THE TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT, In its organization, was somewhat peculiar. Seven companies comprising this regiment were among the first three-years' men that left this State. They were sent to Fortress Monroe to fill up the ranks of the Third and Fourth militia regiments, under command respectively of Cols. Wardrop and Packard. At the expiration of the three months, the men comprising the militia returned home; and the seven companies of the threeyears' men remained, and were known as the First Battalion of Massachusetts Volunteers. Subsequently three new companies were organized, and attached to the battalion; and it was made the Twenty-ninth Regiment, of which Brig.-Gen. Pierce was appointed colonel. It was stationed at Camp Butler, at Newport News, until the 10th of May. Its officers, in March, 1862, were, From the time of their entering Virginia up to November in the same year, the men of this regiment had occupied seventeen camps. The first, after leaving Camp Butler, was Camp Norfolk; and the last was near Warrenton, in Virginia. June 9, 1862, it became a part of the Irish Brigade, commanded by Gen. Meagher. Extracts from letters written by officers, and forwarded to Gov. Andrew, will indicate the status of the regiment up to Nov. 19. The colonel writes, - The twenty-ninth Regiment has participated in all the trials, privations, and honors of the Irish Brigade. The battles in which we have been engaged since June 9 are as follow; viz., Gaines's Mills, Savage's Station, Whiteoak Swamp, Nelson's Farm, Malvern Hill, and last, not least, Antietam. Among the marches worthy of record are the movement down the Peninsula, the rapid march to and from Centreville, the memorable Maryland campaign, and the present march from Harper's Ferry. During this period, five months, the regiment has added to its reputation by the mere fact of its being connected with the Irish Brigade; and it has CHARACTER OF THE TWENTY-NINTH. 327 been our endeavor that the brigade should not by our acts lose any of their already acquired reputation. And, in this connection, I trust I may be excused for alluding to remarks made to the regiment, by the general commanding the brigade, upon its arrival at Harrison's Landing after the terrible seven days preceding. The general said to the whole regiment, "The Twenty-ninth Massachusetts has been tried, and, I am proud to be able to say, has proved itself an honor to the Irish Brigade and to the country." This is nearly his precise language, and it was the proudest moment the regiment had seen. Since that time, the general has not, to my knowledge, revoked his decision. In relation to the physique and morale of the men composing the Twenty-ninth Massachusetts Volunteers, Gen. Meagher writes, They are obedient, vigilant, and reliable; ever ready for every duty. While in the field, under my own eye, they have been unsurpassed as soldiers, brave and heroic. Their loss is no indication of their valor; for uncontrolled circumstances and location will favor, or be more fatal, as these circumstances may happen. Of the field-officers of the regiment, I have to state nothing but that the most cordial feelings have ever existed between them and me. They severally have my entire confidence and good wishes. They have ever been found at their post, and in readiness for the most arduous duties. Col. Ebenezer Pierce, who lost an arm in the battle of White-oak Swamp, has my sympathy, and, in so soon rejoining his regiment for duty, proved his readiness to be where a soldier should be, at the head of his regiment. Lieut.-Col. Joseph H. Barnes is a soldier of the true type, in whom I have perfect and implicit reliance. Brave and honorable, he is a credit to his State. Major Charles Chipman, likewise, is a soldier of first-rate order, and has borne himself as a true man and a patriot on the field, and as a pattern to the men of the regiment in all times of trial, never flinching from any of the duties or responsibilities of the severest campaigns of modern times. Of the line and staff officers, I can only state they all perform their duty becoming true men and brave. Massachusetts need never be ashamed of such citizens or children. Their identity with the Irish regiments of my command has been most pleasing and cordial, and the fraternity of feeling is admirable in the extreme. Massachusetts shakes hands with her adopted citizens in their devotion to a common country and a common flag. They will stand by them together until victory crowns their endeavors, and harmony is restored to the Union. As an incident of the cordial feeling existing in this brigade towards their brother-soldiers of the Massachusetts Twenty-ninth Volunteers, I have to state, that at a meeting of the officers of the old New-York regiments, held some time since, they voted to their brother-soldiers of the Twenty-ninth Massachusetts Volunteers a green banner, emblematical of the particular brigade in which they so honorably serve, and of the cordiality of feeling which exists between them. This banner is now on its way, and will shortly be presented to the Twenty-ninth by Gen Edwin V. Sumner, a commander proud of the Irish Brigade, and a son of old Massachusetts. From November, 1862, to January, 1864, the regiment occupied seventy-four different camps, and travelled, in marches and by steam, 4,277 miles. Its battle-record is, the battle at Fredericksburg, Va., from Dec. 13 to the 15th, 1862, inclusive; the siege of Vicksburg, Miss., from June 17 to July 4, 1863; the siege of Jackson, Miss., from July 11 to the 16th, 1863; the battle of Blue Springs, East Tennessee, Oct. 10, 1863; the battle at Campbell's Station, Nov. 16, 1863; and the siege of Knoxville, Tenn., from Nov. 17 to Dec. 5, 1863. Among the thirty-eight men who died in battle and by disease is Chaplain Hempstead, who died at Falmouth, Va., in December, 1862. The Twenty-ninth left Newport News, March 20, 1863, in the steamer"City of Richmond," for the South-west; joining the Ninth Corps in the expedition to Jackson, Miss., July 5. Jan. 1, 1864, Col. Pierce wrote, The operations of the regiment in the sieges of Vicksburg and Jackson, Miss., cannot be better described than in the language of Major-Gen. Grant, in an extract from an order issued to the corps to which the regiment was attached: : HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE TENNESSEE, In returning the Ninth Corps to its former command, it is with pleasure that the general commanding acknowledges its valuable services in the campaign just closed. Arriving at Vicksburg opportunely, taking position to hold at bay Johnston's army, then threatening the forces investing the city, it was ready and eager to assume the aggressive at any moment. After the fall of Vicksburg, it formed a part of the army which drove Johnston from his position near the Big Black River into his intrenchments at Jackson, and, after a siege of eight days, compelled him to fly in disorder from the Mississippi Valley. The endurance, valor, and general good conduct of the Ninth Corps are admired by all; and its valuable co-operation in achieving the final triumph of the campaign is gratefully acknowledged by the Army of the Tennessee. Major-Gen. Parke will cause the different regiments and batteries of his command to inscribe upon their banners and guidons "Vicksburg and Jack Bon.' By order of MAJOR-GEN. U. S. GRANT. BATTLE OF BLUE SPRINGS. 