Chaplain William L. Hyde of the 112th New York Infantry Autograph Letter Signed on the Bombardment of Fort Fisher. ...

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"One of the grandest scenes ever witnessed in war. Never before have so many guns been opened at once with such powerful metal on a fort."

Chaplain William L. Hyde of the 112th New York Infantry Autograph Letter Signed on the Bombardment of Fort Fisher. Ten pages of bifolia, 4.875" x 8", "[U.S.S.] Steamer C. Thomas, At Sea enroute to Beaufort, N.C."; December 27, 1864. Chaplain William H. Hyde of the 112th New York Infantry mustered into service with the regiment on September 11, 1862. In late 1864, the 112th was placed onboard the U.S.S. Charles Thomas and sailed toward North Carolina to participate in the Carolina Campaign. In late December, they were off the coast of Wilmington and began the assault on the Confederate stronghold of Fort Fisher. That same night, a storm blew in and several men were left exposed to the elements throughout the night. The gale was so strong that the Charles Thomas and Baltic were blown together and barely escaped being sunk. In this letter to his wife, Elizabeth, Hyde describes the assault and subsequent collision in exhaustive detail. It is written on U. S. Christian Commission letterhead and reads, in part:

"The whole force was at work getting ready for shore. About 2 all the boats from the fleet began to gather round us to take the land force ashore. This was a slow job as no proper ladders had been provided. At last our brigade was landed - the first ashore. And they moved up the beach towards Fort Fisher in fine style. The navy had done their work so well that no opposition was made to our landing. Meanwhile the bombardment of the fort was going on. One of the grandest scenes ever witnessed in war. Never before have so many guns been opened at once with such powerful metal on a fort. Our brigade captured some 250 Rebs and went up to the fort, and one man crept up and took the flag from the parapet of the fort. All the men were now anxious to make a charge feeling that they could with little difficulty take the fort. We learned that the force inside was not large, and after such a terrible bombardment, we resolved that they must be greatly demoralized. It was the golden moment. Then or not at all. Genl Weitzel concluded it could not be done and Genl Curtis was ordered to fall back. The barometer indicated the approach of a storm. As our brigade had been the first ashore, so now it was the last to embark. About dusk the surf began to rise, soon it became impossible to get to or from shore. What a predicament to be in. Col Smith had ordered me to remain onboard the boat, so I had a fine chance to see and altho' at first disappointed, I began now to feel glad that I was left. It came on very dark. They Navy was drawn from the Fort. And our boys were then about 1000 of the 2 Regts, with 250 prisoners & we could not get to them nor they to us. Imagine my anxiety, the road to Wilmington was open, Fort Fisher was but 3 miles off. The Navy could give but little aid, and they must depend upon themselves. What if a force of 3000 should come down, from in the woods... nothing could save them from capture. We knew the enemy was not far off for we had already exchanged shot with them. 3 gunboats came up and lay along the shore and all night threw shell at intervals into the woods beyond our men...

I felt anxious about the Regiment and as a I lay in my berth praying for them and unable to get asleep... I heard someone call out Charles Thomas three times, and then 'you're afoul of us' I jumped from my berth and as I did so there was a crash which made us shake all through and almost sent us sprawling on the floor. I ran out and saw just over our stern the huge Baltic and on it came crash, and as our boat tried to get away, I could hear by the grating of the Propeller that we had got fouled in the anchor chain of the Baltic... But just then the Baltic slipped her chains and then lurched off from us... The expedition is a fizzle as I supposed it would be. Ben Butler is a very poor military chieftain, judged by what he has done. I have never had any confidence in its success from the way in which it started and then, why will military men spurn God's Sabbath as they do? I did hope that Christmas Sunday we would be permitted to rest and worship God. But no, they must go into a fight, and God has confounded their designs... Unless God appear for us, our cause & all is lost. I feel in all dangers that God is a very present help. I never so realized."

This letter was published in Jim Quinlan's Armed Only with Faith, a compilation of Chaplain Hyde's correspondence and journals.

Condition: A few minor smudges which do not affect legibility.

More Information: William Lyman Hyde (1819-1896) was born in Bath, Sagadahoc County, Maine, to Henry and Maria (Hyde) Hyde (third cousin to Henry). After attending public schools in Bath, Hyde taught for three years at a military and classical school in Ellsworth, Maine, before entering a program of theological study at Bangor Seminary, graduating in 1848. The following year, Hyde began a seven-year tenure as a minister at Gardner, Maine, and later was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Dunkirk, New York, for a number of years. On May 4, 1852 he wed Elizabeth Rice, daughter of Warren and Mary Webster of Wiscasset, Maine. Hyde resigned his ministry in 1862 to serve as Chaplain of the 112th New York Infantry, a position he held until the end of the Civil War. The regiment was organized at Jamestown, New York, and mustered in for three years-service on September 11, 1862. They participated in sixteen battles, including Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Chaffin's Farm, Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road, Fort Fisher, and the Carolinas Campaign. The 112th New York Infantry mustered out of service June 13, 1865. After the war, Hyde served as a pastor in Ripley and in Sherman, New York, until 1874, when he became principal of the Ovid (New York) Academy and Union School. In 1884, Hyde moved to Jamestown, New York, where he was associated with the Jamestown Journal, of which his son was an editor. In 1866, Hyde published a book, History of the One Hundred and Twelfth Regiment N.Y. Volunteers which remains the only regimental history concerning the 112th Infantry. Jim Quinlan edited and published a collection of his correspondence and journals in 2015 in Armed Only with Faith.