USA > Wisconsin > An illustrated history of the state of Wisconsin : being a complete civil, political, and military history of the state, from its first exploration down to 1875 > Part 29
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CHAPTER XLI.
WISCONSIN'S WAR RECORD.
Events of 1862, continued - Regimental History - Incidents and Accidents of the War.
IT will be necessary now to renew the history of the regi- ments that were called into camp, and from thence proceeded to the seat of war to take their part in the great conflict then existing. At the commencement of the year 1862, there had been organized, equipped, and sent from the State, ten regi- ments of infantry, one company of cavalry, and one company of sharpshooters, exclusive of the three-months' regiment. There were at that date remaining in the State, either already organized, or in process of formation, the Ninth, and from the Twelfth to the Nineteenth inclusive, of infantry, three regi- ments of cavalry, and ten batteries of artillery. Of these, the Ninth or German Regiment, recruited mostly from Milwaukee and the Lake Shore, was completed. The Twelfth, sta- tioned at Camp Randall, was in readiness, and awaiting orders. The Thirteenth, encamped at Jamesville, also in readiness, and the first to receive marching-orders. It left the State on the 9th of January, 1862, for Fort Leavenworth. The Four- teenth, rendezvoused at Fond du Lac, was yet engaged in recruiting companies to reach the maximum. The Fifteenth - recruited under Col. Heg, late state-prison commissioner, and composed mainly of Scandinavians - was engaged in recruiting, and was mustered at Camp Randall on the 13th of February. The Sixteenth, already above the minimum, was still adding to its numbers while awaiting orders. The Seventeenth - being recruited under the immediate auspices of Col. John L. Doran, and made up almost entirely of persons of Irish birth - was
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mustered at Madison, on the 18th of March. The Eighteenth, yet organizing and mustering companies, was ordered into camp at Milwaukee, on the 16th of January. Col. H. T. Sanders, having, just at the close of the preceding year, been commis- sioned, with special permission from the war department, to raise the Nineteenth Regiment as an "independent acceptance," entered immediately upon the work, and, having met with signal success, encamped at Racine in the month of March. The three regiments of cavalry, and seven batteries of artillery, were already in camp, and completing their organization ; the regiments of cavalry being located respectively at Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Janesville, and the artillery at Racine. The Eighth and Tenth batteries were soon added at Racine; the Ninth being at Burlington.
In the organization of the Department of the Mississippi, under Major-Gen. Halleck, nearly all these troops were ordered to report at St. Louis, and left the State before the 1st of April. The dates and items in connection with their departure will appear in further mention of their movements. Up to the last requirements to complete the foregoing organizations, there was no lack of recruits. The enthusiasm of the people was un- abated, and volunteering had suffered little if any decline. The last regiments leaving the State were in no wise inferior to those which had preceded them, in number, patriotism, or physique. Under the call of the President for seventy-five thousand additional men, requisition was made upon this State for but one regiment. Measures were immediately adopted for its organization. The subsequent order for five additional regi- ments, and, still later, the order for a draft of our quota of three hundred thousand troops, convinced the people that there was an earnest occasion for another rally. The work was at once commenced throughout the State with a rapidity before un- equalled, and resulted in leaving but a fraction over four regi- ments to complete our quota under the order for the draft. If the time for volunteering had been extended for at least fifteen days, the entire quota could, without doubt, have been com- pleted. The force recruited during this period formed the materiel for fourteen regiments, - from the Twentieth to the Thirty-third Regiment inclusive, - all of which, except three,
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were now in the field; and the others were in readiness to follow.
The aggregate number of volunteers raised in the State for the United States service, as shown by the muster-rolls of each regiment at its departure, was 38,511.
In presenting the following record of the movements and actions of the regiments from this State in the year 1862, it cannot be expected that any extended notice would be given within the limits of a volume of the present size. Those who take an especial interest in the detailed war history of Wiscon- sin are directed to the valuable works of E. B. Quiner and W. De Loss Love, on Wisconsin in the Rebellion. These works are very full in their accounts of the incidents of the war, and the personal prowess of our State volunteers, and are very valuable.
The First Regiment was re-organized after their return from the three-months' service under Col. Starkweather; and from their arrival at Louisville, Oct. 30, 1861, to Feb. 18, 1862, they were principally engaged in repairing and guarding the line of railroad extending south from that place to Nashville, Tenn .; the headquarters of the regiment being, most of the time, at Camp Wood, near Munfordville, on the Green River.
