Roscoe G. Philbrick
&
the 7th Maine at Antietam
By Robert W. Philbrook
(Originally
published in the February 2001 issue of the PPFA Newsletter)
September 17, 1862 was to become known as America’s
“Bloodiest Day” when the Army of the Potomac (led by Major General George B.
McClellan) battled with Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at
Sharpsburg, Maryland. During this
engagement the North suffered 12,882 casualties and the South lost 11,530
soldiers killed, wounded or captured. Twenty-three
year old Private Roscoe George Philbrick; Company F. of the 7th Maine
Infantry Regiment, would become one of those casualties.
Roscoe was the son of Moses Ham Philbrick7, (Levi6, Joseph5, Joses4, Joseph3, James2, Thomas the Emigrant1) and Elizabeth Ireland. He was born in Parkman, Piscatquis Co., Maine on April 11,
1829.
Roscoe enlisted in the 7th Maine on the 13th of August 1862 in
Skowhegan, Maine. Less than a month
later he would find himself in one of the biggest battles of the war.
Roscoe would carry a 56-inch, 9 lbs rifle into battle.
The model 1861 Windsor musket fired a .58 caliber bullet and each soldier
carried about 60 rounds of ammunition. At
5 foot 11 inches, Roscoe would have no trouble managing the four and ½ foot
rifle.
His regimental commander, Major Thomas Hyde, age 24; was well liked by the men
of the 7th Maine. He
knew Roscoe by name, along with almost all the rest of his soldiers and though a
man of few words, he would share the danger with his men at all times.
The 7th Maine was part of 3rd Brigade, 2nd
Division, 6th Army Corps. 3rd
Brigade was under the command of Col. William H. Irwin and along with the 7th
Maine, he also had under his command the 20th, 33rd, 49th
and 77th New York. The
struggle at Antietam had been raging since early morning when the 7th
Maine and her New York comrades entered the field of battle around noon that
day. Irwin’s (3rd
Brigade) troops joined the struggle after exiting south of the East Woods near
the farm of Samuel Mumma. Almost
from the start of 3rd Brigade’s participation, things got out of
control.
Roscoe watched as the 20th New York, followed by the 77th
New York, headed in different directions of attack. The enemy seemed to be everywhere and the 7th
Maine, who was third in line, was ordered to the left by one of Col. Irwin’s
aides. If Roscoe thought of running
to the rear, he probably had second thoughts.
Next to the 7th Maine, Col. Ernest Von Vegesack, the volatile
Swedish commander of the 20th N.Y., was firing his pistol at the skulkers in his
New York regiment who failed to charge with the rest of the unit.
As the 7th moved south from the woods it crossed the recently
plowed fields of Mumma’s farm and past the small family cemetery.
Tearing down fences as they went, the 7th Maine was headed
straight for the rebel soldiers of the 27th North Carolina under
command of Colonel John R. Cooke.
Col. Cooke, out numbered ordered his men to withdraw after firing one more
volley towards the 20th New York.
Roscoe watched as the Confederates fled in front of the 20th
New York, but an order came for the 7th to advance towards Roulette
Farm and flush any remaining rebels from the area. The ground was littered with dead. For many, including Maj. Thomas Hyde of the 7th
Maine, the images of the dead and
dying would be burned into their memories for the remainder of their lives.
From the West Woods, past the Hagerstown Pike, Confederate artillery fired solid
shot and grape canister (golf-ball size steel balls) at the advancing Federals
of 3rd Brigade. Roscoe
hid among the boulders at the end of the cornfield beyond Mumma &
Roulette’s Farms. Over the din of
battle he could hear the screams of Lieutenant Emery (7th Maine) who
had been shot in the gut during the advance from Roulette Farm. Along with the rounds from the Rebel Artillery flew hundreds
of minnie balls from Confederate muskets.
To their right, the men of 20th New York were taking a large
number of casualties. Col. Von
Vegesack insisted that his men keep their 20th N.Y. regimental flag
aloft. Maj. Hyde knew this was
foolish and that the arrogant Colonel was only drawing the fire from the Rebels.
Roscoe watched as Maj. Hyde, dodging sniper fire, ran over to Col. Von
Vegesack. Hyde implored him to
lower his colors. Colonel Von
Vegesack replied vainly, “Let them wave.
