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265 '
Along the edge of timber skirting the open field we constructed strong log breastwork, which may be called our base of opera¬ tions during the five days of fighting at Laurel Hill. This breastwork was in the valley. The rebel line of entrench¬ ments was upon the hill-top. The skirmishers of each army occupied the tangled brush and woods between the lines, and they kept up, day and night, a ceaseless and deadly fire. Our men in the entrenchments were constantly harassed by the fire of the enemy's sharpshooters, who were posted in trees or upon higher ground. On the morning of May ninth a determined effort was made to drive back the enemy's skirmishers, and thirty men were ordered from the Sixth for this service. I called for volunteers, and that nervy little German, Lieutenant William Golterman, immediately stepped forward. Sergeant George Fairfield, of company "C," was his gallant and efficient assistant in command. The conduct of our skirmishers, who throughout the fighting at Spottsylvania were volunteers in every effort made to drive back the enemy, is worthy of the highest praise. The Indians of the seventh Wisconsin regiment took an active part in this skirmishing. They covered their bodies very ingeniously with pine boughs to conceal themselves in the woods. When skir¬ mishers advanced from our lines, they woula run across the open field at the top of their speed, and numbers of them were shot while doing so. Upon this run the Indians would give a shout or war whoop.
At 12.30 P. M., on the tenth of May we advanced to an assault npon the enemy in their entrenched position at Laurel Hill. We came suddenly upon their works without being aware of their proximity, on account of the thick brush, and we received a very destructive enfilading fire. Lieutenant Oscar Graetz, commanding company "F," was killed, and Captain William N. Remington *nQ Lieutenant John Timmons were severely wounded and the OSS of the regiment was severe. The conduct of officers and men
der these trying circumstances was excellent. I moved by the ght flank to get under the brow of a hilh We were not two
ndred feet from the enemy. Here we were mixed together
n the twelfth Massachusetts regiment, (Colonel James L.
'^J- The enemy poured over us a continual storm of bullets.
Object Description
| Title | Service With the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers |
| Source Title | Rufus R. Dawes' Service With the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers |
| Regiment | 6th Infantry |
| Volume | 1 |
| Author/Creator | Dawes, Rufus R. (Rufus Robinson), 1838-1899 |
| Description | Rufus Dawes (1838-1899) was a 20-year-old recent college graduate when the war broke out. He quickly formed a company of lumberjacks and farmers from the vicinity of Mauston, in Juneau Co., and they were mustered in as Co. K of the 6th Infantry in the summer of 1861. Over the next three years, Dawes rose to be colonel of that regiment and a leader of the Iron Brigade. He wrote this memoir in 1890 using his original letters and journals from 1861-1865. He describes in vivid detail life in camp and on the march, encounters with famous generals, and the fighting at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse and Petersburg. His book pulls no punches, and reveals what it was like for a young man to be thrust into authority amid great challenges and horrors. After the war, Dawes became a prosperous merchant in Marietta, Ohio, and served a term in Congress before dying in 1899. |
| Subcollection | Personal Narratives |
| Source | Microfiche |
| Source Type | personal narrative |
| Place of Publication | Marietta, Ohio |
| Source Creation Date | 1890 |
| Source Publisher | E.R. Alderman & Sons |
| Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Publication Date-Electronic | 2011 |
| Rights | © Copyright 2011 by the Wisconsin Historical Society (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Digital Format | XML |
| Digital Identifier | CWPN003010000 |
Description
| Title | 265 |
| Source Title | Rufus R. Dawes' Service With the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers |
| Regiment | 6th Infantry |
| Volume | 1 |
| Event Date | 1864-05-09 |
| Year | 1864 |
| Month | May |
| Day | 9 |
| State | VA |
| Place | Spotsylvania |
| People | Dawes, Rufus R., Lt. Col.; Graetz, Oscar, Lt.; |
| Battle | Spotsylvania, Battle of; |
| Topic | Iron Brigade; combat; American Indians; death; |
| Source Type | personal narrative |
| Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Publication Date-Electronic | 2011 |
| Rights | © Copyright 2011 by the Wisconsin Historical Society (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Digital Format | JPG |
| Full text | 265 ' Along the edge of timber skirting the open field we constructed strong log breastwork, which may be called our base of opera¬ tions during the five days of fighting at Laurel Hill. This breastwork was in the valley. The rebel line of entrench¬ ments was upon the hill-top. The skirmishers of each army occupied the tangled brush and woods between the lines, and they kept up, day and night, a ceaseless and deadly fire. Our men in the entrenchments were constantly harassed by the fire of the enemy's sharpshooters, who were posted in trees or upon higher ground. On the morning of May ninth a determined effort was made to drive back the enemy's skirmishers, and thirty men were ordered from the Sixth for this service. I called for volunteers, and that nervy little German, Lieutenant William Golterman, immediately stepped forward. Sergeant George Fairfield, of company "C" was his gallant and efficient assistant in command. The conduct of our skirmishers, who throughout the fighting at Spottsylvania were volunteers in every effort made to drive back the enemy, is worthy of the highest praise. The Indians of the seventh Wisconsin regiment took an active part in this skirmishing. They covered their bodies very ingeniously with pine boughs to conceal themselves in the woods. When skir¬ mishers advanced from our lines, they woula run across the open field at the top of their speed, and numbers of them were shot while doing so. Upon this run the Indians would give a shout or war whoop. At 12.30 P. M., on the tenth of May we advanced to an assault npon the enemy in their entrenched position at Laurel Hill. We came suddenly upon their works without being aware of their proximity, on account of the thick brush, and we received a very destructive enfilading fire. Lieutenant Oscar Graetz, commanding company "F" was killed, and Captain William N. Remington *nQ Lieutenant John Timmons were severely wounded and the OSS of the regiment was severe. The conduct of officers and men der these trying circumstances was excellent. I moved by the ght flank to get under the brow of a hilh We were not two ndred feet from the enemy. Here we were mixed together n the twelfth Massachusetts regiment, (Colonel James L. '^J- The enemy poured over us a continual storm of bullets. |
| Digital Identifier | CWPN003010328 |