The National tribune., 1886-12-23
FIGHTING THEM OVER.
What Our Veterans Have 10 Say AbOHt
Their Old Campaigns
THE 11Bth NEW YORK.
The Gallant but Unsuccessful Charge at Cold Har
bQr.

hearted regiment Tor nearly three years.
private soldiers means of knowing the details
of the plans aud movements of the brigades,
divisions aud corps OF the army are limited
hence il is difficult DOR him, without official
data al his command. 10 write much even Of
his own regiment and its part in various bat
ties without mixing things occasionally. For
this reason ] have never tried my hand az writ
ing history, and will not do now. j simply
beg leave through your columns 10 correct
what think TO he an error in Comrade Low
RVS article on Cold ligrbor Barton's Brigade
was not composed, a. he says, of the 47th and
asth n. Y. and 10th and 9th Pa. lt consisted
of the 47th. 4sth and li5th n. Y. and 10th Pa.
On May %, 1854, Grant began 10 issue his
orders Tor the mastery movement that turned
Lees right aud brought On that sanguinary
battle On MAJ y Gen. sheridan, with two d.
visions of cavalry, developed the enemy'a lines
at Cold Harbor, and with that peculiar skill
and courage that eventually stamped him as
one OF the
GREATEST SOLDIERS OF MS TIME
lac charged. drove the Coniedeiates out of their
works ana took the place This was of great
strategic Importance To Grant in his flank
movement. ms il covered several important
roads among them that leading 10 White
House. Lee knew this well as Grant, and
was preparing 10 retahe it.
Wright. with the Sixth Corps was ordered
over from the right to support or take the
place OF SherdaEs cayalrsmen. The same al-
tcrnoon Gen. Smith landed at White House
with reinforcement from the Army OF the
James, in all about 1900 men-two divisions
OF the Tenth and two of the Eighteenth Corps,
commanded respectively by Gems. Mariindale,
Brooks, Devens and Ames. At the same time
Wright WAS ordered 10 the left, ana an order
was sent to Smith directing him 30 march at
once 10 Cold HarbOr and take position on the
right Of the Sixth Corps. Through some unex-
plainable mistake the order Smith received d.
rected him TO Newcastle.
About p. M, May 81, the divisions OF Mar
tudae, Brooks and Devens we're put in mo-
ton aud marched rapidly ali night. Near day
light the mistake in oar orders WAS discovered.
We halted Tor a few moments, aud thinking
we had reached our destination the men began
10 prepare for breakfast when the buges rang
out, the drums beat, and Ia a moment we were
wHIRLING AWAY TOWARD COLD HARBoR.
After covering our weary night march and
making Ina all over 80 miles we touched elbows
with the Sixth Corps about p. m, June ].
The day was very hot and water extremely
scarce. The dust enyeloped us like a dense
fog. Many times when ascending a hill or
knoll, looking back over that weary, dnst-cOv-
cred line, we saw men carried out and laid IN
der the friendly shade of a tree, suffering the
painful agonles OF sunstroke and physical ex-
haustiOn.
Amess Division was still at White House,
and with the loss of the number of men scat
tered along the line of that dreadful march /
don't believe Smith could have marshaled
5000 men when he led the Eighteenth Corps TO
the first assault at Cold HarbOr. brakes Bril-
gade was IN advance OF US on the march and
went into action directly In our front half an
hour before we were up and in line The
dauntless Drake and the gallant Mcdonnell had
fallen, with many OF their brave men, before
We were ordered into action. In the meantime
we shifted our position 10 the right and moved
forward, crossing little raylne parallel with
the Confederate line. We halted on the oppO-
site Size Of the raviue and began TO throw of
our blankets and haversacks, when Gen. Dew
ems rode up % Maj. MalIath, who was in COM
mand of the regiment, and we heard him say
Major, think you misunderstood the or
der"
What the order was j know not, but in an
instant we sprang forward TO the charge
through a narrow piece of timber right in our
front We moved steadily, keeping good our
alignment. Between this timber and the
works we were 30 contend for lay cleared
field more thaa a quarter of mile in width.
On reaching this clearing every man seemed TO
comprehend at n glance
THE DESPERATE WORK
before us, aud with wild cheer we struck
doubie-quick. Some ran faster than others and
soon our line was going forward in broken
and irregular manner. The 10th Pa. on our
right, aud the 18th N. Y, on our left, kept a
better line.
just as we left the timber musket- ball struck
my foot just under the great toe and passed
out al the heel, inlicting painful wound /
craU led 10 the shelter Of large tree from where
j had good view OF the charging columns.
The ll5th still went forward IN a zig gag man
neT. ] expected every moment TO see the cOlors
Ha s.FtH al
ali perhaps, they could not be restrained Had
they halted 10 reform i doubt whether they
would have gained the works For once luck
and chance beat discipline. On they sped the
colOrs well 10 the front and before realized
what was passing they disappeared over the
works. la utter dismay nearly 200 COnfeder-
Gtcs threw down their arms and surrendered
q larger number Of men than our regiment had
an the battle. j am confident that the ll5th
n y was the first regiment of the Eighteenth
Corps 10 enter the Confederate works, with the
gallant l4th N. j. a good second. In fact they
were the only two regiments saw pass that
line of works.
want 10 say that our regiment never touched
elbows with more gallant lot than those Jersey
boys, unless ] except the regiment we called
"Old lronside," the 18th Ind. ! think for
downright, tenacious
UEADULTERATED, BULLDOG FIGHTING,
the 18th Ind. had no superior in the army. I
have IN Hy mind many "reminiscences OF that
regiment that would make interesting read ing
j AM always glad 10 hear from one of them.
Anything IN TIKI NATIONAL TRIBUNE from
that regiment is sure 10 be read with delibera-
tiou and pleasure.
The Union commander has been frequently
criticized Tor making those desperate assaults
at Cold Harbor yet IL has always seemed 10
me that the whole movement was a masterpiece
OF strategy aud good generalship on the part of
Grant, aud promised great results. The failure
was caused by couple of accidents-the
erroneous order 10 Smith and the failure of "A
corps commander 20 attack in flank division
OF the enemy moving past his front from the
left Of the Confederate line 10 strengthen and
reinforce the lines where Smith and Wright
were 10 break through. Had the two latter
corps been ready and la position TO make the
hrst assault al O'Clock a. m, as Grant designed
instead of p m. IL seemed 10 me Cold Harbor
must have been 10 the Army of Northern Viz
gina what Waterloo was 10 the army OF Napo-
leon. However, the opinions of q private SOL
dier may be scarcely worth expression on such
woighty problems.-A. A. MCLAUGHLIN, Co. T.,
ll5th n. ", Fonda, n. Y.
They Got the Bulge ON the Officers.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: In the Fall OF
l563 while the Potomac Army lay in the vi
entity Of Marrenton, Va, portion Of my regi-
ment was doing guard and patrol duty there
and using the Court-h house as headq uarters.
The officers in most cases had the advantage
ever the privRtes and most always Jared the
49, . -