USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee from its first settlement to the year 1895 > Part 23
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The nine companies above mentioned were offi- cered as follows: Company A of First Regiment, Captain, George B. Bingham ; First Lieutenant, Charles Dudley ; Second Lieutenant, George F. Williams. Company B of the First Regiment, Captain, Henry A. Mitchell; First Lieutenant, Edward D. Luxton ; Second Lieutenant, Henry L. Bruyeres. Company D of the First Regiment, Captain, Pius Dreher ; First Lieutenant, J. C. G. Hartest ; Second Lieutenant, Adam Breigenheimer. Company H of the First Regiment, Captain, Wil- liam George; First Lieutenant, Phillip Horwitz ; Second Lieutenant, Christian Sarnow. Company K of the Second Regiment, Captain, A. J. Lang- worthy; First Lieutenant, Caleb Hunt ; Second Lieutenant, William A. Hopkins ; Company B of the Fifth Regiment, Captain, Elisha C. Hibbard ; First Lieutenant, J. B. Oliver ; Second Lieutenant, Robert Ross. Company C of the Fifth Regiment, Captain, William Behrens ; First Lieutenant, L. J. C. Schroeling; Second Lieutenant, Hans Boe- bel. Company D of the Sixth Regiment, Cap- tain, John O'Rourke; First Lieutenant, John Nichols; Second Lieutenant, P. H. McAuley. Company F of the Sixth Regiment, Captain, William H. Lindwurm; First Lieutenant, Fred Schumacher; Second Lieutenant, Werner Von Bacheli.
A notable occasion in the war history of Mil- waukee was a meeting held in Albany Hall on the 23d of August, 1861, a few days after the death of General Nathaniel Lyon, at Wilson's Creek, near Springfield, Missouri. No Wisconsin troops had participated in the battle in which General
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Lyon was killed, but the hearts of Milwaukee peo- ple were saddened by the death of that gallant and patriotic soldier, and the meeting in Albany Hall was a memorial occasion. Lieutenant-Colonel Andrews, of the First Missouri Infantry, who had participated in the battle, was present, and the crowd was one of the largest which had ever as- sembled in Milwaukee up to that time.
There were many notable gatherings and dem- onstrations pertaining to or growing out of the war, during the summer and fall of 1861. On the 28th of July the Sixth Regiment, which contained one Irish and one German company from Mil- waukee, passed through the city on its way to Washington, under command of Colonel Lysander Cutler, and was feted by the citizens of this city on the eve of their departure for the front. This regiment became a part of the famous Iron Bri- gade, and half the number of those who made up the original roster lost their lives in battle. Five of the nine Milwaukee companies saw active ser- vice during the first three months of the war, al- though but six men were killed and seven wounded during that term of service.
The first victory of the war to be celebrated with general rejoicing was the capture of Fort Donelson by General Grant, in February of 1862. Little had happened before that to give encour- agement to the loyalists who were watching from afar the operations in the field. When the news of Grant's victory reached this city, there were memorable scenes in the Chamber of Commerce and other public places, and the city was illumi- nated by bonfires until midnight. The anni- versary of Washington's birthday, a few days later, was made the occasion of a formal celebra- tion of the event and great was the rejoicing throughout the city and state.
On the 30th of March following, the Eighteenth Wisconsin, which had been in camp at Milwau- kee, was dispatched to the seat of war, to be almost immediately thereafter forced into the battle of Pittsburg Landing and to almost suffer annihilation in consequence thereof. When the news of this battle reached Milwaukee, prompt and active efforts were at once made to relieve the sufferings of Wisconsin troops who had partici- pated in the engagement. Supplies contributed were sent to the Chamber of Commerce, and a day later sixty-two boxes were packed and sent to Pittsburg Landing in charge of E. H. Brodhead,
appointed by the people of Milwaukee to distrib- ute the supplies among the sick and wounded sol- diers for whom they were intended. Governor Harvey, Commissary-General Wadsworth and Surgeon-General E. B. Wolcott, with a staff of medical assistants, accompanied Mr. Brodhead, and it was while on this mission of mercy that Governor Harvey lost his life by being drowned in the Tennessee River.
