The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Part 11

Author: Wesern historical company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 899

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The determination of the secretary of war to accept from Wisconsin only two three-years regiments under the second call for troops was soon changed, and three more were authorized, making it necessary to organize the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth. The Fourth was called into "Camp Utley " at Racine on the sixth of June, and was mustered into the service of the United States on the ninth of the following month. By the twenty-eighth of June, all the companies of the Fifth had assembled at "Camp Randall," and on the thirteenth of July were mustered in as

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.

United States troops. By the first of July, at the same place, the complement for the Sixth regiment had been made up, and the companies were mustered for three years into the service of the General Government, on the sixteenth of the same month. Governor Randall did not stop the good work when six regiments had been accepted, but assigned the necessary companies to form two more regiments-the Seventh and Eighth; however, he wisely concluded not to call them into camp until after harvest, unless specially required to do so. "If they are needed sooner," said the governor, in a letter to the president on the first of July, " a call will be imme- diately responded to, and we shall have their uniforms and equipments ready for them." "By the authority of our legislature," added the writer, 'I shall, after the middle of August, keep two regiments equipped and in camp ready for a call to service, and will have them ready at an earlier day if needed."

About the latter part of June, W. P. Alexander, of Beloit, a good marksman, was commis- sioned captain to raise a company of sharpshooters for Berdan's regiment. He at once engaged in the work. The company was filled to one hundred and three privates and three officers. It left the State about the middle of September under Captain Alexander, and was mustered into the service at Wehawken on the twenty-third day of that month, as Company "G " of Berdan's regiment of sharpshooters. On the twenty-sixth of July, a commission was issued to G. Van Deutsch, of Milwaukee, to raise a company of cavalry. He succeeded in filling his company to eighty-four men. He left the State in September, joining Fremont. The company was after- ward attached to the fifth cavalry regiment of Missouri.

About the 20th of August, Governor Randall was authorized to organize and equip as rapidly as possible five regiments of infantry and five batteries of artillery, and procure for them necessary clothing and equipments according to United States regulations and prices, subject to the inspec- tion of officers of the General Government. The five regiments were to be additional to the eight already raised. One regiment was to be German. During the last week of August the companies of the Seventh regiment were ordered into "Camp Randall," at Madison. They were mustered into the service soon after arrival. On the 28th of August orders were issued for the reorganization of the First regiment for three years, its term of three months having expired. The secretary of war having signified his acceptance of the regiment for the new term, its mus- tering into the service was completed on the nineteenth of October. This made six infantry regi- ments in addition to the eight already accepted, or fourteen in all. On the same day orders were issued assigning companies to the Eighth regiment,-the whole moving to "Camp Randall," at Madison, the first week in September, where their mustering in was finished on the thirteenth.

The Ninth, a German reginent, was recruited in squads, and sent into camp, where they were formed into companies, and the whole mustered in on the 26th of October, 1861, at " Camp Sigel," Milwaukee. Companies were assigned the Tenth regiment on the 18th of September, and ordered into camp at Milwaukee, where it was fully organized about the first of October, being mustered into the service on the fourteenth of that month. The Tenth infantry was enlisted in September, 1861, and mustered in on the fourteenth of October, 1861, at "Camp Holton," Mil- waukee. The Eleventh regiment was called by companies into "Camp Randall " the latter part of September and first of October, 1861, and mustered in on the eighteenth. The Twelfth was called in to the same camp and mustered in by companies between the twenty-eighth of October and the fifth of November, 1861. The Thirteenth rendezvoused at "Camp Treadway," Janes- ville, being mustered into the United States service on the seventeenth of October, 1861. These thirteen regiments were all that had been accepted and mustered into the United States service while Randall was governor.

From the commencement of the rebellion a great desire had been manifested for the organ-

WISCONSIN AS A STATE.

