1863/05/12 Report of Brig. Gen. J.F.Knipe

In obedience to orders, the command moved from its place of encampment near Stafford Court-House, Va., at sunrise on the morning of April 27, and marched to Hartwood Church, on the road leading to Kelly's Ford, a distance of about 12 miles, and encamped there for the night, in the woods.

Started the next morning at 4 o'clock; crossed the Rappahannock River at Kelly's Ford, on pontoons, and rested for an hour, after which we pushed forward and moved to a point on the Rapidan River opposite Germanna Ford, where we crossed the same evening, and encamped on the left of the Plank road leading from Culpeper to Fredericksburg, having marched during the day about 10 or 12 miles. The Twenty-eighth Regiment New York Volunteers was sent about three-fourths of a mile to the front on this road as a picket, which duty was well performed, under the immediate supervision of Lieutenant-Colonel Cook, the commanding officer of the regiment.

On the morning of April 30, at about 9 o'clock, we again took up our line of march, and moved to within half a mile of Chancellorsville, when I was ordered to place my command in a position for defense, my right resting on the Plank road and my left connecting with the Third Brigade (General Ruger's), the whole forming an arc of a circle, the right of the line facing due west and the left about southwest.

About 6 o'clock in the evening, I received orders from General Williams, commanding First Division (of which my brigade is a part), to cut an abatis in front of my position. This was done under the supervision of Lieut. John Care, of the Forty-sixth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. The brigade was kept in line during the night, with arms stacked, and the men cautioned to be ready to fall in at the first alarm. One-half of the Fifth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers was sent to the front as a picket. In this position the command bivouacked for the night.

May 1, at about 10 a.m., I received orders from the division commander to draw in my pickets and move my command forward on the road toward Fredericksburg. I at once moved to the front with the brigade, and took a position in the woods on the left of the road, about three-fourths of a mile in advance of Chancellorsville. I formed my command in line of battle, with the Fifth Connecticut Volunteers on the right, the Forty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers in the center, and the Twenty-eighth New York Volunteers on the left, while the One hundred and twenty-eighth Pennsylvania Volunteers was formed in column on the center as a reserve, and reported for further orders. I then received orders to advance through an open field toward a woods occupied by the enemy. I at once ordered Companies B and K, of the Forty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, to the front, deployed as skirmishers, under the command of Captain Caldwell, of the latter company, and in this order moved rapidly forward. My skirmishers soon became engaged with those of the enemy, who gradually fell back as my line advanced. I soon reached the position I was ordered to occupy, when the enemy opened on me with artillery and musketry. I at once ordered my line to lie down.

After occupying this position for about half an hour--having previously strengthened my skirmishers by sending four companies of the Twenty-eighth New York Volunteers to relieve the two from the Forty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and after sending an aide.de-camp to General Slocum, commanding the corps, for permission to take a battery of the enemy's not more than 500 yards in my front, which annoyed me considerably by its shells--I received an order to fall back to my former position, and support Captain Knap's battery in a retrograde movement to our camp of the night previous. I at once commenced my movement by facing by the rear, and moved back in perfect order. I lost no men in this movement, although the enemy kept up a continuous fire of artillery and musketry. I had, however, previous to falling back, lost 1 man killed and 6 wounded in the Twenty-eighth New York Volunteers while engaged with the enemy's skirmishers and by explosion of his shells.

I reached my position of the night previous about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and at once put my command at work strengthening our position by building strong barricades along the whole line. At the same time, five companies of the One hundred and twenty-eighth Pennsylvania Volunteers were thrown to the front as pickets. I also instructed my command to keep constantly on the alert for any attack that might be made by the enemy.

Some changes in the disposition of troops to my immediate front and right took place during the night. General Birney, with his division, arrived on the field about 9 o'clock in the evening, and, as I had become familiar with our position, I tendered my services to him in conducting him to a point where a battery could be advantageously placed. This was done, after which I called in my pickets and sent them into the woods to the right and front of this battery, with instructions to keep a sharp lookout, to prevent the enemy from surprising it. These men were relieved on the morning of May 2 by General Birney.

