History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

The Sixth Begiment was organized in .\ugust, 18C1, and in the following month was mustered into the United States service with the following field- and staff-officers: Colonel, John L. Chatfield; lieutenant- colonel, William G. Ely: major, John Spcidel; a<ljn- tant, Hedfield Duryee; quartermaster, I. V. B. Wil- liams; surgeon, F. L. Dibble; first a.ssistant surgeon, Edward Bulkley, Jr. ; second a.ssistant surgeon, R. E. Ensign; chaplain, Curtis T. Woodrutl". Fairfield County was represented in this regiment by two companies, — D, recruited in Stamford and Greenwich, and I, principally from Bridgeport, al- though other portions of the county were represented. The officers of Company D were : Cajitain. Lo- renzo Meeker; first lieutenant, Charles H. Nichols; .second lieutenant, John Stottlar. Company I was officered as follows: Captain, MILITARY HISTORY. 45 Thdiuas Boudron ; first licuti'iiaiit, D.init-l J. West; second lieutenant, Stephen t^. Stevens. The regiment left New Haven September 17th, one tlidusand and eight strong, lor the front. They re- mained in Washington until (.»etol)er oth, when tliey went to Annapolis, from wlience, Oetoher 2")th, they embarked for South Carolina, liaving lieen assigned to the Dejiartmeut of the Smith. After the sue- eessful naval engagement of November 7th, when Forts AV^ilker and Beauregard were captured, the honor was assigned to the Sixth and Seventh Con- neetieut Regiments of first landing on the enemy's soil. In JIarcli, 1SG2, the regiment was sent over to Daw- lu-kie Island to assist in the capture of Fort Pulaski, and the following June found them in the battle of James' Island. Tliey returned to Hilton Head, where they remained until October lilst, when the regiment joined the expedition to lireak ui) railroad communi- cation between Charleston and Savannah, and on tlie ibllowing day participated in tlie sluiri) engagement at Pocotaligo, where both t'ol. Chatrteld and Lieut. - Col. Speidel were severely wounded. During the winter of 1S():2-G3, the regiment re- mained in camp at lieaufirt and Hilton Head, and March, 18(53, found it in Florida, but soon returned to Hilton Head. It was suon transferred to Folly Island, and particiinited in the operations against Charleston and in the assault on Morris Island in July. In the second assault on Fort Wagner its gallant colonel, Chatfield, was wounded, and died in the following month. It was a gallant and well- directed assault, but the decinuited ranks of the various regiments at the close of the contest told only too well of the severity of the charge. "In the spring of 1S(J4 the regiment went to Ft)r- tress Monroe, and May (ith jiroeceded into the interior, Avhere it was engaged in reconnoissances, destruction of the enemy's railroads, and harassing their forces generally. The regiment was engaged in the charge upon and capture of the enemy's rifle-pits near Ches- ter Station on the :20th, and in the various opierations lost one hundred and fifty-seven men during tlie months of May and June. From this time until January, 18(>5, the regiment was in various operations in Southern Virginia, and louk part in the several engagements before Petersburg and Richmond. It was then ordered to North Carolina, and hail its last fighting at the capture of Fort Fisher. In xVugust the regiment was mustered out at New Haven." The regiment participated in the following engage- ments : James' Island, Secession ville, Pocotaligo, Jack- sonville, Morris Island, Fort Wagner, Chester Station, Drury's Bluff, Deep Bottom, Bermuda Hundred, Dee|) Run, Deep Bottom, siege of Petersliurg, Chapman's Farm, New Richmond, Newmarket Boad, Darbytown Road, Charles City, Fort Fisher, and Northeast Branch of Cape Fear River. The casualties were as follows: Kille<l, 42; died of wounds, 4() ; died of disease, IIH: iiiis^imj, li:!. Tlie rolls of the regiment liore tlie names of ISl:; men. In Decemljer, 18()3, 20.3 rc-enlistcil as veterans. The regiment saw some service, ami it is an honor to say, "I belonged to the Sixth Coauectieut I" j THE SEVEXTir REiiniEXT ; was organizeil in the fall nf ISill, and was coiiip<iscd j mainly of three mouths' men who had returned liiim j the field during the summer. It went to the front with Alfred H. Terry as colonel and Jose[ih U, Haw- ley as lieutenant-colonel. Fairticdd County was represented by one company, — ]>, — commanded by Benjamin F. Skinner, of Dan- biiry, with Joseph S. Dunning lirsl lieiiteiiant and Thomas Horton second lieutenant. The regiment saw severe service, ami paitieiiiated in the following engagements: Fort Pnhiski, James' Island, Pocotaligo, Morris Island, Fort Wagner, siege of Charleston, Olustee, Bermuda Ilumlred, Cliestcr Station, Drury's Blutt', Deep Bottom, Deep Run, siege of Petersburg, Cha|jin's Farm, New Market Road, Darbytown Road, Charles City Road, Fort Fisher, and Wilmington. There were 173.') men in its ranks at various times. Casualties: Killed, ilO ; died of wounds, 44; of disease, 179; missing, 4(1. THE EI(_iIITH REGIMENT. This regiment was mustered into the service in September and October, 1S()1, under the command of Edward Harland, of Norwich. Fairfield County was represented by only one company, — H, — which was officered as follows: Captain, Douglass Fowler; first lieutenant, James L. Russell; second lieutenant, Thomas S. Weed ; all of Norwalk. There were also a few men from this county in Comiiany A. The first lieutenant of Company A was Henry M. Hoyt, who was subsequently promoted to ea]itain, and at one time was in command of the n-giment.