Friday, April 25, 1862
In a letter to his mother Captain Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. expressed his sorrow over the wounding of Captain William Bartlett. He remarked, "The Regt has suffered a gr[ea]t loss by Capt. Bartlett’s being shot in left leg yesterday wh[ich] is amputated just above the knee – He bore it bravely – he was hit at one of the posts on picket ..."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), 46-47.
Showing posts with label William Bartlett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label William Bartlett. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Letters from the Front - Nathan Hayward
Friday, April 25, 1862
In a letter to his father Doctor Nathan Hayward recounts the wounding of Captain William Bartlett and the tough decision he made in amputating his leg. He noted that Captain Bartlett was sent to Ship Point by wagon and that a detail from the Twentieth accompanied Bartlett as litter bearers in case riding became difficult. He reported that Bartlett made the journey to Ship Point in fine shape and that he boarded a steamboat for a hospital in Washington, D.C. He remarked wryly that, despite the sad loss of Captain Bartlett, the casualties were relatively few and that the sharpshooters of the Twentieth did more damage than the Confederate sharpshooters.1
References:
1Nathan Hayward, "Letters," Association of Officers of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment, Reports, Letters and Papers Appertaining to Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, vol. 1, p. 375-76, Twentieth Massachusetts Special Collection, Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts.
In a letter to his father Doctor Nathan Hayward recounts the wounding of Captain William Bartlett and the tough decision he made in amputating his leg. He noted that Captain Bartlett was sent to Ship Point by wagon and that a detail from the Twentieth accompanied Bartlett as litter bearers in case riding became difficult. He reported that Bartlett made the journey to Ship Point in fine shape and that he boarded a steamboat for a hospital in Washington, D.C. He remarked wryly that, despite the sad loss of Captain Bartlett, the casualties were relatively few and that the sharpshooters of the Twentieth did more damage than the Confederate sharpshooters.1
References:
1Nathan Hayward, "Letters," Association of Officers of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment, Reports, Letters and Papers Appertaining to Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, vol. 1, p. 375-76, Twentieth Massachusetts Special Collection, Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
In His Own Words - Captain William Francis Bartlett
Thursday, April 24, 1862
Captain William "Frank" Bartlett wrote briefly and stoically about his wounding in his journal. He remarked, "While I was visiting the pickets, watching the enemy with my glass, a sharpshooter hit me in the knee with a minie ball, shattering the bone down to my ankle. Dr. Hayward amputated it four inches above the knee, and I started for Baltimore in the same afternoon."1
His friend, Colonel Francis Palfrey, accompanied Captain Bartlett as he was carried to the rear for surgery by Doctor Hayward. As he was being attended, he said to Colonel Palfrey, "It’s rough, Frank, isn’t it?" Palfrey remarked that this was the only word of complaint he spoke the entire time.2
References:
1Francis Winthrop Palfrey, Memoir of William Francis Bartlett (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1878), 41.
2Palfrey, Memoir of William Francis Bartlett, 41.
Captain William "Frank" Bartlett wrote briefly and stoically about his wounding in his journal. He remarked, "While I was visiting the pickets, watching the enemy with my glass, a sharpshooter hit me in the knee with a minie ball, shattering the bone down to my ankle. Dr. Hayward amputated it four inches above the knee, and I started for Baltimore in the same afternoon."1
His friend, Colonel Francis Palfrey, accompanied Captain Bartlett as he was carried to the rear for surgery by Doctor Hayward. As he was being attended, he said to Colonel Palfrey, "It’s rough, Frank, isn’t it?" Palfrey remarked that this was the only word of complaint he spoke the entire time.2
References:
1Francis Winthrop Palfrey, Memoir of William Francis Bartlett (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1878), 41.
2Palfrey, Memoir of William Francis Bartlett, 41.
Wounding of Captain Bartlett
Thursday, April 24, 1862
While on command of the picket line, Captain William “Frank” Bartlett of Company I was seriously wounded. Bartlett was deployed at an advanced post when he was struck by a ball that shattered his left leg. He was carried by stretcher to a field hospital and received prompt medical assistance from Dr. Nathan Hayward. Upon surveying the wound Hayward amputated Bartlett’s leg above the knee. Bartlett was taken by ambulance to Ship Point, and then to a hospital in Washington, D.C.. Although he returned to military action nearly seven months later, he never returned to service in the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 84-5.
