Winthrop Dudley Sheldon

“ The soldier who is untried in the fearful ordeal of war looks forward with a kind of adventurous excitement to the time when he shall cross swords with the enemy; and especially if his heart is bound up in the cause, and his motives lie deeper than mere love of adventure, he desires to stand at the post of duty, though it be in the deadly charge, and at the cannon’s mouth. ”

“ Cemetery Hill is wreathed with flame from the guns of thickly-massed infantry, and the fringe of fire courses along the crest of the ridge for two miles, as far as the rebel attack extends. Though temporarily checked, one division still marches on with desperate energy up to the very works. Only a weak line bars their progress, but reinforcements quickly arrive at the critical point, around which the contending hosts now struggle, in one of the most hotly-contested encounters of the battle. ”

“ At one o’clock the combat began. From every commanding eminence in their concave line, the rebel artillery, numbering more than a hundred guns, opened a terrific cannonade, probably unsurpassed in violence during the whole war. For more than an hour this wild storm of shot and shell rolls over the Union line, from Round Top to Rock Creek. The infantry are partially sheltered behind intrenchments, while the cannoneers stand at their posts, replying occasionally to the bombardment, but reserving their fire for more decisive work, when the rebel forces advance to the assault. ”

“ Our pickets returned at two o’clock the next morning. The camp was now full of bustling preparation. The huts all illuminated; the eager hum of voices; men hurrying to and fro; the decided tones of command, combined to form a scene of excitement nowhere found but in the army. At daybreak the regiment fell in, and bade farewell to the dismantled camp, to enter upon an experience none of us had ever contemplated as likely to fall to our lot.
Camp near Falmouth will linger vividly in memory, when other more startling scenes of army life have faded into oblivion. ”

“ Every moment another adds its voice to the swelling volume, until from twenty batteries, comprising more than a hundred guns, arranged along the banks of the river, bursts a tempest of shot and shell over the rebel city. ”

“ For a time the rebels bravely maintain their position, but clouds of missiles from Cemetery Hill tear into their ranks, while infantry crowd them vigorously in front and flank. At length, leaving the ground thickly strewn with killed and wounded, and multitudes as prisoners in the hands of the conquerors, the broken remnants roll back in wild confusion, and disappear behind the hills from which they had sallied forth. ”

“ The rebel shell crash among the houses or strike in the street, while the batteries of the Second Corps, on the north bank of the Rappahannock, send their shrieking replies over the city. “Attention!” rings out loud and long above the din. Every man is in his place, his musket at a shoulder. “Right face!” “Right shoulder shift arms!” [26] follow in quick succession. At this moment General Hancock rides up to the Twenty-seventh, and leaning forward in his saddle, with his right arm upraised, briefly addresses them: “You are the only Connecticut regiment in my division. ”

“ The wounded are left where they fall. Not a word is spoken, not a gun fired. As we approach nearer the rebel lines, all the elements of destruction ingenuity can devise or position afford, are concentrated upon the narrow space. From rows of rifle-pits, protected by a heavy stone wall, bursts a continuous roll of musketry; from neighboring houses flashes the deadly fire of sharp-shooters, while batteries posted on the heights behind strong field-works, and supported by infantry, sweep the field with shot and shell and grape and canister. ”

“ From eleven o’clock until one, only stifled mutterings of the impatient storm disturbed the quiet which reigned along the lines. The rebels were silently maturing their plans for the last grand charge, upon which they staked the fate of the invasion. Those were hours of indescribable suspense to the defenders of the Union, whether or no the sun would set upon a foe elated with victory and pressing onward to new conquests, or sullenly retiring in defeat. ”

“ Knowing it intimately for so many months of active and arduous service—having been an eye-witness of its many deeds of gallantry, and of the noble devotion displayed by it on many a memorable day, during the time in which he has had the honor to command its services—he feels it a duty he owes, not only to the living heroes, but to the memory of those who have fallen in the field in battling in our righteous cause, to bear testimony to the valor and gallantry it has always displayed. ”

“ Troops were to be raised and prepared for the field with the utmost dispatch. How vividly memory recalls the experiences of those days, then so strange in our national history, when men were gathering from all quarters for the nation’s defence, and our streets resounded with the drum and fife, and the public square was alive with squads and companies moving to and fro in the mazes of military evolutions! Captain Taylor’s zeal and military knowledge found an ample sphere for exercise at this important crisis, and truly most efficient service did he render. ”

“ So long as the campaign of the Twenty-seventh lives in the memory of those who participated in it, so long will the members of Company H cherish the name and reputation of their beloved commander, Jedediah Chapman.
Let us now turn to the long catalogue of enlisted men, whose names appear in the necrology of the regiment. History can never do justice to the grandeur and far-reaching importance of the cause to which they gave the testimony of their lives, nor can it do justice to the nobility and value of the sacrifice. ”

“ With particular interest we gazed upon a regiment of the corps, as, tired, dusty, and powder smeared, it rejoined us after a protracted effort at the bridge. History records but few parallels to the more than heroic valor which crowned that day’s work. A trusty weapon supports the soldier’s courage, but to stand, unarmed, [24] the target of unerring sharp-shooters, unable to respond to their attacks, and in view of almost inevitable death, is the highest test of courage. ”

“ We thought to ourselves, she is about right; Hooker’s army will be here one of these days, and with guns too. “What have you come down here for?” demanded one, whose very countenance flashed vengeance. “Oh! we are only Hooker’s advance guard, come down to act as pall-bearers at Stonewall Jackson’s funeral,” some one quietly replied. In his rage he answered: “If you were not a prisoner, I’d shoot you down.” “You’ve got to Richmond in a way you didn’t expect.” “See these Yanks; there’s hardly an honest face among ’em all.” ”

