Lot # : 28 - CIVIL WAR LETTERS 7TH RHODE ISLAND INFANTRY TO COL

Lot of 10 Civil War letter grouping written to Colonel David R. Kenyon of the 7th Rhode Island Infantry Regiment. The letters are mostly inter regimental correspondence between officers of the regiment. Excellent.  David R. Kenyon who was a residence Richmond Rhode Island and enlisted on 9/4/1862 as a 1st Lieutenant. On 9/4/1862 he was commissioned into "A" Co. RI 7th Infantry. He Resigned on 3/2/1863. He was listed as: * Wounded 12/13/1862 Fredericksburg, VA. Promotions: * Capt 1/7/1863 (As of Co. I) Intra Regimental Company Transfers: * 1/7/1863 from company A to company I.  History: On the 22d day of May, 1862, a general order was issued to enlist and organize the Seventh Regiment R. I. Volunteers, to serve during the war. Camp Bliss was established at South Providence for drill and for the formation of soldierly habits, preparatory to the fatigues of the march and the conflict of the field. Welcome B. Sayles, Esq., of Providence, having been commissioned Lt.-Col., engaged energetically in the work of enlistment, which, owing to unfavorable circumstances, proceeded slower than in preceding Regiments. By the unwearied diligence of officers and agents the Regiment had nearly reached its maximum number early in September. September 10th it broke camp, and under the command of Col. Zenas R. Bliss, an accomplished officer, proceeded to Washington, where it arrivedon the 12th, having been hospitably entertained on the way, at New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. The trip was made by rail to Groton, Conn., thence by the steamer " Commonwealth " to New York, and from there by the steamer "John H. Potter," to South Amboy, N. J. The remainder of the trip was made by rail. When near the Relay House, W. P. Hopkins was swept from the top of the moving train, by wires, and seriously cut about the head. The Regiment encamped on East Capitol Hill until September 17th, when it moved across the Potomac to Arlington Heights, and was assigned to the command of General Gabriel Paul, of the Second Brigade, Casey's Division. Here drills for field service occupied the time until September 29th, when the Regiment proceeded by way of Frederick City, Md., to Sandy Hook, near Harpers Ferry, and encamped at the foot of the main elevation of Maryland Heights, and was there visited by General Burnside. The first deaths (two members of Co. A) occurred while at this camp. October 27th, the Regiment broke camp, and marchingto Berlin on the Potomac, crossed the river on a pontoon bridge and started on the Fredericksburg Campaign, passing through Lovetsville, Amissville and Warenton Junction, enjoying a variety of new experiences, and arriving November 20th at its position before Fredericksburg, and took a creditable part in the hard fought battle of December 13th. Throughout that sanguinary day the Regiment exhibited the most unflinching bravery, and after spending all its ammunition besides that procured from other Regiments and from the dead and wounded, remained on the field with fixed bayonets until ordered off at 7.30 P. M. In this battle the Regiment suffered severely, 31 of its number being killed and 122 wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel Sayles was instantly killed by the fragment of a shell, and Major Jacob Babbitt was mortally wounded. Adjutant Charles F. Page, Captains Rowland G. Rodman, James H. Remington and Lewis Leavens, Lieutenants George A. Wilbur and David R. Kenyon, and Sergeant Major Joseph S. Manchester, were severely wounded. Col. Bliss had several narrow escapes. The remains of Lieutenant-Colonel Sayles were brought to Providence, and after lying in state in Representatives Hall, under a spacious marquee formed of mourning drapery, were entombed December 20th in Grace Church Cemetery, with masonic and state military honors. The deceased was fifty years of age when he fell. He was a native of Bellingham, Mass., and possessed uncommon executive ability. He was for eight years postmaster in Providence, was one of the founders of; and for several yearschief editor of the Providence Post, and had long been a conspicuous leader of the Democratic party in Rhode Island. The remains of Major Babbitt were conveyed to his home in Bristol, R. I., where January 1,1863, they were buried with military honors. Major Babbitt was a prominent citizen of Bristol, and at the time he entered the service was president of the Commercial Bank in that town. After the battle