USA > Wisconsin > History of the services of the Third Battery, Wisconsin Light Artillery in the Civil War of the United States, 1861-65 > Part 1
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HISTORY OF THE SERVICES OF THE 3D BATTERY WISC. LIGHT ARTILLERY IN THE CIVIL WAR OF THE U. S. 1861-65
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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00825 7195
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012
http://archive.org/details/historyofservice00wisc
History of these Services of the
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50 Third Battery : Wisconsin Light Artillery
In the Civil War of the United States, 1861-65
Compiled from all sources possible, but principally from members themselves
COURANT PRESS, BERLIN
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HISTORY of the services of the third battery Wisconsin light artillery/in the Civil War G of the U. S., 1861-65, compiled from all sources possible ... Fress [1902] 102p. 16cm.
Berlin [Wis.] Courant
Title vignette. Addendum and errata slip added.
Preface signed: I.H.G. Bradt. 69-491 >
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DEDICATORY
This book is reverently and affectionately dedicated to the Memory of our dead and living Comrades, and to all patriotic rela- tives of the 3d Battery Wisconsin Light Artillery.
PREFACE
This book is not expected to cover all the service of the Battery, many facts at this date are lost which will detract from its comprehensiveness.
We still have a mass of information in connection with the Battery which for sufficient reasons we cannot at present use.
It is of a reminiscent character and very interesting and should be preserved in book form; likewise there should be added several other illustrations, notably one of the Tablet placed upon the ground of our last battle and destruction.
I will most gratefully thank in the name of the Associa- tion, those who have responded so freely and generously to the request for information.
Among the contributors of incidents and essential memo- randa I will mention the names of Esau Beaumont, E. D. Case, Wm. Plackett, Harlan S. Howard, E. M. Kanouse, Alf. Lounsbury, Ed. Harroune, Lew D. Williams, E. G. Jackson, Ansel Hayes, Maj. W. J. Colburn, Ira E. Smith and others.
H. H. G. BRADT, Secretary.
HISTORY OF THE BATTERY
On the morning after the bombardment of Ft. Sumpter, Ln. H. Drury, an attache of the Madison, Wis., Argus, appeared upon the streets accompanied by a fifer and drummer, who made the air resound to patriotic music. A large crowd assembled, which was addressed by Drury and others so effectively that scores of citizens signified their desire to enroll them- selves in the defense of ; he integrity of our Union.
Drury immediately offered his services to the gov- ernor and steps were taken to give him a command. He desired artillery service, but the U. S. government was very loth through Gen. W. S. Scott's advice to employ artillery. Repeated offers were made by the governor of artillery, but were uniformly declined, apparently thinking the rebels were bluffing and could he suppressed by infantry.
Matters soon assumed a more serious phase and instructions were sent to Gov. A. Randall to recruit for five light batteries. This dispatch was received
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the 19th of August, '61. Capt. Drury on the 26th com- menced recruiting under government orders on the date of his enlistment. The orders from Washington were to send all recruits for the 3d, 4th and 5th bat- teries to Washington to be organized there, but later a change was made and the 3d was organized at Berlin and mustered into the U. S. service October 10th, 1861, with the following officers:
Captain-Lu. H. Drury.
First Lieutenant-Cortland Livingston.
Jun. First Lieutenant-James T. Purdy.
Second Lieutenant-Albert LeBrun.
Jun. Second Lieutenant-Hiram F. Hubbard.
Surgeon-Henry W. Cansdell.
During the month of November thecannon, equip- ments and the men's uniforms came; then followed standing gun drill and field evolutions on the prairie west, with target practice there and on the ice of Lake Michigan. This business continued during the last three months of 1861, the men becoming very pro- ficient in their doties and made a fine appearance in uniform. The cold was intense at times outside of the Sibley tents and the boys would say that the winter was a counterpart of what their forefathers endured at Valley Forge.
An experienced German artillerist, Fritz Anneke, was appointed colonel of the 1st Regt. Wis. Light Artillery. John Halborn instructed the members of the battery in swordexercise in which they were soon adepts. The alacrity of the men in handling the guns is evinced when we state that they would dismount and mount their pieces in 1 minute and 30 seconds.
