History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 66

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York
Number of Pages: 1094

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Mrs. Morse Stewart, and Mrs. Dr. Duffield, acting on the suggestion of Miss Dix, were the first to obtain and forward hospital supplies ; and the Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society of Detroit, organized Novem- ber 6, 1861, was the first in the United States. From 1861 to 1865 the following ladies were officers of this society, and of its younger sister, the Michi- gan Branch of the United States Sanitary Commis- sion :

Presidents, Mrs. Isabella G. Duffield, Mrs. Theo- dore Romeyn, Mrs. John Palmer, Mrs. Bela Hub- bard; vice-presidents, Mrs. John Owen, Mrs. N. Adams, Miss Sarah A. Sibley, and Mrs. Henry L. Chipman; treasurers, Mrs. D. P. Bushnell, Mrs. W. N. Carpenter, Mrs. O. T. Sabin, Mrs. H. L. Chip- man, Mrs. George Andrews; auditors, Mrs. D. P. Bushnell, Mrs. W. A. Butler ; recording secretaries, Miss Sarah T. Bingham, Miss Kate E. Stevens, Mrs. O. T. Sabin, Miss Lizzie Woodhams; corre- sponding secretary, Miss Valeria Campbell.

Among the ladies who were specially active in visiting the hospitals, Soldiers' Home, and soldiers' families, were Mrs. Brent and daughter, Mrs. L. B. Willard, Mrs. Walter Ingersoll, Mrs. Cornelia Ludden, Mrs. Edward Kanter, Mrs. Washington Throop, and Mrs. A. A. Fish. These ladies per- formed an immense amount of invaluable work.

In April, 1862, the Michigan Soldiers' Relief So- ciety was organized, with John Owen as president, B. Vernor as secretary, and William A. Butler, treasurer. This society forwarded hundreds of packages containing delicacies and supplies for the soldiers at the front, and largely sustained the Sol-

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diers' Home in Detroit. In 1864 the two societies just named formed an alliance, the Ladies' Aid So- ciety continuing its individual efforts.

The new organization bore the name of The Michigan Soldiers' Relief Society, and had two sets of officers, as follows: president, John Owen; vice- presidents, B. Vernor, P. E. DeMill, J. V. Camp- bell; treasurer, William A. Butler. Lady officers: Miss S. A. Sibley, president; Mrs. H. L. Chipman, Mrs. N. Adams, vice-presidents; Miss Valeria Campbell, corresponding secretary; Mrs. George Andrews, assistant treasurer; Mrs. William A. Butler, auditor; Miss Lizzie Woodhams, record- ing secretary. These societies sent thousands of packages to soldiers in the various armies. The total value of the contributions and money expended through their agency was fully $50,000.

Early in June, 1863, at a public meeting in Chica- go, George H. Stuart, Rev. C. P. Lyford, K. A. Bur- nell, and others set forth the work of the United States Christian Commission as an outgrowth of the Young Men's Christian Association. The work of this commission, at that time, was almost unknown in Detroit. At the close of the meeting the Rev. Mr. Lyford was engaged by the author of this work to go to Detroit and organize a branch in that city. Returning home soon afterwards, several of the churches were induced to give up their Sunday evening services, a large meeting was held in Young Men's Hall, and on June 15 the Michigan branch of the United States Christian Commission was or- ganized, with the following officers: E. C. Walker, chairman; C. F. Clark, secretary; H. P. Baldwin, treasurer; associates, D. Preston, C. Ives, F. Ray- mond, J. S. Vernor. The Commission sent numer- ous delegates to hospitals and to the field, and ex- pended over $30,000 in ministering to the welfare and comfort of the soldiers.

