THE IRON HEARTED REGIMENT
Chapter VII

LARGE LOSS OF LIFE.
At early dawn on the morning of July 31st, the regiment was roused up from a deep sleep and ordered to proceed to City Point without delay. The men felt tired and worn, for the hot work of the previous day told on the most powerful constitutions.

The roads were black with troops as far as the eye could reach, and dense clouds of dust swept over the country like a tornado. The day was the warmest of the season, being at the height of the great drouth; the wells and streams of water were nearly all dried up, and but few of the vast number of sufferers could procure drink to cool their parched tongues. City Point was nearly reached, when orders came to turn back and proceed to Bermuda Hundreds. All along the route of march many were overcome with heat, until the sides of the road were covered with soldiers suffering with sun-stroke. Some dropped down dead in the ranks, while others fell out and died by the road side. Every ambulance and baggage-waggon was piled full of the suffering men, and they rolled off to the hospital at Point of Rocks, groaning under the weight of human freight.

The Appomattox river was reached in the afternoon, and although the water was the color of mud, and as hot as though heated on a stove, yet the soldiers made for it as though struggling for dear life, and hundreds drank down the sickening liquid.

The troops crossed the river on a pontoon bridge which swayed to and fro. The motion of it made the men dizzy, and large numbers who were only partially affected by the sun, were completely prostrated, and as many as half a dozen laid at the end dead.

The regiment reached Bermuda Hundreds before dark, but with thinned ranks, and we found that in some companies nearly every man was sun-struck. The division lost more men that day, killed by the sun, the want of water, and by hard marching, than it did in the terrible battle of the day before.

ON PICKET AT BERMUDA HUNDREDS.
The Union and rebel pickets made an agreement that they would not fire into each other unless a forward movement was made; so for several days the most perfect harmony prevailed between blue and grey.

Yankees and Johnnies washed together in the same brook, procured water to drink from the same spring, drank coffee from the same tin cup, and curious to relate, read the news from the same papers.

Squads of soldiers from both armies were observed seated together on the ground, earnestly discussing the great questions of the day, each obstinately maintaining his own side of the question. One of our soldiers took from his pocket a copy of the New York Herald and read the Union account of one of the great battles to an attentive crowd of rebel soldiers, and when he had done, one of the chivalry brought to view a dingy copy of the Richmond Examiner and proceeded to read his side of the story.

During all that time, as the rebels would say, the pickets traded "right smart," and drove a heavy business in coffee, hard-tack, and tobacco. The rebels always inquired for pocket-books, jackknives, and canteens the first thing, those articles evidently being very scarce in the Confederacy.

One day a rebel regiment sent over on a card, which read thus:
"Third Va. Infantry, friends on picket, but enemies in battle."

The boys replied that if ever they fought the 115th, they would find a "dusty" lot of boys, which they afterward found to their sorrow was true.

BATTLE OF DEEP BOTTOM.
On the 15th day of August the 115th prepared three days of cooked rations, at dark struck tents, and by 10 o'clock were on the march. They crossed the James river on pontoons to Deep Bottom at midnight, and on the morning of the 16th were ready for action.

The 10th and 2nd Corps fought the bloody battle of Deep Bottom on the 16th, while considerable fighting took place on the 17th and 18th also.

The rebel works which the 115th helped storm, were defended by the best troops of Lee's army; but they were unable to stand against the bravery of our men, who drove them from their strong lines of works, following them as far as Malvern Hill.

The Union army was having splendid success, when the rebels received reinforcements, and the 115th maintaining the ground, found themselves flanked by a superior force, and were raked by a most deadly cross fire which told fearfully in their ranks. The colors were shot down as fast as the brave men could pick them up but still were kept floating in the breeze. Col. Osborn, commanding the brigade, was wounded early in the fight, and Lieut.; Col. Johnson and Major Walworth of 115th took command in succession and were each wounded in turn.

The regiment entered the battle field with one hundred and seventy-five muskets, and after the three days fighting was over but eighty men were left uninjured.

The corps captured and brought away four heavy guns and three battle flags as the trophies of their valor. The Union loss was about 3,000 and the rebel loss about 4,000 men.

On the 18th, the rebels in heavy force charged down on the picket line, and captured the most of company A.

Shortly afterward, the regiment recrossed the James, and again pitched camp at the fortifications of Bermuda Hundreds.

BATTLE OF FORT GILMER.
After the battle of Deep Bottom the regiment performed important service at Bermuda Hundreds and in front of Petersburg until the 29th of September, when with the old army of the James, they again crossed the James, and gallantly aided in carrying the enemy's powerful line of works, with double lines of abattis at Spring Hill, near New Market.

They fought with their usual heroism, and drove the rebels in their front, at least two miles.

The success of this battle placed the Union army in possession of a vital point. So great was the success that two later General lee massed "the flower" of his army on the right flank of the army of the James, and the most determined assaults were made to retake the works. The enemy was disastrously repulsed, with a loss of seven battle flags, and the destruction of General Clingman's Brigade.

