Thwarted by ice on an earlier try, the 6th New York Heavy Artillery — my ancestor Union Pvt. Arthur Bull’s regiment — set sail once again in thick fog on 26 Dec. 1864 from Alexandria, Va., en route to the front further south.
This must have been a difficult journey for Arthur, who told pension doctors years later that he had fallen ill again in mid-November.
Sgt. William Thistleton, my great, great grandfather’s fellow artillerist, described their five-day voyage in his journal.
Dec. 26th Left the barracks at 7 a.m. and marched to the foot of 6th Street [in Washington, D.C.] embarked on board the steamboat Utica sailed to Alexandria and were transfered (sic) to the northern light, but we oblige (sic) to remain at the dock all night on account of the fog.
Dec. 27th Hauled out in the stream this morning, but oblige (sic) to drop anchor fog increasing laid all night.
Dec. 28th at 9 a.m. weighed anchor and started down the river sailed all day and anchored at 6 p.m.
Dec. 29th sailed at 6 a.m. passed Point lookout at 8 a.m. arrived at Fortress Monroe at 3 p.m. and anchored for the night.
Dec. 30th steamed up and started at 7 a.m. sailed up the James river and arrived at City Point at 3 p.m. ordered to report at Bermuda Hundred. transfered (sic) to a small steamer arrived a Bermuda ordered to report to Jones landing sailed again — arriving at 8 p.m. rained very heavily and we were permitted to remain on the boat all night.
On New Year’s Eve 1864, according to Sgt. Thistleton, the 6th NYHA regiment finally reached their destination, disembarked at dawn and marched five miles in mud knee deep to the front.
There, he wrote, they relieved a division of U.S. Colored Troops from the 25th Corps, who had been holding the front line of the extensive Union Army fortifications.
Dec. 31st …We were now in the Army of the James, Major Gen. B. F. Buttler (sic) commanding.
While my ancestor likely traveled south with his regiment — or in tandem with them on medical transport — I doubt he joined them on the front lines.
Arthur’s pension record shows that he was admitted to the hospital at Bermuda Hundred, Va., on 3 Jan 1865 — one year after he mustered into the Union Army.
Was Arthur suffering from a new illness or a re-emergence of his irritable heart from the previous summer? What were conditions like in the hospital there? And would my ancestor recover and go back on active duty?
More on this in future posts as Arthur’s story, and my research, continue.
© 2015 Molly Charboneau. All rights reserved.
Keep up the good work. We really enjoy your posts.
Randy
Thanks, Randy. Having you and Joyce as readers helps motivate me to keep at the research and the writing about our mutual ancestors.