They are our glory.” And
with that, the Colonel reeled his horse around and trotted off to shoot at more
skulkers who had fallen behind and were not sharing the glory of dying with
their comrades.
Orders had come down from General McClellan for Federal forces on the right and
center to hold their positions. For
the next several hours, Roscoe was content to have the Union Artillery do the
fighting for them. The thunder of
three-inch cannons from Wolcott’s Battery (B Co., Maryland Light Artillery)
sent shells screaming across the sky and Roscoe peered past the boulders to see
the rounds impact on the Rebel positions. Capt.
Wolcott though had problems of his own. Confederate
Sharpshooters (snipers) south of the Sunken Road (or Bloody Lane) were hitting
the men manning the guns and he implored Col. Irwin (3rd Brigade
Commander) to do something about it. Before
long Maj. Hyde (7th Maine) got word that he should send a company of
skirmishers towards the Sunken Road and flush out any remaining troops there.
As the skirmishers of the 7th Maine moved forward, the last remaining
Confederates were driven from the Sunken Road.
What the New England men saw was horrific. Dead Southerners lay three bodies deep for over 200 yards.
Irwin rode
over to the 7th Maine and yelled furiously at Major Hyde for sending
only a company of men. “That is
not enough, sir;” the Colonel growled, “go yourself; take your regiment and
drive them from those trees and buildings…”
Across the fields and in the direction that Col. Irwin indicated lay a
large portion of Lee’s Army, and Hyde was not of the opinion he could whip
“Bobby Lee” with just his Regiment alone.
Maj. Hyde asked Irwin to repeat the order, hoping he had heard it wrong. Col. Irwin repeated again, “Take your regiment and drive
the enemy away from those trees and buildings.”
“Colonel, I have seen a large force of rebels go in there, I should think two
brigades” Hyde protested. The
Colonel was losing patience and replied, “Are you afraid to go, sir?” Hyde knew it was pure folly to send his 100+ man regiment
against at least two Brigades of rebels supported by artillery.
“Give the order so the regiment can hear it, and we are ready, sir”
the young Major stated.
Roscoe and the rest of the Regiment listened as Colonel Irwin gave the fateful
order for the 7th Maine to proceed towards the enemy.
Fighting back his emotions Thomas Hyde ordered his men of the 7th
to attention. Roscoe looked nervously toward one of the officers in company
F, Lt. Lyman M. Shorey. Lt. Shorey
knew as well as the rest of the officers and enlisted men that they were about
to face overwhelming odds. Major
Hyde, fearing the worse had ordered the two teenage guidon bearers (those who
carried little flags which would mark the left and right of the regiment) to the
rear. He didn’t want them to die
so young.
The men of the 7th Maine proceeded down to the Sunken Road and on
towards Piper’s Farm. All of them
saw the carnage that the earlier assaults by the Federals against the Rebels
there had done. Many tried not to
look down as they stepped over, around and on the gray, dead faces of their
fallen enemy. Others looked on in
astonishment at the broken bodies and equipment that littered the road.
Many simply contemplated their own end and prayed for deliverance.
Once the column passed over
the Sunken Road and its deceased rebels, Major Hyde formed the regiment behind a
rail fence and ordered the men to fix bayonets. The scrapping of steel was heard as Roscoe and the rest of
the 7th mounted their bayonets on the end of their rifles. About this time, Confederates in the orchard to the left and
others in the fields in front fired into the 7th
Maine. Hyde ordered a charge and
the men ran at the double quick
towards the enemy. Facing them were
men from 7th Georgia, 1st Texas and 2nd
Mississippi who were positioned along the Hagerstown Pike.
About this time, Wolcott’s Federal guns fired in support of the charging 7th
Maine. Canister rounds of grape
shot flew through the air, but to the men’s horror, several rounds fell short
striking four New England soldiers in the back. From the front, Confederate guns poured lead into the
oncoming Maine regiment. Hyde, who
was mounted on a Virginia thoroughbred, saw Corporal Harry Campbell the
regimental color bearer, hit in the arm.
