1863/05/15 Report of Brig. Gen. A.S.Williams

This division is composed of the brigades of Brigadier-Generals Knipe, Ruger, and Jackson. The latter (owing to a recent severe accident to General Jackson) was commanded temporarily by Colonel Ross, Twentieth Connecticut Volunteers.

On the 29th, the command of the corps devolved temporarily upon me, General Slocum having been put in command of three [two] corps. At sunrise we crossed the Rappahannock on a pontoon bridge, and took the road for Germanna Ford, on the Rapidan, the First Division of the Twelfth Corps leading. Ruger's brigade was pushed forward as an advance guard, with skirmishers well to the front, and two regiments moving by the right of companies to the front on either side of the road. In this way we pushed the inconsiderable opposition rapidly to the Rapidan, and, by a sudden deployment of two regiments to the right and left of the front, so enveloped the line of retreat that nearly the whole force of the enemy (bridge-builders and guard) surrendered after a feeble resistance' about 125 prisoners were taken.

The First Division began at once with marked spirit and cheerfulness to ford the river, which was deep, rocky, and rapid, and, wading to the arm-pits, passed rapidly to the south side of the Rapidan, and were established in a strong position in bivouac through the woods, across the peninsula formed by a sharp curve of the stream. Bridge-builders were detached on reaching the river, and in an hour or so a practical bridge for infantry was constructed, over which the Second Division and Eleventh Corps passed dry-shod.

On the following morning we advanced toward Chancellorsville, Geary's division taking the advance, and moving with very little opposition. Near Old Wilderness Tavern the enemy's cavalry, with a section of artillery, made some demonstration on our right, which was easily brushed away by a regiment of infantry sent in turn from each division, while the command and trains were passing, to hold the road that intersects from the south at this point.

The corps reached Chancellorsville at 3 p.m., and took position at once; the left (Geary's division), resting a small distance in advance of the Chancellor house, and extending west through the woods, was continued on by the First Division in a circular line to a point on the Old Wilderness Plank road about l½ miles west. Barricades or breastworks of logs and rifle-pits were at once made and trees felled at proper points as abatis. An advanced line of barricades and small intrenchments were made by General Ruger to cover the open space half a mile or so in our front, where the enemy had manifested a disposition to annoy us, and from which on subsequent days he inflicted great damage on our lines.

On the following morning, May 1, I resumed command of the First Division, and was ordered by the major-general commanding the corps to proceed down the Plank road toward Fredericksburg, sweeping the woods and fields on the left, and connecting with Geary's division on the right of the road. I formed Knipe's and Ruger's brigades, with two regiments, each deployed in line of battle, and the Second Brigade (Ross') following in the center in double column, as a reserve.

Notwithstanding the density of the underbrush and evergreen thickets, the division moved rapidly to the front, driving before them the pickets of the enemy. During the most of our advance we were under artillery fire, which, however, inflicted no injury. I had crossed some open fields, perhaps 2 miles in advance of Chancellorsville, to a point where the first sight was obtained of the enemy's intrenchments and rifle-pits, and had halted Knipe's brigade to establish my line and put the reserve brigade in position. My skirmishers were sharply engaged with those of the enemy, and the troops seemed never so eager to engage, when an order was received to return to my original position, which was done in good order and without loss. Two or 3 men were killed and 7 or 8 wounded among my skirmishers in the advance.

During the night we strengthened and extended our barricades and rifle-pits, and connected the line with the Plank road near an unfinished church, west of Chancellorsville. The enemy opened a battery from our left front, which was soon silenced by the artillery under Captain Best, chief of artillery of the corps. The enemy's pickets, which attempted to crowd our lines, were also driven back, but, I regret to say, with the loss of Lieutenant-Colonel Scott, Third Wisconsin Volunteers, and Lieutenant-Colonel Norton, One hundred and twenty-third New York Volunteers, severely, if not mortally, wounded.

On the afternoon of May 2, my division was ordered to make a detour to the left and front, move out 2 or 3 miles through the woods, so as to strike the rifle-pits and other temporary works of the enemy on the flank and rear, and then sweep both sides of the Plank road toward Chancellorsville. On moving out to take position, I found myself in contact with Whipple's division, of Sickles' (Third) corps, who had on his right, as I understood, Birney's division, of the same corps.

