USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts in the war, 1861-1865 Pt. 2 > Part 37
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run near to the fort and exploded, in the hope of demolishing the fortifications, though the result proved the effect to be very insignifi- cant. General Butler commanded the land forces intended to act in connection with the powerful fleet of Admiral Porter, and on the 25th of December had landed a portion of them, when the weather becoming so rough as to prevent further operations, and hearing that hostile reinforcements were near, the general felt justified in re-embarking his troops and temporarily abandoning the attempt. This result was a great disappointment to the country and especially to General Grant, who relieved General Butler of his command. He was succeeded in the command of the Department and the Army of the James by General E. O. C. Ord, and did not again take the field during the war, resigning his commission November 30, 1865.
Brevet Brigadier General Sumner Carruth
. Was one of the original captains of the First Massachusetts Regi- ment, enlisting from Chelsea, and served with that regiment till the battle of Fair Oaks, when he was severely wounded in the arm and returned to Massachusetts where he was commissioned major of the Thirty-fifth Regiment, which he commanded at Antietam, where he was wounded in the neck, having previously been advanced to the rank of lieutenant colonel. On the 14th of November, at Fauquier White Sulphur Springs, having crossed the Rappahannock in search of food, Lieutenant Colonel Carruth was captured by a scouting party of the enemy, but was exchanged and rejoined his regiment at New- port News, accompanying it to Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi, being commissioned colonel April 25, 1863. Though suffering much from ill-health during subsequent campaigns, Colonel Carruth when able to take the field was often in command of his brigade, and at the reorganization of the Ninth Corps for the campaign of 1864 he was appointed to command the First Brigade, First Divis- ion, composed of four regiments of Massachusetts soldiers and two of Regulars. After this he was not much with the regiment till the closing days of its service, after it became a part of General Potter's Division and Colonel Curtin's Brigade, when he again took charge of the Thirty-fifth and returned with it to Massachusetts at the close of the war, his brevet of brigadier general of volunteers dating from April 2, 1865.
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Brevet Brigadier General Samuel E. Chamberlain
Of Cambridge had seen active military service previous to the war of the rebellion, having enlisted in the First United States Dragoons in 1846, before reaching the age of 16. He took part in many of the principal engagements in Mexico, and afterward served with a company of Rangers employed by the governor of Durango in suppressing Apache outrages in Arizona. In the fall of 1853 he was a member of Walker's expedition for the conquest of Lower Cali- fornia, and took part in three actions which resulted. With this
BREVET BRIG. GEN. S. E. CHAMBERLAIN.
experience he was well qualified to receive the commission of first lieutenant of Company C, Third Massachusetts Militia, which was given him when that regiment with others was called on April 17, 1861, for three months' service of the national government. He commanded his company during a part of its term, and when the regiment returned to Massachusetts he enlisted as a private in the First Massachusetts Cavalry, but was commissioned captain Novem- ber 25, 1861. He became major October 30, 1862, and lieutenant colonel March 5, 1864. He was commissioned colonel to date from the 30th of September following, but was not mustered to
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that rank. While serving with the regiment he took part in 35 engagements, besides numerous cavalry demonstrations, and was seven times wounded-at Poolesville (captured), Kelly's Ford (severely), Brandy Station, St. Mary's Church, Malvern Hill, Reams Station and Boydtown Plank Road. During the winter of 1862 and spring of 1863 he was chief of staff to General W. W. Averell till wounded at Kelly's Ford, and in the winter of 1864 commanded Camp Parole at Annapolis. He was mustered out at the final discharge of the regiment, July 28, 1865, but was at once commissioned colonel of the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry, then stationed in Texas, joined the command and served with it till its muster out at the close of October, 1865. He received the brevet of brigadier general to date from the 24th of February, 1865, for gallant and meritorious conduct in covering the retreat of Gregg's Division of cavalry at the disastrous battle of St. Mary's Church. In 1866 he was appointed assistant quartermaster general with the rank of colonel on the staff of Governor Bullock; in 1871 was ap- pointed warden of the state-prison of Massachusetts, held the posi- tion for ten years and resigned in 1881.
