History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I, Part 39

Author: Edwin Orin Wood
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Federal publishingcompany
Number of Pages: 861

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A failure like this always disheartens troops. It was just in front of the fort, and in the first charge, that the noble and brave Captain Church [Company D, of the Eighth] fell, pierced through the head with a musket-ball. He was a fine officer and beloved by his men. I knew and admired his commanding person and frank, honest bearing. Although suffering from disease, he arose from his bed and led his men to the fatal ditch.

The Eighth Michigan has been most unfortunate. Forward in every skirmish and can now scarcely number three hundred men. All these regiments fought well, and piled their dead around the fort; but it was a terrible sacrifice, and a vain one.

The first, as has been said, to reach the fort were the Michigan Eighth and New York Seventy-ninth. This was not the natural order, but the Seventy-ninth, hearing the cheers of the Eighth, ran past the other regiments and joined the Eighth as it reached the works. Both regiments suffered terribly from the fire of the enemy as they approached-the Eighth from grape and canister, the Seventy-ninth from mus- ketry, as the nature of the wounds showed. Badly shattered and wholly exhausted from three-fourths of a mile of the double-quick, many fell powerless on reaching the works; while a few, in sufficiently good condition, mounted the parapet, from which the enemy had been driven by our sharp and effective fire, and called upon the others to follow them.

At about nine o'clock, which seemed to be the crisis of the battle, and when the generals seemed to be consulting whether they should again advance upon the fort, or retire, the gunboats decided the question by opening a heavy cannonade in our rear, which, instead of telling upon the rebels, threw their shot and shell into our own ranks. This must have resulted from ignorance on their part as to our precise posi- tion, owing to the rapid changes upon the field and in the intervening timber. The shells fell and burst in the very midst of our men, several exploding near the com- manding general and staff. The effect of this unfortunate mistake was an order for the troops to retire, which they did in perfect order, taking position on the old picket- line.

In the Scottish American newspaper, of New York, there appeared a few days after the battle a communication from an officer of the Seventy- ninth Highlanders in which the gallantry of the Eighth at Secessionville is thus noticed :

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I should mention that the Eighth Michigan, small in number, but every man a hero, had been repulsed from the fort, with terrible loss, just as we advanced. The Michigan men could not have numbered four hundred when they advanced; when they retired they had one hundred and ninety killed and wounded. One company alone lost, I understand, no less than ninety-eight men. The ordeal through which they had passed, the Seventy-ninth were now experiencing. Shot down by unseen enemies, and without having an opportunity of returning the fire with any effect, the men got discouraged, but remained stubbornly on the ground until the order was given to retire-an order, let me say, which was only rendered necessary by the shameful fact that, notwithstanding the strong force within supporting distance, no support came. The fort was ours had we received assistance, but it is a fact that cannot be gainsaid that every man who fell around its ramparts belonged to the Eighth Michigan and the Seventh-ninth New York,-the two weakest regiments, in point of numbers, in the whole force under command of General Benham.

The Eighth Regiment went into the fight with a total strength of five hundred and thirty-four officers and men, and its loss in the assault was, according to the surgeon's report, one hundred and forty-seven killed and wounded and thirty-seven missing; this was more than one-third of the num- ber engaged; the first report of its loss made it somewhat greater than this. General Stevens, in his "General Order No. 26" dated James Island, South Carolina, June 18, 1862, mentioned the heroism of the Eighth Michigan as follows :

* * * Parties from the leading regiments of the two brigades, the Eighth Michigan and the Seventy-ninth Highlanders, mounted and were shot down on the parapet, officers and men. These two regiments especially covered themselves with glory and their fearful casualties show the hot work in which they were engaged. Two-fifths of the Eighth Michigan and nearly one-quarter of the Seventy-ninth High- landers were down, either killed or wounded, and all the remaining regiments had a large number of casualties. * * * In congratulating his comrades on their heroic valor and constancy on that terrible field, the commanding general of the division has not words to express his and your grief at the sacrifices that have been made. Our best and truest men now sleep the sleep that knows no waking. Their dead bodies lie on the enemy's parapet. Church, Pratt, Cottrill, Guild, Morrow, Horton, Hitchcock, and many other gallant and noble men we shall see no more.

