The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1888-04-26
THE seth N. Y.
The Crossing Mt Fredericksburg and the CsptGre
OF the Battery at snfTOk.

or the Battery at SuHOik.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: l notice in
your issue of Dec. / communication from
Comrade j. v Albertson, 25th N. j., wherein
he says: 1.-THE seth n. Y. did not cross the
Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg in pom
toon boats, but on pontoon bridge ," and that
" the Goth N. Y and Connecticut regiment
captured the battery at the siege of Suffolk"
1t seems strange that comrades will make as
sertons and write of things they know moth
ing abOut, without first looking up the records or
going some trouble or pains to find out whether
they are right or not. Most of us look back
with pride to the brilliant records our regl-
ments made during the war, and anyone who
attempts to take away one iota OF the glory
gained by hard fighting and much blood, should
be set straight through the columns OF IHE
NATIONAL TRIBUNE.
The S9th N Y did cross in pontooR boats
just below the railroad bridge, capturing the
lower end of the town and 100 men Of the 18th
Miss, and did also capture the battery at Suf-
folk, with the help of detachment of 100
men of the Sth Conn. l know this IS so, for
/ was in both engagements; but aside from that,
history and the official records Will bear me
out.
The seth belonged to the First Brigade, Third
Division, Ninth Corps. Gen. Rush G. Hawkins
commanded our brigade at Fredericksburg. In
an article which he wrote for the Century, Au-
gust 1856, he says:
We now pass over the bombardment of Dec. ii
and come to O'Clock in the afternoon, when vol
unteers were called for to the river IN open
boats for the purpose of dslodging the enemy from
the opposite bank For this service the ath Mich!
18th aud Goth Mass. of Gen Towards Division, and
the seth n. Y, of my brigade, answered the call
The first three regiments crossed under fire. where
the first bridge afterwards laid. and the fourth
under sharper fire, when the second was COM
pleted.
I have never seen Gen. Hawkins's official
report of this battle. Gen. T. w. Palfrey in
his history of the battle of Fredericksburg,
on page LAG, says:
About noon the fog cleared away, and all the
batteries that could be brought TO bear were turned
upon the town, and the fire of these guns soon
checked the fire of the concealed rifiemen. Gen.
Hunt suggested that advantage be taken OF tins
opportunity to send over in the poutoons
The suggestion adopted, and the work was
calamity done by the 9TH Mich, 18th and zOth
Mass. and 69th n. Y.
Gen. Palfrey was former Colonel of the Goth
Mass, and his work on Antietam and Freder-
icksburg is recognized by military men and
students as being the most accurate history writ
ten of those battles SO there must be some truth
! in what he says.
After the battle of Fredericksburg Gen.
! Burnside was relieved from command Of the
Army of the Potomac, taking his old corps
/ the Ninth-with him. He was sent West with
! the First and Second Divisions, and the Third
! Division was sent to Suffolk, under command
of Gen. Getty. 1t was during the siege of
! Suffolk that the 9Th Conn. and S9th n. Y. capt
ured rebel fort containing five guns and lac
! men.
The following report of Gen. Getty's will be
found in Vol. H. page 304, Official Records:
| At $50 p. M on April 10 attachments Of 100 men
! from the sth Conn and lao men from the seth n.
! Y. embarked on the Stepping Stones
| At 300 yards above the battery Lieut.. Lamson
! headed the boat iu-shOre, but striking pile
she glanced Off and, borne on ebb-tide, on the
eve Of shooting in front of the battery, when Lieut.
Lamson with admirable presence of mind, reversed
! the padde-wheels and backed her aground. The
| men jumped off both ends OF the boat up to theiI
! waists IN mud and water scrambled hastily ashore
and with a cheer dashed Tor the battery.
/ The capture of five guns, seven officers and tx
/ men, and the liberation of five gunboats above
and the occup patton of point Of vital importance &c
the enemy and admirable point of operations
TO us, the results of one of the most brilliant
achievements Of the war. append list Of
officers and men of the seth n. Y. and ath Conn
who participated in stormng the enemy's battery
at Hill's Point.
The reason Gen. Getty sent in the names o.
the officers and men who took part in the capt
ure Of this battery was that Congress had passed
all act giving medals of honor to officers anC
men who had done any brilliant or daring
deeds, leaving 1t to the General commanding
to name them. We never received any meda
bronze cost too much.
Gen. Getty made one mistake in his repor
when he said detachment of the 99th." TIT
whole regiment present for duty took part il
this capture. COmrade Albertson says tht
26th N. Y. helped to capture this battery
This will be news to the boys of the 26th
They belonged to the Second Brigade, Second
Division, First Corps, and were never at Suf
folk
The living members Of the seth feel jus
pride IN the part they took in crossing thu
river at Fredericksburg and capturing the bat
terry at Suffolk; and at Reunions and Encamp
ments, when few of Us assemble together W
speak Of these things in all the innocence 0
our hearts, and recall with satisfaction anC
pride the wonderful success we had at boti
places,-more especially in capturing the bat
terry almost in the midst of Longstreet's army
en- army that had boasted it would recaptur
Suffolk and Norfolk and drive the Yankee
into North Carolina But Comrade Albertson
with one stroke Of his mighty pen, without
word Of warning or giving US due or timel,
notice, knocks our little romance into a cocket
hat and tells rs in plain English that we dit
not do these things which we had been fatter
ing ourselves we had done, to the glory Of our
selves and our country. Such is fame!
Comrade Albertson might put in his spar
time writing an account of the gallant charg
of the 25th Y. J. on the night OF Dec. II a
Fredericksburg. We remember the 25th. The
were brand new, all wool and yard wide. A
some future time / may write up what l say
aud experienced during this gallant charge
THos. GRooDY, Captain, seth n. Y, Washing
: ton, Kan.