Michigan in The Civil War
About-Contact
Hello and welcome to Michigan in the American Civil War.
I have been working on republishing this book since 2006 at one point most of the work was lost and I had to begin over. I hope that many individuals will find this historical information of interest.
If you have any questions regarding the site please feel free to contact me at history@pegandrail.com
If you have a historical non commercial site that is related to the American Civil War I would like to add your site to my resource page.
Thank You
Ed Hazel
Civil War Resources
American Civil War – http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/warweb.html
Categorized links, general resources, documentary records, and state and local studies. Maintained by Dr. George H. Hoemann, University of Tennessee.
Spectacle du Puy du Fou : France - Philippe de Villiers
Civil War Maps Collection – http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/civil_war_maps/
Library of Congress collection of reconnaissance, sketch, coastal, and theater-of-war maps depicting troop activities and fortifications.
The Valley of the Shadow, Two Communities in the American Civil War – http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/
Hypermedia archive of thousands of primary sources. Follows two communities before, during, and after the American Civil War, Augusta County, Virginia, and Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
Civil War at Smithsonian – http://www.civilwar.si.edu
Examines the Civil War through the Smithsonian Institutes extensive collections. It includes resources, a detailed timeline, and images with detailed descriptions.
U.S. Army Military History Institute – http://www.carlisle.army.mil/ahec/MHI.htm
Provides searchable databases of bibliographical and biographical holdings and unit histories; online access to document descriptions and photographs.
Civil War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society – http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpcoop/nhihtml/cwnyhshome.html
Includes recruiting posters for New York City regiments of volunteers; stereographic views documenting the mustering of soldiers and of popular support for the Union in New York City; photography showing the war’s impact, both in the north and south; and drawings and writings by ordinary soldiers on both sides.
The War of the Rebellion in Cornell University’s Making of America – http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html
Complete online text of the Official Records of the Civil War.
Civil War Index Page – http://homepages.dsu.edu/jankej/civilwar/civilwar.htm
Categorized links, includes archives, bibliographies, books and “Gateways” category. A list of Civil War links frequently updated and maintained by Prof. Jim Janke of Dakota State University.
U.S. CivilWar Center – http://www.cwc.lsu.edu
Site promotes the study of the American Civil War.
The Civil War Home Page – http://www.civil-war.net
A collection of Civil War related links, photos, letters and diaries, documents, and battle reports.
Civil War Bookshelf – http://cwbn.blogspot.com/
Trends in Civil War publishing, CW historiography, CW civic remembrance, and pop culture.
The American Civil War from 1861-1865 – http://www.civil-war.tv/
Contains information and links about Lincoln, Lee, Grant, Gettysburg, Appomattox, Bull Run, Antietam, other battles and Civil War History.
Civil War Archive – http://www.civilwararchive.com/
A collection of American Civil War regimental histories, letters from home and diary excerpts.
American Civil War Home – http://www.civilwarhome.com/
Shotgun’s Civil War site – including overviews of many different aspects of the war, biographies, battle summaries, photographs, selected official records, and Fox’s Regimental losses.
Bits of Blue and Gray: An American Civil War Notebook – http://www.bitsofblueandgray.com
The site honors both Union and Confederate Soldiers. It includes archives. letters. poetry,songs, and monthly columns.
Religion in the Civil War: The Northern Side – http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/cwnorth.htm
Overview, online resources, and guidance for classroom discussion. On TeacherServe from the National Humanities Center.
Civil War Rosters – All States – http://www.civilwarroster.com/
A list of regimental roster links by state.
Civil War Academy – http://www.civilwaracademy.com
Information about many aspects of the most bloody conflict in United States history.
Civil War Search – http://www.civilwarsearch.com/
A directory and a Civil War search based on Google custom search engine.
Civil War Medicine – http://www.powerweb.net/bbock/war/index.html
Covers medicine at the start of the war, medical technology, amputations, transport, and a bibliography.
The Western Theater in the Civil War – http://www.aotc.net/
Information about the Army of the Cumberland and George H. Thomas source page and the Army of Tennessee and Braxton Bragg source page.
The Civil War – http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/civil.htm
The American Battlefield Protection Program’s site for Civil War Battlefields and related issues. On-line publications, features, publications to order, and links to National Civil War Parks.
George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War – http://www.shepherd.edu/gtmcweb/cwcenter.htm
The mission of the center is to promote scholarly research war through the development of a database that contains pertinent military, socio-economic and medical data on Union and Confederate servicemen, with initial emphasis on West Virginia’s soldiers.
Hispanics in America’s Defense – http://www.neta.com/~1stbooks/confed.htm
History of Civil War units containing men of Spanish ancestry who fought for the Confederacy and the Union.
American Civil War – http://www.hist.unt.edu/web_resources_mil/am_civil_war1.htm
From the University of Northern Texas, this site was created with the intent of linking to as many primary documents from the period of the secession crisis as is reasonably possible, with the goal of shedding light on the causes of secession, hence of the war.
A Civil War Haiku – http://www.civilwarhaiku.com
A haiku verse by Melissa Whelan inspired by the American Civil War; an ode of homage to the valor of our most deadly conflict.
Civil War Slang – http://boonebunny.tripod.com/hubbub.html
Civil War Slang for all “fresh fish” or “top rail skunks.”
Historical Natural History: Insects and the Civil War – http://entomology.montana.edu/historybug/civilwar2/civilwar.htm
The fact that microbes caused more death than hostile fire is well known to the student of the American Civil War. This account reveals the influence of insects on soldiering during the Civil War.
The History Place – U.S. Civil War 1861-1865 – http://www.historyplace.com/civilwar/index.html
An easy-to-use American Civil War timeline with many original photographs and interesting quotes.
Photographic History of the Civil War – http://www.quinnipiac.edu/other/ABL/etext/civilwar/civilwarmain.html
An etext of the 1912 10 volume edition, in PDF files of 50 page segments per volume. A rich collection of photographs, maps and memoirs of the great war.
Virginia Civil War Battles – http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/va61.html
Virginia Civil War information including battles and the State flag history.
CJ’s Civil War – http://www.wtv-zone.com/civilwar/index.html
A complete overlook of the War; including maps, indexes, statistics, flags, lists of battles, and photo gallery. Dedicated to the 13th W. Virginia.
Mikes Civil War Artifacts – http://www.mikescivilwar.com/
Relics of the Civil War. Site offers information about insignias of rank and branch of service, documents from the conflict, uniforms, and related collector information.
Intelligence in the American Civil War – http://intellit.muskingum.edu/civwar_folder/civwartoc.html
The works of Edwin C. Fishel, a noted author in the area of intelligence, reveals covert operations, spies and intrigue gathered from his research on the role of intelligence in the Civil War.
Civil War Weapons – http://www.civilwarweapons.net
Descriptions and photos of Civil War weapons, including small arms, edged weapons, and artillery.
Civil War Soldier – http://www.civilwarsoldier.com
Description of soldiers from each side, timeline of events and key dates, gallery of pictures, and other resources.
North Carolina Troops – http://www.nctroops.com/index.htm
Contains various Confederate and Federal regiments from the Civil War Period.
Civil War – http://www.civil-war.ws
An online resource for Civil War information.
Civil War Zone – http://www.civilwarzone.com/
A collection of Civil War related biographies, documents, songs, chronology, battle orders, links, and recipes.
Civil War Chaplains – http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/civilwarchaplain/
Description of qualifications and the role of Civil War chaplains, who shared every part of the soldiers’ lives. Includes some photographs.
Casey’s On-Line Virtual Civil War Archive – http://usregulars.tripod.com
A virtual library of Civil War military histories, Union manuals and documents, includes links to other resources.
Fort Craig – http://fortcraig.tripod.com/
A southwestern fort and a Civil war Battlefield, where Confederate General Sibley fought Union General E.R.S. Canby. A New Mexico historical site.
Astrocartography of the Secession of South Carolina – http://www.dominantstar.com/e_civil1.htm
Essay on the astrocartography of the Civil War, focus on how the planetary metaphors of Mars and Pluto were reflected in this historic event, by astrocartographer Rob Couteau.
Scots in the Civil War – http://www.electricscotland.com/history/descendants/chap13.htm
The stories of men and women born in Scotland who fought in the American Civil War.
Civil War Battles – http://www.civil-war-battles.com
Repository of information about Civil War battles, people, a timeline, and a summary.
Civil War Story – http://www.civilwarstory.nstemp.com/
Includes a wide range of civil war related material with over one hundred pages and photos.
Storypath: A Nation Divided – http://fac-staff.seattleu.edu/mmcguire/web/Downloads/Nation/nation.html
A social studies curriculum unit in the Storypath series dealing with the Civil War, specifically the area around Chattanooga.
Civil War Slang – http://cwslang.tripod.com
Listing of slang terms still used in today’s language.
Great American History – http://members.tripod.com/~greatamericanhistory/index.html
Free educational material on the American Civil War and Abraham Lincoln, site provides an outline, library, and lesson plans.
Remembering The Civil War – http://attilahunn.homestead.com/index.html
A history of the war to preserve its memories.
The American Civil War Homepage – http://cwar.nps.gov/civilwar/
The official National Park Service Civil War Web Site. Offers information on Parks, education, battlefield protection, soldiers and sailors, and African Americans in the Civil War.
Civil War Heritage – http://members.tripod.com/~Fringrose/civil
Contains information about Confederate and Union Generals, and Rock Island Prison.
West Point Atlas – http://www.dean.usma.edu/departments/history/web03/atlases/american_civil_war/index.htm
Follow the events of the Civil War with digital versions of maps created by the United States Military Academy’s Department of History.
