This week's hero is...
Walter Morrill
Walter Goodale Morrill was born on November 13, 1840 in Williamsburg, Maine. For most of his early life, he lived on his parent's farm. However, when the future of his country was in jeopardy, Walter Morrill would answer the call of duty and face challenges he never could have imagined.
Part 1
When civil war broke out between the Northern and Southern states, Morrill enlisted in the 6th Maine Volunteer Infantry. Fifteen months later, he was transferred to Company B of the 20th Maine. He saw combat at Williamsburg, Malvern Hill, Fair Oaks, Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Chancellorsville. These experiences turned him into a battle hardened soldier. But at the battle of Gettysburg, Morrill would face a challenge much greater than he ever anticipated.
The Battle of Gettysburg officially began on July 1, 1863. By July 2, the Union Army of the Potomac had been pushed back into a fishhook formation on the outskirts of the city. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia then began to focus their assaults on the two flanks of the Federal army. The Federal right was at Culp's Hill while the Federal left was at a place called, Little Round Top. If either side gave, the whole flank would cave in.
In the thick of the fighting was the 20th Maine under the command of Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. For most of the day the regiment held off repeated attacks by the Confederate Army. But they soon began to run low on their ammunition and half of their complement was killed or wounded. In desperation, Col Chamberlain decided to order a bayonet charge on the Confederates as soon as the latter began their next assault on Little Round Top.
It was Captain Morrill's Company B that would lead this charge. Throughout the battle, Company B had taken the some of the worst of the 20th's casualties. By this time, there were only 44 soldiers that were able to continue fighting (plus 14 men from the 2nd US Sharpshooters). Despite this, all of them fixed bayonets when Morrill gave the order. Hiding behind a stonewall, the men of Company B anxiously waited for the bugle that sounded the charge.
As they heard the Confederates move in close, the bugle for the bayonet charge was sounded. With Captain Morrill at their head, the men of Company B let out a shrill scream and charged down the hill into the Confederates. They were quickly followed by the rest of the regiment. Caught by surprise and demoralized by their own high casualties, many of the Confederates threw down their arms and surrendered. The rest all broke and ran. As they did, Captain Morrill had the men of Company B fire a final volley into the retreating Confederates. This volley is credited with eliminating any chance of a rally from the Confederates. With that, the assault on the Union left at Little Round Top ended. By the end of July 3, the Confederate Army retreated from Gettysburg and victory was won for the Union.
Although much of the credit for the 20th Maine's heroic stand was given to Colonel Chamberlain, he personally credited his soldiers for the victory. Among those he honored was Captain Morrill. Chamberlain wrote that, "he (Morrill) and his skirmishers fell upon the enemy as they were breaking, and by his demonstrations, as well as his well-directed fire, added much to the effect of the bayonet charge that cleared the front of nearly our entire brigade". Captain Morrill had displayed great heroism and courage at the battle of Gettysburg. However, his service and dedication to his country would not end there. Just several months later, his leadership would be put the test once again.
Part II
Approximately four months after the battle of Gettysburg, Captain Morrill found himself once again in the thick of a major battle. His unit would be spearheading a daring night attack on a Confederate fortification at a place in Northern Virginia called, Rappahannock Station.
Despite winning a major victory at Gettysburg, victory for the Union was still very far away. In the aftermath of the Gettysburg Campaign, General George Meade reorganized the Army of the Potomac and launched an invasion of Northern Virginia in pursuit of General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. What followed the would be a series of minor engagements from October to November called, the Bristoe Campaign.
Most of the campaign was fought in the month of October. Although casualties were relatively light, by the beginning of November, neither side had a clear advantage on the other (both armies had not yet recovered from their losses at Gettysburg). General Lee had pulled the Army of Northern Virginia back to a position behind the Rappahannock River. However, he left behind a pontoon bridge that crossed the river at Rappahannock Station. This bridgehead was a small but essential part of Lee's defenses on the Rappahannock River.
General Meade new this too and sent a small portion of the Union Army under the command of General John Sedgwick to capture it. To take the bridgehead at Rappahannock Station, General Sedgwick planned to launch a daring night attack on the Confederate garrison. The men who would be spearheading this attack were 300 soldiers from the 6th Maine and 50 volunteers 20th Maine. The man who would lead the charge was, Captain Walter Morrill. The Confederates were entrenched in a semi-circle position on the north bank of the Rappahannock just beyond a railroad. Under the cover of darkness, Morrill and his volunteers slowly moved across an open plain toward the Confederate right.
At 3 AM, the Yankees let out a shrill yell and charged at bayonet point. Soon the entire field erupted with the sounds of bullets and cannons. Despite taking some severe casualties, Morrill's unit cut its way through the Confederate lines and quickly seized the pontoon bridge that crossed the Rappahannock. By doing this, they cut off the Confederate army's escape route. In desperation, the Confederates attempted to launch a counter attack to retake the bridge, but the rest of the Union army quickly descended on them. Within less than an hour, the battle was over. The Union Army had suffered just over 400 casualties. The Confederates on the other hand lost 1,670 (mostly captured) out of the 2,000 man garrison. Upon learning of the defeat at Rappahannock Station, General Lee realized that his flank was now open to direct attack and was forced to pull his army back to a new defensive line. Thus concluded the Bristoe Campaign.
Epilogue
The credit for the victory at Rappahannock Station was largely credited to Captain Morrill and his small group who spearheaded the attack. For his heroism and leadership that night (and also at Gettysburg), he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Walter Morrill would go on to participate in more than a dozen more battles and engagements and reach the rank of Colonel. Despite being wounded twice, he survived the war and returned to Maine were he raised a family and worked as a landlord. He died on March 3, 1935, at the age of 94.
Walter Goodale Morrill showed great courage and leadership during the War between the States. Throughout the conflict he continually placed himself at the head of his soldiers and made a key difference in several battles. More often than not, not enough credit goes to men like him. He definitely deserves to be remembered as one of the greatest heroes of the Civil War.
https://emergingcivilwar.com/2015/11/18/we-went-and-staid-too/
http://www.pittsfieldhistoricalsociety.org/col-walter-g-morrill/
https://bangordailynews.com/2013/11/08/news/night-attack-in-virginia-cost-washington-county-dearly/
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