USA > Michigan > Record of service of Michigan volunteers in the Civil War, 1861-1865, v. 8 > Part 1
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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01083 4510
1 7-67
RECORD OF SERVICE
OF
Michigan Volunteers
IN THE
CIVIL WAR
V.8 1861-1865
PLUSIFUS
TUEBOR
CIRCUMSPICE
Published by authority of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Michigan Legislature under the direction of Brig. Gen. GEo. H. BROWN, A:,L'ant General.
1827659
AARON T. BLESS
-
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.
A.J. Blim
Governor.
Adjutant General.
FILING BROS. & EVI. RARD 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 II 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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INTRODUCTORY
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 bistory shall contain the name, residence, date of enlistment, date of muster in, rank, promotion, wounds received, capture and imprisonment by the enemy, date of discharge, muster out or death, and such information as can he 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 therein 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 volume 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 the 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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INTRODUCTORY
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 hy 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 serve 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 scaled 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 accordance 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 hring 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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INTRODUCTORY
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 epitaph 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 hattles 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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INTRODUCTORY
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 cach 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.
Eighth Infantry.
The Eighth Infantry saw active duty on the Atlantic coast in the Army of the Potomac and in the western department. marching and fighting in practically all the southern states from the Mississippi river to the Atlantic ocean.
At the organization of the regiment it was ordered to rendezvous at Grand Rapids, but was afterwards transferred to Fort Wayne at Detroit, where it was mustered into service of the U. S. on the 23d day of September, 1861.
The field, staff and line officers at organization were as follows:
Colonel, William M. Fenton, Fenton. Lieutenant Colonel. Frank Graves, Niles. Major, Amasa B. Watson, Muskegon. Surgeon, Hurlburt B. Shank, Lansing. Assistant Surgeon, Samuel R. Wooster, Grand Rapids. Adjutant, David B. llarbaugh, Detroit. Quartermaster. Asa Gregory, Flint. Chaplin, William Mahone, Detroit.
A. Captain, Samuel C. Guild, Flint. First Lieutenant, George E. Newell, Flint. Second Lieutenant, George H. Turner. Flint.
B. Captain. Gilbert E. Pratt, Detroit. First Lieutenant, William E. Lewis, St. Johns. Second Lieutenant, James S. Donohue, Flint.
C. Captain, Ralph Ely, Alma. First Lieutenant, George S. Gordon, Alma. Second Lieutenant, Charles B. Holliday, Alma.
D. Captain, Benjamin B. Church, Grand Rapids. First Lieutenant, John C. Buchanan, Grand Rapids. Second Lieutenant, Benjamin F. Porter, Grand Rapids.
E. Captain, Matthew Elder, Lansing. First Lieutenant, \bram Cotrell, Lansing. Second Lieutenant,
F. Captain, Nelson H. Walbridge, Richland. First Lieutenant, Trav- erse Phillips, Hastings. Second Lieutenant, Jacob Maus, Hastings.
G. Captain, Ephraim N. Lyon, Flint. First Lieutenant, Horatio Bel- cher, Flint. Second Lieutenant, N. Miner Pratt. Flint.
H. Captain, Alfred B. Turner, Grand Rapids. First Lieutenant, Rich- ard N. Doyle, Georgetown. Second Lieutenant, William A. Brown, Ann Arbor.
1. Captain, Jay L. Quackenbush, Owosso. First Lieutenant, Albert Bainbridge, Byron. Second Lieutenant. James C. Merrell. Corunna.
K. . Captain, George Proudfit. Jackson. First Lieutenant, Reuben S. Cheney, Moscow. Second Lieutenant, William P. Miner, Moscow.
It left Detroit, Sept. 27, 1861, and arrived at Washington the 30th. with an enrollment of 915 officers and men. The regiment was assigned to the "Expeditionary Corps," under General T. W. Sherman, and saw service along the coast at Hilton Haed. Beaufort, S. C., Coosaw River and Tybee Island. Ga. In April. 1862. the regiment had a severe engagement with the enemy on Wilmington Island, where it lost heavily in killed and wounded. At Secessionville on James Island the regiment distinguished itself by a bayonet charge upon the enemy's works, and though their ranks were swept by the enemy's artillery, not a gun was fired until the paraphet was reached. Here the enemy's fire was so destructive that it was impos- sible to enter the works and the assaulting party was obliged to withdraw. with a loss of 13 killed. 98 wounded. 35 prisoners, and 36 missing.
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MICHIGAN VOLUNTEERS, 1861-1865
In July the regiment left James Island and after a series of embarka- tions and marches, reached Bull Run, Va., where it was engaged Aug. 29 and 30 as part of the First Brigade, First Division, Ninth Army Corps. After long marches in the Maryland Campaign of 1862 the regiment was heavily engaged at South Mountain and Antietam, Sept. 14 and 17.