The brigade remained in position behind the barricades until some time in the afternoon of Saturday, May 2, when I received an order to move out into the open field a little to the left of the position occupied the previous night by the battery above mentioned. I formed my command in three lines--the Fifth Connecticut Volunteers in the front; the Forty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers in the second line, and the One hundred and twenty-eighth Pennsylvania Volunteers as a reserve, the Twenty-eighth New York Volunteers having been left, by order of General Williams, to protect the intrenchments.

Having made this disposition, I received an order from General Williams to move in an oblique direction to the left, push forward rapidly, and connect on my right with General Whipple's division, of the Third Corps, while the Second Brigade, Colonel Ross commanding; would connect on my left. The dense underbrush and heavy morass through which I had to pass prevented me from advancing in line of battle. I therefore moved by the flank, and, after emerging from the swamp into an open field, I formed, forward into line, in three lines as before, my right connecting with the left of General Whipple's command. I advanced in this order, with skirmishers well to the front. My skirmishers soon became engaged with those of the enemy. The whole command moving steadily forward, I had not advanced more than 100 yards before I received a heavy fire from the woods on my left flank. I at once called in my skirmishers and opened with my first line, firing left oblique, silencing the enemy in a few moments.

Just after this firing had ceased, an aide-de-camp from Major-General Slocum rode up to me, with orders to fall back in order to our rifle-pits, and informed me that the enemy had turned our right and that the Eleventh Corps was falling back in disorder. This I found to be the case on emerging from the swamp through which I had previously advanced. That command appeared to be perfectly panic-stricken, and in a great measure prevented me from reforming my brigade, as a number of my men became mixed up with the fleeing troops and were unable to join their command until I sent a staff officer to bring them forward.

I at this time received an order from General Williams, commanding the division, to form on the right of the Third Brigade, in the edge of the woods and nearly at right angles with the rifle-pits. After occupying this position some fifteen minutes, I was ordered to advance through the woods to my original position. I advanced in line of battle, throwing my skirmishers well to the front, and arrived behind the barricades without meeting any opposition and without the knowledge that the enemy had at any time had possession of them. I had just taken this position when some half dozen of the enemy came forward through the bushes, unarmed. Upon being asked who and what they were, they replied, "We are Confederates, coming in to give ourselves up; we are tired and hungry." I at once sent them to the rear. Immediately after this I observed another party approaching. I hailed them, asking what troops they were. The answer was, "We are friends?" I became pretty well satisfied by this time that the prisoners in my hands had been sent forward as a decoy. I was then asked by the parties in my front what troops we were. I answered, "We are Confederates," and the response was, "We are Confederates." I asked of whose command, and received an answer, "General A. P. Hill's." I told them to come in, intending to make prisoners of them as fast as they came over the barricades.

At this time my attention was called to a movement on my right and rear. I immediately rode in that direction, and hailed the party approaching by asking who they were. The answer received was, "Do not come any farther, or we will fire." I replied, "Do not fire; we are friends," and immediately wheeled about and directed my command to move off by the left flank, stooping, so as to be sheltered from the enemy's fire in front.

At this instant the enemy opened upon my line from both front and rear. I withdrew my command in tolerably good order, losing, however, Col. J. A. Mathews and Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, of the One hundred and twenty-eighth Pennsylvania Volunteers, with the greater portion of Company K, of the same regiment, as prisoners. They being on the extreme right of my line, were cut off by the enemy coming from the Plank road on my right and rear. Here I also lost three valuable officers from the Forty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, viz, Captains Griffith and Chesbro and Adjutant Witman.

After this I again formed my line in the edge of the woods, on the ground occupied by my brigade previous to the advance on the rifle-pits. This advance to our original position was made after dark, through a dense woods, so that it was almost impossible to distinguish friend from foe. It was at this time that I first ]earned that, swing to the disgraceful retreat of the Eleventh Corps, Lieutenant-Colonel Cook, commanding the Twenty-eighthNew York Volunteers, who had been left in the intrenchments, was captured, with a large portion of his regiment.

I now reported to General Williams for further orders, and was directed to take ground on the right, so as to connect with General Berry's division, on the Plank road. This position I occupied during the greater part of Saturday night, twice repulsing the enemy's advance, with the assistance of the artillery, posted on the ridge in the rear of our line. Toward morning, my brigade was partially relieved by two regiments of the Second Brigade (Colonel Ross commanding), I falling back and forming a second line. Previous to this my men had been constantly employed, when not engaged with the enemy, in strengthening our position.

