USA > Michigan > Annual report of the Adjutant General of the State of Michigan for the year 1862 > Part 7
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EIGHTH BATTERY. Resigned. First Lieut; Augustus L. Spencer, Aug. 31, 1862. Transferred and Promoted.
First Lieut. William St. Clair, to be First Lieut., 15th, March 1, 1862.
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
FIRST REGIMENT OF U. S. SHARP-SHOOTERS. Resigned. 1
Co. K, Captain Spencer J. Mather.
" I, A. Millar Willett, Nov. 8, 1862.
" I, Second Lieut. Jonathan A. Sprague, Nov. 18, 1862. Discharged.
Co. K, First Lieut. Peter B. Sanborn, discharged for"disa- bility, Oct. 1, 1862.
Co. K, Second Lieutenant Caleb F. Davis, discharged for disability, Oct. 11, 1862.
Resigned.
Co. C, Captain Benjamin Geroux, August 31, 1862. Transferred and Promoted.
Co. C, Second Lieut. Lemuel Saviers, to be Captain] 26th Infantry, Aug. 26, 1862.
SECOND REGIMENT U. S. SHARP-SHOOTERS. Resigned.
Second Lieut. Darius C. Calkins.
Died.
First Lieut. John J. Whitman, killed in action on the Penin- sula, while serving with the Army of the Potomac.
Dismissed,
Captain Andrew B. Stuart, for cowardice, Oct. 14, 1862.
WESTERN SHARP-SHOOTERS. Resigned.
First Lieut. Albert Gore.
Transferred and Promoted.
Captain John Piper, to be Major of the Ist Michigan Sharp- Shooters, Nov. 24, 1862.
STANTON GUARD. Discharged.
Captain Grover S. Wormer, mustered out Sept. 25, 1862. First Lieut. Elias F. Sutton, mustered out Sept. 25, 1862. Second Lieut. Lewis Hartmeyer, mustered out Sept. 25, 1862.
It has been found impracticable, at this time, to add to the foregoing the list of casualties among enlisted men. Untiring efforts are made by this Department to secure a complete re- cord of every man in the service from Michigan; and it is in- tended to incorporate this record in a future Report.
85
.
ADJUTANT GENERAL.
COUNTY LISTS OF VOLUNTEERS.
At the extra session of the Legislature, held in January last, a joint resolution was passed, (p. 64, Laws of 1862,) directing the Adjutant General of the State, "on or before the first day of October, to make and transmit to the county clerk of each county in this State, a correct list of the persons mustered into the service of the United States, or of this State, from such county, giving so far as practicable the name, date of enlist- ment, company, regiment, whether married or unmarried; also the number that have died in battle, or from sickness, or wounds in battle, and the names of those that have been discharged or have deserted; and that additional lists shall annually, at the time aforesaid, be transmitted, giving the mustering of the current year, together with the deaths, discharges or desertions, as the case may be."
Early in June, measures were adopted to carry into effect the requirements of this resolution. The ordinary records of enlistment furnish no information of the residence of the vol- unteer, and it became necessary to procure it, as regards those already in service, from the Regiments in the field. The diff- culty and delay attending this labor, especially in such a period of active service as existed during the summer months, will be readily understood; but after persistent effort-one Regiment having been supplied with blank forms four times, and several others two or three times each-returns were secured from all the Regiments, and from most of the Batteries. These returns were made on blanks printed for the purpose, and forwarded from this Department, with necessary instructions, and their correctness is verified by the commanding officers of com- panies.
Before the receipt of any of these returns, the State was called upon to furnish an additional force of 11,686 volunteers,
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
and this was soon followed by a requisition of a like number under a draft. It was deemed expedient to postpone the com- pletion of the county lists ordered by the resolution referred to, until the new Regiments could be added to them, especially as the delay in procuring returns from the Regiments in the field would prevent anything like completeness, should an attempt be made to forward the lists at as early a period as was con- templated. The immense amount of labor thrown upon this office by the new calls, also aided to make this postponement necessary. Special rolls, exhibiting the residence of the new volunteers, were prepared for them before leaving the State, and the result was to obtain as complete a record of the facts desired by the Legislature as could be procured.
