More of the 1st Minnesota at Gettysburg

04 Saturday Jul 2015

Posted by dccaughey in 1st Minnesota Infantry, battle of Antietam, battle of Bull Run, Civil War, Gettysburg campaign

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1863, 1st Minnesota Infantry, 1st U.S. Cavalry, 2nd U.S. Cavalry, 6th U.S. Cavalry, battle of Antietam, battle of Gettysburg

Thousands of visitors to Gettysburg this weekend will hear of the charge of the 1st Minnesota Infantry in the late afternoon of July 2, 1863. Tens of thousands of other visitors have heard the story and seen the three monuments to the regiment on the battlefield. Their guides will tell the story of how II Corps commander General Winfield Hancock, seeing a breach in his line, ordered the regiment to charge against a brigade of Alabama infantry under Brigadier General Cadmus Wilcox. Outnumbered nearly 5:1, the gallant regiment plunged into the fray without hesitation, buying Hancock the time necessary for other units to reach the breach and shore up the line. In the process, the regiment suffered nearly 82% casualties, the highest rate suffered by any American unit in combat (yes, cavalry afficionados, higher than the 7th U.S. Cavalry at Little Big Horn).

It’s a great story and one that should be told. It was one of the bravest acts of the war. The regiment knew what would happen if it charged, and plunged in anyway. And it wasn’t the first time they’d been in certain peril. After adjacent units fled near Henry House at First Bull Run, they suffered nearly 20% casualties and were among the last units to leave the field. The previous fall at Antietam, they suffered 28% casualties in fighting near the West Woods under General Sedgwick.

What the guides probably won’t tell the visitors is that more of the men who enlisted in the 1st Minnesota in 1861 were also on the field for the battle. Following the battle of Antietam, 64 transferred to regular army regiments. They came from across the regiment, with only Companies B and D not losing any men. Company I had the most with 12, followed by Company A with 10 and several with 8 or 9. Seven of them had been wounded in previous battles, three at Bull Run, two at Savage Station and two at Antietam.

Just over half joined cavalry units, 30 to the 1st U.S. Cavalry, 14 to the 6th U.S. Cavalry and one to the 2nd U.S. Cavalry. They fought the next day, on the Army of the Potomac’s left flank and at Fairfield. The others transferred primarily to artillery batteries, and a handful to engineer companies.

Several of them had already been killed in fighting at Beverly Ford and Upperville. Two more, former corporals James E. Seely and Lucius F. Walden of Company A, were killed in battle within the week. One died while a prisoner of war at Belle Isle and another at Andersonville. And these men definitely understood duty. Of those who didn’t die in battle, only three didn’t finish their enlistment, and one of those was discharged for disability. Only two deserted, a very low percentage for the time. Three even re-enlisted to see the war to its finish.

Here’s to the rest of the 1st Minnesota Infantry soldiers who served at Gettysburg.

5th US Cavalry Casualties at Bull Run, July 21, 1861

01 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by dccaughey in 2nd/ 5th Cavalry, 5th Cavalry, battle of Bull Run, Casualties, Uncategorized

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5th US Cavalry

On July 19^th, Company I, 2^nd Cavalry was elected for General McDowell’s escort, Company E was attached to General Heintzleman’s division, the company of 2^nd Dragoons was attached to General Hunter’s division, and the remaining squadrons – one of the First Cavalry and Companies B and G of the Second Cavalry – under the command of Major Innis Palmer, were attached to Colonel Andrew Porter’s brigade of General Hunter’s division. By the 21^st, all seven companies were consolidated as a battalion under Major Palmer.

These companies were chiefly employed during the battle as supports for artillery batteries. Those with General Hunter’s division crossed Bull Run at one of the upper fords and assisted in turning the enemy’s left flank. On August 3, 1861, the regular army’s mounted regiments were redesignated in order of seniority, the 2^nd U.S. Dragoons becoming the 2^nd U.S. Cavalry, and the 2^nd U.S. Cavalry became the 5^th U.S. Cavalry.

The following troopers from the 2^nd/ 5^th U.S. Cavalry were wounded in the battle: Privates James Brierly and Charles P. Thurston of Company B, Privates James Dowd and William McGee of Company E, two privates, names unknown, of Company G, and three privates, names unknown, of Company I. Twenty horses were killed as well.

James Dowd was enlisted into Company E by Lieutenant Robert Eagle in New York City on January 8, 1861. According to his enlistment documents, he had gray eyes, fair hair, a ruddy complexion, and stood 5’5” tall. Born in Galway, Ireland, he worked as a laborer before enlisting. He was discharged for disability as a private at Camp Cliffbourne, D.C. on December 28, 1861, most likely a result of his wound.