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On the 5th of November many of the men received furloughs. At this time the ladies of Waukesha pre- sented the battery with sixty blankets, which with stoves used at the men's expense rendered their quar- ters quite comfortable. On the 29th of November the ladies of Racine furnished the boys a fine Thanksgiving dinner of roast turkey, etc.
The entire artillery force at this time had the mis- fortune to lose Col. Anneke, he having been given com- 'mand of the artillery of the state of Indiana. At this time the boys were restricted to five passes a day to the battery, which was located near .Racine at Camp Utley. On Nov. 23d, '61, there was received at this camp what was called two complete batteries con- sisting of two six-pounder smooth bore guns, two rifled six-pounders and two twelve-pound howitzers, all bronze, with extra caissons, forges, battery wagons, wheels and harness, for each battery and about two and a half thousand rounds of solid shot, spheri- cal case cannister, and six and twelve-pounder shells for target practice. This could not be doneevery day as the winter had come on in earnest, the mercury fell to 22º below and the winds were so terrible from the lake on one side and prairie on the other that the cold pierced to the marrow, but still the drilling progressed until the boys were assured they were competent to meet the enemy. Rumors would frequently reach the camp that the boys would soon leave for every city almost on the line of the existing conflict, and to the credit of the members of the battery everyone was eager for departure, and in JJannary, '62, the order to move was received. The battery was full, all duly
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organized into sections and platoons, and on Thurs- day, January 23, 1862, with high hopes the Badger Battery left the state for Louisville, Ky., where they arrived the following Saturday evening and were quartered in a tobacco warehouse for the night. The journey was made without mishaps of any kind, and but one noteworthy incident occurred, which happened at Bloomington, Indiana. where the patriotic. whole- souled people of that place fairly took the train upon which the boys were riding, by storm, overwhelming them with kind and cheering words, pies, cakes, coffee, etc. It was a bright spot which still lingers in the memories of the boys of '61.
The next day (Sunday) the battery went into camp on the "Fair Grounds" about three miles out of the city, and on the line of the Lexington & Frankfort railroad. This was named "Camp Irvine." There the battery remained for a considerable length of time, having to be furnished with horses, mules; wagons and other necessary equipments for service, and also to take lessons in mounted field drill and maneuvers, not having had the opportunity to do this before, for the reason that they were not furnished horses, etc., until their arrival at Louisville, and having ouly the guus (six of them) had up to this time been drilled in standing gun drill only.
During encampment here the battery had the pleasure of firing salutes in honor of victories of the boys in blue at Mill Spring, Kentucky, and Forts Henry and Donaldson, Tennessee, and also the privi- lege and pleasure of going by invitation to the "Dorsey plantation," about six miles from camp, to
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spend the day in artillery drill and field maneuvers and target practice, and partake of a bountiful dinner provided by the liberal hosts, Messrs. Dorsey and sons, winding up with a rattling salute to their hosts. Soon after the incident above alluded to, quite a sen- sation, which at one time threatened serious results, was made in the battery by receipt of an order from artillery headquarters ordering the turning over of the light artillery equipment, the battery brought with them from Wisconsin, and to draw a battery of four thirty-two-pounder "Dahlgreen" guns. The feeling ran so high among the men that it provedl to Un' almost a critical point in the history of the battery; but good feeling was eventually restored and serious results happily averted by the promise of having any wrong or injustice done the company righted as speedily as possible. which promise was kept, for some time later on when the battery arrived at Nash- ville, Tennessee, the four "Dahlgreen" guns were by order of General D. C. Buel (at that time commander of the department of the Ohio) turned over to the ordnance department and two bronze or large twelve- pounder howitzers and four ten-pounder rifled "Parrot" guns, supplied in their place and the battery once more took its rightful place in theservice, and its own name of the "Third Wisconsin Light Artillery."
Shortly after the battle and capture of Fort Donaldson the battery was ordered to Nashville, Tennessee. The trip was made by water down the Ohio and up the Cumberland rivers on the steamboat J. W. Hindman, and was uneventful to any but the relie hunters who loaded up with fragments of shells,
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stands of grape shot, etc., they picked up on the bat- tlefield of Fort Donaldson when the boat stopped there a few hours; these relics were most of them soon thrown away.
