The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1902-06-19
THAT LITTLE MIX.UP AT FORT GREGG.
The Lively Part Taken by the 10th Conn.

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: desire
to state through your columns the par
taken by the 10th Conn. in the capture
of Fort Gregg on April 2, 1860.
During the night of April l the Sixth
Corps had taken the first line Of works
defending Petersburg and several thou
sand prisoners, and the enemy had con
ccntrated within the second line for then
last desperate defense. The First Divl-
sion of the Twenty-fOurth Corps, com
manded by Gen Robert s. Foster, who
now lives in Indianapolis. was given the
advance on the morning of the I'd with
orders to take Fort Gregg, which had
been properly styled the key to Peters
| burg
The First Brigade, composed Of the
10th Conn.,, 9th Mass, 18th Me-, and
| Tooth n. Y, took the lead, the 10th Conn
being assigned the position of honor; Co
X, commanded by Capt. Parker, deploy-
ing as skirmishers.
! Fort Gregg was the strongest Of line
of detached works, was vital to Lees
position. and was defended by several
| hundi ed chosen men and two cannons. and
WAS surrounded by deep ditch contain
| ing mad and water.
To reach this fort we had to charge.
across an open plain not only III the face
| OF Il weil-drrectcd fire from the fort, but
also subject to n crOSS-fire upon both
Hanks. At this time | was a Corporal
on the color guard. A Sergeant carrying
our blue State flag fell, wounded, and
Private George w. Phillips and myself
grasped the colors, and l shouted: Let
our t!ag be the first on the fort" We ran
with it to the south angle, helping one an
other to climb mp the sand wall of thu.
fort. Private Winfield Il. Works, Of Co.
*, was the third man to come np, yelling
ut the top of his voice: Every brave man
this way: our flag is on the fort BY
this time quite Il number of men had
wa.led through the mud and in a minute
more had joined us. | saw two other
color-bearers reach the fort and jump i'll,
only to fall dead on their colOrs
For more than 30 nutes the obstinate
eremy disputed possession with our bri-
gade. and not until some of the Second
DIVISION men came mp on the run did we
overcome the desperate defense and enter
the folt. which was finally taken by using
the mnsket butt as well as the bayorct
Our regiment lost 11S killed and wounded
more than onc-third OF its numi,cr
Licnt.-Cnl Goodyear fell in front. badly
wounded. and has since certified that our
State flag was the first one planted on the
iiararct.
Our Chaplain. Henry Clay Trumbuil
wrote an account of the affair for one Of
the Hartford papcrs. and since mentioned
it in his book, sfvVar Memories of Il Chap
lain" and the Connecticut Historical So,
cicty has made a record Of it. This flag
serted to IL ia the dear ones at home.
and after fine battle it WAS found to con.
tain 26 bullet holes. three being in the
staff we held. Ircccived II bayonct wound
and WAS also struck Nv n rock or brick
during the hanl-to-hard fight ut the clos.
of the engagement. Our corps conman-
der. Gen. Jhhniliibbon, who now rests il,
Arlington Cemetery. presented us with
bronze eagle to replace the one shat from
the ton of the staff. The following day.
April 3. Gen. Grant visited lis and askn,
to see the boys who carried that flag.
handed the flag to one of his Ads, and
he counted lthe bullet holes in it. and Gen.
Grant said ives should have medals of
honor. Phillips and myself were ma,,,.
Sergeants. tnndalI had the privilege of
carrying that flag home and depostipg il
IN the State House at Hartford, Conn.
where it now is
Comrade Phillips has for many years
been Il coffee planter in one of the South
American Republics: Comrade Works is
a clerk in the Pension Bureau at WASH,
ington. and Chaplain Trumbull is one OF
the editors of the Sunday School Times
published in Observation-Disclosures F..
IARMELEE, Postmaster, West Salem,
Wis. -