MILITARY: One Hundred and Fiftieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Second Regiment, Bucktail Brigade, Preface & Contents Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by JRB & JP Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm An html version of the book with graphics, may be found at http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/1pa/military/cw/150-bucktails/150-bucktails.htm ________________________________________________ HISTORY OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH REGIMENT PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS, SECOND REGIMENT, BUCKTAIL BRIGADE. BY LIEUTENANT-COLONEL THOMAS CHAMBERLIN, HISTORIAN OF THE SURVIVORS ASSOCIATION. REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION, WITH COMPLETE ROSTER. PHILADELPHIA: F. McMANUS, JR. & CO., PRINTERS, 1905. DEDICATED TO THE SURVIVING OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE "150TH" AND TO THE MEMORY OF ITS DEAD. PREFACE TO VOLUME ISSUED IN 1895. Now that nearly a third of a century has elapsed since the 150th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers gathered to the colors, when inquiry is made about the beginnings of the organization, the recollections of many of its most intelligent members are found to be more or less confused, and on some points quite unreliable. Is it that the infancy of a regiment, like that of an individual, has nothing in it of sufficient value to be remembered and preserved to posterity? Possibly not much. Yet, if even for a few of those still living who fought in the great War for the Union; or for the friends who were, for valid reasons, unable to share their trials, but watched with solicitude their progress in the field ; or for the larger number of those who pride themselves on their descent from the patriotic actors in that grand tragedy, the birth and early movements of a particular military body have their interest, it is a sufficient warrant for noting in permanent form all that may be known of them. It is scarcely a matter of wonder that the minute details of the organization of a regiment are so imperfectly recalled by its members. In the first days of his enlistment the eager soldier looks forward to the time of important deeds, and chafes at every hour's delay in town or camp. However seriously his ambitions may be modified by actual experience of warfare, his desire at the start is to meet the foe as promptly as possible, - to hear the rattle of musketry, the clash of sabres, the boom of cannon, and to snuff the intoxicating smoke of battle. All else is "rubbish". Only after marching orders have set the machine, of which he is a part, in motion, is the patient military "chronicler of small things" developed. Pocket annals blossom then on every side. Soon, however, the ardor of many would-be historians is chilled as the strain of daily duty grows more severe, and of diaries it is presently only a question of the "survival of the fittest". After the transfer of the 150th from Harrisburg to Washington, the materials for a circumstantial account of its doings and experiences grow more abundant. It is the previous gap that is difficult to bridge over. But as some old and valued nurse is usually at hand to clear up misty points of family history or chronology, so there are still those left who stood in a manner as nurses to the infant organization, and, besides witnessing its birth, watched its growth, followed or shared the actions of its vigorous maturity, and continue to enjoy the memory of its achievements. From these have been gathered, as opportunity offered, many facts which, if of small general value, may prove interesting to the surviving members of the regiment and to their families and friends. The narrative of the campaigns of the 150th - its tent-life, marches and battles - has been drawn from all available sources - chiefly from diaries kept by enlisted men and from letters written from the field, supplemented by the recollections of field-, staff-, and line-officers, as well as of the rank and file. Nothing has been set down without careful authentication and, where the memory of witnesses has clashed in respect to any important incident, everything possible has been done to reconcile the disagreement and reach the actual fact. Acknowledgments are due to General H. S. Huidekoper and Brevet Major R. L. Ashhurst for the use of valuable private