In response to President Lincoln's call for three hundred thousand more troops, issued on the 1st of July of 1862, patriotic enthusiasm was again aroused in Milwaukee. Wisconsin's quota of troops under this new levy was five regiments of infantry, and one regiment was apportioned by Governor Salomon to the district composed of the counties of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, Sheboygan and Dodge. At a meeting held in the Chamber of Commerce on the 23rd of July, over twelve thousand dollars was raised by subscription to promote enlistments in the new regiment, which was to become known as the Twenty- fourth Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. To this sum the Chamber of Commerce, aided by the Merchant's Association, subsequently added a sufficient amount to enable them to pay a fifty dol- lar bounty to each soldier enlisting in the Twenty- fourth regiment. A series of war meetings was held in the city during the month, culminating in a grand rally on the 31st day of July. Fifty thousand persons are said to have been present in the city on that occasion, and a meeting was held in Knee- land's Grove on Spring street, which was presided over by Governor Salomon, supported by twenty- six vice-presidents. Among the distinguished men who addressed those present from different stands were Governor Salomon, Owen Lovejoy and William A. Howard of Detroit, Senator James R. Doolittle, H. L. Palmer, J. H. Tweedy, C. A. Eldridge, Jonathan E. Arnold, James S. Brown, Isaac P. Walker, George W. Allen, F. W. Pitkin, Matt H. Carpenter, E. L. Buttrick, Thomas D. Weeks and others. Great enthusiasm was evoked, and at one of the stands from which the speakers addressed the people, the meeting voted in favor of issuing state bonds to an amount sufficient to pay each soldier a bounty of fifty dollars. This meeting lasted three hours, and the day closed with meetings in Market Square and the Chamber of Commerce. It is said to have been the largest and most important war meeting held in Wisconsin
Of Hranulin
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MILITARY HISTORY OF THE WAR PERIOD.
during the war, and not only had the effect of speedily filling up the regiment apportioned to the Milwaukee district, but the regiments also apportioned to the other four districts into which the state had been subdivided.
During the summer of that year, Milwaukee troops participated in the battles of Ganesville, the second Bull Run and in numerous other en- gagements in Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky. The first Wisconsin regiment, which had been re- organized and re-enlisted for three years, partici- pated in its first severe battle at Perryville and covered itself with glory through its action on that occasion. The Fifth Regiment which con- tained two Milwaukee companies had participated gallantly in the battle of Williamsburg, which was fought early in May, and the Twenty-fourth fought its first great battle and achieved distinc- tion at Stone River, under command of Major Elisha C. Hibbard. During the fall of 1862 three Milwaukee regiments left for the seat of war. The Twenty-fourth which was recruited almost entirely in Milwaukee county was dispatched to Kentucky on the 5th of September. The Twenty- sixth, a German regiment, with two-thirds of its roster made up of Milwaukee men, became a part of General Franz Sigel's division in October, and the First Regiment-which had been reorganized- was started to Louisville on the 28th of October.
Wisconsin was called upon to raise over seven- teen thousand men toward the end of the summer of 1862, eleven thousand of whom were appor- tioned to the state under the draft ordered by the governor in response to the President's call for three hundred thousand men for nine months' service. The drafting was to have commenced on the 3rd of September, but the sheriff's of the sey- eral counties of the state, who were charged with the responsibility of enrolling all persons subject to military duty, found it impossible to complete the enrollment until October. In Milwaukee the drafting was begun on November 19th, Governor Salomon having taken the precaution to place the military forces of the city under command of Colonel John C. Starkweather, to prevent threat- ened rioting and resistance. It was conducted by Draft Commissioner William J. Whaling at the court house, and passed off quietly, this being the only draft made under state authority, the further raising of troops by this means being conducted- under the conscript acts passed by Congress at a
later date-through the United States War Depart- ment. Only one new regiment was filled by this draft, and this regiment-the Thirty-fourth-re- mained in camp at Milwaukee till January 31, 1863, when it left the state for Kentucky under command of Colonel Fritz Anneke.
In the battle of Stone River, which was fought on the 30th and 31st of December, 1862, two Milwaukee regiments-the First and Twenty- fourth-took part, and immediately thereafter the city was again called upon to furnish supplies for the wounded. The promptness with which the city responded to such demands, is evidenced by the fact that within two days after news of the battle was received, thirty-seven large dry goods boxes-filled with such things as experience had demonstrated were most needed-were forwarded to the regiment in care of a sanitary committee. Thus the routine of war work went on during the summer of 1863, the Chamber of Commerce, the Merchants' Association and the Milwaukee Ladies' Aid Society taking a leading part in all move- ments, designed to aid in the suppression of the rebellion, in caring for the soldiers in the field, and for those who had been dependent upon them who remained at home. The city administration also took part in the activities incident to the war, and the war mayors, James S. Brown. Horace Chase, Edward O'Neill, Abner Kirby and John J. Tall- madge, were all men well adapted to the duties which they were called upon to discharge.
