History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 12

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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

cursion party, and this paper in its issue of the following day said,-

" At Howell the train was received with some- thing of an ovation. A six-pound cannon had been brought into service and fired a salute as the train moved up to the depot, where were assembled an immense concourse of people, who testified their gratification at the arrival of the party by cheers and waving of handkerchiefs. Ladies dis- tributed bouquets. The people are enthusiastic over the advent of the iron horse to their town, and though the assemblage was impromptu, it clearly indicated the joy which they feel over the comple- tion of the railroad for which they have worked and waited for so many long years. Their enthu- siasm is pardonable. The town has a population of over two thousand, is one of the handsomest in the State, and, next to Lansing, probably the most important on the line of the road. Just as the train was moving away the people called on Mr. Joy for a speech, but he did not see fit to respond."

Railroad communication with Detroit, for which the people of Livingston County had waited so long and anxiously, was now an accomplished fact. Regular trains commenced running at once, and the total receipts of the Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Railroad during its first business week were as follows :

For freight .. $8,204.87

For passengers. 3,242.33

$11,447.20

Which was very encouraging, though small when compared with present weekly exhibits. A week or two after the opening, the Ann Arbor Courier mentioned the event, and its significance to the people of this county, as follows :

" The three Howell papers come to us rejoicing over the completion of the Detroit and Lansing Railroad to that place. They may well rejoice, for every acre of land in Livingston County north of the railroad is worth ten dollars per acre more than it would be without the road, and every acre on the south side within five miles is worth five dollars more than before. The men benefited the least are the merchants in the little towns along the line, and they are the men who pay the most for the road. We do not consider the road of any benefit to the mercantile interests of Howell, and their merchants will say the same thing one year from this date."

Without commenting on the last part of the Courier's prediction, it is safe to say that the first part has been more than verified. And it is not alone the farmers of Livingston who have been benefited by the road, but the three principal

villages of the county and their people have also derived great advantage from it, as must be ap- parent to all observers.

The Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad (which name has recently been substituted for that of Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan) traverses Livingston diagonally from southeast to north- west, entering the county near the centre of the east line of Green Oak township, passing thence through the southwest corner of Brighton town- ship, through Brighton village, Genoa, the north- east corner of Marion, Howell village, Howell township, and Handy, touching the village of Fowlerville, and running from that point due west to Ingham County. The principal stations in Livingston are at the villages of Brighton, Howell, and Fowlerville; and there are less important stations at Green Oak, Genoa, and Fleming,-the last named being in Howell township. The road was completed in the fall of 1871 to Howard City, which is still its northern terminus, and where it forms a junction with the Grand Rapids and In- diana Railroad. An extension is, however, in process of construction to Big Rapids, and the road will be opened to that point in the near future.

CHAPTER VI.

MILITARY RECORD OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Draft for the "Toledo War"-The Old Militia System and the Eleventh Militia Regiment-Mexican War Volunteers-Liv- ingston in the Early Days of the Great Rebellion-The Fourth Michigan Infantry-Its Organization and Departure for the Front-The Fourth at Bull Run-Campaign of the Peninsula -- The Seven Days' Fight-Campaign under Gen. Pope-An- tietam and Shepherdstown Ford-Fredericksburg and Chancel- lorsville-Gettysburg-Winter Quarters at Bealton-Campaign of the Wilderness-In Front of Petersburg-Expiration of Ser- vice and Muster Out-The Reorganized Fourth-Service in Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas-Muster Out and Disband- ment-List of Members of the Old and New Fourth from Liv- ingston County.

THE first demand made upon the inhabitants of what is now Livingston County, to perform mili- tary service in a public exigency, was by the proclamation of Governor S. T. Mason, ordering a draft from the militia, of men to serve under Gen- eral Brown, in the famous " Toledo War" of 1835. Under this authority, several men were drafted from townships now of this county ; a half-dozen being taken from the militia of Green Oak. They were not called on to perform any very dangerous or protracted services, and their farms or other Hosted by . business did not suffer serious detriment from

MILITARY RECORD OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

their being summoned to the field. The " war" was, of course, but a farce, but for a time it caused serious apprehensions in the minds of drafted men and others ; and it was, at all events, the first ex- perience of the people of this region in furnishing soldiers for a service which threatened actual hos- tilities.

