Allegan County, Michigan - Chapter 29: Fiest, Second, and Thied Cavalbt, 1880

Chapter 29: Fiest, Second, and Thied Cavalbt

The First Cavalry goes to Virginia in October, 1861 - Winters in Maryland - Its Battles in 1862 - Assigned to the " Michigan Brigade" - Defeats Hampton's Legion - The New Battalion - Loss in the Wilderness - At Trevillian - At Front Eoyal, Winchester, and Cedar Creek - In at the Death of the Uebellion - Ordered to the Rocky Mountains - Disbanded in March, 1866 - Allegan County Soldiers - Barry County Soldiers - The Second Cavalry goes to St. Louis - Operates on the Mississippi - Services around Corinth - Philip H. Sheridan its Colonel - Ordered to Kentucky - A March to East Tennessee - Then to Middle Tennessee - A Fight with Forrest - More Fighting in Middle and East Tennessee - Re-enlistment - Resisting Hood's Advance in the Fall of 1864 - Closing Services - Officers and Soldiers from Barry County - From Allegan County - Allegan County's Representation in the Third Cavalry - Operations on the Mississippi and around Corinth - A Gallant Achievement - Battle of luka - Fights in the Winter of 1862-63 - Fighting Guerrillas in 1863 - Description of that Kind of Warfare - Re-enlistment - Subsequent Services - Ordered to Texas - Mustered out - Officers and Men from Allegan County - Soldiers from Barry County.

Piest Cavalry

The First Regiment of Michigan Cavalry was organized during the summer of 1861, and left its rendezvous at Detroit for the seat of war in Virginia, under the command of Col. T. F. Brodhead, on the 29th of September of the same year.

Among its original members were several from Allegan County, and before the close of the war some fifty men had joined its ranks from the counties of Barry and Allegan.

The regiment passed the winter of 1861-62 in camp near Frederick, Md., and in the following spring entered upon active service on the Upper Potomac, in the Shenandoah Valley, and near the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge. It was in battle at Winchester, Va., March 23, 1862; at Middletown, Va., March 15th ; at Strasburg, March 27th ; at Harrisonburg, April 22d ; at Winchester again. May 24th ; at Orange Court-House, July 16th ; at Cedar Mountain, August 9th ; and at Bull Run, Aug. 30, 1862.

In the last-named battle Col. Brodhead was mortally wounded, and the regiment lost twenty men killed and wounded, seven prisoners, and one hundred and six missing. To Nov. 1, 1862, ten others had died of wounds received in action, and sixty of disease.

After passing another winter near Frederick, Md., the regiment again entered the field, and during the early part of 1863 performed picket duty along the line of Union defenses extending from Edward's Ferry to the mouth of the Occoquan. On the 27th June it moved northward in the Gettysburg campaign, and for fifteen days it was almost constantly engaged in conflicts with the enemy. The First formed part of the celebrated " Michigan Cavalry Brigade,"* of which Gen. Custer was so long the commander, and which contributed very largely to the renown of that distinguished cavalry leader.

At Gettysburg, on the 3d of July, 1863, the First met and charged Hampton's Legion, consisting of three regiments of rebel cavalry, and defeated it in six minutes,

In September, 1863, the War Department authorized the consolidation of the twelve companies into eight and the raising of a new battalion of four companies. These were speedily raised, and the new battalion was mustered into service at Mount Clemens, in December, 1863. This battalion went to Camp Stoneman, near Washington, in December, 1863, and remained there until the spring of 1864. Meanwhile, the two old battalions re-enlisted, came home on veteran furlough, and joined the new levies at Camp Stoneman.

