Drewry's Bluff – Mansfield Historical Society

Tag: Drewry's Bluff

Drewry's Bluff

21st Regiment

Posted on December 13, 2022December 13, 2022 by Amanda Rutha

Of the one-hundred and forty-eight citizens of Mansfield who served during the Civil War, forty-one of them saw action with the 21^st. The 21^st volunteer infantry was commissioned on September 5^th, 1862 with a complement of 965 recruits, a number that would later swell to 1,023. After brief and uneventful tours with the 9^th Corps, and the 7^th Corps, the 21^st regiment first saw significant action with the 18^th Corps.

On May 16^th, 1864 the 21^st Regiment occupied the right side of the Union line during the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff. Several hours of hard fighting ensued when Confederate forces attacked under the cover of heavy fog in an effort to capture a railroad line linking Richmond and Petersburg. Unable to hold against the Confederate advance, the 21^st Regiment and other elements of the 1^st Division were forced to retreat and relinquish the railroad to the Confederate forces. The 21^st regiment sustained its heaviest losses of the war during this battle with 79 wounded, 23 captured, and 16 killed including one Mansfield citizen.

Following the retreat from Drewry’s Bluff, the 21^st traveled to White House Landing where it would support the Army of the Potomac in several engagements near Cold Harbor beginning on May 29^th and running through June 9^th. After the evacuation of Cold Harbor, a large Union force including the 21^st regiment advanced on Petersburg. After supporting an initial charge against the Confederate lines on June 17^th, the 21^st regiment was relegated to a reserve role, and performed picket and skirmish duties for the next 3 weeks. During this time a total of 49 casualties were incurred.

The battle at Petersburg proved to be the final major engagement for the 21^st Infantry Regiment during the war. After Petersburg, the regiment participated in a raid on Fredricksburg on March 4^th 1865 intended to curb the trade of tobacco for supplies by the Confederate Army. The 21^st was among the first infantry troops to enter Richmond on April 3, 1865.
The service of the 21^st Connecticut Volunteer Infantry in the Union Army was officially ended on June 16^th 1865. A week later the regiment arrived home in New Haven before later attending a celebration at the State House in Hartford. All members of the 21^st regiment were finally discharged and the regiment formally was disbanded on July 6^th 1865.

Battle of Drewry’s Bluff

Posted on December 1, 2022December 2, 2022 by Amanda Rutha

Fort Darling, Drewry’s Bluff, James River, Va. *Library of Congress*

Drewry’s Bluff is 90 feet above a bend in the James River, and Fort Darling was constructed there in 1862 as the key defense point for water access to Richmond. The Confederate Capitol was just seven miles north of the fort.

The Union Army of the James commanded by Benjamin Butler landed at the Bermuda Hundred on May 5, 1864 and advanced to Drewry’s Bluff on the 9^th and captured the outer defenses of Fort Darling. Failure to follow up on the initial success due to delays of Union Generals resulted in the initiative being lost. General Beauregard commanded the Confederate forces that launched a counterattack at 4:30 A. M. on May 16, 1864 under the cover of thick fog.

The surprise attack on Heckman’s brigade overwhelmed them, quickly resulting in the capture of the General and over a thousand of his men. Another column assaulted an artillery battery of twenty pound parrot guns. In an effort to blunt the attack, Union reserve regiments entered the battle. The Confederates sent in their reserves and slowly folded back the Union right. The 21^st Connecticut was the last regiment on the right, and they were flanked by the enemy in one of their charges. In response, they realigned the regiment in the shape of an “L”, fighting the enemy both in front and on the flank at close quarters. There was nothing before them or on the right except for the attacking rebels. They could see no one on their left in the smoke and fog and Colonel Burpee received no orders from Union Headquarters. The Colonel remained calm as he walked through the regimental ranks and his orders resulted in repeated charges of the enemy being turned back. After more than three hours of heavy fighting, the men had fired more than a hundred rounds and some of the muskets were fouled. Colonel Burpee ordered the regiment to fall back to the Petersburg Road as he believed that the enemy would flank his line and they could not hold it after the casualties that they had taken. In the battle, the 21^st Connecticut had 14 men killed, 69 wounded and 21 missing.

Drewry’s Bluff References

LETTER FROM AN OFFICER OF HIGH RANK

IN ANOTHER STATE
When I have seen the gallant Twenty-first in battle, I have as an American felt proud of them … Never shall I forget their splendid behavior on that terrible 16^th of May, when the field of Drewry’s Bluff was covered with from 8,000 to 10,000 dead and wounded of both armies, and the Twenty-first stood firm and fearless amid the terrible shock of that fearful charge and repulsed it on their front. Many times, in the heat of that conflict, I looked towards the Twenty-first, fearful that I should see them overwhelmed. They did their noble State immortal honor that day, as they have done in every battle in which they have been engaged.

