USA > New York > Steuben County > A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people, Vol. I > Part 51
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The Twenty-Third remained at Upton's Hill four days, and then commenced the niarch into Maryland; and September 14th they en- gaged in the battle of South Mountain. In this engagement both officers and men behaved splendidly, and received many words of praise from their superior officers for their bravery and coolness. The regiment next took part in the battle of Antietam. In speak- ing of this battle Colonel Hoffman, in his official report, says: "The officers and men of my command who went into the action behaved most admirably, never deranging their alignment during the surg- ings backward and forward of the lines, obeying with promptitude every order ; all the time remaining firm, steady, and never moving until they had received the full order. Their conduct was all that I could wish. We had one field, one staff, thirteen line officers, and two hundred and twenty-three enlisted men. Our casualties were four killed and twenty-five wounded." After various marches and skirmishes, as well as changes of command and camps, November 25th found the regiment in camp near Brook's Station. The Twen- ty-Third remained at this place until December 9th, when it broke camp and moved forward. It went into the battle of Fredericksburg, and by its courage, perseverance and soldierly bearing added fresh
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laurels to those already won on many a hard-contested field. On the 17th of December the Twenty-Third moved down near the bank of the river, and went into camp, where it remained until the 20th, when it received marching orders and proceeded to Belle Plaine and went into winter quarters. This march closed the active campaign that commeneed at Fairfax Court House, March 10th, and ended at Belle Plaine December 20th. The regiment remained in eamp dur- ing the winter and the spring of 1863. The army moved April 20th, and the Twenty-Third was assigned to the defense of Aquia, and was there in fortifications during the battle of Chancellorsville. The term of enlistment of the Twenty-Third having now expired, ar- rangements were made for the homeward trip, and on the 11th of May the battle-searred regiment left the saered soil of Old Virginia, and on the evening of the 13th came in view of "the welcome spires and green shade trees of Elmira." While en route, near Marysville, Captain Clark, of Company H, was instantly killed while in the act of climbing on the rear car just as the train was passing under a bridge. Upon the arrival of the regiment at Elmira it formed in line in front of the Delavan House, and an address of welcome was delivered by Mayor Spaulding, which was briefly responded to by Colonel Hoffman, after which the regiment marched to its old bar- racks, where a bountiful repast was prepared by the ladies of Elmira. The regiment was mustered out of the service May 13, 1863.
Among the sons of Steuben who were in the Twenty-Third Regiment, and who, received merited promotion, was Lieutenant Colonel Nirom M. Crane, of Hornellsville. After the battle of An- tietam he was detailed as acting inspector general on the staff of the First Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General John F. Reynolds, where he remained until after the battle of Fredericksburg, where he officiated as aide-de-camp to that officer, and was complimented in general orders for gallantry on the battlefield by him. Subsequently Colonel Crane was assigned as assistant provost marshal general, on the staff of General Hooker, Army of the Potomae, where he remained until the expiration of his term of service of two years, when, after only two weeks' respite at home, he returned to his regiment as colonel of the One Hundred and Seventh New York Volunteers; joined the regiment at Leesburg, Virginia, then on the march to Gettysburg. In the battle of Gettys- burg Colonel Crane had command of the regiment in the thiekest of the fight, yet losing but a few men. His corps (the Twentieth) was then sent, under command of General Hooker, to join Sherman at Chattanooga. To follow his career, during Sherman's memorable march to the sea, would be to give an outlined sketch of the vie- tories, privations and marehes of that renowned campaign. During the campaign in South Carolina Colonel Crane was brevetted briga- dier general, with rank from March, 1865, for gallant and meri- torious conduct. General Crane was mustered out of service in June, 1865, and immediately returned to his home in Hornellsville.
BATTERY E, FIRST NEW YORK ARTILLERY.
