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MVI. L
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01479 4728
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012
http://archive.org/details/annualreportofad00mich
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
ADJUTANT
GENERAL
OF THE
STATE OF MICHIGAN,
V
FOR THE YEAR 1862:
TOGETHER WITH A
SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT,
Containing the Casualties in Battle, Deaths by Disease, Discharged from Service, and Causes of such Discharge, of the Private Soldiers in the Military Service of the United States, from this State, from the beginning of the War to the 31st day of December, 1862.
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EPLURIBUS UNUN
TUEBOR !!
SI QUAERIS PENINSULAM
AMOENAM
CIRCUMSPICE
By Authority.
JOHNTA. KERR
LANSING:
& CO., PRINTERSETORTHEESTATE.
1863.
1620771
MILITARY OFFICERS OF THE STATE.
His Excellency AUSTIN BLAIR, Commander-in-Chief.
Brigadier General JNO. ROBERTSON, Adjutant General, March 15th, 1861.
Brigadier General JAMES E. PITTMAN, Inspector General; Col- onel and State Paymaster, May 21st, 1861; Brigadier General, November 1st, 1862.
Brigadier General JABEZ H. FOUNTAIN, Quartermaster General; Colonel, April 1st, 1861; Brigadier General, Nov. 1st, 1862.
Lieutenant Colonel FREDERICK MORLEY, Assistant Adjutant General; Captain, May 6th, 1862; Lieutenant Colonel, Novem- ber 1st, 1862.
Lieutenant Colonel FRIEND PALMER, Assistant Quartermaster General; Captain, May 17th, 1861; Lieutenant Colonel, Novem- ber 1st, 1862.
Major EUGENE PRINGLE, Military Secretary to the Commander in-Chief, September 13th, 1862.
AIDES-DE-CAMP TO THE COMMANDER.IN-CHIEF.
Colonel E. O. GROSVENOR, May 15th, 1861; Colonel WILLIAM HAMMOND, May 15th, 1861; Colonel JEROME CROUL, May 15th, 1861; Colonel JOHN F. MILLER, May 15th, 1861.
STATE MILITARY BOARD.
E. O. GROSVENOR, Jonesville; WILLIAM HAMMOND, Tekonsha; JEROME CROUL, Detroit; OMAR D. CONGAR, Port Huron; ALVIN T. CROSSMAN, Flint.
1
REPORT.
MILITARY DEPARTMENT, MICHIGAN.
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, Detroit, Dec. 24th, 1862.
To His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief :
I have the honor to submit the following report of operations falling within the supervision of this Department during the past year.
At the date of my last report, there were in process of organ- ization, at various points in the State, five Regiments of In- fantry, a Regiment of Lancers, and Three Batteries of Artillery. The Lancer Regiment was soon after disbanded, by order of the War Department. The completion of the others was pushed forward as rapidly as practicable, and they left the State in the following order:
13th Infantry, 925 strong, Feb'y 12, 1862
12th
1000
March 18, 1862
15th
869
27, 1862
14th 66
925
66
April 17, 1862
10th 66
997 66
22, 1862
7th Battery, (Lamphere's,)
145
66
Feb'y 12, 1862
6th
(Andrews,) .
158
66
March 3, 1862
8th (De Golyer's, ).
156
66
¥ 13, 1862
On application of Lt. Col. J. R. Smith, U. S. Military Com- mander at this post, the War Department, near the close of the month of April, authorized the raising of a Company to act as guard over rebel prisoners at Mackinac. This Company, (known as the Stanton Guard,) 101 strong, was mustered into the service May 10th, and proceeded immediately to Mackinac.
6
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
The necessity for its services having passed, it was disbanded on the 25th of September.
Returns made in July, by the various Regiments, Batteries and Companies sent into the service of the United States, by this State, exhibited the fact that since the completion of their muster-in-roll, 2028 recruits have been added to their strength. This addition gives the actual number of officers and men, who had been enrolled and mustered in the national service from this State, from the commencement of the war to the 1st of July last, as follows:
Three Months Volunteers,
780
1st Infantry,
977
2d
1,115
3d
1,163
4th
1,156
5th
983
6th
66
1,075
7th "
1,098
8th
999
9th
986
10th
¥
1,051
11th
1,081
12th
1,051
13th
999
14th
1,083
15th
887
16th
1,002
2d
"
1,200
3d
1,207
1st Engineers and Mechanics,
1,034
Merrill Horse, ..
