The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1908-06-25
ON THE PENINSULA.
The Hot Fighting at williamsburg and
Fair Oaks.

ON THE PENINSULA.
! The Hot Fighting at williamsburg an,
1 Fair Oaks.
Editor National Tribune: am fol
| lowing your most excellent history witt
great care. and while take pleasure q
noting your wonderful accuracy. | fee
1t duty to correct two errors In some
matters that came under my observa.
! ton. In your sketch of Gen. Hiram
| G. Berry you give him all the credit
! of turning the tide at the battle Of
! Williamsburg. The enemy there held
us as long as they cared to: the reason
they did not take our artillery away oil
turn it upon us was because it was
stuck in the mud and could not be
moved. Consequently, Gen. Berry had
| little to do with saving the artillery
Gen. Phil Kearny was Division Com
mander and led our brigade in person
/ do not wish to take a leaf from the
! laurels of this great soldier, but to cor
rect history.
On the second day at Fair Oaks. your
informant gives the Sd Mich. credit for
driving four brigades in succession
from the woods. | do not wish to
pluck a laurel from the wreath OF
glory of the grand old Sd Mich,
but it is hardly justice to the rest of the
brigade las we of tho. brigade have
recognized for years. Berry's Brigade
consisted of the I'd, 3d. and 5th Mich.
and the 37th n. Y, an Irish regiment,
which always insisted that they were
the 3Tth Mich, be dad" No better
men ever shouldered "a musket. AS
the Sd Mich. was not so generally
engaged at Williamsburg, it went into
Fair oaks with a greater number OF
men than either Of the other regiments.
The I'd Mich. lost % killed, III wound
ed, and eight missing, or a total of
147. The Sd Mich. lost 80 killed, 124
wounded, and Is missing, or total of
169. The 5th Mich. lost 80 killed, 119
wounded, and five missing, or total
of 154. The loss of the 9th n. Y.
do not know, but it must have been
equal to ours.
Here is what the New York Tribune
of June 4, 1852, has to say of the mat
ter.
Sixty thousand men, I now copmre-
bend the Niagara roar of musketry
before which some of our regiments
could not be held fast, and which made
conversation between hoFsemen whose
saddles touched eachs other audible
only when screamed, and my venera-
ton of. the-zfghting done by the war
riors of Berry's Brigaae and by the
men whom Kearny LED sup,s@and by all
the others who stood by Peck, and
Couch, and Keyes. and who rallied I'M
der the fiuttering cloak OF the fiery
HeintZelman, as glowing companion
ship in arms with such men would, to
me. be the most satisfactory distinct
ton. 1 would covet the ;honer; If usage
could confer it. of adoption into either
of the Michigan regiments whom I saw
on the leap thru the shot and sheIl-in-
Tested wooden the leap to the ruin
upon us from ting front, to
take tx in flank and stay Iran adop-I
ton with a visible sign SO that when
asked to what service do you belong.
1 could proudly reply II belong to-
Bcrrys Brigade" Cromwell never
had better troops than those who. un-l
der the command of this good officer,
swept with fire and steel the whole
rebel force from Casey's ground and
earthworks. piiing with monuments of
their terrible craftsmanship They fired
away every one of their so rounds of
to man, and then gath
cred, everywhere the unconsumed cart
ridges from the boxes of the dead and
and economically used them
A North Carolina regiment sent againstl
the I'D, Mich. had its front file wholly
down by a volley The next
file turned to run. but line of bay
onets held them fast. Charge ordered
the Michigan Colonel. over the rail
fence leaped our men, with 81 yell that
ever smites terror Their 'bayOnet
points were not waited for. The Caro-
linians broke and ran.
"Heintzelman sent forward Kearny /
to recover Caseys lost ground; a des-i
perate fight was going on at the ex-
treme left. The enemy was success
fully held in front of COUGHS old in
trenched camp until Kearny's Division
arrived, when he stayed the torrent of
battle, one after another of his gall !
liant regiments pushing forward, and
pressed back the fiery rebels, with |
more daring than their own.
THE 5th n. Y. (should be 37th) |
wins new laurels, and Poe's I'd Mich. is |
bathed in blood; 500 of them charged
across the open field against 10 times
their number. stopping them in mid
career, losing II killed in, that one |
desperate essay
Co. f, my own company, lost nearly
4 third of its number in that fight !
Col Poe's horse was shot from under
him, and yet history recognizes but
Dne Michigan regiment in that fight
Michigan was great game State,
and her sons were almost born with
guns in their hands and were nearly
every one expert riflemen.
One more correction. Your Informant
says: "At the battle of Glendale, Gen.
<earny was i'll and Gen. Berry COM
handed the division"
If Gen. Berry commanded the divi-
zion. Gen Kearny was on the battle
icld turnout i know it by the fol-
owing peculiar circumstances: There
we're 10 of us in my regiment who Were
detailed for line scouts, and just be-
,ore the battle Gen. Kearny rode up
md called for us to follow him. For
getting he was on horseback and we
foot. he dashed off at fearful speed
md then came back and rebuked us
because we did not keep up, when one
If the boys said: You forget, Cen
,ral, that you are on horse Wei
we're required to dislodge some sig
nal men, which we effectually did,
md within an hour We're engaged in
)attle. Our position was in a piece
# woods with an open field in front
If us, and Gen. Kearny wishing to get
o the left, and not being able to pick
lis way thru the woods fast enough
o suit him, he dashed out in the openl
leld between the lines Eand rode the
whole length of the lines on his grand
I'D white war horse. =.
I think those two Incidents were
Iuite enough to fasten an event on the
mind of a boy.-Lyman e. Stowe. Co
:, I'd Mich, Detroit, Mich9
Patriotic Segregation.
Comrade c. ]. Pierce, Commander of
fairbanks Post, II, Detroit, Mich, sug-
,ests that the Ct. A. r. and all of its
nd regular part of the duties assumed Z
for in thaI