The statistics thus obtained, both from the old and new regi- ments, have been carefully collated and arranged for trans- mission to the county clerks. Separate books have been prepared for the several counties, (except those whose limited population rendered books unnecessary, in which cases sheets have been used,) and the lists have been fully completed, and will be forwarded, as directed, within a few days, or as soon as copies of them shall have been perfected for record in this Department. They comprise all the officers and men who had been connected with the old regiments up to the Ist of July last, and all of the new regiments which have yet left the State, including 26 regiments of Infantry, 6 of Cavalry, 1 of Mechanics and Engineers, 9 batteries of Artillery, a squadron of Horse, 6 companies of Sharp-Shooters, 1 independent company, and a Michigan company in the Mulligan brigade-a total of 37,432 men. All of these, except 1,273, whose residence was not reported, have been placed in separate county lists, to gether with their rank, company, regiment, the date of their enrollment, the fact of their being married or unmarried, and a great mass of information, showing the deaths, discharges, desertions and resignations among them, the men in each com pany and regiment being classed separately.
It can hardly be expected that these lists are perfectly accu
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ADJUTANT GENERAL.
rate. In the case of the old regiments, the casualties of months or a year of active service had taken from the ranks hundreds of men whose names were on the rolls, and whose residence it was sought to determine. In the cases of all of them, a trifling carelessness on the part of the officers entrusted with the duty, or any one of a score of accidents which are peculiar to military service, might occasion an erroneous return which it was out of the power of this Department to correct. But it is believed, nevertheless, that in view of the difficult character of the duty imposed, the lists are as nearly perfect as it was possible to make them. They are certainly as much so as the most critical circumspection, and the most laborious effort, could achieve. And in the results, as exhibited by the books containing the lists, the counties of the State will possess a most important record, not only useful as regards immediate benefits to fami- lies of volunteers, but invaluable as written memorials of the times to the generations which are to come after us.
The duty of procuring, collating, classifying and perfecting these lists, has involved many months of continuous and devot- ed labor, but the general result is exhibited in a table which will be found at the end of this Report, showing the " Number of Volunteers furnished by each county in the State to the Michi- gan regiments, batteries, &c."
It may be expedient to state that each company officer was especially instructed in the preparation of the returns which form the basis of these lists, to determine the residence of his men, and the question of their being married or unmarried, by direct interrogatories to the men themselves, wherever it was practicable.
GENERAL REMARKS.
A system has been adopted in this Department for the pur- pose of obtaining and preserving a perfect record and history of every regiment and individual in the service from this State, which, if carried out, will secure, for future information to the State and benefit to each, their history during the present war,
88
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
and may be of much service to individuals in the future settle- ment of their claims for bounties and other allowances, between themselves or their families and the general government, but this cannot be accomplished without full returns and reports are promptly and regularly made, embracing all changes by resignation, death, desertion, or in any other way affecting the interests of members of regiments. Although every effort has been made to obtain this desired and important information, some regiments have failed to give it fully. The officers in command of regiments failing to do this, cannot be said to dis- charge their duty to their regiments as regards their history and reputation, nor to the individuals composing them. There are numerous enquiries made daily at this Department by deeply interested friends which cannot be answered for want of offi- cial information. Could officers appreciate the necessity for fully performing this duty, it is thought that they would cheerfully do so. All absent from the State in service, must know the anxiety of their friends at home concerning them, and every means possible should be used to make this Department full and prompt returns. While officers may do their whole duty in garrison and in the field, and acquire a reputation for the faithful performance of all the most prominent duties of their profession, they may leave undone many of the minor duties and obligations they owe to their men, and thereby inflict upon them hardships which a little care and attention might relieve them from. When a Captain leaves the State with a company of men, they recognize in him their commander, counsellor, and friend; they look to him for the protection of all their rights guaranteed them by the government, to see that they are all properly clothed, provisioned, and paid, that they are properly placed in hospital when sick, and properly cared for when there; that when soldiers are left by their regiments, while on the march, or otherwise, in a hospital, a record should be made of their names, and where left, and full descriptive lists, and accounts of their pay and clothing, left with, or sent to the Surgeon in charge as soon as possible, so that they will
89
ADJUTANT GENERAL.