234
2d
66
(Ross',)
146
3d
'Dees',)
132
4th
Bidwell's,)
144
5th
(Dennis',)
142
6th
Andrews',)
159
7th
(Lamphere's,) .
157
8th
(DeGolyer's,)
167
Duesler's Sharp-Shooters,
127
Willett's ¥
111
Mather's
105
Ist Cavalry,
1,201
1st Battery, (Loomis',)
137
ADJUTANT GENERAL.
Stuart's Sharp-Shooters
103
Piper's
100
Dygert's
88
Stanton Guards, (to guard prisoners,).
101
24,281
To this number there ought properly be added compa- nies known to have gone into regiments of other States, specified in last report, 1,453
Which would show a total of 25,734
If there should be included in these figures the number of men actually mustered into the U. S. service in the "Lancer " Regiment, and in " Hughes' Horse Guards," and who were dis- banded under orders from the War Department before entering upon active duty, we would have an aggregate of nearly twenty-seven thousand men, who had volunteered into the ser- vice of the Federal Government from this State; previous to. the 1st of July.
The first call (April 15th, 1861,) made by the President upon Michigan for troops to aid in the suppression of the rebellion, was for one regiment only, and was met by the muster into service of the Three Months' Volunteers.
Under the law of August 3, 1861, authorizing the President to receive into service 500,000 volunteers, the proportion of Michigan was 19,500. In response to this requisition, the State furnished sixteen Regiments of Infantry, three of Cavalry, one of Engineers and Mechanics, eight Batteries, six Companies of Sharp-Shooters, an independent Squadron of Horse, and com- panies and recruits sufficient to make a total of 23,501 vol- unteers actually placed in the field, and known as Michigan troops, not counting 1,453 connected as companies with the organizations of other States, and about 1,000 more who were disbanded after having been mustered into the National service.
.
8
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
CALL FOR THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND VOL- UNTEERS.
On the second of July last, the President, under the advice of the Governors of the loyal States, issued a proclamation calling for the enlistment of an additional force of 300,000 men. The quota of Michigan under this call was 11,686, and the War Department issued its requisition for the immediate raising, as a part of this force, of six Regiments of Infantry. Under your direction, orders were forthwith published from this Department, appealing to the people of the State for a prompt and effective response, and prescribing regulations for a system of organization. The Seventeenth Regiment of In- fantry had already been ordered, though little progress had been made in filling its ranks. This was left to be completed by recruits from the State at large, while the six Regiments called for were apportioned respectively to the six Congres- sional Districts into which the State is divided, with the under. standing that each Regiment should depend upon its own Dis- trict for men to fill it. The respective Camps were designated, and a Commander appointed for each.
The response of the people of the State to the President's call was patriotic and prompt almost beyond expectation. In- dividuals of every degree of prominence forthwith began to interest themselves in the business of filling the Regiments; communities gave to it their time and their almost exclusive attention, while, better than all, the substantial masses of the people offered themselves in person. War meetings were held in almost every village and township in the State. Representa- tives of all classes converted themselves either into recruits or recruiting officers, and among the most efficient of the latter were Ministers of the Gospel, some of whom led the men they had enlisted into the field. The sums of money that were con- tributed for the support of the families of those who offered themselves as volunteers, were very large.
In a very short time this Department was in receipt of ap-
9
ADJUTANT GENERAL.
plications from every section of the State, seeking of your Excellency authority to recruit, and desiring instructions and forms for the enlistment of Companies. Facilities to promote this purpose were promptly furnished, and as soon as the camp grounds could be provided with suitable quarters, men began to flock in by Companies and detachments. The gentlemen who had been charged with the duty of supervising the organ- ization of the Regiments, performed their labors with diligence and success, and in little over a month from the date of the President's call, men enough had been raised in the State, and nearly enough were in camp, to fill all the Regiments which the War Department had asked for as the number first needed under the President's requisition.
In the meantime, while the patriotism of the people was thus zealously manifesting itself in all portions of the State, the people of Detroit and of Wayne county desired an opportu- nity to put in the field a Regiment of their own citizens, in addi- tion to those already in progress. Authority was promptly given by you for this purpose, and the 24th Regiment was ordered, organized, and placed in rendezvous at Detroit, making the eighth Infantry Regiment then in course of completion.