Many brave men of the 115th fell, and there was a fearful loss of limbs among the wounded. Lieut. Col. Johnson picked up the flag after it had repeatedly been shot down, and led the regiment. Sergeant Fellows fell while carrying the flag up to the enemy's works. Peter butler took the flag from the wounded sergeant, and he too soon received a wound.

The 115th suffered a loss of 32 men, being about one half of the whole number engaged.

BATTLE OF DARBY TOWN ROAD.
For nearly a month after the battle of Fort Gilmer, the 115th were under almost constant fire, and were frequently engaged with the enemy.

On the 27th of October a forward movement was again made in the direction of Richmond which brought on a heavy battle. Portions of the 10th Corps advanced far enough to see the church spires of the rebel capital.

While the 115th were skirmishing with the enemy, very close to Richmond, a very unfortunate affair occurred which caused many hearts to bleed. The 9th Maine regiment contained a large number of recruits who had never before been in a battle, and becoming excited at the smell of gunpowder, for some reason fired a volley into the 115th, killing and wounding a considerable number of men. That was far worse than being killed or maimed by the enemy.

During the battle the Union army formed line on one side of a house, and the rebel army took position on the other side.

That house contained a family of a man, his wife, and three small children.

The Union officers informed them that a battle would probably take place, and begged them to leave the house. The father and mother said they would not leave their home, and were determined to remain.

The work of carnage soon begun, and when at last it ended for that day it was found that the mother and one of her children were numbered among the victims of cruel war.

After the battle the regiment went into camp about six miles from Richmond, where it remained until the famous expedition under Gen. Butler sailed for the coast of North Carolina.

THE TWO ATTACKS ON FORT FISHER.
Early in the month of December,1864, Gen. Butler's great expedition left Fortress Monroe for the coast of North Carolina, and the 115th accompanied it. The expedition was fitted out on a grand scale, being composed of nearly seventy vessels of war, and divided into five grand divisions, besides a vast number of transports, supply vessels tenders, &c. The land force numbered several thousand men from the army of the James. After a rough voyage the fleet finally arrived off the coast of North Carolina, when a great storm suddenly arose scattering the fleet in all directions.

Some vessels reached Newbern and some Moorehead city, while the Hays, conveying the 115th, put to sea and rode out the storm. At last the navy and the land forces appeared at Fort Fisher. The powder boat was blown up with but little effect. The navy poured a terrific fire into the fort, and a portion of the troops were landed. Some heavy skirmishing had taken place, when General Butler decided that the fort could not be carried by assault; so the troops returned to Virginia.

The 115th had been on one of the smallest transports for over twenty days, in the roughest weather, with but little clothing, and suffered much from the cold.

They had hardly formed camp before they were under marching orders again.

General Butler had been released from command, and General Alfred h. Terry, of the 10th Corps, was placed in charge of the expedition, and ordered to capture Fort Fisher.

On the night of January 3rd, 1865, the 115th marched through a driving snow storm to Bermuda Hundreds, and on the 4th embarked on the second expedition against Fort Fisher.

It is only necessary to state that the regiment reached the point of attack, and with the gallant old 10th Corps Division, assaulted and carried Fort Fisher, the strongest fortification in America, on Sunday, January 15th 1865, after fighting desperately for over six hours.

The capture of this stronghold sealed the port of Wilmington, and did more towards ending the war than any other event.

The following official dispatch will serve to show the magnitude of the work accomplished.

Headquarters U.S. Forces,
On Federal Point, N.C., Jan. 15,
via Fortress Monroe, Jan. 17, 1865
Brig. Gen. J. A. Rawlins:

General: I have the honor to report that Fort Fisher was carried by assault this afternoon and evening, by Gen. Ames's Division and the Second Brigade of the First Division of the Twenty-fourth Army Corps, gallantly aided by a battalion of marines and seamen from the Navy.

The assault was preceded by a heavy bombardment from the Union fleet, and was made at 3.30 P.M., when the First Brigade (Curtis's) of Ames's division effected a lodgement on the parapet, but full possession of the work was not obtained until 10 P.M.

The behavior of both officers and men was most admirable. All the works south of Fort fisher are now occupied by our troops. We have not less than 1,200 prisoners, including Gen. Whiting and Col. Lamb, the commandant of the fort.

I regret to say that our loss is severe, especially in officers. I am not yet able to form any estimate of the number of casualties.

ALFRED H. TERRY, Brevet Maj. Gen.,
Commanding Expedition.

DREADFUL CATASTROPHE.
About 8 o'clock on the morning of January 16th, 1665, while the survivors of the Third Brigade were lying in fancied security in Fort Fisher with arms stacked, the main magazine of the fort exploded with a terrible noise, burying a large portion of the 115th and the other regiments of the brigade in the ruins.

A large number were killed, and nearly all were wounded or bruised, and some were buried alive. Some of the regiment were covered to the depth of twenty feet beneath the mass of falling shells, earth and timber, while others were smashed to atoms.