Among the killed of the Eighth Regiment in this action was Capt. S. C. Guild, of Flint, commanding Company A. On the 14th of June he had writ- ten a letter to friends in Michigan in which he said, "I cannot but regret that I am so long delayed from the prosecution of my studies, but this war must first be settled, and the majesty of truth and the constitution vindicated; and if I do nothing more in life, it will be sufficient service that I have been a soldier in this war. Yet it is needless for me to conceal my dislike of this kind of life, and that my earnest desire is to escape from it the first opportun- ity. It is entirely dissonant with my feelings, habits and thoughts, and can

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never be less than an unpleasant duty ; and yet, as a duty, it is, in a sense, a pleasure to perform it. I have learned much, however, which will serve me in all my future life." Two days later this hero died on the hostile rampart, with his face to the foe.

Colonel Fenton was relieved from the command of the brigade, at his own request, on the 21st of June. On resuming command of the Eighth Regiment, he made a very earnest and determined effort to have it relieved for a time from active service, on account of the arduous service it had per- formed and the fearful losses it had sustained. But the answer was, "At present all the regiments in the department of the South are needed, and more than needed, in the positions they now occupy."

General Stevens' command evacuated James Island on the 5th of July, the Eighth Regiment being the last to leave as it had been the first in advance. Moving to Hilton Head, it embarked there, July 13, with the Seventy-ninth New York, Twenty-eighth Massachusetts, Seventh Connecticut, and other regiments, for Fortress Monroe, where they arrived on the 16th and landed at Newport News on the following day. They knew they were destined to reinforce the Army of the Potomac after its disasters in the Seven Days' fight : they did not like the change, for they preferred to remain in the South, where their laurels had been won. The Eighth remained three weeks in camp at Newport News, and during this time Colonel Fenton left for Michigan to obtain recruits, leaving Lieutenant-Colonel Graves in charge of the regiment. The command left this camp August 4 and, moving to the Rappahannock river, took part in the campaign of General Pope, fighting at second Bull Run August 29 and 30, and Chantilly, September I, losing considerably in both engagements. Soon after it moved with the Ninth Army Corps, to which it had been attached, into Maryland. It fought at South Mountain, September 14, losing thirteen wounded, and was again engaged in the great battle of Antietam, September 17. Early in that day it formed in line, with its brigade, on the right ; but about noon, when the battle became general, it was ordered to the left and took possession near the historic Stone Bridge. "A more terrific fire than we here met with," wrote an officer of the regiment, "it has not been my lot to witness. It equaled, if it did not exceed, that of James Island. At first our men gained ground and drove the enemy half a mile, but the battery that covered our advance and answered to the enemy's in front getting out of ammunition, together with the arrival of a fresh rebel brigade from Harper's Ferry flanking our position and bringing our men under a cross-fire, changed the fortunes of the day in their favor, and when night closed upon the scene of carnage the enemy reoccupied the ground

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wrested from them at such fearful sacrifice in the afternoon." The bridge, however, was not retaken by the enemy and, although the Union forces had been driven back here on the left, the advantage remained with them on other parts of the field. The battle was not renewed to any extent on the following day, the enemy, while keeping up the appearance of a strong line in front, retreated from his position to the Potomac, preparatory to crossing back into Virginia.

The loss of the Eighth at Antietam was twenty-seven killed and wounded -a loss which appears quite severe when it is remembered that the regiment went into action with considerably less than two hundred men, having been reduced not only by its terrible losses in previous battles but also by dis- charges; more than two hundred and fifty men were discharged from the Eighth in the year 1862, of whom just one hundred enlisted in the regular army. The places of these were filled to some extent by recruits, of whom a number joined the regiment the day before Antietam; it was said of them that, although they had never before heard a hostile gun, they endured the terrible initiation of that day with almost the steadiness of veterans.