At the beginning of the war provision was made for the relief of families of those who went as sol- diers. Under Act of May 4, 1861, and supplemen- tal Acts of January 17, 1862, and March 19 and 20, 1863, persons were appointed in both city and county to seek out and relieve those who were in need of relief ; and a sum not exceeding $15 per month for each family was ordered to be raised and distributed. The amounts granted were payable by the county treasurer; and a total of $547,200 was paid out for purposes of relief, the city, as part of the county, paying nearly two thirds of the amount.

At a public meeting held July 18, 1862, a com- mittee, consisting of T. M. McEntee, D. B. Duffield, William A. Moore, D. C. Holbrook, W. P. Yerkes, C. Hurlbut, and H. A. Morrow, was appointed to devise means for promoting enlistments. The com- mittee reported in favor of a bounty of $50 for each single man, and $100 for each married man who

volunteered. On July 24, 1862, the Common Coun- cil accepted the recommendations of the committee, and pledged the city (provided the Legislature au- thorized it) to raise $40,000 to pay the bounties named. Messrs. E. Farnsworth, Major Lewis Cass, E. Lyon, H. P. Baldwin, and C. Van Husan were then appointed by the citizens and confirmed by the Council to obtain and distribute the money for these bounties.

On August 26 the Council pledged a further sum of $20,000, if necessary. The original amount was, however, found to be sufficient, and on July 21, 1863, the comptroller was directed by the Common Council, on the certificates of E. Farnsworth, to re- fund the amount of $40,226.25, advanced by citizens to pay the bounties.

On March 22, 1864, $30,000 additional was voted by citizens toward paying a bounty of $50 each to veterans or volunteers enlisting under a new call for troops which had just been made; and on March 30, 1864, the comptroller was directed, until the quota of the city was full under the call, to pay a bounty of $50.

At a citizens' meeting, held in October, 1864, a loan of $150,000 was authorized to pay bounties of $100 in cash and $200 in bonds to those who en- listed; and on January 9, 1865, a citizens' meeting appropriated $20,000 additional for bounties. Up to April, 1867, the city paid out for bounties the sum of $203,000. The city also bore its share of the county bounties of $100 each given in the form of bonds. The total amount of bounties paid by the county amounted to $660,554.

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument.

At a war meeting held July 20, 1861, a resolution was adopted to erect a monument to our "heroic dead," and a committee was appointed to carry the resolution into effect, but for various reasons it was deemed advisable to defer active efforts, and it was not until July 20, 1865, that a committee was ap- pointed to report a plan of work.

On August 11, 1865, the committee reported, the association was organized, and one hundred and six directors with other officers appointed. The first public and inaugural meeting was held at Young Men's Hall, on August 31, 1865, and subscriptions amounting to $9,500 were then received. During the progress of the work, Rev. George Taylor was the chief financial agent of the association, and, largely through his efforts, several thousand dollars were contributed by the scholars in the public schools ; other large amounts were received from the Masonic, Odd Fellow, and Good Templar organi- zations, and also from various auxiliary Ladies' Monument Associations. Competing designs for the monument were advertised for on February 26,

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1867, and on June 7 of the same year the design furnished by Randolph Rogers, of Rome (a former resident of Ann Arbor, Michigan), was accepted, and on September 25 a formal contract was made. The corner-stone was laid in East Grand Circus Park, on July 4, 1867; delegations from various places in Michigan were present, and an immense procession of military, civil, and secret societies pre- ceded the ceremonies.

The association was formally incorporated on August 12, 1867, under the name of the " Michigan Soldiers' and Sail- ors' Monument As- sociation." The an- nual meeting is on the first Tuesday after the first Mon- day in September. The officers in 1832 were : president, C. C. Trowbridge; vice-president, John Owen; treasurer, William A Butler; secretaries, Thom- as W. Palmer and James W. Romeyn. In 1883, after the death of C. C. Trowbridge, H. P. Baldwin was elect- ed president.