* The regi- ment left Connecticut Oct. 17, ISdl, uiie thousand and twenty-seven strong, and at Annapolis, Md., was j<iined to Burnside's corps. "Its earliest services were in the battles of Newbern, N. C., JIarch 14, j 18(i2, ami the siege of Fort .Macon the following month. It accomi)anied (ien. I!urnsidi> when he was ordered to join the Army of the Potomac, and subse- ipiently went with the corps into Maryland. At An- tietani, in September, l.S(i2, the regiment lost: Killed, one officer — Lieut. Mason Wait, of Norwich — and 33 men; wounded, 10 officers ami 129 men; missing, 21 men; total, 194. "In December the Eighth was engaged at Freder- icksburg, but suft'ercd slightly, and in February, 1S()3, was sent to Southeastern Virginia. In April the regi- ment was in the fight at Fort Hagar, \'a., and re- mained in Virginia until January, 1804. It then * Jliij. II. M. Hciyt is tlio riv-sfiit wlit u- and iiropriotor of tlio I!:i.lgL>- port MornitKj Xtirs, 40 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. returned to Connecticut on veteran furlough, three huiitlri'd and ten men havinp; re-enlisted as veterans. In March it returned to its old camp near Portsmouth, Va., and after outpost- and picket-duty at Deep Creek and vicinity was in the battle at Walthall Junction, May 9th, and lost eighty men. Col. Har- land having lieen |>romoted to he a brigadier-general, tiie regiment wa;? at this time in command of Col. .lolin E. Warfl, who was severely wounded by a shell at the battle named. A week later the regiment par- ticipated in the engagement at Fort Darling, and on the night of the 16th returned within the fortifica- tion, the men worn out with eight days' constant war- [ fare. In this short time the Eighth lost one-third of its fighting strength. Early in .Tune it wa.s engaged with the enemy at Cild Harbor, and fi-om .Tune l(>th to August 27th in skirmishes and siege-work around Petersburg, losing heavily. The following' four weeks were spent on the James River, picketing the ! Bermuda Hundred post, and September 27th the regiment lost seventy-three men in the storming of Battery Harrison. This was the last general engage- ment of the regiment, which was mustered out Dec. ' 12, 1865." I The regiment saw severe service, and participated in the following engagements: Newbern, Fort Macon, Antietam, Fredericksl)urg, Fort Hagar, Walthall Junction, Fort Darling, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Fort Harrison. There were killed, 72; died of wounds, 40; died of disease, 132; missing, 11. TIIE NINTU REOIMEST was mustered into the service in the fall of 1861 as the " Irish Regiment," under tlie command of Thomas W. Cahill, of Hartford, with Richard Fit/.gibbons, of Bridgeport, lieutenant-colonel. It had one company from Iiridge|)ort, mainly commanded by Thomas C. Coats, with R. A. Clancy first lieutenant and G. W. Morehouse second lieutenant. Its principal engagements were Baton Rouge, Chackaloo Stati(m, Deep Bottom, and Cedar Creek. Mustered out Aug. 3, I860. TIIK TENTH UEGIMEXT wa.s recruited in the fall of 1861, and mustered into the service during September and October of that year, with Charles L. Russell, of Derby, as cohmel, and A. W. Drake, of Hartford, as lieutenant-colonel. There were two com|>anies from this eountj", — G, from Stamford, New Canaan, Darien, Bridgeport, Wilton, and Xorwalk. and I, from Greenwich. Com- pany (i was commanded by Isaac L. Hoyt, captain, George AV. Smith, first lieutenant, and Thomas Miller, second lieutenant. The officers of Company I were,— CHi)tain, Daniel M. Mead; first lieutenant, I.saac O. Close ; second lieutenant, Thomas R. Mead. The regiment left foi^^the seat of war in October, and wa,-" assigned to Gi-n. Burnside's command. The Tenth received its baptism of fire at the battle of Roanoke Island, where it fought nobly, and its gallant colonel, Russell, was killed while leading the charge. " A month later the regiment lost twenty -three killed and wounded in the battle of Newbern, and then had rest from close warfare until the 14th of December. It then ])urticipatcd in the sanguinary battle of Kingston, N. C, and lost one hundred and six officers and men, and only two days later was in another fight at Whitehall. March 28, 1863, after a winter's rest, the Tenth was in the battle of Sea- brook Island, S. C, and spent the spring, summer, and fall before Charleston. December found the regiment in Florida, where twenty-two men were lost in a fight at St. .\ugustine.