For about a month after the battle the regiment remained in Maryland, a short time in the vicinity of Antietam and a longer time in Pleasant Valley. During this time Colonel Fenton returned, and Capt. Ralph Ely was pro- moted to major, in place of Watson, resigned. On the 26th of October the Eighth marched to Weverton, thence to Berlin, Maryland, where it crossed the Potomac on pontoons into Virginia. It passed through Lovettsville, Waterford, Slack's Mills, Rectortown and Salem, to Waterloo, where, on the IIth of November, it received the announcement of General Burnside's pro- motion to the command of the army. On the 15th it was at Sulphur Springs, and moved thence, by way of Fayetteville and Bealton Station, to a camp about ten miles east of the latter place, where was read the order forming the "right grand division" of the army, by uniting the Second and Ninth Corps, under command of Gen. E. V. Sumner. On the 18th the regiment marched, leading the brigade, and on the 19th reached Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg, where the army was rapidly concentrating. Here it remained, a part of it acting as provost-guard of the division, until the 12th of Decem- ber, when it crossed the Rappahannock to Fredericksburg, but was not en- gaged in the great battle of the 13th. It recrossed on the 15th, and remained at Falmouth until February 13, 1863, when it moved with the Ninth Corps, which had been detached from the Army of the Potomac, to Newport News, Virginia, and there camped, evidently waiting orders for a further movement which the officers and men hoped might take them back to the department of

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the South. The regiment remained in camp at Newport News for more than a month; during this time Colonel Fenton resigned, his health having become greatly impaired. Major Ely was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and was then in command of the regiment; Capt. E. W. Lyon, of G Company, was made major.

On the 20th of March the Eighth Regiment, being again under march- ing orders, embarked at Newport News on the steamer "Georgia" prepara- tory to the commencement of the long series of movements and marches in the Southwest which afterwards gave it the name of "the wandering regiment of Michigan." It left Newport News on the 21st, arrived at Baltimore on the 22d, and proceeded thence by the Baltimore & Ohio railroad to Parkersburg, West Virginia. It reached there on the 24th, and embarked on the steamer "Majestic" for Louisville, Kentucky, where it arrived at noon on Thursday the 26th. At that time it was brigaded with the Second, Seventeenth and Twentieth Michigan regiments, under Brig .- Gen. Orlando M. Poe as brigade commander ; this was the First Brigade, First Division Ninth Army Corps. This corps, then a part of the Army of the Ohio, had for its immediate mis- sion in Kentucky to observe and hold in check the forces of the guerrilla chief John Morgan, who at that time seemed to be omnipresent in all that region and whose movements were giving the government no little trouble and alarm.

The Eighth, moving by railroad from Louisville on the 28th, proceeded to Lebanon, Kentucky, and remained stationed there and at Green River Fort, Kentucky, for some weeks. While the command lay at Lebanon there was issued the first number of a paper entitled The Wolverine, which was announced as "published by members of the Eighth Michigan Infantry, and will be issued as often as circumstances will permit." How many numbers of this journal were ever published is not known.

About the Ist of June the Ninth Corps, which had been scattered in detachments at various points in Kentucky, was ordered to move to Missis- sippi to reinforce the army of General Grant, then operating against Vicks- burg. The Eighth Regiment moved with the corps, going to Cairo, Illinois, by rail, and then, embarking on boats on the Mississippi river, was trans- ported to Haynes Bluff, Mississippi. From there it moved to Milldale, Mis- sissippi, remaining there and at Flower Dale Church near Vicksburg until the operations against that stronghold ended in its capitulation, July 4. Then it moved with the corps towards Jackson, Mississippi, in pursuit of the army of Johnston, who had been hovering in General Grant's rear, attempting to raise the siege of Vicksburg. In the several engagements which occurred

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from the roth to the 16th of July the Eighth participated, but suffered little loss. After the evacuation of Jackson on the 16th it returned to its former camp at Milldale, remaining there till August 6, when it again took boat on the Mississippi and moved north with the corps. It reached Memphis in the night of the IIth and passed on to Cairo, and thence to Cincinnati where it arrived on the 18th; crossing the river it camped at Covington, Kentucky. From Covington it moved by way of Nicholasville to Crab Orchard, Ken- tucky, reaching there August 27 and remaining there in camp two weeks. On the 10th of September it was again on the march and moved by way of Cum- berland Gap to Knoxville, Tennessee, reaching there on the 26th.