329 At the battle of Blue Springs, on the afternoon of the 10th of October, 1863, the regiment maintained its reputation for courage and good conduct. Owing to the sudden change of position on the part of the enemy, or a misconception, on the part of our general officers, of the true position occupied by them, the Union forces, as they advanced to the attack, found themselves presenting the right flank of their entire line to an enfilading fire, and were under the necessity of changing front forward by swinging the whole line upon the fixed pivot, at its right flank; a movement difficult to perform under fire, even when executed upon a plain and unobstructed field. But the difficulty in this case was heightened from the fact that the surface of the country was undulating and extremely broken; and one part of the line was in a heavy wood, another clambering over a high rail-fence, and still another passing through a field of high corn, while other troops were in pasture-ground and meadow-lands, with hills, hedges, and brooks intervening; so that the fragments of an army were often entirely out of sight of each other. On one of the steeps passed over, many of the men lost their footing, and fell, one upon another: still the line pushed on, driving the enemy, until darkness put an end to the operations of that day. One Virginia colonel, severely wounded, fell into our hands, and soon after died in the hospital. The usual good fortune that has ever attended this regiment did not forsake them under the trying circumstances with which they were surrounded at Campbell's Station on the 16th of November, 1863. Scarcely had the battle commenced when it was detached from its brigade, and sent to relieve one of the regiments in the front line of battle. Here for three hours, unsupported, the Twenty-ninth Regiment held an exposed and important position upon the extreme right of the Federal lines. Posted in an open field, it was during all this time exposed to the enemy's fire, who were holding a wood both in our front, and also upon our right flank, at a distance of about one hundred yards; and from behind a rail fence, and trunks of trees, their sharpshooters, occupying the tree-tops, steadily kept up a galling fire. . . . During the siege of Knoxville (a period of fifteen days), the Twentyninth Regiment was almost constantly under fire, occupying as it did one of the most exposed positions in the whole line of fortifications; and, in repelling the assault upon Fort Saunders, bore a most conspicuous part, capturing two of the three battle-flags taken from the enemy on that occasion, and receiving special notice in General Orders from department and division commanders. For a history of the movements of the regiment during the year 1864, we cannot do better than to quote from one of its offi cers: Jan. 1, the regiment was encamped at Blane's Cross-roads, East Tennessee; and formed part of the second brigade, first division, Ninth Army Corps. It was a high, bleak hill, exposed to the surging blasts of a keen and eager air. The ground was covered with snow. The regiment suffered greatly. The scanty supply of rations, and their ventilated garments, rendered their condition any thing but a happy one. To give an idea of their sufferings, I will cite some things that beset us during that campaign. At one issue of rations, each man received for his mite eight ounces of flour for nine days. One tablespoonful of coffee was issued once in from three to five days. The men were unable to subsist on such allowances, and each morning there could have been seen parties of two and three in search of food. Some of the loyal Tennesseeans would meet them with smiles; and, upon being asked for bread, they would reply in their peculiar vernacular, "that they were plumb out," and not "a dust of meal" in the house. Many of the men were barefooted, and raw hide was issued to be made into moccasons. The regiment at this place re-enlisted as a veteran organization, and was mustered into the UnitedStates service for another term, Jan. 2. On the 16th and 21st, the Twenty-ninth supported Gen. Granger's Fourth Corps, and then covered its retreat, which was changed to a successful charge upon the enemy the following day. The troops with the Thirty-sixth Massachusetts dragged two cannon eight miles to a railway-station to save them from the hands of the rebels. During the last days of January, the Twenty-ninth went upon a foraging expedition, conducted by Lieut.-Col. Barnes, and, to the great joy of their comrades in camp, returned with eighty loaded wagons. From this date until the last of March, the regiment was manoeuvring with the enemy, having no tenable point on that line of railroad except Knoxville. On the 21st of March, the regiment left Knoxville, and, crossing the mountains to Nicholasville, took the cars of the CentralKentucky Railroad, and reached Cincinnati, O., on the 31st. Here the troops were paid off, and left, April 7, on a furlough for Boston, where they arrived on the 9th. The Twenty-ninth again started for the front, May 16. Arrived at Belle Plain on the 20th, and at Falmouth on the 23d. June 1, the regiment was temporarily attached to the third brigade, first division, Fifth Army Corps. It was detailed to skirmish, and in this day's action bore the brunt of the enemy's advance, until compelled from inferior numbers to fall back on some hastily constructed works. The next day, the regiment was transferred to the first division of the Ninth Corps, Col. E. W. Pierce commanding brigade. The command was at Cold Harbor, but not immediately engaged. On |