Chapter XI: By E. C. Strouss

Recruits--Dangerous Picket Duty--Muster-out of Old
Regiments--Composition of the Brigade--Expedition Against the South
Side Railroad--Battle of Boydton Plank Road or Hatcher's
Run--Disguised Rebels Capture Our Picket Line--Election
Day--Thanksgiving Dinner of Roast Turkey--Change of Camp--Raid on
Weldon Railroad--A Hard March Returning--"Applejack"--General
Humphreys in Command of the Second Corps.

During the month of September the regiment received about one hundred recruits, principally substitutes and drafted men. Their term of service was one year. After they were fairly broken in, they made good and reliable soldiers.

Picket duty during the month of October in front of Fort Alex. Hays was quite frequent for both officers and men. It was also dangerous at night, when picket firing was kept up all night by both sides. On our side the picket posts consisted of five or six men and a noncommissioned officer. These posts were protected by a small breastwork, in front of which was a pit in which was posted a vidette, who was relieved every hour or sometimes every half hour. These posts were about fifty yards apart and were not connected by any works, which made it dangerous for the officer in charge of the line, while making the rounds of the posts, which he was obliged to do twice every night. On the part of the line picketed by our brigade, the line was in the woods, but on our right in the open ground the posts were connected by a deep trench. The woods in which we were posted ran to a point where it met the open field. When we quit doing picket duty on this part of the line, about November 30th, the trees at this point of woods were so splintered with musket balls that they resembled a lot of old fashioned splint brooms. Our lines were relieved at dark, and from that time firing was kept up until daylight, when it usually ceased until evening.

During the latter part of summer and early part of autumn of 1864, the time of many of the old regiments (who had not reenlisted) expired, and they were mustered out. In this way we lost in our brigade the 3d Michigan and 63d Pennsylvania, both old and renowned regiments. The men of the 63d who had reenlisted, and the recruits, were transferred to the 105th Pennsylvania and were mustered out with it at the close of the war.

Our brigade now consisted of the 1st Massachusetts heavy artillery (acting as infantry), 5th Michigan, 93d New York, 57th, 84th, 105th and 141st Pennsylvania, and 17th Maine, and three companies of the 1st United States Sharpshooters. The brigade was commanded by Brig. Gen. Byron R. Pierce, who retained command of it until the war ended.

About the 24th of October orders were issued and preparations made for another movement by the left flank, this time the object being the seizure of the South Side railroad. To assist this movement the Army of the James was to make a demonstration against Richmond on the north bank of the James. The expedition on the left consisted of Hancock's 2d and Warren's 5th corps supported by the 9th corps under General Parke. On the afternoon of the 25th, at 10 o'clock, our division was withdrawn from the works at Fort Alex. Hays and vicinity and moved to the rear and bivouacked for the night near the Southall house. At 2 p. m. on the 26th we continued our march across the open country in rear of the fortifications to the Weldon railroad and halted for the night, at 5 p. m., near the Lewis house.

At 3:30 a. m. we resumed our march, going down the Halifax road to the Church road, and on the latter past the Wyatt house to the Vaughn road, and down this road to the Cummings house, where we were massed, while the 2d division under General Egan drove the enemy from the ford on Hatcher's run, which was soon accomplished and the way opened for the crossing of the rest of the corps. Our division then crossed the run, moved up the Vaughn road a short distance to the Dabney's mill road, kept on this road until we reached the Boydton plank road, at a point about a mile and a half south of Burgess' tavern. This old tavern is located at the point where the plank road crosses Hatcher's run. A road known as the White Oak road, coming from the west, intersects the plank road at this point.

We moved up the plank road to near the tavern, where we entered a large field surrounded on all sides by dense woods. Here our brigade formed a line of battle facing north, and then stacked arms and rested. It appears that we were waiting for the 5th corps under General Warren to connect with our right before commencing our attack. A drizzling rain had set in.

While we were waiting for Warren's approach, Generals Grant, Meade and Hancock were in consultation in the field near the point where the left of our regiment rested. For some twenty minutes we had a good view of those famous men. General Grant, considering his high rank, was quite plainly dressed, and no one would have taken him for the commander of all the armies of the United States. General Meade, who wore glasses and also was plainly attired, looked more like an old college professor than like a soldier. General Hancock always looked the grand soldier which he was, whether he appeared in dress or fatigue uniform.