The Eighth was slightly engaged with the enemy at Blue Springs, October 10, and after considerable marching and countermarching went into camp October 29 at Lenoir Station where it remained until November 14. It was then with its division ordered to Hough's Ferry on the Holston river to check the advance of Longstreet, who was reported moving up from Georgia towards Knoxville. He was found in strong force. The Union troops retired before him and passing back through Lenoir continued the retreat to Knoxville. Being hard pressed, however, a stand was made at Campbell's Station, on the 16th; a battle ensued, lasting from about one p. m. until dark, and resulting in a loss to the Eighth of eleven wounded. During the night the retreat was continued, and the regiment reached Knoxville in the morn- ing of the 17th after an almost continuous march of two days and three nights, including a battle of several hours' duration, moving over the worst of roads through mud and rain, and with less than quarter rations.

Then followed the siege of Knoxville by Longstreet, which continued eighteen days, during all which time the Eighth occupied the front line of works and suffered severely for lack of food and sufficient clothing. On Sunday, November 29, two veteran Georgia brigades belonging to McLaws' rebel division made a furious assault on Fort Saunders, one of the works in the line of fortifications inclosing Knoxville, and were repulsed and driven back with a loss of nearly eight hundred men. The Eighth Michigan was one of the regiments which received and repelled the assault. In the night of the 4th and 5th of December the enemy withdrew from before Knoxville; in the pursuit which followed the Eighth took part, but with no results, and on the 16th it encamped at Blain's Cross-Roads. This proved to be the last camp which it occupied for any considerable length of time in Tennessee. It remained here about three weeks, during which time three hundred of its members re-enlisted as veterans. On the Eighth of January, 1864, the veter-

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anized command, under orders to report at Detroit, left its camp and took the road across the Cumberland mountains for the railroad at Nicholasville, Kentucky, nearly two hundred miles distant. It reached that place in ten days, having made an average of nearly twenty miles a day over miserable roads and through the snow and ice of the mountain-passes; it arrived at Detroit on the 25th and there received the veteran furlough. At the end of the specified time the men reassembled at the rendezvous (the city of Flint), where Capt. Charles H. McCreery was in charge of a recruiting-station for the "veteran Eighth." On the Eighth of March they left again for the front, proceeding by way of Cincinnati to Annapolis, Maryland, to rejoin the Ninth Corps, which, after the regiment had left Tennessee had been ordered East to reinforce the Army of the Potomac.

The Eighth remained at Annapolis until April 23, when it moved to Washington and thence across the Potomac to Warrenton Junction. On the opening of the campaign of 1864, it moved with the army on the 4th of May, crossed the Rapidan at Germania Ford on the 5th, and on the following day was hotly engaged in the Wilderness, losing ninety-nine in killed, wounded and missing. Among these was Col. Frank Graves, who was made prisoner by the enemy and as was reported shot in cold blood because he applied the epithet "robber" to one of his captors who was taking his boots from his feet.

On the 8th of May the Eighth marched over the old field of Chancellors- vllie and on towards Spottsylvania Court House, where, on the 12th, it took part in the assault on the enemy's intrenchments, losing forty-nine officers and men in the bloody work of that day. During the fight the corps com- mander, General Burnside, rode up and called out to the regiment, "Boys, you must support this battery and hold the hill at all hazards, for it is the key to our safety," and a moment later inquired what regiment it was. Colo- nel Ely informed him. "Ah!" returned the general, "the Eighth Michigan! I know you. You'll hold it!" and rode away. The regiment crossed the Pamunkey river May 28 and moved towards Bethesda Church, where in the battle of June 3 it gallantly charged and carried the enemy's rifle-pits, sus- taining a loss of fifty-nine, killed, wounded and missing. On the 12th it was encamped near Mechanicsville, Virginia. The next day it crossed the Chicka- hominy and on the 14th crossed the James river; from that point it moved by a forced march to the front of Petersburg. It arrived there in the evening of the 16th, and on the 17th and 18th it took part in the attacks on the enemy's works, losing forty-nine killed and wounded. For six weeks after that time it was constantly employed on the fortifications, under fire. In the fight at "the Crater," July 30, it was engaged, losing thirteen killed and wounded.

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Soon after, it moved to the Weldon railroad, and fought there in the action of August 19, losing thirty in killed, wounded and missing, among the killed being Maj. Horatio Belcher, of Flint. It was again engaged, with but slight loss, on the 21st, and on the 30th it took part in the battle of Poplar Grove Church, losing eight wounded.

