A Perfect Hailstorm of Lead: The 33rd Massachusetts and Resaca

I was tempted to title this post "A Massachusetts Yankee in Uncle Billy's Army" as one rarely associates Massachusetts troops with the western theater. Most troops from the state of Massachusetts served in the eastern theater, although a few saw action in Louisiana in 1862 and quite a few more took part in General Nathaniel Banks' campaign against Port Hudson in the spring and summer of 1863. But Massachusetts men with Uncle Billy Sherman's army? 

    Well, there were two Massachusetts regiments along for the Atlanta campaign, both serving in Joseph Hooker's 20th Army Corps. The storied 2nd Massachusetts, veterans of fighting in the Shenandoah Valley, Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, once had a captain within its ranks named Robert Gould Shaw who went on to immortality leading the 54th Massachusetts against Battery Wagner in Charleston Harbor. 

    The other regiment, the subject of today's post, was the 33rd Massachusetts. They, too, had fought at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg but as members of the 11th Army Corps which was considerably roughed up in both engagements. The 33rd, however, escaped heavy loss but took a major part in the fighting at Wauhatchie, Tennessee in late October 1863 where it lost 35 killed, 58 wounded, and 1 missing in that rare nighttime battle. The following spring, the 33rd marched out of Chattanooga as part of General Daniel Butterfield's Third Division of the 20th Corps and on May 15, 1864 took part in their first engagement of the Atlanta campaign during the Battle of Resaca. 

    Private John Dineen, a 19-year-old Irish-born apprentice from Lawrence, Massachusetts then serving in Co. G, later penned this short reminiscence of what proved to be one of the toughest engagements of the campaign for the 33rd Massachusetts. The article first appeared in the June 10, 1909 edition of the National Tribune. 



 On the morning of May 15, 1864, the Third Division of the 20th Army Corps commanded by General Dan Butterfield took the line of march down what I believe was the Dalton Road. There was a very high ridge to our right which ran parallel with the road. Then we came to a road which intercepted the road on which we were marching and here we turned and halted in columns by regiments, that is, our brigade did.

    We rested about 40 minutes when the head of the column began to move right and left or otherwise deploying. Of course, the ball was opened in a few minutes. As our boys began to descend the ridge, the Johnnies opened on them but up we went, charging and driving the Rebels before us and as General Alpheus Williams said, it was a race between our division and Williams’ division. Up we went over the first ridge, down and up the other ridge, where we drove the Rebels into their main line of breastworks.

But we never got over their main works as the Johnnies were too much for us. I never saw men fall so fast. There was a perfect hailstorm of lead and what’s more, bullets came in every direction. I was left alone. The last man that was shot near me was our orderly sergeant. One incident struck my attention and I could not help smiling. Comrade Hapgood was on my left. I saw him fall and, looking at me, he yelled out, “Jack, they’ve got one of my legs” and in another moment he added “Yes, I’ll be damned if they haven’t got the other one.”

Private Erastus Bartlett
Co. A, 33rd Massachusetts

When Orderly Sergeant Paine fell, I looked around and saw the regiment a few rods to my left firing for all they were worth, so I fell back to the line. One of the boys told me my bunkmate was wounded and calling for me. This made me feel mighty bad as we were like brothers and enlisted together. When the firing ceased, I ran back to the rear to find my comrade and help him out, but coming across another line in our rear, I came to the conclusion that the wounded had been picked up and perhaps my comrade was all right. I then went back to the regiment where the boys were holding their own. The line in our rear was part of Geary’s White Star division.

The firing had now ceased altogether with only an occasional shot, Colonel Wood passing down the word to cease firing. On or about 3 o’clock we heard a yell in our rear when up came a regiment of the Second Division on a charge, trying to do something we could not do- take the Rebel breastworks and capture the whole outfit. One brave fellow yelled, “Come on boys, let’s show them what the White Stars can do!” Poor fellow, those were the last words he uttered for the Rebels poured volley after volley into them and the White Stars ended their charge by falling over us.

This uncalled-for dash caused our regiment to lose a great many more than we would have if it had not occurred. Comrades Charley Austin and Robinson were standing with me when the White Stars came up. I don’t remember the regiment but think it was one from New York. Their major or colonel (I took him for a major as he was on the left of the line) when he saw how first his men were falling said, “This is no place for men,” and turning to us who were near him he said, “Fall back, boys.” Charley told him we did not belong to his command and that we took the ground and were going to try and hold it.

Now this is where General Geary says that Butterfield’s division was relieved and went on the reserve, and no doubt Geary thought so. I believe that the line that came up to us was sent there to relieve us but misunderstood the order. Anyway, they fell back and the three brigades of Butterfield’s division held the ground until dusk between 6 and 7 p.m. If we did not go over the Rebel breastworks, we gained our point for the Rebels retreated that night and next morning we went over their works on a chase after them. Our loss in the regiment was 56 killed and wounded.

Source:

“The Battle of Resaca: A Hot Time for Butterfield’s Division,” Private John Dineen, Co. G, 33rd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, National Tribune, June 10, 1909, pg. 7

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