.
The labors thrown upon the general government by the ne- cessity of providing for the immense masses of levies raised under the new call, caused some delays in arming and equip- ping these troops, and the men were ready before the supplies. Nevertheless, the Regiments were prepared for the field with great dispatch, and were mustered into the service and left the State fully armed, clothed and equipped, in the order mentioned hereafter.
On the 20th of August, when the organization of the eight Regiments referred to was complete, and their ranks nearly full, by your direction another order was issued from this office, organizing the 25th and 26th Infantry. More companies than could be provided for had been offered to the District Regi- ments. These were assigned to the 25th and 26th, and meas-
2
10
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
ures were taken to put these Regiments in condition for active service at as early a date as was practicable. The period of muster and departure of these two Regiments is also included in a table which will be found on a succeeding page.
About the time that the President's last call for volunteers appeared, your Excellency had permission from the War De- partment to send into the field another Regiment of Cavalry, and forthwith ordered the preliminary measures toward that end to be taken. Authority to recruit for this service was eagerly sought for, and the 4th Cavalry was rapidly organized, and on the 29th of July was ordered into rendezvous at Detroit. On the 29th of August it was mustered into the United States service, full to the maximum, and was only awaiting its horses and equipments. As soon as these were provided, it left the State on the 26th of September.
Soon after the organization of the Fourth, Col. J. T. Cope- land, late of the First Cavalry, sought and obtained the per- mission of the War Department, subject to your sanction, to raise another Regiment for the same branch of service; and still later-when the President had issued an order providing for the draft of a further force of 300,000 men, to which more extended reference will be made hereafter-Hon. F. W. Kellogg, Member of Congress from this State, secured authority, also conditional upon your approval, to raise two additional Regi- ments for the same arm. The Fifth and Sixth Cavalry, compris- ing two of the three Regiments thus authorized, were recruited with great rapidity, and would have been in the field by the Ist of October had horses, arms and equipments been provided as fast as the men were ready for them. They left the State in the early part of December, a Battery of Light Artillery being connected with the former.
Further details in reference to these, as well as the older Regiments, will be found on succeeding pages under the head of " MICHIGAN TROOPS IN THE FIELD."
The bodies of troops thus referred to, comprise all the dis- tinct organizations that have yet been sent out of the State
11
ADJUTANT GENERAL.
into active service since the requisition of the President, made on the second of July last. The numerical designation of the Regiments, the number of men borne on their muster-in-rolls, the date of their final muster into the United States service, the date of their departure, and the original destination as- signed to each by the orders of the War Department, are given in the subjoined table, the Regiments being arranged in the order in which they left the State.
List of Regiments, &c., which have left the State for the Field of War since July 2, 1862.
REGIMENT.
STRENGTH.
MUSTERED IN.
DATE OF DEPART- URE.
DESTINATION.
17th Infantry,
982
August 21st.
August 27. 66 29.
Washington. 66
20th
1,012
19th.
September 1. 60
4.
Covington, Ky.
22d
. .
.
.
66
883
66
11.
18.
Louisville. Covington. Louisville. 66
4th Cavalry,.
1,223
August 29.
25th Infantry,
896
September 22.
66
29.
5th Cavalry
1,305
August 30.
December 4.
Washington.
9th Battery,
168
29.
66
4.
66
6th Cavalry,
1,220
October 13.
10.
26th Infantry,
903
December 13.
13.
Total,
13,739
24th
1,027
15th.
18th
.
1,002
66
26th.
66
4.
21st
1,007
September 4.
12.
19th
66
995
5.
14.
23d
997
29th.
26.
The quality of the men, physically, mentally and morally, who form the material of these Regiments, has never been and never can be excelled in the armies of any State or nation on earth, and it may well be questioned if it was ever equalled outside of the limits of this Union.
The Infantry Regiments have gone into the field thoroughly armed and equipped, the arms furnished them having been Springfield, Enfield, and Austrian rifled muskets. The Cavalry have been equally well equipped, but a portion of the arms of some of them remained to be furnished after reaching the seat of war.
The recruiting service for the Regiments in the field is under the exclusive control of the General Government, and is super intended in this State by Lient. Col. J. R. Smith, U. S. A., and though not strictly coming within the requirements of this Report, it is but justice to a faithful public officer, that testi-
12
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
mony should be borne herein to the energy, judgment, and un- tiring assiduity with which he has discharged the complicated duties of his position.