Immediately after the evacuation of Bowling Green by the rebels, they were ordered to that place, whence, on the 27th of February, they took up their line of march for Ten- nessee, sixty-four miles from Bowling Green, encamping on the 2d of March at Edgefield, directly opposite Nashville, and separated from it by the Cumberland River. On the 8th of March, they crossed the river, and went into Camp Andy Johnson, near Nashville ; and five companies set out on out- post duty. The next day, one of these companies (B) was attacked by rebels; and, during the skirmish which ensued, private J. W. Greenly of that company was killed, the first Union soldier who gave his life for the Union in Tennessee.
From Nashville, they marched, on the 5th of April, to Colum- bia, on the line of the Nashville and Decatur Railroad, and forty-six miles distant from the former place. Company K was here detached as provost-guard; and the regiment went into Camp Walker, near that city. From their arrival at Columbia, until the 28th of May, they were almost incessantly engaged
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in expeditions, of greater or less magnitude, against the nu- merous bands of rebel forces which then infested the vicinity of their camp. In one of these expeditions, Gen. Negley's brigade, of which this regiment formed a part, marched from Pulaski, the county-seat of Giles County, in Tennessee, to Florence, on the Tennessee River, in Alabama, arriving at that place on the 16th of May, having driven the rebels from their ferry-boats, and shelled them out of their camp; and thence returned to Columbia on the 20th, having marched a hundred and eighty miles in ten days. On the 24th of May, Company K was relieved by Company C as provost-guard at Columbia, and on the 28th, Companies A, B, G, and K, were de- tailed to go with an expedition against Chattanooga in Tennessee. The rest of the regiment were occupied during the month of June, principally in guarding railroad-bridges between Columbus and Pulaski. They were marched to Huntsville, Ala., on the 28th of July, from which time until the 18th of August, - when they were ordered to Nashville, - they were engaged in performing around Huntsville the same kind of duty that they had so well discharged previously in the vicinity of Columbia; preventing, by rapid and decisive assaults, any organization or concentra- tion of rebel forces in their vicinity. On the 6th of September, they were again ordered to Bowling Green in Kentucky, at which place they remained until called upon to participate in the general movement of the army, which resulted, on the 8th of October, in the memorable battle of Perryville, where the rebel forces under Gen. Bragg were defeated by the Union troops under Gen. Buell. The gallantry of the men and officers in this battle deserves special mention. Three times advanced upon by the rebels, who were as often repulsed, they stood without wavering, and delivered an effective and withering fire. Among their trophies were the colors of the First Ten- nessee, which they captured in a bayonet-charge. That the First Wisconsin did its whole duty is abundantly proved by the record of casualties. Their loss in killed was fifty-seven ; in wounded, one hundred and twenty-seven ; in prisoners, seven ; and missing, seven. The prisoners - among whom was Lieut. Caliger of Company B - were all taken at night, while search- ing the field of battle for their dead and wounded. Major
CROSSCUP & N'EST-SCPHLA
GEo. P. Long de
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Mitchell, Capt. Green of Company K, and Lieuts. Wise of Company F, and Hambrook of Company E, were severely wounded.
The regiment, at the last reports (in 1862), was in Murfrees- borough, in Negley's division of the Army of the Cumberland.
The Second Regiment - which had been identified with the Army of the Potomac from its first organization to the present time, and which was the representative of Wisconsin at the first battle of Bull Run -was joined, later in the season, by the Sixth and Seventh Regiments. On the re-organization of the army by Gen. McClellan, these regiments, together with the Nineteenth Indiana, were organized as a brigade, and assigned to the command of Brig .- Gen. Gibbon; Gen. King having been promoted to the command of a division. Thence- forth their history is identical ; and Wisconsin may well be proud of their record, which has procured for them the name of the " Iron Brigade of the West."
The winter was spent in camp at Arlington, Va., preparing for the spring campaign. In the grand review of the 27th of March, the Wisconsin troops, particularly the Second, were complimented for their soldierly appearance, and thorough acquaintance with military drill.
They participated in the advance on Richmond, under the command of Major-Gen. McDowell; and subsequently, under Major-Gen. Pope, acted as rear-guard to the Army of the Potomac at the time it fell back on Washington. In the per- formance of this duty, the Sixth Wisconsin, the very last to retire, marched slowly and steadily to the rear, faced to the front again as they reached their new position, and saluted the approaching enemy with three rousing cheers and a rattling volley.