Brevet Brigadier General Thomas E. Chickering
Of Boston was for many years previous to the war a valuable officer in the Massachusetts Militia, at one time commanding the New England Guards. He was made colonel of the Forty-first Massa- chusetts Volunteers, with commission dating from September 15, 1862, and left the state with his command November 5 following to join the expedition of General Banks for Louisiana. Apart from his duties with the regiment, he was frequently assigned to responsi- ble positions of wider scope. Early in March, 1863, he commanded an expedition from Baton Rouge for the destruction of bridges over the Comite river, and returning from the successful prosecution of this object was placed in command of the post at Baton Rouge while the bulk of the army under General Banks made a demon- stration to the rear of Port Hudson. During the movement of Banks's army through the interior of Louisiana he was successively military governor of Opelousas and commandant of the military depot at Barre's Landing. On the 17th of June, his regiment was transformed into the Third Massachusetts Cavalry and assigned to
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the brigade of General Grierson, engaged in outpost and scouting duty in connection with the various movements of the Army of the Gulf. Colonel Chickering resigned his commission on the 1st of
BREVET BRIG. GEN T. E. CHICKERING.
September, 1864, and received the brevet of brigadier general of volunteers from the 13th of March, 1865. He died at his home in Boston on the 14th of February, 1871.
Brevet Brigadier General Robert E. Clary,
A native of Springfield, was appointed from Massachusetts to the military academy at West Point in 1823, graduating July 1, 1828, when he was commissioned second lieutenant of the First Infantry. He served in various portions of the country, rising through the successive grades till the opening of the rebellion found him a staff major and chief quartermaster of the department of Utah. His service was principally in the quartermaster's department, and he was chief quartermaster of the Department of West Virginia from November, 1861, to July, 1862, then of the Army of Virginia under
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General Pope; then of the Department of the Northwest to the 20th of March, 1863. He then served in the quartermaster general's office at Washington till August 24, 1864, when he was placed in charge of the Memphis depot, where he remained till the close'of the war. He was commissioned lieutenant colonel in the regular line April 15, 1864, colonel July 29, 1866, and was retired, being over 62 years of age, on the 22d of February, 1869. He was brevetted brigadier general on the 13th of March, 1865, on account of faithful and meritorious services during the rebellion.
Brevet Brigadier General William Cogswell
Left his law office at Salem to raise a company for the Second Regi- ment, and entered the service May 24, 1861, as captain in that organization, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel October 23, 1862, and on the 6th of June following being promoted to the colonelcy. He commanded the regiment most of the time from An- tietam to Atlanta, and was post commandant at the latter place. At Savannah on the 15th of December following, he received the brevet of brigadier general of volunteers and a month later was assigned to the command of the Third Brigade, Third Division, Twentieth Corps. He led his command through the Carolinas, rendering valu- able service at the battles of Averysboro and Bentonville, and was mustered out of service June 25, 1865.
Brevet Major General Cyrus B. Comstock
Was born in Massachusetts in 1831, entered the Military Academy at West Point at the age of 20 and graduated in 1855, receiving during the autumn of that year a commission as second lieutenant of Engineers. During the next four years he was engaged in the ordinary duties of his rank, and from 1859 to 1861 was an assist- ant instructor at West Point, being commissioned first lieutenant July 1, 1860. While Washington was being fortified during the latter part of 1861 and the following winter, he served efficiently under General Barnard, the chief engineer, as he did in the Penin- sular campaign of 1862, and at South Mountain and Antietam. Dur- ing the winter and spring following he was chief engineer of the Army of the Potomac, but early in 1863 was transferred to the De-
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partment of the Tennessee and as chief engineer of the Army of the Tennessee took part in the siege of Vicksburg, for which he received the brevet of major, having in March been commissioned captain. On the 19th of November he was made assistant inspector general of the Department of the Mississippi, with the rank of lieutenant colonel of volunteers, which he held till the 28th of March, 1864, when he was made a member of Lieutenant General Grant's staff, being for some two years senior aide. In this position he rendered valuable service, receiving the brevet of lieutenant
BREVET MAJOR GENERAL C. B COMSTOCK.
colonel for the part taken in the battle of the Wilderness. He was chief engineer of the Fort Fisher expedition of 1865, winning there the brevet of colonel; and was senior engineer of the operations of General Canby against Mobile, where he obtained the additional brevet of brigadier general, United States Army. He also received in the volunteer service the brevets of colonel and brigadier gen- eral for gallant and meritorious services in the capture of Fort Fisher, and of major general for his part in the campaign against Mobile, the three Fort Fisher brevets dating from the 15th of Janu- ary and that of major general from the 26th of March, 1865.