Among the organizations that went from Steuben county near the beginning of the Rebellion was Battery E, First New York Ar- tillery, organized at Bath during the summer of 1861. The orig- inal officers of this battery were: Captain, John Stocum; first lieu-
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tenants, Charles C. Wheeler and William Rumsey ; second lieutenant, Robert H. Gansevoort. Captain Stocum resigned soon after the battery reached Washington, but soon re-entered the service in an in- fantry regiment and did excellent service. Lieutenant Wheeler was promoted to captain, and E. H. Underhill to second lieutenant. Under Captain Wheeler the battery served on the Peninsula, and through the battle of Antietam. The first gun fired on the Penin- sula as the Army of the Potomae advaneed to Yorktown was manned by this battery. The battery had inseribed on its guidons the names of the following battles, in which it won distinction: Yorktown, Lee's Mills, Williamsburg, Mechanicsville, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Tolopotomy, Bethesda Church and Petersburg. It was mustered out of service June 16, 1865. Lieutenant Rumsey did not serve with the battery, being ad- jutant of the regiment, and as such served at its headquarters in the field. At the battle of Fair Oaks he was severely wounded, and at the same engagement Colonel G. D. Bailey was killed, as was Major D. H. Van Valkenburgh, who was a native of Steuben county. Lieu- tenant Rumsey was detached from the regiment in December, 1862, and ordered for duty with General W. W. Averill, who was also a native of Steuben county. He served with General Averill as his adjutant general in the Army of the Potomac, and in West Vir- ginia, throughout the numerous engagements and raids in which that gallant officer was engaged. Lieutenant Rumsey was promoted to major and assistant adjutant by President Lincoln for gallant serv- ice at the engagement of Mooresfield, in which General Averill, with thirteen hundred men, surprised and routed General MeCauslin, with three thousand five hundred men. In this engagement Averill killed, wounded and captured more of the enemy than there were men in his own command. Major Rumsey was promoted by Presi- dent Johnson to be brevet lieutenant colonel for "distinguished serv- ices during the campaign of May, June and July, 1864," and was afterwards promoted to brevet colonel by Governor Fenton. Lieu- tenant Underhill was with the battery during all of its service. He was noted for reckless daring to an extent remarkable, even among daring soldiers. When the battery was mustered out of service he commanded it as captain. Captain Wheeler was not a native of Steuben county, but was living in the county when the war broke ont and entered the service with this battery. He was an excellent soldier, and under his command the battery won great distinction.
THIRTY-FOURTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
Companies I and E, of this regiment, were recruited from Sten- ben county. Company I was raised at Urbana and Pulteney, and organized at Hammondsport. It was officered as follows: Captain, William H. King; first lieutenant, Alfred T. Atwood; second lien- tenant, Monroe Brundage ; sergeants, Henry C. Lyon, John Finne- gan, Lemuel C. Benham, Oren Emmitt and Eugene B. Larrowe ; cor- porals, James C. Harrington, Llewellyn McCabe, George W. Will- iams and A. C. Brundage. Company E was raised at Addison and immediate vicinity. It was officered as follows: Henry Baldwin, captain : James B. Carr, first lieutenant; Edwin F. Smith and Henry W. Sanford, second lieutenants. The regiment was organized at
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Albany to serve two years. It was mustered into the service of the United States on June 15, 1861, and mustered out at the expiration of its term of service, June 30, 1863. It was engaged in the battles of Fair Oaks, Glendale, Antietam and Fredericksburg. Edwin F. Smith was promoted first lieutenant of Company E, December 23, 1861. Henry W. Sanford was promoted to first lieutenant of Com- pany E, April 12, 1862. George W. Wildrich, of Woodhull, was pro- moted to second lieutenant December 23, 1861; resigned April 10, 1862: Captain William H. King, Company I, was brevetted lieu- tenant colonel, United States Volunteers. At the battle of Fair Oaks, May 31, 1862, Lieutenant Brundage, of Bath, acted as first lieutenant. Captain King was wounded in this battle, after which Lieutenant Brundage acted as captain of the company, until he was disabled at the battle of Antietam. Among the wounded at the battle of Fair Oaks were: Azariah C. Brundage, Solomon Clark and Jesse Jacobus, the last two fatally. Herbert W. Kellog was killed on the field. During the seven days' retreat in June, from Richmond to Harrison's Landing, Captain Brundage, with his com- pany, was almost constantly engaged, participating actively in the battles of Peach Orchard, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp and Malvern Hill. From this time up till the battle of Antietam, the Thirty-Fourth Regiment was engaged in the neighborhood of Wash- ington.
The battle of Antietam was fought on the 17th of September, 1862, and it was in this engagement that the Thirty-fourth suf- fered most severely. Captain Brundage, with his company, made three distinct charges and was thrice repulsed. While rallying his command for the fourth charge, he was struck by a ball in the right arm, near the shoulder, but disabled as he was, he remained in com- mand of the company until after the battle. On the following day his right arm was amputated near the shoulder, and he returned to his home as soon as he was able, which was about October 1st. On the 26th of January, 1863, having in the meantime received his commission as captain, he resumed command of his company, which he retained until March 16th, when he was compelled to leave the service on account of his health. Captain Brundage had been sub- jected to severe attacks of inflammatory rheumatism, caused 'by ex- posure in the army, which resulted in his death at Bath, on May 26, 1875.