The three battalions went to the front together, and in the latter part of March, 1864, joined Gen. Sheridan's cavalry corps at Culpeper, Va., being still a part of the " Michigan Cavalry Brigade." The regiment had ten men killed and twenty wounded in the battle of the Wilderness. It was engaged at Hanovertown, on the 27th of May, and at Hawes' Shop on the 28th, where fifteen of its members were killed and wounded, and at Old Church on the 30th, where fifteen were killed and wounded. On the 31st of May and 1st of June it was engaged, together with other cavalry regiments, at Cold Harbor, where it fought, dismounted, in advance of the infantry ; having eighteen men killed and wounded. It shared the fortunes of the brigade throughout the summer ; having fifty-one men killed and wounded at Trevillian Station (where six commissioned officers were killed), eleven killed and wounded at Front Royal in the Shenandoah Valley, thirty-two at Manchester, and twenty-seven at Cedar Creek.

During the six months closing on the 1st of November, 1864, the regiment had eighty-two men killed or mortally wounded in action, and one hundred and two less seriously wounded, while only thirty-three died of disease.

After being in quarters with the brigade near Winchester through the winter, the First went with it in Sheridan's great raid in March, 1865, and was warmly engaged in the closing scenes of the Rebellion.

After this the regiment moved into the edge of North Carolina, then returned to Washington, and immediately after the.review of the Army of the Potomac, on the 23d of May, 1865, was sent by rail and steamer to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., whence it was ordered across the Plains. There was much dissatisfaction, but most of the regiment set out on the march ; reaching Camp Collins, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, on the 26th of July. Its headquarters remained there until about the 1st of November, when it was moved to Fort Bridger. There it was consolidated with those men of the Sixth and Seventh Michigan Cavalry who had the longest time to serve ; forming an organization known as the First Michigan Veteran Cavalry. Company K was distributed among several other companies. After the consolidation eight companies were sent to Camp Douglas, near Salt Lake City, while four remained at Fort Bridger. The regiment garrisoned those two stations until the 10th of March, 1866, when it was mustered out, paid off, and disbanded. The men were given their choice, - to be disbanded in Utah then, or to remain till June and then be marched to Fort Leavenworth, without horses or tents. All but about seventy made the former choice. The commutation paid them in lieu of transportation, however, was not enough to carry them home, and, on representation of the injustice to Congress, that body voted three hundred and twenty-five dollars to each member of the reo-iment, minus the amount already paid as commutation money. This gave each member about two hundred and ten dollars extra, which was duly paid them by the government.

Fikst, Second, And Third Cavalry Second Cavalry

SECOND CAVALRY. Allegan and Barry Counties were both represented by good men in the Second Cavalry. The companies comprising this fine regiment rendezvoused at Grand Rapids early in the fall of 1861. On the 28th of November, 1861, the Second proceeded to St. Louis, Mo., vrhere it was encamped at Benton Barracks until early in the spring of 1862, when it joined the forces organizing under Gen. John Pope to operate against New Madrid and Island No. 10.

After the capture of those rebel strongholds the regiment proceeded with Pope's " Army of the Mississippi," via the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers, to Hamburg Landing, Tenn. It was engaged in the battle of Farmington, Miss, May 5, 1862, and in the subsequent siege of Corinth during the remainder of that month. It pressed closely upon Beauregard's retreating columns when they fled south from Corinth, and fought them at Boonville, Blackland, and Baldwin, Miss. Thereafter, throughout the summer of 1862, the regiment was actively employed on various duties in Northern Mississippi and Western Tennessee. Its colonel was then Philip H. Sheridan, now lieutenant-general, who had recently been detailed from duty as a captain in the regular army to receive the colonelcy lately vacated by the promotion of Gen. Gordon Granger. Col. Sheridan commanded a brigade, consisting of the Second Michigan, Second Iowa, and Seventh Kansas Cavalry, and at its head made numerous excursions through the country around Corinth, to keep down guerrillas and learn the movements of the -enemy.

Early in the autumn, however. Col. Sheridan was made a brigadier-general of volunteers and transferred to the Army of the Cumberland, and about the same time the Second Cavalry was sent to Kentucky. In December, 1862, and January, 1863, it was engaged in a movement into East Tennessee, the men being in the saddle twenty-two days and taking part in several sharp skirmishes. Soon afterward it moved into Middle Tennessee, and for several months its headquarters were at or near Murfreesboro, while it was almost constantly engaged in scouts and raids through that region.