army correspondence; to Colonel George W. Jones, Captain H. K. Lukens and Sergeant William R. Ramsey for many items of interest; to Adjutant William Wright for written accounts of the battles of the North Anna and Hatcher's Run, and of the expedition to Fall Brook; to Rev. H. M. Kieffer, D.D., for copies of his weekly reports, as hospital steward, for the greater part of the year 1864; and to Sergeant Albert Mealey, Corporal George A. Dixon and Frank H. Elvidge, all of Company A, for the loan of diaries - that of Private Elvidge in particular, on account of its covering a longer period of time and entering more fully into the details of each day's operations, proving the most serviceable contribution received from any quarter. Thanks are also due to many other members of the regiment for valuable suggestions and assistance, from time to time, as the work progressed, and to Mr. Ellicott Fisher, brother of the late Captain Harvey Fisher, of Company A, for the use of letters and papers left by the latter, relating to his army career. If many matters are recalled by members of the command which find no place in this history, such as instances of individual daring, humorous or pathetic happenings, unique experiences in camp or field, their absence is explained by the fact that repeated requests for material of this kind received but a meagre response, to the regret of the writer, who knows the value of incident and anecdote in such a narrative. His work has been done painstakingly and conscientiously, in hours with difficulty snatched from an exacting business; and if his book, which is truly a labor of love, have no other merit, it is at least, or aims to be, a faithful presentation of the truth. PHILADELPHIA, APRIL 10, 1895. FOREWORD TO PRESENT VOLUME. On account of the very limited circle of readers to which it naturally appeals, the history of a military organization is apt to be an unprofitable article of merchandise, and few books of the class have scored a pecuniary success, while many have failed to repay the cost of publication. In 1895, a "History of the 150th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers" was printed by J. B. Lippincott Company, the expense of which was with difficulty covered in advance by subscription. Valuable matter had to be omitted from the work in an endeavor to adhere to the time-honored precept of "cutting the coat according to the cloth". It was then, and has been ever since, a source of regret to its members that the Roster of the regiment had to be "side-tracked" from motives of economy. The passage of Act No. 129 by the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, approved by Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker, April 13th, 1903, by which the State becomes a liberal subscriber to the accepted history of any of its regiments or batteries which took part in the war of 1861-1865, seemed to call for an enlarged and more complete narrative of the services of the 150th; and accordingly, at a meeting of its Survivors' Association, held in the Town Hall in Germantown, Philadelphia, October 1, 1903, pursuant to a published call, the duly appointed historian of the regiment was instructed to prepare a history that would meet the requirements of the Act of Assembly referred to. The work of revising and correcting existing material, enlarging the accounts of battles, extending the list of killed and wounded, and introducing fresh items of individual experience, has involved much time and labor. The preparation of the Roster, with its almost countless changes, would have been utterly impracticable but for the diligence and devotion of Sergeant William R. Ramsey, of Company F, to whom this particular task was assigned, and who spared no effort to make the record as complete as possible. For his assistance in this and many other ways, too much credit cannot be accorded. With renewed acknowledgments to all who contributed in any manner to the preparation of the volume printed in 1895, the writer desires especially to thank Sergeant Charles A. Frey, of Company D, for the loan of the manuscript record of his personal experience and observations during his term of service, from which, with his kind permission, copious extracts have been made; also Lieutenant Edward B. Fowler, of Company F, for the use of his private diary, which supplements and confirms the fuller narrative of Sergeant Frey. The