Stephen Minot Weld was commissioned as a Union officer in January 1862. He served in the Army of the Potomac as an aide to corps commanders Fitz John Porter, John Reynolds, and John Newton until August 1863, when he became the lieutenant colonel of the newly formed 56th Massachusetts Infantry. Assigned to the First Brigade, First Division of the Ninth Corps, the regiment crossed the Rapidan on May 5, 1864, with about 550 men in its ranks. Weld took command of the 56th Massachusetts the next day when its colonel was killed in the Wilderness, and then led the First Brigade for nearly a week at Spotsylvania after its commander became “sun-struck.” The regiment crossed the James on June 15 and assaulted the Petersburg defenses two days later, capturing a line of rifle pits before being driven back by a Confederate counterattack after it ran out of ammunition. (In a memoir written in 1912, Weld blamed the lack of ammunition on his division commander, Brigadier General James H. Ledlie, “a coward” who “took the liquor to try and fortify himself for the fight,” and described finding him in “a drunken sleep” after the June 17 attack.) Weld wrote to his father about the course of the Virginia campaign.
HEADQUARTERS 56TH MASS. VOLS., June 21, 1864.
DEAR FATHER,—We moved out to the front last evening, relieving General Barlow’s division of the Second Corps. The idea is, I believe, to have the Second Corps moved to the left, to prevent a flank movement by the rebels.
There is one thing that I have noticed throughout this campaign. The newspapers have been giving a false and incorrect report of the state of the army and of our battles. They have claimed great victories, where we have been repulsed, and have not stated our losses correctly. It is perhaps necessary to have such reports go abroad in order to prevent our people from being discouraged, but I don’t like to see them.
The only time that Grant has got ahead of Lee, was in crossing the James River, and attacking Petersburg. He did outmanœuvre him there, most certainly, but did not follow up his advantage. The feeling here in the army is that we have been absolutely butchered, that our lives have been periled to no purpose, and wasted. In the Second Corps the feeling is so strong that the men say they will not charge any more works. The cause of the whole trouble, in my opinion, is owing to the carelessness of those high in command, such as corps commanders and higher officers still, who have time and again recklessly and wickedly placed us in slaughter-pens. I can tell you, Father, it is discouraging to see one’s men and officers cut down and butchered time and again, and all for nothing.
I don’t wish you to think from all this that I am croaking. I feel that we shall take Richmond in time, but hope that some consideration and some regard for life will be shown in doing so. We can’t afford to make many more such bloody attacks as we have been doing. The enemy will outnumber us if we do so. We shall have to settle down to a siege of Petersburg and take the place in that way. We have our lines so near the city that it will not be a difficult matter to burn and shell the whole concern out, if necessary.
I have 180 men left for duty in my regiment, and this is a fair-sized regiment.
We are quite fortunate in our position here. We are in woods, with the enemy’s line about 300 yards in our front. The woods screen us from them, so that we can walk around with comparative safety, but on our left the line is outside the woods, and woe betide any man who shows his head. The whistling of innumerable bullets around him warns him of the dangerous proximity of the enemy. The camp that we left yesterday was in the middle of a dusty field, where all the dead on both sides, killed during the charge of the 17th, were buried. The effluvia got to be unbearable finally, and we were all glad enough to change to any position, no matter where.
Can you do anything to help recruit this regiment? If you have a chance, I wish you would put some good men in it, as we need them very much.
My health has been remarkably good during the whole campaign. We have been remarkably fortunate in regard to weather, having had pleasant and dry weather almost all the time.