Under the militia system of a period somewhat later than the Toledo war, many of the townships contained so-called military companies, which were ordered out at stated times for battalion or regi- mental "training" or general muster, as the case might be. In 1843 the Sixth Brigade of the Third Militia Division was commanded by Brigadier- General Isaac Brown, whose brigade major and inspector was Edward H. Thomson; Brigade Judge Advocate, James W. Stansbury, of Pinck- ney; Brigade Quartermaster, Samuel C. Fair- child; and Aid - de - Camp, Furman G. Rose. The Eleventh Regiment seems to have been distinctively of Livingston County, and its first commanding officer was Colonel Timothy R. Allison, of Pinckney. A regimental order of the colonel's, issued in the year above named, has been found, of which the following is a copy :

" COMPANY BEATS, REGIMENTAL ORDER NO. I.

" COLONEL'S OFFICE, PINCKNEY, February 7, 1843.

" ELEVENTH REGIMENT, SIXTH BRIGADE, THIRD DIVISION " MICHIGAN MILITIA.

" I do hereby cause this regiment to be divided into ten company beats, numbered and bounded as follows : First company beat to comprise the township of Green Oak ; the second, to comprise the township of Ham- burg ; third, the township of Putnam; fourth, the township of Unadilla ; fifth, the townships of Iosco and Marion ; sixth, the townships of Genoa and Brighton ; seventh, the townships of Hartland and Oceola ; eighth, the townships of Howell and Handy ; ninth, the townships of Conway and Tuscola ; tenth, the townships of Deerfield and Tyrone.

"Given under my hand at Pinckney, this seventh day of February, A.D. 1843.

" TIMOTHY R. ALLISON,

"Colonel Eleventh Regiment, Sixth Brigade, Third Division, Michigan Militia."

The successor of Colonel Allison in the com- mand of the Eleventh Regiment was Colonel George Bennett. Washington Wing was the Lieutenant-Colonel. A cavalry company existed in the county, commanded by Colonel Ives, of Unadilla.

The general " trainings" were usually held at Howell or at Provost's Plains. These occasions were invested with as much of pomp and parade as was practicable, and were looked forward to

with much of pleasure by the people. A pioneer, in mentioning them, says, "Ostensibly the object was to keep up a military organization, but really to have a jolly good time. Colonel Allison always thought it a part of his military duty to furnish the boys all the stimulant they wanted before the training, so that they might show proper enthusi- asm." This is unquestionably a correct statement. The old militia system was doubtless originated in the idea of keeping up a military organization and to foster a military spirit, but it never made soldiers, and the organization which it kept alive was of no value. A few years later the State ceased to require this kind of military duty, and the system, with its trainings, drunkenness, and general burlesque of military spirit and discipline, happily became a thing of the past.

At the breaking out of the Mexican war, in 1846, the population of Livingston County was comparatively small, and there were few among its people who were in a condition to make it possible for them to leave their families and farms to become soldiers. Still there were a few from the county who followed their country's flag to the fields of Mexico. Among these were John A. Tanner, of Handy, who enlisted in Captain I. S. Rowland's company of the First Michigan Regiment, John Moran, of Oceola, and some others whose names have not been ascertained (mostly from Hartland and other eastern towns), who served in that and Captain Hanscom's company of the same regiment. The First was commanded by Colonel T. B. W. Stockton, of Flint, and was raised in the fall of 1846, was rendezvoused at Detroit, and as soon as organized, and before its ranks were full, left for the seat of war by way of Cincinnati and New Or- leans, arriving at Vera Cruz in January, 1847. From Vera Cruz it moved with other forces, amounting in all to two thousand men, under General Bankhead, to Cordova and Orizaba. A second detachment, under Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards General) Williams, left Detroit after the main body of the regiment and joined it at Cordova. The colonel of the regiment was made military governor of Cordova, and remained there in that capacity to the close of the war. The regiment suffered very severely by sickness during its term of service, and a great number of its sol- diers left their bones in Mexico. Besides those who entered the First Regiment, there were a few from Livingston who enlisted in the Fifteenth United States Infantry, which was in the division of General Gideon J. Pillow, of Tennessee. Those who were with this command participated in some of the principal battles of the Mexican war, ogle

