“Just Like Sap – Boiling, in the Stream”
1862 Peninsula Campaign
The Vermont troops waited in vain for reinforcements; Corporal Alonzo Hutchinson was mortally wounded while crossing the Warwick River and died without signaling for support. The Union leaders also failed to exploit the break in the Confederate lines. Brigadier General William Smith had fallen twice from his horse and was knocked unconscious. Moreover, Captain Fernando Harrington was missing from the battlefield. Thus, Captain Samuel Pingree took command and rallied the men against a second attack. He was seriously wounded in the fight, and while serving as governor of Vermont, received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1891.
Julian Scott, (a 16-year-old musician) crossed the Warwick several times under fire to remove at least nine wounded comrades, including mortally wounded Private William Scott.
William Scott had been caught asleep on sentry duty on August 31, 1861, and a military court sentenced him to death by a firing squad. President Abraham Lincoln pardoned the “sleeping sentinel” who later stated, “I will show President Lincoln that I am not afraid to die for my country.” He died of his wounds on April 16, 1862. For his gallantry at Dam. No. 1, Julian Scott was awarded the Medal of Honor in February 1865. He remarked that the Confederate fire was, “just like sap-boiling, in the stream, the bullets fell so thick.” After the war, Scott put his battlefield experiences on canvas and enjoyed an art career.
Marker can be reached from Constitution Way, on the left when traveling east.
Courtesy hmdb.org