Just before daylight on the morning of Sunday, May 3, two regiments of the Third Corps were sent forward as an additional support, taking position between my line and that of the Second Brigade. In order to afford room for these regiments, I was compelled to move back a few yards, across a stream running parallel with our line, the whole distance from the first line being somewhat less than 100 yards.

I had hardly time to form my men before the action of the morning of the 3d commenced. While lying in this position, I saw the necessity of strengthening our first line, as it was being heavily pressed by the enemy throwing his masses up to our breastworks and there attempting to deploy them. This, however, they failed in, as they were being mowed down like grass, both by our artillery and infantry.

Colonel Ross having been reported wounded and gone to the rear, I felt it my duty to assume command of the first line, and at once ordered the regiments from the Third Corps, which were lying down immediately in my front, to move forward and assist our men at the barricades. I failed, however, in my efforts to bring these men forward, for just at this moment a regiment of red-legged Zouaves came pell-mell from our left, with less than half their number of the enemy close at their heels. I endeavored to arrest the fugitives and induce them to defend themselves from behind the rifle-pits, over which they had just retreated. This, however, I could not accomplish. It was left to the Twentieth Connecticut Volunteers, of the Second Brigade, First Division, Twelfth Corps, to repulse the advancing enemy, and it did it nobly.

To the falling back of this regiment of Zouaves in the manner and at the time they did, I attribute the giving way of General Berry's line and our own, as they carried with them the troops which were intended as re.enforcements for our line. These never came up to our barricades nor fired a shot in our support.

After this disgraceful retreat on the part of the Zouaves, I saw Colonel Colgrove, of the Twenty-seventh Indiana Volunteers, moving through the woods in my front, attacking the enemy on the flank, and apparently driving him. I at once ordered the One hundred and twenty-third New York Volunteers to advance over our barricades, and, throwing its left wing forward, it delivered some well-directed volleys into the enemy's flank, immediately in front of the left of General Berry's line.

At this moment the enemy pressed forward with such an overwhelming force as to compel our whole line to give way and fall back to the brick house previously occupied by General Hooker as his headquarters. There I succeeded in forming a portion of the First and Second Brigades, after which I was ordered by Colonel Dickinson, of General Hooker's staff, to hold my men in this position. I found this to be a harder task than might at first be imagined, from the fact that I had lost every regimental commander of the eight regiments composing the two brigades, except Colonel McDougall, of the One hundred and twenty-third New York Volunteers; besides, the men had been continually either engaged with the enemy or building rifle-pits for three days and nights, and my command had also been without food for at least twelve hours, and were likewise without ammunition, and entirely worn out and dispirited from seeing everybody else going to the rear.

I take this occasion to return my sincere thanks to Colonel Diven, of the One hundred and seventh New York Volunteers, for volunteering to remain at this point with his regiment as long as he could be of any service to me. He is a brave and gallant officer; would to God that our country had more like him!

After remaining in this position about ten minutes, I received an order from General Williams to move my command along the right of the road leading to the United States Ford. After moving about a mile and then halting some hours in the woods, the command was again moved, and about dark took up a position on the hill at Scott's dam, relieving a portion of the Eleventh Corps, and forming the extreme left of our line.

I have omitted to state that a portion of the First Brigade fell back as far as the river on the 3d instant, where it was employed on provost duty and in guarding prisoners until the 5th instant, when it rejoined the division, I in the meantime having been assigned to the command of the Second Brigade, by order of Brigadier-General Williams, commanding First Division.

I take this occasion of speaking in the highest terms of the valuable services rendered me by Capt. C. H. Fenn, of the Twenty-eighth New York Volunteers, assistant inspector-general of this brigade, and of Lieutenants [John H.] Knipe and [Darius S.] Gilger, of the Forty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, my acting aides decamp. They were ever by my side, ready to perform any and every duty required of them.

In referring to the members of my staff, I regret I cannot speak favorably of Captain Judd, of the Twenty-eighth New York Volunteers, my acting assistant adjutant general. This officer was never to be found where there was danger, and were it not that his term of service expires within a day or two (his regiment having been sent to the rear to-day), I would ask that he be dismissed the service in disgrace for cowardice.