Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1864-07-09
FROM THE 9th WISCONSIN.
The Battle Before Petersburgh.
Partial List ofLosses
,ondence of the state Journal.

| CAMP NEAR PETERSBURG, As June ~, o.
Ny last letter left the 37th Wisconsin Vol
unteers in state of peace on Arlingto
| Heights, d. G. Since then we have expert
enced the actual realities of warfare in sal
and sober earnest On the goth of May or
| ders arrived for US to march for Alexandra
there to take transports for White House, oil
| the Pamunkey river, on the following morn
| ing. Accordingly at o'clock on the morn
| ing of the 30th we moved off, and after
rather fatiguing march, for the day was warn
and still. we arrived at Alexandria, call il
| good order and condition" There being M
| transports ready for us, we lay at Alexandra
| till the evening of the 3lst, when the regi
ment embarked in three propellers which
anchored in the stream till the following
morning
A mild and pleasant morning found US, OF
the 1st of June, steaming down the broad
still waters of the Potomac. Slowly and
steadily we steamed on, past Mount Vernon
Acqua Creek, Belle Plain, Piney Point,
Point Lookout, and many place famed in
the eventful past and present of this coun.
try's history. And so the hot afternoon sun
shone down on our decks as we steamed
down Chesapeake Bay on the young ebb tide.
our steamer rising and falling lazily to the
long swells setting in from the seward. At
night we anchored at the mouth of York riv-
er, off the city of Yorktown, waiting for day
light before proceeding up the river. At
daybreak we weighed anchor, and standing
up the river entered the Pamunkey at 10 A.
NJ, and moored ship at White House shortly
after noon. Here we found all the hustle
and stir attending the base of supplies of so
large an army as that of the Potomac. The
Sanitary and Christian Commissions, in whose
- a = 10 - nolr 10 I'LL
were there in active, willing and eager readi-
ness. Women, refined and gentle, were busy
around the thronged tents, ministering, as
only women can minister, to the wants of the
suffering wounded. Fair hands, unused to
toll, smoothed back the dark tangled hair,
bathed the hot forehead, held the cooling
cordial to the heated lips, and performed all
the disagreeable and revolving duties of hos
pital nurses uncomplainingly and cheerfully.
God bless the women of America they have
not spared themselves in this our great strug-
gle for national existence, and it stands re-
corded for them, be assured, both here and
on high, " forasmuch as We did it unto the
least of these"
We stayed here till Friday, June 10th, es-
corting wagon trains, guarding prisoners, &C.
On the 10th we marched at sunrise for Cold
Harbor, and arrived there at IL o'clock the
same night. We were assigned at once to
the LIST brigade, Sd division, 9th army corps.
On the morning of the 18th we moved out to
the second line of rife pits, on Gaines Farm,
eight miles south of Richmond, and at 9
o'clock in the evening of the same day march
ed out of them with all possible quietness and
secresy. Our destination was unknown, but
we had a strong suspicion that our course
was to be James river-wards, and this con-
lecture events finally showed to be correct.
But you will have heard, ere this reaches
you, how we marched across the Chickahomi-
nv swamps, and the river of that name !;
how we crossed the James river and how
the great army changed its base to this
point The night of June 18th found us in
the front, hot and tired with lorg march
over dusty roads, day and night, with light
rations and heavy baggage, during which
many officers and men were sun struck. But
there is "no rest for the wicked" and even
the righteous don't fare much better in the
Army of the Potomac. The same night we
were ordered to occupy and hold line of
rifle pits from which the rebels had Just been
driven. This we did under a fanking fire
which luckily did us no damage. Here we
lay all night keeping sharp look out for
"Johnnies," and of course not permitted to
sleep. The forenoon of Friday, June 18th,
we rested and in the afternoon were ordered
up to charge a line of rebel works This
seemed to us rather hard, for the men, I'M
used to privations and hard marching were
travel-worn and weary, but the boys brisking
up at the news, entered the field of blood
as gaily as young lady her first ball room.
The rebel works were very strong, double
line of rife pits in V shape, fanked by two
heavy batteries and commanding the whole
field. But the word was given, and amid
perfect hell-fre of shot, shell, grape, canister
and mimic bullets, the Sd brigade rushed gal
lantly on. Half of the distance had been
crossed with comparatively small loss, when
the order was passed down to the left to
swing round to the right" / was forcibly
reminded of the charge of the Light Cavalry
Brigade and Tennyson's description of it, the
words coming into my mind even then amid
the noise and confusion of the battle
"what though theyknew
Seine one had blundered,
Theirs not question why,
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs but to do and die,
Into the jaws of death, into the gates of hell
Charged the six hundred.
Stormed at by shot and shell,
Bravely they charged and well,
Into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell,
Charged the six hundred
Our left swung round accordingly and be-
came thereby exposed to faHking fire from
the left, besides a battery in front and the
two lines of rebel pits. Our men dropped
thick and fast, and when nearly one half had
dropped, the order at length came to fall
back, and our men retreated in good order to
the breast works.
Our loss was very heavy, Major Kershaw
and our color bearer were both shot through
both legs, the latter, Sergt. Green of Co. G,
bringing the colors back in his teeth and
drawing himself along by his hands. / am
too young a soldier to understand strategy,
but must confess | can hardly see either the
wisdom or expedency of taking raw troops,
fatigued and wearied with long marches and
short rations, into action without any rest
and exposing them to fire, which many vet
Grams assure me, they have never seen equal
led But STRATEGY is big thing, my boy"
On Saturday we again advanced on the pits
which the enemy, we found, had vacated the
night before, and after marching in line of
battle through belt of timber reformed on
the edge of an oatfield about half a mile in
width. Across this we again charged under
heavy fire, driving the enemy back and
gaining possession of a railroad cut in the
middle of the field which we held We twice
attempted to charge in the course of the after
noon, but were as often compelled to fall
back on the railroad
Our loss has been dreadful, amounting in
killed and wounded to 1873. Our Lieut.. Col.
Major, three captains and four ieutenants are
wounded, and one captain and lieutenant have
since died. These were Captain Stevens
and Lieutenant Riddle. The latter, an officer
of much promise and a universal favorite,