21st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment
The 21st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized in Worcester, Massachusetts and mustered into service on August 23, 1861.
After garrison duty at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the regiment served with the Coast Division commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside. The Coast Division was deployed in January 1862 for operations on the coast of North Carolina, and participated in the Battle of Roanoke Island and the Battle of New Bern among other engagements. Burnside's division was recalled to Virginia in July 1862. The 21st Massachusetts Infantry was then attached to the Army of the Potomac and participated in several of the largest battles of the Civil War, including the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Antietam, and the Battle of Fredericksburg. The most devastating engagement of the war for the 21st was the Battle of Chantilly, fought on September 1, 1862, during which the unit suffered 35 percent casualties. From March 1863 to January 1864, the 21st served with Burnside in the Department of the Ohio, seeing action in Kentucky and eastern Tennessee. In May 1864, the regiment rejoined the Army of the Potomac, participating in Lt. Gen. Ulysses Grant's Overland campaign and the siege of Petersburg. The regiment was a favorite of Clara Barton, the famed battlefield nurse, who was also from Worcester County, Massachusetts.
By the end of its three years of service, the 21st Massachusetts Infantry had been reduced from 1,000 men to fewer than 100. Of these losses, 152 were killed in action or died from wounds received in action, approximately 400 were discharged due to wounds, 69 were taken prisoner, and approximately 300 were discharged due to disease, resignation, or desertion. Those of the 21st who chose to re-enlist at the end of their initial three-year commitment were eventually consolidated with the 36th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment on October 21, 1864.
Organization and early duty
Following the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, citizens of the northern states began to realize that the Civil War would not end quickly. Additional troops would be needed beyond the 75,000 volunteers that had been called out for 90 days of service. As a result, over the summer of 1861, volunteers rushed to enlist for a term of three years. The 21st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was among the "three-year regiments" organized after the First Battle of Bull Run.The regiment was formed during July and August 1861. The designated camp of assembly was the Agricultural Fair Grounds in Worcester. The majority of the companies were from Worcester County with nearly every town in that county represented on the regiment's rolls. Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin Counties were also represented.
The first commanding officer of the 21st was Col. Augustus Morse, who was involved in the comb making industry in Leominster, Massachusetts and had been a major general in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia prior to the war. According to Charles Walcott, the regimental historian, despite Morse's decades of experience with the State Militia, he was, "entirely destitute of soldierly enthusiasm or spirit, wonderfully ignorant of military drill and maneuvres, and a wretched disciplinarian."
The regiment, originally numbering slightly more than 1,000 men, departed Worcester on August 23, 1861. They were armed with inferior smoothbore muskets that had been converted from flintlock to percussion lock. After a brief, but tense, three-day encampment in Baltimore, the regiment moved to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, arriving on August 30. The regiment garrisoned the Naval Academy for four months. It was a comfortable post. Maj. William S. Clark of the 21st wrote that the regiment was "delightfully situated, enjoying the very romance of war."
During their stay in Annapolis, the men of 21st assisted in the escape of a slave belonging to Maryland Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks. While the slave was hidden in a chimney in one of the Naval Academy barracks, Governor Hicks's repeated demands for his return were refused by the officers of the regiment.
On December 20, 1861, the 21st was assigned to the Coast Division commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside for operations in North Carolina. The 21st was the first regiment selected by Brig. Gen. Jesse Reno for his brigade. The 21st Massachusetts Infantry would gain a great respect and affection for Reno, who first led their brigade and later the IX Corps of which the 21st was a part.
North Carolina
As the regiment prepared for departure, Colonel Augustus Morse decided to remain at the Naval Academy, feeling that garrison duty was, according to historian James Bowen, "more to his taste." Lt. Col. Albert Maggi, an Italian by birth who had served under Giuseppe Garibaldi, took command of the regiment on January 2, 1862. Maggi had been openly insubordinate to Morse due to the latter's lack of military discipline. His assumption of command, as well as the issue of new Enfield rifled muskets, improved the morale of the regiment.The 21st, about 960 strong, boarded the steamer Northerner on January 6, 1862. The fleet transporting Burnside's North Carolina Expedition encountered harsh weather off the coast of Cape Hatteras. Prolonged poor weather and the shallowness of Hatteras Inlet resulted in weeks of delay as the fleet struggled to enter Pamlico Sound. Finally, just as most of the vessels began to run low on potable water, the fleet entered the sound and made for Roanoke Island on February 5, 1862.
