Mike Deason
44th and the Seven Days
Mon Feb 5 03:13:53 2001


Indeed, I should have been a bit more careful (and less lazy), so let me clarify.

The 44th arrived in Petersburg on June 25; so indeed, they were in the theatre of operations at the beginning of the Seven Days.

As stated from the OR, their first major task in the field was "to protect the junction of the New road with the Charles City road" along with a battery (Ross'or Huger's?)
They missed the fight at Frazier's Farm, due in part to trees which had been fallen by the bluecoats as they retreated.

As for the next day, I believe that what happened was that Ross' Battery, on temporary assignment from Cutts' Sumter Battalion, and Huger's Battery were held back and the 44th remained with the battery(ies) in reserve/support by order of Magruder.

Continuing, Wright states in his report:

"That night (June 29) I received orders to move my brigade at daylight next morning across to the New road (about l 1/2 miles to the north of the Charles City road and running parallel to it), and follow down that road toward White Oak Bridge, feeling cautiously for the enemy, then supposed to be on some of the numerous islands or farms in White
Oak Swamp: Captain Ross battery, of Lieutenant-Colonel Cutts artillery, had been the day before attached to my brigade, amid leaving this on the Charles City road, with instructions to follow as soon as I should need them, at early dawn on the morning of June 30 I moved my brigade across the woods and fields until I fell into the New
road near Hobson's house."

Later in his report, Wright mentions "having no artillery with us" at Malvern Hill. Armistead directed Wright to bring up Grimes' Battery (of Mahone's Brigade.) Eventually, Grimes' battery was forced to retreat.

The next battery ordered up was Pegram's and it also was soon silenced.

Armistead, in his report, states he called for more artillery but that the guns never arrived.

Also notice, that no casualties are listed for Ross' or Huger's batteries either.

These things lead me to believe that Ross' and Hugers' batteries never advanced and the 44th remained with one or both of them.

Throughout the remainder of Wright's report, it becomes clear (through fact of omission) that the 44th was probably not yet formally brigaded with Wright's other regiments engaged at Malvern Hill. As a matter of fact, Wright tells how his brigade is formed, with the 4th Georgia on the right, the 3rd Georgia on the left and the 1st Louisiana and "a few" of the 22nd Georgia in the center.

It could also be constructive at this point to consider that although the 44th was still not formally assigned to any brigade, it could have been that Huger and/or Magruder had already planned to place the 44th in Wright's. Also, it could have been that Wright thought the 44th was only temporarily assigned to his brigade and since they had little to no impact on events at Malvern Hill, deemed them unworthy of mention in his report.

IMO, since the 44th was not under *direct* fire from the enemy at Malvern Hill I would not count this as one of their "actions".

So, in a nutshell:

Yes, the 44th did arrive in the theatre just as the Seven Days was beginning, not at the conclusion. However, as a unit, they were never directly engaged at any point in the campaign and they did not effectively become part of Wright's brigade until after Seven Days.

A tip of the hat to Tim for pointing some of this out.

As a side note it is interesting to note that the Private Henry Sturgis, Co. G, had been granted permission to go to Richmond the morning of the 29th. Upon returning that evening, he discovered the regiment had already moved out. He then fell in with the 8th Alabama (Wilcox's Brigade) and became the first man in the 44th to be involved in action the next day at Frazier's Farm. The rest of the men of the 44th would have to wait until August 30 for their first taste of combat.

Also, upon the arrival of the 44th in Virginia, Lt. Col. Charles A. Derby w

Granpaw — Tim, Mon Feb 5 10:12