The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 1, Issue 1, April 2015 | Page 56

are making. It is all show.” 16 Seymour disobeyed orders, disregarded his staff’s
advice, and failed to heed a warning that a large Rebel force was lying in wait at
Olustee.
A large number of Confederate skirmishers encountered Seymour’s
brigade in a swamp thirty-five miles west of Jacksonville. Henry’s Mounted
Brigade, the cavalry, and the 7th Connecticut went into battle first. The 7th New
Hampshire was deployed to the right and the 8th USCT to the left, between
artillery regiments. A few days before the battle, Seymour forced the 7th New
Hampshire to exchange their Spencer carbines for unfamiliar Springfield muskets,
many lacking bayonets and some inoperative. Colonel Hawley ordered the 7th
New Hampshire near the Pond; however, the order was misunderstood and the
regiment broke into confusion, refusing to rally. Lieutenant Oliver Norton
described how the 8th USCT faced the enemy:
Military men say it takes veteran troops to maneuver under fire, but our
regiment with knapsacks on and unloaded pieces, after a run of half a
mile, formed a line under the most destructive fire I ever knew. We were
not more than two hundred yards from the enemy, concealed in pits and
behind trees, and what did the regiment do? At first they were stunned,
bewildered, and knew not what to do. They curled to the ground, and as
men fell around them they seemed terribly scared, but gradually they
recovered their senses and commenced firing. And here was the great
trouble – they could not use their arms to advantage. We have had very
little practice firing, and though they could stand and be killed, they could
not kill a concealed enemy fast enough to satisfy my feelings. 17
The 8th USCT maintained their position “before a terrible fire, closing up as their
ranks were thinned out, fire in front, on their flank, and in the rear, without
flinching or breaking.” 18 This regiment performed “with a courage worthy of
veterans.” 19 Captain John Hamilton of the Third U.S. Artillery valued the sacrifice
of the 8th USCT: “My heart bled for them; they fell as ten pins in a bowling alley;
but everything depended on their sacrifice and that of my battery until we could be
relieved or the new line formed.” 20 The Confederates charged the left flank of the
8th USCT. As he ordered his men to continue firing as they slowly fell back,
Fribley was shot in the chest. He told his men to carry him to the rear and died a
few moments later. His body was placed on the footboard of one of Hamilton’s
limbers. 21 Major Burritt took command, but soon fell wounded (both legs broken).
The regiment slowly retreated to the rear.
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