A Squirrel Hunt on a Large Scale: The 10th Maine at Antietam

It was scarcely 7:30 in the morning of September 17, 1862, when James S. Fillebrown moved into the East Woods with the 10th Maine when a volley from the opposing 21st Georgia ripped into them. One of the shots pierced the neck of Colonel George Beal’s horse which became frantic and charged about in terror. “In his pain, he made for me and dashed against me with such force as to knock me from my horse to the ground,” Fillebrown explained to his wife a few days later. “I soon rallied and caught my horse, but the poor fellow came again with redoubled fury and this time after separating me from my horse kicked me with both feet in my stomach causing the most intense pain and suffering, I ever experienced.”

          The rest of the regiment quickly took cover and opened fire in return. “It was a squirrel hunt on a large scale as you could see our men creep along from tree to tree,” Fillebrown continued. “They fired in this way till our ammunition was gone and some of them fired more than they carried into the fight. Being supplied with fixed water-proof cartridges, some of the men fired so fast as to heat their guns to the extent that the cartridges exploded before the balls were forced down.”

The 10th Maine served in the First Brigade (General Samuel Crawford) of the First Division (General Alpheus Williams) of the 12th Army Corps during the Maryland campaign.  The brigade featured three veteran regiments (10th Maine, 28th New York, and 46th Pennsylvania) who had seen heavy action at Cedar Mountain in August along with three newly mustered regiments of Pennsylvanians: the 124th, 125th, and 128th.

          The following letter, written to Lieutenant Colonel Fillebrown’s wife Anna in Auburn, Maine, was originally published in the October 2, 1862, edition of the Lewiston Falls Journal.

 

Lieutenant Colonel James S. Fillebrown of the 10th Maine was severely injured when Colonel George Beal's horse reared and struck him in the abdomen in the opening moments of the regiment's fight in the East Woods at Antietam. Regardless, Fillebrown ended up writing the regiment's after action report since both Colonel Beal and Major Walker also went down with wounds. 

 

United States Hotel, Boonsboro, Maryland

September 19, 1862

          We have just had another severe fight with the enemy near Sharpsburg in which the 10th Maine took an active part, it being on the right of General Banks’ army under the immediate command of General Joseph Mansfield in person. I fear our loss is equal to that of Cedar Mountain if not more although we had at our last accounts only 309 guns in line. Our whole corps left South Mountain on Monday and were ordered up to a point beyond here on Tuesday and at night were marched under cover of darkness to the battlefield where we were halted to rest in a plowed field to lay on our arms.

          Wednesday morning at daylight our pickets began to fire in the woods near us, a sure indication we were upon the enemy and in less than 10 minutes we were on the move for a fight. We were the nearest regiment and in front, but before we took arms, General Mansfield rode up to our front and said, “Men, you are called upon today for active duty and I ask no more of you than to maintain the reputation you have already achieved. Your officers will see that you are not sacrificed.” The old man’s white locks and calm expression as he sat before us inspired confidence in all and as we moved up, self-reliance was in each man’s face.

          As soon as it was sufficiently light for our artillerists to commenced operations, the ball was fairly open the like of which I hope we never shall again see or hear. The discharges from the batteries were more frequent than I could count and I could think only of the awful destruction of life they were causing. Best’s regular battery, attached to our brigade, covered the front and these six 12-lb Napoleons truly made their mark. We were ordered to the left into the woods with orders from General Mansfield to hold them till reinforcements should arrive.

 

The 10th Maine as part of General Samuel Crawford's brigade of the 12th Corps went into action around 7:30 a.m. in the East Woods. The regiment marched up in column of companies per General Mansfield's direct order but once the Confederates opened fire, Colonel Beal deployed the regiment into line of battle and ordered the advance. This simplified map (numerous Federal and Confederate units have been left out to not overly clutter the map) above shows the portion of the field where the 10th Maine did its heaviest fighting at Antietam. 

“On the Rebel side we saw the men we were firing into, dodging from tree to tree, aiming at us, yelling, shaking their fists sometimes, and saucy generally. It was a desperate fight we made of it. Indeed, as far as we and our immediate enemies were concerned, it partook the character of a heavy skirmish, every man fighting for himself and so it happened that the advanced men were sometimes within 10-15 yards of each other.” ~ Major John M. Gould, 10th Maine

 

Let me assure you that in those woods the 10th Maine had just as much of a chance as did the enemy and we improved it. Not a mound or tree that gave us protection we did not improve, and the lifeless remains of 43 Rebels, among them lieutenants, captains, and one colonel as we advanced proved the unerring aim of our men’s rifles. It was a squirrel hunt on a large scale as you could see our men creep along from tree to tree. They fired in this way till our ammunition was gone and some of them fired more than they carried into the fight. They actually relieved their comrades who were killed or wounded and being supplied with fixed water-proof cartridges, some of the men fired so fast as to heat their guns to the extent that the cartridges exploded before the balls were forced down. All the Rebs made out of this fight they are welcome to, but with all our successes we have our sorrows and losses.

          We are pained to note the death of General Mansfield who fell in our front. He had just given the order to cease firing, thinking that we by some mistake were firing on our own men, but when a ball that shattered his horse’s leg passed him, he turned to us and shouted forward when another Rebel bullet entered his back and passed out his left breast causing his death a few hours after.

Of our own regiment, Colonel George L. Beal was wounded by the same bullet through both legs near the hips and as it is only a flesh wound, we hope to see him back soon. During the first of the fight, his horse was wounded in the neck and soon escaped. In his pain, he made for me and dashed against me with such force as to knock me from my horse to the ground. I soon rallied and caught my horse, but the poor fellow came again with redoubled fury and this time after separating me from my horse kicked me with both feet in my stomach causing the most intense pain and suffering, I ever experienced for some few hours. I am very sore but hope to be out in a few days.

 

“We had no slow balls or buckshot that day nor did the enemy fire many bullets over our heads. On the contrary, their officers were continually shouting “Aim low! Give ‘em hell! Give it to the damned Yankee sons of bitches!” The last order one would think they had learned in infancy by the ease and frequency of their giving it.” ~ Major John M. Gould, 10th Maine

 

          Captain Nehemiah Furbish and Lieutenant William Wade of Co. I were both killed and Lieutenant Hebron Mayhew of the same company was wounded in the wrist. Lieutenant Alfred Turner of Co. B is also wounded in the leg. Lieutenant Edward Brackett of Co. D is mortally wounded and we fear for the worst. [Brackett, wounded in the bowels, died September 18, 1862] We buried 17 of our men yesterday and we fear our list of wounded is heavy, but I have been unable to get anything of a list yet and am unable to give you a fair report. It cannot be much short of 75. We are now in line of battle supporting General Franklin’s corps.

 

 

Sources:

Letter from Lieutenant Colonel James Sullivan Fillebrown, 10th Maine Volunteer Infantry, Lewiston Falls Journal (Maine), October 2, 1862, pg. 1

Gould, John M. History of the First-Tenth-Twenty-Ninth Maine Regiment. Portland: Stephen Berry, 1871, pgs. 238-240

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