Chancellorsville marked an end to the service of many two-year regiments in the Army of the Potomac. None of them were better known than the 5th New York Infantry, also called “Duryée’s Zouaves.” In some sense the regiment had never recovered from the events of the previous August at Second Manassas, when it had been overrun by the first wave of James Longstreet’s flank attack on August 30. The terrible losses that day could never quite be made up, although James L. Denton was among the replacements that joined the unit during the ensuing Maryland campaign. The 5th crossed Burnside’s Bridge at Antietam (but did not fight), saw action at Shepherdstown and was on the verge of assaulting Marye’s Heights at Fredericksburg (and later covered the Army of the Potomac’s retreat, barely getting back across the Rappahannock).
The regiment had seen a series of changes since late 1862. Gouverneur Warren, who had commanded the Zouave brigade at Second Manassas, had made his way to the staff of the Army of the Potomac as its Chief Topographical Engineer. The 5th was brigaded with two new regiments, the 140th and 146th New York, the former commanded by Patrick O’Rorke, who took over the brigade upon Warren’s departure in January 1863 (the 10th New York had been reassigned following the Maryland campaign). With the advent of spring the regiment drilled and drilled and drilled, but many of its men took solace in the idea that when May came, so would the end of their term of service … that is, if they signed up in the spring of 1861. Some of the men thought the day for their discharge would come earlier, on the anniversary of their initial enlistment in April (as opposed to the formal mustering-in in May), and many of the three year recruits (including replacements) thought they might be discharged with the rest of the regiment (what James L. Denton’s thoughts were on the matter are unknown).
On April 27th the Zouaves moved out (although many of them were detailed to guard their division’s wagon train). They crossed the river at Ely’s Ford. By May 1 they were deployed across the Orange Turnpike, where they exchanged shots with the lead elements of the Army of Northern Virginia as Robert E. Lee shifted his men westward to check Joseph Hooker’s offensive. That evening the Zouaves joined in stopping a Confederate probe by two South Carolina regiments. Denton’s unit was less than a mile north of where James H. Lane’s brigade waited in line, including Jordan H. Snow and the 28th North Carolina.
May 2 proved a quiet day for the New Yorkers, as they began constructing field fortifications. That afternoon, the brigade received orders to help stem the flood of refugees and panicked soldiers fleeing from Jackson’s flank attack. The following day the brigade waited in reserve as the battle intensified.
Early on the morning of May 4 the 5th New York was pulled out of line. One of division commander George Sykes’s aides, George Ryan (who would one day head the 140th New York) read out orders directing the two year men to march off to be discharged in New York City; the remaining men who had signed up for three years (including Denton) would be reassigned to the 146th New York (Denton joined Company A). As for the fate of the brightly colored uniforms worn by Denton and his comrades, it is not clear what would happen to them, although the next month the 146th New York would be outfitted with Zouave uniforms of their own.
Not all the three year men were delighted with this turn of events, especially those who enlisted in 1861. What Denton thought of his transfer is unknown. However, his fate that day was much better than that of my other direct ancestor, William M. Thomas, whose 23rd Pennsylvania was fending off Confederate attacks on the right flank of John Sedgwick’s Sixth Corps as it sought to protect its route of escape north of Salem Church at Banks’s Ford.
Brian C. Pohanka’s Vortex of Hell proved most valuable in constructing this post, and I highly recommend it.
Crossroads 
Very interesting–I’ll have to get a copy of “Vortex of Hell.” An old friend of mine knew Brian Pohanka very well and participated with him in the reconstructed 146th NY regiment at Gettysburg in the late 1980s. Brian was an extremely knowledgeable fellow.
I believe the 23rd Pennsylvania was a Zouave regiment, too—I remember seeing that unit’s monument the last time I was at Gettysburg. Did William Thomas serve throughout the war?
He left when his term of enlistment was up in 1864, as far as I can tell.
The book is excellent. Usually I look askance at a $60 price tag but I think that you’ll find this one worth it – complete with superb maps of the 5th’s actions by Steve Stanley. Until I read “Vortex”, I wasn’t aware that the 5th literally was pulled from the front line at Chacellorsville so that the 2-years could be discharged.
“… many of the three year recruits (including replacements) thought they might be discharged with the rest of the regiment …”
This was a *huge* issue for the poor guys who’d joined up in the nine-month enlistment wave in August ’62 and thought (and were explicitly told by recruiters!) that they’d only have to serve out the regiment’s term. Many of them had families and businesses requiring them at home, and they weren’t happy about having been lied to. My own research deals with the many Northerners, particularly New Yorkers, who were enlisted under false pretenses throughout the war. In this case, some of them were good sports and stuck it out through their enlistment; others deserted before or after joining their new regiments.
A lot of historians downplay genealogy–and with good reason–but I think it comes in handy when trying to understand the experiences and motivations of the men in the ranks.
Denton appears to have been one of the “good sports,” in that he did not desert. As to whether he participated in any of the other activities, I don’t know.