While on command of the picket line, Captain William “Frank” Bartlett of Company I was seriously wounded. Bartlett was deployed at an advanced post when he was struck by a ball that shattered his left leg. He was carried by stretcher to a field hospital and received prompt medical assistance from Dr. Nathan Hayward. Upon surveying the wound Hayward amputated Bartlett’s leg above the knee. Bartlett was taken by ambulance to Ship Point, and then to a hospital in Washington, D.C.. Although he returned to military action nearly seven months later, he never returned to service in the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 84-5.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Dangerous Picket Fire at Yorktown
Friday, April 18, 1862
After a movement in front of the enemy on Wednesday, the Twentieth deployed in a location close to the Confederate lines and engaged in constant picket fire day and night. At 12:30 AM the entire regiment was called to stand under arms for three hours due to enemy fire. During this engagement Private Samuel Kershaw of Company H was shot in the chest, the first man in the Twentieth Massachusetts regiment injured during the Peninsula campaign.1
The men of the Twentieth experienced their first real taste of the dangers of the picket line at Yorktown. The picket firing was relentless, and the regiment learned firsthand the life and death nature of picket duty. Captain Frank Bartlett of Company I observed that picket duty was "the hard part of a soldier's life; battle would be a relief from this."2
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 84.
2Richard F. Miller, Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2005), 114-15.
After a movement in front of the enemy on Wednesday, the Twentieth deployed in a location close to the Confederate lines and engaged in constant picket fire day and night. At 12:30 AM the entire regiment was called to stand under arms for three hours due to enemy fire. During this engagement Private Samuel Kershaw of Company H was shot in the chest, the first man in the Twentieth Massachusetts regiment injured during the Peninsula campaign.1
The men of the Twentieth experienced their first real taste of the dangers of the picket line at Yorktown. The picket firing was relentless, and the regiment learned firsthand the life and death nature of picket duty. Captain Frank Bartlett of Company I observed that picket duty was "the hard part of a soldier's life; battle would be a relief from this."2
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 84.
2Richard F. Miller, Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2005), 114-15.
Monday, November 7, 2011
In His Own Words - Captain William Francis Bartlett
Thursday, November 7, 1861
In his journal Captain William Bartlett responded with characteristic humility to the praise he received from Boston and New York newspapers concerning his outstanding performance at Ball's Bluff: "They compliment me too highly, who did nothing more than my duty. My coolness was in me. I ought not to have the credit of it, but be grateful to God, who in his mercy has spared me, for granting me the courage and self-possession."1
References:
1Francis Winthrop Palfrey, Memoir of William Francis Bartlett (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1878), 33-34.
In his journal Captain William Bartlett responded with characteristic humility to the praise he received from Boston and New York newspapers concerning his outstanding performance at Ball's Bluff: "They compliment me too highly, who did nothing more than my duty. My coolness was in me. I ought not to have the credit of it, but be grateful to God, who in his mercy has spared me, for granting me the courage and self-possession."1
References:
1Francis Winthrop Palfrey, Memoir of William Francis Bartlett (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1878), 33-34.
Letters from the Front - Henry Abbott
Thursday, November 7, 1861
In a letter to his father, Lieutenant Henry Abbott shared his thoughts about his conduct under fire at the recent conflict at Ball's Bluff:
References:
1Robert Garth Scott, editor, Fallen Leaves: The Civil War Letters of Major Henry Livermore Abbott (Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, 1991), 73-74.
In a letter to his father, Lieutenant Henry Abbott shared his thoughts about his conduct under fire at the recent conflict at Ball's Bluff:
You know I told you that I didn’t believe I was physically brave. In fact, I was pretty sure I should be frightened on the field of battle, though I hope my feelings of duty, pride & honor would keep me up. The fact is, however, that on the battle field I was very much surprised to find that I wasn’t frightened at all ...Abbott modestly downplayed his bravery while praising that of fellow officers Captain William "Frank" Bartlett and newly-promoted Captain Norwood Hallowell:
All the stuff you see in the newspapers about 'young Abbott, son of Judge Abbott,' is all blow & poppy cock. I no more deserve to share Frank's praise with him than any of his privates do ... There are plenty of officers in the regt., Hallowell for instance, who deserve more praise than I do, though they haven't had the distinguished honor of being posted by the newspapers. Frank, however, you may be sure deserves all he gets.He admonished his father to be skeptical of newspaper reports: "In a word, you had better disbelieve all the stories & all the puffs in the papers, except those which have the sanction of this regt., & then you will be safe..."1
References:
1Robert Garth Scott, editor, Fallen Leaves: The Civil War Letters of Major Henry Livermore Abbott (Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, 1991), 73-74.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Aftermath of Ball's Bluff - Regiment Restructuring
Thursday, October 24, 1861
W.F. Milton, Acting Adjutant, issued General Order number 69 from Camp Benton to address the vacancies in the shattered command of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment:
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 70-71.
W.F. Milton, Acting Adjutant, issued General Order number 69 from Camp Benton to address the vacancies in the shattered command of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment:
The following arrangements of this command will be observed until further orders.
