USA > Michigan > Record of service of Michigan volunteers in the Civil War, 1861-1865, v. 22 > Part 1
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Gc 973.74 M58mic v. 22 1827671
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01083 4650
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4484 . . . c. 2.
RECORD OF SERVICE -
OF
Michigan Volunteers
IN THE
CIVIL WAR
V. 22. 1861-1865
TUESOR
CIRCUMSPICE
Published by authority of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Michigan Legislature, under the direction of Hrig. Gen. Geo. H Brown, Adjutant General.
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1827671
AARON T. BLISS
In presenting this work to the public, we wish to acknowledge the painstaking, enthusiastic, and able efforts of Assistant Adjutant General, Col. George H. Turner, who, by long and most honorable military service, was especially fitted for the work of compiling this volume. To him is due our unbounded gratitude, and the full honor of these carefully prepared records.
Molina
Governor.
Adjutant General. .
IRLING BROS. & EVERARD Stationers, Printers and Publishers KALAMAZOO, MICH.
INTRODUCTORY.
The compilation of the military history of each soldier of the Civil War (who was a resident of the State of Michigan at the time he enlisted), for publication and distribution has been the subject of controversy for years. The magnitude of such a work, together with the cost of publication, the exhaustive research required and the amount of clerical services necessary in its compil- ation, have been large factors in postponing, from time to time, the consideration of the subject.
To comply as far as possible with this demand an admirable history was prepared by Adjutant General John Robertson, a few years ago, entitled "Mich- igan in the War," and gratuitously distributed through the generosity of the state to the surviving soldiers of the war and to the families of those who perished. But this work was general in character, referring mostly to regimental organizations, and contained the military biography of commissioned officers only.
The enlisted men of the army who endured the hardships and suffered the perils of war considered it due themselves and their children that their names should appear of record in the archives of their country and their services noted, that future generations might know the honorable part their ancestors bore in the memorable conflict known as the Civil War. Such a record will ever be a source of patriotic pride to the soldier who did his duty whether he served in the ranks or in command of divisions or corps, and an inspiration to the youth of the country who must in the future assume the civic and military responsibilities of this grand republic.
At the annual encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, Depart- ment of Michigan, held at Pontiac, June 11 and 12, 1902, the following resolution was passed unanimously :
" Resolved: That the Department of Michigan, Grand Army of the Republic, in encampment assembled, hereby request of the legislature and the Governor of Michigan that immediate provision be made for the publication of the record of the officers and enlisted men who served from this state during the Civil War in form substantially the same as those published by other states, notably New Hampshire, Connecticut and Ohio."
The Department Commander appointed a committee on legislation con- sisting of C. E. Foote, Kalamazoo, Col. Fred Schneider, Lansing, and Alfred Milnes, Coldwater. This committee drafted the following bill, which was passed
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by both houses of the legislature in the session of 1903, and was promptly signed by Governor Bliss.
The act is known as Act 147, Public Acts of 1903.
The first three sections of the Act are as follows, and the concluding sections refer to provisions of contracting for publication and auditing accounts.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
. Section 1. The Adjutant General shall, as soon as practicable after the passage of this act, prepare for publication an alphabetical regimental history of all soldiers and sailors who enlisted from and were credited to this state during the war of the rebellion. Such history shall contain the name, residence, date of enlistment, date ef muster in, rank, promotion, wounds received, capture and imprisonment by the enemy, date of discharge, muster out or death, and such information as can be obtained from the records of this state, the war, navy and other departments of the Federal Government, or other authentic sources, as will correct or complete the records, making as far as practicable a complete and concise military history of each soldier or sailor so serving; prefacing each volume of such records appropriately, with a concise general history of the organization tlerein named. He shall direct the prepara- tion and compilation of such records for publication in forty-three, forty-four, forty five, or forty-six volumes, assigning as far as practicable one volume to each of the following organi- zations and groups of organizations, viz .: One velume to each regimental infantry organiza- tion and reorganization, numbered from First to Thirtieth regiment; one volume each to First regiment of Michigan Engineers and Mechanics, First regiment Michigan Sharpshooters, and First regiment Michigan colored troops; one volume to the fourteen Michigan Batteries of Light Artillery; one volume to Gen. George A. Custer's Cavalry Brigade, consisting of the First, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh regiments of Michigan cavalry; one volume to each of the Second, Third, Fourth, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Michigan cavalry regiments; and one volume to contain all other miscellaneous organizations and detachments enlisted in this state and serving in Michigan and other state organizations; and one volume to contain a general alphabetical index of all names mentioned in the different volumes constituting the entire edition, showing in what organization or volume each name in the index may be found, for the convenient reference of the public in library sets, which index volume is here- with limited to two hundred copies. For this purpose the Adjutant General is authorized to employ such extra clerical assistance and procure such blanks and stationery as may be necessary in the preparation. compilation, comparing and proof reading, necessary to secure historical and typographical accuracy.
