History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5; prepared in compliance with acts of the legislature, Vol. I, Part 179

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902. cn
Publication date: 1869
Publisher: Harrisburg, B. Singerly, State Printer
Number of Pages: 1360


USA > Pennsylvania > History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5; prepared in compliance with acts of the legislature, Vol. I > Part 179


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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Disch. in company D, batt., by G. O., May 31, '65. Discharged in company M, batt., May 27, 1865. Discharged in company D, batt., June 6, 1865.


3 Transferred to batt., September 9, 1865.


3 Not on muster-out roll.


1 1 Not on muster-out roll. Discharged in company D, batt., June 6, 1865. Disch. in Co. M, batt., by G. O., June 21, 1865. Not on muster-out roll.


3


1


1 Transferred to batt., September 9, 1864.


3 Not on muster-out roll.


1 Discharged in company D, batt., May, 1865.


1 Not on muster-out roll.


Gray, Harrison .. do Gisewhite, Sam'l H .. do Sept. 28, '6-4,


Aug. 23, '64,


Hunsinger, Wm. H .. do Aug. 23, '64, 1


1 Mus. out in Co. B, batt,, by G. O., June 6, 1865. 1 Mustered out in Co. F, batt., June 6, 1865.


1 Discharged in company D, batt., June 6, 1865.


3 Not on muster-out roll.


6, '64, Siley, John. .do


h


1056 FORTY-FOURTHI REGIMENT-FIRST CAVALRY.


NAME.


RANK.


DATE OF MUSTER INTO SERVICE.


TERN-YEARS.


REMARKS.


Sherwood, Levi


Private! Sept. 1, '64,


1


Taggart, Leonard.


.do


Sept.


6, '64,


1


Discharged in company F, batt., June 6, 1865. Discharged in company D, batt., June 6, 1865. Not on muster-out roll.


Thomas, George


do


Mar.


7, '64,


3


Thompson, Rob't


do


Sept. 24, '64,


3


Discharged by General Order, June 28, 1865.


Thomas, Francis


do


Feb.


2, '64,


3


Tr. to batt., Sept. 9, '64-discharged Aug. 7, '65.


Wycoff, Jefferson ... do


Sept.


7, '64,


1


Discharged in company D, batt., June 6, 1865.


Wilson, Elijah.


.. do


Mar. 28, '64,


3 Not on muster-out roll.


White, Charles


do


April 9, '64,


3 Not on muster-out roll.


Welsh, Patrick


do


Dec. 29, '63,


3


Not on muster-out roll.


Warfel, Henry C ... ...


do


Sept. 4, '64,


1


3


3


Transferred to battalion, September 9, 1864.


Yakly, Georgc ..


.do


July 17, '63,


3 | Not on muster-out roll.


Wetmore, Thos. B. do


Mar. 4, '64,


Mus. out in Co. A, batt., by G. O., June 6, 1865. Transferred to company D, batt., Sept. 9, 1864.


Williamson, J. A


do


Feb. 18, '64,


FORTY-FIFTH REGIMENT.


T THE companies composing this organization were recruited in the counties of Centre, Lancaster, Mifflin, Tioga, and Wayne, from July 28th to October 18th, 1861, and were mustered into the service of the United States at Camp Gurtin. An organization was effected on the 21st of October by the selection of the following field and staff officers: Thomas Welsh, of Lancaster county, Colonel; James A. Beaver, of Centre county, Lieutenant Colonel; and J. M. Kilbourne, of Potter county, Major. Theodore Gregg, of company A, was ap- pointed Adjutant, and John M'Clure, Quartermaster. A beautiful flag was presented by Governor Curtin, and was received in an appropriate speech, on behalf of the regiment, by Colonel Welsh. The ceremonies were witnessed by a large number of the citizens of Harrisburg, and by thousands of soldiers in camp.


At twelve M., it marched from Camp Curtin, and was taken by rail to Wash- ington, arriving on the 23d, and encamped a mile and a half from the Capitol, on the Bladensburg road. On the 28th, the army of the Potomac was reviewed by General M'Clellan, the Forty-fifth being in line. It was assigned to Howard's Brigade, of Casey's Division. On the 3d of November it was detailed to pre- serve the peace at an election in Prince Frederick. On the 7th it returned to camp, and was subjected to constant drill.