Owing to the wooded nature of the country and the bad roads, General Warren did not get up to join us on the right before we were attacked by the enemy under General Mahone. Picket firing had begun in the woods on our right and growing heavier, General Pierce ordered the 5th Michigan and the 105th Pennsylvania into the woods to support the pickets. The two regiments had been in the woods but a short time when they were fiercely attacked by the enemy in overwhelming numbers in front and on both flanks. The men of Michigan and Pennsylvania were of the best there were in the army, but they could not withstand the great odds against them. They were obliged to fall back, leaving many of their dead and wounded, and both regiments lost their colors, although they were two of the best regiments in the division. When this attack began the rest of the brigade tried to change front, but the enemy were too close upon us and for a while considerable confusion existed. The greater part of our brigade fell back a short distance, to the woods on the west side of the plank road, where it reformed and drove the enemy back into the woods from which they had emerged. In this we were greatly assisted by our 2d division under General Egan. Egan had been engaged with the enemy near Burgess' tavern, and was about to storm the bridge which crosses Hatcher's run at that place when Mahone made his attack on our position. Egan promptly sent part of his command to our support and his men attacked Mahone's troops in the right flank and caused them to fall back into the woods with great loss, and also recapturing several of our guns which had fallen into the enemy's hands.

General Mahone, who made this attack which frustrated our designs on the South Side railroad, was an old resident of Petersburg, and was thoroughly acquainted with all the roads in that section, which enabled him to discover the gap in our lines between Hancock's and Warren's corps, so he "sailed in," with the result above stated. The rebel cavalry under Wade Hampton at the same time attacked our left and rear, but was kept in check by our cavalry under Gen. D. M. Gregg.

We remained on the field until 11 p. m., when we withdrew and marched back by the same road over which we had advanced in the morning. About daylight we halted for a while near the Wyatt house and later on resumed the march and occupied our old camp near Fort Alex. Hays.

Our regimental loss in the action of October 27th was 5 men wounded and 5 men missing or captured. The fight is generally called the "Battle of Boydton Plank Road" or "Hatcher's Run." By the men of our division it was generally spoken of as the "Bull Pen" fight.

About dark on the evening of October 30th a number of rebels, disguised, wearing our uniform, began to relieve our pickets in front of our 1st division on that part of the line held by the 69th and 111th New York volunteers. It was customary at the time to relieve our pickets at dark, and the enemy took advantage of that circumstance by dressing themselves in our clothes, which they had taken from some of our deserters, and began to relieve our pickets. In this way they captured a good portion of the line assisted by other men from their works which were close by. But fortunately the regular relief from our side was approaching and after a little skirmishing succeeded in reestablishing the line, but not before great commotion was caused in our camps by the report that the picket line had been captured. All the regiments were ordered out under arms and manned the breastworks for an hour or so, when quiet reigned again and the men were sent back to their tents.

The 57th, however, was ordered to the extreme front to support the picket line. At this point in front of Fort Hays our picket line was about a mile in front, the intervening space being mostly covered by a broad slashing and a strip of woods. Through this we marched and stumbled until we reached the picket line, where we were posted in a deep trench or covered way. There was a parapet at the top of the trench, behind which our pickets were stationed, and these, and the enemy's pickets kept firing at each other all night, as was usual at that time, on that part of the line. The night was quite chilly, and as but small fires could be built in the trenches we passed a very disagreeable night. We were relieved next morning and went back to camp, where we spent most of the day in sleeping.

Tuesday, November 8th, was election day. President Lincoln was the Republican, and Gen. George B. McClellan the Democratic candidate for the office of President. Most of the Northern states had enacted laws that soldiers in the field should be entitled to vote if they were of lawful age, the same as if they were in their respective states. The different states had appointed commissioners whose duty it was to furnish the regiments with the necessary election papers and tickets. The vote of the 57th stood 95 votes for Lincoln and 33 for McClellan. The regiment was recruited in those parts of Pennsylvania which were strongly Republican and it was but natural that the regiment was the same. The vote, however, in the entire army was for Lincoln by a large majority.

In the fore part of the war it was thought at headquarters of the army that political discussions among the soldiers should be discouraged, or prohibited. But what could keep an army of freeman from discussing political questions? Discussions of that kind were as frequent around our campfires in front of Petersburg in the fall of 1864, as they were in any ward meeting or country store in the North.

Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1864, will long be remembered by the soldiers of the various Union armies, when instead of the usual dinner of pork and beans, hard tack, etc., they were, thanks to the loyal ladies of the North, treated to a genuine Thanksgiving dinner of roast turkey and other good things. Communication by steamer with the Army of the Potomac was handy to all the principal ports in the North, and for several days the wharves at City Point on the James river were piled with boxes and packages containing good things for the "boys" at the front. There was more than enough and all was in good condition. Some of the boxes contained the names of the fair donors, with the request that the parties receiving the same should acknowledge the receipt thereof. This in many instances led to a correspondence between the parties which ended in marriage, and the unions thus formed proved to be happy ones as far as the 57th boys were concerned.