Section 2. The distribution of said volumes when published shall be made under the supervision of the Adjutant General, in the same general manner now adopted for the distribution of "Michigan in the War," under section three, act two hundred forty-eight, public acts of eighteen hundred eighty-seven. One regimental volume to the applicant of th. organization in which he served as follows: Any person who served in any Michigan regi- ment, battery, company or detachment during the Civil War, and has been honorably dis- charged, or any person who served in any regiment, battery or company from any other state, or in the regular army, or in the navy, properly accredited to the State of Michigan, and has been honorably discharged, or if such person be dead, then his widow if living, or if she be dead, then his father if living, if he be dead, then the mother of any such person, or if she be dead, then to his eldest child, if any there be; and any such person who is still in the service, shall be entitled to receive one copy of said work, on application and identifica- tion to the Adjutant General, and if the application for such copy be not made in person by
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depositing with the Adjutant General necessary postage to cover the expense of sending such book. Also complete sets to adjutants general of other states, and to state and United States public libraries upon application, and to such other libraries in this state as the Governor may approve, and may be purchased by any other persons who may apply at cost of publication. Section 3. So soon as the work of preparation and compilation of the historical records herein provided for shall have progressed sufficiently near completion to enable printers and binders to make accurate estimates of the cost of publication, the Adjutant General shall scrve a written notification of that fact on the Board of State Auditors; upon such notifica- tion, at the earliest practicable moment, the Board of State Auditors is hereby directed to solicit sealed bids for the publication, printing and binding of forty-five thousand volumes of "A Record of Michigan Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Rebellion, Eighteen Hundred Sixty-one to Eighteen Hundred Sixty-Five," and give public notice of the time and place for receiving such bids and the requirements of the contract in acordance with this act by publishing the same in such paper or papers, and for such a period as will in the judgment of the board bring the subject to the attention of the several prominent publishing houses in this state: Provided, That the cost of such work complete shall not exceed fourteen thousand dollars for the printing, binding and delivery of the entire edition herein provided for; and the standard of excellence in quality of material, style of binding, typography and style of printing shall be equal to that used by the state of Massachusetts in its recent publication of " Massachusetts' Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War," copies of which are now on file in the Adjutant General's office of this state: Provided, further, That the apportion- ment of the copies of the different regimental volumes of the edition of forty-five thousand volumes herein provided for, shall be in the same relative proportion as the total enrollment of the organizations represented in any single volume, bears to the total enrollment of the entire edition as provided for in this act; for which purpose the Adjutant General shall direct the preparation of, and furnish the Board of State Auditors with a comprehensive table of data, showing the total enrollment of the organization, and the total number of printed pages intended for each volume, and the apportionment of the total number of copies to each of such volumes, for the guidance of bidders for the contract of publishing such work.
Immediately upon the approval of the act by the Governor, the Adjutant General commenced active preparations to compile the work as provided for in the bill. No state has been more generous than Michigan in trying to secure full and complete historical military data of her sons, who patriotically volun- teered to defend the integrity of their country, and probably the records in the military department are as acurate and complete as any like records of any state in the Union. Yet with all the care and research that has been made, there are individual histories that are deficient in some particulars, owing to the fact that the returns from which they were copied were written in the field during active and protracted campaigns, when great battles were fought, and the movement of troops continued incessantly night and day, circumstances incompatible with accuracy, completeness and legibility, and by officers who succeeded suddenly in command by the death of their predecessors. The greater number who possessed the information desired have been removed by death, and their silent lips can never complete the unwritten history of their comrades.
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It was sometimes impossible in the stirring times of war for command- ing officers to give authentic and final history of men who disappeared in a .great battle, as in many cases the bodies of the dead could not be found, and if possession of the field was yielded to the enemy the fate of those who were made prisoners of war could only, if ever, be learned through unreliable Con- federate sources.