The regiment took transportation for Baltimore at eleven P. M., of the 19th, marched through the city, and embarked on the steamer Pocahontas for For- tress Monroe. Arriving on the 21st, it moved to Camp Hamilton, three miles from the fort. The camp was well arranged and was occupied by the Seventy- sixth Pennsylvania, which extended to the Forty-fifth a cordial welcome. Here it remained until the 6th of December, during which period it was thoroughly disciplined in company and battalion drill. On the morning of the 6th, the two regiments broke camp, and returning to Fortress Monroe, embarked for Port Royal, South Carolina. At three P. M., the command moved off amid the cheers of those remaining at the fort.


A beautiful scene was presented on the morning of the 7th, as the sun shone brilliantly out over the world of waters, most of the troops having never seen the ocean before. The command arrived in sight of Hilton Head at five P. M., of the 8th, and with some difficulty passed the shoals and breakers in safety. The steamer Louisiana, having on board three companies of the Forty-fifth, and the entire Seventy-sixth, arrived off the harbor at seven P. M., and grounded on Gaskin Bank, near the south channel. Minute guns were immediately fired, as a signal of distress, and a gunboat, which came to her assistance, succeeded in getting her off the bar. Fortunately the wind was not high, nor the sea heavy, or the ship could not have withstood the breakers. Their deliverance was greeted with cheers by their comrades on board the Cosmopolitan.


133


1862


1058


FORTY-FIFTH REGIMENT.


Colonel Welsh reported his command to General T. W. Sherman, and re- Lived orders to occupy the sea islands, which made it necessary to divide the regiment. Accordingly, Lieutenant Colonel Beaver, with companies A, C, D, D and I, landed at Bay Point, and took possession of Fort Walker, relieving the Seventy-ninth New York. He had command of all the fortifications on the island covering the entrance to Port Royal Bay. His staff consisted of Major Kilbourne, Lieutenant George D. Smith, of company I, acting Adjutant, and Lieutenant James P. Gregg, acting Quartermaster. Colonel Welsh, with com- panies B, F, G, H and K, sailed for Otter Island, taking with him five large guns, and arrived at noon of the 11th. On the south point of the island were the ruins of Fort Drayton, which had been blown up by the enemy at the fall of Port Royal, and which Colonel Welsh immediately proceeded to re-build. Fenwick Island was occupied on the 20th by companies F and K, under com- mand of Captain Rambo. Fort Drayton being completed, and the guns mount- ed, it was placed in command of Captain Strahan, of the Fourth Rhode Island Artillery.


On the 12th of March, companies G, H and K, Captains Whitney, Scheffe- lin, and Rambo, all under command of Lieutenant Colonel Beaver, started, in boats, on an expedition to Aiken's plantation, for the purpose of capturing an outpost of the enemy stationed near the banks of the North Edisto River. Leaving the boats in charge of Captain Whitney, with a large detail of men, Captain Scheffelin, with company H, was sent to hold a bridge in the rear of the enemy, and cut off his retreat. The balance of the command, conducted by a negro guide, proceeded to make the attack. The night was dark and foggy. Unfortunately the guide missed the road leading to the building occupied by the rebels, and took the one leading to the bridge, which was guarded by Cap- tain Scheffelin's company. Perceiving a party approaching, and supposing it to be the retreating rebels, the Captain ordered his men to fire, and they poured a destructive volley into the ranks of their supposed enemies. Captain Rambo and Corporal Fessler were killed, and nineteen men wounded. Parties were frequently sent out by Colonel Welsh to visit the neighboring islands, and report any hostile movements of the enemy from the direction of Charleston. On the 4th of April, Captain Theodore Gregg was ordered to proceed, with company F, to Fenwick Island, where he remained watching the movements of the enemy on the adjacent islands until the 20th of May. On the 8th of April a brisk skirmish occurred along the banks of Musqnito Creek, a bayou running from the Asheboo to the North Edisto, and the enemy was driven with a loss of several killed and wounded. On the 20th of May, Captains Gregg, Haines, and Scheffelin, received orders to abandon the islands, and at nine A. M., they pro- ceeded to join the command on Otter Island. Permission had been previously obtained, by Colonel Welsh, to join, with six companies of the Forty-fifth, in the contemplated movement upon Charleston, and for this purpose he had sent orders to Lieutenant Colonel Beaver to send him company A, Captain John I. Curtin ; but some cases of small-pox being discovered among its members, com- pany I, Captain Hill, was sent in its stead.


