The "Heavies": Federal Heavy Artillery Regiments in the 1864 Wilderness Campaign

[Legio XX Valeria Victrix]

On May 17, 1864, just two weeks after the start of Ulysses S. Grant's Overland or Wilderness Campaign, the Army of the Potomac was in desperate need of manpower to replenish the horrendous losses it has sustained at the Battle of the Wilderness and the early days of the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, which was then entering it's ninth day. The campaign had begun with high hopes: the great victor of Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga was in Virginia to lead the grand Army of the Potomac to final victory over Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. The Army of the Potomac, in early May 1864, was at the zenith of its power; over 110,000 men strong, the vast majority of whom were solid veteran combat troops.

Yet just two short weeks later, almost 30,000 of those men were in shallow graves or hospital beds. The Battle of the Wilderness was tactically a draw, but a hugely costly one for the Army of the Potomac. The same could be said for the early assaults at Spotsylvania, one of which had begun with the promise of a Confederate collapse, but ended disappointingly and viciously in the longest occasion of sustained hand to hand combat in American history: the Bloody Angle in the Mule Shoe Salient, where for over 12 hours the two battle lines were hunkered down in the rain on opposite sides of a dirt embankment.

To fill the vacant ranks, General Grant called upon a vast and as yet untapped resource of Union manpower: the Heavy Artillery regiments that occupied the vast ring of forts that surrounded the capital at Washington. Almost 25 regiments in number, each of these organizations could field just shy of 2,000 men, the average size of a combat brigade in the Army of the Potomac at the outset of the campaign. They had originally been formed as line infantry regiments, most formed in the summer of 1862, but were converted to Heavy Artillery regiments upon their arrival in the capital. None of them had ever seen, heard, or fired a shot in anger. Their tale would be one of the saddest and most poignant of any combat units that served the Federal cause.

The vast majority of the "Heavies," as they were referred to, were assigned to brigades in the Army of the Potomac. A few others were assigned to other outfits, but all would serve in Virginia. When they reached the Army of the Potomac from May 17-27, they met immediate derision from the veteran troops. "What division is that?" was a common question asked of the newcomers, so many were they and so pristine was their equipment and uniforms. Indeed, they were so large that five or more veteran regiments could not add up to the numbers fielded by one Heavy regiment.

Grant decided to show these boys what he had brought them here for, and on May 19, he ordered the Union Army to shift to the right of the Mule Shoe Salient, where ten days of brutal fighting had decided little. Leading the advance was a brigade of Heavies. Lee, desirous to find out what Grant's intentions were, dispatched Richard S. Ewell and 6,000 Confederates to make a reconnaissance in force. When they discovered the Federals, battle erupted. This battle is known as the Battle of Harris Farm. Several Heavies regiments were engaged in this severe fighting. One thing that distinguished the Heavies at this point, aside from their massive numbers, was their inexperience. Veteran troops had long since learned to take cover and to advance sparingly while using artillery support, or conversley, to disdain firing and charge straight to the enemy as fast as possible. The Heavies knew none of this, and their casualty lists bear that terrible truth out. Foremost among the Heavies engaged on the 19th of May were the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery and the 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. Though the battle was ultimately a Federal victory, the Heavies paid dearly in their first engagement: Of 1,617 engaged, the 1st Mass. Heavies lost 50 killed, 312 wounded, and 28 missing, of whom most were dead. A total of 120 men were killed or mortally wounded, making 390 men the total loss. The 1st Maine Heavies fared even worse, losing 82 killed, 394 wounded (147 killed or mortally wounded), for a total of 476. It had been a bloody day, but those who survived earned the respect of their veteran comrades, one of whom claimed "they didn't fight very tactically, but they fought confounded plucky."