For such heroes who died for their country and who sleep in nameless graves their epitaph is inscribed in this history as "Missing in action." A more honorable or heroic epitaphi could not be penned. Thousands of the Union dead have been removed by the Government from the field where they fell, and their bodies have been placed in national cemeteries, beautified and adorned, as the mausoleum of the nation's defenders with appropriate monuments at their rest- ing places.
In order to complete some of the records of the Adjutant General's Office, which is the custodian of all the field returns of the Civil War, Governor Bliss made a request of the Secretary of War, seconded by Senators Burrows and Alger, asking that the incomplete, individual records. of this office be com- pleted, upon presentation by the Adjutant General, provided the War Depart- ment was in possession of the facts desired. For reasons which seemed sufficient to the Secretary of War, the request was denied.
To supplement the records of this office so as to make each individual history complete as far as possible, blanks were prepared and sent to all the Grand Army Posts of the state, with the request that the names of all Michigan soldiers in the Post and vicinity be returned to the Adjutant General stating the residence, if living, and, if dead, the date of death and place of burial.
Three hundred out of the three hundred and sixty Posts of the state responded, and the data gathered from these reports have been added to the official history shown by the records of this office. Without doubt there are some inaccuracies in these reports, but the majority of them are correct and will enable many ex-soldiers to locate their comrades, if living, and to know their resting places if dead.
A request was also made of each superintendent of the eighty national cemeteries to forward to the Adjutant General the names of all Michigan soldiers buried in such cemeteries. A gratifying response was received, and these reports have been carefully compiled and added to the history of the soldier. These reports of the superintendents of national cemeteries tell a mournful story. The superintendent of the National Cemetery at Andersonville, Ga., reports the names of six hundred and forty-seven Michigan soldiers buried there, victims of Andersonville prison. There is scarcely a national ceme- tery in the United States that does not contain the bodies of Michigan soldiers, and a number of them as many as the cemetery at Andersonville, Ga.
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Near the close of the war there were many recruits at depots awaiting transportation to join regiments at the front, but when it was found their services would not be needed, many returned home without the formality of a muster out, and their final disposition was incomplete, and in many such cases shows "no further record." ·
In the compilation of this work no pains have been spared and no research of the almost numberless field returns made forty years ago, has seemed too arduous to make the soldiers record absolutely complete if there were material existing to make this possible. That inaccuracies will appear is unavoidable from the nature of the work. The inaccuracies are not the result of careless clerical work in the Adjutant General's office, but are due to the hasty compilation of returns in the field, where names were misspelled and where the name of a soldier is spelled differently in the muster-in and muster- out rolls.
In cases where the name could not be verified as the correct one both are published. When inaccuracies appear in the record if the soldier will send his discharge papers to the Adjutant General, the corrections will be made in the official records of the office and the discharge papers promptly returned. It scarcely occurred to the officers who made their official returns to the different departments that forty years after the conflict, an individual history of each soldier who participated would be written. Had such been known then, the meagre and scant accounts of skirmishes, battles and sieges-many of them destined to be of world-wide fame-would have been extended and written out fully giving a comprehensive history of individuals, companies and regi- ments, a history that would be a priceless heritage today and to future genera- tions.
The hardships of a campaign, the duties exacted night and day, the constant attention to matters of vital importance, are not conducive to literary efforts of biography or general history. It is pathetic to know that thousands upon thousands of Union soldiers who participated in many of the most des- perate battles of the Civil War, have no records of such battles to their credit in the official reports. A limited number were fortunate enough to have their names recorded by their officers as participating in such engagements.
Whenever the official records have mentioned the battles in which the soldier fought, or wounds that he received, or promotions made, or any gallant and meritorious service, such record has been carefully noted and attached to the soldier's history. At the commencement of the work it was found that many soldiers saw service in more than one regiment, and as the appropriation contemplated but one volume to each man, the entire history of the soldier has been compiled under his name and placed in the volume where he served longest. The primary object of the whole work has been to group the comrades
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who served in the same regiment, with names arranged in alphabetical order, and present him with the volume containing his own military history and the history of those with whom he served.