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After the close of the war he remained on the staff of the general of the army till May 3, 1870, when he returned to duty in the engi- neer department. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, of the Permanent Board of Engineers, and President of the Mississippi River Commission, and was author of the report on the Primary Triangulation of the United States Lake Survey.
Major General Darius N. Couch,
Native of New York, was appointed from that state to the Military Academy at West Point in 1842, graduating four years later and being made brevet second lieutenant of the Fourth Artillery. In
MAJOR GENERAL DARIUS N COUCHI.
the war with Mexico he received a commission as second and brevet as first lieutenant for gallant and meritorious conduct at the battle of Buena Vista. Subsequently he was in garrison at Fortress Mon- roe, Fort Pickens and at Key West Barracks, where he was in command, and took part in the Seminole war of 1849-50, winning the commendation of the Secretary of War for his promptness in moving his command up the east coast of Florida for the protec-
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tion of the settlers. Resigning from Fort Leavenworth, Kan., in 1855, he located at Taunton three years later, and was engaged in the manufacture of copper sheathing when the war broke out. Offering his services to Governor Andrew, he was authorized to raise the Seventh Massachusetts Regiment, was commissioned its colonel and accompanied it to Washington. Taking command of the brigade of which his regiment formed a part, he received the commission of brigadier general of volunteers dating from May 17, 1861, continuing in command during the fall and winter at Brightwood in the northern defenses of Washington. In the organization of the Army of the Potomac for the Peninsular cam- paign in the spring of 1862, General Couch was given command of a division of the Fourth Corps, holding the left of the Union line during the siege of Yorktown and in the subsequent campaign rendering signal service at the battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Glendale and Malvern Hill. Moving his division to Alexandria in support of Pope's retreat from Manassas, he joined in the Mary- land campaign which succeeded it, having again the left of the army and consequently taking no active part in the battle of An- tietam. Having been commissioned major general of volunteers dating from July 4, 1862, he was in October given command of the Second Corps at Harper's Ferry. At Fredericksburg his corps bore the brunt of the fight, losing over 4000 officers and men in the attempt to carry the enemy's works on the hights above the city. The same corps, under his command at Chancellorsville lost more than 2000, attesting the earnest and deadly nature of its work. Soon after the battle General Couch was obliged by ill- health to forego an active command, though his name was at the time under consideration by the President as the successor to Hooker in command of the Army of the Potomac. Declining to be considered himself, General Couch suggested to Mr. Lincoln the name of General Meade as being best fitted for the responsible place-a suggestion which was some time later acted upon. In June, 1863, the Department of the Susquehanna was created and placed under command of General Couch, with head-quarters at Harrisburg, and he was instructed to raise and organize a force of militia to resist the invasion of Pennsylvania by the Confederates under Lee. Considering the limited time and all elements of the material at hand, much ability was displayed by General Couch in
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this field, while the defeat of the invaders at Gettysburg assured to the loyal states immunity from future irruptions in force. The department was continued under the same command, however, till November, 1864, when General Couch was directed to report to General Thomas at Nashville, then besieged by Hood's army. On reaching the city General Couch was assigned by Thomas to the command of the Fourth Corps, but that arrangement not meeting the approval of the Washington authorities he was given command of the Second Division, Twenty-third Corps. In the battle of Nashville which soon followed this division bore an honorable part, operating against the enemy's left, and capturing guns and pris- oners. During the winter the corps, commanded by General Scho- field, was transferred by way of Washington to North Carolina. Couch's Division started from Wilmington on the 6th of March, 1865, to effect a junction with the rest of the corps under Schofield advancing from Newbern, the point of junction being Kinston and the destination Goldsboro. This march of the Second Division was made with such celerity, notwithstanding some formidable obstacles, that the enemy who had successfully attacked Schofield were compelled to retire, leaving that officer's