More Heavies joined the Army over the next ten days, and fortunately for these newcomers, were able to experience the moderately tame Battle of North Anna River with light casualties. Unfortunately, two holocausts were about to befall the majority of these Heavy regiments, the first of which would occur just a week after the last of the Heavies had arrived. On June 3, 1864, the Army of the Potomac sat across from well constructed Confederate works near the hamlet of Cold Harbor. General Grant had chosen this day as the prime opportunity for a general advance. Any Heavies that had escaped combat duty until this point were about to face perhaps the most futile attack of the entire war. Veterans were so sure that they would be killed assaulting these works that they pinned their names on their uniforms in order to be identified in the event of their death. The Heavies were largely blissfully ignorant of what faced them. Two Heavy regiments stand out as particularly tragic on this day: the 8th New York Heavies and the 2nd Connecticut Heavies. Both had seen only skirmish duty in their brief tenures with the army, and both would suffer horrendous losses this day.

The army went forward early that day, and came back but a short half hour to an hour later, minus 7,000 men who had fallen in the short intervening period. Among those 7,000 men were 505 of the 8th New York Heavies, who had been one of the units to nearly reach the Confederate works until they were blasted away by the Confederate fire. Of these 505, 80 were killed instantly, 339 were wounded, another 86 were missing, presumably dead, and of the wounded 127 would die. The 2nd Connecticut went into the attack with 1,400 men under arms, of whom 129 would be killed or mortally wounded, and 323 total would fall. The 7th New York Heavies also displayed conspicuous and tragic heroism, resulting in 127 killed and mortally wounded.

After Cold Harbor, the Heavies regiments had lost approximately half their men in battle. Despite this, the regiments were still massive by regimental standards, retaining around 1,000 men a piece as the army crossed the James River and approached Petersburg in mid June. The second great holocaust for the Heavies came just two weeks after the first, on June 16-18, in the Army of the Potomac's inagural attacks on Petersburg. Although only lightly defended on the 16th-17th, the Rebels there were determined, and, as always in this campaign, stood behind solid fieldworks. At least six regiments of Heavies would be sent into the meat grinder over these three days, and one of them would earn the bloody title of suffering the most casualties of any Federal regiment in any battle throughout the war.

Men who just days before had seen hundreds of their comrades cut down in bloody heaps in mere minutes were now charged with doing that all over again, and several of these regiments would have to do it not once, but twice in the three days of assaults. One of these regiments was the 1st Massachusetts Heavies, bloodied a month before at Harris Farm, again at Cold Harbor, and arrived at Petersburg with fewer than half the men who had marched from the capital in May. They charged the works on the 16th of June, and were repulsed with another 29 killed instantly, 183 wounded, and 6 missing. Of their wounded, 25 would succumb, leaving 54 dead or mortally wounded. Just six days after this affair, they were roughly handled on the 22nd of June and lost 9 killed, 46 wounded, and 185 missing.

Many Heavies fought on these days, losing heavily in killed and mortally wounded: the 2nd Pennsylvania Heavies lost 64 dead and mortally wounded, the 14th New York lost 57 killed, the 7th New York Heavies, butchered at Cold Harbor, lost another 55 killed. About twice to three times that many killed would have been wounded, meaning losses for all these regiments would stand at 200 minimum.

The bloody honors, however, went to the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery. Bringing 950 men into the fight, they were absolutely butchered in their horrific but amazingly brave charge into near certain death or injury. Of the 950 men who went forward that day, 210 would not live to see its end, a staggering 22% of those engaged. 115 were killed in the charge, the remaining 95 died of their wounds. 489 were wounded, and 28 were missing, most of whom can be presumed dead. Fully two thirds of the regiment lay dead or wounded on the field when the survivors returned. Total losses stood at 632 out of 950.


The Forlorn Hope, by Don Troiani, depicting the heroic but doomed assault of the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery at Petersburg, June 18, 1864

The Petersburg attacks were the bloody climax of the Heavies' war experience. They served admirably to the end of the war, but after the savage losses suffered at Harris Farm, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg, their numbers had dwindled to those of the more veteran regiments who had preceded them. Combined with the sheer numbers of losses these regiments sustained was the short time frame in which so many men died or were horribly maimed. All of the Heavies regiments suffered their combat losses of the war in a ten month period, but the vast majority of those losses occurred in just one month, from May 19 to June 18, 1864. They had sat around for two years waiting for their chance at combat, only to arrive in an army that derided them and even sometimes abused them. They only overcame this derision by the loss of over three quarters of their number. By the end of the war, there was little except their regimental names that differentiated them from the combat troops who had been fighting since 1861.