of Fredericksburg, the Regiment remained at its old camp near FaImouth, suffering much from sickness and death until February 9, 1863, when with its corps it proceeded to Newport News and camped a mile above the landing. Here it received a donation of vegetables and about three hundred boxes of personal comforts brought by the schooner " Elizabeth and Helen " as tokens of affectionate remembrance from home. Here, too, its health and discipline were materially improved. From Newport News the Regiment proceeded to Kentucky with the Ninth Army Corps under Genera] Burnside, who had been assigned to the Department of the Ohio. March 25th, the Regiment prepared to march, but encountering the paymaster, the men enjoyed their first army pay day, and then took the steamer "Swan" to Baltimore, and going via Harrisburg, Pittsburg and Cincinnati, it reached Lexington by rail, March 31st, and at different dates until the 1st of June, 1863, was at Winchester, Richmond, Paint Lick, Lancaster and Crab Orchard. From Kentucky it proceeded to join the Army of the Tennessee in front of Vicksburg, Miss. It embarked at Cincinnati on steamboats, and disembarked at Sherman's Landing. On the 15thof June it made an effort to join General Grant's army, in the rear of Vicksburg, but before accomplishing that design, was ordered to Snyder's Bluff, on the Yazoo river, to assist in defending Grant from an attack by Johnston. On the surrender of Vicksburg, the Regiment was joined with other troops in pursuit of retreating Johnston. July 10th, in crossing the plantations of Jeff and Joe Davis, part of the contents of the former's library, which had been secreted, was discovered, and much of the private correspondence seized as a trophy of war.July 11th, aided by the Sixth New Hampshire Volunteers, it destroyed about five hundred yards of the Mobile and Ohio Railway and also cut and burned the telegraph. July 12th, Jackson was reached, and here the Regiment was ordered to the support of the Second Brigade, then engaged on the skirmish line. On the morning of the 13th it relieved the 35th Mass. Regiment, then skirmished the entire day with the Rebels, losing Adj. John Sullivan and Lt. Fuller Dingley, who were captured, Sgt. John K. Hull and Jonathan R. Clarke of Co. G, killed, and nine men wounded. The 17th Michigan Vols. Relieved the Regiment on the morning of the 14th, and on the night of the 16th the Confederates evacuated the city. In this affair which really assumed the proportions of a battle, officers and men behaved with great gallantry. Lt.Col. Job Arnold, a superior officer, joined the Regiment in the west, and shared its fatigues and dangers until forced from the service by sickness. July 20th the Regiment left Jackson, and on the 23d arrived at the old camp at Milldale, where the campaign of the Mississippi ended. The return march to Milldale, a distance of about sixty miles, was accomplished in about eighty hours. From July 4th to the 24th, it made long and fatiguing marches, was often under arms in the night, and suffered much for want of shoes, clothing, and full rations. August 8th, the Brigade embarked on steamboats for Cairo, and soon ran aground in the Yazoo river. In attempting to get off, the boat containing the Seventh Rhode Island broke her rudder and was detained until the afternoon of the 10th. Many of the men were taken sick with Yazoo fever, and during the trip up the Mississippi, three died and were buried on shore. August 20th, the troops arrived at Cincinnati and proceeded to Nicholasville, Ky. The campaign in Mississippi, honorable alike to officers and men, was severe in its effects upon the Regiment. Including the two killed at Jackson, there was a loss of thirty-five by death to October 1st, besides many subsequently discharged or transferred to the Invalid Corps. On the 7th of September, the Regiment was ordered to join the army of General Burnside in Tennessee, buton representation of its condition it was sent to Lexington, Ky., to do provost duty. By steadiness in battle, cheerful endurance of long marches and scanty fare, and fidelity in the discharge of every duty assigned it, the 7th Rhode Island has shown that the praise awarded by its Commander, was merited. After a very enjoyable stay of ten weeks, in a delightful region that the ravages of war had not perceptibly touched, the Regiment was ordered to Southern Kentucky, and from December 24th to January 5th, 1864, marched via " Camp Nelson," " Camp Dick Robinson," Dix River Bridge, Hall's