At Fort Monroe on the Peninsula

Monday, March 31, 1862

Upon arriving at their destination, the regiment disembarked from the Catskill at Fort Monroe in Hampton. They marched a mile to Big Bethel and bivouacked for the night. At Big Bethel the regiment observed the Monitor, the Union Ironclad ship, in the harbor.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 80.

On Route to the Peninsula

Friday, March 28, 1862

On Monday the regiment marched two miles from Harper's Ferry to Sandy Hook, boarding baggage cars bound for Washington, D.C. After arriving on Tuesday, they organized the men and prepared to depart by steamer for Fort Monroe on the Peninsula. On Friday the regiment boarded the steamer Catskill, departing from Washington. They sailed down the Potomac River into Chesapeake Bay for a three-day voyage to the Peninsula.¹

References:
¹Richard F. Miller, Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2005), 109-110.

Letters from the Front – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Sunday, March 25, 1862

In a letter to his parents Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. wrote that he arrived in Washington, D.C. and that the regiment would likely be on the move in a day or two. He quipped, "Officers have reduced baggage to a very few portables – Nobody knows – but we may go on a naval expedition – Whatever happens keep up your pluck …"¹

References:

¹Marc DeWolfe Howe, editor, Touched with Fire: Civil War Letters and Diary of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (New York: Fordham University Press, 2000), 37-38.

Regimental Matters – Officers Return; Resignations and Promotions

Saturday, March 24, 1862

Earlier in the week Captains John C. Putnam and Ferdinand Dreher, First Lieutenant Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., and Second Lieutenant William Riddle returned to the regiment for the first time since their wounding at Ball’s Bluff in October 1861. Captain Allen Beckwith and First Lieutenant John LeBarnes resigned, and Lieutenant Holmes was promoted to Captain of Company G. Second Lieutenants August Muller and Nathaniel Messer were promoted to First Lieutenant.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 80.

Harper's Ferry

Saturday, March 15, 1862

The regiment made several moves in the Harper's Ferry area between March 11 and 15. After their arrival at Point of Rocks on Tuesday, March 11, the regiment boarded canal boats on Wednesday for Harper's Ferry. The regiment marched eight miles to Charlestown, Virginia, marching past the prison where John Brown had been a prisoner. The regiment continued to march to its old position near Poolesville, eventually returning to Bolivar Heights overlooking Harper's Ferry on Saturday.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 78.

On the March

Tuesday, March 11, 1862

The regiment broke their camp near Poolesville, named Camp Lee, the new name given to Camp Foster. Led by Lieutenant Colonel Francis Palfrey, they marched eight miles to the mouth of the Monocacy River and boarded canal boats to the Point of Rocks.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 78.

Leesburg occupied by General Geary

Saturday, March 8, 1862

The town of Leesburg, Virginia, was abandoned by the Confederates and occupied by General John W. Geary. Capturing Leesburg was the objective of the ill-fated encounter at Ball's Bluff. General Geary was wounded and captured at Ball's Bluff, but he was fortunate to receive an expedited exchange.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 78.