Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1913-01-23
SIORR!lEESS, q
RAk@S5AAfaCAMP
zzsAIH IAMfzHIR
SKiRMISH AT FORT STEDMAN
Member of "Roundheads" Tells Graph
ic Story of Fight in Which Com
mander Was Captured.

L was one of the Roudheads, and
came from the left of Petersburg on
November %, 1864, and our corps, the
Ninth, relieved the Second Corps, and
occupied the lines from the Appom-
attox river to Fort Mike. Division
Commander Gen. Orlando B. Wilcox
had his headquarters in the Friends
house, nearly directly back of Fort
Stedman. Our brigade, the Third of
the first division, occupied the lines
from Fort Stedman to Fort Haskell,
writes Phillip Crowl Of Beaver Falls,
Pa, in the National Tribune. In
Fort Stedman was the first battalion
of the 14th n. Y. The 59th Mass,
was nearby in the rear Of Fort Sted-
man, in rear of Battery No. 10. In a
clump Of pines on the left of Fort
Stedman was the Sd Nd, then Bat
terry No. II, then the 31st Mass, then
Battery No. II, and the Tooth Pa.
(Roundheads) occupied the rife pits
up to Fort Haskell.
On the morning OF March %, 1865,
just as our drum corps was getting
out to beat reveille, the ball opened.
1t was 5 a. m. Co. F was the second
company on the right when the fort
was taken. The enemy filed right
through to our rear, and formed in
two lines, and came advancing upon
US. Co. D of our regiment was
thrown back, and we, skirmishing,
fell back to our works. In the mean
time our colonel, James Pentecost,
rode down to the right of the line,
and said: Boys, our brigade com
mander, Gen Bonaparte Mclaughlin,
of the 57th Mass, is taken prisoner.
Col. Pentecost then ordered us to
the other side of the rifle pits and
into Fort Haskell. We obeyed or
ders, and mounted on the front OF
the works inside of the abatis and
dug right out for the fort.
We got as far as the little run that
went through our works, when
stopped and crawled upon the works
to get a parting shot at the Johnnies
and the first thing l heard was:
Surrender you Yank.'
When | got to my feet there were
Is or 20 Johnnies with their guns
trained on us. They captured our
First Lieutenant, Ed McMillen, Fife
Maj. Steward Afford and a recruit by
the name of Rankin, all Of Co. f, and
some others of the regiment. Silas
Afford. of Co. F, was killed right
alongside of us. Col. James Pente
cost was mortally wounded, just on
the other side of the works, dying the
next day.
Then the Johnnies started with us
prisoners over to their main line OF
works. | was wounded and left ly
ing about SO yards in front of oul
own company's works in a gopher
hole with Steward Afford, who had es
capped the notice of the Johnnles as
they were hustling to get out OF the
place when the balls were making
the dirt fly.
Afford and | lay in this hole all the
time the fight was going on, anC
could see the enemy in our works ano
also see them trying to storm Fort
Haskell They would get over the
rife pits and try and get around IL
front of the fort but were cut dowr
as fast as they got over. After the
fight was over, about s a. m, two com
rades of Battery No. Il came out anc
carried me into the rifle pits. My
two messmates helped to lift me over
the works.