Second Battle of Fair Oaks

Sunday, October 30, 1864

On Wednesday the Thirteenth New Hampshire received orders to prepare three days rations and to be on the march by 5:00 A.M. the following morning. The purpose of the objective was to turn the Confederate flank south of Petersburg and gain control of the railroads. On Thursday the Thirteenth departed from Fort Harrison, marched nearly fifteen miles, and deployed as skirmishers along the Williamsburg Pike near Fair Oaks. A Union advance against the Confederates under General James Longstreet was repulsed at a heavy cost, and the Union army retreated after nightfall under the cover of darkness. The Union had advanced to within four miles of Richmond before retreat. In the short, ill-fated encounter the Union suffered casualties of 1,100 killed, wounded, or missing. The Thirteenth New Hampshire suffered casualties of two men wounded and five men captured. The Thirteenth formed a new camp to the right of Fort Harrison, where they ended the week on picket duty.¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 498-508.

Battle of Providence Church Road

Sunday, May 3, 1863

At 6:00 A.M .the Thirteenth New Hampshire regiment marches toward Suffolk with Colonel Aaron Stevens in command. At 9:00 A.M. the Thirteenth crosses the Nansemond River in support of the 89th New York, the 103rd New York, and the 25th New Jersey regiments. The Thirteenth New Hampshire takes position in a line of battle along a field near the ruins of Captain Nathaniel Pruden’s house. The Confederates formed a line in the woods nearly 500 yards across the field. At 1:00 P.M. the order to charge is given. The Thirteenth New Hampshire charges gallantly across the open fields into the woods. At about 1:15 P.M. the Confederates are in full retreat and the rifle pits are taken. The Thirteenth New Hampshire continued into the woods for nearly two hours. Rapid gunfire from sharpshooters exploded from the dense brush. Captain Lewis Buzzell of Company F and others were shot; Captain Buzzell was shot through the heart and died instantly. The Thirteenth New Hampshire retreated with their dead and wounded and reached camp at 10 P.M. The casualties for the Thirteenth New Hampshire were four killed and nineteen wounded, with the largest number of casualties occurring during the charge. Among the mortally wounded was Nathaniel Caverly Jr. The Thirteenth was wisely praised for their gallantry in their charge. General Longstreet withdrew from Suffolk later in the day and reached the main body of the Confederate Army on May 9.¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 139-52.

First Action at Suffolk

Sunday, April 12, 1863

The Thirteenth New Hampshire was hard at work digging ditches and earthworks in preparation for a siege by Confederate forces under General James Longstreet. Today the Ninth Corps formed a line of battle along the Nansemond River, nearly three miles south of Suffolk. The Confederates were entrenched in a large force near the Petersburg Railroad to protect their supply lines. The Thirteenth New Hampshire spent the evening on picket duty and the regiment was at arms during the night.¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 123-27.

Army of Suffolk

Sunday, March 15, 1863

On Friday The Thirteenth New Hampshire left camp at Newport News and embarked on the steamer "Croton" bound for Norfolk. A Confederate corps under the command of General James Longstreet threatened the Union lines near Suffolk. General Longstreet's mission was to guard the railway supply lines of the Confederate army. After disembarking the "Croton" the Thirteenth New Hampshire marched to Suffolk and set up a new camp. General Getty's Third Division of the Ninth Corps, of which the Thirteenth New Hampshire was a part, was now known as the "Army of Suffolk."¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 117-18.

Battle of Fredericksburg - Day 3

Saturday, December 13, 1862

General Ambrose Burnside ordered General William Franklin's Left Grand Division to strike Confederate Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson south of Fredericksburg, and ordered General Edwin "Bull" Sumner's Right Grand Division and General Joseph Hooker's Center Grand Division to assault Confederate General James Longstreet at Marye's Heights.

The Thirteenth New Hampshire was held in reserve along the banks of the Rappahannock River, about a mile away from the combat at Marye's Heights. All day long they could hear the thunderous pounding of artillery and gunfire and were aware that a fierce battle was raging. At 4:00 P.M., a report arose among the men of the Thirteenth New Hampshire that they were next in line for battle. As nighttime was about to fall, many of the men dismissed the report as an idle rumor. Thirty minutes later, the order resounded through their ranks: "Attention! Take Arms, Right Face, March!"

As darkness fell the Thirteenth New Hampshire approached the long, open field in front of Marye's Heights and witnessed the results of the day's terrible battle, a field strewn with the bodies of the dead and wounded. The Thirteenth formed a line of battle near the embankment of the Richmond and Fredericksburg Railroad, approximately four-hundred yards southwest of the stone wall at the base of Marye's Heights. Major Edward Jardine, commander of the Ninth New York regiment, assisted Colonel Aaron Stevens, the commander of the Thirteenth New Hampshire regiment, in leading the charge. Major Jardine, in a clear, strong voice, gave the order to attack: "Thirteenth New Hampshire, you love your country, you are brave men, and you came out here to fight for her – now, go in! Forward!"

The Thirteenth New Hampshire charged in the darkness toward an unseen enemy. Suddenly the flashing of gunfire from the Confederate stronghold at the stone wall illuminated their position. They were within twenty-five yards of the enemy line, so close that they could smell the acrid smoke of the rifles firing upon them and see the strained expressions on the faces of the Confederate soldiers. As the Thirteenth New Hampshire returned fire their position was revealed to the enemy, placing them in extreme peril. They were forced to retreat to avoid the annihilation of their ranks. The Thirteenth New Hampshire reformed their line at the railroad embankment and retreated to their camp along the Rappahannock River.¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 45-62.