Wesley Brown

Posted on November 4, 2022December 2, 2022 by Amanda Rutha

Wesley Brown was a resident of Mansfield on September 5, 1861 when he enlisted as a Private in Co. B of the 10th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; he reenlisted as a veteran reenlistment on January 1, 1864. He was wounded October 7, 1864 at Newmarket Road, Virginia and August 16, 1864, at Drewry’s Bluff, Virginia. He was mustered out August 25, 1865.

He was born about December, 1840, probably in Mansfield to John and Abigail Maria (Fenton) Brown. In the 1860 U.S. census in Coventry, he is a 19 year old farmer in the household of Lyman Starkweather. Lyman’s wife is Abigail M. and three of Wesley’s siblings are living in the household; it appears that Lyman Starkweather is his stepfather. After the Civil War, he returned to Coventry and worked as a farm laborer. In both the 1880 and 1900 U.S. censuses, he is living in the Coventry household headed by a sibling or a brother-in-law. Wesley Brown never married, and after 1900, he moved to the Fitch’s Home for Soldiers in Darien.

On September 16, 1882, he applied for an invalid pension, No. 460,115 that was granted under certificate No. 518,271. The pension index also states that he served in Co. E of 3^rd United States Artillery Regiment.

Wesley Brown died on November 7, 1909 at Fitch’s Home for Soldiers in Darien, Connecticut and is buried at the Fitch’s Home for Soldiers Cemetery also known as the Spring Grove Cemetery in Darien, Connecticut.

Alvin M. Crane

Posted on November 4, 2022November 4, 2022 by Amanda Rutha

Alvin Millen Crane/Crain was a resident of Mansfield on August 7, 1862 when he enlisted as a 2nd Lieutenant in Co. D of the 21st Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant July 31, 1863 and to Captain, October 12, 1864. Alvin Crane was wounded May 16, 1864 at Drewry’s Bluff, Virginia and was mustered out June 16, 1865.

The descriptive muster roll of the 21st Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry lists his age as 23 and his occupation as student. He is described as 5’ 9” tall with a fair complexion and dark hair and eyes. His marital status is single.

He was born August 3, 1839 in Mansfield to Millen and Sally (Bennett) Crain/Crane. In the 1860 U.S. census in Mansfield, he is a 20 year old farmer in the household of Millen Crane. After the Civil War, he attended Brown University, graduating in 1869 and then he went to Newton Theological Seminary in Newton, Massachusetts, graduating in 1872. He became a Baptist minister and served in the following Massachusetts towns: Medfield, West Boylston, Shelburne Falls, Millbury, Groton and Everett. Alvin Crane married Sarah G. Adams on July 13, 1869 in Mansfield. They had one child, Judson Adams Crane, born May 7, 1884 in Shelburne, Massachusetts; Sarah G. (Adams) Crane died four days later, on May 11, 1884. Alvin married, second, Sarah Jane Wilson on October 20, 1885 in Boston, Massachusetts; they had no children.

Alvin Crane was the historian of the 21^st Regimental Association and one of the three captains on the executive committee that worked on the writing and publication of the regimental history.

On May 11, 1904, he applied for an invalid pension, No. 1,315,556 that was granted under certificate No. 1,085,219.

Alvin M. Crane died on April 22, 1922 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania according to pension records; his burial place is not known.

Henry Edwin “Ed” Hall

Posted on November 1, 2022December 2, 2022 by Amanda Rutha

Henry Edwin Hall was a resident of Mansfield on September 22, 1863, when he enlisted as a Private in Co. F of the 6th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; he was captured May 16, 1864 at Drewry’s Bluff, Virginia. He was imprisoned at Andersonville, paroled February 22, 1865 and mustered out August 21, 1865.

He was born December 25, 1841 in Mansfield to Henry C. and Orilla (Simonds) Hall. After the Civil War he returned to Mansfield and was a farmer. Henry E. Hall married Annette F. Dodd, daughter of Mansfield Civil War soldier Enoch Dodd between 1870 and 1880. Children included: Burton H. Dodd, born about September, 1882 and Charles G. Dodd, born about January 1889. Annette F. (Dodd) Hall died on June 15, 1890. Henry Hall married second, Ida M. ______ about 1904.