During the month of November the terms of service of many of our officers expired, and they were accordingly mustered out of the service. Among these were Lieut. Col. W. B. Neeper, Capt. A. H. Nelson, Capt. Sprague Hill, Capt. H. H. Nelson and First Lieut. A. B. McCartney.

Dr. John W. Lyman, a resident of Lock Haven, Pa., who was appointed surgeon of the 57th when the regiment was organized in 1861, and had been with it constantly, resigned September 16, 1864, in order to accept the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 203d Pennsylvania volunteers. While serving with that regiment he was killed in the attack on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, January 15, 1865. Dr. Lyman was an excellent surgeon, kind and genial, and had endeared himself in the hearts of the men of the 57th, who were deeply grieved when they learned of his death.

Col. John W. Moore, of the 203d, had long been connected with our division, having entered the service as captain in the 99th Pennsylvania. As captain and major he had served on the staffs of Generals Kearny and Birney, and was an accomplished soldier. He met his death in the same action, with Dr. Lyman.

The 2d corps moved from its camp near Fort Hell and Fort Hays on November 30th, and took up a position farther to the left on the Peebles farm, between Forts Sybert and Emory. Our old camping grounds were now occupied by the 9th army corps.

On the morning of the 7th of December the regiment again broke camp to take part in the expedition to destroy the Weldon railroad. The road had been destroyed, during the summer and fall, as far south as Stony creek, some twenty miles south of Petersburg. As the enemy was still using the road and hauling provisions, etc., by wagon from Stony creek to Petersburg, General Grant determined to have the road destroyed as far south as possible.

For this purpose an expedition was sent out under General Warren, consisting of his own, the 5th corps, Mott's division of the 2d corps, and Gen. D. M. Gregg's cavalry, in all a force of about twenty thousand men. Our division (Mott's) broke camp at daylight on December 7th and marched via the Globe tavern and Gurly house to the Jerusalem plank, and following the 5th corps on this road, we arrived at the Nottoway river about dark, after a march of twenty miles. We crossed the river the same evening and bivouacked for the night. We resumed our march at daylight on the 8th, passing through Sussex Court House, and halted for the night about three miles from Jarrett's station on the Weldon railroad.

Early on the morning of the 9th, the work of destroying the railroad commenced. A brigade would stack arms near the road, then each man taking hold of the end of a tie, the road would be turned over as a plow turns over a furrow. Then axes were used to loosen the rails from the ties; the latter were placed in piles and the rails put on top. Then dry wood, from the fences nearby, was added and the piles set on fire. The rails becoming red hot in the middle would bend in a semicircular form from their own weight, which rendered them useless for relaying. Oft times the men would take a rail from the fire and twist it around a tree, which of course could not be removed without cutting down the tree. Travelers in that section often noticed these rails around the trees long after the close of the war.

We worked at tearing up the road until 4 o'clock p. m., when we were ordered to encamp. Two hours later our brigade, in light marching order, was sent to within one mile of Belfield on the Meherrin river. Here we again began to destroy the railroad, back in the direction in which we came. Belfield is about ten miles from the North Carolina line, and is the furthermost point south ever reached by the regiment. This march of about five miles was made in rain and sleet, with the weather rapidly growing colder. It began to snow during the night, and in the morning every tree, twig and shrub was covered with ice.

On Saturday, December 10th, we started on our return march. The roads were in a terrible condition, which made the march very fatiguing, especially to the new recruits, of which there were many in every regiment. Crawford's and Ayer's divisions had some skirmishing to do while we moved to the rear, but on our part we were not molested and reached the vicinity of our old camps about 2 o'clock p. m. on December 12th. We laid out a new camp in front of the rear line of entrenchments, west of the Halifax road, where we remained until the 5th of February.

It was reported that many of our soldiers who had straggled from their regiments during our advance in the Weldon raid, were found during our retreat, lying in the woods, killed by rebel guerrillas, some with their throats cut. Be this as it may, it is certain that many of these stragglers never returned to their regiments. Many of the houses that stood near the road were burned on our return march in retaliation for the murder of our men.

On account of the abundance of the liquor called applejack the Weldon raid was generally spoken of by the men as the "applejack raid." As our division had the rear of the column in the advance we did not get hold of much of the liquor. There is no doubt that many of the men who straggled had tasted too much of the fiery stuff and became too tired to march, and lay down to rest. In the 57th we had some who had taken "as much as was good for them," and they became rather hilarious, but none of them straggled from the ranks.

General Hancock bade farewell to the 2d corps on November 26th. He had been appointed to raise and organize a new corps, to consist of veterans, and of which he was to have command. He was succeeded in command of the 2d corps by Gen. A. A. Humphreys, an able general, who for a long time had been chief of staff to General Meade.