Main Affiliate Link
Matts Civil War – http://www.angelfire.com/ny4/mattscivilwar/
Links about the American Civil War.
The United States Civil War – http://www.angelfire.com/ca5/sw00/civilwar.html
This site has information on the U.S. Civil War and the people in it, as well as some of the battles fought.
Michigan in the American Civil War
This site is dedicated to preserving a small bit of the history surrounding Michigan’s participation in the American civil war. This book was published shortly after the finish of the Civil War in very limited quantities. I have a copy of this book which was purchased by one of my ancestors who participated in the American Civil War in the book there is notations of his travels and the battles that he was in. Another one of my ancestors did not survive the war and is buried in a military graveyard in Washington DC.
My hope is that this information will now be available to anyone who is looking for specific information on battles or troop involvement in the American Civil War. I’ve no idea if this information is available in other publications or not, hopefully with this book being republished on the Internet information will not be lost or forgotten on a dusty bookshelf in some library with only limited access.
I sincerely hope that you find this information not only interesting but valuable and helpful to anyone doing research in regards to the American Civil War.
I need to give thanks to two of my ancestors who fought in the American Civil War. The first is Jacob Funk who served with the Michigan Third Infantry (reorganized). Jacob Funk collected most of the information contained in this site. The second of my ancestors to partake in the American Civil war was Fredrick Schmalzried, with the 1st Michigan Cavalry he did not survive the war. Fredrick was taken prisoner at Brentsville, Va on Feb 14, 1863 and died of disease on June, 28 1863. Is buried at Soldiers Home National Cemetery In Washington DC site 5174
The majority of the information contained here is from the public domain book
“Michigan in The War” By Michigan Adjuant Generals Department
Compiled originally by JNO. Robertson 1882
The information has been categorized in an easy to read and follow format with a search able data base to make it easy and quick to find specific information. In the next phase the p[aln is to make this site more interactive allowing people to add information and upload photographs and any documents that they may have and want to preserve at least a copy of to share with fellow historians.
INTRODUCTION
The American Rebellion, in 1861, was the consummation of a long and increasing determination to resist grievances, which the Southern States unreasonably claimed to have received for a series of years at the hands of the Northern States. Imaginary wrongs of the past—unpromising shadows of the future—the decay of political power—the “Irrepressible Conflict” in force—the dreadful handwriting on the wall, foretelling the doom of human slavery—the pronounced hostility of the press—the continuous and earnest denouncement of it from the pulpit—the increasing sentiment of the northern masses against it—the enactment of laws by Congress circumscribing its limits, together with the election of a President, the choice of a party professing open hostility to its extension, and foreshadowing the accomplishment of its utter abolition, led to a declaration of secession from the Union of most of the States in which slavery existed, and the repudiation of the National Government and its laws— the setting up of a revolutionary government and the armament of a force to maintain it—the inauguration of hostilities by the perpetration of acts of war on National forts and ships,—the vile desecration of the Flag, and the onset of a vicious and vindictive rebellion in force. The sudden uprising in rebellion in so formidable proportions unfortunately found all departments of the National Government, as well as States, unprepared for its fearful emergencies, and as they were unanticipated they were unprovided for.
War was then to the American people only as a name. They had been lulled into a condition of repose by years of comparatively social tranquillity, amid great commercial and increasing prosperity. They had not for many years realized the dreadful realities of war in their own country, and had for a long time been only cognizant of its devastating results as they from time to time heard of its existence in other nations; and while they were confident of not meeting it from any external source, had forgotten the possibility of encountering it within their own borders; and rarely or never, even in thought, admitted that it might hastily become a fearful fact, even refusing, almost up to the last moment, to credit the most probable predictions of the loyal, and disregarding the continuous and defiant threatenings of the disloyal, of a coming eclipse on the peace of the Nation, until its terrible shadow, in all its gloom, had fallen upon their country.
It was not until the walls of Sumter were being laid in smoking ruins by rebel batteries, and the National Flag riddled by shot and shell, that the ‘people of the land became undeceived, the dreadful responsibilities acknowledged and accepted, and the action determined upon which was at once needed.
The emergency was sudden and alarming. Prompt action and strong measures must at once prevail; the necessities of the time must be met; the existing deficiencies supplied; the burdens of the struggle borne; great sacrifices of life and means must be made, and a country saved. How these were so triumphantly accomplished has gone into history as the grandest achievement on record.
Michigan, in common with the other Northern States, had shared in the prevailing indifference as to possible internal discord which might lead to a civil war, and had never actually or impliedly conceded its possibility until the first blow was struck. The people had made the wish father to the thought, that as American citizens they were loyal to the Nation; they would expect it in others, and proposed to hold all innocent until guilt was indisputably proven. Thus the times of peace had not been devoted to a preparation for war. The preliminary arming, the antecedent training, the husbanding of resources, the abatement of encumbrances, the occupancy of advantageous positions necessary to enter a terrible conflict, had all been forgotten in the fancied security of continuing peace; and the enemy vigorously assailed the walls while the unthinking garrison was yet engaged in the peaceful avocations of life, and the rusty weapons of years past yet remained in quiet arsenals of the land until they became a prey to treason and rebellion.
The militia of the State had been struggling for years to acquire a recognition as an institution of the State, but so far it had failed. It was rather looked upon as a burlesque on the military profession, than as an efficient and necessary part of the State government. “Yet, neglected and feeble as it was considered, it formed a nucleus from which rallied the first regiments sent to the field in defense of the Union, and from it germed much of the esprit de corps which characterized the early Michigan regiments, coupled with superior military appearance and general efficiency, and which became more or less infused into many other regiments throughout the war. To the efforts of Col. F. W. Curtenius, of Kalamazoo, then Adjutant General, the State was more indebted for whatever efficiency was found in the Militia at the outbreak of the war, than to the meager and limited provisions of law. The entire available force at the time consisted of twenty-eight companies, poorly equipped and armed, having an aggregate strength of 1,241 officers and men. For the entire support of this military establishment the State annually spent the enormous sum of three thousand dollars, appropriated by the Legislature. No wonder the people of Michigan regarded it at a very low ebb and most delicately feeble, when Buch an estimate was placed upon it by the State Legislature.
Although the State was physically weak in a military point of view, as well as in financial resources, it was strong in principle, the morale of. the people being loyal to the core and true as steel. Governor Wisner, on retiring from the Executive chair at the close of his term in 1860, delivered an eloquent and cogent address to the Legislature of 1861. After presenting, in the usual way, full and well considered summaries of all the essential facts regarding the manifold important and varied interests of the State, he took up the discussion of the grave condition of the country at that time, over which a dark cloud had been cast by a recent passage in several Southern States of ordinances of secession, foreboding most dire results.
In his language there was not a shadow of faltering, no tinge of disaffection, no uncertain sound. With intense earnestness he breathed devotion to the Union and the Flag in every sentence. Every paragraph was a stirring argument, counseling the maintenance of the Union, denouncing treason, and invoking patriotism. “We quote from these inspiring utterances, words which fell upon the ear of patriots amid doubt, disloyalty, and danger, like tidings of better days and harbingers of future glory: “This is no time for timid and vacillating councils, when the cry of treason and rebellion is ringing in our ears.” “The Constitution, as our fathers made it, is good enough for us, and must be enforced upon every foot of American soil.” “Michigan cannot recognize the right of a State to secede from this Union. We believe that the founders of our Government designed it to be perpetual, and we cannot consent to have one star obliterated from our Flag. For upwards of thirty years this question of the right of a State to secede has been agitated. It is time it was settled. We ought not to leave it for our children to look after.” “I would calmly but firmly declare it to be the fixed determination of Michigan that the Federal Constitution, the rights of the States, must and shall be preserved.”
It was but a short time until personal example followed these glowing words, this noble advice. His fidelity to the Union and the honor of his State prompted him Boon to take the field, where a short but bright and promising career gave the name of Moses Wisner to the long list of Michigan martyrs to American liberty. Following the valedictory of Governor Wisner, the Legislature of 1861 listened with intense interest to the inaugural of Austin Blair, his successor, who, in a profound and philosophical address, set forth the true nature of our system of government, and the real meaning of the present and impending issues, and closed with these emphatic and forcible utterances:
“We are satisfied with the Constitution of our country, and will obey the laws enacted under it, and we must demand that the people of all the other States do the same; safety lies in this path alone. The Union must be preserved, and the laws must be enforced in all parts of it at whatever cost. The President is bound to this by his oath, and no power can discharge him from it. Secession is revolution, and revolution in the overt act is treason and must be treated as such. The Federal Government has the power to defend itself, and I do not doubt that that power will be exercised to the utmost. It is a question of war that the seceding States have to look in the face. They who think that this powerful Government can be disrupted peacefully have read history to no purpose. The sons of the men who carried arms in the seven years war with the most powerful nation in the world, to establish this Government, will not hesitate to make equal sacrifices to maintain it. Most deeply must we deplore the unnatural contest. On the heads of the traitors who provoke it must rest the responsibility. In such a contest the God of battles has no attribute that can take sides with the revolutionists of the slave States.
