22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry - Overland Campaign and The Siege of Petersburg

Overland Campaign and The Siege of Petersburg

On April 30, 1864, the 22nd broke camp and marched southeast from Rappahannock Station. Lieutenant General Ulysses Grant had now assumed command of Union forces as general-in-chief and although Major General George Meade remained in command of the Army of the Potomac, Grant was determined to follow the army in the field, directing its movements. The resulting campaign during the spring of 1864 was known as the Overland Campaign and saw relentless attacks on the part of the Union army under Grant. The reinforced 22nd began the campaign with about 300 men. By the close of the campaign, the regiment would be reduced to about 100.

During the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5–6, 1864, the regiment lost 15 killed and 36 wounded. The regiment was heavily engaged in the Battle of Spotsylvania on May 9–10. On May 10, the 22nd was ordered to take a line of rifle pits that had been abandoned by Union troops and taken by the Confederates. The 22nd deployed as skirmishers under the command of Major Mason Burt and advanced under heavy fire. The regiment was successful in taking the Confederate position, but at a heavy cost of 17 killed and 57 wounded, nearly 50 percent. During the Battles of North Anna and Totopotomoy Creek, the 22nd acted again as skirmishers, winning praise for their maneuvers in advance of their division.

By this time, Grant had pushed Lee's army south to within 10 miles (16 km) of Richmond. The final assault of the Overland Campaign came with the Battle of Cold Harbor—a number of futile attempts by Grant over the course of June 1–3 to break the heavily entrenched Confederate lines. The 22nd was active during all three days of the battle, particularly on June 3 when they were again deployed as skirmishers in front of their brigade, now commanded by Col. Jacob B. Sweitzer, in the vicinity of Bethesda Church. Sweitzer's brigade, with the 22nd in the advance, made a charge across open ground, pushing back the Confederate forces in their front. During the Battle of Cold Harbor, the 22nd lost 11 killed and 11 wounded, now numbering less than 100.

Lee's army now dug in around Petersburg, Virginia and the long Siege of Petersburg commenced with several frontal assaults on the Confederate position. The 22nd took part in the assault on June 18, 1864. Again the regiment was deployed as skirmishers in front of their brigade. They were ordered to take a ravine alongside the Norfolk Railroad. Advancing at a run in the face of heavy canister fire, the 22nd reached the ravine. However, in that position they were subjected to severe musket and artillery fire from the Confederates, and so they pushed forward to the Norfolk Railroad cut, forcing the Confederates back to their entrenchments. In the assault on Petersburg, the 22nd lost seven killed and 14 wounded.

During the latter part of June 1864, the 22nd was marched to several different positions along the siege lines outside of Petersburg, expecting to participate in another assault. Finally, around June 30, 1864, the regiment was stationed in the trenches and remained there for six weeks.