History of Shiawassee and Clinton counties, Michigan, Part 14

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, D.W. Ensign & co.
Number of Pages: 716

USA > Michigan > Clinton County > History of Shiawassee and Clinton counties, Michigan > Part 14
USA > Michigan > Shiawassee County > History of Shiawassee and Clinton counties, Michigan > Part 14

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The battle of James Island (or Secessionville, as it is frequently called) was fought on the 16th of June. In it the Eighth Michigan took a more prominent part, and suf- fered more severely, than any other regiment, and its losses here were, taking everything into consideration, more ter- rible than it sustained on any other field during its long and honorable career. Secessionville, the scene of the battle, was described by Dr. J. C. Wilson, surgeon of the Eighth Regiment, as " a village composed of a few houses whose owners have seceded from them, situated on a narrow neck of land jutting into the stream on the east side of James Island, skirted by tidal marshes and swamps on either side, and difficult of approach, except from the westward, where is a rebel fort which commands this entrance." The fort was a formidable earthwork, with a parapet nine feet in height, surrounded by a broad ditch seven feet deep, and protected by a broad and almost im- penetrable abatis. The neck of dry land over which (alone) it was approachable was barely two hundred yards in width, and every inch of it could be swept at close range by can- ister from the six heavy guns of the fort and by musketry from its defenders. And it was over such ground, and to the assault of such a work, that the troops of Stevens' division moved forward at four o'clock in the morning of that bloody and eventful 16th of June, 1862.

The attacking column was composed of Col. Fenton's and Col. Leasure's brigades, the former composed of the Eighth Michigan, Seventh Connecticut, and Twenty-eighth Massachusetts Regiments, and the latter of the Forty-sixth and Seventy-ninth New York and One Hundredth Penn- sylvania, with four batteries of artillery,-in all thirty- three hundred and thirty-seven men. The following account of the battle was written by the correspondent of the New York Tribune, then at James' Island, and published in that paper immediately after the fight :

"The advanced regiments were the Eighth Michigan, the Seventy-ninth New York, and the Seventh Connecticut. There is some confusion as to the order in which these regiments came up to the fort ; it seeuis, however, from the best information within reach that the glorious but unfor- tunate Eighth Michigan was the first there, led by its gal- lant Lieut .- Col. Graves. The immediate assault upon the fort was not successful, and the cause of its failure, as is

usual in such cases, is difficult to determine. . . . It appears, from the statements of some of the officers and men in these regiments, that about one-half mile from the fort there was a narrow pass through a hedge, and the men were compelled to pass through, a very few abreast, thus delaying their advance. The Eighth Michigan got through and pushed on with great vigor up to the fort, which they assaulted with a shout. They were met with a murderous fire from the fort in front, and from flanking batteries. A few of these brave men overcame all dangers and difficulties, and rushing over the dead bodies of their slaughtered comrades, actually climbed into the fort; but it was impossible for them to maintain their ground there against the fearful odds which opposed them, the men who should have sup- ported them being delayed in passing through the hedge.

" The Eighth was obliged to fall back as the Seventy- ninth New York came up, led by the brave Col. Morrison, who mounted the walls of the fort and discharged all the - barrels of his revolver in the very faces of the enemy. Wounded in the head, and unsupported, he was obliged to retreat. About as far behind the Seventy-ninth as that regiment was behind the Eighth Michigan came the Seventh Connecticut, which made a spasmodic and almost indepen- dent effort against the fort, but was obliged to fall back. Thus the brave regiments which were intended to act in concert as the advance went into the fight one at a time, one repulsed and falling back as the other came up, thus · creating confusion, and rendering abortive the charge on the fort at this time.