I arranged with General Whipple to move as far as possible to the right, in order to strike the position of the enemy as far as practicable from Chancellorsville, and that I would connect closely with his left. The First and Third Brigades (Knipe's and Ruger's)of the division, moving their first line by the right of companies to the front, penetrated rapidly the dense evergreen thickets. Knipe had already opened a brisk fire upon the enemy, driving them before him. Ross' (Second) brigade had lost the prescribed interval, and some of his regiments had broken their proper formation, which I was in the act of correcting when an order was received to reoccupy our barricades at once. I ordered the several brigades to retire in good order but without loss of time, being apprehensive that some disaster had happened to the corps on our right, which might expose our camp, in which many of our knapsacks had been left, under guard of four companies of the Twenty-eighth New York.

On reaching the open fields to the front of our original position, I saw the ravine and ridge in the vicinity of Fairview swarming with fugitives of the Eleventh Corps. I rode as rapidly as possible with my staff to the Plank road, where Lieutenant-Colonel Dickinson, of General Hooker's staff, and other officers were engaged in trying to stop and form the fleeing troops. The attempt was practically fruitless, and I returned to meet Ruger's and Knipe's brigades, which came at a double-quick, and moving by flank along the entire line of the woods south of the Plank road, through which the fugitives were passing, were faced to the front, and, with a loud cheer, pushed into the woods. The movement checked at once all farther advance of the enemy. Ross' (Second) brigade took up its original position on the left, and Ruger's brigade immediately reoccupied a portion of its barricades.

By orders of the major-general commanding the corps, I directed General Knipe to attempt to reoccupy his original line of rifle-pits, which extended diagonally through the woods to the Plank road. It was now quite dark; the woods were thick with underbrush, and a marsh near the center made it necessary to detach one regiment to the right. It was not known that the enemy had driven the Eleventh Corps from the north side of the Plank road. Orders were given to advance cautiously, with skirmishers well out; but in spite of all precaution the One hundred and twenty-eighth Pennsylvania, Colonel Mathews, on the right of our line, found itself partly enveloped on its right and rear, and before it could be extricated its colonel and lieutenan-colonel, with at least 150 of the men, fell into the hands of the enemy. Many of the reported missing of this regiment, and of the Forty-sixth Pennsylvania and Fifth Connecticut, undoubtedly fell under the heavy fire of the enemy, concealed in the woods on our right and in our own rifle-pits, on the extreme right of our line.

Among those whom we know were mortally wounded at this time I have with regret to record Major Strous, Forty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers. Colonel Packer, of the Fifth Connecticut Volunteers, also fell into the hands of the enemy at this time, but it is not known whether wounded or not.

On the first appearance in our rifle-pits of the men of the Eleventh Corps falling back from the attack on the right, four companies of the Twenty-eighth New York Volunteers, Lieutenant-Colonel Cook commanding (six companies being on detached duty), left as guard in camp, were deployed across the woods, and for a while successfully stopped the fugitives. It is estimated that nearly 2,000 formed behind our barricades, but they fled at almost the first approach of the enemy, breaking through our thin line of skirmishers. Lieutenant-Colonel Cook attempted to resist the enemy's advance, but, passing our flank on the north side of the Plank road, they succeeded in placing themselves in his rear, and making prisoners of Lieutenant-Colonel Cook, 2 captains, and about 60 men of his command.

Finding that our original line of intrenchments could not be reoccupied, and that from the direction of the enemy's attack it would furnish little, if any, defense to our own troops, with the approval of the major-general commanding the corps I ordered a new line to be taken up along the interior edge of the woods in front of the ravine near Fairview, connecting near the Plank road with the left of Berry's division, of the Third Corps, which had come up to take position on the right of the Plank road. On consultation with General Berry, I decided to relieve, by two regiments of the Second Brigade of my division, two regiments of his command, which were on the left of the Plank road. The night was passed in throwing up along my whole line such defenses of logs and earth as was possible from the scarcity of tools at hand. The ammunition was also fully replenished to all the regiments from the division pack train.

