USA > New York > Columbia County > History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 39
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148
HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
At the battle of Cedar Creek, where Sheridan won such imperishable renown, Maj. Wilkinson, then captain and judge-advocate on Gen. Emory's staff, was wounded by a shot through the lungs while attempting to save the guns of a battery from capture.
At Fisher's Hill, the regiment, being deployed as skir- mishers, drove the enemy from a hill in front of the position with such impetuous gallantry as to win the applause of all their comrades who witnessed it, and elicit compliments from Gens. Sheridan, Emory, and Grover.
In the month of August, Sheridan requested Gen. Emory to detail one of his best regiments for headquarter guard. The latter directed Gen. Grover, commanding the 2d Division, to comply with the order, and he designated the 128th by name from the twenty-two regiments of his division for that purpose. It was kept on this duty until the army retired to Harper's Ferry.
At the close of Sheridan's valley campaign, the 128th was one of the regiments chosen to garrison Winchester, where it remained until the 6th of January, 1865, when the whole division was ordered to Baltimore, and thence to Savannah by transports.
On the 5th of March two brigades, including the 128th, left Savannah for Newbern, N. C., to assist in opening a base of supplies for Sherman's army. Immediately on ar- riving there the 128th was detailed by Gen. Schofield, com- manding the department of North Carolina, to repair the road connecting Newbern with Kinston. This labor occu- pied about three weeks, during which the men became familiar with the use of the axe and spade as well as the musket.
The regiment returned to Savannah on the 4th of May, and soon after marched to Augusta, where it was engaged in garrison and provost duty, when the order came to re- turn to Savannah, and there it was formally mustered out of service, dating from the 12th of July.
On the 16th it embarked on board the steamer " Charles Thomas" for New York, reaching there on the morning of the 20th. In the afternoon of the same day the men were transferred to the steamer " Commodore" without leaving the pier. They reached Albany carly on the fol- lowing morning, and went into barracks on the Troy road, whence, after receiving pay for their weary service, they dispersed to their homes, and resumed the vocations of peaceful life.
The 128th returned with four hundred of the nine hun- dred and sixty men, and one hundred and seventy-three added by recruits. The officers at mustering out were as follows :
Field and Staff .- Capt. Thomas N. Davis in command. Surg., J. M. Crawe; Assist. Surg., W. H. B. Post ; Adj., A. B. Hart ; Q .- M., S. H. Masc.
Line Officers .- Co. A, Licut. T. W. Krafft; Co. B, Capt. J. S. Pierce, Lieut. R. A. White; Co. C, 1st Lieut. J. II. Ilager, 2d Licut. J. H. Asher; Co. D, Lieut. J. Armstrong; Co. E, Capt. G. T. White; Co. F, Capt. C. R. Anderson, Licut. C. Van Tine; Co. G, Capt. II. E. Mitchell, Lieut. G. Murell ; Co. IT, Capt. Il. H. Sineerbox, Lieut. C. S. Keyes, Lieut. B. T. Benson ; Co. I, Lieut. J. Schouten; Co. K, Lieut. B. Speed.
The tattered battle-flag of the regiment bears the names of the following fields :
PONTOCHOULA, PORT HUDSON, MAY 27 AND JUNE 14, 1863, CANE RIVER, ALEXANDRIA, MANSURA, ATCHAFALAYA, HALLTOWN, BERRYVILLE, WINCHESTER, FISHER'S HILL, CEDAR CREEK.