ization of artillery companies in Wisconsin, and this desire was finally gratified. Each battery was to number one hundred and fifty men, and, as has been shown, five had been authorized by the General Government to be raised in Wisconsin. The First battery was recruited at La Crosse, under the superintendence of Captain Jacob T. Foster, and was known as the " La Crosse Artillery." It rendezvoused at Racine early in October, 1861, where on the tenth of that month, it was mustered into the United States service. The Second battery, Captain Ernest Herzberg, assembled at "Camp Utley," Racine, and was mustered in with the First battery on the tenth. The Third, known as the " Badger Battery," was organized by Captain L. H. Drury, at Madison and Berlin, and was mustered into the service on the same day and at the same place as the First and Second. The Fourth battery, recruited and organized at Beloit, under the supervision of Captain John F. Vallee, was mustered in on the first of October, 1861, at Racine. The Fifth battery was recruited at Monroe, Green county, under the superintendence of Captain Oscar F. Pinney, moving afterward to "Camp Utley," Racine, where, on the first of October, it was mus- tered in, along with the Fourth. So brisk had been the recruiting, it was ascertained by the governor that seven companies had been raised instead of five, when the secretary of war was telegraphed to, and the extra companies-the Sixth and Seventh accepted ; the Sixth, known as the " Buena Vista Artillery," being recruited at Lone Rock, Richland county, in September, Captain Henry Dillon, and mustered in on the second of October, 1861, at Racine; the Seventh, known as the "Badger State Flying Artillery," having organized at Milwaukee, Captain Richard R. Griffiths, and mustered in on the fourth of the same month, going into camp at Racine on the eighth. This completed the mustering in of the first seven batteries, during Governor Randall's administration ; the whole mustered force being thirteen regiments of infantry ; one company of cavalry ; one of sharpshooters; and these seven artillery companies. "Wisconsin," said the gov- ernor, in response to a request as to the number of regiments organized, "sent one regiment for three months,-officers and men eight hundred and ten. The other regiments for the war up to the Thirteenth (including the First, re-organized), will average one thousand men each; one company of sharpshooters for Berdan's regiment, one hundred and three men; and seven companies of light artillery." Of cavalry from Wisconsin, only Deutsch's company had been mustered into the United States, although three regiments had been authorized by the General Government before the close of Randall's administration. The governor, before the expiration of his office, was empowered to organize. more artillery companies-ten in all; and five additional regiments of infantry-making the whole number eighteen. On the tenth of December, he wrote : "Our Fourteenth infantry is full and in camp. * Fifteenth has five companies in camp, and filling up. Sixteenth has eight companies in camp, and will be full by the 25th of December. Seventeenth has some four hundred men enlisted. Eighteenth will be in camp, full, by January 1. Seven maximum companies of artillery in camp. * * Three regiments of * cavalry-two full above the maximum; the third, ahout eight hundred men in camp." It will be seen, therefore, that a considerable number of men in the three branches of the service was then in camp that had not been mustered into the service ; and this number was considerably increased by the 6th of January, 1862, the day that Randall's official term expired; but no more men were mustered in, until his successor came into office, than those previously mentioned.

The First regiment-three months'-left "Camp Scott," Milwaukee, on the ninth of June, 1861, for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-eight hundred and ten in number; John C. Starkweather, colonel. The regiment returned to Milwaukee on the seventeenth of August, 1861, and was mustered out on the twenty-second.

The First regiment re-organized at "Camp Scott," Milwaukee. Its mustering into the service, as previously mentioned, was completed on the nineteenth of October. On the twenty-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.

