C Co. 15 NH Volunteer Infantry Regiment

17 Oct 1862 – 13 Aug 1863

Pvt. Moody Howland, ancestor of Brother Stuart Whitehead, was born in Landaff, NH 12 Nov 1837 . He was a seventh-generation direct descendant of Henry Howland who came to Plymouth Colony in 1621. Moody married Julia Jackman in 1859 and together they produced 15 children. Julie died in a fireworks accident on the 4th of July 1897. Moody subsequently married Amanda Wells Smith in 1902. Moody died of ailments related to his war service on 27 August 1909 in North Woodstock, NH.

War Service.

In May 1863, Union land and naval forces began a campaign they hoped would give them control of the full length of the Mississippi River. One army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant commenced operations against the Confederacy's fortified position at Vicksburg at the northern end of the stretch of the river still in Southern hands. At about the same time, another army under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks moved against Port Hudson, which stood at the southern end. Banks's lead division encountered Confederates on May 21 at the Battle of Plains Store. By May 23, Banks's forces, which increased in strength from 30,000 to 40,000 men as the operation progressed, had surrounded the Port Hudson defenses. Banks hoped to overrun the entrenchments quickly, then take his army northward to assist Grant at Vicksburg.

Within the Confederate fortifications at Port Hudson were approximately 7,500 men. Their commander was Maj. Gen. Franklin Gardner, a New Yorker by birth. His goals were to have his men defend their positions as long as possible to prevent Banks's troops from joining Grant, and to keep Confederate control of this part of the Mississippi.

The Fighting and Siege.

On the morning of May 27, 1863, under Maj. Gen. Banks, the Union army launched ferocious assaults against the lengthy Confederate fortifications. Among the attackers were two regiments of African-American soldiers, the 1st and 3rd Louisiana Native Guards. The attacks were uncoordinated, and the defenders easily turned them back causing heavy Northern casualties. Andre Cailloux, a free man of color from New Orleans and the Captain of the 1st Louisiana Native Guard, Company E, died heroically in this first assault. His death became a rallying cry for the recruitment of African American soldiers. Union generals Thomas W. Sherman and Neal Dow were both seriously wounded and Col. Edward P. Chapin was killed in this attack.

Banks's troops made a second, similarly haphazard assault on June 14. Again they were repulsed, suffering even more dead and wounded soldiers, including division commander Brig. Gen. Halbert E. Paine, who fell wounded, losing a leg.

These actions constituted some of the bloodiest fighting of the Civil War. The Confederates began building their defenses in 1862, and by now had an elaborate series of earthworks. One of their officers provided the following description of the line of these barriers, which, as their name suggested, were made mainly from hard-packed dirt:

"For about three-quarters of a mile from the river the line crossed a broken series of ridges, plateaus and ravines, taking advantage of high ground in some places and in others extending down a steep declivity; for the next mile and a quarter it traversed Gibbon's and Slaughter's fields where a wide level plain seemed formed on purpose for a battlefield; another quarter of a mile carried it through deep and irregular gullies, and for three-quarters of a mile more it led through fields and over hills to a deep gorge, in the bosom of which lay Sandy creek."

Assault on Port Hudson, 27 May 1863 Moody Howland's Chain of Command

19th Army Corps – Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks

2nd Division – Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Sherman

1st Brigade – Brig. Gen. Neal Dow

15th NH Volunteer Regiment – Col. John W. Kingman

C Company – Capt. Moses Lang

The Attack.

The Fifteenth Regiment was at the head of the charging column, with the Sixth Michigan, who were few in numbers, and their auxiliaries from the Fifteenth Regiment advanced as skirmishers. The regiments formed in column four rods apart.

The "Forlorn Hope".

"In preparation, volunteers were called from the Fifteenth New Hampshire regiment to join the Sixth Michigan to lead the advance. When the volunteers were assembled, a sixth Michigan officer, who was in command, explained to them that they were to carry material and bridge the ditch in front of the enemy's parapet to permit the passage of the infantry and artillery; the method of its work and its dangers were fully explained. The Negroes shouldered heavy poles to lay across the ditch in the face of the enemy, the plank carriers would then place their planks on top of the poles and so bridge over."

Reminisces Pvt Moody Howland a Member of the Forlorn Hope.

"Was one of the volunteers for the advance guard, and carried one of the planks. It was of hard wood, one and a half inches thick, a foot wide, and six feet long. Negroes carried poles. When the rebel gunners showed themselves we fired on them, and so kept the guns silent. This was after we had got up front and laid down. Several of the Negroes were killed and wounded. I stood on my knees and loaded and fired. I came off at sunset. I received a shot in the left cheek that glanced down the jaw bone, and a shot in the arm. A day or two after, the bullet was removed from my check. I carried my plank across my breast. When the rebels opened with grape, one of them went through my plank near my arm. I did not miss any duty on account of my wounds."

While Union assaults failed, the Confederates eventually surrendered Port Hudson on 9 July after a siege of 48 days and 5 days following the fall off Vicksburg. The Mississippi River was now under Union control and the 15th New Hampshire returned home, departing on 25 July first by steamship to Cairo, IL then by rail to Chicago and on to Concord, NH. Moody was honorably discharged 13 Aug 1863.