On the 21st, companies B, F, G, H, I and K moved to North Edisto Island, where the troops which were to participate in the expedition were being secretly landed. Three companies of the command were sent on the 1st of June to John's Island on picket duty, and during the night the entire command of General Benham followed. On the 5th, the regiment marched through a


1059


CAMPAIGN IN SOUTH CAROLINA.


1862


heavy storm of rain to Legrceville, where it remained until the 9th, when it took steamer for James' Island, and landed eight miles from the city of Charles- ton. At this place, on the following day, a rebel force, three thousand strong, was encountered. The command was posted in an old ditch, the embankment of which was thickly overgrown with brush. The enemy advanced through the woods, with open column of companies, without skirmishers. Approach- ing to within a short distance of the line, a well directed fire from the ditch caused the advance, led by the Forty-seventh Georgia, to stagger. Soon re- covering from the confusion into which it was thrown by this fire, its com- mander attempted to change front; but it received a terrific fire from Cap- tain Hamilton's Battery, United States Artillery, and from the Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania, which had come to the rescue, which caused it to retreat in confu- sion towards Charleston. Ninety men, killed and wounded, of the Forty- seventh Georgia, were found upon the field. The loss of the Forty-fifth was one man mortally wounded.


The regiment, under command of Major Kilbourne, participated in the en- gagement* of the 16th of June, but suffered no loss. It was engaged in picket duty, and in constructing field-works, until July 1st, when it returned with the brigade to Hilton Head, and moving on the 11th to Elliott's plantation, five miles distant, went into camp in a beautiful grove, near the shores of Port Royal Bay. Here the four companies, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Beaver, re-joined the regiment after a separation of seven months.


Returning to Hilton Head on the 18th, the regiment embarked on the steamer Arago for Fortress Monroe, where it arrived on the 21st, and encamped three miles from Newport News. Upon the resignation of Major Kilbourne, on the 30th, Captain John I. Curtin, of company A, was commissioned to succeed him. It remained here, engaged in company, battalion, and brigade drill, until the 4th of August, when it was assigned to the First Brigade,t First Division, Ninth Army Corps. It reached Acquia Creek on the 5th, and on the following day nine companies moved to Brooks' Station, on the Richmond and Potomac railroad, and remained until the 29th. The second battle of Bull Run was now in progress. Major Curtin, with three hundred men, marched to Potomac Creek, and burned the railroad bridge. On the 4th of September the bridge and buildings at Brooks' Station were burned, and the troops took cars for Acquia Creek. Here the landing, ware-houses, cars, locomotives, and commis- sary stores were destroyed on the 6th, and the regiment moved by water to Washington. On the 9th, in light marching order, it proceeded to Brookville, from thence to Frederick City on the 12th, and to Middletown on the 13th.


The army of General Lee, flushed with its successes, was now at South Moun- tain. General Burnside made immediate preparations to mect him. Early in


* EXTRACT FROM THE OFFICIAL REPORT OF GENERAL H. G. WRIGHT .- The troops of the entire column left the field in the most perfect order, the Forty-fifth Pennsylvania Regi- ment bringing up and covering the rear, as far as our front line of pickets, where it was halted and remained in position till all prospect of an attack, on the part of the enemy, had passed away .- Moore's Rebellion Record, Vol. 5, page 211, Docs.


t Organization of the First Brigade, Colonel Thomas Welsh, First Division, Brigadier Gen- eral O. B. Wilcox, Ninth Army Corps, Major General A. E. Burnside. Forty-fifth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Major John I. Curtin; Forty-sixth Regiment New York Volunteers, Colonel Joseph Gerhardt; One Hundredth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Lieutenant Colonel David A. Leckey; Thirty-sixth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, Colonel Henry Bowman.