After much con- sultation, and in accordance with the recommenda- tion of Mr. Rogers, it was decided to locate the monu- ment on the Cam- pus Martius, in front of the City COPYRIGHT 1885, BY SIL'AS FARMER Hall. The corner- stone was accord- ingly removed from East Grand Circus Park, and relaid, and the monu- ment erected by J. G. Batterson, of Hartford, Con- necticut.

On April 9, 1872, the monument was formally unveiled, and dedicated with appropriate and im- posing ceremonies, which were witnessed by thou- sands of people from the interior of the State.

The monument is designed as an offering to the memory of the brave men from Michigan who per- ished in the war with the South, and bears the fol. lowing inscription : "ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF MICHIGAN, IN HONOR OF THE MARTYRS WHO

FELL AND THE HEROES WHO FOUGHT IN DE- FENCE OF LIBERTY AND UNION."

The body of the monument is of Westerly, Rhode Island, granite, and the statues are of golden bronze, cast in Munich, Bavaria. The general design of the monument is embraced in four sections. The first section has, at its corners, four bronze eagles. The second section has four statues, representing the four departments of the United States Service,- In- fantry, Marine, Cavalry, and Artillery ; each of the statues is seven feet high.

SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT.

The third section has four allegorical fig- ures, representing Victory, Union, Emancipation, and History. The fourth section, or crowning figure of the monu- ment, is eleven feet high, and represents Michigan allegori- cally, in aboriginal garb. On the four sides of the monu- ment are bronzed medallions of Lin- coln, Grant, Farra- gut, and Sherman. The height of the monument, includ- ing the crowning figure, is sixty feet.

Lack of funds pre- vented the finishing of the four figures for the third section at the time the mon- ument was unveiled. Finally, on Novem- ber 17, 1879, they were contracted for, and on July 19, 1881, were set in position and unveiled. Theo- dore Romeyn deliv- ered an address, and there was a parade of the mili- tary. The total cost of the monument was a little in excess of $70,000. The cost of the bronzes was as follows : the crowning statue, $8,000; the four army and navy statues in the second section, $20,000; the four allegorical figures, $10,000; the four medallions, $4,000; the four eagles, $2,400.

By an Act approved January 31, 1883, the State appropriated $350 for repairs to the railing and foundation, and provided for the further expenditure of not exceeding $100 per year, for the care and preservation of the monument,

CHAPTER XLV.

MILITIA AND MILITARY COMPANIES. .

THE militia organizations existing under French and English rule are named in connection with the several wars of those periods. Under the earliest laws of the Northwest Territory all male citizens, between the ages of sixteen and fifty years, were en- rolled in companies, and required to parade for two hours every Saturday in the year. Whenever per- sons so enrolled assembled for public worship, they were required to go fully armed and equipped, or be subject to a fine. No provision was made for a uniform of any kind, and there was little need of any. If a settler was able to kill a squirrel or an Indian at long range, the question as to whether he wore a blue coat, or any coat at all, was of but little moment.

Under Act of December 13, 1799, all persons over eighteen and under forty-five were to be en- rolled, and to provide their own guns, ammunition, and accoutrements. The companies from Wayne County were to form a brigade. The Act made no provision for uniforming the commissioned officers or the members of the ordinary infantry companies ; and the cavalry and the light infantry companies only were required to wear uniforms. Enlistments in these companies were entirely voluntary.

Under Indiana Territory the same regulations prevailed. On May 1I, 1803, there was a parade at Detroit of the First Regiment of Wayne County.

When the State of Ohio was organized, her first militia law, in 1803, provided that the militia should determine for themselves the color and fashion of their regimentals. In 1805, when Michigan Terri- tory was organized, General Hull, on becoming governor, evidently determined to awaken astonish- ment by introducing a sort of West Point dress and discipline. The usual dress of the poor French set- tlers and backwoodsmen would no longer do for exhibition on general muster or "training days," and on August 30, 1805, a militia law was passed which provided that all male residents over fourteen and under fifty be enrolled, and that the " comman- der-in-chief may direct the color and fashion of the uniforms of the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the militia, and the occasions on which they shall appear in uniform." The number of the militia at this time is indicated in a return

made by Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Chabert de Jon- caire on July 9, 1805, which showed six hundred and twenty-three soldiers in ten companies. The names of the general officers were as follows : commander- in-chief, Governor William Hull; aide-de-camps. François Chabert de Joncaire, George McDougall, and Solomon Sibley ; quartermaster-general, Mat- thew Ernest ; adjutant-general, James May.