In the three-days' fight of the 28th, 29th, and 30th of August, at Gainesville and Bull Run, Gibbon's brigade suf- fered terribly. The Second went into the fight with about four hundred and thirty men, and lost in killed, wounded, and missing, two hundred and eighty-six ; the colonel, and one captain being killed, and Major Allen, Capt. Smith, and Lieuts. Baldwin, Bell, and Esslinger wounded. Col. O'Connor fell, fighting bravely. He was dearly beloved by his regiment.
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
The loss of the Sixth was seventeen killed and ninety-one wounded ; and the Seventh lost, in killed and wounded, seventy-five men, including Capt. Brayton, Company B, killed, and Capts. Walker and Walthers, Lieuts. Bird and Hobart, wounded.
Afterwards, in the short campaign in Maryland, under com- mand of Gen. McClellan, they nobly sustained their reputation at the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, which termi- nated the campaign by forcing the rebels to retire across the Potomac. In the battle of Sharpsburg, Sept. 14, Capt. Col- well of Company B, Second Regiment, was killed while in command of the line of skirmishers. The Second went into the battle of Antietam Sept. 17, one hundred and fifty strong, and came out with fifty-nine.
These regiments were now in the fourth brigade, left grand division of the Army of the Potomac. Of this brigade, Gen. McClellan wrote, -
"I beg to add to this indorsement the expression of my great admiration of the conduct of the three Wisconsin regiments in Gen. Gibbon's brigade. I have seen them under fire, acting in a manner that reflects the greatest possible credit and honor upon themselves and their State: they are equal to the best troops in any army of the world."
The Third Regiment passed the winter of 1861-62 principally at Alexandria, of which place Col. Ruger was appointed pro- vost-marshal. In the spring campaign, they were assigned to the command of Major-Gen. Banks, entering Winchester, Va., on the 12th of March, and accompanied him in the sudden retreat towards Washington, which commenced on the 25th of May. They acted as a portion of the rear-guard, and lost, in the various conflicts occurring by the movement, about one hundred and twenty men in killed, wounded, and missing. The retreat was conducted with the most admirable coolness, the men facing about in line, three several times giving the enemy a number of volleys.
This division returned soon afterwards to Winchester to co- operate with the commands of Gens. Fremont and Sigel, and on the 9th of August took part in the battle of Cedar Mountain. The regiment went into battle with four hundred and twenty-
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three men, of whom one hundred and seven were either killed, wounded, or missing. In the official report of Gen. Gordon, who commanded the brigade, special praise is awarded to the Third Wisconsin and a Massachusetts regiment for displaying great coolness under the terrible fire they were ordered to face. During this action, Lieut .- Col. Crane was killed, who fell gal- lantly leading his men upon the enemy. Capt. O'Brien of Company I was wounded early in the day, but refused to leave the field. Later in the day, he received a mortal wound, and died three days afterwards. Capt. Hawley and Lieuts. Snow and Derring were also wounded, and Lieut Widney taken prisoner.
Subsequently, they took part in the short and brilliant cam- paign under Mcclellan, in which Antietam was the finishing stroke to the invaders in Maryland. They took into action about three hundred and forty-five men, and lost, in killed and wounded, one hundred and ninety-seven. In this battle, Lieut. Reed was killed, and Col. Ruger, Capts. Stevenson and Whit- man, Lieuts. Field, Shepard, Parks, and Dick were wounded. On the 7th of December, the regiment was in Gen. Gordon's brigade, headquarters near Antietam Ford, Md.
The Fourth Regiment (Col. H. E. Paine) remained at Wis- consin Barracks, in Baltimore, during the winter, performing garrison-duty, and perfecting themselves in drill and thorough military organization. On the 19th of February, they left Bal- timore for Newport News; at which place they embarked, on the 6th of March, for Ship Island, as a part of the expedition to New Orleans, under Gen. B. F. Butler. Arriving at their des- tination, they were assigned to the second brigade, under com- mand of Brig .- Gen. Thomas Williams. They remained at Ship Island until the 15th of April, when they were placed on board "The Great Republic" for transportation to New Orleans. From the 17th to the 27th, they were at the south-west pass of the Mississippi. During this time, Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the rebel defences of the river, were bombarded by the mortar- fleet of Com. Porter. Com. Farragut having succeeded in pass- ing the forts with his fleet, before their surrender, a part of the regiment was sent in small boats to land above and in the rear of Fort St. Philip, for the purpose of cutting off the retreat of
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the rebels from that place. To accomplish this, they were com- pelled to wade several miles, dragging their boats with them.