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

All the matters above referred to, however, were but trivial, and hardly worthy of mention, in com- parison with the events of that later struggle,-the tremendous war of the Rebellion, with the opening of which, commences the real military history of Livingston, a record which, to the county and to its people, is a most creditable one. When the thrilling news from Charleston Harbor first rang through the country, and President Lincoln called on the loyal States for an army of seventy-five thous- and men to sustain the authority of the government in an unexpected crisis, the young men, the middle- aged and the old men, as well as the women of Livingston, responded most patriotically, and at once took measures to furnish the county's full quota of soldiers to fill the ranks of the Union army. The first step taken here, as everywhere in the North, was the holding of public meetings to promote enlistments. Fifteen days after the Pres- ident's call was issued, an extremely large and en- thusiastic "Union mass-meeting" was held (April 30, 1861) at the court-house in Howell, at which James B. Lee, Esq., of Brighton, presided, and B. Howard Lawson was made secretary, and which was addressed by the president, by Henry H. Harmon, William A. Clark, E. F. Burt, George W. Lee, and others, in a most eloquent and effect- ive manner. "At noon a magnificent star-spangled banner, made expressly for the occasion by the pa- triotic ladies, was unfurled from the liberty-pole in front of the court-house amid the wildest enthusiasm of the assembled multitude. The thrilling song of the 'Star-Spangled Banner' was sung and listened to by the audience with intense emotion and vo- ciferous cheers . . . The court-room was literally jammed full of men and women, but by this time the people from all parts of the county had as- sembled by many hundreds in the court-house square, with two bands of music, and they evinced their desire to participate in the patriotic proceed- ings in so unmistakable a manner that the meeting adjourned to the square, where the speeches were received with an enthusiasm exceeding anything of the kind ever witnessed. All party ties seemed broken, all partisan prejudices obliterated, and but one desire and determination manifested by the speakers and the people,-to sustain the Federal government in the legitimate exercise of its power to preserve the Union. William A. Clark, Henry H. Harmon, Ira Knight, Mylo L. Gay, and Andrew D. Waddell were constituted a committee on res- olutions, and they, by their chairman, Mr. Clark, reported a preamble and a series of six patriotic resolutions, which were adopted by acclamation, and of which the following was the concluding one :

"' Resolved, That we devote as an oblation and will- ing sacrifice upon the altar of our common country all political party prejudices and animosities, and by obliterating all party distinctions to unite as patriotic American citizens in defense of the perpetuity and prosperity of the American Union ; and to such a line of conduct we dedicate ourselves, and pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to the cause of our country, and to the maintenance of the Consti- tution and Union bequeathed to us as a precious her- itage of freedom by our heroic ancestors.' "

At the same time the sum of eight hundred dol- lars was pledged by citizens, in addition to amounts voted the Board of Supervisors, for the relief, if needed, of the families of volunteers from Living- ston County who should enter the service of the United States.

Meetings of the same kind were held in other parts of the county, and by the enthusiasm thus awakened, enlistments were promoted, and pro- gressed with such rapidity that early in May it was announced that one company (raised by Captain John Gilluly) was full, and that Mr. James Mulloy had also made good progress in procuring enlist- ments for a second company,-twenty-two names being enrolled by him on the first day. It was not at that time known in what regiments these volunteers would be placed. The company of Captain Gilluly being afterwards assigned to the Fifth Infantry, entered the field with that command, and fought most gallantly in its campaigns; but in the mean time other volunteers from Livingston joined the Fourth, which was soon ordered to the front. These regiments, with others most notice- able for the number of Livingston County men serving in their ranks, are specially mentioned below in historical sketches of their organization and services in the great war for the Union.

THE FOURTH INFANTRY.

This regiment, which was one of the most dis- tinguished for excellent discipline and unflinch- ing bravery of all those which the State of Michi- gan sent to the war, had in its ranks a number of Livingston County volunteers, equal to about half of a full company ; these being principally made up of the men above mentioned as having been recruited by Mr. James Mulloy. This detach- ment left Howell on the twenty-first of May, 1861, amid scenes of (then) unparalleled excitement, en- thusiasm, and sorrow, and proceeded to Dexter for the purpose of joining a company which was form- ing at that place for the Fourth Regiment. They had previously expected to be attached to the Fifth Infantry, to which Captain Gilluly's company (con- taining many of their friends and acquaintances)

MILITARY RECORD OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

had been assigned; but, upon the receipt of an appa- rently authentic announcement that the Fifth would not be called to the field, they decided to make sure of acceptance, and a chance to see service, in the Fourth. The rendezvous of this regiment had been established at Adrian, and to that place the "Howell volunteers" proceeded from Dexter, and were incorporated with "K" company, of which James Mulloy was commissioned second lieuten- ant, dating from June 20th.