91ST REGIMENT NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
Soon after the war commenced, the Hon. David S. Cowles (afterwards colonel of the 128th Regiment) resolved to give up for his country his lucrative practice at the bar and go to the front, and, after consultation with his friends, de- cided, if possible, to raise a regiment from Columbia county, to be known as the Columbia County Regiment ; and in the month of July, 1861, with his friend, James Mulford, be- gan the work. He commenced recruiting in various parts of the county under the following captains : Charles A. Burt, at Kinderhook ; John B. Collins, at Hillsdale ; Jobn I. Langdon, at Copake; and William H. Atwood, at Hud- son. As at this time the first burst of patriotism was dying out except in the breasts of those who were too old to be accepted, or were unable to go to war for other causes, and bounties had not been offered, recruiting was very slow, and it was not until September that any of the companies were filled to the number of men required to be mustered in as a company, thirty-two enlisted men being required. On the 27th day of September, Capt. Atwood took his com- pany to Albany, and they were mustered into service at the barracks. On the next day Capt. Collins' company was mustered in ; and Sept. 30, Capt. Langdon's company. On this day (30th), Col. Cowles, finding it impossible to raise a full regiment in Columbia county, arranged with Capt. Allan H. Jackson, of Schenectady, who was having his company mustered in, to join his regiment, and also ar- ranged with Capt. Aaron J. Oliver to recruit a company in Albany and vicinity. October 15, Capt. Burt's company was mustered in, and soon after Capts. Oliver and Henry S. Hulbert with their companies went into barracks. Only seven companies out of ten were obtained, and none of them were full. At this time there was a part of a regiment in the same barracks, called the Albany County Regiment, being raised by Col. Fredendall, of Albany, and the most strenuous efforts were put forth by the officers of each of these regi- ments to fill up the companies and regiments, that they might keep their distinctive organizations and field-officers, but they were unable so to do; and an order coming from Washington to consolidate parts of regiments and send them forward as soon as possible, these two were consolidated and given their number as the 91st Regiment New York Vol- unteers. On the consolidation a great strife commenced as to the coloneley between Jacob Van Zandt, then nominal lieutenant-colonel of the Albany Regiment, and Col. Cowles, of the Columbia County Regiment, which resulted in the appointment of the former. In the consolidation the most of the men from Columbia county were placed in Compa- nies E, II, and I, and some were assigned to Company K. The consolidation was effected about Dec. 16, 1861, and the field-officers placed in command were : Col., Jacob Van
149
HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Zandt ; Lieut .- Col., Jonathan Tarbell; Maj., Charles G. Clark.
The regiment, about nine hundred strong, having received a beautiful regimental eolor, the gift of Mrs. Harcourt, a patriotie lady of Albany, left camp at that eity Dee. 20, 1861, and proeecded to Governor's island, New York har- bor, where it was mustered into the United States service by Capt. Updegraff, U. S. A., Dec. 30. Ou Jan. 9, 1862, it embarked on the steamer " Ericsson," which set sail the following day for Key West, Fla., and arrived there ten days later. Here the regiment was armed with Enfield rifles, and remained in drill and routine duty until May 20, when it embarked for Pensacola, and reached there on the 24th. Its first engagement with the enemy was at Gon- zales' Plantation, Fla., Oct. 27, 1862, on which oeeasion the conduet of mien and officers was excellent. On the 27th of December the regiment left Pensaeola by steamer, and on Jan. 1, 1863, arrived at Baton Rouge, La.
At the opening of the campaign against Port Hudson, the 91st was assigned to a post of danger in engaging the enemy to draw his attention while the fleet passed the bat- teries ; and this service was well and bravely performed. Then the command returned to Baton Rouge, remaining there from the 19th to the 27th of March, at which time it embarked on steamier, and on the 28th arrived at Don- aldsonville, and thenee took up its line of march for Thibo- deaux, arriving April 2; left by rail for Bayou Bœuf, re- maining there several days. On the 12th it embarked for Irish Bend (near Franklin), and was hotly engaged on that bloody field in the battle of April 14. On the next day it was again engaged with the foe at Vermilion Bayou, after having made a weary mareh of thirty-six miles through dust, fatigue, and almost intolerable thirst. The enemy retreated, and the 91st, with other troops, pursued. On the 21st it arrived at Opelousas.
For about a month the regiment was almost constantly on the move in marchings, skirmishings, and expeditions for the seizure of cotton, until, on the 24th of May, it took its position before the enemy's works at Port Hudson, where it participated in the attaeks made on the 25th and 27th of May, as also in the furious and disastrous assault of June 14. From this time the regiment was on constant duty in the trenches until the capitulation of the enemy, July 8, 1863, and on the day following marched into the captured town. It sailed on the 11th for Donaldsonville, and there engaged the enemy in force on the 12th. On the 29th of July the 91st left Donaldsonville for New Orleans, where it was paid off, a six months' arrearage, and laid in comparative quiet for nearly a month ; then, on August 29, it sailed for Brashear City, which point was reached Sept. 2.
