THE TRAGIC DEATH OF A BRAVE PICKET
SHELL BURST OVER HIM AS HE LAY ASLEEP–AN INCIDENT NEAR RICHMOND.
Late in the year 1864 Longstreet’s corps occupied the breastworks below Richmond, north of James’ river [sic, the James River], the right of Benning’s brigade [Benning/Field/First/ANV] being near Fort Harrison, which was the most important strong hold for defense on that part of our lines. At this point our picket line was about a mile in front of our main line, and the space between thickly wooded, it could not be seen from the main line. The enemies’ pickets were about 150 yards from ours and in plain view of each other. Each picket line had rifle pits, though at this point they were not using them as they were friendly and by mutual understanding refrained from firing on each other. They would occasionally meet between the lines and exchange newspapers, giving us the New York papers for the Richmond papers. They would frequently do other trading in a small way, generally giving our men ground coffee mixed in sugar in exchange for tobacco. While we always had plenty of tobacco and [were] scarce of coffee, they always had plenty of coffee and were scarce of tobacco; though I could not understand the cause of their scarcity of tobacco when all the markets of the world were open to them.
It was the custom when a picket desired to meet an opposite picket for the purpose of exchange, he would wave a newspaper which would be in like manner answered by an opposite picket, and each would immediately start to meet the other, leaving their arms behind. These conferences were always very brief.
But those who have had no experience in war must not suppose that such was the case on all parts of the line all the time. At the same time the opposing pickets were friendly at some points on the line, at other places it would be their constant study to gain an advantage and contrive ways openly or be stealthy craft to kill each other. But at points where they were friendly and either side for some cause desired to resume hostilities, they would first put the other side on fair notice.
While we were occupying this line the enemy would at intervals each day send a shell from a gunboat in James river over their line and ours, for as those on the gunboat could not see or locate our line to get the range, the shells, which were very large, round ones, would always fall or explode somewhere between our picket and main line, where there was no one for them to hurt. But it happened different on one occasion. An old man who was a conscript that had recently been sent to one of the companies of Benning’s brigade, was out one day on picket for the first time. He was not cowardly, but seemed to be a careful, methodical old man. Not being used to them, it was natural that he should not enjoy the strange, unearthly screeching of the huge shells as they would occasionally pass over. Desiring to take some sleep while off duty, he spread his blanket on the bottom of one of the rifle pits as a place least likely to be disturbed by the shells, and, lying down, was soon fast asleep, and perchance, was dreaming of his beloved family and little farm in far-away Georgia, and it seemed that no human forethought could have made a better selection for a place of safety. It seemed next to impossible for one of the shells from the gunboat to have injured him. But he was scarcely more than asleep when one of the shells, for the first and only time, fell short, striking the ground in front of us, but nearer to their own pickets, and ricocheting, passed directly over and high above the rifle pit, striking a tall, springy tree high up near its top, its force being nearly spent, rebounded back and exploded with terrific force as it fell on the old man lying asleep in the rifle pit, scattering his body in all directions in minute fragments.2
One night [September 28-29, 1864] we could hear the enemy crossing James river on a pontoon bridge. They seemed to be travelling rapidly; footmen, horsemen and artillery; and the length of time they were crossing indicated a large force, and we felt sure a sudden attack would be made on us at some point. But we could not know by the noise made crossing the bridge which direction they were marching, whether they were going from the north side, which was our side, to attack some point on the south side, or whether they were coming from the south side to attack us on the north side of the James river. I do not know what time it was when General Lee received correct information as to which direction they were moving. However, they attacked us on the north side at daylight, and it was late in the day before reinforcements from the south side reached us, a few minutes too late to assist us.3
We supposed that if they were coming to attack us on the north side they would strike us on our extreme left, and in this way turn us out of our works before the reinforcements could arrive from the south side to assist us. Fort Harrison was almost the last point we expected they would attack, as it would be folly for them to attack it unless they could surprise it, and it was situated at such a distance in rear of the picket line it was not thought they could come on it by surprise. But at daylight [September 29, 1864] we who were on the picket line were astonished to hear sudden and rapid firing at Fort Harrison, a mile in our rear.4
They had formed their attacking column in perfect quietness near their picket line before daylight, and a little to the right of where we of Benning’s brigade [Benning/Field/First/ANV] were on picket. They formed their line in the shape of the letter V, with the point directed to Fort Harrison, and before it was quite daylight they moved rapidly on the fort and took it, and as they could enfilade our lines from the fort, our troops were compelled to abandon them at once, and thus the two wings of the enemy’s line straightened out and passed over them; we who were out on the picket line barely escaping out before being cut off.