route to Kinston open. On the 25th of March General Couch took position at Mos- ley Hall, midway between Kinston and Goldsboro, to protect supply trains running from Kinston to General Sherman's head-quarters at Goldsboro. The plan adopted by General Couch in this impor- tant duty was so perfect that not a train carrying stores to the needy troops was attacked. Instead of undertaking to closely guard the 30 miles of railway, he kept the enemy, who lay on his flank, under constant alarm by daily pushing bodies of troops in . their direction, adopting daily a different route, thus keeping the entire Confederate force constantly on the alert for their own safety. The war being finished, General Couch, having served ably and faithfully in whatever station he had been placed, offered his resignation, which was accepted June 9, 1865. At the deposit of the battle-flags of the returned regiments at the State House, Dec- ember 22, 1865, where they are still sacredly preserved, General Couch, with General Edward W. Hineks as chief of staff, com- manded the column of veterans representing nearly every command which went from the state, as they proudly bore the tattered stand- ards to their final resting place.
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Brigadier General Robert Cowdin,
Of Boston, was colonel of the First Massachusetts Regiment of Massachusetts Militia when the war broke out, and on his com- mand being reorganized for the three-years' service he retained the rank, leading his regiment through its earlier experiences, includ. ing the battle of Blackburn's Ford. In October following, as sen- ior colonel he took command of the brigade, which was ordered to duty on the Maryland shore of the Potomac below Washington, which command he retained till February 17. 1862, when he re- turned to the regiment and with it shared the experiences of the Peninsular and Manassas campaigns. Again taking command of the brigade (Grover's), on the 1st of September, Colonel Cowdin retained that position during the month, when he received from the President the appointment of brigadier general for distinguished conduct at the battle of Williamsburg. Reporting to Washington for orders, he was assigned to the Second Brigade of Abercrombie's Division, located near Upton's Hill, Va., with which he served till the adjournment of Congress on the 4th of March, 1863, when, that body having failed to confirm his appointment, his commission expired, he returned to Massachusetts and did not again enter the field. General Cowdin died of cancer of the stomach, July 9, 1874.
Brevet Brigadier General Charles H. Crane, M. D.,
Born in Rhode Island in 1825, graduated from Yale College in 1844 and from the Medical Department of Harvard University in 1847. He was approved for medical service in the United States Army a few months later, and early in 1848 joined the army in Mexico, as assistant surgeon. He served later on the Atlantic Coast, in Flor- ida and on the Pacific Coast till 1856, rendering valuable service during the Indian troubles there. He was then for more than two years a member of an examining board, and at the outbreak of the rebellion was on duty at army head-quarters. He was made full surgeon on the 21st of May, 1861, and was on duty at Key West and in the Department of the South till September, 1863, when he entered the surgeon general's office at Washington. Dating from the 13th of March, 1865, he was brevetted lieutenant colonel, and brigadier general in the regular army in appreciation of his serv- ices. He was afterward medical director of the Department of the
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South, was made colonel and assistant surgeon general July 28, 1866, and on the 3d of July, 1882, was promoted to be surgeon
SURGEON GENERAL CHARLES H. CRANE.
general of the United States Army-a position which he had filled much of the time during his lesser rank. He died at Washington on the 10th of October, 1883.
Brevet Major General George H. Crosman
Was appointed from his native Massachusetts to the Military Acad- emy at West Point in 1819 and graduated four years later, when he was commissioned second lieutenant in the Sixth United States Infantry. He served in various portions of the country, largely in the commissary or quartermaster departments, taking part in the Black Hawk war of 1832, and in the Indian war of 1836-7 served as chief quartermaster. He also held the same rank in the occu- pation of Texas preceding the Mexican war, and was brevetted major for gallant service at the battle of Palo Alto. His duties were thenceforth entirely connected with the quartermaster's de-
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partment, at St. Louis and in the department of Utah till the fall of 1860. During the rebellion he served as chief quartermaster of the Department of Pennsylvania and the Shenandoah from April 29 to August 24, 1861, being afterward depot quartermaster at
ENG. CO.M.