“I recommend you at an early day to make manifest to the gentlemen who represent this State in the two Houses of Congress, and to the country, that Michigan is loyal to the Union, the Constitution, and the laws, and will defend them to the uttermost; and to proffer to the President of the United States the whole military power of the State for that purpose. Oh 1 for the firm, steady hand of a Washington, or a Jackson, to guide the ship of State in this perilous storm. Let us hope that we shall find him on the 4th of March. Meantime, let us abide in the faith of our fathers—’ Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, now and forever.’ ”
The sentiment of the people of the State had by this time been educated up to expecting prompt and decisive action by the Legislature and they were not disappointed. Inspired by its own steadfast and invincible amor Patrice, it was quick in defining its position and unfurling its colors to the breeze, declaring in joint resolutions passed February 2d, 1861, the adherence of the State to the Government of the United States, pledging and tendering all its military power and material resources, and also declaring that concession or compromise was not to be entertained or offered to traitors. Nothing, however, was definitely attempted by the State authorities, and no actual defensive or aggressive measures were undertaken until the gigantic struggle was fully inaugurated by the fire upon Fort Sumter of the encircling batteries of the rebels in Charleston Harbor, when all hope of evading an inevitable conflict gave place to prompt and needful action.
Those awful tidings were received on April 12th, creating the wildest excitement all over the State, and in Detroit, the people, much alarmed, commenced estimating how united the public officials and people would be in the cause of the Union. On the following day a meeting of the Bar, with other citizens, was held, presided over by the venerable Judge Ross Wilkins of the United .States Court, when the United States officials were required to take the oath of allegiance, and resolutions were adopted denouncing and repudiating the .treason, and pledging the community to “stand by the Government to the last.”
By the following Monday (April 15th), the surrender of the South Carolina fort was known throughout the land, and Michigan had received the President’s call for 75,000= volunteers, assigning her own quota. The emergencies and duties of the hour were then fully realized by the people of the State, and the uprising was universal. Most cities and towns were holding meetings in open air, in public buildings,—even in Christian churches,—pledging fidelity and pecuniary assistance to the Nation in its hour of great peril, and volunteers in large numbers were congregating and demanding instant service for the Union, while the watch-fires of patriotism had been kindled on every hillside and in every valley, burning and flashing with intense brightness, at once cheering and inspiring.
Michigan was extremely fortunate in her Executive. His example and utterances in public and private, full of loyalty, patriotism, and courage, gave an abiding tone to public sentiment, and inspired the troops. And although the intense prevailing patriotism of the people of Michigan was undoubtedly the main source of the high standard reached by her troops in this – respect, yet it being so eminently inherent in her “War Governor,” Austin Blair, and which he so eloquently imparted to them on every fitting occasion, impressed it on their minds with so much earnestness as to produce most beneficial and enduring effects. The State was equally fortunate in her Legislative bodies, being composed of men thoroughly in sympathy with the Union cause, opposing with great earnestness and ability any measures tinctured in the least with secession or even a shadow of compromise, and as a result their declarations in this respect were “stalwart” and decided, not minced in clipped or timid words, nor faint in expression, but bold, pronounced, and defiant.
In the management of her interests at the National capital the State was well represented, having in the several departments of the Government men of influence who esteemed the reputation of their State, and were ever anxious and prompt to advance her cause. In her Representatives in both houses of Congress she was especially favored, and with these advantages Michigan unhesitatingly, but reluctantly, although hopefully and fearlessly, launched her bark on the turbulent sea of war on rebellion.
Raising of Troops
Governor Blair reached Detroit on Tuesday, April 16th, 1861, and in the afternoon, at the Michigan Exchange, met by arrangement the State Military Officers and a large number of leading citizens and capitalists of that city.
The President of the United States had called upon the State to furnish one regiment of infantry fully armed, clothed, and equipped, to aid the Government in suppressing the existing rebellion. It was then estimated that $100,000 would be at once required for this purpose, but the treasury was comparatively empty, and the condition of the State finances was such that this pressing call could not be immediately met. When this condition of affairs was laid before the meeting by the Hon. John Owen, State Treasurer, a resolution was unhesitatingly passed pledging Detroit to loan the State $50,000, at the same time calling upon the State generally to make a like advance. At this meeting a subscription paper was at once circulated, and $23,000 pledged by those present, and to complete the whole amount committees were appointed to solicit further subscriptions in the city. Such prompt and liberal action could not fail to be successful, and furnished the sinews of war for the time being at least. Mr. Owen, with these pledges of the people in hand, coupled with his own good credit, succeeded in negotiating a loan which was mostly taken by our own citizens, sufficient to warrant the Executive to undertake uniforming and equipping troops. The amounts thus raised, as well as all other indebtedness incurred in like manner, were assumed by the State on the assembling of the Legislature.
The necessity for such action on the part of citizens of Michigan, when contrasted with the present substantial condition of the State, financially, sets forth in the strongest light her rapid advance in prosperity and wealth, even in the face of a large war debt, which is now virtually canceled. Following is a list of the subscribers referred to, with the dates at which their subscriptions were made ” Throughout the land there goes a cry;
A sudden splendor fills the sky, From every hill the banners burst, Like buds by April breezes nurst; In every hamlet, home, and mart, The firebeat of a single heart Keeps time to strains whose pulses mix Our blood with that of Seventy-Six.” On April 16 a proclamation was issued by the Governor calling for ten companies of volunteers, and directing the Adjutant General to accept the first ten that should offer, and making it the duty of that officer to issue all necessary orders, and give such instructions in detail as might be required. The movement thus inaugurated was at once successful, the companies responding most promptly, the tender of troops far exceeding the number required by the general Government, and thus all the duties of the hour were promptly met and discharged.
The Governor had also issued a proclamation on April 2d, convening the Legislature in extra session at Lansing on the 7th of May. The Legislature met pursuant to the call, when a stirring address was delivered by the Governor, in which he gave a detail of the work already accomplished, and at the same time asked the Legislature to legalize his past action, and to invest the State authorities with sufficient power for the future.
A session of four days resulted in the passage of laws endorsing the acts of the Governor, and clothing him with full authority to raise ten regiments; also to effect a loan of one million dollars, which was speedily accomplished. The Legislature, fully appreciating the patriotic and perilons services required of the troops, and the sacrifices which must be made by their families in their absence, especially as to a means of support, and at the same time anticipating that some might be unprovided for, or might be left in want by the contingencies or casualties of war, wisely enacted the “Soldiers’ Relief Law,” to contribute aid to their families by counties; this allowance to be made in the discretion of the supervisors according to circumstances, but not to exceed fifteen dollars a month, and in case of the death of a soldier, to continue one year thereafter.
This relief was unquestionably administered with that generous liberality which the law contemplated. Yet the duty was neither easy nor desirable, as it required much labor, good judgment, discrimination, and delicacy, at the same time giving opportunity for much censure. While imposition on the counties had to be guarded against, respect for the claims of applicants was demanded, and in its distribution there was a degree of delicacy requisite in barring the least idea of a charity, and in establishing one of a right. The Quartermaster General, J. H. Fountain, a faithful and energetic officer, who had been appointed in March, was charged with clothing, equipping, and subsisting the troops on contracts made by the “Military Contract Board,” organized May 15th by Legislative authority, and composed of Colonels E. 0. Grosvenor, Jonesville; Jerome Croul, Detroit; and William Hammond, Tekonsha. Individual ability and great energy, coupled with exemplary economy, characterized this Board, relieving the Quartermaster General of much labor and responsibility. General A. S. Williams and Colonel H. M. Whittlesey, of Detroit, Colonel A. W. Williams, of Lansing, and Col. C. W. Leffingwell, of Grand Rapids, constituted the State Military Board, with the Adjutant General and Quartermaster General as members ex officio.
Colonel William M. Fenton, of Flint, was in June following appointed a member of the Board in place of Colonel Williams, who had gone to the field with the Second Infantry. Soon after, Colonel Fenton entered the service as Colonel of the Eighth Infantry, and was succeeded by Colonel E. H. Thomson, of Flint, who, on the 13th of August, was elected President of the Board. Jabez II. Fountain, of Manchester, was commissioned Quartermaster General. April 1st. 1861, serving until March 25th, 1863, and was a faithful and energetic officer.
Friend Palmer, of Detroit, was appointed Assistant Quartermaster General in May following. His experience of several years in the Quartermaster’s department of the regular army rendered him a valuable officer’, and to him the State was greatly indebted for the efficient and economical direction given to the administration of that department. General William Hammond succeeded General Fountain March 25th, 1863, and served until March 25th, 1865, when he was relieved by the appointment of General 0. N. Giddings of Kalamazoo. Both these officers served with marked ability and faithfulness. General Gidding3 having resigned in March, 1867, was succeeded by General Palmer, who served until September, 1870.
On the 21st of May, 1861, Colonel James E. Pittman, of Detroit, was appointed State Paymaster, and served in that capacity, making large disbursements, as pay to troops while in the service of the State, a duty which he faithfully performed. He was also a member of the State Military Board from September 19th, 1861, until November 1st, 1862, when he was appointed Inspector General of the State, serving until March, 1867.
At the commencement of the war General Jno. Robertson held the appointment of Adjutant General of the State, has served continuously since that time, and is now in service in that capacity. Captain Heber LeFavour was appointed Assistant Adjutant General April 1st, 1861, which appointment he held until June 15th following, when he was commissioned as a Captain in the Fifth Michigan Infantry, and took the field with that regiment. Captain DeGarmo Jones succeeded him and served until May 6th, 1862, when he resigned. Both these officers served with marked efficiency.
Colonel Frederick Morley was commissioned May 6, 1862, as Assistant Adjutant General, serving with eminent ability and distinction, until March 11, 1865, rendering arduous and valuable service to the State. The President’s call upon Michigan for troops was promptly met by the muster in of the First Regiment and its early movement to the seat of war, in Virginia.
