USA > Maryland > History and roster of Maryland volunteers, war of 1861-5 > Part 3
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The Ninth and Tenth Regiments of Infantry, Maryland Volunteers, were organized in July, 1863, to serve six months ; they were really emergency men, to aid in repelling the invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania by General Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both regiments rendered good service, and the Ninth Regiment was surrounded and captured by an overwhelming force of the enemy, after a gallant defense at Charlestown, Va., October 18, 1863.
The Eleventh Regiment of Infantry, Maryland Volunteers, was organized June 16, 1864, to serve one hundred days, as emergency men, to repel the invasion of the State by General Early's Confederate Army, and participated in the battle of Monocacy, Md., July 9, 1864-a battle made necessary against odds, in order to save the Capitol at Washington from capture.
The Eleventh Regiment of Infantry, Maryland Volunteers (one year's men), was composed of the re-enlisted men of the Eleventh Regiment Infantry, one hundred days' men, and also of consolidations with seven companies of the re-enlisted men of the First Regiment, Eastern Shore Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
Captain Charles Chaille Long, of this regiment, afterwards became a colonel in the Egyptian army, and served on the staff of General C. P. Gordon during his campaign in the Soudan. He is widely known for his literary and scientific attainments.
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HISTORY OF MARYLAND TROOPS, WAR OF 1861-1865.
The Twelfth Regiment of Infantry, Maryland Volunteers, was organized July 30, 1864, as another emergency regiment for one hundred days, and was assigned to guard duty to enable veteran regiments to proceed to the front.
The Second Regiment of Cavalry, Maryland Volunteers, was organized from July 1, 1863, to August 19, 1863, for six months, as an emergency regiment and for special service in Southern Maryland.
Batteries A and B (Second), Maryland Light Artillery, were organized in July, 1863, to serve six months, and were assigned to garrison duty in the fortifications for the defenses of Baltimore, Md.
The Fourth, Seventh and Eighth Regiments of Infantry, Maryland Volunteers, with the First Regiment of Infantry, constituted the famous Maryland Brigade. This brigade, after rendering valuable service in Western Maryland and West Virginia, became a part of the great Army of the Potomac, and from the year 1863 to close of the war was an integral part thereof, sharing all of its hardships, marches, vicissi- tudes, reverses and victories until the close of the war.
The history of the Fourth, Seventh and Eighth Regiments of Infantry was substan- tially the same. The gallant conduct of these regiments during the campaign of 1864 and 1865, under General Grant, until the surrender of Lee at Appomattox, reflected great honor and credit upon themselves and the State of Maryland.
These regiments were made up of Marylanders from all sections of the State. Many distinguished and representative Marylanders were officers in these regiments, amongst whom might be mentioned Colonel Harrison Adreon, of the Fourth Regiment of Infantry, afterwards Postmaster at Baltimore, Md. The Hon. Edwin H. Webster, a prominent lawyer of Harford County, a member of Congress for several terms, and afterwards Collector of Customs at Baltimore, was the first colonel of the Seventh Regiment. He was succeeded by the Hon. Charles E. Phelps, also a member of Congress, who was severely wounded, and breveted brigadier-general for gallant and meritorious conduct on the battlefield, and who is at present one of the Justices of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, highly respected and honored by all classes of our people as a jurist and a citizen. Colonel Andrew Dennison, of the Eighth Regiment, came of an old mercan- tile family of Baltimore, Md., lost an arm in battle, and was breveted brigadier-general. He was afterwards Postmaster at Baltimore.
The Sixth Regiment of Infantry, Maryland Volunteers, known as "The Fighting Sixth," was one of the two Maryland regiments (the First Regiment of Infantry being the other) classified by Colonel Fox as one of the three hundred fighting regiments of the war who suffered the severest losses.
The Sixth Regiment had certainly a very brilliant record, and during a long period of its service was a component part of the Sixth Army Corps, which rendered such splendid service to the Union cause, both under Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley campaign, and under Grant in the Wilderness and through to the end. Colonel John W. Horn, of this regiment, was promoted brigadier-general, and was afterwards at the head of several Maryland institutions, displaying rare executive ability in their man- agement.
