve, a twinge of the arm, and the remonstrances of the Doctor, remind me that I am not entirely whole from the fight, and that my pen must be laid aside. Allow me to remain,

 

Very truly yours, J. F. F.

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

Arming the Buckeyes: Longarms of the Ohio Infantry Regiments

Image
     A common question that comes up in conversation about Civil War Buckeye regiments is "What were they armed with?" We are fortunate in that the state of Ohio kept good records of how the regiments were armed when they went into service, this being especially true for those regiments which went into service in 1861 and 1862. The state adjutant general's reports for 1861 and 1862 have been heavily drawn upon to construct this article, as well as consultation with Phil Spaugy who has done extensive research on how Ohio's troops were armed during the war.      Buckeyes carried a fairly wide variety of weapons into the field, and the below article breaks this down into weapons of both domestic manufacture and imported arms. The early days of the war found the state of Ohio practically bereft of longarms; as an example, when the 1st and 2nd Ohio Volunteer Militia left the state in late April 1861, they left unarmed, being armed at Lancaster, Pennsylvania on their way to
Read more

Dressing the Rebels: How to Dye Butternut Jeans Cloth

Image
     In the early days of the Civil War,  the Southern states found themselves with an abundance of cotton but a shortage of cloth with which to make army uniforms. The trade in cloth prior to the war had largely been to send raw cotton or wool north to New England (or Great Britain) where it was converted into usable cloth; but now that trade was broken and the Southern states were thrown upon their own resources in their efforts to properly clothe the Confederate army.  This collection of Confederate enlisted men's frock coats and shell jackets gives some indication of the variety of shades of butternut worn during the war. All of them are shades of yellow brown, some heavier on the yellow and some heavier on the brown. The blue used around the collar or as rank insignia indicates that the soldier was in the infantry. Surviving Confederate uniforms are considered rather rare and command quite a healthy price in the collecting market. For an in-depth study of how Confederate jacke
Read more

Bullets for the Union: Manufacturing Small Arms Ammunition During the Civil War

Image
       Civil War bullets are perhaps the most common item collected from the era; the two armies expended bullets by the millions during the four years’ conflict and spent or deformed bullets of all shapes and sizes have made fascinating and affordable collectibles since the guns went silent in 1865.       I recently acquired a display piece featuring 35 different types of small arms ammunition used during the Civil War, including everything from a small .28 caliber ball up to a .69 caliber three-ring Minie and it triggered some questions: how did the Federal army obtain its small arms ammunition during the war? Where did the lead come from to make the bullets, and where and how was the ammunition manufactured? This post seeks to answer those questions. A typical .58 caliber 3-ring Minie bullet   “Whenever the blasts of war blow in the ears of men who trade in the implements of destruction, they are apt to experience more joy than the true warrior, for then comes the harvest of gain.
Read more

The Cannons are Now Silent: The Field of Death of Tupelo

Image
       The smoke of battle had drifted away from the battlefield at Tupelo, Mississippi on the hot afternoon of July 14, 1864, but the carnage of war lay spread across the open fields. “Scattered at intervals over the field of a few yards are dull gray blotches half shaded by grass,” an officer from the 7 th Minnesota Infantry recorded. “These are the Rebel dead. They have fought their last battle and lie generally in attitudes of rest; some of them look as if they had welcomed death. On the faces of two is imprinted a smile. One is a boy of 16 with delicate features, almost girlish in their beauty. His last gaze seems to have been directed toward his hand on the forefinger of which was a ring. A circle of purer white indicates its place; the ring was carried off as a trophy of the field.” The following account of the Battles of Tupelo and Old Town Creek was written by an unknown officer of the 7 th Minnesota Infantry, his account appearing in the August 5 th 1864 edition of the
Read more

The Vaunted Enfield Rifle Musket

Image
     The English-made Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield Rifle Musket was widely regarded as the best infantry arm in the world at the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861. Favorable international press describing its efficiency in the Crimean War and in suppressing the Indian rebellion led to the widespread desire of American infantrymen (both Federal and Confederate) to be armed with these accurate and well-made arms. The lock plate of this well-worn P1853 Enfield rifle musket produced in 1862 shows the typical markings of a British-made weapon that made it through the Federal blockade.  ( Army of Tennessee Relics ) Enfield-pattern weapons were imported into the states by the tens and hundreds of thousands during the war years; one estimate stated that the Federal government purchased 500,000 while the Confederates purchased another 400,000. The Confederate government dispatched Captain Caleb Huse to Europe in April 1861 to purchase weapons and Huse focused on securing all the Enfi
Read more