In the midst of the anxiety which prevailed throughout the country in 1863, when many patriotic people were fearful as to the final results of the war, and when others had become despon- dent, the moving and active spirits of Milwaukee determined to arouse anew the enthusiasm of the people, by celebrating the 4th of July with un- usual ceremony and imposing demonstration. In accordance with a carefully arranged programme, the day was ushered in with the ringing of bells and the firing of cannon, and later in the day a great procession marched through the city to the strains of martial music and the singing of inspir- ing war songs. Early in the day, despite the life and glamour of the imposing pageant, a cloud of anxiety hung over the assembled multitude in consequence of the fact that only imperfect tele- graphic reports had been received concerning the battle of Gettysburg, upon which the fate of the Nation seemed to hang at that time. It was
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known that one of the bloodiest battles of the war had been fought, but which way the tide of the battle had turned was still a matter of doubt. With minds clouded by this uncertainty, a vast multitude of people gathered on the shore of Lake Michigan at the head of Division street, and listened to speeches made by Governor Salomon and Senator James R. Doolittle. In the midst of Senator Doolittle's speech, a telegraphic dispatch dirhat, was handed to him, which he hurriedly scanned before making its import known to the people. With bated breath they awaited what they knew W.S. must be war news of vast moment, and a great shout of triumph went up, when with tears of joy standing in his eyes, the distinguished statesman and patriot read this message: " The battle of Gettysburg, after three days of hard fighting, has resulted, yesterday, in a complete victory to the federal army and the total rout of the con- federates." Immediately thereafter the famous cannon which had been christened the "John F. Potter," fired a salvo of thirty-four guns, and the remainder of the day was given up to rejoicing over the great victory of Union arms.
In November of 1863 the second draft was made in Milwaukee, this draft being made by United States provost-marshals in accordance with the conscription act, which had been passed by Congress in February of that year. The enroll- ment began under the supervision of I. M. Bean, Provost-Marshal, in May, and was completed early in the fall. The total requisition under the draft for the district composed of Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Waukesha and Walworth coun- ties was seven thousand four hundred and ninety- two, which was reduced to four thousand one hun- dred and seventy-two, by enlistments and allow- ances for the previous state draft. The levy for Milwaukee county was two thousand one hundred and ninety-two and for the city one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three. The draft began November 9th and continued five days, passing off quietly, the result being peaceably acquiesced in by the conscripts and their friends. In Milwaukee, as in nearly all other communities, associations had been formed for mutual protection against the draft, general funds having been provided to obtain commutation or hire substitutes for those who should be drafted. Under the President's call for five hundred thousand fresh troops, made in July of 1864, another draft was ordered which
began September 19th and continued through the remainder of the month. This draft took place under the amended conscription act, which had been passed by Congress, under which commuta- tion was discontinued and personal service required. It bore heavily upon the city of Mil- waukee, the proportion of men drafted to those enrolled being one hundred and twenty-eight to two hundred and ninety-eight. Supplemental drafts were made in some of the wards of the city in November of 1864, and so large was the number of those discharged on examination and of those who failed to report, that it was not until further drafts had been made in December and January following, that the quota of the city was filled under this call. Toward the end of the year came another call for three hundred thousand more troops and another draft was ordered, but before its enforcement the Rebellion collapsed and the war was at an end.
When the loyal governors of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin in the spring of 1864, tendered to the government for one hundred days' extra service, eighty-five thousand troops, and the tender was accepted by the President, Milwaukee became for a shorttime more than ever a recruit- ing camp. Two of the one-hundred-day regiments rendezvoused at Milwaukee-the Thirty-ninth, un- der command of Colonel E. L. Buttrick, and the Forty-first, under Lieutenant-Colonel George B. Goodwin-and the Milwaukee Chamber of Com- merce furnished two full companies inside the twenty days allowed for filling up the regiments. Two full regiments recruited in Milwaukee and filled up from the population of the city and ad- jacent country, left here for Memphis, Tennessee, in June, and rendered effective services during the term of their enlistment.
During the closing months of the war, the en- couragement of successive Union victories made itself manifest in the conduct of all classes of Mil- waukee people, and no longer feeling that there was great uncertainty as to the result, they ral- lied more cheerfully to the support of the gov- ernment, bearing their full share of the burdens incident to the great struggle, and believing that the time was not far distant when these burdens could be laid down and peace would be restored. When the news of Lee's surrender at Appomattox was received the demonstration of joy in this city, as in other cities of the West,
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was such as can never be forgotten by those who witnessed it.
