Below is a VERY complete Civil War history of my 1st cousin/4 generations removed, Lt. Wallace Jewett, who was tragically killed atop Little Round Top; written by my cousin Martha Jewett with research by her and me.
Clay Feeter,
clayfeeter@aol.comps.
Benjamin F. Partridge, a Captain in the 16th Michigan at Little Round Top wrote after the Civil War was over, “Lieut. Wallace Jewett of Co. ‘K’ was killed by a ball through his head just over his right eye, while cheering his comrades and men with uplifted sword.” (The Bachelder Papers, Vol. I, page 244.)
Wallace E. Jewett
By Martha Jewett
Research by Clay Feeter
There were over 300 people with the surname Jewett who fought in the Civil War on both sides, and three who fought at Gettysburg, according to Clay. This story is about Wallace E. Jewett.
ENLISTMENT
Wallace E. Jewett is our first cousin, four times removed (meaning four generations ago). He was the nephew of Dr. Lester Jewett of Michigan. You can find “Dr. Lester” (b 1793 d 1863) in the Jewett family line in Illustration 1. The Jewett family line in Illustration 1 is written in our grandmother’s hand--Helen Isabell (Gott) Jewett (b 1897 d 1988). The Michigan Jewetts were well-established and knew the governor, according to Clay. Wallace’s father was one of Dr. Lester’s brothers.
Wallace was 21 when he enlisted in Saginaw City, Michigan, on October 7, 1861, with the rank of 1st Sergeant. On November 11, 1861, he mustered into “E” Company of “The Michigan Lancers,” a group of about 200 men from Michigan. The Michigan Lancers joined the Army of the Potomac and went into camp at Hall’s Hill, Virginia, for the winter of 1861-1862. The Michigan Lancers were also known as “Stockton’s Independent Regiment” after Col. Thomas B. W. Stockton, the man who organized them at Detroit, Michigan.
The Lancers were so named because they carried lances. It soon became clear in the face of deadlier firepower that the lance was an outmoded weapon. The 2
lance was abandoned and The Michigan Lancers were disbanded. Wallace E. Jewett was then transferred into “K” Company of the Michigan 16th Infantry on February 28, 1862. The Michigan 16th Infantry is referred to herein as “the 16th Michigan,” “the 16th MI,” and “the 16th”.
MILITARY CAMPAGINS
The 16th Michigan formed part of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 5th Corp, and remained part of that Corp for its entire term of service. The 3rd Brigade consisted of four regiments:
1. 16th MI Regiment—under Lt. Col N. E. Welch.
2. 44th NY Regiment (“the New York Volunteers”)—under Col. James C. Rice.
3. 83rd PA Regiment (“the Pennsylvania Volunteers”)—under Capt. Woodward.
4. 20th ME Regiment(“the 20th Maine”)—under Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who went on to become the 32nd governor of the state of Maine. Chamberlain is the leading figure in the epic Civil War movie, “Gettysburg,” based on the Michael Shaara novel, Killer Angels.
Wallace E. Jewett took part in these military campaigns:
• April 1862—Siege of Yorktown.
• June 27, 1862—Gaines Mills, VA. Col. Stockton’s horse was shot out from under him in the crucial, final hours, while the 16th had to hold the Union line, while the rest of the Army of the Potomac escaped under deadly fire. Col. Stockton was taken prisoner. He was sent to Richmond, Virginia, where he remained until he was exchanged in August, 1862. Gaines Mills is preserved to this day as part of the Richmond National Battlefield Park in Richmond, Virginia (part of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior).
• July 1, 1862—Malvern Hill.
On July 6, 1862, Lt. Col. J. V. Ruehle, commanding the 16th, said of Jewett’s courage in the Malvern Hill campaign:
“Captains Brockway, Elliott, and Martin; Lieutenants Prentiss, Fuller, Brown, and Hill; Sergeant-Major Kydd and Sergeant Chittuck, of Company B; Cook, of Company A, and Jewett, of K, all displayed true courage and the right spirit in the right place. They are particularly worthy of notice.”
• Manassas. The 16th Michigan was exposed to destructive fire and 3 officers and 13 men were killed; 4 officers and 59 men were wounded.
