Petersburg:

Life in the trenches, in the south hot, and dirty work.

Petersburg, the longest siege in American history began in the spring of 1864 when General Ulysses S. Grant failed to capture Richmond. Battery B arrived in Petersburg on June 16tg after a 15 or 16-mile march from Winsmill Point on the south side of the Chickahominy River. Along the way, they had captured bits and pieces of artillery and a few prisoners. Eventually, Battery B took position in a cornfield and stayed the night since they were not currently engaged. At 2 a.m., June 20 th , the right piece of the Battery was instructed to advance where they met action from Confederate sharpshooters, but by nightfall was moved to the rear. While the men were in Petersburg, they met some old friends from Battery C First Rhode Island Light Artillery, who were camped nearby. The men reported that the weather was hot and muggy and the temperatures reached 104 degrees in the shade. It was reported that the Confederates were quiet during the day, but “as lively as owls” at night. On July 7 th , one of Battery B's commanding officers, William S. Perrin, was sent to Battery A for duty. This left Battery B with only two commissioned officers: Captain T. Fred Brown and First Lieutenant James E. Chance. At the time, Second Lieutenant Charles A. Brown was a prisoner and Second Lieutenant Gideon Spencer was on duty elsewhere. Over the next few weeks there was little action and many false alarms.

Captain T. Fred Brown

During the early morning of July 29 th , the men of Battery B witnesses one of the now great attractions at Petersburg: the Crater. The Crater was then known as “Burnside's Mine” and was measured at 170 feet long, 60 feet wide and 20 to 30 feet deep. The men awoke to the explosion around 5 a.m. and witnessed huge masses of earth, cannons, garrison equipment and human bodies being thrown into the air. Soon after the explosion, artillery commanders open fire with nearly 200 guns. The rebel troops fled, as they had expected more explosions to follow. During the shelling on rebel troops, Battery B was held in reserve for support.

The day after the explosion, the men in the Battery observed the loading and firing of a railroad mortar. Being familiar with the operation of light artillery, the men found the firing of heavy artillery quite interesting. During this time, they were watching the shelling of the City of Petersburg. Shortly after, the Battery moved back to camp and resumed their usual duties. From August 1 st -12 th , the Battery remained camped outside of Petersburg.

For many of the men in the Battery, Petersburg marked the end of their three years of service, and they were eligible for discharge. On Friday, August 12 th , Captain T. Fred Brown read an order that formally relieved those men, whose term of serve was over and appointed others to take their place. Those who were mustered out of service were as follows: First Sergeant John F. Hanson, Quartermaster Sergeant Charles A. Libby, Line Sergeants Edwin A. Chase, John H. Rhodes, Pardon S. Walker, Corporals Stillman H. Budlong, John Delevan, Josiah McMeekin, John B. Mowry, Charles H. Paine, Charles B. Worthington, Edward B. Whipple, Artificers William H. Cornell (blacksmith), Edwin M. Peckham (saddler), Albert H. Cornell, James A. Sweet (wheelwrights), Privates Mowry L. Andrews, John A. Arnold, Russell Austin, Arthur W. Brickley, Allen Burt, Napoleon B. Clarke, Stephen Collins, Welcome Collins, Charles Cornell, Levi J. Cornell, Michael Duffy, Richard H. Gallup, Edward Howard, John Kendrick, Robert A. Laird, George R. Matteson, Henry A. Mason, Nelson B.V. Maine, Robert A. Niles, David Phetteplace, William B. Remington, Charles B. Sprague, Clark L. Woodmansee and Albert J. Whipple. The following were promoted to fill these vacancies: Sergeant Charles H. Adams to First Sergeant, Sergeant Anthony B. Horton to Quartermaster Sergeant, Corporal Charles J. Rider to First Duty Sergeant, Corporal Calvin L. Macomber to Second Sergeant, Corporal Aborn W. Carter to Third Sergeant, Corporal John Fox to Acting Sergeant, Privates Patrick Brady, Samuel H. Collington, William Maxey, and Francis Priestly were promoted to Corporal. The men, who were discharged were taken to Providence by steamer and given a hero's welcome by the citizenry.

Around the middle to August, the Battery moved into the area south of the James River. Several small skirmishes occurred during this tine as the Battery moved ever closer to the Weldon Railroad and Reams Station. Often, the road to Reams Station was blocked with trees fallen by retreating rebels, which slowed the Battery's progress. Arriving at the Weldon Railroad on the 24th , one gun was set on the rail bed to protect the infantry, who were busy destroying the rail and ties. The rest of the battery was set up to overlook the railroad and the fields west of the Halifax Road. This was basically the position of the battery on the morning of the 25th .

That morning rebel sharpshooters began to pick off men and horses with several killed. Lieutenant Perrin gave orders to shell enemy positions. After a few rounds, the order to cease fire was given. Late in the day the enemy attacked and broke through Union lines with terrible supporting fire from 20 pieces of Confederate artillery. The Battery was completely exposed to this fire, but soon answered with several volleys. Confederate artillery and sharpshooters continued to pour on the fire until all the battery horses had been killed. The enemy pressed on until the union infantry gave way and the rear was exposed. With the line broken, rebel artillery fired this attack. During this cannonade the battery suffered heavy losses, with the infantry ineffective and the loss of many men the rebels overwhelmed the area and captured four cannon and caissons. The losses during this action were 52 men killed, wounded or taken prisoner and 50 horses killed. Only one limber was saved. The enemy paid dearly for those lost guns. The Battery lost trophies, but not honor.

On September 4th , Captain T. Fred Brown returned and resumed command. He soon got the Battery back to shape. Batteries A and B were combined into one and took on the Battery B designation. The rest of the month was quiet except for drilling. Several confrontations with the enemy took place over the next several months as the siege of Petersburg continued. At this time new recruits were received into the Battery.

In 1865 the Battery took its place along Hatcher's Run and repulsed several attacks against their earthworks. On April 1 st at 2 a.m., Battery B along with the rest of the Union artillery, opened up on a rebel fort. Heavy fire was kept up until sunrise. Soon afterward the infantry made their charge, and the rebel lines collapsed. The victory was ours. The Confederate forces were forced to abandon the city, and the fall of Petersburg was complete.