In the meantime, authority had been received from the War Department to raise three other regiments, but at the same time stating that it was ” important to reduce rather than increase that number.” This authority only covered the 2d, 3d, and 4th Infantry, already in process of recruitment, while many companies throughout the State, not included in the organizations referred to, had been recruited without authority in the hope of- obtaining place in those or other regiments, but were disappointed, and most of them Bought and found service in the troops of other States.
This limited policy of the government was extremely at variance with the views of Governor Blair regarding the necessities of the country at the time, and deeming immediate preparation to meet emergencies necessary, he established the “Camp of Instruction” referred to in the second part of this work.
The great pressure for the acceptance of companies continued unabated, ¦while the applications for appointments as commissioned officers had reached the maximum, and the Governor was continuously importuned by influential citizens of both political parties to a most unbearable degree, while men were being forced by them upon his attention for favorable consideration, regardless of natural or acquired qualifications for the place. In fact, this continued during the entire earlier part of the war, and although much care was uniformly exercised in making selections, both as to original appointment and promotion in the field, it is but reasonable to expect that some mistakes were made.
In his perplexing and responsible position, Governor Blair always recognized qualifications for the office, and loyalty to the cause, as the tests, more than personal friendship or political status.
Under a law of Congress of August 3d, the President was authorized to receive into service 500,000 volunteers, and while the proportion of Michigan was understood to be 19,500, the State was charged with 21,337 on an adjustment of credits.
Michigan, in response to this requisition, continued a vigorous recruitment, sending regiment after regiment to the field, and up to December, 1861, had sent to the front 13 regiments of infantry, 3 of cavalry, and 5 batteries of light artillery, with a total strength of 16,475 officers and men. Ten of these regiments, one battery, and one company had been subsisted, clothed, and partly armed by the State. In addition to this, 13 companies had gone into service in regiments of other States, failing, as before stated, to find service in those of their own. Governor Blair, on January 2d, 1862, delivered his message to the Legislature, then in extra session, from which the following extract is made, and which was accepted at the time as an expression of the people of the State on the war question: “I cannot close this brief address without an illusion to the great object that occupies all men’s minds. The Southern rebellion still maintains a bold front against the Union armies. That is the cause of all our complications abroad and our troubles at home. To deal wisely with it is to find a short and easy deliverance from them all. The people of Michigan are no idle spectators of this great contest. They have furnished all the troops required of them, and are preparing to pay the taxes and to submit to the most onerous burdens without a murmur. They are ready to increase their sacrifices, if need be, to require impossibilities of no man, but to be patient and wait. But to see the vast armies of the Republic, and all its pecuniary resources used to protect and sustain the accursed system which has been a perpetual and tyrannical disturber, and which now makes sanguinary war upon the Union and the Constitution, is precisely what they will never submit to tamely. The loyal States having furnished adequate means, both of men and money, to crush the troops to crush the rebellion, have a right to expect those men to be used with the utmost vigor to accomplish the object, and that without any mawkish sympathy for the interest of traitors in arms. Upon those who caused the war, and now maintain it, its chief burdens ought to fall.
No property of a rebel ought to ho free from confiscation—not even the sacred slave. The object of war is to destroy the power of the enemy, and whatever measures are calculated to accomplish that object, and are in accordance with the usages of civilized nations, ought to be employed. To undertake to put down a powerful rebellion, and, at the same time, to save and protect all the chief sources of the power of that rebellion, seems to common minds but a short remove from simple folly. He who is not for the Union, unconditionally, in this mortal struggle is against it. The highest dictates of patriotism, justice, and humanity, combine to demand that the war should be conducted to a speedy close upon principles of the most heroic energy and retributive power. The time for gentle dalliance has long since passed away. We meet an enemy, vindictive, bloodthirsty, and cruel, profoundly in earnest, inspired with an energy and self-sacrifice which would honor a good cause, respecting neither laws, constitutions, nor historic memories, fanatically devoted only to his one wicked purpose to destroy the Government and establish his slaveholding oligarchy in its stead.
To treat this enemy gently is to excite his derision. To protect his slave property is to help him to butcher our people and burn our houses. No. He must be met with an activity and a purpose equal to his own. Hurl the Union forces, which outnumber him two to one, upon his whole line like a thunderbolt; pay them out of his property, feed them from his granaries, mount them upon his horses, and carry them in his wagons, if he has any, and let him feel the full force of the storm of war which he has raised. I would apologize neither to Kentucky nor anybody else for these measures, but quickly range all neutrals either on the one side or the other. Just a little of the courage and ability which carried Napoleon over the Alps, dragging his cannon through the snow, would quickly settle this contest, and settle it right.
If our soldiers must die, do not let it be of the inactivity’and diseases of camps, but let them at least have the satisfaction of falling like soldiers, amid the roar of battle, and hearing the shouts of victory; then will they welcome it as the tired laborer welcomes sleep. Let us hope that we have not much longer to wait.” Equally estimating with the Governor the great emergencies and necessities of the country, the Legislature, with firmness and pluck worthy of the people which they represented, passed with much unanimity the following well-timed and eminently proper joint resolution in reference to the rebellion :
“Wheheas, The Government of the United States is engaged in putting down a causeless and wicked rebellion against its authority and sovereignty, inaugurated by ambitious men to obtain political power,—a Government, the safety and perpetuity of which must ever rest upon the loyalty of its citizens and an adherence to the Constitution; “And Whereas, The welfare of mankind, the usefulness and power of the JNation are involved in the events and issues of the present conflict; therefore, be it “Resolved (the House concurring), That Michigan, loyal to herself and to the federal Government, reaffirms her undying hostility to traitors, her abiding love for freedom, and her confidence in the wisdom and patriotism of the National Administration.
“Resolved (the House concurring), that the people of Michigan deem it the imperative duty of the Government to speedily put down all insurrection against its authority and sovereignty, by the use of every constitutional means, and by the employment of every energy it possesses; that Michigan stands firm in her determination to Sustain, by men and treasure, the Constitution and the Union, and claims that the burthen of loyal men should be lightened, as far as possible, by confiscating to the largest extent the property of all insurrectionists; and that as between the institution of slavery and the maintenance of the Federal Government, Michigan does not hesitate to say, that in such exigency, slavery should be swept from the land, and our country maintained. ‘• Resolved, That the Governor be requested to forward a copy of the foregoing preamble and resolutions to each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress.
” Approved January 18, 1862.” Recruiting was being vigorously prosecuted at the commencement of 1862, and under most favorable circumstances, brought about to some extent by a brisk competition between officers, often leading to various schemes for inducing recruits to change regiments both before and after muster. A practice then considered sharp, but which was neither legitimate nor scarcely honest, but still considered by some as evincing a degree of energy, and by some called smart. And although this mode of operating was protested against from time to time, and complaints made leading to the publication of orders against it, yet it was found impossible to prevent the practice, and it was generally excused under a plea of zealous purpose. At this time there were in progress of rapid recruitment five regiments of infantry and three batteries of artillery. Their completion was most industriously pushed by the officers engaged, and by the end of March, 1862, they had all left the State for the field.
In addition to these, a Lancer regiment, three companies of Sharp-shooters, and a company for service at Mackinac had been organized and mustered into service.
The reports made in July to the Adjutant General’s office by the several regiments, batteries, and companies, gave an addition of 2,028 recruits to their original strength, showing up to July 1st a total enrollment of 24,281 officers and men since the commencement of the war, which, together with an estimated number of 1,453 enlistments in companies in service of other States, gave 25,734 as a grand total. To this may be added the Lancer regiment disbanded, and the Chandler Horse Guard, making an aggregate of nearly 27,000 men placed in service prior to the 1st of July, 1862; thus exhibiting a surplus of over 6,000 over and above the number required to comply with all the demands of the Government, and establishing a degree of patriotism and promptness unsurpassed by any other State.
The following is taken from the lied Book of Michigan: During McClellan’s disastrous peninsula campaign in May and June, the Michigan regiments had become much depleted by the usual casualties of service and by wounds, disease, and death, whilst recruiting had entirely failed in the State. The 17th Infantry was then organizing, and it was found almost impossible to obtain men for its completion, and recruits for regiments in the field could not be enlisted under any circumstances.
“This fearful condition of affairs had assumed so formidable a shape as to make it necessary to hold public meetings in some localities of the State to stimulate the people to more energy in the cause of the Union, and especially in recruiting for the regiments in the field. A public meeting for that purpose was called in Detroit, to be held in the afternoon of Tuesday, the 15th July, and on assembling on the Campus Martius in accordance with the call, and while the business in view was being proceeded with the gathering was surprised by a mob of men, who furiously interrupted the deliberations and entirely broke up and dispersed the meeting, driving the officers from the stand, and compelling some of them to seek shelter and safety in the Russell House, a hotel adjacent to the Campus Martius. The exhibition of this rebel spirit in our midst proved of immediate and lasting advantage to the cause of the army in the field, for it aroused such a feeling of indignation at these disloyal and treasonable operations, and such utter contempt for the ruffians who had been thus engaged, that the masses of the respectable citizens of both political parties determined that such proceedings should not be tolerated in Detroit, and therefore next day a meeting was appointed for Tuesday, the 22d of July.
Sharp Shooters
Raise the banner, raise it high, boys!
Let it float against the sky;
God be with us!’ this our cry,
boys; Under it we’ll do, or die. ”
The organization of the 1st Sharp_shooters began in the fall of 1862, under the direction of Colonel C. V. DeLand, its quarters being at Kalamazoo. In the spring of 1863 it went into rendezvous at Dearborn.
The recruitment of the regiment was partially completed July 7, 1863, when it was mustered into the United States service, with six companies, four other companies being subsequently mustered.
FIELD AND STAFF.