• September 17, 1862, Antietam, MD (not engaged). Participated in pursuing the retreating confederates after Antietam and pushed them across the Potomac River into Virginia.
• November 1, 1862—Harper’s Ferry.
• April 1863—Marched to the Rappahannock River, crossing at Falmouth. On
• May 7, 1863, Col. Stockton, back in command of the 3rd Brigade, said of Jewett:
“To each of my staff—Lieutenant Kelley, adjutant-general, and Captain Nash, assistant inspector-general, Forty-fourth New York Volunteers, and Lieut. Wallace Jewett, aide-de-camp, Sixteenth Michigan Volunteers—I feel under many obligations for the promptness with which they carried out my orders.”
• Fredericksburg. Considerable losses to the 16th.
• Chancellorsville. The 16th held the ground it was assigned to hold.
• June 21, 1863—Middeburg. The 3rd Brigade was under the command of Strong Vincent of the 83rd PA Regiment, as Col. Stockton had resigned on May 8, 1863. 4
• July 1st -3rd 1863—Gettysburg.
The consensus was that Wallace E. Jewett was capable soldier and he was promoted often:
• July 1, 1862—Sergt. Major
• July 29, 1862—2nd Lieut. (As of Co. K)
• February 2, 1863—1st Lieut. (As of Co. K)
• April 1, 1863—Actg. Aide-de-Camp (As of 3rd Brigade, 1st Div, 5th Corp)
THE BATTLE OF LITTLE ROUND TOP
On July 2, 1863, the 3rd Brigade, under Col. Strong Vincent, was ordered to climb a hill now known as “Little Round Top.” Illustration 2 contains a photo of it, taken in 1863. (Military reports at the time refer to it as “jagged rocks and cliffs” but don’t use the name “Little Round Top.” Edward Everett used that phrase in his oration at the dedication of the Soldier’s National Cemetery on November 19, 1863.The name stuck.)
Little Round Top was at the extreme left side of the 3-mile-long Union line. For a sense of the layout of the Battle of Little Round Top, see the diagram in Illustration 4, which was created by Col. James C. Rice in his battle report of July 31, 1863. Col. James C. Rice assumed command of the 3rd Brigade after the death of its commander, Brig. Gen. Strong Vincent, who died on July 7, 1863, of wounds he received in the Battle.
After the Battle, Col. James C. Rice pointed out the strategic importance of Little Round Top:
“The object of the enemy was evident. If he could gain the vantage
ground occupied by this brigade, the left flank of our line must give
way, opening to him a vast field for successful operations in the rear
of our entire army.
To effect this object, the enemy made every effort.”
--Col. James C. Rice, July 31, 1863
Little Round Top was a rocky hill about 150 feet high, with a steep drop into Plum Run, a ravine. Little Round Top was across from Round Top to the south. Round Top was 130 feet higher and more densely wooded. Round Top is the location from which the Confederates attacked.
At first, the four regiments of the 3rd Brigade were the only Union forces fighting:
1. 16th MI Regiment—under Lt. Col N. E. Welch
2. 44th NY Regiment—under Col. James C. Rice
3. 83rd PA Regiment (“PA Volunteers”)—under Capt. Woodward
4. 20th ME Regiment—under Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.
The 16th Michigan “was at the right at the front edge of the rocks and was much more exposed than other parts of the line.” (Col. James C. Rice, July 31, 1863.) It was vulnerable to sharpshooters (snipers) at Devil’s Den. The 16th also had fewer men because two of its Companies—Brady’s Sharpshooters and Company A—had been sent out to skirmish. (Plum Ravine, Devil’s Den, Little Round Top, and Round Top are mapped in Illustrations 4 and 5.)
Confederates attacked almost as soon as the 3rd Brigade arrived at Little Round Top, at 4 pm on July 2, 1863. “The brigade [the 3rd Brigade, including the 16th Michigan] had scarcely formed line of battle and pushed forward its skirmishers when a division of the enemy’s forces, under General Hood, made a desperate attack along the entire line of the brigade. He approached in three columns, with no skirmishers in advance.” (Col. James C. Rice, July 31, 1863.)