Straw Already Threshed: Sherman on Shiloh

Image
  W illiam Tecumseh Sherman was enjoying retired life in New York City when just before Christmas in 1889 he was presented with an article written by John Cockerill, a former drummer boy in the 24 th Ohio who was visiting his father Colonel Joseph Cockerill of the 70 th Ohio of Sherman’s division when the Battle of Shiloh began. Cockerill’s article, originally published in the New York Journalist and later featured in the January 1893 issue of Blue & Gray Magazine, Sherman later pronounced as “the best war story ever written” and the truest account of Shiloh.           On New Year’s Day 1890, General Sherman composed the following letter to his friend Marshall P. Wilder thanking him for sending along Cockerill’s article and giving his own explanation of Shiloh. “This to me is straw already threshed for we have fought this battle on paper several times, a much more agreeable task than to fight with bullets,” he concluded. “When in England some years ago I was gratified to liste
Read more

Federal Arms in the Stones River Campaign

Image
  T he following list, constructed after many years of research, lists unit by unit which type of weapons were carried by the Army of the Cumberland during the Stones River campaign. A number of sources were consulted including state ordnance reports, Federal quarterly ordnance reports (thank you Research Arsenal ), Ken Baumann’s Arming the Suckers, regimental histories and memoirs, captured ordnance reports, and consultation with knowledgeable experts in the field of firearms. Some of this information has been shared on the blog before in “ Rosy’s Heavy Metal: Artillery of the Army of the Cumberland ” or “ Shoulder Arms: How Sheridan’s and Davis’s Divisions Were Armed at Stones River ” but this is the first time the army as a whole has been presented. The overall conclusion I drew from looking at this data is that the Army of the Cumberland in December 1862 was an organization in the midst of transformation as far as arms. Many of the regiments still retained their original issue
Read more

Escape of Captain Henry H. Alban of the 21st Ohio Infantry

Image
Captain Henry H. Alban was among the dozen officers of the 21 st Ohio Volunteer Infantry who were captured on September 20, 1863 at the Battle of Chickamauga. The regiment had held its position atop Snodgrass Hill against repeated Confederate assaults and now battered and without ammunition, with the darkness of evening enveloping the hill, the remainder of that gallant band found themselves at the mercy of the 54 th Virginia. A total of 12 officers and 121 enlisted men surrendered; the regiment’s colors were taken, and the men marched off the field into captivity. Captain Henry Harvey Alban, Co. F, 21st O.V.I. Captain Alban along with the rest went through a series of Confederate prison camps before arriving at Columbia, South Carolina in October 1864. Determined to make an escape, he watched for his chance and one night made his leap for freedom, successfully eluding the local camp guard and setting out along the railroad to head for the mountains of eastern Tennessee and
Read more

Knapsack Compression: Wilbur Hinman recalls the first step of becoming a veteran

Image
L ooking back on his experiences during the war, Captain Wilbur Hinman of the 65 th Ohio (perhaps best known as the author of Si Klegg and His Pard ) recalled that the first road along which his regiment marched was strewn “with debris. A pair of six-mule wagonloads might have been gathered of notions that had been flung aside by a thousand suffering “tenderfeet.” “The average young patriot started for the war with a wheelbarrow load of clothing, a bed quilt or two, books, photograph albums, toilet articles, and gimcracks of every sort,” he wrote. “Neither he nor the good homefolks had the slightest conception of the capacity of a knapsack, nor did they for a moment imagine that before the close of his first day upon the road every pound he carried would seem a hundred.” To the true mark of a veteran soldier was one who “learned to dispense with every unnecessary ounce of weight, and just in the ratio that he did this he increased his efficiency as a soldier. It was of the highest
Read more

Federal Arms in the Chickamauga Campaign

Image
T he ordnance returns of the Army of the Cumberland at the end of September 1863 show the results of a transformational year in weaponry. Since taking command of the army at the end of October 1862, General William S. Rosecrans had repeatedly pestered the War Department to supply his regiments with better firearms both to improve the command’s efficiency as well as expand its striking power. The results speak for themselves: for the infantrymen at the end of September 1863, 90% of them now carried Class I long arms (36,058 out of 39,959), 8.3% carried Class II arms, and a mere 1.5% carried Class III weapons. Most of the foreign-made weapons (except Enfields) were gone, and by and large the army had settled on a single common .58 caliber ammunition, although a few .54 caliber and .69 caliber weapons remained within the ranks. The English-made Enfield rifle musket was by far the most common arm, carried by 56% of the men while the second-most common arm was the .58 caliber M1861 Spring
Read more