Battle of Honey Hill

Battle of Honey Hill
Part of the American Civil War
Date November 30, 1864 (1864-11-30) Location Jasper County, South Carolina Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
John P. Hatch George Preble	Charles Colcock G. W. Smith
Units involved
Coastal Division, Department of the South South Atlantic Blockading Squadron	1st Georgia Militia 3rd South Carolina Cavalry 32nd Georgia Infantry 47th Georgia Infantry Stuart's Light Company Artillery Depass' Light Battery Kanapaux's Company Light Artillery [1]
Strength
5,000	1,400
Casualties and losses
746 total 89 killed, 629 wounded 28 captured	47 total 8 killed 39 wounded

Savannah Campaign Griswoldville Buck Head Creek Honey Hill Waynesboro Fort McAllister Altamaha Bridge

The Battle of Honey Hill was the third battle of Sherman's March to the Sea, fought November 30, 1864, during the American Civil War. It did not involve Major General William T. Sherman's main force, marching from Atlanta, Georgia, to Savannah, but was a failed Union Army expedition under Maj. Gen. John P. Hatch that attempted to cut off the Charleston and Savannah Railroad in support of Sherman's projected arrival in Savannah.

Contents 1 Engagement 2 Union Order of Battle 3 Confederate Order of battle 4 Casualties 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links

Engagement

Hatch's expeditionary force left Hilton Head, South Carolina, for Boyd’s Neck (above Beaufort) on November 28. It consisted of 5,000 men—two brigades of the Coast Division of the Department of the South, one naval brigade, and portions of three batteries of light artillery. They steamed up the Broad River in transports to cut the Charleston and Savannah Railroad near Pocotaligo. Due to a heavy fog the troops were not disembarked from the transports until late the following afternoon, and Hatch immediately started forward to cut the railroad near Grahamville ^[2].

However, the expedition maps and guides proved worthless and Hatch was unable to proceed on the right road until the morning of November 30. At Honey Hill, a few miles from Grahamville, he encountered a Confederate force of regulars and militia, under Col. Charles J. Colcock, with a battery of seven guns across the road. Determined attacks were launched by U.S. Colored Troops including a brigade led by Alfred S. Hartwell that included the 54th Massachusetts and 55th Massachusetts.^[3] The position of the Federal force was such that only one section of artillery could be used at a time, and the Confederates were too well entrenched to be dislodged. Fighting kept up until dark when Hatch, realizing the impossibility of successfully attacking or turning the flank of the enemy, withdrew to his transports at Boyd’s Neck, having lost 89 men killed, 629 wounded, and 28 missing. The Confederate casualties amounted to 8 killed and 39 wounded^[4]. 1st Lt. O.W. Bennett awarded Medal of Honor

Union Order of Battle

Brigade	Regiment and Batteries
1st Brigade BG Edward E. Potter	25th Ohio Infantry: Ltc Nathaniel Haughton 32nd US Colored Troops: Col George W. Baird 34th US Colored Troops 35th US Colored Troops: Col Beecher 56th New York Infantry: Ltc Tyler 127th New York Infantry: Col William Gurney 144th New York Infantry: Col Lewis 157th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment: Ltc Carmichael
2nd Brigade Col Alfred S. Hartwell	54th Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Infantry: Ltc Hooper 55th Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Infantry: Ltc Charles B. Fox 102nd USCT: Col Henry L. Chipman
Naval Brigade Commander George H. Preble	Sailor Battalion of Infantry: Lt James O'Kane USMC Battalion of Infantry: Lt G. G. Stoddard
Artillery Brigade Ltc William Ames of 3rd Rhode Island Heavy Artillery	Battery A, 3rd Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (one section): Cpt William H. Hammer Battery B, 3rd New York Light Artillery: Cpt T. J. Meseareu: 4 12 pound guns Co F, 3rd New York Artillery: Lt E. H. Titus: 4 12 pound guns
Cavalry Cpt George Hurlbut	1st Massachusetts Cavalry (2 companies)

Confederate Order of battle

General Gustavus W Smith^[5][6]

• 1st Brigade Georgia Militia
• State Line Brigade of Georgia
• 47th Georgia
• Athens and Augusta Battalions
• 3rd South Carolina Cavalry: detachments from 3-4 companies
• Beufort Artillery: 2 guns^[7]
• DePass's Battery: 2 guns
• LaFayette Artillery: 3 guns

Reinforced during battle by Gen Beverly H. Robertson

• 32nd Georgia
• a battery and company of artillery

Casualties

In a report of Hatch December 1864 summarized the Union losses^[8]:

• 1st Brigade: casualties of 2 officers and 54 men killed;28 officers and 409 men wounded; 1 officer and 14 men missing.
• 2nd Brigade: casualties of 3 officers and 28 men killed;10 officers and 160 men wounded; 1 officer and 8 men missing.
• Naval Brigade: casualties of 1 man killed; 7 men wounded; 4 men missing
• Artillery Brigade: casualties of 1 officer killed; 2 officers and 12 men wounded
• Cavalry: casualties of 1 man wounded

The Confederate losses were reported by Lt Col C.C. Jones in his Siege of Savannah as 4 killed and 40 wounded. The Savannah Republican newspaper on Dec 1, 1864 reported "between eighty and one hundred killed and wounded"^[9]

Notes

References

• Emilio, Luis F (1894). History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1863-65. Boston,MA: Boston Book Co. 
• Roster of the Twenty Fifth Ohio Infantry Regiment
• Stone, David H; Stone, David H Jr (2008). Vital Rails: The Charleston & Savannah Railroad and the Civil War in Coastal South Carolina. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 1-570-03716-7. 
• National Park Service battle description
• Eicher, David J., The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War, Simon & Schuster, 2001, ISBN 0-684-84944-5.
• The Union Army; A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal States, 1861–65 — Records of the Regiments in the Union Army — Cyclopedia of Battles — Memoirs of Commanders and Soldiers, Federal Publishing Company (Madison, Wisconsin), 1908 (reprinted by Broadfoot Publishing, 1997).
• CWSAC Report Update

External links

• Official records of Civil War search engine