EIGHTY-SIXTH NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS (STEUBEN RANGERS).
The Eighty-Sixth New York Volunteers (Steuben Rangers). was organized in the summer and fall of 1861, at Elmira, New York, by Colonel B. P. Bailey, and was composed of eight com- panies from Steuben county, one from Chemung and one from Onon- daga. The following is the roster of the field, line and staff, on the departure from Elmira: Field and staff-Colonel, Benajah P. Bailey, of Corning ; lieutenant colonel, Barna J. Chapin, of Dans- ville; major, Seymour G. Rincvault, of Woodhull; adjutant, Charles W. Gillett, of Addison; regimental quartermaster, Byron Spence, Starkey ; surgeon, John S. Jamison, Hornellsville ; assistant surgeon, Farand Wylic, of Bath ; chaplain, Jonathan Watts, of Corning ; ser- geant major, Henry W. Fuller, of Corning; regimental quartermas- ter sergeant, Samuel Leavitt, of Elmira; regimental commissary ser-
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geant, George P. Baker, of Corning; hospital steward, William Sayer. The regimental band was composed of the following mem- bers: Horatio K. Anderson (leader), John J. Bowen, Reuben E. Stetson, George E. Gray, Mortimor W. Rose, Isaac L. Kress, Walter W. Slingerland, John M. Tenny, James A. Wilkie, George Bridgden, William G. Wright, Estes T. Sturtevant, George J. Benjaimen and Rankin B. Rose.
The companies of the regiment were officered as follows: Com- pany A of Syracuse-Captain, Benjamin L. Higgins; first lieutenant, William H. Gault ; second lieutenant, Prentice Holmes. Besides the officers Company A was composed of eighty-three non-commissioned officers and privates. Company B, of Addison-Captain, William B. Angle; first lieutenant, Charles W. Gillett (promoted adjutant by order of Colonel Bailey) ; second lieutenant, Hiram J. Blanchard, and ninety-five non-commissioned officers and privates. Company C, of Corning-Captain, Jacob H. Lansing ; first lieutenant, Leonard Scott ; second lieutenant, Joseph H. Tull, of Pennsylvania, and nine- ty-two non-commissioned officers and privates. Company D, Hor- nellsville-Captain, Daniel S. Ellsworth ; first lieutenant, Arthur S. Baker; second lieutenant, Lemi H. Crary, and eighty-nine non-com- missioned officers and privates. Company E, Elmira-Captain, Thomas F. Shoemaker ; first lieutenant, John G. Coply; second lieu- tenant, George A. Packer, and ninety-five non-commissioned officers and privates. Company F, of Lindlay-Captain, Henry G. Har- rower; first lieutenant, Samuel Maurice Morgan; second lieutenant, Michael B. Stafford, of Albany, and ninety-one non-commissioned officers and privates. Company G, of Canisteo-Captain, James Bennett ; first lieutenant, Nathan S. Baker; second lieutenant, John Fulton, all of Canisteo, and eighty-four non-commissioned officers and privates. Company H, recruited from Steuben county at large- Captain, William Tenbroeck; first lieutenant, William G. Raymond; second lieutenant, James Carpenter, Jr., and ninety-five non-commis- sioned officers and privates. Company I, of Coopers Plains-Cap- tain, Amos W. Sherwood; first lieutenant, Jackson A. Woodward; second lieutenant, Foster P. Wood, and eighty non-commissioned officers and privates. Company K, of Woodhull-Captain, .Seymour G. Rhinevault, promoted to major, November 22, 1861; first lieu- tenant, Charles H. Wombaugh, promoted to captain, November 22, 1861; second lieutenant, John N. Warner, and ninety-six non-com- missioned officers and privates.