' On the 25th of March, 1863, it had a sharp encounter with a large rebel force under Gen. N. B. Forrest, killing and wounding many and capturing fifty-two prisoners. The Second had seven men killed and wounded. On the 4th of June it had another brisk skirmish between Franklin and Triune, Tenn., five of its men being killed and wounded.

When the army advanced from Murfreesboro in June, 1863, the Second accompanied it in the cavalry division, driving the enemy from Shelbyville, Middletown, and other points. In the autumn it was engaged in scouting around Chattanooga, at one time being part of a force which chased Gen. Wheeler's cavalry one hundred and ninety-one miFes in six days (October 3d to 8th, inclusive). In November it marched into East Tennessee, and on the 24th of December it participated in an attack on a large force of the enemy at Dandridge, Tenn., having ten men killed and wounded. On the 26th of January, 1864, the Second with other forces attacked a brigade of rebel cavalry on Pigeon

Three hundred and twenty-eight of the men re-enlisted as veterans, and in April went home on veteran furlough. The rest of the regiment accompanied Gen. Sherman in his Atlanta campaign, having several sharp skirmishes with the enemy, but being ordered back from Lost Mountain to Franklin, Tenn., where it was rejoined by the veterans in July. During the summer and autumn the Second was busily engaged in marching through Middle Tennessee, fighting with the horsemen of Forrest and other rebel generals.

On the 5th of November, 1864, the regiment was attacked at Shoal Creek, Ala., by a large Confederate force (a part of Hood's army, then advancing against Nashville), and was forced back with heavy loss. It steadily fell back, skirmishing almost constantly with the enemy, and at Franklip, on the 30th of November, it resisted his advance all day, having eighteen officers and men killed and wounded.

After Hood's defeat before Nashville, the Second pressed hard on his rear, and at Richland Creek, on the 24th of December, charged repeatedly, driving the foe sixteen miles, and having seven men killed and wounded. After Hood's final retreat from the State the regiment remained mostly in Middle Tennessee until March 11, 1865, when it set out on a long raid through Northern Alabama to Tuscaloosa, and thence through Talladega to Macon, Ga., where it arrived on the 1st day of May, 1865.

After remaining in Georgia on garrison duty until the 17th of August, the regiment was mustered out and sent home, arriving at Jackson on the 25th of August, 1865, where it was paid ofiF and disbanded.

Company F. Philip Arthur, must, out June 21, 1865. Lorenzo Livingston, must, out Aug. 17, 1865. Cliarles I. McMurray, disch. for disability. Julius Otto, must, out June 21, 1865.

Third Cavaley

This regiment rendezvoused at Grand Rapids in the summer of 1861, and was there mustered into the United States service, November 1st of the same year. Company A, which proceeded to the front under the command of Capt, Gilbert Moyers, was an Allegan County company, and the same county was also represented in every other company of the Third. Barry had but few men in the regiment, and they were scattered among Companies E, K, L, and M.

