USA > Wisconsin > Buffalo County > History of Buffalo County, Wisconsin > Part 44
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II. SOLDIERS FURNISHED BY BUFFALO COUNTY.
It has in the chapter on Political History been related, how, during a period of about six years the political ideas of the people of Wisconsin had undergone a decided change, which was mani- fest in the election of 1856, when Fremont carried the state by a considerable majority. This change was still more decided in I860 when the state cast its vote for Lincoln with an increased majority of popular vote. Everybody expected some hostile de- monstrations, but no one in the northern states could or would be- lieve, that the southern states had for years been preparing for the separation from the Union. To see the southern states almost supreme in Congress and in the Government, people had become accustomed, and even the criminal negligence of Buchanan's ad- ministration, during which the means of resistance were dimin- ished, and those of aggression placed almost at the disposition of the expected aggressors, had for some time aroused no very pro- found suspicion. The Democratic party was devoted to the South though the greater part of it did neither wish for a disruption of the Union. nor did it really expect it.
In our state the Breckenridge ticket received so very few votes that the general loyalty of the party could hardly be impeached on that account. After the inauguration of President Lincoln the Douglas wing of the party in the North largely imitated their leader in acquiescing in the result of the election, and in support- ing the legal government. The Republicans, although not wish- ing for war, were determined to maintain the government, to which they had elected the head in Mr. Lincoln. As yet the anti-slavery. element in the party was not predominant, and although excite- ment ran high when South Carolina and other southern states
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526
SOLDIERS.
passed ordinances of secession, and in February organized the new government of the Confederate States of America, and seized upon the forts and important posts within their territory, made the gar- risons prisoners, it was yet uncertain whether they would not finally recede from their position and quiet would once more be restored. But when it was found necessary that the newly elected president should exercise all possible precaution on his journey to the place to which the loyal people had elected him, when on the 12th of April fire was opened upon Fort Sumpter, the only post of defence in Charleston Harbor, and the place had to be sur- rendered, the call of the President for 75,000 volunteers for the de- fence of the National Capital found a response so enthusiastic, so patriotic, that enlistments were at once begun in every part of the land. The attack of an armed mob on Massachusetts regiments passing through Baltimore, when the first blood was shed in the war of the Rebellion, the surprise of the arsenal at Harper's Ferry by Confederate troops, and other portents, roused the people of the North to a clear perception of the danger, and to a fierce determi- nation to punish the offenders, and to save at all hazards and ex- pense the government and the Union. In our county, which had then a population of only 4,000, the sentiment was as strong as anywhere, and Republicans and Democrats alike thronged to en- listment. By June 1st Comp. H of the 6th Regiment of Wiscon- sin Volunteers was organized, and went to the rendezvous at Camp Randall on June 25th. During the time of enlistment of that company two of my brothers went, on the 5th of May, to Milwau- kee, where they entered Comp. C of the fifth regiment. After the answer to the first call of the president for volunteers, there was a rumor that no more troops would be needed or accepted. The battle of Bull Run June 21st, however, verified the prediction of those who had deplored the short-sighted policy of the govern- ment, and were for a rapid demonstration of the full strength of the country. But this does not concern the county of Buffalo in particular, and the reader is referred to the history of those regi- inents in which a considerable number of men from our county served.
The war had begun, and for four years the patriotic spirit of the people of the North supplied men and money for a vigorous prosecution of it. Our county did not perhaps distinguish itsel
527
SOLDIERS.
