 | Memoirs of the war of secession |  |
Swift Creek.
The arrival of the Eleventh regiment and Seventh battalion
of Hagood's brigade at the Junction had raised our force to
3,500 men. The strength of Butler's force had now, however,
been ascertained to be ten times that number. The line of railroad
afforded no suitable position to await the advance of such
an army. Without natural protection, the flanks could be turned
on either side, and our line of retreat either into Richmond or
Petersburg, instead of being covered by our position, was on the
prolongation of our line of defense. General Pickett, at Petersburg,
seemed too under the impression that an advance against
the city was threatened on the south side of the Appomattox; and
no re-enforcements were arriving from the South or information
dispatch received at 10 p. m., General Pickett directed General
Johnson to withdraw to the line of Swift Creek, three miles from
Petersburg. At midnight the movement was commenced and by
3 a. m., of the 8th, the troops in position on the south bank of that
stream and busily engaged in strengthening the entrenchments
already partially constructed along that line as part of the
defences of Petersburg. Hagood's brigade covered the turnpike
and extended to the left as far as Brandee's Bridge and to the
right as far as the railroad bridge. He also had a regiment with
a section of artillery advanced by way of outpost to the top of
the hill on the turnpike just beyond the creek.[10] The railroad
bridge was held by Colonel McCauthen with the Fifty-first North
Carolina regiment, of Clingman's brigade, and Johnson's brigade
prolonged the right. Some eighteen pieces of artillery, consisting
of Hawkins's, Owens's, Payne's and Martin's batteries,
were distributed along the line, and Colonel Harris, of Beauregard's
staff, arriving from Weldon, took charge of the engineering
operations. A detachment of twenty-two men of Johnson's
brigade was made, to work the heavy guns of Fort Clifton near
the debouchment of Swift's Creek into the Appomattox, and
which controlled the navigation of that river. Captain Martin
commanded the fort.
The field of battle at the Junction was occupied by our
advanced forces till 10 a. m., on the 9th, collecting and removing
arms, accoutrements, etc. Butler unaccountably delayed his
second advance upon the railroad thus long, and then our smaller
force fell back before him skirmishing. The same morning, five
gunboats attacked Fort Clifton, and after three hours' fighting
retired with the loss of one of their number. By 12 m., Butler
was in strong force on the north bank of Swift Creek and skirmishing
going on between both infantry and artillery. Hagood
still held the eminence on the pike upon the enemy's side of the
creek.
At 11 a. m., General Pickett, from Petersburg, had instructed
Johnson to maintain a defensive, advising him of re-enforcements
on the way from Weldon. At 1 p. m., he enclosed a dispatch
from Bragg, at Richmond, and directed him in pursuance of it
advance on his front, and the movement began. Nelson was
directed with the Seventh to cross at Brandee's, and bearing to
the right attack in flank the force which the rest of the brigade
would encounter on the pike. Gantt, with his regiment and a
detachment of the Twenty-fifth, was 150 yards across the stream
holding the hill already referred to, his skirmishers thrown forward
in a semi-circle of some 200 yards radius and the enemy
slightly pressing. As the remaining regiments filed out of the
entrenchments and moved in column down the long slope of
probably 250 yards to the Turnpike Bridge, the movement was
visible to the enemy on the wooded height beyond and to the
right of the bridge; and a heavy fire was opened from their
batteries. While the leading regiment, the Twenty-first, was
crossing the bridge, Colonel Harris galloped up to General
Hagood, and informing him that Pickett's plans were again
changed, directed him to make a reconnoisance with the troops
already over the creek and ascertain whether the present demonstration
by the enemy was a feint or a real movement. Hagood
told him that of course he would carry out the order, but that it
was perfectly evident the enemy were in force, and that the
troops he was directed to take could accomplish nothing. While
they were speaking, the enemy commenced pressing heavily upon
Gantt; his skirmishers were driven in, and he was warmly
engaged. Gantt's line of battle was to the left of the road, beyond
the crest of the hill. The Twenty-first was hurried over the bridge,
and deploying to the right of the road, under cover of the hill,
was directed to advance upon an alignment with Gantt. It did
not behave with its accustomed spirit, was slow in deploying,
advanced tardily up the broken acclivity, and was of very little
assistance in the brief but sanguinary struggle that ensued.
Gantt maintained himself stoutly under the heavy pressure
upon him for some minutes, until hearing firing upon his left
and supposing it to be Nelson coming into action and that the
whole brigade was behind him, he ordered, under his previous
instructions, an advance. The roar of musketry that followed
informed Hagood, who was getting the Twenty-first up the hill,
of the overwhelming force in his front, and he sent Captain
Moloney to order Gantt back across the creek, while the balance
crossing, and the regiments which had not crossed and were
standing in column in the pike were ordered back to the entrenchments.
The troops over the creek came back pell mell over the
bridge, and were reformed on the south bank. The Twenty-fifth
checked pursuit; and this most useless and disastrous reconnaisance
in force was over. Colonel Nelson did not reach the
scene of action, and the firing Gantt heard was from one of his
own companies stationed by himself as a flanking outpost. The
loss of the troops engaged was in the few minutes that the affair
lasted, 31 killed, 82 wounded, and 24 missing, making an aggregate
of 137 men thrown away because of too many generals, and
too far away from the field of battle.
Colonel Harris, with his usual indifference to fire, remained
with General Hagood during the affair, and Lieutenant-Colonel
Logan, of the Hampton Legion (afterwards General Logan)
acted upon his staff and was of much service. Colonel Logan had
been on leave and was on his way back to his command. Captain
Leroy Hammond and his brother, Lieutenant Hammond,
together with Lieutenant Seabrook, being all the officers of one
of the companies engaged from the Twenty-fifth regiment, were
killed. The Hammonds were grandsons of Colonel Leroy Hammond
of revolutionary fame in South Carolina; Seabrook was a
graduate of the State Military Academy. They were brave and
efficient officers. Lieutenant Wolfe, of the Eleventh, was also
killed. Captain Carson, commanding the detachment of the
Twenty-fifth, was severely wounded and incapacitated for service
for the rest of the campaign. Tracy and Moloney, of the staff,
both had their horses wounded under them. Among the missing
were some valuable officers and men.
On the night of the 9th, there was some heavy skirmishing
between Johnson's brigade and the enemy, with advantage to us.
On the 10th, everything was quiet in our front, and General
Hagood obtained permission to send a flag of truce to enquire
after his wounded of the day before, and propose an exchange of
prisoners he had captured at the Junction for those he had lost
at the Creek. Captain Moloney was sent, and Lieutenant-Colonel
Lightfoot of the artillery accompanied him. On arriving at the
enemy's outpost, they found them retiring, in consequence of
was then an outlaw by proclamation of Confederate authorities
for his conduct at New Orleans, and Captain Moloney had been
directed to hold no communication with him, but to seek his ends
if possible through General Turner, the officer commanding in
Hagood's front.
Information was obtained, but the exchange failed; though
Moloney was informed there would be no difficulty if the proposal
was made in form to Butler.
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