The Eighth remained near Peebles' Farm engaged in fortifying and picket duty till November 29, when it moved again to a position before Petersburg. It assisted in repulsing the enemy in his attack on Ft. Stead- man, March 25, 1865, and on the 2d of April was engaged in the attack on Ft. Mahon, assisting in carrying the work and being the first regiment to place its colors on the hostile ramparts. The next day it marched into Peters- burg. After this it was employed in guard duty on the South Side railroad till the 20th when it marched to City Point and on the following day embarked on transports and proceeded to Alexandria, Virginia; from there it moved to Tenallytown, Maryland, on the 26th. It moved into the city of Washing- ton, May 9, and was there engaged in guard and patrol duty until July 30, 1865, when it was mustered out of the service. Its strength when mustered out was six hundred and three officers and men, it having been quite largely augmented by recruits during the latter part of its term of service. The regi- ment left Washington on the Ist of August and on the 3d arrived at Detroit, were paid and disbanded, and the survivors of "the wandering regiment of Michigan" returned to their homes and the vocations of peaceful life. Dur- ing its existence the regiment had moved over seven thousand miles by land and sea; more than nineteen hundred men had marched in its ranks; and it had been engaged in thirty-seven battles and skirmishes in seven different states of the Union.

Charles Howard Gardner was a school boy about thirteen years of age, in the city of Flint when the war broke out. His father went to the field on the first call for troops in the Second Michigan. On the second call, Charley's teacher, Capt. S. C. Guild, joined the Eighth Michigan. Charley being very much attached to him, entreated to be allowed to go with him. "I can go to the war with my drum, and take the place of a man," was the noble boy's per- sistent plea. "I think it my duty to go, especially as you, mother, do not greatly need me at home." The poor mother, who had already surrendered her husband, reluctantly consented, and her boy joined the Eighth Michigan with Captain Guild, ordered to Port Royal. On the way Charley met his father in Washington; saw him a little way off. Forgetting that he was in the ranks he broke and ran to his father's arms. It was their last meeting

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on earth; the father died soon after in Alexandria. After his father's death, Charley wrote :

Dear Mother :- I am near broken-hearted. I try to be cheerful, but 'tis of no use. My mind constantly runs in the direction of home, a fresh gush of tears come to my eyes and I have to weep. But, mother, if this is so hard for me, what must it be for you? Don't take it too much to heart, for remember that you have me left, and I will do my best to help you. I shall send you all my money hereafter, for I really do not need money here.

And this promise he fulfilled to the letter. His captain guarded him like a father. At the terrible battle of James Island the Captain, while on the parapet of the rebel works, was struck by a shot and fell over the wall into the rebel hands and was seen no more. Charley, so bereaved, his captain and dear friend gone, in his agony of soul murmurs, "Oh, how I pity his poor mother !" Charley passed through many severe engagements, often escaping death as if it were by a miracle. Still he kept with the regiment; was at Vicksburg, and with Burnside in the East Tennessee campaign, in the moun- tains and at Knoxville. But during the siege of that place, a chance shot struck him on the shoulder and entered the lung. The surgeon wrote to his mother. "He has been in a dangerous condition, but is fast recovering." Next tidings, the regiment was on the way home on veteran furlough; heard from at Louisville, at Indianapolis, at Michigan City, and last at Detroit. "He may be here tonight-he will be here tomorrow," said his devoted and loving mother. Every summons to the door was Charley. Everything was in readiness for a happy meeting; mother, sister and brother waiting for him. The suspense is great and trying. A knock at the door. All start-all cry, " 'Tis Charley!" All rush to the door. No. A telegram: "The regiment has arrived, but Charley is dead !"

OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE EIGHTH INFANTRY FROM GENESEE COUNTY.

Col. Wm. M. Fenton, Flint; enl. Aug. 7, 1861; res. March 15, 1863.

Maj. Ephraim W. Lyon, Flint; enl. Aug. 10, 1861; res. March 10, 1863.

1st Lieut. and Adj. N. Miner Pratt, Flint; enl. Aug. 14, 1861; killed in battle of Wilmington, Ga., April 16, 1862.

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History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I, Part 39

Author: Edwin Orin Wood Publication date: 1916 Publisher: Federal publishingcompany Number of Pages: 861

Author: Edwin Orin Wood
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Federal publishingcompany
Number of Pages: 861