Under the command of Lieut -Col, Robert H, G. Minty, previously major of the Second Michigan Cavalry, the regiment left its rendezvous Nov, 28, 1861, and proceeded to Benton Barracks, Mo., where Col. John K. Mizner soon after assumed command. It remained at St. Louis until early in the spring of 1862, when it joined Gen. John Pope's -' Army of the Mississippi," and actively participated in the operations which resulted in the capture of the rebel strongholds Island No. 10 and New Madrid. With Gen. Pope's army it then proceeded, viO, the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers, to Pittsburg Landing, where it arrived soon after the battle of Shiloh, and took an active part in the advance of Gen. Halleck's army upon Corinth, Miss. Immediately after the evacuation of Corinth by Beauregard the Third was ordered to Booneville, Miss., to ascertain the position and strength of the enemy. While in the performance of this duty a small detachment of the rciment was sent out in advance, under Capt. Botham. It ran on to a rebel force of all arms, drove them from their position, halted, and bivouacked for the night. The following morning, while eating breakfast, a Union scout discovered the enemy in the vicinity. The men left their breakfast half eaten, mounted, and hurried forward. They soon found a small body of rebel cavalry, who fled before them. The Union horsemen advanced at a rapid pace, and soon came upon an entire regiment of rebel cavalry drawn up to dispute their further progress. There was no time for consideration. If the little command had then retreated, it would have been attacked and crushed by the elated Confederates. Capt. Botham knew it was essential for cavalry to get the advantage of its own momentum in a combat, and accordingly shouted the order to charge. The detachment dashed forward at the top of its speed, burst through the Confederate lines, and then turned and charged back. The enemy was so demoralized by these movements that no attempt was made to follow. How many of the foe were killed and wounded was not known, but it was certain that at least eleven were dismounted, for eleven of their horses accompanied the Union force on its returning charge. After retreating » short distance, Capt. Botham halted and sent a dispatch to camp. About four o'clock in the afternoon he was relieved by the Second Michigan Cavalry, under the command of Col. Philip H. Sheridan. The latter drove back the enemy four or five miles, and then rejoined the main army.

The regiment was actively engaged in the usual cavalry duty of picketing and scouting throughout the whole season. Through the month of August it was at Tuscumbia and Russellville, Ala, On the approach of Price's rebel cavalry it returned to the vicinity of Corinth. At luka. Miss., on the 19th of September, 1862, while in command of Capt. L. G. Wilcox, - Col. Mizner being chief of cavalry, - the regiment was actively engaged, and was specially mentioned in Gen. Rosecrans' report of that battle. When Price and his defeated rebel army retired from the field the Third hung on his flanks and rear for many miles ; becoming several times hotly engaged, and causing him repeatedly to form line of battle to check the Union advance.

At the close of the year ending Nov. 1, 1862, the regiment had lost one hundred and four men who died of disease, seven killed in action, forty-five wounded in action, and fifty-nine taken prisoners. Its battles and skirmishes to that date were New Madrid, Mo., March 13, 1862 ; siege of Island No. 10, Mo., March 14th to April 7th ; Farmington. Miss., May 5th ; siege of Corinth, Miss., May 10th to 31st ; Spangler's Mills, Miss., July 26th ; Bay Springs, Miss., September 10th; luka, Miss., September 19th; Corinth, Miss., October 3d and 4th ; and Hatchie, Miss., October 6th. It advanced with Gen. Grant's army into Mississippi in November and December, 1862, and engaged the enemy at Holly Springs, November 7th; at Hudsonville, November 14th, where it captured an entire rebel company ; at Lumkin's Mill, November 29th ; and at Oxford, December 2d ; and shared in the defeat of the Union cavalry at Coffeeville, December 5th. The following winter it was on active duty in North Mississippi and West Tennessee.

During the year 1863 the Third Cavalry was principally engaged in the arduous service of driving out the numerous bands of guerrillas which infested Western Tennessee and Northern Mississippi, and repelling the incursions of Confederate forces from other quarters; its camp being most of the time at Corinth, Miss. There were few very severe battles in this kind of warfare, and few opportunities for winning martial glory amid the shock of charging squadrons, but it tested to the utmost the endurance, the fortitude, and the patriotism of the hardy sons of the West. Day and night, in sun and rain, the cavalry was kept in motion. Often, when all the camp lay locked in the deep slumbers of two o'clock in the morning, the silence would suddenly be broken by the stirring sounds of the bugle, and a moment later the officers would be heard going from tent to tent, arousing the half-awakened men with the

First, Second, And Third Cavalry

Then would follow a hurried drawing of rations, the filling of haversacks and saddle-bags with coffee, pork, and " hard tack," and perhaps the cooking of a hasty meal for immediate consumption. Presently the bugles would sound Boot and Saddle," the horses would be speedily equipped, mounted, and ridden into line, the voices of a dozen captains would be heard in succession commanding " Fours Right - Column Right - March I" and away into the darkness would go the Third Michigan, or the Seventh Kansas, or the Third Iowa, or any two of them, or all of them, as the occasion might seem to require.