above others, but, after all, only a few men had to be drafted, per- haps none would have been due, if the county had at the time re- ceived credit for all who enlisted from it. It may be well in con- nection with this to revert to the fact that many of those whose home was in this county, were eredited to La Crosse County, be- cause they enlisted at La Crosse, others were eredited to Pepin County for the same reason, but it was not at the time known, and could hardly be remedied. Out of this cireumstanee a diffi- culty arose for me in making up the lists of those actually fur- nished from, but not always credited to, Buffalo County. Fortu- nately I could in most cases decide from personal acquaintance what was true, but in some cases, when this acquaintance had never existed, or become dulled in the course of time, the decision was by no means easy. The lists of soldiers to which this is an introduction, have been made up from the Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, Vol. I., which contains the Cavalry, the Artillery and the first fifteen regiments of Infantry. Beyond that I had to rely on what chance furnished, as I asked those who had served in the different regiments of which I knew that some of our men had served in. That this is a satisfactory method of ascertaining the desired information, I will not maintain, but after a correspon- dence with the Adjutant General's Office of this state, I was con- vinced, that the second volume of the roster would not appear in time for being used in the compilation of this work, and then I turned to such sourees as were available. For any defieieney in such records, this must be a sufficient explanation, which must not be regarded as a mere excuse. Coneerning the history of the different regiments, in which men from this county served I wish to say that it will be given, in abbreviated form, for any regiment in which the number from this county was considerable enough, to make it worth while. To give the history at any length, of a regiment in which only two or three men from this county were enrolled, can not reasonably be expected, although I have been at the trouble and expense to procure the Adjutant General's Report of 1865, a work formerly scattered broadcast over the whole state, but now only procurable at considerable expense, and by mere chanee at that. This report contains the military history of each regiment as far as then known, but it is rather profuse than reli- able, and withal an awkward compilation, often contradicting in
528
SOLDIERS.
the tables of those killed in action and lost by wounds and disease what had been stated in the narrative .. At best I could only give what I got, and this must be my excuse for those possible and even probable errors and omissions that attentive examination may discover. I have in the arrangement been following the ex- amples of the "Roster" published by State Authority.
FIRST REGIMENT WISCONSIN CAVALRY.
In this regiment only three men from this county are known to have served:
Charles Jahnke, Comp. A. - Enlisted Oct. 14, 1864.
August Jahnke, 66 A. Mustered out July 19, 1865.
Herman Spuehr, D Nov. 17, 1863, Drafted. Mustered out July 19, 1865.
The regiment was mustered into United States Service May 8th, 1862, Col. Edw. Daniels commanding. It served principally in the West, and part of it went after Jefferson Davis, when he was a fugitive, on which occasion there was a collision with the Fourth Michigan Cavalry, who captured the train and Mr. Davis. Regiment mustered out July 19th, 1865.
SECOND REGIMENT WISCONSIN CAVALRY.
The following men from this county served in this regiment:
Company D.
Church, Wm. H., Private. Company H.
Angst, David, Private.
Farner, Conrad, do.
Farner, John, do.
Reinhardsberger, Bernard, do .. Company L.
Brose, Carl, Private,
Doelb, Engelhard, do.
Heber, Louis, do.
Heck, Wendelin, do.
Kniffin, Lewis, do.
Miller, Simon, do. Farrier.
Miller, Fred,
Morgan, Jas.,
Private.
Pauline, Ernst, do.
Richtmann, Jacob, do.
529
SOLDIERS.
Uebersetzig, Joseph, Privare.
Walsch, Michael, sen., do. Walsch, Michael, jr., do. Zittel, Anton, do.
Of the twenty above named two died of disease, Simon Mil- ler and Ernst Pauline.
History of the Regiment.
It was organized under supervision of Col. C. C. Washburn and mustered in from Dec. 3, 1861, until March 12, 1862, came to St. Louis March 26, and took quarters at Benton Barracks, where the men were mounted and equipped. Came to Jefferson City, Mo., May 19, to Springfield, Mo., on the 28th. From there the 2d and 3d batallions went with Gen. Curtis through Arkansas and ar- rived at Helena July 12th, where they remained until the end of January 1863, when they moved to Memphis, Tenn., and remained there until the middle of June. They then moved down to Vick -- burg, went with Sherman's Expedition to Jackson, Miss., returned to Black River, moved to Redbone Church and in April to Vicks- burg.