The soldiers who enlisted for three years and after serving two years re-enlisted in the field for "three years or during the war," have the distinctive and honorable title of "veteran " placed after their names.
Careful enumeration has been made of the total enrollment of each regi- ment, together with the list of casualties.
The work of compiling these individual histories has been long and arduous, but it has been one of gratification and satisfaction to record the gallant deeds of Michigan men who contributed so gloriously to the unity and perpetuity of the Union.
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Twenty-Second Infantry.
On July 15, 1862, Governor Austin Blair issued General Order No. 154, directing the raising of six Regiments of Infantry, designated the Fifth Con- gressional District, composed of the counties of Livingston, Lapeer, Ma- comb St. Clair and Sanilac as the territory in which the Twenty-second Michigan Infantry Volunteers should be recruited, naming Pontiac as the place of rendezvous, and appointing ex-Governor Moses Wisner as Com- mandant of Camp. On August 8, 1862. the Field and Staff Officers were commissioned, and on the 31st of July following commissions were issued to the officers of the line. On August 29. 1862, the regiment having its full quota of officers and men, was mustered into the United States service. The officers were as follows:
Field and Staff.
Colonel, Moses Wisner, Pontiac.
Lieutenant Colonel, Heber Le Favour, Detroit.
Major, William Sanborn. Port Huron.
Surgeon, Abram P. McConnell, Pontiac. Assistant Surgeon, Wells B. Fox, Hartland.
Adjutant. Edgar Weeks, Mt. Clemens.
Quartermaster. Thomas C. Boughton, Pontiac. - Chaplain, Asher E. Mather, Pontiac.
Line Officers.
Co. A. Captain, Ezra C. Hatton, Farmington. First Lieutenant, Ed- ward M. Wisner, Pontiac. Second Lieutenant, William Albertson, Pon- tiac.
Co. B. Captain, Alonzo M. Keeler. Shelby. First Lientenant. William Hulsart, Bruce. Second Lieutenant, Henry W. Howgate, Armada.
Co. C. Captain. John Atkinson, Port Huron. First Lieutenant, Jeffer- son J. Wilder, Capac. Second Lieutenant. John Sackett, Port Huron.
Co. D. Captain. Townsend C. Beardslee. Pontiac. First Lieutenant. Almeron S. Mathews, Pontiac. Second Lieutenant. Elijah Snell, Indepen- dence.
Co. E. Captain, Henry Carlton, Newport. First Lieutenant, Hazzard P. Wands, St. Clair. Second Lieutenant, Thomas C. Jackson, Ira.
Co. F. Captain, Alfred Ashley, New Baltimore. First Lieutenant, George W. Robertson, Mt. Clemens. Second Lientenant, Heber B. Pear- son, New Baltimore.
Co. G. Captain, Joseph Goetz, Mt. Clemens. First Lieutenant Will- iam C. Stockton, Mt. Clemens. Second Lieutenant, Augustus Czizek, Mt. Clemens.
Co. H. Captain, Henry S. Dean, Green Oak. First Lieutenant, William A. Smith, Marion. Second Lieutenant, Louis Brown, Howell.
Co. 1. Captain, Frederick W. Kimberk, Brighton. First Lieutenant, Walter Bowers, Lyon. Second Lieutenant. James Page. Lyon.
Co. K. Captain. Alexander G. Galbraith, Lexington. First Lieutenant. Henry Breidenbach, Lexington. Second Lientenant. John A. Simons, Lex- ington.