" The Eighth Michigan has been most unfortunate. For- ward in every skirmish and battle, always in the advance, it has lost a considerable number of its officers, 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 ap- proached,-the Eighth from grape and canister, the Sev- enty-ninth from musketry, as the nature of their.wounds show. Badly shattered, and wholly exhausted from three- fourths of a mile on 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 can- nonade 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 position, 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 commanding general and his staff. The effect of this

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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 : " 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 ad- vanced; when they retired they had one hundred and ninety killed and wounded. One company alone lost, I un- derstand, no less than ninety-eight men. The ordeal through which they had passed the Seventy-ninth were now experi- encing. 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 support- ing 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 Seventy-ninth New York,-the two weakest regiments, in point of numbers, in the whole foree under command of Gen. 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 being more than one-third of the number engaged. The first report of its loss made it somewhat greater than this. Gen. Stevens, in his " General Order No. 26," dated James Island, S. C., 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 Seventy- ninth Iligh- landers, mounted and were shot down on the parapet, offi- cers 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 Highlanders 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 aud constancy on that terrible field, the commanding general of the division has not words to ex- press his and your grief at the saerilice that has been made. Our best and truest men now sleep the sleep that knows no waking. Their dead bodies lie on the enemy's parapet."

Gen. 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 the advance. Moving to Ililton Head, it embarked there July 13th, with the Seventy-ninth New York, Twenty eighth Massachusetts, Seventh Con- nectient, and other regiments for Fortress Monroe, where they arrived on the 16th, and landed at Newport News ou the Following day. They knew they were destined to rein- 8

force the Army of the Potomac after its disasters in the Seven Days' fight, and 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 Col. Fenton left for Michigan to obtain recruits, and Lieut .- Col. Graves was left in command of the regiment. The command left this camp. August 4th, and moving to the Rappahannock River, took part in the campaign of Gen. Pope, fighting at second Bull Run, August 29th and 30th, and at Chantilly, September 1st, 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 14th, losing thirteen, wounded, and was again engaged in the great battle of Antietam, September 17th. Early in that day it formed in line on the right with its brigade, but about noon, when the battle became general, it was ordered to the left, and took posses- sion 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 llarper'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 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, and the enemy, while keeping up the appearance of a strong line in front, re- treated 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 discharges ; more than two hundred and fifty men being discharged from the Eighth in the year 1862, of whom just one hundred enlisted in the regular army. The places of these were being filled to some extent by re- cruits, of whom a number joined the regiment the day before Antietam ; and 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 re- mained in Maryland, a short time in the vicinity of An- tietam, and a longer time in Pleasant Valley. On the 26th of October it marched to Weverton, and thence to Ber- lin, Md., 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 11th of November, it received the announcement of

HISTORY OF SHIAWASSEE AND CLINTON COUNTIES, MICIIIGAN.

Gen. Burnside's promotion 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, to Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg, where the army was rapidly concentrating. lIere it re- mained (a part of it acting as provost-guard of the division) until the 12th of December, when it crossed the Rappa- hannock to Fredericksburg, but was not engaged in the great battle of the 13th. It recrossed on the 15th, and re- mained at Falmouth until Feb. 13, 1863, when it moved with the Ninth Corps (which had been detached from the Army of the Potomac) to Newport News, Va., and there eamped, evidently waiting orders for a further movement, which the officers and men hoped might take them back to the department of the South.

On the 20th of March the Eighth Regiment, being again under marching orders, enibarked at Newport News, on the steamer "Georgia," preparatory to the commencement of the long series of movements and marches in the Southwest which afterwards gave it the name of " the wandering regi- ment of Michigan." It left Newport News on the 21st, arrived at Baltimore on the 22d, and proceeded thence by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to Parkersburg, W. Va., reaching there on the 24th, and embarking on the steamer " Majestic" for Louisville, Ky., 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 (formerly colonel of the Second), as brigade commander; this being the First Brigade, First Division, Ninth Army Corps. This corps (then a part of the Army of the Ohio) had for its im- mediate mission 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 moved by railroad from Louisville on the 28th, proceeded to Lebanon, Ky., and remained stationed there and at Green River Ford, Ky., for some weeks. While the command lay at Lebanon there was issued the first number of a paper entitled The Wolverine, which was announeed as " published by members of the Eighth Miehi- gan Infantry, and will be issued as often as circumstances will permit." How many numbers of this journal were ever published is not known.