Capt. Bartlett, Co. I, is detailed for duty as acting Lieutenant Colonel.
Capt. Crowninshield, Co. D., is detailed for duty as acting Major.
Lieut. Milton, Co. G, is detailed for duty as Adjutant. They will be obeyed and respected accordingly. The non-commissioned officers and privates of Company G ready for duty are assigned to Capt. Tremlett of Company A, who ranks as senior Captain. The 1st Sergt. of Co. G, will report to Lieut. Hallowell, commanding Co. H, as 1st Sergt.
Capt Shepard of Co. K takes rank as 2nd Captain.
The non-commissioned officers and privates of Co. E are assigned to Lieut. Macy, Co. I, who ranks as 3rd Captain.
The non-commissioned officers and privates of Co. D are assigned to Lieut. Hallowell, Co. H., who ranks as 4th Captain. Sergt. Burrill of Co. H will act as 1st Lieut.
Lieut. Cabot of Co. F ranks as 5th Captain, assisted by Lieut. Sturgis of Co. H as 1st Lieut.
Lieut. Le Barnes of Co. B takes command of that Company and ranks as 6th Captain.
It is to be understood that the above arrangement is adopted for the present emergency; it is subject to revision at any moment and is expected to continue only till new officers can be commissioned and arrangements made for filling up the regiment. Where men are assigned in accordance with these orders, they will continue to occupy their quarters under charge of their ranking Sergeants, reporting to their commanding officers for duty.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 70-71.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Oliver's Story - Ball's Bluff
Tuesday, October 22, 1861
Private Oliver Stanton Bates of Company A escaped injury and capture at the Battle of Ball's Bluff. His name does not appear on the casualty list for Ball's Bluff in the Twentieth Massachusetts Regimental History and his military records do not include a casualty sheet for wounding. In this episode he proved to be extremely resilient, as Company A reported the third highest casualties by company for the regiment, totaling 31 killed, wounded, or captured. Only the flank Companies D and H reported higher casualties at 37 and 32 respectively.1
It is unclear from the records whether Oliver swam across the Potomac River or made the passage by boat. He owed his survival in large part to the resourcefulness of company commanders Henry Tremlett and Charles Whittier of Company A and William "Frank" Bartlett and Henry Abbott of Company I, who plotted an escape route along the river bank and remained until all the enlisted men made it safely across the river.2
References:
1 Compiled service record, Oliver S. Bates, Pvt., Co. A, 20th Massachusetts Infantry; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C.; George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 59-61.
2 Richard F. Miller, Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2005), 77; Francis Winthrop Palfrey, Memoir of William Francis Bartlett (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1878), 26-29.
Private Oliver Stanton Bates of Company A escaped injury and capture at the Battle of Ball's Bluff. His name does not appear on the casualty list for Ball's Bluff in the Twentieth Massachusetts Regimental History and his military records do not include a casualty sheet for wounding. In this episode he proved to be extremely resilient, as Company A reported the third highest casualties by company for the regiment, totaling 31 killed, wounded, or captured. Only the flank Companies D and H reported higher casualties at 37 and 32 respectively.1
It is unclear from the records whether Oliver swam across the Potomac River or made the passage by boat. He owed his survival in large part to the resourcefulness of company commanders Henry Tremlett and Charles Whittier of Company A and William "Frank" Bartlett and Henry Abbott of Company I, who plotted an escape route along the river bank and remained until all the enlisted men made it safely across the river.2
References:
1 Compiled service record, Oliver S. Bates, Pvt., Co. A, 20th Massachusetts Infantry; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C.; George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 59-61.
2 Richard F. Miller, Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2005), 77; Francis Winthrop Palfrey, Memoir of William Francis Bartlett (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1878), 26-29.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Letters from the Front - Henry Abbott
Tuesday, October 22, 1861
Lieutenant Henry Abbott penned another letter to his father, explaining the horrific events at Ball’s Bluff in greater detail. Selected excerpts are presented below:
Abbott noted that Company A suffered heavy casualties during the battle. He observed, "Tremlett's company got the worst of it…" Abbott recounted his escape down the river bank with Captains Bartlett and Tremlett and Lieutenant Whittier and men from their respective companies, Companies I and A. The officers sent enlisted men across the river by fives in a boat, with the officers leaving last. He followed this observation with an expectation of reprisal: “The little midnight adventure of ours has started the whole thing: now we shall have our revenge...”
He concluded his letter optimistically, praising the endurance of the soldiers under heavy fire: “The good of the action is this. It shows the pluck of our men. They followed their commanders admirably, except in the last charge that we made…”1
References:
1Robert Garth Scott, editor, Fallen Leaves: The Civil War Letters of Major Henry Livermore Abbott (Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, 1991), 60-66.