The Fifth Regiment of Infantry, Maryland Volunteers, fought at Bloody Lane on the Antietam battlefield, September 17, 1862, with distinguished gallantry, and its
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HISTORY OF MARYLAND TROOPS, WAR OF 1861-1865.
commanding officer, for the time being, Major Leopold Blumenburg (a representative of that enterprising and useful German-American element who have done so much to build up the material interests of Maryland), was shot down whilst leading his regi- ment.
The Purnell Legion, infantry regiment, rendered gallant service in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and with the Army of the Potomac.
The companies of cavalry originally attached to the Legion rendered good service all through the war, and especially Company A, at the Battle of Gettysburg.
The Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Nineteenth, Thirtieth and Thirty-Ninth Regiments of United States Colored Troops were recruited in Maryland from July, 1863, to March, 1864. While these regiments were not raised under the auspices of the authorities of Mary- land, or recognized by them as Maryland troops, nevertheless they were essentially Maryland troops, to all intents and purposes, although recruited and organized under the direct authority of the United States. These regiments rendered good service and suffered severe losses. They always regarded themselves as Maryland troops, and were proud of their native State.
A very large number of colored people were recruited in Maryland by recruiting agents from other States, and assigned to regiments organized in and accredited to other States.
A considerable number of colored people also shipped in the United States Navy during the Civil War. A large proportion of these enlistments in the army and navy were subsequently accredited to the quota of the State of Maryland.
Maryland furnished to the Union Army twenty (20) regiments and one independ- ent company of infantry; four regiments, one battalion and one independent company of cavalry; and six batteries of light artillery; or a total of twenty-four (24) regiments, one battalion and two independent companies, designated as follows :
First Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
Second Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
Third Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
Fourth Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers. Fifth Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
Sixth Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers. Seventh Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers. Eighth Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
Ninth Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
Tenth Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
Eleventh Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers (100 days' men).
Eleventh Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers (one year's men).
Twelfth Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
Thirteenth Regiment Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
First Regiment, Eastern Shore Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
Second Regiment, Eastern Shore Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
First Regiment, Potomac Home Brigade Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
Second Regiment, Potomac Home Brigade Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
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HISTORY OF MARYLAND TROOPS, WAR OF 1861-1865.
Third Regiment, Potomac Home Brigade Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
Purnell Legion Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
Patapsco Guards, Independent Company of Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.
First Regiment Cavalry, Maryland Volunteers.
First Regiment, Potomac Home Brigade Cavalry, Maryland Volunteers (Cole's Cavalry).
Second Regiment Cavalry, Maryland Volunteers.
Third Regiment Cavalry, Maryland Volunteers.
Smith's Independent Company of Cavalry, Maryland Volunteers.
Battery A, Maryland Light Artillery Volunteers (Rigby's).
Battery B, Maryland Light Artillery Volunteers (Snow's).
Battery D, Maryland Light Artillery.
Baltimore Battery, Maryland Light Artillery (Alexander's).
Battery A (Second), Maryland Light Artillery (Junior Artillery).
Battery B (Second), Maryland Light Artillery (Eagle Artillery).
A total of thirty-three (33) commands regularly organized, recognized and credited to the State of Maryland.
The regiments authorized to be known as the Fourth Regiment, Potomac Home Brigade Infantry, Maryland Volunteers, the Baltimore or Dix Light Infantry, and the German Rifles never completed their organizations, and, before entering active field service, were assigned to and consolidated with other Maryland regiments.
If these three regiments were added to those already specified, as well as the six regiments of colored troops recruited and organized in Maryland, viz., the Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Nineteenth, Thirtieth and Thirty-Ninth Regiments of the United States Colored Troops, it would make a grand total of forty-two (42) organizations furnished by Maryland to the cause of the Union during the Civil War.
Many of these regiments re-enlisted for the war and recruited their depleted ranks by consolidations and otherwise repeatedly, and while a regiment of infantry may have entered the service with ten companies and a maximum strength of 1070 men, and a cavalry regiment with twelve companies and a maximum strength of 1276 men, a battery of artillery with a maximum strength of 103 men, nevertheless, from the com- mencement to the end of the war, over double the number of men would often actually appear upon their muster rolls, and did actually serve in the ranks, as was the case as shown by the official records of the First Regiment of Infantry, Maryland Volunteers, with a grand total of 2541 men, the First Maryland Cavalry, with 2036 men, and Bat- tery D, Maryland Light Artillery, with 178 men.