During the evening a staff officer of General Sickles' corps communicated to me the intention of attacking the enemy on his right flank, in the woods, with at least one brigade of that corps. On account of the position of most of my line, at right angles to the position of General Sickles' troops on the left, and from the evident danger of confusion and mishap in the darkness of the night, I asked this officer to have the attack deferred until I could communicate with General Slocum, who was then at the headquarters of the army. The attack, however, began before I could see General Slocum, and, if without important results, yet, I think, without injury inflicted by our own guns upon our own troops, as was at first feared. I used all endeavors to communicate to my line the nature and locality of the attack, and to prevent firing in the direction of the attacking party. The infantry on the right of my line, finding itself threatened during this attack, opened a brisk fire, and the artillery shelled the woods in advance with a vigor that must have been very destructive to the enemy's masses in the woods.

On the morning of May 3 (Sunday), my line was as follows: Connecting with the left of Berry's division, on the Plank road from Chancellorsville to the Wilderness, just in advance of Fairview, were two regiments of the Second Brigade (the One hundred and twenty third New York and Third Maryland Volunteers), having been transferred from the left during the early morning. Ruger's brigade completed the line along the inner edge of the woods to the angle of our breastworks, where it crossed the ravine eastward, to connect with Geary's division in the woods in front of Chancellorsville. Two regiments of the Second Brigade (the One hundred and forty-fifthNew York and Twentieth Connecticut Volunteers) were placed in the rifle-pits in this line. Three broken regiments of Knipe's brigade (all the field officers but one having been captured or disabled the previous night) were placed in reserve in rifle-pits about 200 yards in rear of my right. These regiments were, soon after the attack began, moved to the breastworks, where General Knipe assumed command of the regiments of the Second Brigade, Colonel Ross having left the front, reported wounded.

The lines thus formed with Geary's division presented two sides of a square, with the angle toward some cleared fields and a farm-house on elevated ground, not over 600 yards distant to the left and front, as seen from Fairview. A portion of Berry's and Whipple's divisions, of Sickles' corps, with one or more batteries of artillery, occupied this point during the night of the 2d and on the morning of the 3d. It was an important position, as it nearly enfiladed our infantry lines and commanded our artillery position at Fairview.

The enemy commenced his attack at the earliest dawn, pushing his column through the woods in our front with wonderful vigor and obstinacy. He was successfully resisted at all points of my lines, and although his attacks were almost without cessation, he was repeatedly driven back in confusion during three to four hours, always, however, replacing his broken columns with fresh troops.

In the meantime the enemy, either by the withdrawal of our troops or their retreat from the open elevated ground to our left and front before described, had seized upon that important position, and with a strong force attempted to carry our breastworks beyond the angle on the left. They were successfully resisted by the Twentieth Connecticut, One hundred and forty fifth New York, and a portion of Ruger's brigade. A number of the enemy who had penetrated our hues were taken prisoners.

At the same time the enemy placed several batteries in position on this open hill (some of them reported to have been guns captured from our troops), and opened a most vigorous fire upon our batteries at Fairview and our lines of infantry both right and left of this position.

This desperate struggle in front and flank by artillery and infantry continued almost without cessation until about 8.30 a.m. My regiments had literally exhausted their ammunition. Some of them had been twenty-four hours without food, and most of them several nights with but little sleep, while engaged in intrenching. My regiments had several times crossed the breastworks to attack the enemy's repulsed columns, but the nature of the ground, the thickness of the underbrush, the heavy columns of the enemy always at hand, as well as their position on either flank of my line, admonished me to act on the defensive until a more favorable moment for the offensive should present itself.

Finding it has impossible to bring up my ammunition pack train under the tremendous fire of artillery and infantry, or to replenish my ammunition in any other way, I reported to the major general commanding the corps that my regiments must be replaced with fresh troops, and that it would be impossible for me longer to resist the heavy attacks of the enemy. Soon after, meeting General Sickles on the field, he assured me that troops of his corps had already been sent to replace my line.

I immediately sent orders to the brigadiers to withdraw their troops in order as soon as relieved. It was not too soon. The enemy were pressing forward on both flanks of my north and south line. The artillery on our front was already mostly withdrawn with empty chests. The troops sent to my relief were checked before they reached our breastworks, and the whole line finally fell back in good order under a severe artillery and infantry fire, which swept the open field as far back as the Chancellor house. At this point, my brigades were halted behind the rifle-pits fronting down the Wilderness Plan k road, and after awhile, by order of the major-general commanding the corps, moved down the road toward the United States Ford, behind our second line, and formed in the woods to the right, on the cross-road toward Scott's dam.

