The 2nd Massachusetts Infantry
at Resaca (May 13-16, 1864):
Vignettes

Capt. Francis Crowninshield had fought with the 2nd Massachusetts in most of the battles from Winchester to Gettysburg, but it was at Resaca that he fired his pistol in action for the first time. He thought he hit his target, but in the smoke and confusion, he could not "tell for certain."

It was, remarked Crowninshield, a "singular occurance" that none of the regiment's officers were wounded during the battle. He himself had a close call when a rebel bullet pierced his trousers, cutting through his drawers and stockings but did not touch his ankle.

Recovering some of their pre-1862 cockiness, the officers of the 2nd Massachusetts expressed amusement that what would have been considered a heavy skirmish in the Army of the Potomac was called a "very heavy battle," in the Western theater. "They don't know what fighting is here in mass," Crowninshield observed. "All their fighting is a species of skirmish." And as for the rebels--"It only takes two well delievered volleys to make them run."

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