Category Archives: manning

Starting the 1864 Campaigns

08 Thursday May 2014

Posted by in 1864, 1864 raids, 1st U.S. Cavalry, 2nd U.S. Cavalry, 5th U.S. Cavalry, manning, Reserve Brigade

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150 years ago today, the Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps engaged in its first battle of 1864 at Todd’s Tavern. Before looking at the battle itself, I thought it would be helpful to look at the state of the three regular regiments in the Reserve Brigade as the campaign began. Listing the numbers may seem tedious, but it will go a long way to help the reader visualize the effects of the year’s battles on these understrength regiments. 1864 was an absolutely brutal year for these regiments, and one would be combat ineffective by year’s end.

On April 28th, the regiments of the Reserve Brigade moved out of their winter camps near Mitchell’s Station and encamped about 1.5 miles from Culpeper. At this time the brigade consisted of the 1st, 2nd and 5th U.S. Cavalry, the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, and the 1st New York Dragoons. Colonel Alfred Gibbs, commander of the 1st New York Dragoons, commanded the brigade, as Brigadier General Wesley Merritt was in temporary command of the First Division.

The 1st U.S. Cavalry was commanded at the beginning of May by Captain Nelson B. Sweitzer. This Pennsylvania native was the most experienced of the three commanders. An 1853 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, he had served in the regiment his entire career. It had 8 officers and 487 enlisted men present for duty of an authorized 42 officers and 1,189 enlisted men. Its twelve companies averaged 40 enlisted men each. On the April 1864 return, the regiment requested 356 recruits to bring it up to full strength.

The 2nd U.S. Cavalry started 1864 campaigning under Captain Theophilus F. Rodenbough. A civilian appointee from his native Pennsylvania in 1861, Rodenbough was by now a veteran, his only absence from the regiment a brief stint as a prisoner of war after Second Manassas. The regiment had eight officers and 271 enlisted men present for duty, with another 131 enlisted men on extra duty. Its twelve companies averaged only 21 enlisted men each. On the April 1864 return, the regiment requested 559 recruits to bring it up to full strength.

The 5th U.S. Cavalry was commanded at this time by Captain Abraham K. Arnold. Another Pennsylvanian, Arnold graduated from West Point in 1859. He missed the regiment’s ill-fated charge at Gaines Mill, serving as an aide de camp to General McClellan until March of the previous year. He distinguished himself multiple times during the Overland Campaign, earning a Medal of Honor. Only seven of the regiment’s twelve companies were present for duty, as Companies B, F, K and L served as escort to General Grant’s headquarters, and Company D served at Point Lookout, Maryland. Indeed, the regiment had 23 of its assigned officers and 263 enlisted men on detached service, at army headquarters and elsewhere. The seven companies present mustered only 6 officers and 206 enlisted men, an average of 29 men each. On the April 1864 return, the regiment requested 630 recruits to bring it up to full strength.

Unfortunately, I don’t presently have unit strengths for the 6th Pennsylvania and the 1st New York Dragoons. The 1st New York a relatively inexperienced unit, but the 6th Pennsylvania had served in every 1862 campaign of the Army of the Potomac, and its numbers reflected its veteran status.

The three regiments combined for a present for duty strength of 22 officers and 964 enlisted men, of an authorized strength of 126 officers and 3,567 enlisted men. Officer strength was 17.4% and enlisted strength was 27%. And the hardest year’s campaigning was about to begin.

Carlisle Barracks and the Mounted Recruiting Service, part 2

12 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by in 1862, 1863, 1st U.S. Cavalry, 2nd U.S. Cavalry, cavalry, cavalry depots, manning, officers, recruiting

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Recruiting continued normally until the spring of 1862.  A number of recruits were provided to Company L, 5th U.S. Artillery and Companies H and M, 4th U.S. Artillery from April to June.  Part of the mandate of the Mounted Recruiting Service was also to recruit for horse artillery batteries, but this is the only mention of them or appearance of artillery officers at Carlisle in a professional capacity during the war.

During the summer, manpower shortages in the older regiments reached the point where they had to be addressed.  The 2nd U.S. Cavalry acted first, distributing the privates from Companies A, B and D among the rest of the regiment in July.  The officers, noncommissioned officers and buglers were sent to Carlisle to raise new companies.  The 1st U.S. Cavalry followed suit the following month with Companies A, E, F and K.  Beginning in October, one new company was raised for each regiment as well, Company M for the 1st U.S. Cavalry and Company L for the 2nd.  Recruiting for these companies continued through the end of the year.

Several additional recruiting stations were opened to meet the increased demand.  During the summer and fall, stations opened in Buffalo, Norristown, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Detroit, Elmira, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

December saw the departure of most of the companies.  1st U.S. Cavalry Companies A, F and M departed under the command of Captains Richard S.C. Lord and Milton Carr and Lieutenant Cesar Fisher respectively.  The four companies of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry marched south under Captains Robert Clary and Theophilus Rodenbough, as well as Lieutenants Thomas Dewees, Robert Lennox and James Potter.  In all, 667 new recruits were forwarded to the two regiments during the month.

A great deal of recruiting from volunteer regiments, usually infantrymen, took place from October to December 1862 in Washington, D.C, in Maryland near Harper’s Ferry and in Tennessee near Nashville, but this was not affiliated with the mounted recruiting service.  The enlistments were accomplished by regimental adjutants or their designated representatives.

In February 1863, Companies E and K finally returned to the 1st U.S. Cavalry under Lieutenants Edward Benton and John McDonald.  In preparation for the opening of spring campaigning, more recruits were pushed south to the regiments.  Lieutenants Cesar Fisher and Judson Haycock led 89 to the 1st U.S. Cavalry, Captain Thomas Canfield and Lieutenant Daniel Flynn took 86 to the 2nd U.S. Cavalry, and Captain William McLean led 87 to the 5th U.S. Cavalry.