eighth, it started for Louisville, Kentucky-nine hundred and forty-five strong-under command of its former colonel, John C. Starkweather. The Second regiment, with S. Park Coon as colonel, left "Camp Randall," Madison, for Washington city, on the eleventh of June, 1861- numbering, in all, one thousand and fifty-one. The Third regiment started from "Camp Hamilton," Fond du Lac, for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, under command of Charles S. Hamilton, as colonel, on the twelfth of July, 1861, with a numerical strength of nine hundred and seventy- hine. The Fourth regiment - Colonel Halbert E. Payne - with a numerical strength of one thousand and fifty-three, departed on the fifteenth of July, 1861, from "Camp Utley," Racine, for Baltimore, Maryland. The Fifth regiment left "Camp Randall," Madison, one thousand . and fifty-eight strong, commanded by Colonel Amasa Cobb, on the twenty-fourth of July, 1861, for Washington city. On the twenty-eighth of July, 1861, the Sixth regiment, numbering one thousand and eighty-four, moved from Madison, having been ordered to Washington city. It was commanded by Colonel Lysander Cutter. The Seventh regiment-Joseph Van Dor, Colonel -with a numerical strength of one thousand and sixteen men-officers and privates, received orders, as did the Fifth and Sixth, to move forward to Washington. They started from Madison on the morning of the twenty-first of September, 1861, for active service. The Eighth infantry, nine hundred and seventy-three strong, commanded by Colonel Robert C. Murphy, left Madison, en route for St. Louis, Missouri, on the morning of the twelfth of October, 1861. The Ninth, or German regiment, with Frederick Salomon in command as colonel, did not leave "Camp Sigel," for active service, while Randall was governor., The Tenth infantry moved from "Camp Holton," Milwaukee, commanded by Colonel Alfred R. Chapin, on the ninth of November, 1861, destined for Louisville, Kentucky, with a total number of nine hundred and sixteen officers and privates. On the twentieth of November, 1861, the Eleventh regiment "broke camp" at Madison, starting for St. Louis, under command of Charles L. Harris, as colonel. Its whole number of men was nine hundred and sixteen. The Twelfth regiment, at "Camp Randall," Madison -Colonel George E. Bryant, and the Thirteenth, at "Camp Tredway," Janesville- Colonel Maurice Maloney-were still in camp at the expiration of the administration of Governor Randall : these, with the Ninth, were all that had not moved out of the State for active service, of those mustered in previous to January 6, 1861, -making a grand total of infantry sent from Wisconsin, up to that date, by the governor, to answer calls of the General Government, for three years' service or during the war, of nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-one men, in ten regiments, averaging very nearly one thousand to each regiment. Besides these ten regiments of infantry for three years' service, Wisconsin had also sent into the field the First regiment, for three months' service, numbering eight hundred and ten men; Alexander's company of sharp- shooters, one hundred and six; and Deutsch's company of cavalry, eighty-four: in all, one thousand. Adding these to the three years' regiments, and the whole force, in round numbers, was eleven thousand men, furnished by the State in 1861.

EIGHTH ADMINISTRATION .- LOUIS P. HARVEY AND EDWARD SALOMON, GOVERNORS-1862-1863.

Louis P. Harvey was inaugurated governor of Wisconsin on the sixth of January, 1862. The fifteenth regular session of the legislature of the State began on the eighth of the same month. In the senate, the republicans were in the majority; but in the assembly they had only a plurality of members, there being a number of " Union " men in that branch -enough, indeed, to elect, by outside aid, J. W. Beardsley, who ran for the assembly, upon the "Union " ticket, as speaker. Governor Harvey, on the tenth, read his message to the legislature in joint convention. "No previous legislature," are his opening words, " has convened under equal Incentives to a disinterested zeal in the public service. . . . . The occasion," he adds, "pleads

WISCONSIN AS A STATE.

with you in rebuke of all the meaner passions, admonishing to the exercise of a conscientious patriotism, becoming the representatives of a Christian people, called in God's providence to pass through the furnace of a great trial of their virtue, and of the strength of the Government." On the seventh of April following, the legislature adjourned until the third of June next ensuing. Before it again assembled, an event occurred, casting a gloom over the whole State. The occasion was the accidental drowning of Governor Harvey.

Soon after the battle of Pittsburgh Landing, on the seventh of April, 1862, the certainty that some of the Wisconsin regiments had suffered severely, induced the governor to organize a relief party, to aid the wounded and suffering soldiers from the State. On the tenth, Harvey and others started on their tour of benevolence. Arriving at Chicago, they found a large num- ber of boxes had been forwarded there from different points in the State, containing supplies of various kinds. At Mound City, Paducah, and Savannah, the governor and his party adminis- tered to the wants of the sick and wounded Wisconsin soldiers. Having completed their mission of mercy, they repaired to a boat in the harbor of Savannah, to await the arrival of the Minne- haha, which was to convey them to Cairo, on their homeward trip. It was late in the evening of the nineteenth of April, 1862, and very dark when the boat arrived which was to take the governor and his friends on board ; and as she rounded to, the bow touching the Dunleith, on which was congregated the party ready to depart, Governor Harvey, by a misstep, fell overboard between the two boats, into the Tennessee river. The current was strong, and the water more than thirty feet deep. Every thing was done that could be, to save his life, but all to no purpose. His body was subsequently found and brought to Madison for interment. Edward Salomon, lieutenant governor, by virtue of a provision of the constitution of the State, upon the death of Harvey, succeeded to the office of governor of Wisconsin. On the third day of June, the legislature re-assembled in accordance with adjournment on the seventh of April previous, Governor Salomon, in his message of that day, to the senate and assembly, after announcing the sad event of the death of the late governor, said : "The last among the governors elected by the people of this State, he is the first who has been removed by death from our midst. The circumstances leading to and surrounding the tragic and melancholy end of the honored and lamented deceased, are well known to the people, and are, with his memory, treasured up in their hearts." He died," added Salomon, " while in the exercise of the highest duties of philan- thropy and humanity, that a noble impulse had imposed upon him." The legislature, on the thirteenth of June, by a joint resolution, declared that in the death of Governor Harvey, the State had " lost an honest, faithful, and efficient public officer, a high-toned gentleman, a warm- hearted philanthropist, and a sincere friend." Both houses adjourned sine die, on the.seventeuth of June, 1862.