Colonel, Charles V. DeLand, Jackson. Lieutenant Colonel, William H. H. Beadle, Ann Arbor. Major, John Piper, Battle Creek. Surgeon, Arvin T. Whelan, Hillsdale. Assistant Surgeon, George L. Cornell, St. Clair. Second Assistant Surgeon, Jacob McNett, Grand Haven. Adjutant, Edward J. Buckbee, Ypsilanti. Quartermaster, David G, Palmer, Jackson. Chaplain, David A. Heagle, Detroit.
The companies composing the regiment were:
A. Captain, Levant C. Rhines, Battle Creek. First Lieutenant, George C. Knight, Batlle Creek. Second Lieutenant, Guy Newbre, Emmet.
B. Captain, Elmer C. Dicey, Grand Haven. First Lieutenant, William Clark, Hillsdale. Second Lieutenant, Francis Whipple, Hillsdale.
C. Captain, Lucien Meigs, Reading. First Lieutenant, Thomas R. Fowler, Jonesville. Second Lieutenant, Albert P. Thomas, Allen.
D. Captain, George N. Davis, Albion. First Lieutenant, Samuel E. Hudson, Ypsilanti. Second Lieutenant, Cyrenus B. Knight, Newton.
E. Captain, Asahel W. Nichols, Lansing. First Lieutenant, Ira L. Evans, Niles. Second Lieutenant, Henry V. Hinckley, Lansing.
F. Captain, Hooker A. DeLand, Jackson. First Lieutenant, Joseph 0. Bellair, Detroit. Second Lieutenant, Martin Wager, Battle Creek.
G. Captain, Thomas H. Gaffney, Niles. First Lieutenant, Moses A. Powell, Niles. Second Lieutenant, Charles G. Conn, Elkhart, Indiana.
H. Captain, Andrew J. Hall, Coldwater. First Lieutenant, George Fowler, Fowlerville. Second Lieutenant, William Ruddock, Kimball.
I. Captain, George H. Murdoch, Berrien Springs. First Lieutenant, Robert F. Hill, Kalamazoo. Second Lieutenant, William H. Randall, Pittsfleld.
K. Captain, Edwin V. Andress, Chesaning. First Lieutenant, William J. Driggs, East Saginaw. Second Lieutenant, Garrett A. Graveraet, Little Traverse.
During the Morgan raid into Ohio and Indiana the regiment, in command of Colonel DeLand, was ordered to Indianapolis, Indiana, and thence proceeded to Seymour in the same State. Following Morgan’s forces it fell in with and attacked their rear guard at North Vernon on July 13th, and on the 14th at Pierceville, capturing some prisoners.
Morgan had entered Indiana and was traveling leisurely across the State, robbing and plundering, until he reached the vicinity of Seymour, where six companies of the sharp_shooters, about 400 strong, in command of DeLand, and two companies of the 32d Indiana, at home on furlough commanded by Captain Moore, had been sent to watch the raider. He struck Dupre Station nine miles south of Seymour which he sacked and burned. Following Morgan’s forces it fell in with and attacked their rear guard at North Vernon on July 13th, and on the 14th at Pierceville, capturing some prisoners.
Morgan had entered Indiana and was traveling leisurely across the State, robbing and plundering, until he reached the vicinity of Seymour, where six companies of the sharp_shooters, about 400 strong, in command of DeLand, and two companies of the 32d Indiana, at home on furlough commanded by Captain Moore, had been sent to watch the raider. He struck Dupre Station nine miles south of Seymour which he sacked and burned.
DeLand paid no attention to the flag of truce, but marched directly through the town about 4 P. M. on July 12th. Of course the rebs with their flag took to their heels and made for their camp. DeLand at once pushed his entire force out by companies to picket all the roads, retaining only the drum corps as a reserve with about three hundred citizens who were armed and equipped with guns and ammunition from an extra supply on hand. Morgan put out counter pickets, and thus the forces stood at 9 P. M. DeLand knowing that the rebel force was far superior to his, both as to numbers and equipment, resolved to accomplish his purpose of saving the town by strategy, and at once went to work. With this in view he employed several teams driving up and down the road to the railroad depot about three miles distant as if carrying supplies, and at intervals during the night made use of the drum corps, playing as though additional troops had come to reinforce. At 4 A. M. of the 13th the sharp_shooters attacked the Morgan pickets on the two principal roads; when considerable firing for a few minutes took place, but at daylight it was discovered that the enemy had left his camp and moved in the direction of Pierceville. A few of, Morgan’s stragglers captured said they supposed the town was full of infantry.
One officer remarked: “We could have whipped you’uns in ten minutes. ” Thus was one Indiana town saved from the notorious marauder. DeLand pushed on the next day, the 14th, to Pierceville and there had more skirmishing with the rear guard of Morgan, whom they followed on foot in the night about 28 miles to Summan Station, on the railroad to Cincinnati, where the pursuit ended, Morgan having made good his escape into Ohio.
Subsequently the regiment returned to Dearborn, where it continued to recruit until its organization was completed with ten companies.
On the 16th of August it proceeded under orders to Chicago, where it was placed on duty guarding a camp of rebel prisoners at Camp Douglas On February 14th, 1864, it was assigned to the 2d brigade, 3d division (Willcox’s), 9th army corps, and on March 17th it left Chicago with orders to join that corps at Annapolis, Maryland. The regiment, in command of Colonel DeLand, marched from Annapolis on the 23d of April, and proceeded via Alexandria to Warrenton Junction, where it arrived on the 28th. Joining the Army of the Potomac then entering upon its summer campaign, the regiment left Warrenton Junction May 4th and on the 5th crossed the Rapidan river.
On the 6th and 7th it was engaged in the battle of the Wilderness, sustaining a loss of 7 killed or died of wounds, 17 wounded, and 1 missing. Marching with the army to Spottsylvania C. H., it participated in the battles of the 9th, 10th, and 12th of May, suffering very severely, especially in the action of the 12th. The casualties at Spottsylvania were 34 killed, 117 wounded, and 4 missing, including among the killed Major Piper.
From the Red Book of Michigan:
“On May 9th the 9th corps moved forward in the direction of Spottsylvania, the 3d division in advance, and before noon encountered the enemy, when the lines were formed, the sharp_shooters on the left. Immediately the division experienced severe fighting; for a time the line wavered, but advanced quickly, gaining ground all day, and on the 10th, with the corps, crossed the Po river, and went into position on the heights southwest of the river, where its artillery commanded the junction of the two great wagon roads which the rebels had to hold in order to cover Richmond. Heavy skirmishing continued on the 11th, and the height of the fighting was reached on the next day; said to have been acknowledged by the generals of both armies as one of the bloodiest of the campaign.
The rain having continued for two days; the roads had become totally impassable, and it was only by the most persistent and overtasking exertions that the 9th and 2d corps were joined and put in a defensive position. The rebel general, moving on plank and macadamized roads, took quick advantage of this state of affairs to make a tremendous onslaught upon the 9th corps while thus isolated and unsupported, with a swollen and almost impassable river in its rear. General Burnside, not waiting to be attacked, initiated the action, and the fighting commenced at 4 o’clock A. M.
The 1st division (Crittenden’s) . in front, assisted by the 2d division (Potter’s), maintained the action until noon, when the 3d division (Willcox’s) was put in, when a most determined and vigorous attack was made by the 1st brigade, under General Hartranft, which drove the rebels into their works and gave the Union troops a most decided advantage, and the division was instantly formed and ordered to assault the main line of works, while, at the same time, as was afterwards ascertained, Anderson’s corps of the rebel army had been preparing to charge to dislodge the Union troops.
The Federal line swiftly advanced, with a cheer, to the desperate contest. Answering back came the shrill yell of the rebel hosts, as if in confident defiance. Midway the space between the two lines of battle the two charging columns met, amid the thick smoke of battle, in a dense thicket of pines; the bloody struggle commenced and almost in an instant after the first shock they became mixed in inextricable confusion, and the charge became a series of furious and unrelenting hand_to_hand encounters. At length the superior numbers of the rebels began to force the Union lines to retire;
regiment after regiment fell slowly and sullenly back, and the whole left was in retreat. The terrible sacrifice of the troops attest their valor and the magnitude of the struggle. “On a little knoll, among the thick spindling pine, where their rifles commanded the country for their full range, rallied two Michigan regiments—the 1st sharp_shooters, Colonel De Land, and the 27th, Major Moody, while a little back, in a ravine, was the 14th New York Battery, supported by the 2d Michigan Infantry. The combat slowly, sullenly, disastrously rolling down from the left, was bursting upon them, when Colonel Humphrey of the 2d Michigan, commanding brigade, cool as an iceberg and resolute as fate, said:
Boys, this must be stopped!’
The leaden hail pattered and whistled with terrific furor, but the little band stood firm. More than once the bold rebels laid their hands on the guns of the battery only to be driven back by well_directed volleys. A cheer arose, the rebels were checked, broken, but not defeated; in an incredibly short time they had reformed, and again the fearful struggle was renewed. On the right stood the 27th, fighting with unequalled coolness and bravery; everything on the left of the sharp_shooters had been swept away, and the attack on their front and flank, with both infantry and artillery pouring in shot and shell, was terrific; but they gallantly held their ground. On the left of the sharp_shooters were a company of civilized Indians, in command of the gallant and lamented young Graveraet, an educated half_breed as brave a band of warriors as ever struck a war_path; they suffered dreadfully, but never faltered nor moved, sounding the war whoop with every volley, and their unerring aim quickly taught the rebels they were standing on dangerous ground. The fighting continued on. Near night a rumor runs along the lines that ammunition is gone, and the cry of give them the steel’ is received with a cheer.