Abont the 1st of June the Ninth Corps, which had been scattered in detachments at various points in Kentucky, was ordered to move to Mississippi to reinforce the army of Gen. Grant, then operating against Vicksburg. The Eighth Regiment moved with the corps, going to Cairo, Ill., by rail, and then embarking on boats on the Mississippi River, was transported to Haynes' Bluff, Miss. From there it moved to Milldale, Miss., and remained there and at Flower Dale Church, near Vicksburg, until the operations against that stronghold ended in its capitulation, July 4th. Then it moved with the eorps towards Jackson, Miss., in pursuit

of the army of Johnston, who had been hovering in Gen. Grant's rear, attempting to raise the siege of Vicksburg. In the several engagements which occurred from the 10th to the 16th of July the Eighth participated, but suffered little loss ; and after the evacuation of Jackson, on the 16th, it returned to its former camp at Milldale, remaining there till August 6th, when it again took boat on the Mississippi and moved north with the corps. It reached Memphis in the night of the 11th, and passed on to Cairo and thence to Cincinnati, where it arrived on the 18th, and, crossing the river, eamped at Covington, Ky. From Covington it moved by way of Nicholasville to Crab Orchard, Ky., reaching there August 27th, and remaining there in eamp two weeks. On the 10th of September it was again on the march, and moved by way of Cumberland Gap to Knox- ville, Tenn., reaching there on the 26th.

The Eighth was slightly engaged with the enemy at Blue Springs, October 10th, and, after considerable marehing and countermarching, went into camp, October 29th, at Lenoir Station, where it remained until November 14th. It was then, with its division, ordered to Huff's Ferry, on the Holston River, to check the advance of Longstreet, who was reported moving up from Georgia towards Knoxville. 1Te was found in strong force, and 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, and a battle ensued, lasting from about one P.M. until dark, and resulting in a loss to the Eighth of eleven wounded. Du- ring the night the retreat was continued, and the regiment reached Knoxville in the morning of the 17th, after an almost continuous march of two days and three nights, in- cluding a battle of several hours' duration, moving over the worst of roads though mud and rain, and with less than quarter rations.

Then followed the siege of Knoxville by Longstreet, which continued eighteen days, during all of which time the regiment occupied the front line of works. Ou Sunday, November 29th, 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 in- closing Knoxville), and were repulsed and driven baek with a loss of nearly eight hundred men, the Eighth Michigan being one of the regiments which received and repelled the assault.

In the night of the 4th and 5th of December the enemy withdrew from Knoxville. The Eighth took part in the pursuit, but with no results, and on the 16th it eneamped 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 8th of January, 1864, the veteranized command, under orders to report at Detroit, left its camp and took the road across the Cumberland Mountains for the railroad at Nicholasville, Ky., nearly two hundred miles dis- tant. It reached that place in ten days, having made an average of nearly twenty miles a day, over miserable roads, and through the ice and snow of the mountain passes. From Nicholasville the men went by rail to Detroit, reach-

EIGHTII INFANTRY.

ing there January 25th. At the end of their furlough, March 8th, they left for the front, and proeceded to Annap- olis, Md., where they rejoined the Ninth Corps, which had in the mean time been ordered from Tennessee, to reinforce the Army of the Potomac.

On the 23d of April the Eighth moved by way of Wash- ington across the Potomac to Warrenton Junction. When the spring campaign opened it moved (May 4th) with the army, crossed the Rapidan on the 5th, and on the following day was hotly engaged in the Wilderness, losing ninety-nine in killed, wounded, and missing. On the 12th it took part in the assault on the enemy's intrenehments at Spott- sylvania Court-Ilouse, losing forty-nine officers and men in the bloody work of that day. During the fight the corps commander, Gen. 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 !" A moment later he inquired what regiment it was, and Col. 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 28th, and moved towards Bethesda Church, where, in the battle of June 3d, it gallantly charged and carried the enemy's riffe-pits, sustaining a loss of fifty-nine killed, wounded, and missing. On the 12th it was encamped near Mechanics- ville, Va. The next day it crossed the Chickahominy, and on the 14th crossed the James River, from which point it moved by a forced march to the front of Petersburg, ar- riving there in the evening of the 16th. 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 30th, it was en- gaged, losing thirteen killed and wounded. Soon after it moved to the Weldon Railroad, and fought there in the action of August 19th, losing thirty in killed, wounded, and missing. 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 for- tifying and picket duty till November 29th, when it moved again to a position before Petersburg. The strength of the regiment at that time was only about three hundred men fit for duty. It assisted in repulsing the enemy in his at- tack on Fort Steadman, March 25, 1865, and on the 2d of April it was engaged in the attack on Fort Mahon, as- sisting in carrying the work, and being the first regiment to place its colors on the hostile ramparts. The next day it marched into Petersburg. After this it was employed on guard duty on the South Side Railroad till the 20th, when it marched to City Point, and on the following day em- barked on transports and procceded to Alexandria, Va., from which place it moved to Tenallytown on the 26th. It moved into the city of Washington May 9th, and was there engaged in guard and patrol duty until July 30, 1865, when it was mustered out of the service. It left Washington on the 1st of August, and on the 3d arrived at Detroit, where it was paid off and disbanded, and the survivors of the " Wandering Regiment of Michigan" returned to their