Business of great public importance, in the judgment of the guoernor, rendering a spacil session of the legislature necessary, he issued, on the twenty-ninth of August, 1862, his proc- lamation to that effect, convening both houses on the tenth of September following. On that day he sent in his message, relating wholly to war matters. He referred to the fact that since the adjournment of the previous session, six hundred thousand more men had been called for by the president of the United States, to suppress the rebellion. "It is evident," said he, " that to meet further calls, it is necessary to rely upon a system of drafting or conscription, in Wisconsin." The governor then proceeded to recommend such measures as he deemed necessary to meet the exigencies of the times. The legislature levied a tax to aid volunteering, and passed a law giving the right of suffrage to soldiers in the military service. They also authorized the raising of money for payment of bounties to volunteers. The legislature adjourned on the twenty- sixth of September, 1862, after a session of sixteen days, and the enacting of seventeen laws.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.

On the 7th of October, James H. Howe, attorney general, resigned his office to enter the army. On the 14th of that month, Winfield Smith was appointed by the governor to fill the vacancy.

At the general election in the Fall of this year, six congressmen were elected to the thirty- eighth congress : James S. Brown from the first district; I. C. Sloan, from the second; Amasa Cobb, from the third ; Charles A. Eldredge, from the fourth ; Ezra Wheeler, from the fifth; and W. D. McIndoe, from the sixth district. Sloan, Cobb, and McIndoe, were elected as republi- cans ; Brown, Eldridge, and Wheeler, as democrats.

The sixteenth regular session of the Wisconsin legislature, commenced on the fourteenth of January, 1863. J. Allen Barber was elected speaker of the assembly. The majority in both houses was republican. Governor Salomon read his message on the fifteenth, to the joint convention, referring, at length, to matters connected with the war of the rebellion. A large number of bills were passed by the legislature for the benefit of soldiers and their families. On the twenty-second, the legislature re-elected James R. Doolittle, to the United States senate for six years, from the fourth of March next ensuing. The legislature adjourned sine die on the second of April following. In the Spring of this year, Luther S. Dixon was re-elected chief justice of the supreme court, running as an independent candidate.

By a provision of the Revised Statutes of 1858, as amended by an act passed in 1862, and interpreted by another act passed in 1875, the terms of the justices of the supreme court, elected for a full term, commence on the first Monday in January next succeeding their election.

At the Fall election there were two tickets in the field : democratic and union republican. The latter was successful, electing James T. Lewis, governor; Wyman Spooner, lieutenant governor; Lucius Fairchild, secretary of state; S. D. Hastings, state treasurer; Winfield Smith, attorney general ; J. L. Pickard, state superintendent; W. H. Ramsay, bank comp- troller; and Henry Cordier, state prison commissioner.

WAR OF SECESSION-HARVEY AND SALOMON'S ADMINISTRATION.

When Governor Randall turned over to his successor in the gubernatorial chair, the military matters of Wisconsin, he had remaining in the State, either already organized or in process of formation, the Ninth infantry, also the Twelfth up to the Nineteenth inclusive; three regiments of cavalry ; and ten batteries-First to Tenth inclusive. Colonel Edward Daniels, in the Summer of 1861, was authorized by the war department to recruit and organize one battalion of cavalry in Wisconsin. He was subsequently authorized to raise two more companies. Governor Ran- dall, in October, was authorized to complete the regiment-the First cavalry-by the organiza- tion of six additional companies. The organization of the Second cavalry regiment was author- ized in the Fall of 1861, as an "independent acceptance," but was finally turned over to the State authorities. Early in November, 1861, the war department issued an order discontinuing enlistments for the cavalry service, and circulars were sent to the different State executives to consolidate all incomplete regiments. Ex-Governor Barstow, by authority of General Fremont, which authority was confirmed by the General Government, had commenced the organization of a cavalry regiment - the Third Wisconsin - when Governor Randall received information that the authority of Barstow had been revoked. The latter, however, soon had his authority restored. In October, Governor Randall was authorized by the war department to raise three additional companies of artillery - Eighth to Tenth inclusive. These three batteries were all filled and went into camp by the close of 1861. Governor Randall, therefore, besides sending out of the State eleven thousand men, had in process of formation, or fully organized, nine regiments of infantry, three regiments of cavalry, and ten companies of artillery, left behind in

WISCONSIN AS A STATE.

various camps in the State, to be turned over to his successor.