The records in Col. Smith's office show that on the 23d of December instant, there had been received in Barracks at this post, since the 2d of July last, 2,156 recruits, enlisted for three years, for the Michigan Regiments in active service. These figures, added to the sum furnished in the table above, show the total number of three years' volunteers from this State who had, between those dates, been mustered into the armies of the United States, and sent into the field, as follows:
Total number of Three Years' Volunteers mustered into Regiments, &c., which have been sent into the field, from Michigan, from the 2d of July to the 23d of December, 1862.
17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22d, 23d, 24th, 25th and 26th
Infantry, 4th, 5th and 6th Cavalry, and 9th Battery, .. 13,739 Recruits for Regiments in the field, as reported by Su- perintendent of recruiting service,. 2,156
Total number, 15,895
ENROLLMENT OF MILITIA.
While the people and the military departments were actively engaged in meeting the requisition of July 2d for additional volunteers, as mentioned above, an order was issued, on the 4th of August, by the President of the United States, to the ef- fect that, in addition to the force already called, a draft of three hundred thousand militia, to serve for nine months, unless sooner discharged, should be immediately called into the na- tional service; the draft and the apportionment of quotas to be made under such regulations as the Secretary of War should establish. In pursuance thereof, on the 9th of the same month, General Orders were promulgated from the War Department, prescribing the necessary details for the execution of this measure, and assigning the quota of each State, that for Mich-
.
13
ADJUTANT GENERAL.
gan being the same as under the last call for volunteers, viz: 11,686. The preliminary duties enjoined were the enrolling of the militia, by township officers, and the appointment of com- missioners and surgeons to determine exemptions, the former having the general superintendence of the draft in their re- spective counties. It was also ordered that no new Regiments of volunteers should be organized after the 15th of August, and that in case State quotas under the call for 300,000 vol- unteers should remain unfilled at that date, incomplete Regi- ments should be consolidated, and an additional draft be made to supply the deficiency. Advanced bounty money, ($25,) and one month's pay, ($13,) which had been given to volunteers since the 2d of July, was to be continued to recruits for the old Regiments. A subsequent order, of August 14th, provided for a division of State quotas among counties and subdivisions of counties; and special instructions, of a still later date, directed that "if the volunteers for old and new Regiments, mustered from July 2d, exceed the number called for, (11,686,) the excess may be deducted from the number drafted."
Accepting the exigency which demanded this new call upon the resources and patriotism of the people, your Excellency issued a proclamation directing the assessors in every ward and organized township in the State, "to make and complete a cen- sus of the male citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty- five, in their respective townships or wards, according to the printed forms furnished for that purpose, and to make a return of the same to the county clerk of their respective counties on or before the 10th day of September, A. D. 1862." More de- tailed instructions and the necessary forms were at the same time furnished from this office.
The work thus allotted to the assessors was very generally performed with promptness, notwithstanding the great extent of our territory, and the infrequency of public communications in the more sparsely settled portions of it.
The people of the State assented with great unanimity and willingness to the propriety of this new requisition upon them,
14
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
but the desire was general to obviate, if possible, the neces- sity of a draft, by furnishing the quota demanded in volunteers. To procure enlistments for three years instead of drafted levies for nine months, was obviously, where the choice was practi- cable, to consult the interests of the public service. The gov- ernment found it expedient, on account of the want of prepa- ration existing in most of the States, whereby to secure an impartial draft, to postpone the period fixed for it to take place, and to extend the time for the completion of the regiments in process of organization; and the sentiment of the people, and the public good, were alike regarded in a renewed and ener- getic effort to raise the needed number of men by voluntary enlistments for three years. The government continued to allow bounty and advance pay to recruits for the old regiments, which needed them, and by special authority continued it to those enlisting in regiments not yet completed.