The expedition was entirely successful ; between four and five hundred of the enemy being captured while attempting to escape to New Orleans. For the manner in which they per- formed their duty, they were complimented by Gen. Butler. They were the second regiment to enter the city on the 1st of May. On the 8th, they again embarked for Vicksburg, taking possession of Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana. On arriv- ing at Vicksburg, Gen. Williams found his force too small to risk an attack upon that city, and returned to Baton Rouge. On the 19th of June, the Fourth again left this place, to parti- cipate in the second attack on Vicksburg. The fortifications having been materially strengthened, it was decided to open the navigation of the river by cutting a new channel. They were engaged at this work for twenty days. The low stage of water having defeated this project, they returned to Baton Rouge on the 28th of July. Baton Rouge was evacuated on the 23d of August, when they returned to Carrollton, and were stationed at the parapet which forms the defences of New Orleans. In September, they were sent up the river in pursuit of guerillas ; and, having ascertained the whereabouts of a band of Texan " Greasers," they attacked, and pursued them three miles, into a cypress-swamp, capturing four hundred horses and forty prison- ers. Few regiments had done less fighting than the Fourth : no regiment had undergone more hardship and privations. In an expedition up the Yazoo River, Capt. J. W. Flynn of Com- pany I, and six men, were killed by a shell while detailed as sharpshooters upon the gunboat "Tyler." The regiment encamped at Carrollton, about eight miles above New Orleans.
The Fifth Regiment (Col. Amasa Cobb) left their winter- quarters at Camp Griffin, near Lewisville, Va., where they had been stationed during the winter, and marched, on the 9th of March, to Flint Hill, two miles from Fairfax Court House, whence they were marched to the Potomac, within four miles of Alexandria. There they embarked, on the 23d, to take part in the great expedition against Richmond, under the command of Gen. McClellan.
From their arrival at Hampton in Virginia, on the 26th of
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March, to the day of the final retreat, their history is thoroughly identified with that of the Army of the Peninsula. Their conduct in the battle of Williamsburg, on the 5th of May, where Capt. Bugh was severely wounded, was such as to elicit a flattering encomium from Gen. McClellan, who, on the 7th of May, addressed the regiment as follows : -
" My lads, I have come to thank you for your gallant conduct the other day. You have gained honor for your country, yourselves, your State, and the army to which you belong. Through you, we won the day; and Williams- burg shall be inscribed upon your banner. I cannot thank you enough for what you have done. I trust in you for the future, and know that you will sus- tain the reputation you have won for yourselves. By your actions and superior discipline, you have gained a reputation which shall be known throughout the Army of the Potomac. Your country owes you its grateful thanks. As for myself, I never can thank you enough."
While on picket-duty near Golden Farm, on the 28th of June, Capt. Evans of Company K received a severe wound, from the effects of which he died on the 1st of August. Capt. Walker was also wounded at the same time.
The regiment bore its full share in the great series of battles from June 29 to July 4. Col. Cobb led his regiment success fully and bravely through all its actions ; but at this juncture he was lost to the regiment, having been elected to Congress.
Lieut .- Col. H. W. Emery died at his native place, in Lisbon, N.H., on the 13th of October. He was appointed lieutenant- colonel at the organization of the regiment. He entered upon the discharge of his duties with an ardent zeal. The privations and exposure of camp-life to one of his physical constitution was more than he could endure; and his constitution finally gave way. At the battle of Williamsburg, in command of five com- panies of his regiment as skirmishers, he manifested a discipline and intrepidity which showed him worthy to command Wiscon- sin troops.
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THE
CROSSCUP & WEST-SC
DESeymour
CHAPTER XLII.
WISCONSIN'S WAR-RECORD.
Events of 1862, continued - Regimental History - Bravery of Wisconsin Soldiers - Echoes from the Battle-Fields.
THE Eighth Regiment (Col. R. C. Murphy), from the time of their departure from the State, up to the middle of January, with the exception of the skirmish at Frederickston, in the. autumn of 1861, was principally engaged in guarding railroad bridges and other general duties in the southern portion of Mis- souri and in Arkansas. On the 16th of January, they left Camp Curtis, arriving at Cairo the next day. From Cairo they were ordered to Mt. Pleasant, Mo., to participate in the attack on Island No. 10, whence they marched, on the 7th of April, to New Madrid.
Shortly after the reduction of this island, they were ordered to Corinth, and arrived at Pittsburg Landing on the 22d of April, when they at once took their place in the army destined for the reduction of Corinth. On the 9th of May, at the battle of Farmington, the Eighth Regiment, under the command of. Lieut .- Col. Robbins, lost in killed three (of whom two were com- missioned officers), and sixteen wounded, and one missing. On the 28th of May, leaving Farmington, the regiment, under the command of Lieut .- Col. Robbins, - Col. Murphy being in charge of the brigade, - went into action before Corinth, and, by their steady courage and demeanor, demonstrated their bravery under a heavy fire, losing, in this action, two killed and five wounded. This was the last effort of the rebels to defend the city, which. was entered by our troops two days afterwards.
