Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-03-12
STORIES OF THE WAR.
A FORGOTTEN SlEGE--BY JOHN HAB-
BeRTON.


any recollection of the siege OF SUFFOLK,
yet, excepting only the greatest opera
tons of the principal armies in the East
and West, IT was without peer in respect
to the number of men engaged and the
interests that were at stake on both sides.
Suffolk is pretty Vrginan town of
about II thousand inhabitants, and lies on
the southwestern edge of the Great Dis
NAL Swamp abest 20 miles southwest of
Norfolk, with which city it has commu-
nication, as it had during the war, by two
railroads-The Norfolk a. Petersburg and
the Seaboard e. Roanoke-the latter run
ming to Weldon, North Carolina, on the
Roanoke River Both roads pass, for sew
eral miles, through the Dismal Swamp.
The western boundary of the town is the
Nansemond River, which at Suffolk is
less than a hundred yards from bank to
bank, but widens gradually in its north
ward flow to the James, into which it
empties directly opposite and south of
Newport News. Strategically, Suffolk
was valuable only as an outpost for Nor
folk and the Portsmouth navy yard, for
the only roads by which the enemy could
reach these points were those passing
through Suffolk. For this reason the
town was occupied, Immediately after the
capture of Norfolk by mixed force of
cavalry, infantry, and artillery, aggrega-
ting about a thousand men, and was
strengthened but slowly until the autumn
of 1862, when Brig Gen. Peck was sud
denly sent from the Potomac army with
5000 men to repel an expected attack by
Gems. French and Pettigrew, who had adj
vanced to the B'ackwater River, n stream
about 20 miles west of Suffolk and flowing
due south to the Chowan, in North Caro-
lima.
The attack was not made The size of
Peck S force led the enemy to believe that
Suffolk was to be base Of operations
against Richmond, so the Confederate
army that was to have seized Suffolk went
vigorously to work to fortify the line of
the Bleckwater. Gen. Peck, feeling that
his right was fairly protected by the Nan
semound and his rear by the swamp,
threw up a strong earthwork on the north
western edge of the village to command
the approaches by the front and lett adj
ditional works that We're planned could
not be completed before the winter wealth
er frOZe the ground.
About the end of February, 1868, Gen.
LOngstreet was sent with his entire corps
from Lees army to Petersburg, GO miles
northeast of Suffolk, between which town
and Petersburg the railroad was in perfect
condition. About that time the Rich
mond papers began to intimate that Long
street was in Tennessee and the Western
Carolnas. This ruse did not deceive Peck.
In his command was a battalion of caval
ry-the first New York Mounted Rifles"
which contained at least Il dozen
untiring amateur spies, who know almost
every human being living between Suffolk
and Petersburg. Finally, when longstreet
advanced half his corps to within days
march of Suffolk, Peck called for aid,
and was REINFORCED by Gen. Getty's divls-
ion of the Ninth Corps
While Longstreet was moving his corps
to the Blackwater, Gen. ID. II. Hill, with
his own division and other Confederate
troops went to North Carolina and men
aced the posts which Gen Foster had oc-
cupied after Burnsde's successful eXpedi-
ton against Roanoke Island Upon this
orders came from Washington directing
Peck to send 5000 men to Fosters assist
ance. Just as the troops We're starting,
April 10th, spies and contrabands brought
Peck word that Longstreet had crossed
the Blackwater. The next day the adj
vance of Hoods division on one road,
Pickett's on another, and othes on the
remaining roads leading to and from Suf-
folk, surprised and captured every picket
outpost, and lively skirmishing began
along the entire front, within artillery
range of Suffolk. The smallest estimate
ever made of LOngstreet's force at this
time was $4,000 effective men Peck had
but little more than half as many The
enemy were well supplied with artillery,
and boldly made known their purpose,
which was to bridge the river below the
town-to do which they had Il sufficient
pontoon train-seze the postroad and two
railroads to Norfolk, and thus cut Peck of
from his base of supplies, hold his only
possible line of retreat, and capture his
entire army, after which, or even before
the seizure Of Portsmouth and Norfolk
would be easy, The value of these two
towns, with the port as Il new and conve
nient place of entry for blockade runners,
and the navy yard for purposes of con
structlon and repair, was quite evident to
the authorities at Richmond, not ii hun
dred miles away.
There were absolutely no defenses on
the Union side of the Nansemond, and to
Gen. Getty was assigned the command of
that entire portion of the frOnt-a line
about five miles long For Il few days
there was no time for story telling and
but little for sleeping. LOngstreets men
were equally busy, and their works, adm
rablY located were so carefully masked
that Getty knew of their existence only
when their artillery began to fight for a
place selected for crossing. Many of the
enemy's guns were 24pounders there
were also some 30-pounder PARROTS and
large W hltworth guns. To oppose these
Getty could only bring light battery guns,
moved rapidly from place to place as oc-
casion required but they were otlicered
and manned by regulars, and always gave
a good account of themselves. 1t is doubt
full, however, whether these alone would
have prevailed against the heavier and far
more numerous guns of the enemy, in
batteries scarcely mile apart. Some of
the most effective work on the Union side
was done by several small double-ender
ender gunboats, most of them old ferry
boats, but carrying heavy guns. These
one of them being under command of
Lieut. Gushing, who afterward destroyed
the Confederate ram Albemarle-crept up
the stream, which was too narrow for
them to turn in, and delivered n heavy fire
with good effect. They all suffered, Sc
veLely indeed, their action seemed fool
hardy, for the sinking of one in the mar
row channel would have left the others
unable to escape so Admiral Lee ordered
them out of the river but at the earnest
request of Gen Peck they were allowed to
remain until Getty's works were complet-
ed.
Meanwhile Gen. Dix, commanding the
department, and Gen. Halleck, command
erin chief, had become uneasy over the
knowledge that Longstreet had indeed