The stay at Nashville was of short duration, when the march towards Savannah, Tennessee, was com- menced. On reaching Columbia, situated on Duck river, a halt of three days was made, ostensibly to repair bridges, ete., which in the immediate vicinity of the battery were not repaired, and after waiting on the bank of the river near by a partially burned bridge the length of time alluded to, the crossing was made by taking off the horses and running the guns carefully over the bridge by hand, the horses being taken across the river at a fording place at another point on river. Nothing occurred to make this march eventful until Sunday morning, the 6th of April, on nearing Savannah it became evident that a battle was in progress somewhere ahead, and the battery being at that time in what was called a brigade of reserve artillery under command of Gen. Barnett, had to take the side of the road to allow the infantry to go forward as fast as possible.
Such was the state of the roads by reason of the heavy rain following the battle of Pittsburg Landing and the passage of heavily ladened wagons, etc., that before the battery arrived at Savannah ( which was not for several days after the battle) they had to build many miles of corduroy road in order to make any advance at all. After a short tarry at Savannah the battery went up the river to Pittsburg Landing, camping on the battlefield for some time, then ad-
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vancing with the army and taking part in the siege andcapture of Corinth, Miss .- and here the battery met with great loss of men by reason of the swampy nature of the country breeding fevers and other fatal diseases.
After the evacuation of Corinth by the rebels. the fmminense army congregated for the subjection of the place, was scattered in various directions, the part of the army the battery was attached to going by way of Inka. Tuscumbia, Florence, Athens and Huntsville, where a short tarry was made. to Battle Creek, Tenn., which is about twenty-five miles below Chattanooga, on the Tennessee river.
Nothing of a very warlike nature occurred during this march, which was for reasons best known to the commanding general, D. C. Buel. con- dueted in a very strange if not novel manner, viz: by having the troops all routed out at one o'clock in the morning and being prepared to begin their march for the day at three o'clock and ending the same at any time ranging from eight to ten o'clock in the forenoon. This manner of conducting the march really proved disastrous to the health of the men, as records fully show, and in the light of the experience of the writer of this sketch during the Atlanta campaign, which was conducted mostly on the day marching, it was an experiment on the part of the general commanding.
It was just before reaching Battle Creek that Gen. Melook was assasinated by bushwhackers, and the members of the battery will remember seeing seven of the bushwhacking fraternity hanging by the necks to some trees near where the battery camped for the
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night. It seemed to be necessary to use very harsh methods towards this class of men.
Arrived at Battle Creek camping ground on or about the 15th of July, 1862; remained there doing . camp duty. drilling, etc., and subject to occasional alarms of an expected advance of the rebels, until about the 30th of August, when they were ordered to evacuate the place-and did so by moving out very quietly in theearly hours of the evening, going the first night up river in the direction of Chattanooga, to and beyond the village of Jasper, forming a battle line when reaching the place selected, and remaining there until nearly evening of the following day, when the march was resumed back in the direction whence they had come the night before; but soon after passing Jasper a turn was made up the Sequatchie valley and over the Cumberland mountains towards Winchester, where a junction was formed with the main army.
The march continued right along in a rather irreg- ular fashion, partly by day and partly by night, and some of the time a good deal of both, through Win- chester, Tullahoma. Murfreesboro and Nashville, where a brief halt was made, and on towards Louis- ville, Ky. As by this time nearly all in General Buel's army knew it was a race between the rebel army under Gen. Bragg and the union army under Gen. Buel, which should reach Louisville first, the men accepted the situation ( with its privations and dis- comforts, not the least of which was a great scarcity of provisions ) with the proper spirit and were eager to meet the enemy, and while still more than one hundred miles from Louisville had a severe brush
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with a portion of the rebel army. The march was a very wearisome and trying one. as part of the way the enemy had gone over the road a short time before and destroyed very much stuff, and such was the uncertainty of time of rest that frequently the horses were not unharnessed for many days at a time, and the men took cat-naps as occasion offered. It being fruit season helped the men out in the matter of short rations and with an occasional shoat, steer or sheep, or mayhap a fat goose, they did not fare as bad as they did later on at Chattanooga.
Although some sharp skirmishing was had with the enemy, no general engagement took place, and Louisville was finally reached about the 25th of Sep- tember, the battery getting to the city in the night. and camping until morning in the street. Here while the battery was encamped in the street the first recruits, who had been waiting several days in the city, joined it, some 24 in number. Later on in the day the battery went on through thecity and camped just outside on the Bardstown pike.