The first batallion reniained in Missouri until Sept. 1864 when they joined the other batallion at Vicksburg. It was sta- tioned at different points in the neighborhood of Rolla and Spring- field. The whole regiment remained at Vicksburg until Nov. 4th, when they went on an expedition to Gaine's Landing, Ark., re- turning on the 10th. They took part in an expedition against the Mississippi Central R. R. thirty miles of which were destroyed, besides the large bridge across Big Black River and buildings stores and cotton. Returning by Benton they marched to Yazoo , City, and a detachment had a fight with rebels, where 5 men were killed, 9 wounded and 25 missing. The regiment returned to camp at Vicksburg Dec. 5th, embarked on the 8th for Memphis, Tenn. On the 21st they went with Gen. Grierson on an expedi- tion, during which long stretches of the Mobile and Ohio R. R., immense stores, cars and bridges were destroyed, the rebels de- feated at Egypt Station and many prisoners captured, of whom the Second Wisconsin Cavalry took charge as a provost-guard. The expedition then turned towards the Mississippi Central R. R., where at Winona Station many locomotives and other rolling stock, as well as stores were destroyed, and the regiment returned
530
SOLDIERS.
to Vicksburg, Jan. 13, 1865, thence on short expedition into Louisiana and Arkansas, and after return one of several days to Ripley, Miss. A detachment of 330 men was sent under com- mand of Maj. De Forrest to Grenada, Miss., as a garrison.
On June 15th the balance of the regiment moved by Missis- sippi and Red River to Alexandria, La., where they were joined by Maj. De Forrest's detachment July 6th. From this place they marched across the country to Hempstead, Tex., where they ar- rived Aug. 26th, and proceeded October 30th to Austin, Texas, where they arrived Nov. 4th, were mustered out Nov. 15th, and thence started for home on the 17th, marching one hundred miles on foot to Benham and proceeding thence by rail and steamer, arriving at Madison December 11th. and were paid off and dis- banded on the 14th. After the promotion of C. C. Washburn to Major General, Col. Thomas Stevens of Dodgeville commanded the regiment, but seems to have been lacking in that spirit of inde- pendence necessary for the protection of his men, who complained bitterly about the unnecessary rigor, with which they were treated by some martinets of the regular army during their stay in Texas, Gen. Custer, for instance, who disregarded the rights of the men to receive their discharge. This caused a complaint to be made to Governor James T. Lewis, which resulted in the mustering out of the regiment. Cavalry service is notoriously arduous, and the drill and other rigors exacted at Hempsted were entirely super- fluous and simply the result of Westpoint arrogance.
I can find no more names of men who served in the cavalry, or artillery, but in the
SIXTH BATTERY OF LIGHT ARTILLERY
one man from this county served, and he is still living among us, my friend,
William W. Wyman, of Mondovi.
The battery organized by the name of "Buena Vista Artillery" under the direction of Capt. Henry Dillon, and was mustered into service at Camp Utley, Racine, Oct. 2d, 1861. It served at Island No. 10 in charge of a siege battery, and afterwards on Tennessee River, at Corinth, afterwards in the Vicksburg campaign, etc. As Mr. Wyman was discharged Nov. 18th, 1862, he did not partici- pate in further actions and movements. The battery was mustered out at Madison, Wis., July 18th, 1865,
531
SOLDIERS.
FIRST REGIMENT OF INFANTRY.
In this regiment only two men from this county served, viz:
Michael Bandli, Priv., Co. H, and A: E. Pecso, of whom the company is not named, and whose name after a diligent research was not found in the roster, which is presumable evidence that he was reported in the wrong regiment in the "Enumeration" of the census. Mr. Bandli, of whom the roster makes "Bentley," was a drafted man, joined the regiment Nov. 18, 1863, and was trans- ferred to Comp. D, 21st regiment. The first regiment was origin- ally a three months regiment, but was, after the expiration of its term of service, mustered in as a three years' organization Oct. 19, 1861. During the time of Mr. Bandli's presence with it, the regi- ment was stationed at and near Chatanooga and vicinity. Of the 21st regiment I have to say that about the time he joined it, it was engaged in the Atlanta campaign, then marched with Sherman to the sea, and partook in the further movements of his army. The 21st was mustered out June 17, 1865.