These enlistments, re-enlistments, recruits, drafted men and substitutes accredited to the quota of Maryland aggregated a very large number of men ; in fact, much larger than might have been supposed from the number of organizations accredited to the State.
The total population of Maryland, male and female, according to the United States census for the year 1860, was six hundred and eighty-seven thousand and forty-nine (687,049), white and colored.
Maryland furnished, according to the official records of the War and Navy Depart- ments of the United States of America, from the year 1861 to the year 1865, fifty
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HISTORY OF MARYLAND TROOPS, WAR OF 1861-1865.
thousand three hundred and sixteen (50,316) white troops, eight thousand seven hun. dred and eighteen (8718) colored troops, and three thousand nine hundred and twenty- five (3925) sailors and marines, or a grand total of sixty-two thousand nine hundred and fifty-nine (62,959) men, nearly one-tenth of its entire population at the time thereof, or over fifteen per cent. of its male population.
A perusal of the different regimental histories in this publication will show the serious losses, in killed and wounded, suffered by the Maryland troops during the Civil War.
It is but proper to state that the histories of the Maryland troops would not be com- plete without mention of the War Governors of Maryland, viz., the Hon. Thomas Holi- day Hicks and the Hon. Augustus W. Bradford, who manifested much interest in the enlistment, organization and service of the Maryland troops. Governor Bradford paid frequent visits to the troops in the field, with a view to their betterment and efficiency, and was prompt to recognize efficiency, zeal and gallantry by promotions, etc., when in his power to do so.
The history and record of the Maryland soldiers and sailors who fought for the Union in the great Civil War is one of which every Marylander, no matter what his opinion past or present may have been, should feel a just pride.
Let it teach a lesson to posterity of patriotism, self-sacrifice and devotion to duty, as seen by their fathers, and may future generations be as ready and willing to respond to the call of duty and patriotism when the Nation and State demand, remembering at all times " that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
FIRST REGIMENT INFANTRY.
HE First Maryland Infantry was the first Maryland regiment mus- tered into the service of the United States during the Civil War for the preservation of the Union. On the 6th day of May, 1861 a recruiting office was opened at No. 112 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore City, Maryland, by Capt. John C. McConnell, a citizen of Baltimore City, under the auspices of General John R. Kenly and other prominent loyal citizens of Maryland. In ten days' time-that is, on the 16th day of May, 1861-four companies had been recruited, viz .: Companies A, B, C and D, and were duly mustered into the service of the United States, for the term of three years, as a part of the First Maryland Infantry Regiment.
Meanwhile, recruiting was going on in other portions of the City of Baltimore and in the State of Maryland for the same regiment, so that by the 27th day of May, 1861, Companies E, F, G, H, I and K had completed their quota, and all of said companies were duly mustered into the service of the United States, thus completing the first organized Maryland regiment accredited to the quota of Maryland in the great Civil War.
The regiment immediately went into camp at the Relay House, on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and remained there until the 6th day of June, 1861, when it moved to Camp Carroll, nearer Baltimore City. Here Col. John R. Kenly assumed command of the regiment, and it was at this camp also that the patriotic ladies of West Baltimore, on the 18th day of June, 1861, presented the regiment with a regimental flag, the presenta- tion being witnessed by a large concourse of patriotic and enthusiastic people.
Whilst encamped at Camp Carroll the regiment was fully armed, equipped, drilled, disciplined and prepared for active field service.
On the 7th day of July, 1861, the regiment was ordered to proceed by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to Frederick City, Maryland, and from thence it marched by the old national turnpike to Middletown, where it went into its first bivouac for the night.
The next day it marched to the Antietam and encamped on the banks of that now historic stream; thence marched to Downsville, which was reached on the 10th, and remained until the 23d day of July, when it marched to Williamsport, on the Potomac river.
Several of the companies were immediately detailed for detached duty to guard the fords and ferries of the Potomac river from the mouth of the Antietam to Williamsport, and whilst engaged in this duty had frequent skirmishes with the Confederates.
The regiment remained on the upper Potomac until October 16, 1861, when it marched sixty miles to Darnestown to take part in the campaign that culminated in the Battle of Ball's Bluff.