The New York Tribune correspondent, in writing in relation to the explosion says:
"This morning about 8 o'clock, as I had just entered and was walking leisurely through Fort Fisher, studying the record of horror before me, torn traverse by traverse, dismounted gun by; gun, ghastly corpse by corpse, death and destruction all around,--I may say breakfasting upon horrors, that I might know of what I might speak, I was suddenly startled by a terrific explosion and the sight of an immense column of debris going high into the air. Following the instincts of nature and the example of those around me, and vividly remembering City Point, as they say of Fort Pillow, and having acquired something of a habit of dodging the day before, I put myself under the best cover within reach, which I confess was very unsatisfactory under the circumstances, and waited a shower to come down, thinking of City Point, all the while. We happened to be in the outer edge of the shower, and very little injury, comparatively, was sustained in that quarter.

The secret of the catastrophe was the explosion of the magazine of the fort. This magazine consisted principally of an immense mound of earth, situated immediately back of the centre of the main or sea-wall of the fort.

Some of our boys had been rummaging around in the bomb-proofs, including the magazine, striking lights and behaving in a careless manner generally, and it is supposed that in this way the accident occurred. In fact, it is said that an officer remonstrated with a soldier for having a lighted candle in the magazine, but receiving an insolent reply left him to his fate, and that soon after the magazine went up.

The explosion, instead of the mound, left a crater, as in the case before Petersburg, burying everything and everybody near the place from one to ten feet in the debris. The 4th New Hampshire and the 115th and 169th New York Regiments (all but one regiment of Col. Alden's brigade) had been detailed to occupy the fort, and at the time of the explosion were bivouacking with their arms stacked, on a level space near the magazine.

Almost the whole three regiments were buried alive to a greater or less depth, by the falling debris of earth, shot, shell, timbers, &c., &c.

It is estimated that the 115th New York lost 110 in killed and wounded; the 169th new York 30 killed and 75 wounded; and the 4th New Hampshire 50 killed and wounded; in all, about 265 for the three regiments, besides many not belonging to these regiments.

The survivors of the three regiments and a large number of other volunteer workmen have been engaged a large part of the day in digging up bodies, with a prospect of not getting thoroughly through before night.

There were a great many persons in the fort at the time of the explosion, besides the three regiments on duty, drawn there by curiosity, and every foot of the debris on all sides of the crater will have to be dug over before the work can be properly relinquished.

THE CLOSING CAMPAIGN OF THE WAR.
On the 10th of February the great movement began in the direction of the city of Wilmington, and of course the 115th moved also. Fort Anderson was captured on the 19th, and on the 22d of February the 115th had the honor of taking part in the capture of Wilmington itself. From the 26th of March to the 9th of April they were guarding the Wilmington & Weldon R.R., starting on the long march to Raleigh on the 9th, and arriving there on the evening of the 14th. They at first camped a mile and half outside of the city, moving camp nearly every day until the 20th of April, when the corps was reviewed at the State house by General Sherman. The Brigade then began to garrison the city, full one half of the men acting as safety guards for the citizens.

The 115th made numerous long marches, performed much hard work not mentioned here, and were under orders to move against Johnson, when that officer surrendered his army to General Sherman.

HOMEWARD BOUND.
Just before the regiment left for home General Allen issued the following stirring order:
Headquarter, 3rd Brigade,
2nd Div., 10th Army Corps,
Raleigh, N.C., June 18th, 1865.

General Order, No. 15.

Officers and Men of the 115th Regiment, N.Y. Volunteers: As you are about to return to your own state, thence to your respective homes, the general commanding feels called upon, not only in his own behalf, but also in behalf of our common country, to thank you for your gallant service in this war of the rebellion, and with pride may you refer to the numerous battles in which you have acquitted yourselves with honor, such as Olustee, Coal Harbor, Petersburg, Fort Fisher, and many others. Many of your gallant comrades have gloriously fallen in the storm of battle while bravely doing their duty to their country and to their God, and their memory will ever be cherished by a grateful country.

The homes which you have honored by your service to your country, and periled your lives to protect from the shame and the disgrace which success of traitors would have involved upon them, are waiting to welcome you, and the record of your military career warrants the belief that in civil life you will all discharge your duties in a manner that will reflect credit upon yourselves as citizens.

By order
ALONZO ALDEN,
Brev. Brig. Gen'l Comd'g 3d Brig.

On the 17th day of June, 1865, the 115th were mustered out of he U.S. service at Raleigh, N.C. The officers and recruits whose time did not expire prior to Oct. 1st were transferred to the 47th New York, and many of them wept as they parted with the old regiment.

On the 21st day of June, the 115th accompanied by the splendid brigade band left Raleigh, and all the regiments and bands in the city turned out to escort them to the cars. No regiment ever received greater honors from their comrades in arms.

They went by rail to within fifteen miles of Petersburg, Va., marched to that city, took cars to City Point and there embarked on a transport, sailing direct to New York city.

The 115th reached Albany early on the morning of June 26th, and marched up Broadway in splendid style, while the cannon at the Capitol thundered a welcome.

After being well cared for, the veterans marched to the barracks on the Albany and Troy road, remaining there until July 3d, when they received final payment and discharge. They then separated to their various homes, and the 115th Regiment ceased to exist, except in the memory of a grateful people.

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