Defending Casey's Redoubt at Seven Pines

Anchoring the center of the Union line at the Battle of Seven Pines lay the six guns of Battery A, 1st New York Light Artillery. One of the gunners recalled the destruction his battery caused when they opened on the advancing Confederate battle line with spherical case shot. 

    "Our spherical case shot are awful missiles, each of them consisting of a clotted mass of 76 musket balls with a heavy charge of powder in the center that is fired by fuse the same as a shell. The missile first acts as a solid shot, ploughing its way through masses of men and then exploding hurls forward a shower of musket balls that mow down the foe in heaps," he wrote. 

    This gritty and graphic letter, widely reproduced in the Northern press, appears from the June 13, 1862, edition of the Dayton Daily Journal of Ohio. The Journal stated that "the following extract is from a private letter to a gentleman in New York City from his nephew who is a member of Battery A, New York Artillery, in Casey’s division which is perhaps better known as the “Napoleon-gun battery” which was in the front line of the first day’s battle before Richmond.” 

 

"When they got within 400 yards, we closed our case shot and opened on them with canister and such destruction I never elsewhere witnessed. At each discharge, great gaps were made in their ranks- indeed, whole companies went down before that murderous fire, but they closed up with an order and discipline that was awe-inspiring. They seemed to be animated with the courage of despair, blended with the hope of a speedy victory if they could by an overwhelming rush drive us from our position."

Bottom’s Bridge, Virginia

June 1, 1862

          About 11 o’clock on Saturday May 31, the enemy sent a couple of 6-lb balls over into our camp and immediately commenced the attack by driving in our pickets. Our division was quickly formed in line of battle and a strong force was sent to support the pickets and a rifled battery of four guns was ordered up to the right and opened fire. We were all ready for anything that might come but not for a moment did we dream that we had on our hands one of the most fiercely fought battles that has taken place during the rebellion.

          The pickets soon began to fire rapidly and came running in while the infantry posted behind a fence to support them blazed away into the woods. The artillery on our right opened fire and mingled their thunder with the sharp roll of musketry. Soon our Napoleon guns (three of which we posted in an unfinished redoubt and three on the left near a rifle pit) opened with case shot which went whizzing through the airs over the heads of our own men, right into the midst of the enemy and their exploding scattered death through their ranks. On the left, the Rebels were seen coming through the woods to flank us and wheeling three of our guns so as to bear upon them, we poured case shot among them with unexampled rapidity and terrible effect.

The six guns of Battery A of the 1st New York Light Artillery were deployed within a field fortification known as Casey's Redoubt at the center of the Federal line at Seven Pines. Despite heavy fighting, the battery's infantry supports would be driven back and the entire battery overrun. 

          The destruction was horrible. Our spherical case shot are awful missiles, each of them consisting of a clotted mass of 76 musket balls with a heavy charge of powder in the center that is fired by fuse the same as a shell. The missile first acts as a solid shot, ploughing its way through masses of men and then exploding hurls forward a shower of musket balls that mow down the foe in heaps. Our battery threw 24 of these a minute and as we had the exact range of every part of the field, every shot told with frightful effect. But the enemy was not at all daunted.

          They marched steadily on and hailed a perfect tempest of balls upon us. Why we, as well as our horses, were not every one shot down will forever remain a mystery to me. We did not mind the leaden hail, however, but kept pouring our case shot into the masses of the foe who came on in prodigious and overwhelming force. And they fought splendidly, too. Our shots tore their ranks wide open and shattered them asunder in a manner that was frightful to witness, but they closed up again at once and came on as steadily as English veterans.

          When they got within 400 yards, we closed our case shot and opened on them with canister and such destruction I never elsewhere witnessed. At each discharge, great gaps were made in their ranks- indeed, whole companies went down before that murderous fire, but they closed up with an order and discipline that was awe-inspiring. They seemed to be animated with the courage of despair, blended with the hope of a speedy victory if they could by an overwhelming rush drive us from our position.


          It was awful to see their ranks torn and shattered by every discharge of canister that we poured right into their faces and while their dead and dying lay in piles, close up, and still kept advancing right in the face of that fire. At one time, three lines, one behind the other, were steadily advancing, and three of their flags were brought in range of one of our guns shotted with canister. “Fire!” shouted the gunner, and down went those three flags, and a gap was opened through those three lines as if a thunderbolt has torn through them and the dead lay in swathes. But they at once closed up and came steadily on, never halting or wavering, right up to our guns and sweeping everything before them, capturing every piece.

          When we delivered our last fire, they were within 15-20 paces of us and as all our horses had been killed or wounded, we could not carry off a gun. Our whole division was cut to pieces with what loss I do not know. We fell back to a second line of entrenchments and there held the enemy in check till reinforcements arrived and then we kept our position till night put an end to the battle.

          This morning, the fight was renewed and we have driven the enemy back, regained possession of our camp, and it is reported (with what degree of truth I cannot say) that our battery has been recaptured. The Rebels stripped our camp thoroughly and I have nothing left but what I had on when we retreated. 

Source: 

Letter from unknown member of battery, Dayton Daily Journal (Ohio), June 13, 1862, pg. 2


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