The officers of the First Regiment were : colonel, A. B. Woodward; lieutenant-colonel, Antoine Beaubien ; major, Gabriel Godfroy; adjutants, Christopher Tuttle and Jean Baptiste Cicotte; quar- termaster, Charles Stewart ; chaplain, Rev. Gabriel Richard ; surgeon, William McCoskry; captains, Jacob Visger, David Duncan, George Cotterell, Louis Campau, Christopher Tuttle, Louis St. Ber- nard, Joseph Cerre, dit St. Jean, Henry MacVey, Joseph Campau, Jean Cissne, and James Anderson ; lieutenants, John Ruland, Charles M. Campau, Samuel Abbott, John Meldrum, Whitmore Knaggs, Jean Marie Beaubien, Christian Clemens, James Campau, Thomas Tremble, François Chovin, Con- rad Seek, and Benjamin Chittenden ; ensigns, Allen C. Wilmot, George Cotterell, Jr., James Connor, John Dix, François Rivard, François Tremble, John Ruland, John Burnett, Jacob Aeiller, James F. Gris- wold, and Peter E. Visger.

The officers of the Second Regiment were : col- onel. John Anderson; lieutenant-colonel, François Navarre ; major, Israel Ruland; adjutant, Giles Barnes; quartermaster, Alexander Ewings; sur- geon, Ethan Baldwin; surgeon's mate, Bernard Parker; captains, Joseph Jobin, Jean Baptiste Beaugrand, François Lasselle, Hubert La Croix, Jean Baptiste Jeraume, Joseph Menard, William Griffith, and Prosper Thibeau; lieutenants, Hya- cinth La Joy, François De Forgue, Jean Baptiste La Salle, Jacques Martin, Jean Baptiste Couteur, Jacques W. Navarre, Thomas Knaggs, and Andrew Jourdon ; ensigns, Joseph Cavalier, James Knaggs, Alexis Loranjey, Joseph Bordeaux, Isidore Navarre, Joseph Huntington, and Dominique Drouillard.

The following were officers of the Legionary Corps : lieutenant-colonel, Elijah Brush; major, James Abbott ; adjutant, A. F. Hull; quarter- master, Charles Curry; surgeon, John Brown ;

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captains (of cavalry), James La Salle, (of artillery), John Williams, (of light infantry), George Hoff- man, (of riflemen), William McDowell Scott; lieu- tenants (of cavalry), Richard Smyth, (of artillery), James Dodemeade, (of light infantry), Benjamin Chittenden, (of riflemen), Barnabas Campau ; cornet of cavalry, Gabriel Godfroy, Jr ; second lieutenant of artillery, Henry F. Hunt ; ensigns (of light infan- try), George Meldrum, (of riflemen), Pierre Navarre.

The militia of the District of Mackinaw were organized into two companies, and those on the river St. Clair into four.

Following the passage of the Militia Law, on Sep- tember 27, 1805, General Hull issued the following proclamation :

UNIFORMS .- In conformity to a law of the Territory of Michi- gan, the Commander-in-chief directs the following uniforms for the officers and soldiers of the militia of the said Territory :

MAJOR GENERALS .- A dark blue coat faced with buff, buff cape, yellow buttons and linings, two gold epaulets, with two silver stars on each, buff vest and breeches, black cocked hat, black cockade, white and red plumes.