be enabled to draw their pay from any Paymaster in the ser- vice, when an opportunity offers. This has been a duty neg- lected to a very great extent, and much suffering by sick and disabled soldiers has been the consequence. Thousands of men have been placed in hospitals all over the land, without a paper to identify them with any company or regiment in the service, and therefore, while enduring the misfortune of being sick while away from their regiments and homes, have endured the hardships of being penniless, while the government was largely indebted to them, and this not in many cases the fault of the government, but of those whose duty it was to have given them the necessary papers to have entitled them to their pay. This neglect has become so general, that much suffering has been the result. All officers should adopt the rule, to de- mand and require strict obedience to orders, enforce correct discipline, the execution of which will always be aided much by attending strictly to the wants of their men. If officers will faithfully perform the duties they owe to their men, the men, as a general thing, will perform the duties required of them by their officers and their country.
The system adopted and carried out by your Excellency, of promotion from the ranks to fill vacancies in the lower grade of commissioned officers after the regiments have left the State, is right and just. While numberless applications have been made, and influences used to break this rule, it has been inva- riably adhered to, except in a very few cases where it has been found necessary to secure recruits for some particular regiment, when it was deemed advisable, in order to obtain the men, to give a commission to some one as a reward for his services and expense in raising them. This rule of promotion, while it has done justice to many deserving enlisted men, and rewarded many acts of bravery and good conduct, has secured to the regiments a class of experienced officers identified with regiments from their organization, having a perfect knowledge of their men, and possessing their entire confidence as to their
12
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
ability to command. This rule of promotion encourages a good morale in regiments, and induces a greater proportion of intelligent men to enter the service, having in view the fact that there is no bar to their promotion, if deserving.
Promotion from the ranks in any army should be encouraged and fostered, and so far as practicable made the rule. Where this rule is excluded, the good and deserving soldier's prospects are blighted and the profession of the soldier itself degraded. The intelligent and loyal soldier, when he enters his name upon the rolls of his company, has a right to expect that he may at- tain the highest position in his company or regiment, by faith- ful and gallant services rendered his country.
As regards promotion in higher grades, while your Excel- lency has generally been guided by rank, and promotions have usually been made according to seniority, yet this has not been adopted as a fixed rule. Although it is just and proper in pro- motions, to recognize seniority in rank where qualifications are equal, yet it is equally just and proper to recognize merit as against seniority when qualifications are unequal. This, while it distributes justice, and encourages proficiency in the pro- fession, secures to the regiments the best and most competent officers.
Promotions in the regiments from this State, in the field, have generally been made upon the recommendation of the officer- commanding the regiment, and have invariably been made judiciously and justly. This is the only true way of ar- riving at the proper deserts and qualifications of each officer, respectively.
The appointments of officers of the line in the new regiments have, from necessity, mostly been made from the localities in which the companies were raised. This necessity has resulted from the fact, that in order to get the men, the officers had to be taken with them. It would have been preferable to have se- lected from the old regiments a large proportion of the officers, thereby giving to the new regiments the benefit of their experi- ence, but this was found to be impracticable to any great
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ADJUTANT GENERAL.
extent, although in most regiments a sufficient number of offi- cers from the old regiments, and those who have seen service, has been so distributed among them as to be of much service in their organization, drill and discipline. And although it has been a necessity, in this State, to appoint many inexperienced officers, yet they have been men of intelligence, and very soon learn the duties of officers, and as a whole, will compare favor- ably with the officers of any other State. The field officers of most of these regiments have been promoted from the old regi- ments, and have been of much service in getting them to the field in a very good condition of drill and discipline.
