Sixth Corps

“ But all these thousands, hurrying from the field, were not the entire army. They were the Eighth corps and a part of the Nineteenth only, a fraction of the army. There, between ourselves and the enemy—between the fugitives and the enemy—was a long line of blue, facing to the front, bravely battling to stem the tide of defeat. How grandly they stood to their work. Neither shot nor shell nor volleys of musketry could break them. It was the old Sixth corps—the "ironsides" from the Potomac army, who learned how to fight under brave John Sedgwick. ”

“ On the 18th, we were joined by the other division, Slocum's. The Sixth corps now formed the right of the new line of battle on the south of the river. The line reached from Golden's Farm to Fair Oaks. Day and night the men worked at the breastworks and bridges. One-third of the army was employed constantly at these works, and the immense lines of intrenchments were marvels of achievements in engineering. These were all constructed under the fire of the enemy; no day passing without its skirmish. Soldiers were daily brought to the hospitals with wounds, even in the most quiet times. ”

“ It may be doubted if a more perilous "forlorn hope" was ever more daringly executed.
The Sixth Corps took position on the left of the line as it was formed, its lamented commander falling on the same spot at which one of the color-bearers of the Fifteenth had but just fallen; and on the afternoon of the 9th the regiment was detached, with the First, to turn the right flank of the enemy and gain possession of a cross-roads. After wading a deep swamp, and a sharp brush with the rebel skirmishers, the cross-roads was under their guns, and they were separated some distance from the main army. ”

“ The three divisions of the Sixth corps bounded forward, and commenced the wildest race that had ever been witnessed even in that valley so famous for the flight of beaten armies. The rebel lines were completely broken, and now in utmost confusion, every man was going in greatest haste toward Cedar creek. Our men, with wild enthusiasm, with shouts and cheers, regardless of order or formation, joined in the hot pursuit. ”

“ The troops were brave and eager to meet the enemy. None were ever more brave or more desirous to test their valor. The heroic deeds of those who did advance against the enemy will ever redound to the glory of our arms; and had all the forces of the Left grand division been brought fairly into action, the result might have been different. Surely such troops as composed the grand old Sixth corps were fitted for a nobler work than standing upon an open plain, exposed to fierce artillery fire, without ever being allowed to turn upon the enemy. ”

“ At the moment that the Sixth corps reached the field, the Fifth were rushing to the assistance of the wavering lines on Round Top.
It was a glorious spectacle, as the veteran wearers of the St. Andrew's cross rushed along the rear of the peak and among the rocks, at double-quick, and then suddenly moving by the flank, formed in line of battle. Through the woods and down the slope they rush, fall upon the advancing columns, and check their progress. The Union line now advance upon the rebels, who fall back more. ”

“ The sixth corps, which formed the centre of the French army, advanced with the characteristic impetuosity of their nation, and forcing down the barriers, which we had hastily constructed as a temporary defence, came rushing on, and, torrent-like, threatened to overwhelm all that opposed them. Every street, and every angle of a street, were the different theatres for the combatants ”

“ Men, women, and children left their occupations, and stood with open mouths and wide eyes to see the soldiers pass. The sun rose higher and the day became most hot, but steadily, unflinchingly as the ticking of a clock, the swift, bleeding, valiant feet of the Sixth Army Corps stepped off the miles. ”

“ Riderless horses were galloping here and there, cows, with which the army was well supplied, were bellowing, mules were braying, bullets whistling and shells howling. The Eighth corps having left the way clear, the rebels came down upon the Nineteenth, which gave way and was doubled upon the Sixth corps, but although thrown into confusion it was not in the panic with which the Eighth corps yielded the ground. ”

“ The Sixth nobly sustained their reputation, and fought manfully, resisting the superior numbers of the enemy with signal firmness: their commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Foxon, fell mortally wounded: the [27] French legions—dragoons, musketeers, pikemen, and grenadiers—crowded round this devoted corps in great numbers, and it sustained considerable loss. The King ordered a retreat, and the regiment withdrew from the field a mere skeleton. Its loss in killed and wounded was so great, that on the 8th of August it was ordered into quarters at Malines, and in September it embarked for England. ”

“ The Sixth was one of the corps which had the honour of sharing in the defence of this important city, and British valour was conspicuously displayed. When the garrison was nearly exhausted, its numbers decreased from deaths, wounds, sickness, and other causes, to about a thousand effective men, and a practical breach was ready for the enemy to attack the place by storm, the English and Dutch fleet arrived with five regiments of foot, the French fleet hurried from before the town, and the reinforcements were landed. ”

“ The members of the Sixth enjoyed the confidence of all the corps and division commanders under whose leadership they were chanced to be placed, and in many difficult and trying places the old regiment was called upon to aid the enterprise. They always strove to acquit themselves like men, and true soldiers of the Union, never allowing a victory, however great, to elate us too much, knowing full well the great sacrifice of life it ofttimes cost to gain it ”

“ No soldier was more beloved by the army or honored by the country than this noble general. His corps regarded him as a father, and his great military abilities made his judgment, in all critical emergencies, sought after by his superior as well as his fellows. The command of the Sixth corps now devolved upon General Wright, who had long been well known in the corps as the commander of our First division, and who held the command of the corps from this time until it was disbanded in the autumn of 1865. ”

“ The position of the two armies on the morning of the 6th was substantially that of the day before; the Sixth corps on the right, its rear on Wilderness Run near the old Wilderness Tavern, the Fifth corps next on its left, and the Second corps with three brigades of the Second division Sixth corps, on the left; the line extending about five miles. Besides these corps, General Burnside was bringing his troops into the line.
Between the two armies lay hundreds of dead and dying men whom neither army could remove, and over whose bodies the fight must be renewed. ”