On the 2d day of December, 1861, the regiment marched again to the vicinity of Frederick, where it went into winter quarters with General Bauks' Division, but it was
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FIRST REGIMENT INFANTRY.
not as fortunate as the major part of Banks' Division, for it had hardly prepared itself for the inclement winter season when the regiment was ordered to march to Williams- port to repel an anticipated advance of the enemy into Maryland. After a midnight march the regiment reached Williamsport and learned that the enemy were operating further up the Potomac in an effort to destroy the locks on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. Promptly marching to the point of attack, the regiment aided in repelling the enemy.
The headquarters of the regiment were established at Four Locks, and a number of companies detailed for duty at the crossings of the upper Potomac. Whilst on this duty, a number of attempts of the enemy were foiled and spirited engagements were had at old Fort Frederick, Cherry Run and Dam No. 5.
The regiment continued on this duty until the night of the 7th day of January, 1862, when Col. Kenly, with Companies A, B, C, E, G and I, made a forced night march through a pitiless snow storm, over North Mountain to Hancock, Maryland, then being besieged by General (Stonewall) Jackson's Confederate Army.
The arrival of the First Regiment of Maryland Infantry Volunteers and other rein- forcements caused the enemy to speedily retire via Romney to their winter quarters at Winchester, Va.
The First Maryland Infantry was now brigaded with the 46th Pennsylvania Infantry, 28th New York Infantry and 5th Connecticut Infantry, and constituted Wil- liams' Brigade (3d Brigade), General Banks' Division (afterwards 1st Brigade, 1st Divi- sion, 5th Army Corps).
The regiment, with the 3d Brigade, remained on the upper Potomac until the 28th day of February, 1862, when it marched to Williamsport, and on the 2d day of March, 1862, crossed the Potomac river into Virginia with Banks' Division, and marched through a blinding snow storm to Martinsburg, Virginia, which was occupied without opposition.
On the 5th day of March, 1862, the regiment skirmished with the enemy at Bunker Hill, and again on the 8th and 11th near Winchester, Virginia.
On the 12th day of March, 1862, the regiment occupied Winchester, Va., after slight opposition with Williams' Brigade.
On the 23d instant the regiment, whilst on the march from Winchester to Centre- ville, Va., was ordered to return immediately by a forced march to Winchester for the relief of General Shields' Division, that had been attacked by General Stonewall Jack- son's Confederate Army. Happily, General Shields had repulsed the enemy, and the regiment joined in the pursuit of the Confederates.
Company B, of the regiment which had remained at Winchester on detached duty, took part in this Union victory.
The regiment, with Banks' Division, continued the pursuit of the enemy up the Shen- andoah Valley as far as Harrisonburg, when it slowly returned down the valley and, by order of General Banks, the regiment, under Col. Kenly, with two companies of the 29th Pennsylvania Infantry and a section of Knapp's Pennsylvania Battery, proceeded to Front Royal, Va., where, one week later-that is, on the 23d day of May, 1862-this little command was attacked by the army of General Stonewall Jackson, 18,000 strong.
The engagement that ensued reflected great credit on the regiment. If the enemy had succeeded in a speedy capture or annihilation of the regiment, the capture of Gen-
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FIRST REGIMENT INFANTRY.
eral Banks' Army, only five thousand strong, then at Strasburg, would have been inevi- table, as the enemy would have commanded the only practicable line of retreat.
This little command had for several hours gallantly fought vastly superior numbers, crossed both branches of the Shenandoah river in the face of a heavy fire, with the enemy both in front and rear, contesting every foot of ground for several miles, until they were finally overwhelmed.
The regiment lost fourteen officers and men killed, forty-three wounded, and five hundred and thirty-five captured. About two hundred and fifty men effected their escape under cover of the woods, and company E, on detached duty at Linden Station, eight miles distant from Front Royal at the time of the engagement, learning of the fate of the regiment, effected an orderly retreat.
The sacrifice was not in vain ; Col. Kenly had promptly advised General Banks of the condition of affairs, and, by his splendid defense, enabled Banks' Division to effect a safe retreat from Strasburg.
The remnant of the regiment proceeded, under orders to Baltimore, for reorganization, etc., where it remained until September, 1862, when the famous Maryland Brigade was formed, consisting, at the time, of 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th Regiments of Infantry, to- gether with Alexander's Battery of Baltimore Light Artillery. (The 6th Regiment of Infantry and Alexander's Battery were subsequently detached from the brigade and assigned to other commands.)