The attack has again been repulsed, and the storm lulls; the fight is losing its horrid fury, and with a fearful burst of artillery it sinks into a scattered skirmish, but not until the darkness came did the battle cease. During this fearful and bloody day Colonel De Land was twice struck and prostrated by the flying missiles, but, badly injured as he was, remained faithful to his command. The regiment lost 34 killed, 117 wounded, and 4 missing. Among the killed was Major John Piper, a brave and lamented officer, who, after several years’ hard and faithful service, fell by a shot through the brain. The regiment, in command of Major L. 0. Rhines, Colonel De Land being wounded on the 12th, arrived on the banks of the North Anna on the 23d of May, where it was somewhat warmly engaged in several skirmishes with the enemy on that day, losing in these encounters 2 killed, 7 wounded, and 5 missing. On the 26th the regiment again moved by a circuitous route to the Pamunky river, crossing it on the 28th, accomplishing on that day a march of 32 miles. It arrived at Tolopotomy creek on the 29th, where it engaged in skirmishing, with a loss of only 1 wounded. June 2d it again resumed the march, meeting the enemy at Bethesda Church that afternoon, but being in the supporting line suffered but little, having but 2 wounded.
On the 4th the regiment marched to Cold Harbor, and lay in the front line during the operations there, its casualties being one killed, 6 wounded, and 10 missing. It evacuated the works at Cold Harbor on the 11th of June, crossing the James river on the night of the 15th. Passing through Grant’s great campaign on Richmond with much credit, and crossing the James river, it arrived with its division in front of Petersburg June 16th, and on the next day, while in command of Major Rhines, became so heavily engaged and so specially distinguished in charging and holding the enemy’s works, and repelling his repeated assaults to retake them, that this bloody battle became one of the most prominent events in the history of the regiment.The position of the regiment being on the extreme left of the corps, and the 5th corps failing to connect the line after the capture of the rebel works, a large gap was left through which the rebels poured their troops, and most severe fighting occurred; the regiment most gallantly repulsed the enemy in two successive and vigorous charges, taking 2 officers and 86 men prisoners, and the colors of the 35th North Carolina, which were captured by Corporal Benj. F. Young, of Company I, who was promoted for distinguished gallantry on the occasion. During the engagement the left of the regiment became completely enveloped, and was placed in a position compelling it either to surrender or cut its way through the rebel lines; the last_named resort was determined on, and having first destroyed the national color of the regiment to prevent its falling into the hands of the enemy, then commenced fighting its way out, and finally succeeded in getting through the rebel lines. The gallant Major Rhines fell in this desperate struggle, together with 31 killed and died of wounds, 46 wounded, and 84 missing,
Battery D
Battery D was organized with the 11th Infantry and had its rendezvous at Coldwater. It was mustered into the service of the United States, September 17th, 1861. Its officers were: Captain, Alonzo F. Bid well, Coldwater; First Lieutenant, Josiah W. Church, Coldwater; First Lieutenant, James M. Beedle, Union City; Second Lieutenant, Henry B. Corbin, Union City; Second Lieutenant, William Green, Wayne, Indiana. The battery left its rendezvous at Coldwater, December 9th, 1861, taking the route to Kentucky. There are no records of its movements prior to June 26th, 1863, when it is reported as being in command of Captain Church, Captain Bidwell having resigned August 2d, 1862. It was engaged in the action at Hoover’s Gap, Tenn., on June 26th, 1863, and in the battle of Chickamauga, on the 19th and 20th September following. At Hoover’s Gap it inflicted severe damage upon the enemy. Its loss in this action was one wounded. At Chickamauga it was heavily engaged, and overwhelmed by numbers had to abandon five of the pieces, bringing off a twelve-pounder howitzer. Its loss was nine wounded and three missing, Captain Church being among the wounded. A correspondent wrote as follows: “This battery was hotly engaged early in the battle of the 19th, being with the 1st brigade, 3d division, 14th corps.
“The enemy advancing, the battery fired shell until they were within 200 yards, when seeing the support on the left break, it was ordered to double shot the guns with canister, and by firing low and rapid, with the help of the infantry support on the right, the enemy were soon driven from our entire front, so far as could be seen.
”On the 20th at about 12 o’clock at night the battery was in the front line on the right of the 7th Ohio Infantry and on the left of the 11th Michigan Regiment, belonging to Colonel Stanley’s brigade of Negley’s division, and remained there until after daylight, after changing position several times with but little firing, until it arrived at the latter position. It had been in this position for about an hour when orders were received to limber up, the fighting being heavy on the left and gradually advancing in front upon the battery. While this was being accomplished the enemy attacked, and were immediately engaged as they advanced, having an enfilading fire on a portion of his force, and by hard firing for about fifteen minutes his advance was checked and a battery silenced which had been playing on the line. Firing then ceased for a short time, and until the enemy again engaged. The front was held in good order for some twenty minutes, when the enemy again advanced obliquely on the right and in such overwhelming numbers that the support on the right was obliged to give way while endeavoring to change their front. The enemy was then so near that Captain Church ordered the guns double shotted with canister, which kept them back for a short time.The 7th Ohio having fallen back, the 82d Indiana advanced to the line as a support, taking possession of a slight rail breastwork; but the firing proving too heavy for so small a body of men to contend with, they were obliged to fall back. All support having failed and many horses shot, orders were given to move the pieces off by hand, and four were retired about fifty yards. Here three of them were limbered up with much difficulty under a most galling fire, and got away, moving to a ridge in the rear where the reserve artillery was posted.
Fighting continued here, and all that was saved of the battery was a twelve-pounder howitzer, having been obliged to abandon the other guns for want of horses, when Captain Church, with what was left of his battery, moved to the rear on the Chattanooga road. ” Another correspondent wrote as follows:
“No battery was more skillfully handled nor did better execution on that bloody battle field than Church’s, and although five of his guns were captured after the horses were killed, he has the proud satisfaction of hearing it said by his superiors that no commander could have fought longer under like circumstances, nor retreated from the field with more honor. He maintained his position until the last and made terrible havoc among the rebel masses. At every discharge of his peices and the messengers followed each other in quick succession-wide gaps were opened in the ranks of the maddened foe; and, strange to say, they as often closed such gaps as regularly as on dress parade. “When the rebel General Preston, who led the charge, got possession of the guns, he looked around and inquired of a wounded soldier lying on the ground, whose battery it war ‘Captain Church’s Michigan Battery.
‘ Well. ‘ said he, ‘if you live to see Captain Church give him my compliments, and tell him that he had the d-est battery that I ever fought. I have lost over 400 men in taking it; but thank God, I have got it now, and mean to keep it. ”
On the 1st of November, 1863, this battery was lying in camp at Chattanooga, Tenn. It was, on the 23d, furnished with a battery of 20-pounder Parrot guns, and took position in Fort Negley, one of the principal forts in the line of works at Chattanooga, and immediately in front of that place. The battery, from Fort Negley, shelled the enemy during the battles of the 23d, 24th, and 25th of November. On the 24th it aided in covering Hooker’s advance up Lookout Mountain, and on the 25th the assault on Mission Ridge. On the 5th of December the battery left Chattanooga for Nashville, where it remained during the winter.
On the 30th of March, 1864, it was ordered to Murfreesboro, where it remained during the year, occupying “Redoubt Brannen, ” the flag station of Fort Rosecrans. The battery was then in command of Captain H. B. Corbin, Captain Church having been promoted to a Majority in the regiment. While the rebel General Hood was operating against Nashville, his right resting near Murfreesboro, the battery was engaged with his forces at various times, from the 12th to the 16th of December, 1864.
It continued on duty at Fort Rosecrans until July 15th 1865, when it proceeded in command of Captain Jesse Fuller, to Michigan, reaching Jackson on the 22d. It was mustered out of service on the 3d of August, and was soon thereafter paid off and discharged.
It had been in engagements at Hoover’s Gap, Tenn., June 26th, 1863;
Chickamauga, Ga., Sept. 19, 20, 1863;
Chattanooga, Tenn., Nov. 23, 24, 1863;
Mission Ridge, Tenn., Nov. 25, 1863;
Murfreesboro, Tenn., December 12 to 16, 1864.
While in service it had borne on its rolls 334 officers and men, and had lost 1 man killed in action, 1 died of wounds, and 38 of disease.
Battery E
The rendezvous of Battery E was at Marshall, and was recruited with the Engineers and Mechanics. It was mustered into the service of the United States December 6th, 1861, with Captain John H. Dennis, Grand Rapids; First Lieutenant, John G. Ely, Grand Rapids. Second Lieutenant, Jerome Burns, and Second Lieutenant, Peter De Vries, Adrian, were mustered at Nashville, Tenn., after the battery had arrived there.
It left the State December 17th, 1861, going directly into the Western Army, and was engaged at Pittsburg Landing, April 7th, 1862, in command of Captain Dennis, and at Fort Riley, Tenn., on the 20th September following, while in command of Captain John G. Ely promoted, in place of Dennis resigned. The battery was in garrison at Nashville, Tenn., November 1st, 1862, and it remained there constituting part of the artillery reserve until the first of June, 1863, when it was attached to General Hard’s brigade, and ordered to Murfreesboro. Remaining there three months the brigade was ordered to Nashville, where it was on service during the balance of the year. Fifty-seven of this battery re-enlisted as veterans, receiving the customary furlough, which they spent in Michigan.