[Cato the Younger]

Absolutely wonderful, Legio. I do love to read about the American Civil War and this post was well done. Before this, I had never even heard of the 'Heavies,' although the 1st Maine sounds remotely familiar. Keep up the good work, lad!

Kudos and +rep.

[Legio XX Valeria Victrix]

Thanks for the response Cato. Every so often I read something that prompts me to write a little article like this. In this case, it was Regimental Losses of the Civil War. I had known previously that the Heavies suffered immensely during this campaign, but when I saw the numbers, one after another, I thought I'd write about them.

Nice to know people actually read them, though.

[Hells Bells]

the 1st Maine sounds remotely familiar.

it reminds me of the 20th maine

anyway interesting read

[Legio XX Valeria Victrix]

it reminds me of the 20th maine

anyway interesting read

Thanks for the comments.

Funny you should bring that up. The 20th Maine really should not be as famous as it is today. They didn't do much outside of their performance at Gettysburg, which is to their credit, certainly, but not the Union-saving stand to the death that we hear about from The Killer Angels/Gettysburg.

There were many other Maine units that served with distinction at tons of battles, as opposed to the "one hit wonder" that was the 20th. At Gettysburg alone, the 16th Maine was destroyed in a rear guard action that saved much of the I Corps as it retreated through the town. On the 2nd day, the 17th and 19th Maine were crucial to holding the position on the Federal left, as much, if not moreso, than their fellow soldiers in the 20th.

In fact, if we go strictly by casualty records, the 20th Maine was one of the least engaged regiments from the state of Maine that enlisted for three years service. Just something to think about.

[Ó Cathasaigh]

It's amazing that it took the world another 50 years to learn that wave attacks against fortified positions, even when they're only manned by men using cap locks, is not a good idea.

[Foreign Fruitcake]

Excellent post OP. But I have to ask, is that an accurate picture by Don Troiani. I know and admire his work but, and correct me if I am wrong, I don't believe artillery regiments of the day actually had Colors, their cannon were their Colors (hence the phrase "stick to your guns" and the fact that artillerymen fought desperately to defend them). I know this is true of many European armies (even to this day in fact), perhaps it's different in the U.S.

Cheers.

[Ó Cathasaigh]

Well, I'm no expert on Artillary, but since they were being used as Infantry, I assume they were issued Colors.

[Legio XX Valeria Victrix]

Yes, Hicks, you are correct. Don Troiani is incredibly accurate in the paintings he does, mostly because he is a huge collector of original Civil War militaria and can base his paintings off actual original artifacts.

As for the Heavies, they were originally recruited as infantry regiments. To give you an example, the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery was originally enlisted as the 19th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment. I'm not sure about the time frame, but they were definitely issued colors, a national and a state. Whether these were issued to them just prior to their joining the Army of the Potomac or when they were mustered in I don't know, but my guess would be they had them all along and brought them to Virginia in 1864.

[Hanny]

Excellent post OP. But I have to ask, is that an accurate picture by Don Troiani. I know and admire his work but, and correct me if I am wrong, I don't believe artillery regiments of the day actually had Colors, their cannon were their Colors (hence the phrase "stick to your guns" and the fact that artillerymen fought desperately to defend them). I know this is true of many European armies (even to this day in fact), perhaps it's different in the U.S.

Cheers.