The appointment of so many inexperienced officers to regi- ments for a time makes them less efficient, and is often the cause of more sickness among their men than when officered by men of more experience, from the fact that they are unac- customed to camp life, and are deficient in knowledge of the best way of providing for them, and obtaining all the necessa- ries allowed by the government for their service, and of prop- erly using them after they have received them. To the neglect or incapacity of company officers, in not properly inspecting and seeing that the provisions of their companies are well cooked and served to their men, is to be attributed a great deal of the sickness with which new regiments are visited during the first six months of their service. No captain or officer in command of a company fully does his duty who neglects the inspection of the rations of his company when drawn from the commissary, nor the inspection of every meal, when practicable, after it is placed upon the table, or before it is served out to them by the cooks. By strict attention to this duty, much sickness might be prevented, and many men preserved to the service, that by this neglect are from disease lost to us.
It will be seen by the foregoing report, that regiment after regiment has been recruited, organized and dispatched to the seat of war with remarkable promptness, having at one time - eight regiments ready for the field, which, owing to delay in re- ceiving their arms and clothing, were necessarily detained for
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
a short time. This delay in receiving arms. and clothing, although it is chargeable to the general government, undoubt- edly was unavoidable, owing to the heavy demands made at that time by all the States, and when compared with other neighboring States, there is not much cause for fault-finding, for, as a general thing, while other States have had to send their regiments from home partly clothed and armed, the troops from this State have gone into the field well clothed and equipped, and, with the exception of some of the cavalry regi- ments, fully armed with the best in the service. They have been generally supplied with tents, and all with a full compli- ment of garrison equipage. To this, in a great measure, the State is indebted to Captain Geo. W. Lee, U. S. Assistant Quar- termaster, for the energetic and prompt discharge of his duty. While faithfully discharging his duty to the general govern- ment, he has never lost sight of the fact that he is a citizen of this State, and has all its best interests at heart.
Notwithstanding the efforts made by organized societies and sanitary commissions, for the assistance and protection of sick and disabled soldiers, which associations have been very suc- cessful, and much good accomplished by them, and in addition thereto that special agents authorized by your Excellency, have been sent to the different armies to attend as far as possible to the wants of the soldiers; yet those agents have received no remuneration, and could not be expected to continue long in such service, or to devote their whole time to. that purpose. Therefore, there has been no certainty of having agents con- tinually in the field, which is very necessary. I would there- - fore most respectfully and earnestly recommend to your Excel- lency that some provision be made for the appointment and payment of two special agents-one for the Eastern and one for the Western army-whose duties would be to attend to the distribution of sanitary supplies, the procuring of the neces- sary papers to enable sick soldiers while in hospital to obtain their pay; to see that they are properly cared for while in hos- pital; obtain transportation for them to return home; and at-
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ADJUTANT GENERAL.
tend generally to their wants as far as practicable. If these appointments could be authorized and made, by selecting good, energetic and faithful agents, they will be of infinite service to the sick and disabled soldiers themselves, and establish con- fidence among their friends that their necessities are properly attended to.
While thousand after thousand of the citizens of the State have left their homes, and given up for a time the peaceful avo- cations of life, and entered upon a life of hardship and priva- tion, those whom they have left behind have not been unmind- ful of them. The many societies formed all over the State to provide necessaries in various forms attest this fact. The con- tributions to these various societies have been immense. Through them, out of the rich abundance of the State, the sick soldier has not been forgotten. While hearts were sad at their absence, they cheerfully administered to their wants. These societies thus established all over the land have been the means of alleviating much suffering and of saving many lives, and are deserving of, and will receive, the gratitude of the whole army.
The sanitary commissions established in various parts of the country, although in certain quarters meeting with much un- reasonable opposition at first, have now become institutions of the war, fully sustained by the people and the government, as they well deserve, being one of the most humane and praise- worthy undertakings ever connected with any military cam- paign.