During 1864, while commanded by Captain Peter De Vries, it was stationed at Nashville. While there one section participated in the raid made in July by the forces under Major General Rosseau, in Alabama and Georgia
This section was engaged with the enemy at Coosa July loth, and at Cheraw on the 20th. The battery was serving in Tennessee, and was stationed at Nashville November 1, 1864, except one section which was on duty at Springfield. In December it was attached to the 4th Army Corps, and in that month it participated in the defense of Nashville, against the attack of the rebel General Hood on that point, where it gained an enviable reputation in that important battle, and was engaged in pursuing his forces on their retreat southward.
The battery remained at Nashville until February, 1865, when it was ordered to Decatur, Alabama, where it constituted a part of the garrison of that place until it was ordered to Michigan for muster out. It arrived at Jackson on the 16th, and was mustered out of service on the 30th of July, 1865.
It had encountered the enemy while in service at Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., April 7, 1862;
Fort Riley, Tenn., September 20, 1862;
Coosa, Ala., July 15 1864;
Cheraw, Ala., July 20, 1864;
Nashville, Tenn., December 12 to 16 1864.
This battery had carried on its rolls 327 officers and men, and lost one man drowned and 29 died of disease.
Battery F
Battery F was organized at Coldwater and mustered into the service of the United States January 9th, 1862, with the following officers: Captain, John S. Andrews, Coldwater; First Lieutenant, Luther F. Hale, Coldwater, and First Lieutenant, Norman S. Andrews, Three Rivers; Second Lieutenant, George B. Tyler, Coldwater, and Second Lieutenant, Henry A. Hutson.
The battery left the State in command of Captain Andrews for service in Kentucky March 3, 1862, and was for some months in garrison at West Point. Its first engagement was at Henderson, Ky., June 30th, and then at Richmond, in that State, August 29th and 30th, where its infantry support having failed, the battery was cut off by the enemy, and its guns captured. Up to October 31st it had lost, killed in action 3, died of wounds 1, and of disease 1, wounded in action 13, missing in action 3, supposed to be killed, and 58 taken prisoners. On the 31st of October it was stationed at Louisville, Ky.
On December 6th Captain Hale assumed command, Captain Andrews having resigned. One section of the battery, in command of Lieutenant Paddock, being on detached service at BowlingrGreen on Garrison duty, on December 13th, the remainder of the battery proceeded from Louisville to Munfordsville, where it was also placed on garrison duty.
It remained at this point until October, 1863, when it moved to Glasgow. Captain Hale having been promoted to a majority in the regiment on December 7th, Lieutenant Brown assumed command of the battery.
This battery, in command of Lieutenant Holbrook, inarched accross the Cumberland mountains in January, 1864, to Knoxville, where it arrived on the 22d, the men and horses having suffered much during the march from the extreme cold and scarcity of rations and forage. The battery formed part of the garrison of Knoxville until the 24th of April, when it was newly equipped and assigned to the 2d division of the 23d army corps. While stationed at this point, 50 men re-enlisted as veterans on the 4th of January, and receiving their furlough returned to Michigan, on the expiration of which they rejoined the battery. In May, 1864, in command of Captain Paddock, it joined the army under General Sherman, then entering upon the Georgia campaign. On the 12th of May it participated in the engagement at Resaca.
it took part in the engagements near Lost Mountain, on the 9th and 11th, and on the 14th shelled the enemy’s works. It was engaged in skirmishing almost daily until the 22d, when it took part in the engagement of Moss House. It was in the battle at Seesaw Mountain, on the 24th, having three wounded, and on the 1st was engaged near Marietta. On the 8th of July it drove a rebel battery from its position at the Ohattahoochee river, the enemy abandoning one of their guns. The battery crossed the Ohattahoochee on the 11th of July, and assisted in driving the enemy out of Decatur on the 18th and 19th. On the 21st it was engaged between Decatur and Atlanta, losing one man killed, and on the same day threw the first shell into Atlanta. On the 22d the battery took position at a distance from the rebel works of about 1,800 yards, and until the 1st of August kept up a steady fire. On the 4th, in command of Lieutenant Miller, the battery was engaged in a severe fight at Utoy creek, losing one man killed. In this action the equipments and wheels of two of its guns were destroyed by the enemy’s shot. It, however, held its position, and aided in silencing the fire of two of the rebel batteries. During the year its loss was 3 men died of wounds and 4 of disease.
A correspondent wrote as follows: ” On the 24th of April (1864) an order was issued to have the battery equipped for field service at once, and on the 27th Captain Paddock reported that the battery was ready for service. Marching orders were received on the morning of the 28th, and at 9 o’clock A. M. we left Knoxville, en route for Charleston, Tenn., seventy miles distant, reaching there on Sunday, May 1st. On account of the scarcity of horses, our section was left there to guard the railroad bridge across the Hiawassee river until more horses could be had. Remained at Charleston until the morning of May 3d, when, again taking up our line of march, we passed through. Cleveland at 12 M., and, following the Dalton road, reached Red Clay on the afternoon of the 4th. Our corps now formed the left wing of General Sherman’s army. ” Resumed the march on the morning of the 7th, and pursuing a southwest course went into park at Rocky Face Ridge on the night of the 8th.
“Being relieved by the 4th corps on the 12th, the 23d corps marched around by the way of Snake Creek Gap to the right wing of the army, a distance of 27 miles, and arrived just in time to participate in the battle of Resaca on the 14th.
TWENTY-SIXTH REGIMENT INFANTRY.
What flag is this you carry Along the sea and shore?
The same our grandshires lifted up,
The same our fathers bore. ”
The 25th having failed to supply places for all the surplus companies which had been offered to the Congressional District regiments, the 26th was organized and ordered into rendezvous at Jackson.
In order to complete the regiment it was found necessary to recruit two additional companies, which was speedily accomplished, and on the 12th of December, 1862, it was mustered into service with the following Twenty-Sixth Regiment Infantry
FIELD AND STAFF.
Colonel, Judson S. Farrar, Mt. Clemens. Lieutenant Colonel, Henry H. Wells, Detroit. Major, William 0. Donnell, Saginaw. Surgeon, Ennis Church, Marshall. Assistant Surgeon, Mahlon H. Raymond, Grass Lake. Second Assistant Surgeon, Odney D. Brooks, Muskegon. Adjutant, Charles D. Fox, Lyons. Quartermaster, Charles E. Crane, Adrian. Chaplain, Jonathan Blanchard, Ann Arbor. The companies composing the regiment were:
A. Captain, L. Edwin Knapp, Grand Traverse. First Lieutenant, George H. Holden, Grand Rapids. Second Lieutenant, Sewell S. Parker, Monroe.
B. Captain, Stephen B. Burch, Pinckney. First Lieutenant, Washington W. Burch, Ann Arbor. Second Lieutenant, Lucius H. Ives, Pinckney. C. Captain, James A. Lothian, Muskegon. First Lieutenant, Henry Dopson, Muskegon. Second Lieutenant, Chauncey Gibbs, Muskegon.
D. Captain, Lafayette Church, Arcadia. First Lieutenant, Nathan Church, Arcadia. Second Lieutenant, William S. Turck, Alma.
E. Captain, John C. Culver, Hamburg. First Lieutenant, Edwin Hadley, Ann Arbor. Second Lieutenant, Charles E. Grisson, Hamburg.
F. Captain, Lemuel Saviers, Franklin. First Lieutenant, Edmond Richardson, Adrian. Second Lieutenant, Morris Roberts, Tecumseh.
G. Captain, Asa G. Dailey, Niles. First Lieutenant, William L. Cady, Dayton. Second Lieutenant, Lawrence D. Burch, Ann Arbor.
H. Captain, John H. Sayers, Mason. First Lieutenant, Eli P. Loranger, Williamstown. Second Lieutenant, Henry V. Steele, Mason.
I. Captain, Earl W. Avery, Lowell. First Lieutenant, Joseph Wilson, Lowell. Second Lieutenant, Leonard H. Hunt, Lowell.
K. Captain, Franklin Johnson, Jackson. First Lieutenant, Frank Standish, Jackson. Second Lieutenant, David H. Patterson, Grass Lake.
While the 26th was in camp at Jackson, and immediately preceding the march of the regiment to the front, it received at the fair hands of the ladies of Jackson a magnificent silk flag, the field of blue, with letters of gold. The presentation speech was made in good taste by the Hon. Fidus Livermore, who had. been commissioned by the governor as commandant of camp to raise the regiment, and which was responded to in a patriotic manner by Colonel J. S. Farrar, commanding. The flag was borne by the regiment through many sanguinary fields, and what is left of it is now ‘in the archives of the State.
On the 13th of December following, the regiment, in command of Colonel Farras, left its camp for Washington, having on its muster rolls 903 officers and men. Soon after the arrival of this regiment at Washington, it was ordered on provost duty at Alexandria, Virginia. It remained thus employed until April 20th, 1863, when it proceeded to Suffolk, Virginia, under orders to aid in the defense of that place then threatened by the rebel forces under Longstteet.
The regiment was engaged on heavy fatigue duty, constructing defenses and occupying the trenches for over two weeks, when the enemy withdrew. It participated in the several expeditions subsequently made to the Blackwater. In one of these, May 23d, a portion of the regiment became engaged in a skirmish in the vicinity of Windsor, in which Captain John C. Culver was mortally wounded and died next day.
June 20th, the regiment moved to Yorktown, and formed part of the command of General Keyes, which marched to Bottom’s Bridge, on the Chicka-hominy, and returned to Yorktown July 11th. The day following the return of the expedition from that point, the regiment was ordered to Washington, and thence to the city of New York, to assist in sustaining the laws during the draft in that city.