The regiment was mustered into the United States service, one thousand and twenty-four strong, on the twentieth of June, 1861, by Lieu- tenant-Colonel Backus, United States Army. Its field officers were :

Colonel, Dwight A. Woodbury.

Lieutenant-Colonel, William W. Duffield. Major, Jonathan Childs.

On the twenty-fifth of June the Fourth left Adrian, and proceeded by way of Toledo to Cleveland, which was reached at about dark, and from thence by Erie, Pennsylvania, and the Frie Railroad to Elmira, where the men changed to the cars of the Northern Central Road, and moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. There they pitched their tents and remained in quiet until the first of July, when, at seven A.M., they moved on through Baltimore to Washington, which was reached at three o'clock in the morning of the second. The names of the members of the regiment belonging in Livingston County were reported on their ar- rival at Washington as follows :

Lieutenant James Mulloy. Edmund Bliss.

Sergeant J. S. Sharp. H. A. Wilson.

Sergeant J. B. McLean.

Fred Silsby.

Wm. H. Gould. Edgar Noble.

E. G. Carpenter. M. W. Baker.

Henry Boothby.

R. W. Kelley. H. Lampman. L. Boregan.

John J. Dorn.

Theodore Hodges.

Riley E. Vanzile.

Austin Smith.

D. M. Haviland.

G. G. Donley. Ira Holt.

Barney Roney.

Stephen G. Fishbeck.

Calvin Wilcox.

John M. Tucker.

Wm. Bennett.

Brainard T. Ide. Wells Vanzile.

Charles H. Barlow.

Peter Cook.

L. C. Griswold.

D. F. Poyer.

L. A. Haviland.

J. H. Aldrich.

B. O. Demming.

D. A. Wilson.

L. W. Lampman.

Jas. P. Silsby.

Harlo S. Mann. Julius D. Smith.

Americus Totten.

Having received a visit from President Lincoln, and from the Hon. Kinsley S. Bingham, of Living- ston County, then United States Senator from Michi-

gan, and also having been marched to the arsenal, and there armed with indifferent Springfield mus- kets, the regiment was soon after moved across the Long Bridge to the sacred soil which forms the right bank of the Potomac. Arriving in Virginia, the Fourth took an active part in the movements con- nected with the first battle of Bull Run, and after that disastrous conflict it was one of the few regi- ments which retired in good order, covering the rear of the demoralized army. The regiment also aided largely in the construction of the works around Washington.

During the winter of 1861-62 it was encamped at Miner's Hill, Virginia. In the spring of the latter year it went with McClellan's army to York- town, and thence up the Peninsula. On the twenty-fourth of May it was on the north side of the Chickahominy, at New Bridge. An order came to make a reconnoissance in force. Five companies of the Fourth were directed to cross the river. They plunged in under a heavy fire, and made their way steadily across. In many places the water was up to the men's necks, and they could only keep their cartridges dry by hang- ing the boxes on their bayonets and holding their rifles above their heads. Once on the other side, the battalion quickly formed and engaged in a desperate conflict with the celebrated Louisiana Tigers, driving them back with heavy loss. They were highly complimented by General Mcclellan for their gallantry, and at once took rank among the best regiments in the service.

On the twenty-sixth of June the Fourth took part in the battle of Mechanicsville, and in that of Gaines' Mills on the following day. Still re- tiring with the shattered Army of the Potomac, on the first of July it reached the hills of Malvern, where the Union forces stood at bay. The Fourth Michigan was on the extreme left of the Union lines. One of the divisions of Stonewall Jackson's corps formed on its left, with the evident intention of turning its flank. The brigade to which the Fourth belonged, changed front, so as to face the enemy, and poured a deadly fire upon them. Meanwhile the gunboats in the James River, which lay so as to cover the Union flank, also opened fire on the foe with their big guns, throw- ing, as our informant expressed it, " shells as big as nail-kegs." As their terrible missiles, which cut off trees like pipe-stems, joined their destruc- tive powers to the thick-flying bullets of the Fourth Michigan and their comrade regiments, the rebels were very glad to retire in all haste from the position, and did not again attempt to occupy it.