Gap and Somerset, to Point Burnside on the Cumberland river, where they were engaged in guarding lines of communication and in building roads until March 27th, when the Regiment joined the Ninth Army Corps on its journey back to Virginia. April 2d, the Regiment commenced a railroad journey, proceeding by the way of Cincinnati and arriving on the 6th at Baltimore, thence by propeller "James Jerome" to Annapolis, where it went into camp, and on the 12th participated in the 9th Corps review by Generals Grant and Burnside. It left Annapolis for Alexandria, Va., April 23d, and at Washington on the 25th passed in review before PresidentLincoln and General Burnside, who were standing on the balcony at Willard's Hotel. April 27th it left the encampment on Arlington Heights, marched to Fairfax Court House, and April 28th crossed Bull Run creek at Blackburn's ford and camped four miles beyond Manassas Junction, reaching Bristoe Station April 29th and remaining in camp there until May 4th, when the Regiment proceeded to the front at Warrenton Junction. On the 5th it, was detached from its Brigade to guard trains, but rejoined it in time to share in the bloody struggles around Spotsylvania Court House. On the 10th, it lost one man wounded. On the 12th, it occupied and held a position from which two large Regiments had been driven. In a skirmish on the 13th, Lt. Darius I. Cole was killed. On the 18th, the Regiment held a position in front of the Union lines for six hours, exposed to a raking fire from a battery in closeproximity. During six days it lost 62 in killed and wounded. May 26th, Color Sgt. S. F. Simpson was killed. All the way to Petersburg, from May 19th to June 16th, hard marching and hard fighting were its daily experience. It may be mentioned here that on June 2d, at Cold Harbor, James W. Gavitt of CO. K, accomplished the surprising feat of capturing and delivering to Hd. Qrs., two well-armed confederates of the 7th Tenn., though a Brigade staff officer endeavored to cheat him out of the capture. General Burnside personally complimented him, but he rejected all tenders of promotion. June 3d, at Bethesda Church, the Regiment lost 48 men, (6 killed and 42 wounded),out of about 150 in line that morning. June 14th, the Regiment crossed the Chickahominy river; on the 15th, the James river, by. a pontoon bridge at Harrison's Landing, and after marching all night arrived the next day at Petersburg, and while there its decimated ranks were replenished by the re-enlisted veterans and the recruits of the 4th Rhode Island, which (Oct. 21st) became consolidated with it. From the opening of the campaign to May 18th, Capt. Theodore Winn commanded the Regiment; from May 18th to June 15th, Capt. Percy Daniels was in command; from June 15th to June 17th, Capt. Alfred M. Channell was in command, and then Capt. Daniels again assumed command and June 29th was commissioned Lt.-Col. Until July 2d, the Regiment, moving nearly every day, was engaged in picket duty, in digging pits and in skirmishing, and on that date. by official orders, was relieved from the Brigade and assigned to duty as engineers of the Division. It was camped in a point of woods on the farm and near the residence of Mr. William B. Taylor, adjacent to which Fort Morton was immediately constructed. On the 4th, it commenced work on the permanent entrenchments, and this, with the construction of facines and gabions, constituted its employment while at this camp until the morning of July 30th, when the confederate battery at Elliott's Salient, on the adjoining farm of Mr. Griffith, was blown up by being mined and fired by a Regiment of the Brigade. After the explosion of the mine before Petersburg, July 30th, Lt.-Col. Percy Daniels was made Bvt. Col. for gallantry and general good conduct. In this battle he received three bullets through his clothes and on several occasions was touched by rebel lead though never wounded. August 19th, the Regiment moved to a position near the Weldon railroad, again going to work on fortifications, and until the 25th of September was employed in building roads, forts, bridges and breast works. On the 25th, it suddenly moved four miles to the right, and camped near the Jerusalem Plank Road, but on the 28th returned to the preceding camp. On the morning of the 30th, marching to the left, it crossed the Weldon railroad and halted during the engagement of the forenoon. Here the 5th Corps, supported by the 9th Corps, encountered the Confederates on the Peeble's Farm beyond