Battle of Roanoke Island
Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan had ordered Burnside to make Roanoke Island his first target. Capture of the island would allow control of both Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, opening up a possible southern invasion route to Richmond. Coordinating with a naval flotilla commanded by Admiral Louis M. Goldsborough, Burnside launched an amphibious assault resulting in the Battle of Roanoke Island on February 7 and 8, 1862. After landing, the 21st spent a cold, wet night on picket duty. On February 8, it joined in the assault on the Confederate fort at the center of the island. Moving through swamps and knee-deep water, Reno's brigade, including the 21st, advanced around the Union left flank on the west side of the fort. After firing steadily on the fort for some time and taking moderate casualties, the 21st was ordered by Brig. Gen. Reno to storm the fort. According to the regimental historian, the 21st Massachusetts Infantry was the first regiment to mount the earthworks of the fort; however, the honor was also claimed by the 9th New York Infantry Regiment. The Union forces were victorious in capturing the Confederate fort on Roanoke Island and took approximately 2,500 Confederate soldiers prisoner. The 21st suffered 13 killed and 44 wounded, or eight percent casualties, during the engagement.After the battle, the 21st took up camp in the former Confederate fort, remaining there for nearly a month. During that time, Lt. Col. Maggi, determined to make the 21st as disciplined as a regiment of Regulars, enforced stern standards for drill and dress parades. After the near mutiny of one company, Maggi submitted his resignation. Maj. William S. Clark, a professor of chemistry at Amherst College, was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assumed command of the regiment on February 28, 1862.
Battle of New Bern
Burnside's next target, according to McClellan's orders, was the city of New Bern, North Carolina. The Coast Division boarded their transports on March 4, made their way up the Neuse River, and disembarked about down river of New Bern on March 12. The 21st, numbering 675 men, led their brigade in the march on New Bern, discovering many abandoned fortifications. On March 14, the division participated in the Battle of New Bern. The Confederate defenses were roughly centered on a brick yard converted into a makeshift fort. The 21st, approaching the enemy position, was soon ordered to assault the brick yard and the battery therein. Lt. Col. Clark led four companies of the 21st and temporarily occupied the brick yard. As they captured the battery, Clark stood atop one of the guns, urging his men forward. In their advanced position, the 21st suffered significant casualties and was soon forced to abandon the brickyard. However, the Union forces were eventually victorious, and the city of New Bern was captured. After the battle, Maj. Gen. Burnside presented the first cannon captured by the 21st to Amherst College in honor of 1st Lt. Frazar Stearns, son of the President of Amherst College, and adjutant of the 21st, who was killed during the engagement. Lt. Col. Clark received a promotion to colonel for his conduct during the Battle of New Bern. The regiment suffered 58 casualties, or eight percent.Battle of Camden
Following the engagement at New Bern, the 21st was among the regiments selected for an expedition to destroy the Dismal Swamp Canal which would cripple the Confederacy's shipbuilding activities at Norfolk, Virginia. A portion of Reno's brigade was transported by steamers to Camden County and engaged in the relatively minor Battle of Camden on April 19, 1862. The 21st, at this stage, numbered 500 men, having lost numerous soldiers to disease while in an unsanitary camp at New Bern. After the Battle of Camden, Reno eventually abandoned the expedition against the canal and the brigade returned to New Bern on April 22. In the course of the mission, the 21st Massachusetts Infantry had light casualties of three percent.Northern Virginia Campaign
The Coast Division's next assignment was supposed to be the capture of Wilmington, North Carolina. However, the failure of McClellan's Peninsular Campaign required the recall of the Coast Division to Virginia. The 21st broke their camp in New Bern and boarded schooners on July 2, 1862, while hearing conflicting rumors of McClellan's success or defeat. They arrived in Newport News, Virginia, on July 9.During July, two additional divisions were consolidated under Maj. Gen. Burnside's command to form the IX Corps. At the beginning of August, Brig. Gen Jesse Reno assumed the command of the Corps and was ordered to support the advance of Maj. Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia towards Richmond. The 21st, along with the rest of the Corps, was quickly transported to Fredericksburg and then marched overland to join Pope's forces on August 14, 1862, in the vicinity of Culpeper Court House, Virginia.
As Gen. Robert E. Lee advanced on Pope's position along the Rapidan River, Pope quickly withdrew his army north. The brigade to which the 21st belonged, now commanded by Col. Edward Ferrero, frequently found itself in the position of rear guard during this movement, skirmishing with the advancing Confederate cavalry. By the time the 21st reached Warrenton, Virginia, on August 27, it was clear to the men that something was wrong. Pope was seen riding by the regiment, "looking warm and excited", and the men learned that Lt. Gen. Thomas Jackson had flanked the Union army and was now in their rear.