At Brashear most of the regiment re-enlisted as heavy artillery, and it was recruited to fill the ranks. In January, 1864, it was removed to Fort Jackson, on the Mississippi river, and there remained on garrison duty till July 21, 1864, when the portion who had re-enlisted received leave to return home on furlough. They returned by way of the river to Cairo, thence by railroad to Albany, N. Y. At the expiration of thirty days these men re-assembled at Albany, and proceeded in a body to Baltimore, where they were assigned to duty in the 8th Army Corps. This was about
Aug. 25, 1864. They remained on garrison duty in Bal- timore for about one month, and were then relieved and ordered to join the 2d (Ironsides ) Brigade, 3d Division, of the 5th Corps, commanded by Gen. Warren, and then on duty in front of Petersburg. They went through all the remainder of that bloody campaign down to Five Forks and Appomattox, and remained on duty in that neighbor- hood, after the surrender of the rebel army, for about three weeks, at the end of which time they marched aeross the country (a mareh of nine days) to Arlington Heights, opposite Washington, where they were disarmed, and were then transported by rail to New York, thenee by steamer " John Brooks" to Albany, and there mustered out of the serviee; a large number of the men having been in the field (excepting their thirty days' furlough ) from the first year of the war until its elose.
159TH REGIMENT NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
This regiment was composed of men from Columbia and Kings counties, and was formed by the consolidation of the 167th with the skeleton organization of the 159th. The companies were recruited during the months of August, September, and October, 1862, and on the 1st of Novem- ber in that year the regiment was mustered into the United States service,* at the Park barraeks, New York eity, by Lieut. R. B. Smith, of the 11th Regular Infantry. It was then ordered under eanvas at " Camp Nelson," New Dorp, Staten Island, whence, on the 28th of the same month, it moved to New York, where it was embarked on the United States transport " Northern Light," which, on the 4th of December, proceeded to sea under sealed orders. Her des- tination proved to be Ship island, in the Gulf of Mexico, and the regiment found itself assigned to duty with the Louisiana expedition under Gen. Banks.
Without disembarking at Ship island the command pro- eeeded up the Mississippi river, arrived at New Orleans on the 15th of December, and was at onee attached to the expedition about to move against Baton Rouge, under Gen. Cuvier Grover. It arrived at its destination on the 17th, and disembarked under the fire of the Union gunboats, but the enemy had already evacuated the town.
On the 1st of January, 1863, it was assigned to the 3d Brigade of Grover's Division, commanded by Col. H. E. Payne (afterwards by Col. H. W. Birge), and saw active service immediately, being placed on duty at the United States arsenal. On the first demonstration against Port Hudson, March 14, it was sent, with a detachment of the 26th Maine and two picees of artillery, " to open, keep open, and hold the Clinton road, leading from Baton Rouge past the rear of Port Hudson, Clinton, and the rebel ' Camp Moore.'" The whole foree was under command of Col. Molineaux, of the 159th.
# The field-officers of the regiment were Col. E. L. Molineux, Lt .- Col. Gilbert A. Draper, Maj. Charles A. Burt. The Columbia county companies and their captains were as follows : Co. A, Capt. E. L. Gaul, afterwards promoted to major; Co. C, Capt. A. W. Gamwell (afterwards Capt. Charles Lewis) : Co. E, Capt. Wm. E. Waltermirc ; Co. G, Capt. - Sluyter. Co. I was partly from this couuty. The first adjutaut of the regiment was Lieut. Rohert D. Lathrop, of Stockport.
150
HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
The duty was performed to the satisfaction of the com- manding general, and, on the 28th of March, the regiment embarked on the transport " Laurel Hill," and with the remainder of the division proceeded up Grand lake to Indian Bend. It was the second regiment to effect a land- ing, which it did under a severe fire of canister and mus- ketry. It was pushed across the Teche to Irish Bend, posted on a picket line almost within speaking distance of the enemy, and participated in the general engagement of the following day. In this battle (Irish Bend) the colonel was severely wounded, the lieutenant-colonel, adjutant, and two lieutenants killed, and two other lieutenants mortally wounded. The regiment lost one hundred and ten killed, wounded, and missing.
On the 15th of April the regiment took its march up the Teche, reaching Vermilion Bayou on the 17th. On the 19th it was detailed to gather all stock and negroes on the prairies and plantations and drive them back to Ber- wick City, and on the way thither to destroy the enemy's works at Camp Bisland and Franklin. On the 29th it ar- rived at Berwiek with eight thousand head of cattle, horses, and mules, and five hundred negroes. On the 30th the regiment rejoined the division, and marched, by way of Ope- lousas and Barre's Landing, to the vicinity of Alexandria, where it arrived May 12, halted two days for rest, and on the 14th resumed mareh for Simmsport, arriving May 17; the marches up to that time amounting to eight hundred miles. May 21 the command passed up the Atchafalaya by transport, landing at Bayou Sara, and marching thence to Port Hudson, where it arrived May 25. On the 27th the 159th, under command of Lieut .- Col. Burt, and sup- ported by the 25th Connecticut Infantry, attacked a portion of the enemy's works, which, however, proved far stronger than was anticipated, and too strong for capture. The regi- ment's loss in this attack was forty-seven. Then came nearly three weeks of severe duty in the trenehes, and on the 14th of June the regiment participated in the furious assault on the works of the enemy, but retired at night unsuccessful, with a loss of twenty-eight.
