The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1882-07-27
Saving His Regiment on the Po.
tFTom advanced sheets Of Frank A. Barr
life OF lanes A. BeaNerl


when the movements of Sunday were
over, to seize all of the positions about
Spottsylvania. Instead, 1t had fol ced
Lee from his position on Mine Run,
brought him nearer Richmond, and
lay an irregular crescent, about the
heights around the crossroads at the
court house, which Stuart seized on
Saturday. and General Anderson, of
Ewell's corps, had filled with his
troops the next day. Early, at the
other end of Lees army, had been
swung, by the position of Hancock's
corps, from the ridge road, which ran
north of the Po., to the roads running
on the ridge south. and the broad, fiat
plain, through which this sluggish
stream ran, lay debatable ground be-
tween the two armies up to a wooden
bridge, where the Po., turned to flow
around the heights of Spottsylvania:
the bridge beif.g held by the Confed-
crates in force as one of the approaches
to their position. In short two conf
mas, mutually inverted, - would give
rudely the shape of the two armies:
the low or comma, Lees line, punched
Mt Spotsylvania, the upper, Grants,
with the Second corps at the comma
head, the PO running diagonally in
the space between. On Monday, May
8, after part of the day had been spent
in strengthening the general position
of the army, General Barlow's divis-
ion was spread across the Pc, and,
after what proved to be hot fighting
on Tuesday, was withdrawn with
| heavy losses: one hundred and seventy
| five being lost in the One Hundred
and Forty-eighth Pennsylvania regi-
! mcnt alone. tn ito relations to the
general operations of the army, this
seems to have been a tentative flank
movement on the left of the Confed-
crate position, and resulted only in All
opportunity for the display of high
courage by the Union forces. AS n
matter of fact, the first steps toward
the movement were taken, after the
enemys wagon-train had been noted
by General Brooke passing over the
level ground beyond the Po, in an ef-
fort to capture this train by a flying
column led by General Beaver. This
developed into an advance in force by
two divisions, which forded the PO
above the wooden bridge, and then,
pushing across diagonally, reached
the same stream again below the
bridge, which spanned the river at the
bend, already mentioned.
The movement began at dusk Mon
day evening. At p. NJ, the One
Hundred and Forty-eight, which had
been all day OH fatigue duty building
intrenchments, was ordered to fall into
line and cross the Po. The stream, a
"run," with slippery, muddy banks,
was waist-deep, and the opposite bank
was held by force of cavalry and
light artillery distantly supported. by
the intrenched force at the wooden
bridge. The regiment spread out IN
skirmish line as it crossed, and drove
in the enemy, clearing out the woods,
and opening space into which the
rest of the brigade and later two divis-
ions, passed over bridges thrown across
the stream. The movement cost the
regiment one officer and eleven men
wounded, and it left the corps estab-
lished OH both sides of the Pc, above
the wooden bridge, with the river be-
low the bridge-owing 10 its sharp
bend-directly before the Union ad-
vance. The sharp and heavy fight
ing of the next day, Tuesday, May 10,
turned upon the advance in force of
three divisions of Lees army, Fields,
Mahone's, and Heth's, upon the two
brigades of Barlow's division, left
when the rest of the Second corps had
been withdrawn to the north bank of
the river. Colonel Beavers share in
the difficult and hazardous retreat of
these two brigades across u deep stream,
in the face of an advancing enemy, lay
in SO handling his regiment that it
came in safety from field in which
superior forces had surrounded it on
three sides, while the woods through
which its retreat lay were on fire.
The thick woods, the underbrush,
narrow roads, and tortuous paths
made advance impossible in the dark
Monday evening. The regiment slept
in the fields, and its first hours, Tues
day, were given to intrenching its
position along bridge which ran
south of the Pc, having between it
and that stream the Block House road
leading to the wooden bridge held by
the enemy. a reconnaissance at sun
rise showed that the rebel forces were
there in force, and, instead of attack
ing the position in front, General
Brooke's brigade was pushed forward
to attempt the passage Of the Pc below
the wooden bridge, while a small de.
tachment forded and felt the enemy's
position, which consisted of strong
earthworks, occupied by artillery and
infantry. No crossing was made in
force, and the brigade remained until
afternoon in the open positions
Meanwhile General Mead had deter
mined to assault the enemy's position
elsewhere, as was done the next day
and wishe, 10 avoid general engage
ment on the south of the Po at the
extreme right of the army of the
Potomac. General Lee, however, who
appreciated the serious danger in which
this turning movement of the Second
corps put his army, detached three
divisions to drive back its brigades in
the advance. Two of Hancock's
divisions, Birney's and Gibbons, re
crossed about noon. This left Genera
Barlow's division to execute its retreat
little later, just as the overwhelming
force of the enemy was pushing forwaro
to retake his position at all hazards
The Federal forces had in this retreat
three lines of defence first, the works
early thrown up beyond the Block