In the evening my division relieved a part of the Eleventh Corps, and occupied the extreme left of our line near the Rappahannock. Here we were for two days employed in intrenching our position, and on the morning of the 6th marched to the pontoon bridge over the Rappahannock, and recrossed that river, the rearmost division of the army, except the rear guard of the Fifth Corps. The same evening my division reoccupied its old camp at Stafford Court-House.

Two of the small regiments of the First Brigade having been put on duty at the pontoon bridge, the regiments of the Second Brigade were placed under the command of Brigadier-General Knipe, commanding the First Brigade, and have since remained so.

It gives me pleasure to state that all the regiments of my division behaved with marked valor and firmness while in the face of the enemy. But one regiment left its position without orders, which was almost immediately halted by me and returned to the breastworks, where it held its post firmly to the last.

The casualties of the First Brigade on the night of May 2, which could not be foreseen nor anticipated (as the extent of the defection of the Eleventh Corps was wholly unknown to me), operated greatly to weaken my effective force, not only in the loss of a large number of men in killed, wounded, and prisoners, but in the still further loss of the commanding officers of every regiment of that brigade. Of the 31 field officers of my division engaged in our operations around Chancellorsville, 10 were killed or wounded and 4 are prisoners (the condition of whom is not known) in the hands of the enemy. Captains [Richard C.] Shannon and[Henry B.] Scott, assistant adjutants-general, of the Second and Third Brigades, were also wounded, and the former taken prisoner.

I annex herewith a list of the casualties in my division, showing an aggregate of 1,611 killed, wounded, and missing. Deducting those on detached duty and the Tenth Maine, whose term of service expired just before our march, my estimate of the effective force of the division engaged in these operations, taken from the field reports on May 1, does not exceed 5,400 men and 300 officers. This was reduced at least 500 men by the casualties of the night of May 2. With a force, therefore, of less than 5,000 men, my division on May 3 gallantly and persistently withstood the unremitted assaults of far outnumbering columns of the enemy for at least four hours, and, before withdrawing from its position, literally expended every round of ammunition, and were uncovered on both flanks of its line of battle.

I cannot let the opportunity pass, without the especial mention of the valuable, faithful, and gallant conduct of Brigadier-Generals Ruger and Knipe, commanding brigades. At all times and on all occasions they were prompt and zealous in the discharge of their duties, which were both arduous and constant night and day.

I also desire to bear testimony to the very able and efficient manner in which the artillery of the corps, under Captain Best, U.S. Army, chief of artillery, was managed. The loss inflicted on the enemy by this arm must have been of the most serious character.

I beg leave also to call the attention of the commanding general to the faithful services of my staff officers. Capt. William D. Wilkins, assistant adjutant-general, fell into the hands of the enemy on the night of May 2, while assisting to reform our line in the rifle-pits. His valuable and experienced aid in the office is greatly missed.

Major Buckingham, of the Twentieth Connecticut Volunteers, acting assistant inspector general for the division; Lieutenant Pattison, Second Massachusetts, assistant commissary of musters for the division Captain [Christopher L.] Skeels, provost-marshal for the division, and Capt. F.R. Munther, additional aide.de-camp, attached to my staff, all were prompt, zealous, and attentive in the discharge of their duties as acting aides-de-camp in transmitting orders.

Lieutenant Augustine, Twenty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers, ordnance officer of the division, deserves especial commendation for the efficient discharge of his duties, supplying with his pack trains ammunition to my regiments night and day at all times when called on.

Captain [Henry M.] Whittelsey, assistant quartermaster, and Captain [Edgar C.] Bernart, commissary of subsistence, were for the most time under orders with the division trains on the north side of the Rappahannock; but they were laborious in providing for the necessities of the division.

In conclusion, I beg leave to congratulate the major-general commanding the corps upon the faithful, orderly, and gallant conduct of the Twelfth Corps during the ten days' campaign. On the marches and on the battlefield the conduct of the officers and men almost universally was that of veterans; obedient to orders, faithful to duty, and firm and unyielding under the most vigorous and overwhelming assaults of the enemy. On the marches we had no stragglers and on the battle-field few skulkers.

I attach hereto a sketch of the positions of this division on the 1st, 2d, and 3d of May. I add also a separate list of field officers of the division killed, wounded, and missing, and transmit herewith reports of subordinate commanders.