The Commissioners appointed by you to superintend the draft, together with the sheriffs and clerks of counties, were consti- tuted recruiting officers. A General Order was issued from this Department, apportioning the quota to be raised on the basis of the census of 1860, (the military enumeration being yet incomplete,) and accrediting each county with the number of men which had been furnished by each since the 2d of July, as shown by special returns made from the regiments them- selves. These credits were prepared with a very large amount of labor, and with the most anxious care to deal justly by all sections. The usual muster rolls show only the place of enlist- ment, not that of residence. To secure the information needed, special company rolls, with columns designating both the township (or ward) [and county of the volunteer, were pre- pared, and a special agent was sent from this office to every regiment, previous to its departure from this State, to secure the utmost possible accuracy and completeness in filling them up. The Commanding Officer of each company was required to ascertain from each man on his roll, individually, the place of his residence, and to verify his return by his official signa-
15
ADJUTANT GENERAL.
ture, given on his honor as an officer. It is known that sub- stantial justice to the various counties was effected, though to escape error entirely was hardly possible. The careless- ness or hurry of officers, the temporary absence of men, and the occasional confounding, through a misunderstanding of the purpose of inquiry, the place of residence with that of na- tivity, or of enlistment, or the post office address, led to mis- takes which no amount of care in this Department could pre- vent. To remedy these, as far as practicable, a written list was sent to the Clerk, or Commissioner, of every county, show- ing the name and township of every volunteer who had been returned as a resident thereof, within the prescribed period; and the Commissioner, (or in the absence of one, the Sheriff,) was clothed with all the powers necessary, in almost every instance, to secure equal and exact justice to every locality.
Accompanying this apportionment of the quota to the re- spective counties, was a statement of the number still needed in each to supply the demand upon it; and it was proposed that the counties should supply the deficiency on this basis, and thus avoid the necessity of a draft.
A spirited and general effort was at once made throughout the State to comply with this suggestion, and a very consid- erable number of recruits were furnished to the regiments in the field. But to raise the number yet lacking by enlistments in the old regiments, without mischievous delays, was found, after fair trial, to be impracticable. The most expeditious re- cruiting is accomplished when individuals act together to build up an entire organization. A man who undertakes to raise a company has usually a selection of two Lieutenants, five Ser- geants, and eight Corporals. He finds among these an effi- cient corps of recruting officers, who devote their attention, each in his own locality, to the object of raising a body of 101 men, who will, in a certain sense, form a distinct family. Neighborhood friendships are invoked in its behalf, and the pride and emulation of rival communities are active agencies in the promotion of its success. In recruiting for an old regi-
16
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
ment, there are none of the advantages of this combination. Occasionally, in rare instances, where regiments have become greatly depleted, it might be practicable to infuse with new strength a limited number of officers; but as a general thing officers cannot be given to them from civil life, without working injustice to men whose faithful service in the ranks, or gallant conduct in the field, entitles them to promotion, and weakening the morale of the service.
The War Department, fully aware of the condition of affairs, left the time for drafting to the discretion of the Governors, and the Commissioners in this State not having been able to complete their preparations, it was determined to afford fur- ther opportunity for filling the quota by voluntary enlistments in new regiments.
Early in September, three companies of men, nearly full, had been offered from the Upper Peninsula, and there was reason to believe that three more would be filled in the same section of country. The 27th infantry was, therefore, with the assent of the government, organized and put in rendezvous at Port Huron. The authority given by the War Department to Hon. F. W. Kellogg, to raise the 7th Regiment of Cavalry, was con- firmed by your Excellency, and that regiment was thereupon organized, and ordered by you, under date of October 29th, to rendezvous at Grand Rapids. At the same time you accorded your sanction to permission which had been previously given by the general government, subject to your approval, to Colonel John Stockton, of Mount Clemens, and to Captain James I. Davids, of Trenton, to raise each an additional regi- ment of Cavalry, and the 8th was thereupon ordered, with its camp at Mount Clemens, and the 9th, which has its quarters at Coldwater.
An urgent desire having been manifested to organize another Infantry Regiment, Col. Edward Doyle, of Detroit, received authority, with the assent of the War Department, to raise the twenty-eighth; and on application of your Excellency, the De- partment also consented to the raising of a regiment of Sharp
17
ADJUTANT GENERAL.
Shooters, the organization of which has been placed in the charge of Capt. C. V. DeLand, of the Ninth Infantry. The government had specially authorized advanced bounty and one month's pay to volunteers, in either of these regiments, and vigorous efforts were very generally entered upon to fill their ranks. This accomplished, with the aid of a very moderate success on the part of the large number of officers from old regiments now detailed for recruiting service in the State, and the quota would be full.
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