With a number of new recruits, the Eighty-Sixth Regiment left Elmira about the first of December, 1861, going by the way of Williamsport and Baltimore, and arriving at the latter place late in the afternoon. Marching through the city from depot to depot in company front, with guns loaded and bayonets fixed, they reached Washington carly the next morning. They camped first on Kendall Green, then moved to Bladensburg, where they remained for abont a week, then crossed the eastern branch of the Potomac, and pitched camp on Good Hope Hill, Maryland. The regiment remained at this place most of the time until March, 1862. Once during that time the regiment received orders to join the Army of the Potomac, at Camp Griffin, Virginia, where it remained about two weeks. About the first of March, 1862, the regiment was broken up into detachments, and did guard duty in and around Washington; Cap-
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tain Higgins, with two companies, at Old Capitol prison; Captain Lansing, with three companies, at Georgetown; Captain Wombaugh, with one company, at the Central Guard House; Captain Bennett, with one company, at the Long Bridge, and Lieutenant Stafford, with a detachment, at the Seventh street wharf. The field officers did duty as officers of the day for the district. During this time there was a change in the line and staff of the regiment. Quarter- master Spence resigned, and D. F. Brown, who had been commis- sioned by Governor Morgan as first lieutenant in the Eighty-Sixth Regiment, August 10, 1862, was appointed quartermaster. Lieu- tenant Morgan, of Company F, was detached from his company, and placed on the staff of General Robinson. Lieutenants John G. Ceply and Arthur S. Baker were detailed for duty in the provost marshal's office, at Washington, by order of Colonel Dostel, prevost marshal for the District of Columbia. Captain Bennett, of Company G, died while on duty here. The regimental band was also mustered out of service here by orders from headquarters of the army. The regiment remained in Washington until August 23rd, when it joined the Army of the Potomac under General Pepe. It reached Alex- andria the same day, moved to Cloud's Mills, and was placed in the brigade of Brigadier General A. Saunders Piatt (General Sturges commanding the division), and from that time moved with the army of General Pope, arriving on the battlefield of Bull Run on the aft- ernoen of the 29th, where it was immediately formed for a charge by General McDowell in person. Led by Colonel Bailey, the regi- ment made a gallant charge, losing many men and one officer. Lieu- tenant Joseph H. Tull, of Company C, was badly wounded, and re- mained on the field six days, when he was brought to Washington and was under medical treatment for over eight months. He was finally discharged from the service. This was the regiment's first experience in battle, and it gave them a name for a fighting regi- ment which they nobly sustained during the war. After the battle the Eighty-sixth fell back to Centreville, and took part in all the skirmishes that took place on the retreat. It was in reserve on the march, and during the battle of Antietam, under General McClel- lan. It moved with the army after the retreating enemy until they reached Manassas Junction, when, by orders of General Mcclellan, Piatt's brigade, consisting of the Eighty-sixth and One Hundred and Twenty-fourth, New York Volunteers, and the One Hundred and Twenty-second, Pennsylvania Volunteers, were sent up through Manassas Gap to support the cavalry under General W. W. Averill. They met the enemy and drove them through Fort Roval, joining the army after an absence of two days and finding that General Mc- Clellan had been relieved by General Burnside. The regiment par- ticipated in the battle of Fredericksburg and then moved to Fal- mouth, on the opposite side of the river, going into winter quarters. Nothing transpired while here, with the exception of the "Burnside mud march," until General Hooker's move on Chancellorsville. The regiment had been connected with the old Third Army Corps since the battle of Bull Run, and had been most of the time commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Chapin, Colonel Bailey being disqualified for duty on account of age and the exposure incident to the Bull Run campaign. About this time Major Rhinevault resigned, and Cap- tain Higgins, of Company \, was commissioned major. The brigade
Vol. 1-25
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consisted of the Eighty-sixth and One Hundred and Twenty-fourth New York and the One Hundred and Twenty-second Pennsylvania, under General A. S. Piatt. The division was commanded by Gen- eral Whipple and the corps by General Sickles. Marching orders were received by the regiment on April 28, 1863, and the command broke their winter camp and moved in an easterly direction until midnight, when they bivouacked near Belle Plaine on the Rappa- hannock, the men in heavy marching order, with eighty rounds of ammunition. April 30th the regiment countermarched past their old quarters and reached the United States Ford on the morning of May 1st, crossing the pontoons laid there for that purpose. After crossing they soon encountered the enemy.
THIRD CORPS AT CHANCELLORSVILLE.