At the reorganization of the army at Louisville the 3d Battery was attached to Gen. H. P. VanCleve's division of Crittenden's corps. Only a few days' tarry was made here to give the boys an opportunity to draw very much needed supplies of clothing and other necessaries, when the march was commenced in the direction of Bragg's army, and the enemy were soon encountered, when the battery had an opportunity of "Achanging shots with a rebel battery. when they (the rebels) drew back towards the main army. When near the village of Perryville it seemed that a
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general engagement would certainly occur; but for some unexplained reason that portion of the army (Crittenden's corps) the battery was attached to, although in plain sight and hearing of the battle going on, and drawn up in line in readiness to move at a moment's notice, was compelled to remain idle and see and hear without taking any active part in the struggle, which was very much. against the grain of the boys. Night put an end to the fight and the next day was spent in searching for the enemy and skirmishing with some of the remnants of Bragg's . army.
A few days subsequent to the battle of Perryville, the battery being in the advance that day, struck the rear guard of Gen. Bragg's army at Crab Orchard, Ky., just after sunrise and put in some good time, engaging the rebel battery every time they made a stand and successfully driving him from eleven of his own well-chosen positions and a distance of over twenty miles to and beyond Mt. Vernon. Night and darkness put an end to this most appropriately named running artillery doel. In a short time the battery resumed its march, going by way of Glasgow -where a short tarry was made-to Nashville, Tenn., where it remained in camp near the insane asylum until the 26th of December, '62. Some days previous to leaving this eamp the center section of two gun platoons received orders to accompany our infantry brigade toward Laurel Hill, where all went into camp to be suddenly aroused the next morning by the sharp blast of a horn and the advance of a troop of rebel cavalry under a Captain White. Fortunately the sth
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Kentucky infantry had joined us in the night un- known to the rebels who charging upon their front received an unexpected volley. One lad of 14 years named Johnny Clem, placed a rifle upon a rail fence and pierced the captain in a vital part, causing much confusion to the advancing foes. Our guns were put into action immediately, succeeding in completely de- moralizing the force with a few shots.
On the 25th of December they received orders to be ready to move next morning. On the 26th we ad- vanced slowly on the main pike towards Murfreesboro. The enemy was immediately encountered under Gen. Bragg, who made a stubborn resistance and the fight- ing continued over a front of several miles, our forces constantly pressing the rebels south. Very soon after our advance the rain began to fall. The outpour of shot and shell and the downpour of rain were incessant. Reaching a point two miles north of Murfreesboro we found the rebels in force. We being of the left of Crit- tenden's corps were ordered to gnard a ford of Stone Kiver on the extreme left: while here we could observe the fighting on several occasions on or near the army's center. On the Bist at daylight we took our positions at the ford and repelled with a few shots an advance of rebel cavalry upon a hospital and some baggage wagons around it. Here was a graveyard containing Revolutionary soldiers! graves. Henry S. I'dley was wounded here, shot in the thigh by a rebel sharpshooter-the first man of the battery wounded in action.