quotations from the two greatly broaden the original story of the regiment's operations in the Wilderness, and in all the sanguinary struggles down to the close of the War. It is hoped that the resulting enlargement of the history, and the addition of a Roster revised to date, will largely enhance the interest of the present volume. Thanks are due, and are here heartily given, to the comrades and others named below, whose letters or verbal suggestions aided materially in the preparation of the Roster and the general revision of the work previously published: Corp. Thos. McCombs, Co. A Sergt. Wm. F. Harpst, Co. C Jacob Keyser Corp. Samuel P. Gilmore Mrs. Jos. Worrell Corp. George L. Gilmore Geo. P. Ryan Riley Carpenter Capt. Alfred J. Rorer, Co. B Theo. M. Shaver Lieut. Joseph Maxwell Jacob Yochum Mrs. S. J. Rice Mrs. Jno. Shorts Mrs. Jno. Pyffer Mrs. Robert Brooks Capt. Jno. H. Harter, Co. D Capt. B. W. Topping, Co. H Sergt. Jas. W. Marshall Lieut. Lafayette Derby Sergt. Samuel C. Ransom Sergt. William Adams Rev. Fisher Gutelius Corp. James A. Hume Simon E. Foust Wm. A. McCay Jacob D. Prutzman Andrew T. Harvey E. J. Reedy Wm. W. Eastman Sergt. George H. Crager, Co. E Corp. Wm. J. Vandergrift H. H. Garrison Mrs. W. S. McGinley Lieut. Francis Gilson, Co. I Sergt. George Hopkins, Co. F Corp. Wm. H. Hirst Sergt. Edward K. Hess John B. Sweet Corp. John K. Himes Truman H. Tryon Corp. Jos. M. Hippert Morris M. Freeman John S. Weber Albert Belknap Jacob A. Roth John Coburn Lieut. D. E. Beckwith, Co. G F. B. Lester Corp. Wm. F. Lovejoy Rev. Daney Strickland Julius S. Hodges E. W. Wells Rev. T. W. Chandler, Co. K A. L. Provin Robert W. Clark Mrs. H. McKinney Joseph Ford PHILADELPHIA, DECEMBER 26, 1904. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. - ORGANIZATION - THE PHILADELPHIA COMPANIES 15 II. - TO HARRISBURG - REGIMENTAL ORGANIZATION 25 III. - CONCERNING THE "BUCKTAIL BRIGADE" 32 IV. - ON TO WASHINGTON - IN WASHINGTON 36 V. - SOCIAL AND OTHER MATTERS 43 VI. - DETAILS FOR DUTY-BREAKING UP OF THE CAMP 47 VII. - WASHINGTON IN THE WINTER OF 1862-1863 54 VIII. - TO THE FRONT-BELLE PLAIN 60 IX. - VARIOUS HAPPENINGS IN AND OUT OF CAMP 68 X. - NIGHT MARCH TO PORT CONWAY-ARTILLERY ENGAGEMENT AT POLLOCK'S MILLS 79 XI. - CHANCELLORSVILLE 87 XII. - IN CAMP AT WHITE OAK CHURCH 98 XIII. - TO GETTYSBURG 108 XIV. - GETTYSBURG - FIRST DAY 117 XV. - GETTYSBURG, TO A FINISH 149 XVI. - RETURN TO VIRGINIA - FROM PILLAR TO POST 166 XVII. - FROM CENTREVILLE BACK TO THE "OLD STAMPING GROUND" - WARRENTON JUNCTION - MINE RUN - PAOLI MILLS 177 XVIII. - CULPEPER - RACCOON FORD - A WOULD-BE INCAPABLE-AN APPEAL TO CAESAR - RESIGNATIONS 191 XIX. - ACROSS THE RAPIDAN - THE WILDERNESS 204 XX. - LAUREL HILL - SPOTTSYLVANIA 224 XXI. - THE AFFAIR AT THE NORTH ANNA - TOTOPOTOMOY 244 XXII. - FROM COLD HARBOR TO PETERSBURG 256 XXIII. - FORT SEDGWICK (OR "HELL") - MAKING CONVERTS - WELDON RAILROAD 267 XXIV. - FORT DUSHANE - FIRST MOVEMENT ON HATCHER'S RUN 278 XXV. - IN WINTER-QUARTERS - EXCHANGE OF ARMS - PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION - SECOND WELDON RAILROAD EXPEDITION - SECOND HATCHER'S RUN (OR DABNEY'S MILL) 289 XXVI. - TO ELMIRA, NEW YORK-GUARDING CONSCRIPTS-EXPEDITION TO FALL BROOK, PENNSYLVANIA, AND A BLOODLESS VICTORY - MUSTER-OUT AND FINAL PAY - HOME AGAIN 297 APPENDIX 308 ROSTER 323 ALPHABETICAL INDEX ILLUSTRATIONS ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE WISTER, HUIDEKOPER, CHAMBERLIN, ASHHURST, O'HARA 30 GENERAL ROY STONE 32 PRESIDENT LINCOLN 42 MAJOR-GENERAL ABNER DOUBLEDAY 64 MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN F. REYNOLDS 84 MAJOR-GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER 90 COLOR SERGEANT SAMUEL PEIFFER 108 MAJOR-GENERAL GEORGE G. MEADE 114 RELIEF MAP OF BATTLEFIELD OF GETTYSBURG 116 GENERALS CRAWFORD, KENLY, ROWLEY, BRAGG 118 JOHN BURNS 120 BELL, CHANCELLOR, KEYSER, WEIDENSAUL 128 BELL, HARTER, WIDDIS, RORER, CARPENTER, TOPPING 132 ADAMS, STRICKLAND, EDGETT, T. H. TRYON, EDMONDS 136 HARPST, FREY, ELVIDGE, RYAN, FILLMAN, NEES 140 HAUPT, LAUT, BOYD, HAUSMAN, KOOKER, CLARK 144 McPHERSON BARN AT GETTYSBURG 148 GENERALS NEWTON, CHAMBERLAIN, CUTLER, WADSWORTH 166 JONES, WRIGHT, VOORHIS, MORRIS 204 LIEUTENANT-GENERAL GRANT 210 EVANS, RAMSEY, HESS, KENSILL, HIMES, McCAY 216 MAJOR-GENERAL G. K. WARREN 228 McGINLEY, CRAGER, GHARET, KEAN, WEBER, STEVENSON 240 FOWLER, LYON, HARRIS, SELDEN, GUTELIUS, G. W. TRYON 292