The military officers of Wisconsin were the governor, Louis P. Harvey, commander-in- chief; Brigadier General Augustus Gaylord, adjutant general; Brigadier General W. W. Tred- way, quartermaster general; Colonel Edwin R. Wadsworth, commissary general; Brigadier Gen- eral Simeon Mills, paymaster general; Brigadier General E. B. Wolcott, surgeon general; Major M. H. Carpenter, judge advocate; and Colonel William H. Watson, military secretary. As the General Government had taken the recruiting service out of the hands of the executives of the States, and appointed superintendents in their place, the offices of commissary general and paymaster general were no longer necessary; and their time, after the commencement of the administration in Wisconsin of 1862, was employed, so long as they continued their respective offices, in settling up the business of each. The office of commissary general was closed about the first of June, 1862 ; that of paymaster general on the tenth of July following. On the last of August, 1862, Brigadier General Tredway resigned the position of quartermaster general, and Nathaniel F. Lund was appointed to fill his place.

Upon the convening of the legislature of the State in its regular January session of this year-1862, Governor Harvey gave, in his message to that body, a full statement of what had been done by Wisconsin in matters appertaining to the war, under the administration of his predecessor. He stated that the State furnished to the service of the General Government under the call for volunteers for three months, one regiment - First Wisconsin; under the call for volunteers for three years, or the war, ten regiments, numbering from the First re-organized to the Eleventh, excluding the Ninth or German regiment. He gave as the whole number of officers, musicians and privates, in these ten three-year regiments, ten thousand one hundred and seventeen. He further stated that there were then organized and awaiting orders, the Ninth, in "Camp Sigel," Milwaukee, numbering nine hundred and forty men, under Colonel Frederick Salomon ; the Twelfth, in "Camp Randall," one thousand and thirty-nine men, under Colonel George E. Bryant; the Thirteenth, in "Camp Tredway," Janesville, having nine hundred and nineteen men, commanded by Colonel M. Maloney; and the Fourteenth, at "Camp Wood," Fond du Lac, eight hundred and fifty men, under Colonel D. E. Wood.

The Fifteenth or Scandinavian regiment, Colonel H. C. Heg, seven hundred men, and the Sixteenth, Colonel Benjamin Allen, nine hundred men, were at that time at "Camp Randall," in near readiness for marching orders. The Seventeenth (Irish) regiment, Colonel J. L. Doran, and the Eighteenth, Colonel James S. Alban, had their full number of companies in readiness, lacking one, and had been notified to go into camp - the former at Madison, the latter at Milwaukee. Seven companies of artillery, numbering together one thousand and fifty men, had remained for a considerable time in " Camp Utley," Racine, impatient of the delays of the General Govern- ment in calling them to move forward. Three additional companies of artillery were about going into camp, numbering three hundred and thirty-four men. Besides these, the State had furnished, as already mentioned, an independent company of cavalry, then in Missouri, raised by Captain Von Deutsch, of eighty-one men ; a company of one hundred and four men for Ber- dan's sharpshooters; and an additional company for the Second regiment, of about eighty men. Three regiments of cavalry-the First, Colonel E. Daniels; the Second, Colonel C. C. Washburn; and the Third, Colonel W. A. Barstow; were being organized. They numbered together, two thou- sand four hundred and fifty men. The Nineteenth (independent) regiment was rapidly organ- izing under the direction of the General Government, by Colonel H. T. Sanders, Racine. Not bringing this last regiment into view, the State had, at the commencement of Governor Harvey's administration, including the First, three-months' regiment, either in the service of the United States or organizing for it, a total of twenty-one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three men.

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The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Part 11

Author: Wesern historical company, Chicago, pub Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co. Number of Pages: 899

Author: Wesern historical company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 899