We retired to another line of works we had already prepared about two miles in rear of those we were forced out of. On this line was a fort called Fort Gilmer. We only had men enough to occupy these works from Fort Gilmer to the right, and for about two hundred yards to the left of the fort. The balance of our works were empty when the enemy attacked Fort Gilmer later in day. That part of our works unoccupied and defenseless, was quite hidden by dense woods from the view of the enemy, but directly in front of Fort Gilmer was open level ground for a mile from the fort. If the enemy had known our works were defenseless and made their second attack there they would have turned us out of that line also, unless our reinforcements who were already near us and fast approaching, would be strong enough to drive them back again. They did not suppose we had time to fully man Fort Gilmer, and their idea was to hasten and capture it before our reinforcements could arrive, and which they well knew were on the way from the south side; and though they failed in their attack on the fort they succeeded in making the attack a few minutes before our reinforcements arrived and occupied the vacant works.5
But what made it the more interesting, enlivening as well as amusing, our reinforcements who were just arriving in sight, did not know the enemy were defeated and were retreating. As they were advancing in line of battle at double quick, their course directed towards the vacant portion of the breastworks, they first came in view of the vacant works when they were about two hundred yards from them. The guns were firing rapidly from Fort Gilmer at the retreating enemy; but the reinforcements thought that Fort Gilmer was firing on the advancing enemy, and supposing it was a race between themselves and the enemy which would reach the works first, every man of them increasing their speed struck out with all possible haste for the breastworks, in order to reach them before the enemy could.
If the enemy had let well enough alone and contented themselves with driving us out of our first line of works, they would have had much the best of the day, but as it was, before the day ended they got much the worst of it, losing many more men than we did. They advanced to the attack on Fort Gilmer in two lines. The first line was composed of negro troops, and the second line close following it were white troops. The negro prisoners afterwards told us there was no escape for them, that they were warned that if they turned back the white troops would fire on them. But the fort was better prepared for defense than they supposed, and the white troops were glad enough to get out of the reach of its guns. Many of the negroes did reach the fort, but without any intention of taking it, but to beg to be taken over as prisoners.6,7
SOPO Editor’s Note: This article was transcribed by Google Gemini Pro and reviewed for accuracy by Brett Schulte.
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Source:
- SOPO Editor’s Note: George McRae was a private in the 20th Georgia in Benning’s Brigade, Field’s Division, First Corps, Army of Nothern Virginia. ↩
- SOPO Editor’s Note: The author, George McRae, did not give a date for this incident. I could not find any other mention of the unfortunate and unlucky elderly picket meeting a gruesome end. If you have any information on this one, please CONTACT US. ↩
- SOPO Editor’s Note: The author uses the terms “north side” and south side” to differentiate between attacks north and south of the James River. Grant’s armies by this point held positions north of the James River at Deep Bottom threatening Richmond, south of the James and north of the Appomattox facing the Confederate Howlett Line at Bermuda Hundred, and south of the Appomattox threatening Petersburg. It turned out Benjamin Butler’s Army of the James was rapidly crossing the James River from Bermuda Hundred, headed north of the James to attack the Confederate lines north of Deep Bottom at New Market Heights, as well as Fort Harrison, farther west. This was the start of Grant’s Fifth Offensive against Richmond and Petersburg. As it turned out, Meade’s Army of the Potomac would also attack Lee, this time on the south side southwest of Petersburg at Peebles’ Farm and Poplar Springs Church. ↩
- SOPO Editor’s Note: Click to see maps of the Battle of New Market Heights and maps of the Battle of Fort Harrison, which together make up the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm. The “extreme left” was north of Deep Bottom at New Market Heights. Here Birney’s Tenth Corps, Army of the James, with Brig. Gen. Charles Paine’s Third Division of the Eighteenth Corps attached, was to attack and take the heights north of Deep Bottom. Paine’s division of United States Colored Troops faced off against Hood’s famous Texas Brigade. Slightly after but nearly simultaneously, the white divisions of Ord’s Eighteenth Corps headed straight for Fort Harrison. ↩
- SOPO Editor’s Note: Foster’s Division, Tenth Corps, Army of the James were the forces which first attempted to take Fort Gilmer, followed by men of William Birnet’s brigade of United States Colored Troops. Both of these attacks failed to capture fort Gilmer, but the Union army had put a permanent dent in the outermost ring of entrenchments protecting Richmond from attacks from the southeast. The Union now had much more than a small enclave at Deep Bottom from which to attack in the future north of the James River. ↩
- SOPO Editor’s Note: This memory of the attack on Fort Gilmer is not accurate. Foster’s white division attacked first, followed by Birney’s black soldiers. That said, this trope of black men only fighting the Confederacy due to threats from white Union soldiers appears often in postwar accounts from this time period. See the tag fighting ability of black soldiers on this site to read a wide variety of accounts of the performance of black Union soldiers during the Siege of Petersburg. They run the gamut from all sides of the conflict. Some accounts were written days after the fighting in question. Others, like this one, were written decades later. Bot only did Birney’s Brigade fight, they bravely stormed the fort repeatedly, only to eventually be driven off. While some men were caught in the ditch in front of Fort Gilmer and had no choice but to surrender, most accounts have them fighting bravely. ↩
- “THE TRAGIC DEATH OF A BRAVE PICKET.” The Atlanta Journal (Atlanta, GA). March 20, 1902, p. 8 col. 2-4 ↩