BRIGADIER GENERALS .-- The same as Major Generals, with this difference, one silver star on each epaulet, and white and green plumes. ADJUTANT GENERALS .- The same as a Major General, with this difference, no star on the epaulets, and a white plume tipped with red. QUARTERMASTER GENERAL .- The same as a Major General, with this difference, no stars on the epaulets, and a white plume tipped with green. AIDS-DE-CAMP OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF .- The same as a Major General, with this difference, no stars on the epaulets, and black and white plumes. AIDS-DE-CAMP OF MAJOR-GENERALS .- The same as a Major General, with this difference, no stars on the epaulets, and a black plume. BRIGADE MAJOR .- The same as a Brigadier General, with this difference, no stars on the epaulets, and a green plume.

ALL GENERAL OFFICERS .- A blue coat edged with gold cord. FIELD OFFICERS, CAPTAINS AND SUBALTERNS of the Ist Regiment. A dark blue coat, long, faced with red, red cape, white buttons, white lining, white underclothes, silver epaulets. THE COLONEL, LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, AND MAJOR, two epaulets. CAPTAINS, an epaulet on the right shoulder, a silver strap on the left. LIEU- TENANTS, an epaulet on the left shoulder, a silver strap on the right. ENSIGNS, an epaulet on the left shoulder without any strap. The whole, black plumes tipped with red. The field offi- cers, small swords. The Captains and Subalterns, hangers with white belts. The whole, long boots. The field officers, spurs. The whole, red sashes. The field officers, bearskin holsters, pis- tols, and blue cloaks edged with silver cord.

THE REGIMENTAL. QUARTERMASTER .- The uniform and rank of a Lieutenant. THE REGIMENTAL, ADJUTANT, the same. THE SURGEON AND SURGEON'S MATE, long blue coats edged with white, cocked hats, white feathers, white underclothes, long boots, dirks with white handles. CHAPLAINS .- Black coats, black under- clothes, black gowns, cocked hats, rose cockades.

THE PRIVATES OF INFANTRY .- Long blue coats or capots, white plain buttons, white underclothes in summer; white vest and blue pantaloons in winter ; half boots or gaiters, round black hats, black feathers tipped with red, cartridge belt and bayonet belt, black. The length of the coat or capot will be precisely to the knee. It will be made so as to sit easy on the body, but so tight as to have a neat and soldier-like appearance. The Colonel of the Regiment will point out the particular form, and furnish a sample, so that the whole will be made similar to each other.

OFFICERS OF THE 2D REGIMENT. - Field officers, long blue coats, faced with white, white buttons, white lining, two silver epaulets, cocked hats, white plumes.

The Field officers will point out the uniform of the other officers of the Regiment. The uniform of the soldiers of the 2d Regi- ment, the same as the Ist Regiment, with this difference, their coats or capots will be edged with white, and they will wear a white feather.

FIELD OFFICERS OF THE LEGIONARY CORPS .- Blue coats faced with buff, buff cape, yellow buttons, gold epaulets, buff lining, buff vests and breeches, cocked hats with rose cockades, white feather tipped with red, long boots, silver spurs, and in the sum- mer season they will wear white vests and breeches.

CAVALRY .- Red coats, turned up with black velvet, black capes, white vests, buckskin breeches, long boots, leather caps covered with bearskin, blue sash, white feather.

ARTILLERY .- Blue coats, skirts turned up with red, red capes, cocked hats, red feather ; for the warm season, white vest and pantaloons, black gaiters ; for the cold season, blue pantaloons edged with red cord.

LIGHT INFANTRY .- Short blue coats faced with buff, buff capes, round hat turned up on one side, black cockade, white feather ;- in the warm season, white vest and pantaloons, with black gaiters; in the cold season, blue pantaloons edged with yellow cord.

RIFLEMEN .- Short green coats, turned up with buff, buff capes, round hats, black cockades, green feather; in the warm season, white vest and pantaloons, black gaiters ; in the cold season, green pantaloons, edged with buff cord.