During the fierce battle which followed, Colonel

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Woodbury, the commandant of the Fourth, was killed. Captain George W. Lombard was pro- moted to lieutenant colonel of the regiment for gallant conduct at Malvern Hill, his commission dating from July Ist,-the day of the battle. The total of casualties in the Fourth during the battles of June and July was fifty-three killed, a hundred and forty-four wounded, and fifty-two missing; in all two hundred and thirty-one.

The regiment soon after went North with the Army of the Potomac, being present in the battles of Gainesville, Second Bull Run, and Antietam, but without suffering very serious loss. Three days after the latter battle, on the twentieth of September, 1862, the Fourth was stationed on the east side of the Potomac, at Shepherdstown Ford. On the western side of the river was a rebel bat- tery of five guns, which kept up a most annoying fire on the troops on the eastern side. General Griffin, the commander of the brigade, rode up to the commander of the Fourth, saying,-

"Can't you take your regiment quietly into the river after dark, march across, and capture that battery ?"

" I can try, sir," promptly replied the officer ad- dressed.

" That's all that any one can do," said the gen- eral ; " go ahead and try it."

Accordingly, about nine o'clock at night, the Fourth, alone, moved quietly down and took post in the bed of the Baltimore and Ohio Canal, which ran close to the bank of the river, and from which the water had been drained by the breaking of the locks. All orders were passed in a whisper, and the utmost care was taken to prevent any untimely noise from disclosing the enterprise to the enemy.

The men looked with considerable distrust on the undertaking ; it seemed like a big job to ford a river a third of a mile wide, in face of a hostile battery, and capture it. However, the order was imperative, and few or none were disposed to flinch. When all was ready, the requisite orders, still in whispers, were passed along the line, and the men silently arose and passed over the bank into the river. The night was dark, and although the enemy's pickets were close to the water on the other side, they could see nothing of the move- ment which was in progress.

In some places the water was only ankle-deep, in others knee-deep, and in others waist-deep. In complete silence the line moved steadily forward until the middle of the stream was nearly reached. Then some of the men stumbled on the slippery rocks, and in saving themselves from falling made considerable splashing in the water. The attention of the rebel pickets was aroused, and on peering

eagerly into the darkness, they could discern the dim line of the silent Fourth making its way across the river. The next instant a dozen rifles flashed their angry welcome. Their leaden messengers whistled among the ranks of the advancing " Yankees," and the sharp reports re-echoed along the rocky banks of the Potomac.

No more need of silence now.

"Forward !" shouted the colonel; " forward ! forward !" repeated the line-officers, and forward went the gallant regiment, all striving to see how quickly they could reach the shore.

On the other hand, the rebels, who seem to have been without much infantry support, got their guns ready for action as speedily as possible, and began a tremendous cannonade. But the battery was on high ground, and by the time it opened fire the Fourth was so close that the rebel balls went harm- lessly over their heads. With a thundering cheer, the Union line charged up the steep, rushed with fixed bayonets upon the artillerists, and captured about twenty of them, while the rest fled at the top of their speed into the darkness, leaving their five cannon the prize of the conquerors. So well had the plan been arranged and carried out that only two or three men were killed in what had at first appeared to be an undertaking of extreme danger. Its very audacity largely assisted its success.

Four of the guns thus taken had been captured by the rebels at the first Bull Run battle from the battery then commanded by Captain Griffin, of the regular army, who in 1862 was the brigadier- general that ordered the assault just described, and who was intensely gratified at the unexpected recapture of his former pets.

After this exploit, the regiment engaged in the usual marches through the mud and snow of Vir- ginia, until the battle of Fredericksburg, on the thirteenth and fourteenth of December, 1862, in which it took an active part, having nine men killed and forty-one wounded. It remained in the vicinity of Fredericksburg until the first of May, 1863, when it became engaged in the battle of Chancellorsville, though not in the hottest part of the field. The total of casualties there-killed, wounded, and missing-was thirty.

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History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 12

Author: Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages: 617

Author:
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 617