Battle of Roanoke Island (February 1862) One of the first objectives for Burnside's expeditionary force was to capture
Roanoke Island in
North Carolina. After a harrowing sea voyage through a violent
storm, during which hundreds of Connecticut soldiers perished due to
illness, the Tenth was put ashore on the North Carolina coast. The two-day battle for Roanoke Island started with Union
gunboats bombarding the Confederate positions. The Tenth faced a daunting task trying to dislodge the 3,000 enemy defenders. Captain Pardee of the Tenth wrote, "They had three pieces of
artillery fronting and commanding this clearing; and large numbers of
riflemen perched in trees, behind the turfed walls and under all possible covers." The Tenth along with the other Connecticut units made a determined advance and completely routed the Confederates. After the victory, the Tenth was recognized for their bravery and excellent soldierly actions by commanding General
John G. Foster. The Tenth also won praise from their comrades in the 8th Connecticut Volunteers, being written about as "the gallant Connecticut Tenth". The Tenth sustained the heaviest losses in the
Battle of Roanoke Island in North Carolina by any regiment engaged, with 56 soldiers killed or wounded.
Battle of Newbern (March 1862) ''. 5 April 1862 After taking Roanoke Island, the next Union objective was to move up the
Neuse River and attack a Confederate position at
Newbern, North Carolina, a strategic coastal town, west of the Outer Banks. On the morning of March 13, General Burnside ordered the entire brigade to advance on the Confederate position. The Confederates had established a long line of impressive defensive
fortifications manned by 7,000 soldiers and a large number of heavy artillery. Here, a heavy and sustained rifle fire from the Tenth Connecticut weakened parts of the Confederate line. This allowed the
8th Connecticut and
4th Rhode Island troops to charge and begin the rout of the enemy forces. Newbern was soon under Union control. In his report, General Foster praised the men of the Tenth, writing, "...(the Tenth) advanced..., in line of battle, fired with the most remarkable steadiness,..., giving and taking the most severe fire."
Action at Rawls Mills (November 1862) The Tenth remained in Newbern all throughout the summer of 1862. The next action for the Tenth came in November 1862, when the regiment was ordered to attack a rebel supply route near
Rawls Mills, N.C. The Tenth was out in front of the Union troops, the first to take fire in leading the advance. Rebel troops were pushed back repeatedly as the Union troops marched through
Williamston and continued on to capture Rainbow Fort on the
Roanoke River. Two weeks later, the Tenth was back in Newbern having accomplished their mission.
Battle at Kinston (December 1862) In December 1862, the Tenth moved out of Newbern to support
General McClellan's attack on the Confederate capital of Richmond and to cut off the Wilmington Railroad. The first encounter with the Confederate forces was near the Kinston Bridge over the Neuse River. The advance of the first two lines of Union troops was halted by the Confederate resistance and
swamp terrain. Here, General Foster called on the Tenth to make a breakthrough. The Tenth pressed the attack through a hailstorm of bullets. They charged the Confederate positions, and, after half an hour of murderous, close-range, rifle-exchanges, the Tenth gained the upper hand. The Confederate lines collapsed. As they retreated, the Confederate troops set fire to the strategic Kinston
bridge. Undeterred, the Tenth managed to douse the flames, capture the bridge and drive off the enemy forces. In this battle, the Tenth captured 100 Confederate soldiers and all of the Confederate artillery. This had been the most difficult fighting that the Tenth had experienced, thus far. The losses were large, both in officers and enlisted ranks. Of the three hundred and sixty officers and men sent into action, over a third were killed in action or died within four days of the battle. General Foster again hailed the Tenth as the "bravest among the brave".
Battle of Goldsborough Bridge (December 1862) The Tenth was given no time to rest. The regiment moved on toward the town of
Goldsborough, North Carolina Again the Tenth was at the front of the Union force. At Goldsborough the regiment destroyed Confederate railroad tracks and a burned a
railroad bridge. With the mission accomplished, the Tenth returned to Newbern, having absorbed one fourth of all Union losses in this expedition.