The New York Times said:
“The 2Gth Michigan arrived here last night from the Potomac, and will be assigned to duty in this city until the great riot is quelled. The regiment bore evidences of the hard services it had undergone in the field; but it is composed of as fine a body of brave, intelligent American young men as ever shouldered a musket in the cause of civil liberty and civil order. We welcome it to the city, and we trust our citizens, by their thoughtful attentions, will show their appreciation of such a regiment. At the present moment the Peninsula State is represented in the three great armies of Grant, Rosecrans, and Meade, as well as in those of Banks, Gillmore, and Dix, and the Michigan soldiers have won renown for their bravery and discipline throughout the war and on almost every battlefield. It remained at New York and in the defenses in the harbor during the progress of the draft, and on the 13th of October, the regiment was ordered from Fort Richmond, on Staten Island, where it had been stationed, to the Army of the Potomac. On its joining that army it was assigned to the 1st brigade, (Miles’s) of the 1st division, 2d army corps, in which it continued during its entire service, and was recognized as the skirmish regiment of the division.
On the 7th of November, this regiment marched from its camp, near War-renton, Virginia, to the Rappahannock, which it crossed on the 8th. Proceeding to Stevensburg, it there encamped until the 26th.
It took part, with the army, in the movement on Mine Run, crossed the Rapidan at Germania Ford, and advanced to Robertson’s Tavern, arriving on the 27th. On the 29th, in a skirmish with the enemy at Mine Run, it lost nine men wounded. It returned to Stevensburg December 3d, and during the winter, with the exception of the movement to Morton’s Ford, February 6th and 7th, 1864, in which it participated, the regiment remained quietly in winter quarters, in the performance of the usual picket duty. On the 4th of May following, in command of Major L. Saviers, it crossed the Rapidan at Ely’s Ford, and, deploying, covered the flank of its division in its march to Chancellorsville, where it bivouacked. During the afternoon of the 5th the enemy was encountered on the road toward Orange Court House. The regiment, however, with the exception of a detachment who were on duty as skirmishers, did not become engaged in the fight which ensued, being held in reserve. The only casualty of the day was one wounded. At night the regiment threw up breastworks, and on the 7th charged the enemy’s dismounted cavalry and drove them over two miles, capturing a number of prisoners and important dispatches from General Lee to General Stuart, commanding the enemy’s cavalry forces. The loss in this action was six wounded. In the “American Conflict” is found the following notice of the 2d corps (Hancock’s), in which the 26th was serving, in the engagement in the Wilderness, May 6th:
On our left General Hancock had moved out at 5 A. M., and had pushed forward, fighting and crowding back Hill, taking many prisoners, nearly two miles across the Brock road on his way to Parker’s store. Here he was stopped by the arrival of Longstreet, who, after a brief lull, charged in turn, throwing our front into confusion, and requiring the presence of part of Burnside’s corps to steady and restore it, when Longstreet in turn was pressed back, falling severely wounded, it is said, by a fire from his own men. Again a desperate attack by the enemy bore back the front of the 2d corps to its intrenched line and abatis along the Brock road On the 8th the regiment marched to Todd’s Tavern, and after constructing earthworks moved out towards Corbin’s Bridge and engaged the enemy, losing one wounded. At evening it withdrew to its works. On the 9th the regiment crossed the Po river, and advancing about two miles it lay during the night in close proximity to the enemy’s lines. The enemy attacking on the following morning, and our forces withdrawing, the regiment assisted in covering the crossing of the Po. On the 11th it recrossed that river, and made a reconnoissance of the enemy’s position, losing in the engagement that ensued 3 killed and 15 wounded. On the 12th of May it participated in the memorable charge made by the 2d corps on the enemy’s works, which were carried after a fierce hand to hand fight with the bayonet. The 26th was the first regiment to plant its colors on the rebel works. It captured, immediately in rear of the enemy’s lines, two brass guns with the gunners.
It also participated in the desperate struggle that followed the assault, and assisted in the capture of a large number of guns, colors, and prisoners. Its loss in this battle was 27 killed, 98 wounded, and 14 missing. The greater portion of the missing are now known to have been killed. Among the severely wounded was Major Saviers, commanding the regiment. Leaving its position at Spottsylvania Court House, in command of Captain Jas. A. Lothian, on the night of the 20th, the regiment marched to the North Anna river, where it arrived on the 23d. On the 24th it crossed that river at Jericho bridge, under a heavy fire from the enemy’s artillery, and after a spirited skirmish the rebels were driven into their works. The casualties of the regiment in the engagement were 5 killed and 9 wounded, Captain Henry V. Steele being among the killed. It recrossed the North Anna on the night of the 26th, and marched toward the Pamunky. Crossing that river on the morning of the 28th, it advanced to the vicinity of Hawes’s Shop and threw up breastworks. On the 29th it moved down the Richmond road, drove in the enemy’s pickets, and developed their position on the Tolopotomy creek. Three companies were engaged in skirmishing with the enemy on the 30th, losing 1 killed and 3 wounded. Prom the Red Book of Michigan: “The 26th had acquitted itself with much credit in several battles when it entered on the great campaign of 1864 with the Army of the Potomac, bravely fighting through the Wilderness and at Corbin’s Bridge and Ny river, and then most signally distinguished itself at Po river and Spottsylvania.
On May 9th the regiment, in command of Major Saviers, marched to Po river, crossed, deployed as skirmishers, and advanced about two miles, captured a few stragglers, halted, and laid in skirmish line all night, in close proximity to the enemy, who was busy throwing up works. On Tuesday morning the 10th, General Grant’s army occupied the same position as on the previous day. His line stretched about six miles on the northerly bank of the Po, and took the general form of a crescent, the wings being thrown forward. The second corps, across the Po, now held a line on the right nearly parallel to the road from Shady Grove church to the court house. The 5th corps held the center being on the east side of the Po, and the 6th corps held the left, facing toward the court house. Further on the left was the 9th corps, under General Burnside. In front was a dense forest. The enemy held Spottsylvania and the region north of the court house;
his position was well supported by breastworks, and along the center was the forest and underbrush, lining a marsh partially drained by a run. The conflict opened in the morning by a terrific fire of artillery, which was incessant all the forenoon. A most vigorous and gallant attack was made by the 5th corps and by Generals Gibbon’s and Birney’s divisions of the 2d corps on the center of General Lee’s army.
In the meantime the enemy had turned General Barlow’s division,. (1st, ) of the 2d corps on the right, but it was finally extricated without much loss. In this movement of the enemy the 26th was attacked from the rear, and after a spirited resistance was compelled to move out by the left flank and took a position to cover the recrossing of the troops, and when accomplished crossed to the opposite side of the river. On the next day (Wednesday the 11th) the position of the two armies was nearly the same as on the previous day. During the morning there was a brisk skirmishing. The regiment, in command of Major Saviers, was sent out to reconnoitre the enemy’s position, moved up the north bank of the Po about two miles, crossed, deployed as skirmishers, and advanced down the south bank to find his left and develop his force, attacked and drove in his pickets, charged a strong skirmish line and driving them into their works, gaining and holding a position under a heavy fire for half an hour within three hundred yards of the enemy’s entrenchments. Having accomplished the object of the reconnaissance, the regiment recrossed the river and returned to the picket line, with a loss of three killed and fifteen wounded. It was determined during the day to make an assault early the next morning on the enemy’s left, where their batteries were so strongly posted as to annoy General Grant’s lines.
The 2d corps was selected to make this movement. Soon after midnight, in the darkness and storm, General Hancock changed the position of his corps from the extreme right to the left, filling up the space between Generals Wright and Burnside. It was then near ground well commanded by the enemy and requiring a quick advance in the morning. At 11 P. M., the 26th having been relieved from the picket line, commenced the movement to the left of the 6th corps at Spottsylvania, where the division had preceded it, and in the darkness being misled, had marched all night, only reaching the ground where the division, being in the first line, was massed for the assault, just in time for the regiment to form in column without halting, aligning its ranks as it advanced. The regiment moved up in gallant style, and was the first to reach the rebel works (striking them at an angle), which were carried after a hand-to-hand fight with the bayonet, capturing two brass guns immediately in rear of the enemy’s line, which had been fired only once, and just as the works were entered. The regiment passed on without halting, and soon became mingled with the other regiments coming up in left and rear, and with these charged along the rebel line at a run, roiling it up for more than a mile, capturing a large number of prisoners, guns, and colors. When about a mile from the angle referred to, another line running nearly perpendicular to the line being rolled up, was encountered, which sharply contested the advance. Having unavoidably become much broken up, and being opened on by a heavy fire from the woods on the right and left, were obliged to fall back, losing half the ground gained, though the men who thronged their works had been made prisoners and sent to the rear. Several pieces of captured artillery had been left in the hands of the enemy as they could not be drawn off. The regiment was reformed and moved with the brigade to the woods on the left, where rifle pits were constructed. The enemy having, by repeated and desperate assaults, retaken the works on the left, near the angle, the regiment was ordered to that; creeping along by the right flank on the outside of the works, until it overlapped the rebel line about half the length of the regiment, its right resting hear a point where a large oak tree, twenty-two inches in diameter, standing almost on the first line of rebel works, was literally cut down by musket bullets, partly coming from the 26th. The regiment fought for more than one hour over the rebel works, almost musket to musket, losing a large number killed and wounded, when the enemy made signals of surrender render by waving handkerchiefs on their rammers. Firing ceased and the rebels were called to come over, when their whole line for seventy or eighty yards rose up and started to come in; but the moment firing ceased the enemy advanced a fresh line, which came up from their supports to the works with a cheer, when most of those who had started to surrender turned and jumped into the works again.