THIRD REGIMENT OF INFANTRY.
Company A.
Henry Harget, Private.
Henry Habersaat, do. Geo. Raell, (sen.) do. Company E.
Andrew Hoch, Private.
John Miller, do.
Company H. Becker, William, Private.
Graepp, Herman, do. Rieck, Gustav, do. Schlossstein, Jacob, do.
All of these men were drafted, and joined the regiment dur- ing August and September 1864. Some of them went with the regiment on the march to the sea and with Sherman's army to the end of the war, while others remained in Tennessee under Gen. Thomas. They were mustered out in July 1865.
FIFTH REGIMENT OF INFANTRY.
Company C. Kessinger, Charles, Sergeant.
Kessinger, Joseph, Private,
532
SOLDIERS.
Company K. Glasspoole, Henry, Private. Reorganized Company E.
Burbank, Jacob M., Private. Carroll, Robert J., do.
Meolosson, Mutty, do.
The two in Comp. C. were my brothers. They left Buffalo City, May 5th, for Milwaukee, having personal objections to serv- ing under Capt. J. F. Hauser, who was then organizing Comp. H. of the 6th regiment. They joined the Turner Company being Company C, and the color company of the regiment. Charles was wounded by a shot in the knee at Williamsburg, May 5th,1862, and died at Fort Monroe, May 31st. Joseph went went through the Peninsular Campaign, was removed to the hos- pital in York, Pennsylvania, reported convalescent, came to Con- valescent Camp near Alexandria, Virginia, was exposed to frost without sufficient protection, relapsed into his former malady, dysentery, was in Alexandria Seminary Hospital, then in West Philadelphia Hospital, where he died February 6th, 1863, not yet 23 years old. Henry Glasspole probably enlisted at Eau Claire, Menomonee or Durand.
But the names of the men, said to be from Waumandee, en- rolled in reorganized Company E were a genuine surprise to me. Such names, I dare say, were never found in that town, and they need no more attention than has been bestowed upon them.
SIXTH REGIMENT OF INFANTRY. Company H. John F. Hauser, Captain, (prom. Major.) John D. Lewis, 1st Lieutenant.
J. A. Tester, do.
John Beeley,
do
Peter Polin,
2d Lieutenant.
Hiram B. Merchant, do. Enlisted Men:
Augustine, Geo. H., Corporal.
Bader, Rudolph, Private.
Behlmer, Henry, Sergeant.
Brehl, Valentine, Private.
Bugbee, John, do.
533
SOLDIERS.
Baertsch, John,
Private.
Cook, Atwell,
Sergeant.
Degenhard, Lee,
Corporal.
Ecke, Henry,
Private.
Eckhard, Wm.,
do.
Eder, Philipp,
Corporal.
Fimian, Christopher, do.
Fuchs, John,
Private.
Fuchs, Sebastian, do.
Fugina, Michael,
do.
Garwood, Warren C., Quarter Master Serg.
Hafner, John,
Private.
Herdeg, John, do.
Hynes, James, do.
Jenson, John, do.
Kaeser, John, do.
Keller, Balthasar,
do.
Keller, John,
do.
Kelly, Dennis,
Corporal.
Kessler, Henry,
Sergeant.
Kiel, Frank,
Private.
Kleffner, Charles,
Corporal.
Koffler, Joseph,
Private.
Kohlhepp, Henry,
do.
Korte, William,
do.
Kumli, Urs,
do.
Kurz, John, do.
Lees, Robert,
Corporal.
Lewis, Theodore,
Private.
Martin, Ferdinand, do.
Marty, Nicholas,
do.
McGiveney, John, do.
Menzemer, John, do.
Molitor, Paul,
do
Moy, Frederick,
Private.
Moy, John, do.
Mueller, Louis,
do.
Obrecht, Leonhard, do.