On the 11th of July, after the surrender, the 159th, with other troops, marched through the captured works, pro- ceeded by transport to Donaldsonville, and took part in the engagement of July 13. In the official reports of General Cuvier Grover and acting Brigadier-General Birge, of the 2d Brigade, this regiment received most honorable mention for good conduct and gallantry in the engagement of Irish Bend, April 14, and Port Hudson, May 27 and June 14, 1863. From Donaldsonville the regiment went to Thibo- deaux, where it remained until the inauguration of the movement up Red river, when it proceeded to New Or- leans, and, erossing to Algiers, took steamboat for Alexan- dria. At Alexandria the regiment (then in command of Col. William E. Waltermire) remained with the rest of the brigade (Molineux's), holding the fortifications and guard- ing the flank of the operating army. At the end of about ten days they left for Morganza, where they remained some four weeks in eamp, and at the end of that time left by boat for New Orleans, at which point they took steamer and pro- ceeded by sea to the James river, landing at City Point, from whence they marched to the front of Petersburg, but
returned in a few days to City Point, and there re-shipped for Washington. From that city they proceeded to Tenally- town, Md., and there remained about a week, when, upon orders to join Sheridan's army in the valley of Virginia, they marched by way of Rockville, Edwards' Ferry, the Luray valley, and Suieker's Gap (being a part of General Emory's Corps), and after a weary march reached the main army.
They participated in the affair at Halltown, the battle of Winchester (in which they lost very heavily), Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek (Oct. 19, 1864). At the elose of the valley campaign they marched to Baltimore, and there shipped for Savannah, Ga., but at the end of about one month were transported by sea to Morehead City, N. C., to assist in the forwarding of supplies to the army of General Sherman. After the surrender of the rebel army under Johnston, the 159th returned to Savannah, and were or- dered thence to Augusta, Ga., where they remained a few weeks, and proceeded by rail to Madison, Ga. At this point they remained until November, 1865, on provost duty, in the performance of which service their operations extended over five counties. In November, 1865, they were ordered to Savannah, and thence to New York, and were mustered out at Hart's island, having seen active service through nearly half of the rebel confederacy, from the Po- tomae river to the borders of Texas.
The principal battle-fields of the 159th were Irish Bend, Port Hudson, Halltown, Va., Fisher's Hill, Winchester, and Cedar Creek.
14TH REGIMENT NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
This regiment, which contained one company (K) of men from Columbia county, was mustered into the United States service for two years, at Albany, May 27, 1861.
Under command of Col. James McQuade, the 14th left Albany on the 30th of that month, bound for Washington, where it arrived in due time, and eamped at Camp Cam- eron, near Columbia College. On the 21st of July it crossed the Potomac by the Aqueduct bridge, encamped on the Virginia side, and remained in that viemnity, en- gaged in provost and picket duty, until March 10, when it moved to Fairfax Court-House. After five days' stop there the 14th moved to Alexandria, and there embarked for Fortress Monroe, arriving on the 23d of March, and camping beyond Hampton, on the road to Newport News.
On the 4th of April, 1862, the men of the 14th struck tents and, as a part of the great army of MeClellan, com- menced the memorable mareh up the Peninsula towards Richmond, halting in front of Yorktown for four weeks with the rest of the army. On the evacuation of that stronghold (as it was then supposed to be) by the enemy, on the 4th of May, they entered the works, and on the 8th proceeded up York river, on board the steamer " C. Van- derbilt," to West Point, Va., where they disembarked, and after a few days' stay marched by way of White House to Gaines' Mills, which they reached on the 26th, in time to form a part of the detachment which marched in the early morning of the 27th to Hanover Court-House, where they were engaged in the sharp engagement known by that name, which was brought about as a diversion to favor McDowell's advance from the vicinity of Fredericksburg.
151
HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
After that fight they returned to their camp near Gaines' Mills, and remained on ordinary duty until June 26, when they participated slightly in the battle of Mechanics- ville, which was the first of that series of bloody and dis- astrous engagements known as the "Seven Days' Fight."
