Today in History:

1088 Series I Volume XLVI-I Serial 95 - Appomattox Campaign Part I

Page 1088 N. AND SE. VA., N.C., W.VA., MD., AND PA. Chapter LVIII.

fire toward the city on the burning warehouses furring the night of the 2nd, to assist our troops to advance toward, the city, which they successfully accomplished by drawing the enemy's fire.

Fired eighty-eight rounds from Fort McGilvery. Fired the last shot at 3.40 a. m. April 3, 1865. One man wounded (Corporal Griffin).

I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,

JACOB ROEMER,

Bvt. Major Commanding Thirty-fourth New York Independent Battery.

Lieutenant HEASLEY,

Actg. Asst. Adjt. General, Artillery Brigadier, Ninth Army Corps.


Numbers 190. Report of Captain William McClelland, Battery B, First Pennsylvania Light Artillery.

NEAR CITY POINT, VA., April 7, 1865.

Report of operations of Battery B, First Pennsylvania Light Artillery, in front of Petersburg, Va., on April 1, 2, and 2, 1865.

First. Position of the battery, &c.: Two sections in Fort Davis in charge of Lieutenants Rice and Pennypacker, and one section in Battery 2, in charge of Captain McClelland; Lieutenant Gardner in charge of caissons, camp, &c., and Lieutenant Gealy on leave of absence.

April 1,10 p. m., I received orders to report in person at Artillery Brigade, Ninth Army Corps headquarters, there receiving orders from General tidball, chief of artillery Ninth Army Corps, to open fire on the enemy's works at a give signal, which was given about fifteen minutes subsequently. A moderate fire was kept up for about an hour from the two guns at Battery 22, when orders were received to cease firing until 4 o'clock next morning, at which time firing was resumed from the two guns at Battery Numbers 22 and three in Fort Davis, which was chiefly directed on Fort Mahone. At about 7 a. m., at the request of a staff officer, whose name I did not learn, I sent Lieutenant Rice with two gun detachments to assist in working the guns in the fort on the Jerusalem plank road, captured by our advance. I left the section at Battery Numbers 22 in charge of a sergeant and accompanied Lieutenant Rice. On the way between the picket lines one man, Sergeant Swisher, was wounded by a piece of shell. I came back to Fort Sedgwick twice, the first time to hurry up ammunition and the last time to remove a section from Fort Davis to Fort Wright, by order of General Tidball, Lieutenant Pennypacker in charge. A sergeant was placed in charge of the two remaining guns in Fort Davis, firing occasionally on account of the trees between Fort Davis and the works not yet in our possession. In a charge made by the enemy during the afternoon to recapture their lost line Corporal Gilkey was killed whilst sighting one of the pieces and Sergeant Grubb so severely wounded that he died a short time after. A short time after Corporal Summers, while sighting his gun in Fort Wright, was severely wounded by a piece of shell. I make mention of these non-commissioned officers on account of the bravery displayed by them, as well as all the detachments from the several batteries manning the guns, who should receive the credit of holding that portion of the line and preventing its recapture, the infantry support falling back or getting into the ditch in front of the fort.


Page 1088 N. AND SE. VA., N.C., W.VA., MD., AND PA. Chapter LVIII.