Yes its accurate, State raised units (regiments) had a colours asigned when inlisted for Federal service. What your conflating with is European Battys of guns not haveing national colours, for that matter UK cav did not take the Soveriegns colours when on oversea service, so as to avoid loseing them, and the US equivelent would be the Light Battys of 150 men without a national and state colour.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/foxschapter1.htm
In addition to the infantry, there were 32 regiments of heavy artillery in the volunteer service. It would be unnecessary to mention these were it not that the heaviest loss in battle, of any regimental organization, occurred in two of these regiments, each of which lost more men killed than the Fifth New Hampshire. But, owing to their larger organization and different formation. they must be considered secondly, and in a class by themselves. A regiment of heavy artillery contained 1800 men, divided into 12 companies of 150; attached to each company were five line officers-- a captain and four lieutenants. The regiment was divided into three battalions of four companies, with each battalion under the command of a Major. There was but one Colonel and one Lt. Colonel, as in infantry. These troops performed garrison duty, serving mostly within the fortifications around Washington, or in the coast defences where heavy ordnance was used. In the spring of 1864, most of the heavy artillery regiments within the defences of Washington were ordered to the front, where they served as infantry, and took an active part in the campaign.
The heaviest loss in this arm of the service-- and, also, in any regiment of the army-- occurred in the First Maine Heavy Artillery, of Birney's Division, Second Corps. During its term of service it lost 23 officers and 400 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded in battle. This regiment is remarkable, also, for its large percentage of loss; for the large number of officers killed; and, for having sustained in a certain engagement the greatest loss of any regiment in any one battle. The First Maine H. A. did not take the field until May, 1864, having served the two previous years in the fortifications of Washington. Its fighting and all its losses occurred within a period of ten months.
The next greatest loss in the heavy artillery is found in the Eighth New York, of Gibbon's Division, Second Corps, in which regiment 19 officers and 342 enlisted men were killed or died of wounds during their three years' term of service. Like the First Maine, it did not go to the front nor see any fighting until the last year of its service, all its losses occuring during the last ten months of the war.
The following list embraces all the heavy artillery regiments in which the number of killed, or died of wounds, exceeded two hundred: </STRONG>

KILLED AND DIED OF WOUNDS.
HEAVY ARTILLERY.
RegimentDivisionCorpsOfficersMenTotal1st MaineBirney'sSecond234004238th New YorkGibbon'sSecond192423617th New YorkBarlow's Second142772912nd ConnecticutWright'sSixth122422541st Massachusettsbirney'sSecond92322412nd PensylvaniaFerror'sNinth522823314th New YorkFerrero'sNinth62202262nd New YorkBarlow'sSecond102042149th New YorkRicketts'sSixth6198204

The Second Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery carried, from first to last, over 5000 names on its rolls. In fact, it comprised two regiments-- one in the Ninth, and one in the Eighteenth Corps. In the spring of 1864, the regiment, 1800 strong, joined the Second Division of the Eighteenth Corps, at Cold Harbor. The surplus men had been previously formed into a "provisional" regiment with the same designation, and assigned to the Ninth Corps. The most of the losses occurred in this provisional command.
A cavalry regiment numbered 1200 men, nominally, and was divided into twelve companies of one hundred each. They did not suffer such severe losses in particular engagements as did the infantry, but their losses were divided among a great many more battles. The cavalry went into action very much oftener than infantry. Although mounted and armed with sabres, much of their fighting was done dismounted, and with carbines. The mounted regiments which lost the most men, killed or fatally wounded in action, were the following: </STRONG>

RegimentDivisionCorpsOfficersMenTotal1st MaineGregg'sCavalry, A.P.151591741st MichiganKilpatrick'sCavalry, A.P.141501645th MichiganKirpatrick'sCavalry, A.P.61351416th MichiganKilpatrick'sCavalry, A.P.71281351st VermontKilpatrick'sCavalry, A.P.101241341st N.Y.Dragoons Torbert'sCavalry, A.P.41261301st New JerseyGregg'sCavalry, A.P.121161282nd New YorkWilson'sCavalry, A.P.911212111th PennsylvaniaKautz'sCavalry, A.P.11108119

The light artillery was composed of batteries with a maximum strength of 150 men and six guns. Before the war closed many of them were reorganized as four-gun batteries. In some cases there were regimental organizations comprising 12 batteries, but most of the troops in this arm of the service were independent commands; even where there was a regimental organization, each battery acted separately and independently of the others. In the volunteer service the leading batteries, in point of loss in battle, were as follows: </STRONG>

[krips22]

Interesting. thank you for the post.

[Foreign Fruitcake]

Very good posts all, cheers.

[percival]

Great post OP!