Prentiss, Louis,
do.
534
SOLDIERS.
Raetz, Chas. A., Private.
Schirlitz, August, Corporal.
Shirenborken, Ernst, Private.
Schlossstein, Frederick, do.
Schneider, Adam, do.
Schneider, Jacob,
do.
Schneider, Nicholas, Sergeant.
Senn, John L.,
Private.
Spuehr, Herman, do.
Stager, John G., do.
Sutter, Geo.,
· do.
Taylor, Samuel,
do.
Waecker, John, do.
Wehrli, John,
do.
Wehrmann, Henry,
do.
Weber, Peter,
do.
Wirth, Jacob,
Corporal.
The roll contains 67 officers and men, all of whom enlisted at about the same time.
There is but one man besides those who were enrolled in the 6th Regiment,
Carl Roloff, Private, Comp. D.
He was a drafted man from Belvidere. With regard to the latter, I have to remark, that he entered the sixth regiment Nov. 16, 1864, at a time when of the original company H but very few, if any remained in the regiment. The roster says that he was wounded at Five Forks, Va., in the neighborhood of Petersburg, and that he was absent wounded at the Muster-Out of the regi- ment. He is not in the register of those who died of wounds, in the Adj. Gen. Report of 1865, and in fact has never returned.
HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
The several companies composing the sixth regiment were or- dered to rendezvous at Camp Randall about the 25th of June, 1861, and the regimental organization effected under the direction of Col. Lysander Cutler, It was mustered into United States ser- vice July 12th, and left for the field on the 28th of the same month, under orders to proceed to Harrisburg, Penn., where they remained until August 3d, going then to Baltimore, Md., thence to Washington on the 7th, where they encamped on Meridian -
535
SOLDIERS.
Hill, and joined the command of Gen. Rufus King of Milwaukee, which has since become justly celebrated under the name of the "Iron Brigade of the West." From that time until Gen. Grant's movement against Richmond in 1864 they remained in the "Iron Brigade," and it is sometimes difficult to find the particulars of the actions of the single regiments in the brigade. For a history of the Iron Brigade there is no room in this book. It occupies in the report of the Adjutant General of 1865 the pages from 51 to 73, inclusive, some of them in nonpareil. Originally the brigade consisted of the following regiments: Fifth Wisconsin, Sixth Wisconsin and Nineteenth Indiana, to which the Second Wiscon- sin was joined in a short time. The Fifth Wisconsin was soon detached from it, and at the arrival of the Seventh Wisconsin that regiment was added to the brigade.
The following table will give the loss of the Sixth Regiment in the principal actions it which it participated:
ACTIONS AND TIME.
Killed.
Wounded.
Missing.
TOTAL.
Battle of Gainsville and Bull Run, Aug. 26-31, 1862 17
9111
119
Battle of South Mountain, Va., Sept. 14, 1862.
11
79
90
Battle of Antietam, Md., Sept. 17, 1862.
38 114
152
Actions at Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 12-16, 1862 Actions at Fitz Hugh Crossing and Chancellorsville, Va., April 29 to May 6, 1863
4
4
3
13
16
Battle of Gettysburg, Pa., July 1-4, 1863
30 113 23
166
Total losses
99 414 34 547
This was more than one half of the regiment. During this time Comp. H was still in organization and had to bear its pro- portionate share of the losses. On the 20th of October, 1862, the Twenty-fourth Michigan was added to the Iron Brigade. After the promotion of General King to the command of a division Col. Cutler commanded the brigade, then Gen. Gibbon and after him Gen. Meredith. December 31, 1863, two hundred and twenty- seven of the Sixth Regiment re-enlisted and were sent home on veteran furlough by Jan. 7th, 1864, rejoining the regiment Febru- ary 28th. In the organization of the army for the summer cam-
536
SOLDIERS.