BREVET MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE H. CROSMAN.
Philadelphia till after the close of the war. He attained to the rank of colonel February 26, 1863, and March 13, 1865, was bre- vetted brigadier general and major general, United States Army, for "faithful and meritorious services during the rebellion." He was retired July 26, 1866, being over 62 years of age, and died at Philadelphia May 28, 1882.
Brevet Brigadier General Caspar Crowninshield
Of Boston entered the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteers as cap- tain, his commission dating from July 10, 1861. He served with that regiment but a short time, being commissioned captain in the First Massachusetts Cavalry on the 25th of November. After serving with the First till the following summer, he was commis- sioned senior major of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry and led
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the first detachment of five companies of that regiment which left the state on the 12th of February, 1863, his commission dating from the 30th of January. With this battalion he served on the Virginia Peninsula till ordered to the vicinity of Washington to join the rest of the regiment under Colonel Lowell; but as the latter most of the time commanded a brigade and Lieutenant Colonel Russell was ab- sent, Major Crowninshield was much of the time commanding offi- cer of the Second till the close of the war. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel March 1, 1864, and on the death of Colonel Low- ell, October 21 of that year, he succeeded to the colonelcy. He led the brigade of which his regiment formed a part in the final grand charge at Cedar Creek, and in subsequent operations, and thence- forth to the close of the war he was sometimes at the head of his regiment and sometimes had a larger command. After the sur- render of the Confederate armies, his regiment being encamped within the Washington defenses and the muster out of the volun- teer army being in progress, he resigned his commission on the 16th of June, 1865, anticipating by about a month the return to Massachusetts of his command. His brevet of brigadier general of volunteers dated, as did so many others, from March 13, 1865.
Brevet Brigadier General James A. Cunningham
Of Gloucester was mustered into the national service November 18, 1861, as first lieutenant of Company D, First Battalion Massachu- setts Infantry, having previously seen service with the state militia. His company formed part of the garrison of Fort Warren in Bos- ton Harbor, and when the battalion was enlarged from four com- panies to six he was made captain of Company F, serving with this rank, the battalion having been enlarged to the Thirty-second Regi- ment, until the summer of 1864, when by successive promotions he was advanced to lieutenant colonel, dating from July 30, 1864. Colonel Edmands being disabled at the battle of Peebles Farm, September 30, Lieutenant Colonel Cunningham thenceforth com- manded the regiment during the remainder of its term of service. On the morning of April 2, 1865, in command of a brigade of skir- mishers, he pushed his way through from the Five Forks battle-field to the Southside Railroad, where he made large captures of Con- federates and army stores. For this brilliant achievement he ro-
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ceived the brevet of brigadier general dating from April 1. On the morning of the 9th he met the first flag of truce heralding the sur- render of Lee's army. He was mustered out of service with his regi- ment on the 29th of June, and under Governor Andrew's successors he was for many years the efficient adjutant general of the state.
Brevet Brigadier General Arthur R. Curtis
Of Boston was commissioned second lieutenant in the Twentieth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers from the 25th of November, 1861, and first lieutenant from the 16th of January following. As such he served through the campaigns of 1862, being wounded in the leg at Fredericksburg. His promotion to captain dated from the 14th of December, 1862, and with that rank he served till the spring of 1864. The casualties in the battle of the Wilderness, May 6, left him senior officer on duty, and he commanded the regi- ment for 12 days, being badly wounded and made prisoner on the 18th before Spottsylvania. Recovering and being exchanged, he returned to the Twentieth on the 12th of January, 1865, having been promoted to major May 7 and lieutenant colonel June 20, 1864. He commanded the regiment during the movements of the spring of 1865 and till the 29th of May, when the war being ended and the army assembled near Washington, he resigned his com- mission. His brevet of brigadier general of volunteers dated from the 13th of March, 1865.
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