Assault on Fort Wagner (July 1863) During 1862, despite the Union Army advances along the Carolina coast, the Confederacy had largely succeeded in defending its territory, beating back the stronger Union forces with superior battlefield leadership. At the beginning of 1863, the Union Army was still in search of a major, morale-boosting
victory. The Tenth finally moved out of Newbern, North Carolina, in January 1863. The regiment was ordered to
St. Helena Island, South Carolina, near
Charleston. The Union blockade of Charleston harbor was effective, but the city remained in Confederate hands. In early July, the Tenth was ordered to join a large-scale assault on
Fort Wagner, situated on nearby
Morris Island.This was part of the second Union attempt to capture Charleston. The Tenth's main role in the assault was a successful diversionary action. The main attack force consisted of the
African American troops of the
54th Massachusetts and the
6th Connecticut (as depicted in the motion picture
Glory). The attack on Fort Wagner did not initially succeed, although Union forces did breach the fort's defenses. After the attack, Union soldiers spent months digging
trenches parallel to the Confederate lines. This tactic eventually proved a successful
strategy as the Confederate troops abandoned Fort Wagner in early September.
Down the Atlantic coast to St. Augustine, Florida In late October 1863, the Tenth was ordered down the Atlantic coast for rest and recuperation in
St. Augustine, Florida. The men of the Tenth were able to regain their strength at St. Augustine, but the enemy was always nearby. In fact, twenty two soldiers of the regiment were captured and one soldier was killed during a Confederate
ambush. The men of the 10th were escorting a
wood chopping detail near the base when the Confederates attacked.
On the James River, City Point and Bermuda Hundred (May 1864) As 1864 began, the Union Armies of the
Potomac and the
James were methodically pushing General Lee's Army to the strong defenses of the Confederate capital of Richmond. During February 1864, Connecticut veterans of the war were given
furloughs. Veterans of the Tenth arrived in New Haven on February 19 and then travelled to Hartford. They were warmly received and praised by town and state leaders. Veterans of the Tenth re-enlisted for another three years and new recruits joined the regiment. In May 1864, men of the Tenth Connecticut were back on the front line. The regiment was assigned to the Tenth Corps in the
Army of the James. Their first mission was to take the strategic
riverfronts at
City Point and
Bermuda Hundred in Virginia. The 10th regiment and accompanying Union troops accomplished this mission by moving quickly up the James River, surprising the Confederate forces, and landing unopposed. City Point, situated on the confluence of the James and
Appomattox Rivers, would later become General Grant's main headquarters and the Union's staging area for the
siege of Petersburg and Richmond.
Battle of Fort Darling (Drewry's Bluff) (May 1864) The next objective of the Union force was a march toward Richmond to encircle the Confederate capital. In their path stood
Fort Darling, a strong defensive position on the James River, near Drewry's Bluff and just south of Richmond. The assault on Fort Darling did not succeed. However, the Tenth fought bravely, mainly in
rearguard action, protecting other Union regiments. Despite this setback, Union troops continued on toward Richmond.
Repelling an attack on the march to Richmond In early October, the advancing Union army was suddenly counterattacked by Confederate
cavalry and
infantry units. The Tenth fended off the attack despite fighting with an exposed flank, as an adjacent
New York regiment turned and ran when the Confederates charged. General H.M. Plaisted, commander of the Tenth Army Corps, wrote of the Tenth Connecticut, "In my opinion, the conduct of the Tenth Regiment, when the troops on its right broke and fled, saved the Army of the James."
Battle for Fort Gregg (April 1865) By early April 1865, Union forces were at the outer defenses of Petersburg. The Tenth was now poised to attack Fort Gregg, an intimidating defensive position, consisting of well constructed trenches and
earthworks, backed up by many artillery pieces. On April 2 the Tenth, supported by the
100th New York Infantry, advanced toward Fort Gregg, facing murderous
cannon and
rifle fire. Many of the Tenth fell far short of their objective. But, the main body of the regiment reached the fort, and there began fierce hand-to-hand combat. The Connecticut flag was first to be placed on the parapet of the fort, and after the brutal struggle, the Tenth Connecticut emerged victorious. Victory came at a high cost; half of the Tenth's assault force were either killed or wounded. After the battle, Major General
John Gibbon, presented to the Tenth Connecticut, an ornate bronze eagle, resting on a globe to place atop the Connecticut state flag. This distinction went to the men of the Tenth for "...for gallant conduct in the assault on Fort Gregg...".
Appomattox Court House (April 1865) The men of the Tenth were pressed into action once again in pursuit of the retreating Robert E. Lee. Lee withdrew from Richmond to
Danville, Virginia and looked to link up with General Johnston's army in North Carolina. At dawn, on April 9, Lee tried to break through Union lines near Appomattox Station, 100 miles west of Richmond. After an initial surge forward by the Confederate troops, the Tenth and First Connecticut Cavalry blocked Lee's escape. The war lost, Lee signed the
surrender of the
Army of Northern Virginia, just hours later, at Appomattox Court House. The 10th Connecticut was present. ==Record and legacy==