On the 18th day of September the regiment, with the Maryland Brigade, left Balti- more under orders to join the Army of the Potomac, then on the Antietam.
In November, 1862, the returned prisoners of war rejoined the regiment.
The regiment continued on duty on the upper Potomac and constituted a part of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 8th Army Corps.
On the 9th day of April, 1863, the regiment and brigade proceeded by Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to Grafton, West Virginia, to repel an invasion by a large Confederate force. After an energetic but brief campaign the enemy rapidly retreated, and the com- mand returned to Maryland Heights, opposite to Harper's Ferry, where it remained until the 30th day of June, 1863, when, as a portion of French's Division, it marched to Fred- erick, Maryland, by order of the War Department, in order to act as a reserve to the Army of the Potomac, then engaged in the Gettysburg campaign, and also to protect the Government at Washington.
On the 6th day of July, 1863, the command was ordered to retake and occupy Mary- land Heights, the enemy being in full possession and engaged in repairing the bridge that had been destroyed by Cole's Maryland Cavalry a few nights prior thereto, to pre- vent the enemy from capturing and removing the valuable ordnance stores on Maryland Heights. After a brisk engagement, the enemy were driven away and the Heights re- occupied.
The brigade, of which the regiment was a part, now became the 3d Brigade, 3d Division, 1st Army Corps, which it joined July 10, 1863, near Boonsborough, Maryland, and aided in the final movements of the Army of the Potomac in Maryland, which resulted in the retreat of the Confederate army, under General Lee, into Virginia.
The regiment crossed into Virginia again on the 18th day of July, 1863, with the Army of the Potomac, and participated in all of the active campaigns in Virginia inaug-
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FIRST REGIMENT INFANTRY.
urated by General Meade, then in command of said army during the latter part of the summer, autumn and winter of 1863 and 1864.
The winter of 1863 and 1864, spent by the Army of the Potomac on the Rapidan, was dreary, gloomy and severe.
The consolidation of the Army of the Potomac into three instead of five army corps made the 1st Maryland Regiment a part of the (Maryland Brigade) 3d Brigade, 2d Division, 5th Army Corps.
This consolidation necessitated the displacement of several valuable officers, includ- ing General Kenly, the former commander of the 1st Maryland Infantry, much to the regret of his old comrades in arms.
The Government having offered strong inducements to the soldiers in the armies of the United States who had served in the field for two years to re-enlist for the war, about three hundred and forty of the 1st Maryland Regiment availed themselves of the offer, and about the 1st day of April, 1864, this portion of the regiment, under Col. Du- shane, returned to Baltimore on a thirty days' furlough, where they were received with high honors by the Baltimore City authorities, and thence furloughed to their respective homes.
The balance of the regiment, under the command of Major B. H. Schley, remained in camp until the 3d day of May, 1864, when it moved with the Army of the Potomac, under General Grant's immediate supervision, to engage in the terrible Wilderness campaign.
At midnight on the 3d the regiment moved out of camp and crossed the Rapidan river the next day at 12 M.
On the morning of the 5th the regiment took its place in line of battle in the Wilder- ness. The Maryland Brigade, of which the 1st Regiment formed a part, supported the famous Iron Brigade, who were fired upon by the enemy covered by the thick forests and undergrowth. At a distance of forty paces the Iron Brigade returned the fire with visible effect, immediately charged with the bayonet and drove the enemy to his second line, who, being reinforced, drove back the Iron Brigade in confusion, to be repulsed in turn by the severe fire of the Maryland Brigade.
So the tide of battle ebbed and flowed all day and far into the night, and the entire Army of the Potomac was more or less engaged, the losses on both sides being very severe.
The battle was renewed on the 6th, raging with great fury and with frightful losses on both sides. To add to the horrors of the battle the undergrowth took fire, sending up great volumes of flame and smoke, in which many of the helpless wounded perished.
The evening of the second day's battle left both armies substantially on the same ground.
On the night of the 7th, General Grant inaugurated his famous flank movements that inspired the confidence of the Army of the Potomac in ultimate success under his guidance.
About 8 P. M. on the evening of the 7th, the 1st Maryland, with its Corps (5th Army Corps), took up the line of march for Spottsylvania Court House; the night was intensely dark and the roads almost impassable. After a most fatiguing march, the command arrived on the battlefield of Spottsylvania Court House on the morning of the
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