On the morning of the 27th they marched back to camp, packed knapsacks, and fell back on Cold Harbor, where, about noon, they were suddenly and heavily attacked, and from that time until dark, through the seemingly intermina- ble hours of that bloody battle of Gaines' Mills, they sus- tained repeated assaults, and were constantly engaged in the thickest of the fight. About midnight they crossed the Chickahominy, and on the following evening were at Savage Station. From thence they pursued their line of retreat towards Malvern Hill, where they arrived on the last day of June. In the fierce battle which was fought on the following day they were hotly engaged, occupying a position on the extreme left. About midnight they were ordered to leave the field (which they had supposed to be the field of victory) and pursue their march to the river, which they reached, at Harrison's Landing, in the midst of a drenching rain, at about noon on the 2d of July.
Their stay of about six weeks near Harrison's Landing was unmarked by more than the ordinary events of camp life, and, at daylight on the 15th of August, they marched down the Peninsula, arriving at Newport News on the 19th, and, embarking on steamer "John A. Warner," were trans- ported to Acquia Creek, whence they marched by way of Fredericksburg, Ellis' Ford, and other points, to Miner's Hill, which they reached on the 3d of September.
On the 12th of September they crossed the Potomac, reached Rockville on the 15th, Frederick City, Md., on the 17th, and Boonesborough on the 18th of September. Here they were detailed to escort prisoners taken at Antietam, back to Frederick. Returning from thence, they reached Sharpsburg on the 21st. On the 3d of October they were reviewed by President Lincoln. On the 31st of October they recrossed the Potomac into Virginia, and thence they marched to Warrenton. Here they made a considerable stop, and then marched to Falmouth, from which they pro- ceeded to Fredericksburg, and there participated in the tremendous battle of the 13th of December. After that fight they experienced the discomforts of the " mud march" made by Burnside's army, and took their share in all the heavy and incessant fatigue duty necessary to place the army again in a condition to meet the enemy.
The 14th took active part in the battle of Chancel- lorsville. On the 6th of May, after the fight had closed in disaster, they recrossed the Rappahannock, and returned to their former camp at Falmouth, where they made a few days' stay, and on the 12th they broke camp and turned their faces northward, as their term of service had almost expired. At Acquia creek they took stcamer for Wash- ington, and moved thence by railroad to New York, which city they reached on the 14th of May. At daylight on the 15th they reached Hudson, where they were enthusiastic- ally received, and complimented by a dinner at the city hall. On the same night they reached Albany, supped at the Delavan House, and camped at the barracks. On the 20th the regiment went by rail to Utica, where, on the 21st,
they turned in their arms and accoutrements, and were mus- tered out of service on the 25th of May, 1863, having served two days less than the term of enlistment.
ACTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IN THE WAR OF 1861-1865.
During the year 1862 a volunteer bounty was offered to encourage enlistments, under which $58,221.24 were paid. At the annual meeting of 1863, the board offered a bounty of $300 to volunteers for three years who were accredited to the quota of the county, and a loan was effected for the purpose of paying the same, the resolution providing for the same being carried unanimously by a full board ; Wm. G. Mandeville, Wright H. Barnes, Peter Mesick, super- visors, and Allen Rossman and Caspar P. Collier being a committee for negotiating the bonds of the county and dis- bursing the bounties. An additional bounty of $25 was offered subsequently to volunteers for three years. Under this resolution $245,104 were paid. In Febuary, 1864, the $325 bounty was offered to all volunteers under the call of Feb. 1, 1864, at a special meeting, and a loan of $250,000 authorized, the last $15,000 to fall due March 1, 1878, the bonds to bear six per cent. interest, and to be sold at par. Under this call 878,712 were expended. In March the same bounty was continued to volunteers under the call of March 14, $70,426.26 being paid out under the same. $75,000 were levied in 1864 and 1865 to pay these last bounties. Under the call of July 18, 1864, for $500,000, a bounty of $400 was offered for volunteers for one and two years, and $500 for three years. Hudson raised $30,000 under this call. Under the call of Jan. 1, 1865, a special bounty tax was levied of $98,072.62.
During the war the county furnished seventeen hundred and twenty-nine men, for which bounties were paid by the county at large amounting to $367,577.16, including ex- penses. The towns also paid bounties as follows :
Towns. No. of Men.
Bounties and Expenses.
Received from State.
Substitutes furnished.
Ancram.
155
$70,031.67
$18,800
18
Austerlitz ....
147
35,573.09
15,100
12
Canaan ..
155
65,451.91
22,500
11
Chatham.
270
92,757.09
42,000
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