paign of 1864 the Iron Brigade was assigned to position as the First Brigade, Fourth division, Fifth army corps, and during that campaign was commanded by Gen. Cutler, formerly Colonel of the Sixth Wisconsin, the regiment being commanded by Col. Bragg. The regiment participated in all the principal actions of the cam- paign, after which it took position on the left of Petersburg to- wards the Weldon railroad. The veterans of Comp. H had been transferred to other companies. The regiment participated in the final capture of Petersburg and Richmond, and the pursuit of the Army of Virginia until its final surrender. After the grand parade at Washington the regiment was sent to Louisville, Ky., where they were mustered out on the 14th of July, 1865, and returned to Madison on the 16th. Long as this history has grown it is but a brief sketch of what the regiment performed in the service of the Union. Of the 67 enumerated above as volunteers in Comp. H from this county, five- were killed in action, four died of wounds, and two of disease.
SEVENTH REGIMENT OF INFANTRY.
This regiment formed like the Sixth, a part of the Iron Bri- gade. Only one man from this county served in it,
Gottfried Oertli, Comp. D.
He joined the regiment Oct. 15th, 1864, and was killed in ac- tion at the battle of Five Forks, Va., April 1st, 1865.
EIGHTH REGIMENT OF INFANTRY.
Company C.
Aaron, Jacob, Private.
Brown, Nathaniel K., do.
Fuller, Solomon, do.
Fuller, Dana S., do.
Goddard, Marshall N. do.
Loomis, Geo. A., do.
Loomis, Harrison B., do.
McLain, David, do.
Prine, Elijah H., do.
Segar, Charles, do.
This was the "Eagle Company" so named because of the eagle accompanying the colors of the Eighth Infantry, wherever it moved. This bird, well known to friend and foe during the war, and from which the regiment received the name of "Eagle Regiment," was
537
SOLDIERS.
captured by an Indian on Flainbeau River, a tributary of the Chippewa. The Indian sold it, and it was made a present to the company, which was enlisted principally in Eau Claire. He re- mained perched above the colors fastened by a chain, with the regiment for three years. In action he showed the highest inter- est and excitement, often jumping up and down, spreading his pinions, and uttering his wild eagle screams. At the battle of Corinth a ball cut the eagle's chain and he flew off over the ene- mies, but returned in time to accompany the regiment on its re- treat, and found his perch in the middle of the melee. In the fall 1864, about three years after marching out, the eagle, who had been named " Old Abe," in honor of President Lincoln, was by the veter- ans of the regiment taken home on furlough, and then presented to Governor Lewis for the state of Wisconsin. His photograph being sold at the Sanitary Fair in Chicago, at 25 cents a piece, re- sulted in the receipt of $10,000 or more which were expended for the benefit of soldiers in different ways. The eagle was kept for a number of years at the capitol in Madison, but some years ago he died, probably from some mismanagement in feeding. This com- pany was at first commanded by John E. Perkins who died of wounds received at Farmington, Miss., when the command rever- ted to 1st Lieut. Victor Wolf, who kept it to the end of the service. I should not have mentioned this, but for the circumstance that . neither J. E. Perkins nor any other captain of this regiment is re- ported as having died of wounds by the Adj. Gen. Report, nor does the sagacious "Roster" give any account how V. Wolf all at once became captain of the company, as he is not in the list of 1st Lieutenants of the same. A shining example, each case, of the superior reliability of public documents.
The Eighth Wisconsin went from this state to St. Louis, Mo., being the first Wisconsin Regiment to arrive at that place, and the " Eagle " was the sensation of the event. The field of service for the regiment was in the West, in Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, at Corinth and at Vicksburg and in the latter time at New Orleans and Mobile, in Alabama, where they were discharged when in camp at Uniontown, mustered out at Demopolis, Ala., Sept. 5, and returned to Madison Sept 13, 1865.
538
SOLDIERS.
NINTH REGIMENT OF INFANTRY. Original Organization. Company D. Lautenbach, Gottlieb, Private.
Katipolt, Caspar,
do.
Company E.
Duerkopp, Henry,
Private.
Fiedler, Valentin,
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