On March 1, 1885, he applied for an invalid pension, No.642,986 that was granted under certificate No. 415,435. His widow applied for a pension on December 21, 1929.

Henry Edwin Hall died on December 6, 1929 and is buried at the New Mansfield Center Cemetery in Mansfield.

The Hall Letters

Henry Hall leaves an impactful perspective that many soldiers may lack: he was captured and placed as a POW at the infamous Andersonville Prison.

“It has been my misfortune to be taken a prisoner by our enemy’s Calvary on the 16th of May on the Railroad between Chester Station and Petersburg”
Petersburg VA. May 24th, 1864. Hall to his parents.

Hall’s letters to his family, as well as a continued letter of Hall’s to his wife by John Hunter, speaks of Hall’s military journey. Describing his experience before imprisonment, imprisonment itself, and his life once he’s released, Hall’s letters give a timeline over the 2 years he served under the 6th regiment.

Hall to his Parent. May 24th, 1864, from Petersburg VA

Henry Hall Transcription May 24th, 1864 Download

“I have no doubt he is taken prisoner”
John Hunter to Henry Hall’s Mother, May 23rd, 1864, Original unfinished letter 5/11/1864

A letter written by Hall to his sister that was half-finished. John Hunter continues the letter, now to Hall’s mother, stating that Hall has gone missing.

Henry Hall Transcription May 11th, 1864 Download

More Resources

The Mansfield Historical Society has letters either to/from/about Hall ranging from 1863 to 1865. All other transcripts and letter scans can be found under Hall Letters.

Mitchell Laforce

Posted on November 1, 2022December 2, 2022 by Amanda Rutha

Mitchell Laforce was a resident of Mansfield on February 19, 1864 when he enlisted as a Private in Co. B of the 7th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. He was wounded May 14, 1864 at Drewry’s Bluff, Virginia and he deserted July 16, 1864.

He was not living in Mansfield in the 1860 U.S. census; no further information is known.

Henry W. Thorne

Posted on October 24, 2022October 24, 2022 by Amanda Rutha

Henry W. Thorne was a resident of Mansfield on August 7, 1862 when he enlisted as a Private in Co. D of the 21st Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; he was killed in action at Drewry’s Bluff, Virginia on May 16, 1864. His death was recorded in the diary of Alfred P. Hanks.

“Thorn of our Co. was instantly killed being shot through the head”
Hanks Diary, May 16, 1864

The descriptive muster roll of the 21st Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry lists his age as 25 and his occupation as farmer. He is described as 5’ 7” tall with a fair complexion and dark eyes and brown hair. His marital status is single.

He may have been the Henry Thorne, born about 1837 in Massachusetts. In the 1860 U.S. census, Henry W. Thorne is living in Willimantic, Connecticut. He is listed as 23 year old farmer in the household of Rebecca Ester.

Henry W. Thorne is buried at the Old Willimantic Cemetery in Windham, Connecticut. The other faces of this large monument and surrounding stones are for Edwin M. Thorne, a fellow soldier in the 25th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and the rest of his family. They are probable brothers. A plate of the monument is for Martha A. Thorne, born about 1802; she may be their mother.

James M. Topliff

Posted on October 24, 2022October 24, 2022 by Amanda Rutha

James M. Topliff was a resident of Windham on August 18, 1862 when he enlisted as a Private in Co. D of the 21st Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. He was wounded May 16, 1864 at Drewry’s Bluff, Virginia and discharged June 1, 1865.

The descriptive muster roll of the 21st Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry lists his age as 18 and his occupation as farmer. He is described as 5’ 5” tall with a dark complexion and dark eyes and brown hair. His marital status is single.

He was born about 1843 in Mansfield probably to Francis and Chloe _____ Topliff. In the 1860 U.S. census in Windham, he is a 17 year old farm laborer in the household of Zalman Church. After his Civil War service, he lived in Mansfield and worked as a farm laborer. James Topliff married Mary ____ between 1860 and 1870. He married second, Mary Jane Hutchins, between 1870 and 1880. She was the daughter of George H. Hutchins, a soldier of Co. D of the 21st Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry who was killed at Petersburg, Virginia. Children with his second wife include: George A. Topliff, born about 1879.

On December 20, 1880, he applied for an invalid pension, No. 413,242 that was granted under certificate No. 346,422. A pension application was filed at a later date for minor children.

James M. Topliff died on July 3, 1900 in Mansfield and is buried at the New Mansfield Center Cemetery in Mansfield.

Civil War Timeline 1864-1865

Posted on October 18, 2022December 7, 2022 by Amanda Rutha

The significant events between March 1864 and the passing of the 13TH Amendment