Lieutenant Henry Abbott penned another letter to his father, explaining the horrific events at Ball’s Bluff in greater detail. Selected excerpts are presented below:
The fight was made up of charges. You would see our capts. rush out in front & cry forward & their companies would follow them at full speed under a tremendous fire till they were obliged to fall back. And this was repeated over & over during the 4 hours fight…
The general [Baker] was killed ... & Col. Lee ordered a retreat... we all started down the bank, every body knowing, however, that there was no chance of an escape. The col. ordered a surrender & had a white flag raised but the rebels fired upon us & we were obliged to retreat to the river's edge, the rebels pouring down a murderous fire…
Abbott noted that Company A suffered heavy casualties during the battle. He observed, "Tremlett's company got the worst of it…" Abbott recounted his escape down the river bank with Captains Bartlett and Tremlett and Lieutenant Whittier and men from their respective companies, Companies I and A. The officers sent enlisted men across the river by fives in a boat, with the officers leaving last. He followed this observation with an expectation of reprisal: “The little midnight adventure of ours has started the whole thing: now we shall have our revenge...”
He concluded his letter optimistically, praising the endurance of the soldiers under heavy fire: “The good of the action is this. It shows the pluck of our men. They followed their commanders admirably, except in the last charge that we made…”1
References:
1Robert Garth Scott, editor, Fallen Leaves: The Civil War Letters of Major Henry Livermore Abbott (Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, 1991), 60-66.
Friday, October 21, 2011
A Bond Forged under Fire
Monday, October 21, 1861
Under the intense fire of battle and the grueling retreat the officers and enlisted men formed a bond of mutual respect and preservation. The officers behaved nobly, sacrificing their safety for the sake of the enlisted men. Colonel W. Raymond Lee, the commander of the regiment, followed this principle to his own detriment. During the retreat Captain William Bartlett of Company I found Colonel Lee sitting behind a tree. He refused to leave, saying that he would not leave his men, and felt that it was nobler to surrender to save the men from slaughter. Captain Bartlett and Adjutant Peirson each took one of Colonel Lee's arms and led him down the path to the riverbank to escape immediate capture or death. Colonel Lee refused to cross the river and abandon his wounded regiment, but encouraged and accompanied by other officers he sought a means of transport downriver near Smart's Mill, where he was captured by the Confederates.
At the riverbank Captains Bartlett and Tremlett and Lieutenants Abbott and Whittier took charge among their commands, Company I and A respectively, encouraging those men who were able to swim across the river while the officers covered their escape. Most of the men made it across to safety, and led by Captain Bartlett, the officers and remaining enlisted men raced along the riverbank towards Smart's Mill, the same route that Colonel Lee followed earlier. Captain Tremlett paid a man near Smart's Mill five dollars for a partially sunken skiff. Captain Bartlett directed the men across the river by fives. All the officers remained on the riverbank until every enlisted men was safely across the river except for Lieutenant Whittier, who was sent over to direct landings on the opposite shore.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), 75-80; Francis Winthrop Palfrey, Memoir of William Francis Bartlett (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1878), 26-29.
Under the intense fire of battle and the grueling retreat the officers and enlisted men formed a bond of mutual respect and preservation. The officers behaved nobly, sacrificing their safety for the sake of the enlisted men. Colonel W. Raymond Lee, the commander of the regiment, followed this principle to his own detriment. During the retreat Captain William Bartlett of Company I found Colonel Lee sitting behind a tree. He refused to leave, saying that he would not leave his men, and felt that it was nobler to surrender to save the men from slaughter. Captain Bartlett and Adjutant Peirson each took one of Colonel Lee's arms and led him down the path to the riverbank to escape immediate capture or death. Colonel Lee refused to cross the river and abandon his wounded regiment, but encouraged and accompanied by other officers he sought a means of transport downriver near Smart's Mill, where he was captured by the Confederates.
At the riverbank Captains Bartlett and Tremlett and Lieutenants Abbott and Whittier took charge among their commands, Company I and A respectively, encouraging those men who were able to swim across the river while the officers covered their escape. Most of the men made it across to safety, and led by Captain Bartlett, the officers and remaining enlisted men raced along the riverbank towards Smart's Mill, the same route that Colonel Lee followed earlier. Captain Tremlett paid a man near Smart's Mill five dollars for a partially sunken skiff. Captain Bartlett directed the men across the river by fives. All the officers remained on the riverbank until every enlisted men was safely across the river except for Lieutenant Whittier, who was sent over to direct landings on the opposite shore.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), 75-80; Francis Winthrop Palfrey, Memoir of William Francis Bartlett (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1878), 26-29.
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