For the next hour, the Confederate forces charged again and again. “At every charge, he was repulsed with terrible slaughter,” wrote Col. James C. Rice (July 31, 1863). “Despairing of success at this point, he made a desperate attack upon the extreme right of the brigade” [where the 16th Michigan was], “forcing back a part of the Sixteenth Michigan. This regiment was broken, and through some misunderstanding of orders, explained in the official report of the commanding officer, it was thrown into confusion; but being immediately supported by the 140th NY Volunteers, the line became again firm and unbroken.” (Col. James C. Rice, July 31, 1863.)
“The enemy again and again attacked the center with great vigor, and the extreme left with desperation. Passing one brigade of his forces by the right flank in three columns, he pushed through the ravine toward the left of our brigade, came immediately to a ‘front,’ and charged upon the Twentieth Maine. Now occurred the most critical time of the action. For about a half an hour the struggle was desperate.” (Col. James C. Rice, July 31, 1863.)
In the midst of this ferocity, several other things happened:
1. The 3rd Brigade’s commander, Col. Strong Vincent, was mortally wounded. Col. James C. Rice took command. He says he walked up and down the line to
let the officers know he was taking command and that he was determined to hold the line to the last.
2. The 3rd Brigade ran out of ammunition. Col. James C. Rice said he had no aide or orderly to get the message to his command. He pressed into service officers who “pledged their honor” that they would deliver in person every order he sent them. He sent them to get more ammunition.
3. More ammunition arrived.
4. Col. James C. Rice sent other officers he had pressed into his service with messages to the general commanding the Corps, asking for reinforcements.
5. Reinforcements soon arrived from the 5th Division: the 155th PA, 146th NY, 91st PA, and 140th NY. (Shown in Illustration 6.)
The reinforcements which arrived from the 5th Division tipped the momentum in favor of the Union. The 20th Maine charged up Round Top. By 8 pm, Union forces pushed Confederate forces all the way back. By 9 pm, they took control of Round Top, moved the wounded to the back, and took Confederate prisoners.
Somewhere in the midst of all of this, Wallace E. Jewett died. We think he was probably hit in the first few assaults by Confederate forces. Remember, Col. James C. Rice said he had no “aide or orderly” to convey messages? (See item #2 above.) Since Wallace E. Jewett was an aide—he had been promoted on April 1, 1863, to Actg. Aide-de-Camp (As of 3rd Brigade, 1st Div, 5th Corp)—he was probably already dead.
After the Battle, the commander of the 16th Michigan, Lt. Col. N.E. Welch, wrote of him:
“Lieutenants Browne, Company E, Jewett, Company K, and Borden,
Company F, died, bravely defending the flat they had sworn to support
and that they loved in their hearts, and emulating the bravest. I had
no truer or purer officers, and their loss cannot be replaced.”
--Lt. Col. N. E. Welch, July 6, 1863
Col. James C. Rice also cited him:
“It is again fitting to mention the names of the brave and faithful of
the command who fell in this desperate struggle. Of the Forty-fourth
New York Volunteers, Capt. L. S. Larrabee and Lieutenants
Dunham and Thomas; of the Twentieth Maine, Lieutenant Kendall,
and of the Sixteenth Michigan, Lieutenants Browne, Jewett,
and Border were killed.”
--Col. James C. Rice, July 31, 1863
Benjamin F. Partridge, a Captain in the 16th Michigan at Little Round Top wrote after the Civil War was over, “Lieut. Wallace Jewett of Co. ‘K’ was killed by a ball through his head just over his right eye, while cheering his comrades and men with uplifted sword.” (The Bachelder Papers, Vol. I, page 244.)
He was buried on July 3rd. The commander’s report notes, “The following morning the prisoners of the brigade buried all of our own dead and a large number of those of the enemy.” (Col. James C. Rice, July 31, 1863.)
Lt. Wallace E. Jewett, Company K, 16 Michigan, is memorialized in the National Cemetery which President Abraham Lincoln commemorated on
November 19, 1863 (see The Gettysburg Address in Illustration 7). You can easily find Wallace’s gravestone (MI plot H-2—see photo at Illustration 9) by walking along the Michigan row of graves there, according to Clay. Wallace E. Jewett was 23.