“ Against this long thin line of skirmishers, the rebels opened a severe fire of artillery and musketry, and advanced to drive the skirmishers from their position; but the brave mountaineers never dreaming that a Sixth corps skirmish line could not hold a rebel line of battle, resolutely refused to leave and sent the presumptious rebel line of battle to the rear in confusion; not, however, until Colonel Stoughton with the Fourth and Colonel Seaver with the Third, came forward to the support of the Fifth and Sixth. ”

“ Seldom had our men experienced so severe a march. As we neared Coal Harbor our Sixth corps in advance, we fell in with the column of General Smith's command, the Eighteenth and Tenth corps. It was a relief to the old soldiers of the Army of the Potomac to see these full regiments, and they felt that with such large reinforcements our success must now be insured. ”

“ Every man was weighed down with a terrible anxiety. Officers hurried to and fro, silently and hastily forwarding the preparations for the retreat. The great caravan of army trains was on its way under the direction of scores of officers, and with it were escorts of cavalry and infantry.
At three o'clock Sunday morning the 29th, the Sixth corps quietly evacuated its works and proceeded in the direction of Savage's Station. The men slung their knapsacks and quietly moved off. ”

“ Our trains were protected, and there was no thought of further retiring. The Sixth Corps had not lost any of its camp equipage, not a wagon, nor, permanently, a piece of artillery. Its organization was perfect, and there were no stragglers from its ranks. A strong line of skirmishers had been thrown forward and the men resupplied with ammunition. ”

“ A hard march on the 15th brought the Sixth corps to Boonsboro, where our Second division encamped on precisely the same ground that we had occupied on the 31st of October last. Neill's brigade made the march at a breakneck pace, leaving the Vermonters far to the rear, who declared that the recent associations of the former with the cavalry had transformed them into a flying brigade. While resting here, a large body of rebel prisoners was marched past. They were mostly those who had been captured by Kilpatrick's men at Falling Waters. The rebels were hungry and destitute of rations. ”

“ Sheridan at once completed the arrangements already commenced and nearly finished by General Wright. The men of the Sixth corps meanwhile busied themselves in cooking their morning meal.
None but soldiers can realize the contending emotions we experienced as we waited for the development of the new arrangements. We had, with the pride which none but soldiers can feel, regained for northern troops the prestige for brilliant achievements and open field fighting in this valley, so often, in times past, the scene of humiliation to our arms. ”

“ Certain erudite historians, who have sent broadcast over our land, compilations of newspaper paragraphs under the sounding titles of historians of the rebellion, powerful gentlemen, who, from their comfortable quarters in northern homes, watched our battles from afar, quiet citizens whose sensibilities were never shocked by the sight of a battle-field, and whose nerves can hardly withstand the shock of fire crackers on the morning of a Fourth of July, have gravely informed their readers that our whole army, including the Sixth corps, was driven pell-mell six miles to the rear ”

“ Hostilities commenced in 1775, when the establishment of the Sixth was augmented from ten companies of thirty-eight private men each, to twelve companies of fifty-six private men each. In the following year they were withdrawn from the West Indies, and joined the army commanded by Lieut.-General Sir William Howe [71] at New York. The health of the soldiers had, however, been impaired by their residence in a tropical climate, and after transferring a few men to other corps, they returned to England, where they arrived in March, 1777. ”

“ It will save confusion if we follow the fortunes of each division for the day, regardless of what is going on upon its flank, as it is impossible to understand a narrative which switches continually from one portion of the line to another. The whole operation of the Sixth Corps was somewhat behind the time appointed, as each division had met with some delays, but the advance towards the third objective was begun about one o'clock in this southern area. ”

“ The regiment remained at Hilton Head through the fall and winter months of ’63 and ’64, engaging in an occasional scout after the Johnnies, drilling and doing fatigue duty in various ways. If a battery was to be built or earthworks thrown up, the Sixth was sure to have a hand in it. Many of our officers having resigned and our ranks being depleted by disease, we were finally ordered, with our corps, to join Butler on the James River, and we bade adieu to South Carolina on the 27th of April, 1864, and sailed for our new scene of labor and strife. ”

“ How industriously, willingly, and effectively that month was employed, the subsequent history of the regiment fully attests.
From this time forward, to the close of the war, its history is that of the famous "Sixth Corps"—than which, probably, no corps ever did more hard fighting and effective service, or achieved a more enviable fame.
Its official fighting record, as made up by the Adjutant-General of the State, is as follows:
Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13 and 14, 1862; Fredericksburg, Va., May 3, 1863; Salem Heights, Va., May 3 and 4, 1863; Franklin's Crossing, Va., June 6 to 14, 1863 ”

“ Grave gentleman in spectacles, studious young men in [Pg 156] green glasses, pale young men who were evidently more at home behind the counter than in line of battle, roughs who had not been tamed by the discipline of military life, and boys who, for the first time, had left the paternal mansion, made up the heterogeneous division.
Remaining at Williamsport until the morning of the 23d, we marched on the Hagerstown turnpike to Bakersville, where we remained about three weeks. Here it was that Couch's division was joined to the Sixth corps. ”

“ The following pages are offered to my old comrades of the Sixth Corps, with the hope that they may pleasantly recall the many varied experiences of that unparalleled body of men. If much has been omitted which should have been written, or if anything has been said which should have been left out, I rely upon the generosity of brave men to treat with leniency the failings they may detect. ”

“ Position of the Union forces on Cedar creek—Demonstrations by Early—The morning of October 19th—Eighth corps straggling—Nineteenth corps routed—The Sixth corps to the rescue—Death of General Bidwell—The Sixth corps holds the enemy—General Wright prepares for another attack—Arrival of Sheridan—The charge—The rout—Guns, wagons and prisoners—The victors in camp. ”