1862


1060


FORTY-FIFTH REGIMENT.


the morning of the 14th, the troops were in motion. The division marched from Middletown down the turnpike, the Forty-fifth in advance, and arriving at the base of the mountain, turned to the left on the old Sharpsburg road. It then moved at double-quick, and took position on the right of Cox's Division, commanding the pike. The Forty-fifth was supported by the One Hundredth Pennsylvania. The Forty-eighth New York was formed on the left and rear, the Eighth Michigan on the left, and the Seventeenth Michigan on the right. Cook's Battery was placed in position near the road, and ordered to open fire upon the rebel batteries. It was vigorously replied to by a fire which enfiladed the road, and soon a column of North Carolina troops advanced to capture the guns. A volley from the enemy's musketry drove the cannoneers from their position, and threw the line into temporary confusion. One company of the Forty-fifth, with the Seventeenth Michigan, and Seventy-ninth New York, rushed forward, drove back the charging column and saved the artillery. For some time the fighting was most desperate, and became general along the line of Wilcox's and Cox's divisions. Generals Rodman and Sturgis promptly came to their support, and a battery of thirty-pounder Parrott guns opened from the crest of a hill, near the pike, with telling effect upon the enemy in Turner's Gap. By a steady forward movement the troops had secured com- manding positions on both sides of the pike, which rendered the expulsion of the enemy certain.


At last the order was given for the entire Ninth Corps to advance in line of battle and drive the rebels from the mountain. Companies A and K were thrown forward as skirmishers on the right of the regiment. The line advanced under a destructive fire of musketry and artillery, and gradually pressed the enemy down the western slope. The Forty-fifth was suffering severely from the fire of the rebels posted behind a rail fence near the edge of a wood. Supported by the One Hundredth, it moved forward, and drove them from the fence across an open field, when they faced about and took shelter be- hind a low stone wall. A rapid fire upon their line, at a distance of not more than fifty paces, was kept up, obliging them to hug closely their cover. Another charge was ordered, and the enemy was driven in the wildest confusion, leav- ing his dead and wounded, in large numbers, on the field. The loss of the regiment in this closely contested action was an aggregate of one hundred and forty-five men killed, wounded, and missing. Lieutenant Smith, of company I, Assistant Adjutant General on the staff of Colonel Welsh, was among the killed, and Captain Grove among the wounded.


On the following day the regiment, with the brigade, marched in pursuit of the retreating foe towards Antietam Creek, following close upon the heels of his rear-guard. He cautiously evaded an engagement, but retired, passing through Boonsboro' and Keedysville, crossed the creek, and took up a strong position upon the heights beyond. The creek is here spanned by four stone bridges; one on the Keedysville and Williamsport road, one on the Keedys- ville and Sharpsburg pike, one on the Rohrersville and Sharpsburg road, and one near the mouth of the creek, on the road leading from Harper's Ferry to Sharpsburg. The command occupied the extreme left, opposite the Rohrers- ville and Sharpsburg bridge, but some distance from it. At four P. M., Colonel Welsh received orders from General Burnside to charge over the hill towards Sharpsburg, which was finely executed, the regiment again in advance. The One Hundredth Pennsylvania was on the right, the Thirtieth Ohio, of Sturgis'


1061


1863


SOUTH MOUNTAIN AND ANTIETAM.


Brigade, on the left, and the Forty-sixth New York in support. Approaching a stone mill near the town, company K dislodged the enemy and captured the mill and buildings. The battle raged furiously. The strong position near Sharpsburg was firmly held, but the necessary re-inforcements failing to arrive, the command was withdrawn. The Ninth Corps, with an aggregate of thirteen thousand eight hundred and nineteen officers and men, had withstood the im- petuous assaults of more than thrice its number, had gained the most advanced position of any portion of the army, and had attested its bravery in the most signal manner. The loss sustained in the Forty-fifth was thirty killed and wounded.