The Commander-in-chief recommends to the officers and soldiers to procure their uniforms as soon as possible; and directs that each officer and soldier appear in full uniform, when on military duty of any kind, after the first day of June next.

In his communications to the Pittsburgh Com- monwealth, John Gentle, of Detroit, shows that General Hull was thrifty as well as æsthetic in his requirements. As to the uniforms Gentle says :

The 6th day of June, 1806, the people of Detroit were gratified with the pleasing intelligence that Governor Hull had arrived at Fort Malden, where he was received with a royal salute, and every royal distinction due to his high merits as a distinguished officer of the United States. The next day he came up by land and crossed the river to Detroit, where he was also received by a salute from the Fort. * * * He brought with him a number of carpenters and bricklayers and a barge of dry goods, consisting of cloths, chiefly blue, cassimeres, and a quantity of swords, epaulets, tinsel ware, &c. So soon as his shop was put in order for business, he issued his general orders, commanding all the militia in the territory to provide themselves with complete suits of uniform clothing, viz. : blue coats, white small clothes for summer, and blue for winter, black hats and feathers, short boots or gaiters.

The chief of the officers complied with his orders, but the soldiers, more from poverty than from contumacy, did not comply. Blue cloth could not be got at that time, in any of the stores where the people were accustomed to traffic, and they could not command money to purchase their uniforms at the Governor's shop.

The same orders were again repeated, and all captains of com- panies were commanded to enforce obedience to the orders, by fine and imprisonment. By means of this bare-faced imposition, he emptied a considerable store of money out of the pockets of the people in a direct line into his own.

A printed petition to President Madison contains the following statement about this same transaction : " As a Militia Commandant he would first prescribe a particular dress or epaulette, or cord, or facing, and then sell the cloth or lace to comply with it." These statements seem severe, but they are abund- antly verified by various documents in possession of the State Historical Society. That uniforms, and

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especially uniforms of such costly character, should have been required in this wild western region is of itself evidence either of jobbery, or of martinetism run mad. In the light of all the facts, General Hull's action seems to have been a compound of both. The absurdity of his regulations, and the way in which his efforts were regarded by the rough scouts, woodsmen, and trappers, is thus detailed in the Philadelphia Aurora for September 15, 1812 :

Governor Hull, in 1807, took it into his head to take the militia from their natural kind of warfare, and dress and drill them in the Kevenhuller style, with stiff cocked hats and buckram uniforms. They learned nothing, and their only military usefulness was completely destroyed. He also brought with him from the sea- board, in 1806, two small brass field pieces, and proposed to estab- lish a troop of Cavalry mounted and properly equipped, with a number of pistols and sabers, but very probably he was not per- nitted to accomplish a purpose so prudent and important in an Indian country.

The way in which his orders were received by the settlers is indicated by statements contained on page 322 of the Military and Civil Life of General Hull :

Colonel Anderson of the second Regiment of Militia writes many letters from the river Raisin complaining of his officers be- cause they will not get their uniforms. The poor Colonel at last wishes to resign his commission, for "the French gentlemen, headed by the Lieutenant Colonel, will not get their uniforms, and the troops, the more I exercise them the less they learn." * * * Out of twenty French gentlemen, officers, only five have any uniform.

Driven desperate, the Colonel, on June 26, 1806, writes that he has arrested his officers, and they write to the governor demand- ing a court-martial, " as they wish to know their fate "

The following copy of an official document shows the foolish persistence of Governor Hull in this matter of the uniforming of the militia :

HEAD QUARTERS AT DETROIT, July 23, 1806.

GENERAL ORDERS .- The present being the season of harvest, the Commander-in-chief excuses the militia from parading for the purpose of exercise, next Saturday.

It will now be more than a month before they will be called for any duty, unless some extraordinary exigence should occur.

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History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 66

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902 Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York Number of Pages: 1094

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York
Number of Pages: 1094