A few days later the city was plunged into deep grief on receipt of the news of President Lincoln's assassination, and on the 15th of April, Mayor Kirby issued a proclamation recommend- ing that all dwellings and places of business in the city, be clad in mourning in token of the deep sorrow which prevailed. On the following Sun- day, memorial services were held in the various churches of the city, and the first public proclama- tion of Mayor Tallmadge-who succeeded Mayor Kirby-announced a memorial demonstration to take place on the 20th of April. On that day services were held in the several churches fron 9 A. M. to 10 A. M. At 11 A. M. a funeral cortege, in which all the veteran soldiers then in the city and all military and civic organizations of the city were to be represented, was to have been formed to proceed to the court-house square, where memorial addresses were to have been delivered. Early in the forenoon, however, the rain began to fall in torrents, and this part of the programme had to be abandoned. The funeral procession moved through the principal streets of the city in the afternoon, funeral dirges, muffled drums, toll- ing bells and minute guns adding to the solemnity and impressiveness of the demonstration. Eulo- gies, which were to have been pronounced on the court-house square, were delivered in the Ply- mouth and First Presbyterian churches and at the
Academy of Music, Matt. H. Carpenter, James S. Brown, Levi Hubbell, George W. Allen, John W. Cary, Colonel Halbert E. Paine, Moritz Schoeffler, Bernard Domschke and others being among those to whom was assigned the sad duty of delivering funeral orations on that occasion. The Lincoln funeral was the last and most imposing war pageant in Milwaukee. There were many ova- tions to returning heroes, however, and many notable receptions of Wisconsin troops at the "home coming," after the war closed. Nearly all the Wisconsin troops passed through Milwaukee on their way to their homes, and Mayor Tall- madge made it a point to receive each returning organization with due ceremony, to tender them the thanks of the city for their services, and ex- tend to them hospitable entertainment. For a time the citizens of Milwaukee busied themselves extending greeting and congratulations to those who had been fortunate enough to escape the perils of the conflict which had ended in establish- ing the supremacy of the national government, and then the military aspect of the city gave place to the aspects of peace and commercial and industrial activity. Civilians' garb took the place of tattered uniforms, bullet-riddled flags were placed in safe depositories to be preserved as sacred relics, and in a comparatively short time, only the maimed and crippled veterans were visible reminders of the struggle through which Wisconsin, in common with her sister states of the loyal North, had passed.
CHAPTER XXIII.
MILITARY HISTORY SINCE THE WAR.
BY J. A. WATROUS.
C IRCUMSTANCES rendered one of the early military companies of Milwaukee --- the Union Guards-notable. During the winter of 1858-9, the Sherman M. Booth trouble existed. There was a conflict between the Su- preme Court of Wisconsin and the United States District Court in the case of Mr. Booth. The decisions of the courts were different. There was intense party feeling. The question arose as to what the military would do in case the Federal government called upon it to act, and what would be done in case the state government called upon it to act in a different way. Officers of companies were questioned. Captain Barry, of the Union Guard, took the ground that in case of a conflict he should not call out his company to oppose the authority of the United States. The action of Governor Randall would indicate that, at that time, Wisconsin was a State's-rights State, for, on the strength of Barry's answer, the governor disbanded the Union Guard and the arms were returned to the state. The men of the disbanded Union Guard perfected an organization as an independent company, bought new arms and took the name of Union (Barry) Guard. The company filled its ranks without difficulty, and seemed to have a bright future. On September 6th the Barry Guards, with nearly two hundred other Mil- waukeeans, made an excursion to Chicago for the purpose of raising money to pay for the Guard's new arms and uniforms. On the return their steamer, the Lady Elgin, was struck by a vessel and sunk, and all but a few of the excursionists lost their lives. The Booth controversy arose from the part he took in liberating a slave.
The Milwaukee Zouaves, one of the companies that went into the Fifth Wisconsin, played a prominent part in the bank riot in Milwaukee, in 1861. The company had gone into camp at Madison, but was called back to assist in hand- ling the riot and suppressing the rioters. The Montgomery Guard, commanded by Captain John O'Rourke, had been ordered to charge the
rioters on Michigan street, near East Water, but their instructions were to hurt no one. It was thought that the charging soldiers would scare the rioters, but they did not scare, and it became necessary for the Zouaves to charge, and they went in with bayonets fixed as though they meant business, and they did business, scattering the thousands of rioters in all directions. The Zouaves proved to be a remarkably useful and brave company, throughout the war. Its first captain, E. C. Hibbard, became lieutenant-colonel of the Twenty-fourth Wisconsin. Its second cap- tain, Joseph B. Oliver, organized and was for several years captain of the present Superior Light Artillery Company. Several of its sergeants, corporals and privates won distinction as officers in other regiments. Private George Allanson became a captain in the Twenty-fourth Wisconsin. Private Samuel J. Hooker became first lieutenant in the Thirty-first Wisconsin. Sergeant Thomas E. Balding, still a resident of Milwaukee, became a captain in the Twenty-fourth Wisconsin, and was shot through the body at the battle of Mis- sionary Ridge. Previous to taking the name of the Milwaukee Zouaves, this company was known as the Milwaukee Light Guard Cadets, organized in 1857.