Charles P. Thurston was enlisted into Company B by Lieutenant Magruder in Baltimore, Maryland on September 20, 1859. Born in Fishkill, New York, he worked as a machinist prior to his enlistment. His enlistment documents describe him as 5’6” tall, with gray eyes, brown hair, and a fair complexion. He was discharged for disability as a private at Camp Cliffbourne on May 2, 1862.

William McGee was enlisted into Company E at the age of 17 by Captain George Stoneman on May 30, 1860 in Edinburg, Texas. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he worked as a laborer prior to his enlistment. His enlistment documents describe him as 5’4” tall, with blue eyes, light hair, and a fair complexion. He was dishonorably discharged in the field by sentence of a general court martial on June 15, 1862, per Special Order 50, Cavalry Division, as a private.

Only James Brierly served through the war. He was enlisted into Company B by Lieutenant Anderson in Louisville, Kentucky on December 21, 1860. Born in Maysville, Kentucky, he worked as a cabinet maker prior to his enlistment. His enlistment documents describe him as 5’8 ½” tall, with gray eyes, brown hair, and a ruddy complexion. He reenlisted as a private at City Point, Virginia on July 1, 1864. After the war, he was enlisted into the 7^th U.S. Cavalry by Captain O’Connell in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 24, 1867, and was discharged on April 5, 1869. On June 29, 1875, he enlisted again. This time he was sworn into Company G, 17^th U.S. Infantry by Lieutenant Cunningham at Newport Barracks, Kentucky. Infantry life apparently did not appeal to the veteran cavalryman, as he deserted on October 1, 1876.

Sources: George F. Price, Across the Continent with the Fifth Cavalry, pages 102, 103 and 668.

National Archives, U.S. Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 (accessed on Ancestry.com)

Will the Real George H. Steuart Please Stand Up?

14 Monday May 2012

Posted by dccaughey in 1st Cavalry, 2nd Dragoons/ 2nd Cavalry, battle of Bull Run, Spotsylvania Court House

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While compiling the list of Civil War officers of the 3rd U.S. Cavalry (see previous post), one of the names on the list caught my eye, Henry Sachs. I knew I had seen the name somewhere, and knew it was from the 2nd U.S. Cavalry during the war, but couldn’t remember exactly where. At first I thought he was the sergeant featured in the Don Stivers print “Medal of Honor,” where the first sergeant of Company K, 2nd U.S. cavalry saved his company commander, the badly wounded Theophilus Rodenbough at the battle of Winchester on September 19, 1864. As it turns out, I had the right company, but the wrong guy.

Company K of the 2nd U.S. Dragoons (later 2nd U.S. Cavalry)was the only company present at First Bull Run, part of the battalion of regular cavalry under the command of Innis Palmer. One of the sergeants of Co. K, Henry Sachs, is credited with the capture of “General George H. Steuart, of Baltimore” in Colonel Porter’s official report of the battle. In regimental histories of the battle, it is noted that General Steuart had formerly served as a lieutenant in the regiment, and in one account I saw that Sachs captured his former commander.

This is not the case. After a good bit of digging for research and a check with Harry Smeltzer, whose blog Bull Runnings is the premier online resource for the battle, I have determined that while Col. Porter’s report is correct, the account in Joseph I. Lambert’s One Hundred Years With the Second Cavalry is not. Rodenbough’s From Everglade to Canyon simply quotes Porter’s report.

There were two George H. Steuarts at First Bull Run, father and son, both from Baltimore. George the Elder, born November 1, 1790 and captured on the battlefield, was a veteran of the War of 1812 and promoted to brigadier general of the Maryland militia in 1833. 71 at the time of the battle, he was not actually a serving officer in the Confederate Army, and was subsequently released. It is not known what he was doing on the battlefield, but there were numerous spectators from both sides at the battle. It has been postulated that he was looking for his son, but I have not been able to corroborate this.

George H. Steuart, Jr. graduated West Point 37th in the class of 1848, serving as a lieutenant in the 2nd Dragoons after he graduated. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, 1st U.S. Cavalry on March 3, 1855. He resigned his commission on April 22, 1861. He initially received an appointment as a captain of cavalry in the Confederate regular army, but subsequently received an appointment as the lieutenant colonel of the 1st Maryland (CSA) Infantry. This was the position he held during the battle. He was promoted to Brigadier General in March 1862 and served through the war, though he too was captured — with his division commander at the battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Later exchanged, he was present with General Lee at Appomattox, and returned to Baltimore after the war.

So it was the father, not the cavalryman, who was captured at First Bull Run. He and Sachs never served together, as Sachs didn’t enlist in the regiment until 1857, two years after Steuart moved on to the 1st U.S. Cavalry.

As for Henry Sachs, more about him tomorrow.