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MICHIGAN VOLUNTEERS, 1861-1865
September 4, 1862, the regiment left its camp on the Fair Grounds at. Pontiac, and marched iooo strong to the railroad depot, and took the cars for Detroit. Late that evening it took boat for Cleveland, at which place it arrived on the morning of September 5th. Here the regiment had its first issue of the rations on the march. From Cleveland it proceeded by rail to Cincinnati, where it arrived at midnight. It marched from the depot to the Fifth Street Market House, where at 2:00 o'clock a. m., September 6th. it ate breakfast provided by the city of Cincinnati. Before leaving the tables, the men were ordered to fill their haversacks, an order. however, it was never necessary to repeat during their term of service, when there were ra- tions in sight. After breakfast, the regiment crossed the Ohio River on a pontoon bridge to Covington, Ky., and retired to rest on the paved streets
of that town. Ilard as was the bed, sweet was the sleep of these 1000 tired men, unaccustomed to carrying arms and knapsacks. During the forenoon, the regiment was marched to the front. without ammunition, and formed in line of battle to resist a reported attack about to be made by the Confederate forces under the command of General E. Kirby Smith. Com- pany H was ordered forward as skirmishers, to " feel the enemy," without a round of ammunition, which it proceeded to do until relieved by troops provided with ammunition: this line of battle was formed on a knoll in the center of a field of cabbage, and this first experience of the regiment in war was dubbed by the men as the " Battle of Cabbage Hill." After it was all over, the men laughed heartily, but while " the battle was on," it did not appear so funny. At midnight, the regiment retired in "good order," the battle having resulted in a great slaughter of Southern cabbage. Here the regiment was assigned to the Third Brigade, Second Division, Army of Central Kentucky, with which it served until April. 1863. The regiment remained in a fortification on Covington Heights until the evening of Sep- tember 7th, when it marched one mile to the front and went into camp, where it remained until 1:00 o'clock a. m .. when the bugle sounded " strike tents," and it marched back to Camp Wallace, when it had its first experi- ence in building fortifications, a work in which it was engaged until Sep- tember 18th, at which date it marched five miles to Florence, Ky., and camped on the Fair Grounds at that place. September 19th it marched nine miles south of Florence; on September 20th it moved eight miles in a south- erly direction: September 21st it marched back over the route it had come to within twelve miles of Covington. Ky., and went into camp. naming its resting place " Camp Walton." From the 21st of September to October 9th it remained in this camp, forming line of battle from one to five times a night to meet threatened attacks by John Morgan's Cavalry. From Camp Walton, it moved to Williamston, naming its halting place " Camp Wells." There it remained until 11:00 o'clock p. m., October 14th, when all who were fit for duty proceeded to Cynthiana. where they arrived at 9:00 p. m .. October 15th. The detachment left at Camp Wells, with the camp and garrison equipage, marched for Lexington, reaching that place October 21st. At Georgetown, through which town this detachment passed, it had an experience in returning slaves to their masters, which General Q. . 1. Gilmore ordered them to do. With one exception he is the only United States officer that ever gave such an order to the Twenty-second Michigan Infantry. On the night of October 18th. Company II was ordered to pro- ceed up the railroad and take possession of and hold Townsend's Bridge. which it did. That night, this Company was ordered " to proceed to Paris. take possession of the town, and hold same at all hazards." The company
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TWENTY-SECOND INFANTRY
reached Paris at 4.00 o'clock a. m., October 18th, took possession of the town, and captured 100 of Humphrey Marshall's command. At 7:00 o'clock a. m., information was received from Lexington that John Morgan entered that place the evening before with 2,000 cavalry and a battery, and that he would move on Paris the next morning. Information of Morgan's plans was dispatched by handcar (three negroes furnishing the motive power). to Colonel Wisner at Cynthiana. At 2:00 p. m. of that day, Colonel Wis- ner left Cynthiana with the regiment and a battery, arriving in Paris at 7:00 p. m., making the march of eighteen miles in five hours; this was quick time for infantry, and a cavalry regiment dubbed the Twenty-second "The Marching Regiment." John Morgan, learning that Paris had been reinforced. did not attack the town. Upon a Confederate prisoner, a letter was found written by Humphrey Marshall to his wife. informing her that he had been ordered to move with his command out of Kentucky into Virginia by way of Pound Gap; this information was communicated to General Gordon Granger at Cincinnati, who ordered Colonel Wisner "to follow Humphrey Marshall, if he followed him to ' Davy Jones' locker." In obedience to this order, the regiment left Paris in pursuit of Humphrey Marshall. For- tunately, however, Humphrey Marshall's command of about 5,000 had so much the start of Colonel Wisner and his Soo men, that he did not overtake him. On this march the regiment passed through Lancaster to Athens. Ky., where it received orders to proceed to Lexington, where it ar- rived October 26, 1862. The detachment left at Camp Walton, with the camp and garrison equipage, had reached Lexington in advance of the main body. When the regiment left Camp Walton on October 9th it moved "in light marching order," without tents, which every old soldier understands and never forgets, if, as in this instance, the march is late in the fall, and the ground most of the time covered with snow. Tents were a luxury the regiments had not enjoyed for seventeen days and nights.
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