There has been a comparatively healthy mili- tary spirit in Milwaukee ever since the war. The Milwaukee Light Guard was reorganized Septem- ber 16, 1867, a number of the original member's being among its most enthusiastic soldiers. The late Colonel George B. Goodwin was the first captain of the reorganized company. He had served as colonel of the Thirty-ninth Wisconsin. The first lieutenant was the late Captain Thomas Gwynne, the second lieutenant, John P. Good- rich, and the first sergeant, F. W. Cutler, both of whom are still residents of Milwaukee. The membership of the reorganized company was as follows : Geo. B. Goodwin, Thomas Gwynne, John P. Goodrich, G. E. Bingham, B. J. Hicks, Frank Hughes, William Plummer, J. P. Rundle, O. W.
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Fl. Linkler
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MILITARY HISTORY SINCE THE WAR.
Carlson, Chas. A. Curtis, W. A. Maynard, Frank H. Whipp, H. Niedecken, Jr., W. B. Sturges, J. H. Newbouer, Frank W. Cutler, Frank B. Boyd, O. G. Murphy, F. A. Lydston, John D. Evans, H. W. Barnard, Henry Carleton, Fred Snyder, A. W. Hall, J. D. D. Maynard, C. A. Goodrich, W. H. Lawrence, Geo. H. Spear, Chas. O. Collins, G. R. Williams, William Tait, Chas. A. Sercomb, W. H. Whitney, E. B. West, C. A. Kelly, Harry A. Rogers, W. F. Angevone, J. A. Bailey, M. J. Coughlin, J. A. Steever, Geo. C. Bond, W. I. Martin, Edward W. Lydston, Chas. H. Ferguson, Fred W. Koehler, James G. Jansen, T. A. Kusk, Chas. L. Sholes, F. K. Adams, C. B. Harmon, John R. Skelton, John Hill, Jr., A. H. Moulton, W. C. Harmes, Jared Thompson, Jr., A. A. Singer, Frank E. Smith, E. S. Finch, Samuel Pea- cock, Edward Mehl, W. Sanderson, H. H. John- son, W. R. Evans, James Tait, A. Hubbard, John T. Black, John C. Roddy. W. H. Hunt, D. C. Guernsey, S. H. Boons, Francis Rasche, M. B. Kneeland, J. H. Johnson, Edward M. Flint, E. C. Thurber, Edward Scott, Geo. R. Wright, R. J. Trumble, J. G. Towne, James Ferguson, C. H. Bingham, Ernst McDonald, H. Carlton, G. W. Burr, and H. M. Northrop. To show the people of the present day, who are by no means too prompt in showing their appreciation of the value of the services of the National Guard, how the business and professional men of thirty years ago - seconded the efforts of the militia, the following list of honorary members of the company is printed: Alexander Mitchell, John Nazro, D. Ferguson, John R. Goodrich, James L. Sexton, Chester Steele, A. H. Atkins, D. C. Abbey, G. B. Bingham, J. B. Judson, Edward Wilcox, Jones Montgomery, C. D. Adsit, Geo. C. Ledyard, Geo. M. Allen, Samuel T. Bridge, M. H. Finch, H. E. Dickenson, J. M. Alcott & Co., E. H. Goodrich, J. A. Noonan, A. B. Van- Cott, S. Klauber & Co., N. Matson, Mullen Bros., B. L. Throop, H. Friend, G. D. Norris, T. II. Judd, S. M. Ogden, L. R. Durand, L. A. Kellogg, Chas. H. Wheeler, K. Sexton, Sexton Bros. & Co., Smith, Chandler & Co., Greene & Button, Ricker & Ober, Geo. A. Skinner, Geo. W. Allen, A. S. Clark, L. Rindskopf & Sons, S. Adler & Co., J. E. Patton & Co., J. Bradford, H. Mueller & Co., H. H. Camp, P. V. Duester, James Hickox, C. K. Martin, Melms & Ehlers, Ramien Bros., E. L. But- trick, John L. Hathaway, Chas. Anderson, W. S. Candee, C. Fairchild, Bradford & Stark, John
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