The. State has generously and necessarily made provision by law to a certain extent, for the relief of the families of enlisted men, or those depending upon them for support, and a most re- sponsible and delicate duty has devolved upon the supervisors in the several counties charged with the distribution of this re- lief. As this distribution is left under the law, entirely to their discretion, it renders it essential that much good judgment, discrimination and delicacy should be exercised by them in the execution of this duty. While they are careful in guarding
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
against imposition on the State, they should at the same time re- spect the necessities of applicants, and give cheerfully what, in their judgment, they are entitled to under the law, always avoid- ing any intimation that it is given in charity, but as a right to the extent of their necessities, and the reflection must not be stamped on the loyal and brave heart of the soldier, while absent defending his country's honor, that his family are re- proached at home as objects of charity. While it is believed that supervisors generally throughout the State have done their duty fully, judiciously and delicately, yet if reports are to be believed, there are exceptions to be made, and there should be some measures taken to redress grievances of such a character.
I have the pleasure of calling your Excellency's notice to the able and effective service rendered in this Department by Lieut. Col. Frederick Morley, the Assistant Adjutant General. The heavy and responsible duties devolving upon him since his appointment have been most arduous and complicated, and they have been performed with great fidelity to the State and usefulness to the public service.
At the time of making the last Annual Report from this De- partment, covering only a small portion of the force now in the service from this State, it was thought that the regiments then reported, would be all that would be required to sup- press the rebellion; but another year is nearly closed, and regi- ment after regiment has been raised, until a large army has gone from the State, and still the rebellion goes on. Notwith- standing all this, the loyalty and patriotism of the people is un- exhausted. The same determination seems to exist as at the commencement of the war, that it must be put down, and the nation redeemed, at any sacrifice. The promptness and cheer- fulness with which every call made by the General Govern- ment upon the State, has been responded to, bespeaks the in- telligent loyal patriotism of its people. The people of Michi- gan are intelligently loyal on the subject of the war, and her soldiery are intelligently brave and patriotic, true to the honor
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ADJUTANT GENERAL.
of their State and their nation, preferring, on all occasions, death before dishonoring either.
The troops from the State of Michigan have gained a promi- nent position in the armies of the nation. They have done their duty faithfully, fully and fearlessly, and borne the brunt of many well fought fields. Some of them have proved an anomaly in modern warfare; suddenly called from the common avocations of life, and within a very few days of the time of leaving their native State, they have been pitted against the vete- ran troops of the enemy of their country in superior numbers, and completely routed them. It has been the fortune of some of them voluntarily and successfully to lead the "forlorn hope," regardless of opposing numbers. Their scars and thinned ranks now attest their services to their country. The honor of their nation and their State has been safe in their hands, and both will cherish and reward them. Monuments to the memory of the brave dead are now erected in the hearts of the people, and national monuments to their memory will be erected by a grateful country.
I have the honor to be,
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, JNO. ROBERTSON, Adjutant General.
G OFFICERS,
on Guard," and " Mulligan Brigade, ( McDermott's Company, )-not See page 85.
Merrill Horse.
1st (Loomis') Battery.
2d (Ross') Battery.
3d (Dees') Battery.
4th (Bidwell's) Battery.
5th (Dennis') Battery.
6th (Andrews') Battery.
7th (Lamphere's) Batt'y.
8th (DeGolyer's) Battery.
9th (Daniels') Battery.
Duesler's Sharp-Shooters.
Stuart's Sharp-Shooters.
Piper's Sharp-Shooters.
Dygert's Sharp-Shooters.
Willett's Sharp-Shooters.
Mather's Sharp-Shooters.
McDermott's Co., Mulli-
gan (Ill. ) Brigade.
Stanton Guard.
Total.
. .
.
47
8
67
84
51
16
5
73
1
66
4
19
17
1448
1
687
1
4
8
..
..
...
4
823
3
6
3
1
3
0
2
1095
7
60
Or
4
17
20
45
3
31
10
1148
1
2
4
. .
1
3
48
3
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