On the night of the 18th, General Lee quietly withdrew his entire army across the Potomac, and took position on the opposite bank, near Shepherds- town. The regiment moved with the corps in pursuit, and went into camp near Antietam Creek. It marched by rail to Frederick City, on the 11th of October, to defend it against the incursions of Stuart's Cavalry, which was at that time upon a raid around M'Clellan's army. From Frederick City it proceeded via Point of Rocks, Berlin, Snicker's, and Ashby's Gaps, Rectortown and Orleans, to the Hedgeman River, and encamped, on the 7th of November, near Water- loo. The troops, suffering much from short rations, styled the camp " Starva- tion Hollow."


Leaving camp on the 16th, it marched through Warrenton and Falmouth, and pitched tents, on the 19th, on the north bank of the Rappahannock, op- posite Fredericksburg, where it was engaged in drill and picket duty until De- cember 12th, when it crossed the river at nine A. M., and bivouacked near the gas-works. Early on the morning of the 13th, the command marched down the river to the lower crossing, and joined General Franklin's Grand Division. Here the men were obliged to remain quiet spectators of the fight, in which Reynolds' Division alone, of Franklin's Corps, was permitted to participate. Re-crossing the river, on the night of the 15th, the regiment marched to its old camp near Falmouth, where it remained until February 11, 1863.


On the 12th it proceeded by rail to Acquia Creek, and thence by steamer to Newport News, and encamped two miles from the landing, on the bank's of the James River. A new manual of arms was here adopted by the Forty-fifth, consisting of selections from Hardee's and Scott's tactics, with many original manonvres. It comprised one hundred and six movements, which were indi- cated by taps of the drum. In the short space of two weeks the regiment be- came proficient in the new drill, and made a fine appearance, eliciting the praise of all by the perfect manner in which the movements were executed. On the 13th of March, Colonel Welsh was promoted to Brigadier General, and Lieu- tenant Colonel Curtin and Captains Hill and Kelsey, to Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, and Major, respectively.


On the 22d of May, the regiment was ordered to East Tennessee. Taking passage on the steamer Mary Washington to Baltimore, and moving by rail through Parkersburg, Cincinnati, and Nicholasville, it arrived at Jamestown, Kentucky, on the 1st of June, where it encountered a small force of rebel cav- alry. But it was not to participate in the expulsion of the foe from this region which had been so long oppressed. . An order came to General Burnside for eight thousand men to re-inforce Grant in the trenches at Vicksburg. Although he could illy afford to thus diminish his force, the regiment, with the Corps, moved on the 4th via Lebanon, Louisville, and Cairo, and arrived at Haines


1062


FORTY-FIFTH REGIMENT.


1863


Bluff at one P. M., of the 19th. It was posted, with other troops, to prevent any movement of General Johnston, designed to relieve the beleaguered garri- son. Its duty was here more of observation than direet contact with the enemy. On the 4th of July two signal victories were achieved by the national arms; the capture of Vieksburg by General Grant, and the overthrow of the enemy at Gettysburg by the army of the Potomae.


As soon as the intelligence of Pemberton's surrender reached General John- ston, he retired from his advanced position, on the Big Black River, towards Jackson. A large force, under General Sherman, was sent in pursuit on the afternoon of the day of the surrender. General Welsh was in command of the division, and Colonel Henry Bowman of the brigade." It left camp for the purpose of crossing Big Black at Jones' Ford and Birdsong's Ferry, and marehed until midnight. On the morning of the 5th, the enemy was found in strong foree on the opposite bank of the river, with a disposition to dispute further advanee. A position was, however, seeured, and Colonel Bowman's Brigade, by constant exertion, construeted a bridge at the Ferry, upon which the command erossed on the afternoon and evening of the 7th, and eneamped in the vicinity of Jefferson Davis' plantation, near Bolton. Continuing the pursuit on the 8th, it encamped at ten P. M., near Hall's Cross Roads, and on the following day the enemy's cavalry was encountered. The regiment in this mareh aeted as rear guard. Around the distant horizon could be seen the smoke of burning houses, barns, and cotton. Much suffering was endured by the troops for want of water, the streams, ponds, and springs being filled, by the enraged enemy, with all kinds of filth and putrefying bodies, and rendered unfit for use.