Those acquainted with the history of the battle of Chancellors- ville know that the Third Corps did most of the fighting. The Eighty-sixth came in for their full share, as the list of casualties will show. On Saturday afternoon, when the Eleventh Corps broke, the Third Corps went to their assistance and stayed the rout. Sun- day was a day which will ever be remembered by those who survive and were with the regiment. At first placed in support of batteries, a short time after the whole division made a charge to the right of the Chancellor House, the Eighty-sixth on the left of the line next the plank road-and such a charge !- the Eighty-sixth losing fully one-third of their men, most of whom were left on the field when the regiment retired. The loss of officers was very large. Lieu- tenant Colonel Chapin was killed and carried from the field; Major Higgins was badly wounded; Acting Adjutant Stafford was wounded in the hip; Captain Angle, of Company B, and Captain Ellsworth, of Company D, were killed. The last two-named officers were car- ried into the Chancellor House and are supposed to have been burned with the building. Lientenant Woodward, of Company I, was fatal- ly wounded, and several others slightly. After the charge the regi- ment was set to work building rifle-pits for their own protection, Captain Lansing in command, as senior officer. On Monday General Whipple, division commander, was fatally wounded. On Tuesday the regiment recrossed the river, were soon at their old quarters at Falmouth, and remained there until June 6, 1863, when an order was received for the Eighty-sixth and the One Hundred and Twenty- fourth to accompany a large body of cavalry on a secret expedition. They started that day in a heavy rain, in light marching order, with five days' rations, Major Lansing in command, he having been pro- moted since the battle of Chancellorsville. The regiment arrived at Beverly Ford, on the Rappahannock, on the evening of the 8th, and bivouacked for the night. Early the next morning they waded the river, the water reaching the waists of the men; they were hurried forward and soon struck the enemy in a thick wood, a short distance from the ford. They drove the enemy through and from the wood, the latter charging several times to retake it without success. Late in the day the regiment advanced within eight miles of Brandy Sta- tion, and then retired to the position they occupied in the morning. This was mostly a cavalry fight, the infantry acting as a support. The Eighty-sixth suffered a loss of thirteen killed and wounded. The regiment expected to be ordered back to Falmouth, but instead
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was placed on duty guarding the fords and Rappahannock bridge, until the advance brigade of the Army of the Potomac joined them on the 12th. Whipple's division having ceased to exist, on account of the terrible loss it sustained at the battle of Chancellorsville and the muster out of several regiments, the Eighty-sixth and the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth New York Volunteers, together with Berdan's Sharpshooters, were attached to the brigade of General J. H. Hobart Ward, in Birney's division of the Third Army Corps. At this place Lieutenant Colonel Higgins returned and assumed command of the Eighty-sixth Regiment. On the morning of the 14th the Third Corps started from Bealton Station, hurrying back towards Washington, and bivouacked for the night at Catlett's Sta- tion. They moved the next morning, passing through Bristoe Sta- tion and Manassas Junction. On account of the heat this was a terrible march, and a number of men were sunstruck. The regiment reached the old Bull Run battlefield on the 16th, continued the march on the 17th and camped at Gum Springs on the night of the 19th. The night was so dark that a person could not possibly see an object two feet from him, and the only way to get the different regiments into position was by sound. They moved again on the 23rd, crossed the Potomac on pontoons at Edward's Ferry, reached Emmettsburg on the evening of the 30th, passing Poolesville, Middletown and Frederick City. At this place orders were received informing the command that General Hooker had been relieved, and General George G. Meade, of the Fifth Corps, placed in command of the Army of the Potomac. On July 1st the regiment moved through Emmetts- burg, marching in quick time for Gettysburg. Firing could be heard in that direction, and all felt sure that the battle had com- menced. The Eighty-sixth slept on the field that night, with their guns beside them. The following morning General Ward led his brigade to the position assigned it. The Eighty-sixth numbered about three hundred rank and file, and was placed on the right of the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth, near Little Round Top, in a piece of wood, with the Twentieth Indiana on its right. Early in the forenoon the enemy's artillery opened a furious cannonade upon our lines, and about three o'clock the infantry advanced to the at- tack. General Longstreet's corps was hurled against the old Third Corps in four lines, while the Third had but one. Ward's brigade stood firm and drove the enemy back, one line after the other. Al- most the first man wounded in the Eighty-sixth was Colonel Hig- gins, and he was sent from the field, leaving Major Lansing again in command. The loss of the regiment in this battle was terrible. Captain John Warner, of Company K, fell, and several other offi- cers were wounded and taken prisoners. Among the latter was Lieutenant Seeley, of Company K, acting adjutant. It was almost dark when the lines to the right and left gave way, and orders were received for the Eighty-sixth to retire. They did so in line of bat- tle and were complimented by General Ward, in presence of the whole division, for their gallant conduct on that occasion. General Sickles having been wounded, General Birney took command of the corps, General Ward of the division and Colonel Berdan of the brigade. On the next morning the Eighty-sixth was placed farther to the right in the lines and near where General Pickett made his charge that day, but was not called on to do any work. On the
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