Subsequently they were ordered to Iuka, where they remained until the approach of the rebels under Price and Van Dorn,
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when they were again ordered to Corinth, and took part in the second battle of Corinth, on the 3d and 4th of October. During this battle, while Col. Murphy was absent, Lieut .- Col. Robbins and Major Jefferson were wounded, and carried from the field; and the command of the regiment devolved upon Capt. Britton, who nobly conducted the action. Their loss in this battle was fourteen killed, seventy-five wounded, and two missing. After joining in the pursuit of the rebels which followed this battle, they returned to Corinth on the 14th of October, after which time they were stationed in the vicinity of Waterford, Miss.
The Eighth nobly earned the encomiums bestowed upon it. Its record is such that Wisconsin may well feel proud of the Eagle Regiment.
On the 8th of December, the regiment was at Waterford, Miss., in the left wing of the Army of the Tennessee, under the command of Major-Gen. U. S. Grant.
The Ninth Regiment left Camp Sigel, at Milwaukee, under command of Col. F. Salomon, on the 22d of January, 1862, num- bering thirty-nine officers and 884 men. Though this regiment was raised under the special promise of Gen. Fremont that it should compose a part of the division of Gen. Sigel, the heroic compatriot of its members, the successor of Gen. Fremont did not feel under any obligation to carry out such a promise ; and the regiment left for another destination. None of the Wiscon- sin regiments embraced so large a number of officers and soldiers of military experience as the Ninth. The eagerness of the regi- ment to encounter the enemy was not gratified until the 30th of September, at Newtonia. In the first part of the battle, but four companies were engaged against an enemy of a far superior number, strongly intrenched. The balance of the regiment, with Gen. F. Salomon's brigade, arrived later, and also took a part in the fight. Four days after this battle, the Ninth Regi- ment, with the brigade, were again on the march for another attack on Newtonia, which, however, had been evacuated by the enemy, who had experienced heavy losses, and did not feel strong enough to resist another attack. The retreat of the rebels was so hasty, that a part of their camp equipment and a rocket-battery fell into the hands of our forces. The official report of the regiment in this battle shows a loss of a hun.
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dred and eighty-eight in killed, wounded, and missing, of which only eight were named as killed. In the battle at Prairie Grove, the Ninth Regiment was in the rear-guard, without tak- ing part actively in the fight.
The last report from the regiment in 1862 showed that it was encamped at Rhea's Mills, Ark. The Tenth Regiment (Col. A. R. Chapin), when last referred to, was at Camp Jefferson, near Bacon Creek, in Kentucky ; at which place they were stationed during the winter, and until the 26th of April. Gen. O. M. Mitchell, in the following order of that date, addresses them as follows : -
' SOLDIERS, - Your march on Bowling Green won the thanks and confi- dence of our commanding general. With engines and cars captured from the enemy, our advance-guard precipitated itself upon Nashville. It was now made your duty to seize and destroy the Memphis and Charleston Railway, the great military road of the enemy. With a supply-train only sufficient to feed you at a distance of two days' march from your depot, you under- took the herculean task of rebuilding twelve hundred feet of heavy bridging, which, by your untiring energy, was accomplished in two days. Thus, by a railway of your own construction, your depot of supplies was removed from Nashville to Shelbyville, sixty-three miles, and in the direction of the object of your attack. The blow now became practicable. Marching with a celerity such as to outstrip any messenger who might have attempted to announce your coming, you fell upon Huntsville, taking your enemy com- pletely by surprise, and capturing not only his great military road, but all his machine-shops, engines, and rolling-stock. Thus providing yourselves with ample transportation, you have struck blow after blow with a rapidity unparalleled. Stevenson fell sixty miles east of Huntsville. Decatur and Tuscumbia have been, in like manner, seized and captured. In three days, you have extended your front of operations more than a hundred and twenty miles; and your morning gun at Tuscumbia may now be heard by your comrades on the battle-field made glorious by their victory before Corinth. A communication of these facts to headquarters has not only won the thanks of the commanding general, but those of the department of war, which 1 announce to you with proud satisfaction. Accept the thanks of your com- mander, and let your future deeds demonstrate that you can surpass your- selves."
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