On New Year's day. 1863, we were ordered over the river and exchanged a few shots with rebelskirmishers
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only answered by musketry, we with the brigade re- crossing the ford at night. The river here was in the form of a letter "S" in our rear and right. Next day on the 2d of January, we crossed the river early. our battery with seven regiments under Col. Beatty of the 19th Ohio. The line of battle which soon developed, was in the form of a crescent for a time, wings on the river; our forces hugged the ground for a time to es- cape the shot and shell that all the morning was poured into us from three sides. L. J. Uline was here wounded in our front position and several horses were hit. At two o'clock Gen. Rosencrans and Father Coney rode in front of the line and discovered the rebels crawling up and forming in the woods near our front. He ordered our battery to move forward. We had just got into position when a roll of musketry told us our time had come. The general informed us they would be on us in fifteen minutes; in less time they came down in three lines charging aud firing. 30,000 strong, under Breckenridge and Cheatem. They emerged from the timber on a run, followed by their artillery, who, getting into position, soon were mak- ing things lively for us, and to stop them with our small command was like stopping the flow of the Mississippi river with bull rushes. As an indication of the desperate charge on us we will state that one of our infantry supports ( the 35th Indiana, a gallant Irish regiment) stood at our right until we, under orders from Gen. Rosencrans fell back, but they did not and out of the 300 men they took into the fight they returned with only 125. We crossed the river. which now was much swollen, with difficulty. with
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loss of several horses and two men wounded, viz .: Sergt. Hollenbeck and Daniel Robin. We met on the river bank Gen. Negley's troops coming gallantly to our rescue. Gen Rosencrans massed 64 cannon on the bank to meet the oncoming flood and there oc- curred the total defeat of the enemy. Men never could have done more than was done there, every man seemed to put forth almost superhuman efforts to check the rebel host, which they did and most dis- astrously it proved to the rebels, as Gen. Brecken- ridge in his report to Gen. Bragg stated he lost in 40 minutes 1600 men. The courage of the rebels may be imagined when we state that the shell and cannister from our battery were seen to pierce the advancing columns through and through as our gunners would take sight for the colors in the center of each com- mand. When they broke and fled the infantry com- mands crossed the river, viz .: Negley's and Davis' divisions, who drove them into their trenches towards Murfreesboro. The artillery kept up a desultory fire until after dark, then our battery crossed the river for the last time and took up a position in the darkness near where we were at first. We were ad- vanced over dead and wounded to thisposition. The night was a hard one as it rained incessantly, and the piteons eries of the wounded was heartrending. Those who could speak would say that it really rained cannon-balls, and from the pile of dead no one would doubt it. All that night it rained and the mud was deep. We had nothing to eat. On the 1st we had half a cracker, on the 2d a little more and our com- miserat failed. However. Gen. Davis gave us each
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one and a half crackers from his short supply to help us out. During the night we were reinforced by the 7th Pennsylvania battery and we fell back to the rear to feed our famished men and horses. From the time the rebels were repulsed our pioneers began throwing up intrenehments No further engagement occurred until after dark Sunday night, when a furions on- slaughter was made upon the center lasting two hours and a half, resulting in driving the enemy from riffe pits. Sunday morning Murfreesboro was evacuated and we took possession. Our loss is mentioned above. We fired 35> rounds of ammunition during the battle. and to the great credit of our command, who for the first time engaged in a pitched battle, they acquitted themselves most commendably, performing the many arduons duties assigned them and never flinching.
After we were settled in camp on the Lebanon pike in the suburbs of Murfreesboro, we received an order from headquarters that each platoon should elect one man to be of the "Roll of Honor." an organ- ization to be formed of those that had particularly signalized themselves in the late battle. It was a very difficult choice, for all had done their best, but we complied and elected the six men: but it went no further, the secretary of war refused to take cogni- zanee of the proposition and likewise refused to grant the medals asked for. We have the list of names and as many of our Association think it might give dis- tinetion of aninvidious character we omit them. ( Re- garding this campaign, and the previous march to Louisville, many interesting matters occurred, such as the publication of the Badger Bulletin at Inka, by
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printers of the battery, of which there were 24; in fact we have much other matter which will be found further on.) .
Early in January, '63, Capt. Drury was appointed chief of artillery on Gen. VanCleve's staff.
While we remained in camp at Murfreesboro we had plenty of standing gun drills, and field drills and squadron evolutions, along with the numerous batteries of the army.
Occasionally a section was sent to guard some fords or other needed points, sometimes accompany- ing a foraging party, which we all delightedin. Many details were made here to aid in erecting the formidable fortifications, termed Fortress Rosencrans. Thus we passed our days until the 5th of July, '63, when we took up our line of march for MeMinnville, a weak point on our extreme left. We remember very dis- tinetly what an extremely hot day it was; many an infantryman was sunstruck, and regardless of future weds overcoats, blankets and knapsacks even were dropped on the road as too much of a burden to carry. 'We camped at Woodbury at night; at four O'clock on the 6th reveille sounded and we were hustled along so rapidly that we reached MeMinnville at Na. m. After a short halt here we proceeded to go into camp on a high ridge, a little outside of town on the bank of Barren Fork of Collins river, which almost encircles the village and washes the base of Ben Lomond mountain, named after the famous Loch Lomond of Scotland. Ben Lomond is a grand and Impressive figure, and towers 1,500 feet above the level of Barron Fork. We had a fine, healthy camp.
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