Poplar Spring Church. The 7th was then sent to the left with tools to cut a road, but finding the ground upon which it was to work held by the enemy's pickets, dropped their tools and deploying with the 48th Penn. and the 21st Mass. Vols. drove the enemy back. Meantime the works on the right had been carried, and the road was no longer needed. They were then ordered to take position in the rear of the Division, which had crossed the line of works just taken near Peeble's House. They found the Division a mile to the right and front, and halted in a corn field in front of the Pegram House, a little to the rear of the place where the Division was then engaged. A little later a heavy force of the enemy charged the Union line, and one of the new Regiments breaking, the enemy crowded into the gap, flanking the Regiments to the right and left, and capturing several hundred prisoners, started the line back in some confusion. The 7th was then called upon, and forming in the corn field checked the advance of the rebels, thereby preventing the capture of Jacob Romer's New York Battery, and saving the day. The Regiment, faced by ten times its own number, was forced slowly back a short distance, but forming behind the fences around the Pegram House, again checked the enemy, while General Potter re-formed the line on its right and left. The rebels, foiled in their attempt to break the Federal line and recover the lost works, withdrew, leaving only a skirmish line which was driven back. In the affair of September 30th, Lieutenant Samuel McElroy was mortally wounded, Gilbert Durfee of Co. a, and Stephen A. Clarke of CO. K, were killed, and Corp. Andrew J. Whitcomb of CO. E, and four privates were wounded. Colonel Daniels' horse was shot under him here. A heavy line of works with forts was constructed, and on October 8th, while Colonel Daniels was in front superintending slashing timber between the lines, his horse was again shot from under him. October 13th, Regimental camp was moved a little to the rear where Fort Fisher was staked out and commenced. October 27th, in a general advance to the left, the Regiment moved towards Hatcher's Run, and on the 29th returned to its former camp on Pegram Farm, where the usual drills, inspections, reviews and fatigue duty were experienced. Occasionally squads of deserters came into -the line, and on November 8th the men enjoyed an army presidential election. From this time until the 20th, it experienced much stormy weather. On the 24th, the Regiment celebrated an army Thanksgiving day. Besides the seven cases containing ninety cooked turkeys, with fixings, sent by Rhode Island friends, they received numerous donations of dainties from other sources. On the 29th, much to the regret of the men, orders were received to change places with the second corps on the right, near the Appomattox river, and the 7th was assigned with the 35th Mass. to the duty of completing and garrisoning the famous " Fort Hell " on the Jerusalem plank road. The charge was made on the next day, and the 7th was assigned to bomb proofs vacated by the 86th and 73d New York Infantry of General De Trobriand's Brigade. On the following day while the men were earnestly investigating the vicinity, the mortar battery opened fire and they soon learned the fitness of the name "Fort Hell," officially known as Fort Sedgwick, a heavy, unfinished, irregular earthwork, thrown up during the summer months by night working parties, on the farm of Hon. Timothy Rives. Here the 7th Rhode Island enjoyed the most exciting experiences- the Confederate pickets were sufficiently near to carry on conversation in an ordinary tone of voice; shotted salutes for several of General Sherman's victories, including the captures of Columbia, Charleston and Wilmington, and frequent bombarding on general principles, picket firing, trading, the welcoming of Confederate deserters, the execution of deserting " bounty jumpers " from the Union Army and the receiving of Confederate commissioners under flags of truce, served to make the days at this point full of sensations and dangers. March 25th, the enemy surprised and captured Fort Steadman, just before dawn, and the garrison witnessed the assault by which it was retaken. During the latter half of the four months the Regiment was in garrison in Fort Sedgwick, beside the regular picket and breast work guard duty, they stood at the breast works the latter part of every night. In addition to this extra duty the Regiment participated in several expeditions