Gaines' Mill to the Post-War Years
ON JUNE 27, 1862, as the Fifth Corps attempted to cover McClellan's change
of base to the James River, Warren's troops launched a furious counterattack
against the oncoming ranks of Gregg's South Carolina brigade. Riding up to
Lt. Col. Duryea, Warren shouted, "Advance the colors! Advance the colors!
Charge!" and with their flags in the vanguard, the cheering Zouaves swept
over the field with leveled bayonets. One Carolinian called the Zouave
onslaught "the most desperate charge I ever witnessed," and the Rebel attack
recoiled. But more Southern troops joined the fray, and the fighting ebbed
and flowed across the corpse-strewn plateau. "The noise was terrific," Sgt.
Thomas Southwick recalled, "but loud above all was the exultant, fiendlike
yell of the Confederate soldiers." Soaked with sweat and stained with
gunpowder, the Zouaves maintained their formation amidst the collapsing
Union line. At one point Lt. Col. Duryea had his men halt under fire and
count off, so that every soldier was in his proper place.Above right, "The Red Devils" -- The 5th New York at Gaines' Mill, by Don Troiani. Click for a full-image view. (101KB)
The battle of Gaines' Mill made it clear to friend and foe alike that the Duryee Zouaves were more than a colorful ornament on the parade ground. Of 450 men who entered the fight, 162 had fallen. "I consider it an honor to belong to this regiment," Lt. Charles Montgomery wrote; "The Regular officers cannot speak too highly of us." One Southern soldier told a captive Zouave, "they never had seen the superiors of the red legs for unflinching courage and coolness." It was a reputation proudly maintained through the following days of hardship that brought McClellan's Army to its new base of operations at Harrison's Landing.
The 5th New York moving under fire at Gaines' Mill, by Keith Rocco.
IN MID-AUGUST, THE ZOUAVES were among Army of the Potomac troops transported north, to join the forces of Gen. John Pope. Hiram Duryea had been sent home with malaria, and the 5th NY went into the battle of Second Bull Run (Manassas) under the command of Capt. Cleveland Winslow, son of Regimental Chaplain Gordon Winslow. On the afternoon of August 30, 1862, Col. Warren deployed his little brigade -- the 5th and 10th NY -- in support of Hazlett's Battery, directly in the face of the Confederate juggernaut rolling down on Pope's naked left flank. It was a desperate act of sacrifice, intended to buy time, and the Duryee Zouaves paid a terrible price. "Where the Regiment stood that day was the very vortex of Hell," Pvt. Andrew Coats remembered; "Not only were men wounded, or killed, they were riddled."
Above right, the Fifth takes the brunt of a Confederate assault at 2nd Bull Run, caught in a "perfect hail of bullets," in a painting commissioned by the National Park Service.
Caught in a murderous crossfire from the Texas Brigade, the New Yorkers were
scythed down where they stood in line of battle. Some men were struck five
or even seven times in a matter of seconds, and as the Rebel pincers closed
around them, Col. Warren ordered the survivors to break for the rear.
"I saw my comrades dropping on all sides," Pvt. Alfred Davenport wrote, "canteens
struck and flying to pieces, haversacks cut off, rifles knocked to pieces;
it was a perfect hail of bullets." In less than eight minutes 330 of the 500
Zouaves enaged were put out of action, 120 of them dead or dying -- the
greatest battle fatality of any Federal infantry unit in the War. Capt.
Winslow was one of only three officers who escaped the slaughter, and
although every man but one in the Color Guard was killed, the precious
banners were brought safely from the field, stained with the blood of their
fallen bearers.
Their ranks again bolstered with recruits, the 5th NY marched on to Antietam, where on September 17 they were held in reserve during the War's bloodiest day. Three months later they fought at Fredericksburg, and on December 15 helped cover the Federal retreat from the ravaged town. Following several months in winter quarters, Col. Cleveland Winslow led the Zouaves in their final campaign, culminating in Hooker's defeat at Chancellorsville. "The officers and men of the Fifth New York behaved as they have always done," brigade commander Patrick O'Rorke reported; "I can give them no higher praise."
WHILE THE TOUGH SURVIVORS of the two-year regiment returned home to a heroes' welcome, 230 later recruits were transferred to the 146th NY to finish their three-year enlistments. In June the 146th adopted a Zouave uniform, and fought gallantly to the end of War, 32 former 5th New Yorkers dying in service. Other veterans battled in the ranks of the 165th NY, or "Second Battalion, Duryee Zouaves," and Col. Winslow organized a 5th NY Veteran Volunteer regiment. These soldiers maintained the uniform and fighting reputation of the Duryee Zouaves to the final victory at Appomattox.
In the photo below, veterans of Duryee's Zouaves march in Manhattan on a bygone Memorial Day.
After the war, determined to keep alive the heroic legacy of Duryee's
Zouaves, members of the 5th New York Veterans Association held monthly
meetings, erected battlefield memorials and marched in commemorative parades
into the 1930s. When William McGuffage, the last of Duryee's Zouaves, died
on May 12, 1940, he was two months shy of his 100th birthday. These old
soldiers would no doubt have agreed with veteran Alfred Davenport, who
wrote, "there are none but are proud to say that they served in the 5th New
York Zouaves." It is a heritage of valor deeply cherished by members of
today's Duryee Zouaves, and one we are equally proud to represent to new
generations.
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Company A, 5th Regiment, New York State Volunteers Duryee Zouaves, Inc.
