The National tribune., 1900-08-16
AN ARTILLERIST's YARN.
What Battery B. 1st Md. I. A., Did From
Gaines's MIL to the Landing.


What Battery B. 1st Md. I. A., Did From
Gaines's MIL to the Landing.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE, Capt.
Shows Battery B, 1st Md. L. A. Joined
the Army of the Potomac at Gaines's
| Mill on the afternoon Of June 1, 1862. and
was placed in Mat. Hunts artillery re-
serve OF Fitzjohn Porter's Corps. There
| We saw the first rebels, except few pris-
| oners at Yorktown. We could see them
on the hill on the far side Of the Chicka-
hominy.
On June our battery was ordered
down on the fat at the foot Of the hill.
On the other side Of the river the hill
ran back in gentle slope for about q
mile to the wood in which the enemy
was encamped.
A short distance down the hill from the
woods q few shade trees stood. The reb-
els would come out of the woods under
these trees, SO they could see better what
was going on over on our side. Our or
ders were that when q small crowd
should get under these trees to throw 4
shell at them, and it was fine fun for Us
to see them scamper for the woods when
they would sight the smoke from one
of the guns.
This lasted for some time, but at last
we saw the rebel artillery come out Of the
woods and dash about half way down the
hill and unIimber. Then we heard the
first rebel round shot whistle. We had q
first-class artillery duel that lasted nearly
two hours, with not much loss on either
side except the ammunition. The rebels
killed three Of our horses and knocked a
wheel to pieces. The official records say
that ON June 8 Battery B, 1st Nd, en-
gagged four Confederate batteries at New
Bridge. AS l remember they had eight
pieces-four sections. We made them
skedadde back to the woods.
a few days afterwards we left Gaines's
Mill, crossed Grapevine Bridge and en-
camped ON a knoll near Cold Harbor.
OFF to our left a little ways we could see
our breastworks. The plckets kept up a
continuous fire, and every morning and
evening they would have right lively
times. These were called tho coffee
fights"
While we were In this camp a citizen
came in with q sheet with six or eight
songs printed on it. He would get on the
highest ground in camp and get the boys
In a large crowd around him and sing
these songs. He would keep turning
around to see II all hands were singing.
In this way ho could take in everything
in reach of his eye. think this was the
same man that was canght in the wheat
field near Frederick, Md, and hung to a
tree, papers found in his boot proving him
to be spy. A. few days after these sing
ing episodes he made the rounds Of the
camps, selling these songs.
The rebels made the attack on the right
wing at Mechanicsville, and after the
right wing was driven back to Gaines's
Mill, about noon, Battery Is was ordered
out to a bluff that covered Grapevine
Bridge. We left everything in camp, ex-
pecting to SO back, but before sundown
orders came to send a detail in and load
the forage and what else they could in
the wagons and burn the rest.
We stayed On this bluff till sometime
after midnight, when an officer, who had
left his horse some distance in our rear,
came walking down to the battery and in
q whisper asked the first man he came to
where to find the Captain. The comrade
took him to the Captain, and in a whis-
per he told the commander to get his men
all up, not to allow oneone to speak above
whisper, timber the battery with as lit
tie noise rs possible, and take the road to
Savage Station. We were not long In
obeying this order and the boys seemed
to hold their breath until we got a con-
siderable distance away from the bluff.
We saw no troops on the road until we
made about one-half the distance to the
Station, when we came to some cavalry
stationed on the left Of the road; a thick
growth OF small pine timber was just be.
yond them.
The battery came to halt abreast Of
this cavalry, and while we stood In the
road quite n stampede occurred among
the horses; l don't remember now what
caused it, but all of sudden they be-
gan to dash around and made great
racket with their sabers and tin cups clat-
tcring.
The battery moved on and we saw no
one else until we came near the Station,
when we reached troops on both sides Of
the road, and just before we crossed the
railroad tracks we came to the hospital.
BY the Pickering lights we could see the
hundreds of wounded lying about on the
ground and hear their means and groans
Just to the left of the crossing stood
locomotive and two or three cars, with
steam up, ready to start to wreck the
versacks, marched past Savage Station
and saw thousands of boxes OF hardtack,
hundreds Of barrels Of salt horse and SOW
belly, bags upon bags of coffee, and ra-
tions of every description all in a sheet of
flame. There were also barrels Of old COM
missary whisky standing there with the
heads out; this was being thrown over the
piles of rations to help make them burn.
Into them the boys would souss their
canteens, and some who had no cantesn
handy took the dusty gum water-buckets
from the pieces and dipped them In. This
served for while instead Of rations.
We did not make any halt at tho Sta
ton, but fell in the rear Of the troops
moving down toward White Oak Swamp,
which we reached sometime in the fore
noon and encamped right at the edge Of
the bushes ON the left Of the road, after
crossing the swamp.
Our horses had been in the harness 10
long that to give them a little rest the
Captain ordered them unhitched and un-
harnessed. The boys were nearly all
down asleep in the shade of the bushes
when an officer came down the road at
brealneck speed, yelling:
Get that battery out Of that as quick
as you can"
We jumped to the harness and In less
than five minutes were going out across
the old field toward Charles City Cross
roads, with the shots of the rebel bat
terry dropping tight IN our rear to help
us along.
AS we passed the Crossroads we could
see the pickets Of both armies down the
road and hear the crack Of their guns,
bnt we Kept on until we got to Malvern
Hill, and parked back near where the
hospital was located until next morn
ing.
While lying here our first man was
wounded. Serg't +. A., Smyth, by a shell |
that came from away out in the front |
and struck the caissoIi-wheel that he was