Seeing the Elephant

Seeing the Elephant. The 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery at Harris Farm. Union heavy artillery regiments serving as infantry shouldered the brunt of the fighting at Harris Farm. The "Heavies," as the members of the heavy artillery units were called, had been pulled from forts protecting Washington, D.C., to make up for the losses Grant had suffered in the Wilderness and at Spotsylvania Court House. Veteran soldiers jibed the green troops in their fresh uniforms, calling them "bandbox soldiers.", The 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery was one of several regiments that "saw the elephant" here at Harris Farm ("Seeing the elephant" was a 19th century expression that denoted a soldier's first experience in battle.), Forming ranks east of the house (behind you), the "Heavies" waded into battle against Ramseur's battle-weary veterans around 6:00 p.m. Here and in the fields to your right, the erstwhile artillerists stood their ground, loading and firing their muskets as they had been drilled. They "got a little mixed and didn't fight very tactically," a Union officer remarked later, "but they fought confounded plucky.", After four hours of fighting, the Confederates withdrew, having suffered 900 casualties. Federal losses totaled 1,535, nearly 400 of whom belonged to the 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. The battle gained the "Heavies" the army's respect. After Spotsylvania, wrote one officer, "I never heard a word spoken against the heavy artillerymen."