toward Ream's Station, and the men were anxious for the spring campaign to open, preferring field service to underground life in the bomb proofs and trenches. Sheridan's victory at Five Forks on April 1st, made Lee's position untenable unless Sheridan could be drivenback, and both to prevent the re-enforcing of the troops on Sheridan's front, and to break the weakened line on Meade's, General Grant at once ordered an assault on the defences of Petersburg and Richmond, and the bombardment on the night of April 1st was as grand and terrific as any during the War. Several regiments remained in forts they garrisoned during the assault, to hold that line in case of disaster to the assaulting columns, and among them was the 7th, but the Regiment was under fire from the time the bombardment begantill the battle was over on the night of the 2d. The Regiment opened the lines of abattis for the division to pass through in forming, carried ammunition, entrenching tools and rations to them after they had obtained a lodgment in the enemy's: works, and lost 3 officers and 11 enlisted men wounded. The wounds of Bvt. Maj. Peleg E. Peckham and Lt. Albert A. Bolles, both esteemed officers, were mortal. General Potter, the division commander, was seriously wounded at his station in the fort in the early part of the day. During the pursuits of the remnants of the army of Northern Virginia, the Regiment was with the Ninth Corps, and after the surrender of Lee, encamped for a short time about four miles from Farmsville, as patrols while the paroled army was going home. The corps was then ordered to Washington, and the Regiment reached Alexandria, April 28th, and encamped on the heights near Fort Lyon on the farm of Peyton Ballenger.While at this camp, it participated in the grand review at Washington, May 23d, and was mustered out of service at Alexandria, Va., on the 9th of June following. By General Orders the names of the following battles in which the Regiment had borne a meritorious part were directed to be inscribed on its colors: Fredericksburg, Cold Harbor, Siege of Vicksburg, Petersburg, Jackson, Weldon Railroad, Spotsylvania, Poplar Spring Church, North Anna, Hatcher's Run. The Regiment immediately set out for Providence, where it arrived in the steamer "Oceanus" from New York, Tuesday morning, June 13th, accompanied by the 35th Mass. Vols. en route home. They were received with a salute fired by the Marine Artillery, and escorted by the Pawtucket Light Guard Battalion (Col. Horace Daniels) marched through several of the principal streets, which were lined by thousands of people, to the City Hall, the American Brass Band leading the column. Here an ample collation had been provided by L. H. Humphrey, under the direction of Capt. Henrie E. Crandall, Assistant Commissary General, Upon taking their places at the table, Adjutant General Edward C. Mauran introduced Abraham Paine, Esq., who made a brief and hearty address of welcome to the Regiment, and to the stranger guests who had been invited by Governor Smith to partake of the State's hospitality. The Regiment returned with 350 enlisted men and 20 officers. In marching by the residence of General Burnside, themen cheered their old and beloved commander in the most enthusiastic manner, which was a touching demonstration of affection he gracefully acknowledged. June 21st, Col. Daniels issued a spirited farewell order, and the Seventh Regiment of Rhode Island Volunteers, with its record of gallant deeds, passed into history. There still remained in the field, Co's B, D, and G of the re-enlisted veterans of the Fourth Rhode Island, and the recruits belonging to the Seventh, whose term of service had not expired. These, by special order of the War Department, were formed into a battalion of three companies to be known as "Battalion Seventh Rhode Island Volunteers." This organization was continued until July 13, 1865, when it was mustered out of service near Alexandria, Va. The men, about 200 in number,returned to Providence under the command of Capt. Caleb T. Bowen with Adjutant George B. Costello and Surgeon C. G. Corey. The other commissioned officers were Capt. Daniel S. Remington and Lt. A. R. Collins, Co. B, Capt. Winthrop A. Moore and Lt.Merchant Weeden, Co. D, and Lt. C. Goff, Co. G. The battalion reached Providence at 3 o'clock Wednesday morning, July 17th, and was refreshed with a bountiful breakfast prepared under the direction of Capt. Crandall. An intended public parade was prevented by the storm.