homes. During its existence the Eighth Regiment had moved more than seven thousand miles by land and by sea ; more than nineteen hundred men had marched in its ranks, and it had been engaged in thirty-seven battles and skir- mishes in seven different States of the Union.

OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE EIGHITH FROM CLINTON COUNTY.

Company B.

Capt. Wm. Ely Lewis, St. John's; com. April 1, 1862; 1st lieut., Ang. 1, 1861 ; pro, to maj. March 12, 1863; killed in action at Cold Harbor, Va., June 3, 1864.

Capt. Robt. G. Hutchinson, St. John's; com. March 13, 1863; Ist lieut., May 14, 1862; died of disease at Detroit, Jan. 2, 1865.

Capt. James P. Dodge, St. John's ; com. Jan. 2, 1865; Ist lient., Co. G, Oct. 27, 1864; must. out July 30, 1865.

2d Lient. Saml. A. Baldwin, Watertown ; com, July 5, 1864; pro. to capt., Co. E, Nov. 9, 1864.

Sergt Jas. Travis, St. John's; dischi, for disability, Dec. 2, 1861.

Sergt. Chas. F. Smith, St. John's ; pro. to 2d lient., Co. K, May 14, 1862.

Sergt. Jas. P. Dodge, St. John's; veteran, enl. Dec. 29, 1863 ; pro. to 2d lient., July 5, 1864.

Corp. Wm. Il. Smith, St. John's ; ent. Aug. 12, 1861; disch. Oct. 29, 1862.

Corp. Chas. F. Valleau, St. John's; enl. Aug. 13, 1861; died of disease at Wash- ington, Oct. 20, 18GI.

Corp. M. J. Morton, St. John's ; enl. Aug. 15, 1861 : died of disease in Mississippi, July 30, 1863.

Corp. Tompkins Dunlap, St. John's ; enl. Ang. 15, 1861; disch. for disability, March 3, 1863.

Wagoner Moses Brown, St. John's; enl. Aug. 12, 1861 ; disch. at end of service, Sept. 22, 1864.

Joshua Aldrich, disch. to enl. in regular army, Oct. 28, 1862.

John Austin, disch. Oct. 31, 1862.

Benj. F. Brown, disch. for disability, Nov. 29, 1862.

Frederick Burke, died of disease, Dec. 2, 1861.

Chas. E. Blanchard, died of disease, April 9, 1862.

Albert M. Bennett, died of disease at Baltimore, Md., March 21, 1863.

Darrell Brewer, died of disease at Lebanon, Ky., April 19, 1863.

Clark C. Brewer, died of disease in Michigan, Feb. 17, 1864.

Henry A. Brown, died in battle at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864.

Henry O. Brown, disch, for disability, Feb. 9, 1863.

Wm. H. Brown, disch, at end of service, Sept. 22, 1864.

Marshall Bachelder, disch, at end of service, Sept. 22, 1864.

John K. Brooks, veteran, enl. Dec. 29, 1863; must. ont July 5, 1865.

Sanford Baker, veteran, enl. Dec. 29, 1863; disch. by order, June 13, 1865.

Ransom A. Brooks, veteran, enl. Feb. 17, 1864; disch, by order, June 20, 1865. Sheldon Crowell, died in action at Antietam, Md., Sept. 17, 1862.

Wm. A. Dutton, died in action at Cold Harbor, Va., June 3, 1864.

Henry W. Davenport, died of disease at Washington, March 30, 1863. Enoch Doty, disch. Feb. 19, 1863.

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History of Shiawassee and Clinton counties, Michigan, Part 14

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, D.W. Ensign & co. Number of Pages: 716

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, D.W. Ensign & co.
Number of Pages: 716