Northward March Continues

Friday, August 22, 1862

The Union Army continued their march northward, arriving at Yorktown Wednesday where they camped for the evening. At 6:00 A.M. on Thursday morning the Army resumed their march, covering fifteen miles and arriving at Big Bethel by evening. This morning the Army began their progress at 4:00 A.M., marching in a heavy rain eight miles to Newport News. From here they planned to travel north by steamer along the Chesapeake Bay.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 142-3.

Bivouac at Eltham's Landing

Friday, May 9, 1862

After falling into line with the rest of the brigade in the early afternoon the Twentieth Massachusetts marched three miles along the southern side of the Pamunkey River and made camp along the fields of Eltham's Landing.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 88.

On the Move

Wednesday, May 7, 1862

On Monday, May 5, while General Bull Sumner led five divisions of infantry in the Battle of Williamsburg, the Twentieth Massachusetts under General John Sedgwick was ordered to block off the retreat of the Confederates about twenty-five miles northwest of Yorktown at West Point. The Twentieth began their eight-mile march to Yorktown on the 5th but heavy rains delayed their arrival at Yorktown until the early hours of Tuesday, May 6th. On the afternoon of the 6th the Nineteenth and Twentieth Massachusetts Regiments boarded the steamer C. Vanderbilt and began their voyage up the Pamunkey River. Arriving on the morning of May 7, the Twentieth deployed immediately after disembarking the steamer, as they met with enemy fire on the open fields of Eltham's Landing near West Point.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 87-88. Richard F. Miller, Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2005), 120-21.

Charging the Works at Yorktown

Sunday, May 4, 1862

Before dawn the regiment was ordered to arms as a result of infantry firing on the right of their line. Colonel William Lee was ordered to advance on the enemy line, as it was reported that the Confederates had evacuated. The regiment advanced through dense woods and crossed a muddy swamp, and just before 8:00 AM Colonel Lee planted the flag of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment on the redoubt, the first United States flag to wave on the enemy works at Yorktown. ¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 85-86.

Lee Resumes Command

Saturday, May 3, 1862

In the early hours of the morning Colonel William Lee resumed command of the Twentieth Massachusetts by deploying on the picket line with the regiment.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 85.

Lee and Revere Brothers Return to Regiment

Friday, May 2, 1862

In the evening, Colonel William Lee, Major Paul Revere, and Dr. Edward Revere returned to the regiment after they successfully received their exchange. This was their first return to military service with the Twentieth Massachusetts since their capture nearly seven months earlier at Ball's Bluff on October 21, 1861.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 85.

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 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.

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.

Regiment Deployed at Battery Seven

Wednesday, April 23, 1862

In the evening of April 23 details from the Nineteenth and Twentieth Massachusetts regiments deployed at Battery Seven, working all night to mount guns to protect the picket line.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 84.

Easter Sunday - Forming a Line of Battle

Sunday, April 20, 1862

Easter Sunday afforded no rest for the regiment, who was ordered to march under arms and form a line of battle for the entire day. After turning in briefly during the evening, the regiment was ordered into battle formation again until 1:00 AM on Monday.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 84.

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.

Letters from the Front - Nathan Hayward

Friday, April 11, 1862

In a letter to his father Doctor Nathan Hayward related recent events affecting the regiment since their arrival on the Peninsula. He noted that he was serving as the director of the division hospital temporarily, and that patients would be soon be transported by ambulance to Ship Point. The roads were in very poor conditions due to heavy rainfall, and any travel was slowed considerably. He related that the regiment lacked adequate shelter from the rain. Despite the difficult conditions, the regiment was in relatively good health.

Doctor Hayward relayed the arrival of Colonel Lee at Fort Monroe, with hopes of his exchange and return to command within the next week or two. Sadly, he noted that some of the officers who had recently returned to the regiment after severe wounding at Ball's Bluff were not able to stand the strain of active command. Captain John C. Putnam and Lieutenant William Riddle, still struggling with their former injuries, had requested sick leave. Captain Ferdinand Dreher, despite continuing pain from his former wounds, decided to remain.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. 372-75, Twentieth Massachusetts Special Collection, Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts.

Oliver's Story - First Encounter at Yorktown

Monday, April 7, 1862

Company A was among the companies sent out as skirmishers in the reconnaissance, and was under temporary command of Lieutenant Charles Whittier due to the sickness of Captain Harry Tremlett. Private Oliver Stanton Bates was among the skirmishers in the reconnaissance. Although he did not leave a personal record of the account, he was undoubtedly grateful that the regiment escaped without casualties.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 82-83.

First Encounter at Yorktown

Monday, April 7, 1862

At 7:00 A.M. the regiment was ordered to fall into line and begin a reconnaissance with the Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment and the First Massachusetts Sharpshooters. After marching two miles and emerging from the woods, pickets were sent forward, who immediately encountered the Confederates. Firing ensued and lasted for several hours. After a series of movements the Confederates fired a thirty-two pound shell which caused injuries to the Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment. The three Massachusetts units were ordered to retreat. The Twentieth Massachusetts did not suffer any injuries from their first encounter at Yorktown.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 82-83.

Near the Enemy Line at Yorktown

Saturday, April 5, 1862

The regiment left their camp near Big Bethel and marched to Howard's Bridge. After turning off the main road, the regiment heard musket fire as they passed near a Confederate camp which had recently been vacated. The regiment moved into a clearing where they made their camp, nearly four miles from Big Bethel and five miles from Yorktown. The Confederates were camped in a large semicircle nearly a mile from the Union line in the vicinity of Wynn's Mill works.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 81.