At three P. M. of the 10th, the command arrived in front of Jackson, and was formed in order of battle. The First Brigade, to which the Forty-fifth was attached, occupied the right of the line. The regiment, with the Seventy-ninth New York, was thrown forward as skirmishers, and, as the division advanced, soon eame in contaet with the enemy. Beyond this road is a high ridge, upon which is situated the State Lunatic Asylum, to which the vedettes retreated. The Forty-fifth rushed forward, drove them from the position, and unfurled the flag of the regiment from the dome of the asylum. The enemy declining to fight in the open field, the line was securely established, and the troops bivouacked for the night. On the 11th, the command advaneed, and compelled the oppos- ing forees to take shelter in their fortifications. "General Welsh," says Wood- bury, t "halted his division, established his line, sheltering his men from the enemy's battery, and taking up a good position upon a ridge immediately facing


the enemy's defenees. * * * On the right, the Forty-fifth Pennsylvania advaneed to within five hundred yards of the enemy's works, and retained its position." This was accomplished under a heavy fire of artillery, and musketry, from which it suffered mueh. On the 12th, it was relieved by the Seventeenth Michigan, and retired to the wood in the rear of the asylumn, using its beautiful grounds for hospital purposes. An act of rebel inhumanity here occurred


# Organization of First Brigade, Colonel Henry Bowman, First Division, Brigadier General Thomas Welsh; Ninth Corps, Major General John G. Parke. Forty-fifth Regiment Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, Colonel John I. Curtin; Thirty-sixth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, Licutenant Colonel John B. Norton; Seventeenth Regiment Michigan Volunteers, Colonel Constant Luce; Twenty-seventh Regiment Michigan Volunteers, Colonel Dorus M. Fox.


t Burnside and the Ninth Army Corps, p. 285.


بنات ى


1063


1863


CAMPAIGN OF VICKSBURG.


which should not escape notice. Perceiving the use which was being made of the asylum grounds, he opened a heavy fire of artillery upon the building, a thirty-pound shot passing through it, wounding two of the inmates. The unfor- tunate people set up the most lamentable cries, and attempted to break through doors, and windows, to escape from danger. The rebel fire only ceased, upon his guns being silenced by the Union artillery. On the 13th, a vigorous at- tempt was made by the enemy to break our lines, but received a most disas- trous repulse, and the two armies lay watching each other for several days. Frequent assaults were made upon his entrenchments to develop his position and force. On the morning of the 17th, the skirmishers were advanced, but found no enemy, he having made good his retreat. Large quantities of ammu- nition and arms, one officer, and one hundred and thirty-seven men were cap- tured. At eleven A. M., the division moved out of Jackson, upon the Canton Road, the Forty-fifth in advance, towards the Pearl River, for the purpose of intercepting the enemy; but not finding him, destroyed fifteen miles of the Mississippi Central Railroad, and returned to Jackson on the evening of the 20th.


Moving towards Vicksburg on the following day, the regiment was detailed to guard the ambulance train, and arrived at the old camping ground at Mill- dale on the 23d. On the 4th of August it proceeded from thence to Haines' Bluff, and on the next day embarked on the steamer Hiawatha for Cairo. Thus terminated its services with the Army of the West. "In returning the Ninth Corps to its former command," says General Grant, in general orders, dated July 31st, "it is with pleasure that the general commanding acknowledges its valuable services in the campaign just closed. Arriving at Vicksburg oppor- tunely, taking a position to hold at bay Johnston's army, then threatening the forces investing the city, it was ready and eager to assume the offensive at any moment. After the fall of Vicksburg, it formed part of the army which drove Johnston from his position near the Big Black River into his intrenchments at Jackson, and after a siege of eight days, compelled him to fly in disorder from the Mississippi Valley. The endurance, valor and general good conduct of the Ninth Corps are admired by all ; and its valuable co-operation in achieving the final triumph of the campaign is gratefully acknowledged by the army of Ten- nessee." It was a severe campaign for both officers and men. The malaria of the Mississippi camps, the scarcity and bad quality of water, and the severe marching had greatly impaired the health of the command. General Welsh here contracted a disease from which he died at Cincinnati on the 14th of August.




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