In March, 1863, the Eighth was ordered to Louisville, Ky., and thence to Vicksburg. Miss., where it arrived on the 17th. The regiment was en- gaged in the marches about Vicksburg, especially at Jackson, Miss., and then started for Knoxville, Tenn., by way of Crab Orchard and Cumber- land Gap, where it arrived on the 26th of September.
When General Longstreet marched through Tennessee the Eighth was among the troops that met him at Campbell Station, west of Knox- ville, and after a severe encounter fell back to the works on College Hill in Knoxville. During the siege. the Eighth was in the advanced works and suffered much in common with the whole corps, on account of the in- clement weather, the want of clothing and tents, and the scarcity of rations.
After General Longstreet withdrew his forces from Knoxville. the Eighth started in pursuit and went as far as Rutledge, East Tennessee, and then retired to Blain's Cross Roads.
At this camp the regiment veteranized. 283 re-enlisting, and commenced a 200-mile march across the Cumberland Mountains over horrible roads, in sleety, cold weather, the march averaging 20 miles a day, and arrived at Nicholasville, Ky., Jan. 19. 1864.
The regiment reached Detroit, Mich., on the 25th and was furloughed for 30 days. After the expiration of the 30 days' furlough. the Eighth as- sembled at Flint and started on the 9th of March, via. Cincinnati, to join the Ninth Corps, which was then at Annapolis, Md.
On the 4th of May, 1864. the regiment, with the balance of the Ninth Corps, started on the campaign under General Grant through Virginia. It formed a part of the First Brigade. Third Division, of the celebrated Ninth Corps, and crossed the Rapidan at Germania Ford the 5th, and was en- gaged in the batle of the Wilderness the 6th. In this battle the regiment reported a loss of 90 killed. wounded and missing. Colonel Graves. com- manding the regiment, was killed.
The Eighth was in the assault on the enemy's works at Spottsylvania on the 12th, and suffered severely. The regimental commander reported a loss of 49 officers and men in this assault.
At Bethesda Church. June 3, the regiment in a desperate encounter with the enemy lost 52 killed. wounded and missing. The Eighth crossed James river on the 15th and lost 49 officers and men the 17th and 18th be- fore Petersburg.
The regiment occupied different positions during the siege of Peters- burg, almost always under fire, and took part in the battles along the Weldon R. R., Ream's Station, Poplar Grove Church, Fort Steadman, and when Petersburg fell it was one of the first Union regiments to march into that city.
After the surrender of General Lee, April 9, 1865, the Eighth moved to City Point, where it embarked on transports for Alexandria. Va., and reached Washington. May 9. The regiment. under Colonel Ralph Ely, started for Michigan, Ang. I. and arrived at Detroit the 3d, where it was paid off and disbanded.
The Eighth, during its term of service, was engaged with the enemy at Port Royal, S. C .. Nov. 7. 1861; Coosaw River, S. C., Dec. 18, 186t: Port
3
EIGHTH INFANTRY
Royal Ferry, S. C., Jan. 1, 1862; Pocotaligo, S. C., April -, 1862; Fort Pulaski, Ga., April 14. 1862; Wilmington Island, Ga., April 16, 1862; James Island, S. C., June 16, 1862; Bull Run, Second, Va., Aug. 29, 1862; Chantilly, Va., Sept. 1, 1862; South Mountain, Md., Sept. 14, 1862; Antietam, MId., Sept. 17, 1862; Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 12, 13, and 14, 1862; siege of Vicksburg, Miss., June 22 to July 4, 1863; Jackson, Miss., July 11 to 18, 1863; Blue Springs, Tenn., Oct. 10, 1863; Loudon, Tenn., Nov. 14, 1863; Lenoir Station, Tenn., Nov. 15, 1863; Campbell's Station, Tenn., Nov. 16, 1863; siege of Knoxville, Tenn., Nov. 17 to Dec. 5, 1863; Fort Saunders, Tenn., Nov. 29, 1863; Wilderness, Va., May 5, 6, and 7, 1864; Spottsylvania, Va., May 10, 11, and 12, 1864; North Anna, Va., May 24 and 25, 1864; Bethesda Church, Va., June 2 and 3, 1864; Cold Harbor. Va., June 7, 1864; Petersburg, Va., June 17 and 18, 1864; The Crater, Va., July 30, 1864; Weldon Railroad, Va., Ang. 19 to 21, 1864; Ream's Station, Va., Aug. 25, 1864; Poplar Spring Church, Va., Sept. 30, 1864; Pegram Farm, Va., Oct. 2, 1864; Boydton Road, Va., Oct. 8, 1864; Hatcher's Run, Va., Oct. 27 and 28, 1864; Fort Steadman, Va., March 25, 1865; Fort Mahon, Va., April 2, 1865; capture of Petersburg, April 3, 1865; siege of Petersburg, from June 17, 1864, to April 3, 1865.
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