Nobody would know where they were going except the field-ofiBcers, and very frequently they didn't ; but all sorts of rumors would pass rapidly among the boys : " Forrest is coming to attack the camp ;" " Roddy is out here ten miles ;" " Chalmers is raising the devil over at Holly Springs," etc. A ride would follow, perhaps lasting two or three hours, perhaps extending through three or four days and half as many nights, and sometimes embracing a period of one, two, or three weeks, during which the bold riders were generally compelled to live upon the country they traversed. In that half-cleared country there was seldom an opportunity for the dashing charge which one naturally associates with the idea of cavalry service ; but whenever they met the foe, which was quite frequently, both sides dismounted, and a lively skirmish with carbines against shot-guns ensued, which lasted until one party or the other retreated. The retreating party was usually, though not always, the rebels, for notwithstanding the best Confederate troops, after the battle of Corinth, in October, 1862, were taken away to other sections, leaving only undisciplined bands of what was called " shot-gun cavalry" in Northern Mississippi and Western Tennessee, the " chivalry" fought well.

In such tasks the Third Michigan Cavalry was engaged throughout 1863, taking part in sharp fights (and generally defeating the enemy) at Clifton on the 20th of February ; at Panola, Miss., on the 20th of July ; at Byhalia, Miss., on the 12th of October ; at Wyatt's Ford, Miss., on the 13th of October. At Grenada, Miss., also, on the 14th of August, the Third led the Union advance, and, after a vigorous fight, drove back the enemy, captured the town, and destroyed more than sixty locomotives and four hundred cars, gathered there by the Confederate authorities.

In the latter part of January, 1864, the regiment being then in winter-quarters at Lagrange, Tenn., three-fourths of the men re-enlisted, and the command became the Third Michigan Veteran Cavalry. After the men had enjoyed their veteran furlough the command went to St. Louis in March, 1864, and in the latter part of May proceeded, dismounted, to Little Rock, Ark. It was not mounted until the 1st of August, when it resumed the work of chasing guerrillas, scouting for information, etc., with an experience similar to that already described.

S From November, 1864, to February, 1865, the Third was in garrison at Brownsville Station, on the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad, where the men built such a fine- appearing set of quarters and stables that the place was commonly called Michigan City, instead of Brownsville Station. In March, 1865, the regiment, as a part of the First Brigade, First Division, Seventh Army Corps, proceeded to New Orleans, and in April continued its course to Mobile. After the capture of that place the Third was on outpost duty in that vicinity until the 8th day of May, when it marched across the country to Baton Rouge, La. In June it set out for Texas by the way of Shreveport, and on the 2d of August arrived at San Antonio, in that State. Its headquarters remained at San Antonio until the 15th of February, 1866, while successive detachments were scouting the country, protecting the frontier against Mexicans and Indians.

In February, 1866, the regiment was dismounted, mustered out, and sent home ; being paid off and disbanded at Jackson, Mich., on the 15th of March, 1866, after a service of four years and a half unsurpassed as to hardship and fidelity by that of any other regiment in the army. It is claimed to have captured during the time over two thousand five hundred prisoners, besides those taken in co-operation with other regiments.

James Alger, veteran, enl. Jan. 19, 1864'; must, out Feb. 12, 1866. George D. Bronson, died of disease in Arkansas, March 8, 1862. William Bignall, died of disease in Arkansas, Nov. 23, 1864. Charles Billings, disch. at end of service, Oct. 24, 1864. Lewis Blaisdell, disch. by order, June 2, 1865. Edgar Blaisdell, must, out June 7, 1865. Lorenzo Brown, must, out Feb. 12, 1866.