The 7th halted twice during the charge to fire volleys of minnie
balls at the rebels. Some of the
Confederates began to break from the haystacks leaving battle flags, the wounded
and dead behind as Hyde’s men advanced. The
Major rode his horse about 20 yards in front of his Maine men to retrieve the
fallen Rebel colors but as he did, the Southerners rose and fired into the 7th.
The men in blue fell from the enemy fire. Ten
or more line officers, including Roscoe’s Lt. Shorey were hit along with about
two thirds of the regiment. It was
probably at this moment that Roscoe felt the Confederate ball strike his leg and
he went down, wounded. The rebels
saw the Maine men fall and seeing that they were the only Federal regiment to
attack, rallied and began to close on the men of the 7th.
The rebels countercharged after Roscoe and his retreating Maine regiment.
Crossing a rail fence, the men of the 7th headed back into the
partial safety of the orchard, but Major Hyde’s horse became entangled in the
fence until a sergeant came to the rescue and tore away the rails.
A rebel canister volley struck the Sergeant and Major Hyde’s horse.
The sergeant uninjured, but his backpack in shambles, joined the regiment
who began to regroup. Hyde
inspected his horse and found that the beast was slightly wounded, but not out
of the fight, and he galloped to rejoin his men who had passed through the
orchard to the other side (heading north.)
Confederates were now swarming through the opening in the fence (about 100 yards
away) but were being held at bay by fire from the Union regiment.
Somewhere in the orchard, Color Bearer Harry Campbell, screamed in pain
from being hit by the enemy. The
regimental flag fell to the ground and Roscoe watched as Major Hyde wheeled
about and headed south to retrieve it. Hyde
soon found himself surrounded by the enemy, and though it was almost dusk, he
could clearly see the word “Manassas” on a near by enemy flag closing on
him. A dozen rebels nearly captured the Major before out of the
dim light voices rang out, “Rally, boys, to save the major!” The
7th men fired into the rebels and a Sergeant named “Hill” swung
his saber-like bayonet at the faltering Rebs until his commander could escape.
Again the unit reformed and the remaining sixty-five enlisted men, and three
officers and their brave Major gathered around the bullet ridden regimental
flag. One hundred and one other men
of the unit lay dead, dying and wounded in the orchard and fields where the 7th
had fought. The battle had lasted
about thirty minutes and in the end 12 were killed, 63 wounded (including Roscoe
Philbrick), and 20 were missing or captured.
Major Hyde ordered his men to form and return to their original position
on the other side of “Bloody Lane” returning to the cheers of a brigade of
Vermont comrades.
Colonel Irwin praised Hyde and the men of the 7th Maine in his after
battle report. As for Hyde
and several other of his officers, they wept at the loss of their fallen
brethren. Wounded, but still able
to walk, Roscoe would never forget that horrible day of death and valor. His part of the war was nearly over for after the battle at
Antietam, General George McClellan ordered the 7th Maine to return to
Portland (Maine) for reorganization and recruiting.
Roscoe’s wound would heal but it left him too lame to continue to serve in the
Army. He was “unfit” for duty
the last 60 days of his service until he was discharged in May of 1863.
After the war Roscoe moved to Michigan in 1865.
Later in his life, plagued by his wound and disease from the war, he
would apply for and receive a pension of $19 for his service.
Apparently he never married or had any children.
On March 20, 1917 Roscoe G. Philbrick died at the Eastern Branch,
National Home for Disabled Veteran Soldiers in Maine.
His body is buried at the cemetery in Togus, Augusta Co., Maine.
Note:
Though all the events in the story are historically accurate, portions
mentioning Roscoe’s personal reactions during the battle are hypothetical
& based on the experiences of other soldiers in the regiment. - RWP
Sources:
Earl
J. Coates and Dean S. Thomas. An Introduction to Civil War Small Arms.
John
Michael Priest. Antietam:
The Soldiers’ Battle
The War
of the Rebellion: A Compilation of
the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies
Time
Life Books & Ronald H. Bailey. Bloodiest Day:
The Battle of Antietam
William
C. Davis. The Battlefields of the Civil War
Pension Records of Roscoe G. Philbrick; Co. F 7th Maine; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Rev.
Jacob Chapman. Philbrick
& Philbrook Families
Special thanks to Alfred G. Philbrick of Bronson, FL for his contribution of Roscoe G. Philbrick’s pension records to the P.P.F.A.
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