“ Instead of the roar of artillery, the unwelcome sound of rain salutes our ears the next morning, and continues for several days. Impassable roads, guns and pontoons fast in the mud, men toiling slowly along, or pulling at the boats, add a new page to the chapter of misfortune which had followed the noble Army of the Potomac. The rebels briefly summed up this last advance in these laconic words, “Burnside stuck in the mud!” ”

“ At three o’clock in the afternoon, Howard’s division advanced to the attack, to be hurled back before the overwhelming fire of the rebels. Only a brief time is now left before darkness will cover the scene. A final, desperate effort must be made to take the heights. Supported by the batteries in the streets, a fresh division advances into the field. How splendidly they charge! with what a perfect line! We can look into the faces of the men as they come on. Nothing apparently can withstand their onset. They come steadily to within a few paces of where we lie. ”

“ The inspiring faith of all loyal hearts followed every step of its progress up the Peninsula, toward the stronghold of treason; and when the shattered but undaunted remnants retreated down the James river, and hurried to the [10] defence of the national capital, menaced by an exultant foe, deep was the disappointment which filled the whole North. Every ear was strained to catch the result of the conflict before Washington, only to hear that the rebels had been partially successful, and were crossing the Potomac into Maryland and Pennsylvania. ”

“ A brief residence at one of Jeff.’s hotels is an infallible [59] remedy for all who are disposed to grumble at army food. The order is given, “Fall in for rations!” We had almost concluded that this order would never again greet our ears until we should once more stand under the flag of the Union. Immediately our thoughts recurred to camp near Falmouth, and in imagination floated visions of beef, pork, hard-tack, fresh bread—in fact, Uncle Sam’s army ration loomed up in bolder relief than ever before. In silent suspense we advance and receive—three pints of flour apiece. ”

“ No sooner has the last shell swept over our heads and burst into numberless fragments, than we enter upon the night’s work, of intrenching our position against the anticipated attack of the morrow. The rebels were apparently engaged in similar work just across the ravine. It was a busy and exciting scene along the lines of the army that night. The rapid strokes of axemen, followed by the dull sound of falling trees, rang through the woods in every direction. Details of men were at hand to put the logs in position, while others dug a trench in the rear, and heaped the soil upon them. ”

“ For an army is a great physical machine, expending a vast amount of animal power, and requiring careful attention to its animal wants to secure the highest moral efficiency.
From the battle of Fredericksburg to Hooker’s move in the spring of 1863, the Twenty-seventh was engaged in picket duty along the Rappahannock, whose banks are as familiar to the men almost as the walks of childhood. ”

“ CAMP NEAR FALMOUTH.
The failure at Fredericksburg, considered in itself, and especially in connection with its causes, was well calculated to produce much discouragement throughout the entire army. On the eleventh of December the troops streamed forth from their camps, confident in their ability to drive the foe from Marye’s Heights, and hurl him back to Richmond. On the sixteenth they returned, baffled and dispirited, having lost twelve thousand men in fruitless efforts to overcome the natural and artificial advantages of the rebel position. ”

“ All these more amiable qualities were supplemented by a manly independence and decision, which made him always jealous for the rights of his men. On that trying march to Gettysburg, no arrogance and severity of superior officers ever deterred him from a gentlemanly, but bold and firm, maintenance of the rights and interests of the regiment. He at once secured the respect, and soon the high regard of Colonel Brooke, commanding the brigade, who felt most keenly the loss of Colonel Merwin, and, on hearing that he was wounded, gave orders that every thing possible should be done for his welfare. ”

“ Colonel Merwin was a native of Brookfield, Connecticut, where he was born September seventeenth, 1839. He spent the greater part of his life in New-Haven, and at the beginning of the war was in business with his father and brother. He early manifested a fondness for military life, to which the subsequent events of his history proved him well adapted. When the first gun of the war sounded from the rebel batteries at Charleston, it awoke in his breast a determined and prompt response. ”

“ He sought and expected no office, and only at the earnest solicitation of his comrades consented to accept the post of First Sergeant, and certainly no company ever had a more faithful and conscientious officer. He was a noble Christian soldier; a man whom society could ill afford to lose. But he has left behind him an example which should be carefully cherished and regarded. The sacrifice of such a man is of no ordinary value, and gives unusual significance to the struggle through which the nation has passed. ”

“ He was one of the most unassuming of men, and yet in that soul burned a depth of devotion to duty, and a power of noble action, which seemed to require the stern, trying scenes of war to bring them forth in their original strength and glory. ”

“ A similar movement took place also to the left. “Look out on the right!” “Look out on the left!” passed up and down the line, and every man was on the alert, ready to meet them should they attempt to carry our intrenchments.
Suddenly, from unseen batteries behind us, comes a deep roar, and the next moment shell after shell shrieks through the trees and bursts almost in the rifle-pits. The thought flashes upon us that the rebels are in our rear, but is dismissed with the reflection that it is only a Union battery firing too low, and will soon correct its false range. ”

“ Many of the most respected and enterprising mechanics and business men of the community laid aside for a season the implements of their labor to join its ranks. Members of the press exchanged pen and type for sword and bayonet. There were also several accomplished engineers [11] in the regiment, one of whom was detailed in that department, on the staff of General W. S. Hancock, and had charge of the General’s topographical maps and plans of battles. The public schools of the city contributed one of their most esteemed teachers, who gave his life on the field of Fredericksburg ”