In June 1863, the war came to Carlisle.  As the Confederate forces crossed into Pennsylvania, Captain Hastings dispatched mounted scouts south to ascertain their position and intentions.  On the morning of June 18th, they were fired on by enemy pickets just south of Chambersburg. Unable to resist with only a garrison company at his disposal, Captain Hastings was forced to abandon the post.  As he wrote in the post return, “Vacated in the face of the enemy June 25, 1863, having no means of defense.  Brought off all munitions of war and moveable public property.”

As soon as the Confederates began their retreat to Virginia, Hastings reoccupied the post and resumed normal operations.  Many of the buildings had been burned, so troops lived in tents while repairs were initiated.

Companies D and G of the 1st U.S. Cavalry arrived in July to reconstitute.  They were the last companies to refit at Carlisle, as the new cavalry depot at Giesboro Point started operations in October.  They were transferred back to their regiment in October under Lieutenants Reuben Bernard, William Pennock and David Perry.  Sixteen recruiting stations continued to operate during the year to provide new recruits.

Surgeon J.J.B. Wright was placed on detached service in New York from October to December 1863.  Surgeon G.S. Palmer was temporarily added to the staff during his absence.  Palmer administered Lincoln Hospital in Washington, D.C. prior to coming to Carlisle.

The winter of 1863-1864 was relatively quiet, as repairs to the post continued and armies went into their winter quarters.

Carlisle Barracks and the Mounted Recruiting Service, part 1

09 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by in 1861, 1st U.S. Cavalry, 2nd U.S. Cavalry, cavalry, manning, officers, recruiting, training

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While I’ve covered bits and pieces of regular cavalry recruiting in the past, an in depth look at the post returns for Carlisle Barracks during the war revealed a wealth of information on how and where this recruiting was accomplished.  This not the be-all, end-all for this topic.  It’s a blog post, after all, not a journal article.  There are several bits of information that could be of tremendous help, such as the location of the recruiting station in Buffalo, and any newspaper coverage of it.  But I think it is the most comprehensive examination of the process to date.

The theory behind cavalry recruiting changed little with the advent of the war.  The process was relatively simple.  Mounted regiments were tasked to provide officers, noncommissioned officers and sometimes musicians to man recruiting stations at selected cities in the United States.  Periodically these recruits were forwarded from the recruiting stations to Carlisle Barracks.  Here the “Permanent Company,” a training cadre, provided them basic instruction as a cavalryman.  Once the troopers could demonstrate a reasonable aptitude in both the mounted and dismounted tasks of the “School of the Trooper,” as defined in the Cavalry Tactics manual, they were dispatched in detachments to their designated regiments.  This movement was frequently supervised by the same officers and soldiers who originally recruited them.  While this process did not change noticeably in substance during the war, it changed significantly in scope.

Whereas prior to the war only one or two recruiting stations were active at a time, during the course of the Civil War nineteen different cities had stations active at various times.  These were in addition to the stations utilized for the initial recruiting of the twelve companies of the 6th U.S. Cavalry in 1861, which did not fall in the purview of Carlisle Barracks.  It also did not cover the recruiting of volunteers in their camps which occurred near Harpers Ferry in the Eastern Theater in October 1862.  It did, however, include the additional companies, usually designated L and M, added to existing regiments during the war, as well as companies consolidated within the regiments and sent to Carlisle to refit.

Recruiting for the mounted regiments was the responsibility of the “Mounted Recruiting Service.”  This was a purely administrative command, as Congress had not authorized such an organization outside the scope of the existing regiments.  As with all such taskings, the required officers and soldiers were taken “out of hide” from the regiments in the field.  The post commander of Carlisle Barracks had the additional title and responsibilities of the “Superintendent, Mounted Recruiting Service.”  Before the war, this was a major’s position, but during the war it was held by a captain and briefly by a lieutenant.

The commander at the outbreak of the war was Major Lawrence Pike Graham of the 2nd Dragoons.   Graham was something of a legend in the mounted forces.  He was appointed a second lieutenant in the 2nd Dragoons in 1837, and spent the next several years in the Seminole Wars in Florida.  During the Mexican War, he commended the other company in Captain Charles May’s squadron during the famous charge at Resaca de la Palma.  During the Sioux campaign of 1854-55, he commanded a squadron of his own.

Other than the post commander, only the surgeon and the chaplain were permanently assigned to the post.  Surgeon Burton Randall served as the post surgeon until September 1861, when he was assigned to a hospital in Annapolis.  A Maryland native, Randall graduated as a physician from University of Pennsylvania in 1828.  He entered service as an assistant surgeon in 1832, and was promoted to surgeon in 1838.  He served as one of the principal military surgeons of the Mexican War while assigned to the 5th U.S. Infantry.  Surgeon and assistant surgeon were ranks for doctors, and this denoted pay grade, not level of skill or ability.  A civilian physician, D.A. Mahon, served as post surgeon until May 1862, when he was replaced by Assistant Surgeon Joseph Jefferson Burr Wright.  J.J.B. Wright was appointed an assistant surgeon in 1833, and served as the medical director for the Department of Missouri prior to his assignment to Carlisle Barracks.  James A. Ross served as the post chaplain throughout the war.

At least two lieutenants were placed on extra duty from their regiments and assigned temporarily to Carlisle Barracks.  One of these normally served in charge of the permanent company, and the other was in charge of the current group of unassigned.  Equally important, and probably consuming far more of their time, were their additional duties.  One served as Acting Assistant Quartermaster and Acting Assistant Commisary of Subsistence for the post, while the other served as the post adjutant.

1861 was a relatively quiet year for the depot.  The regiments were too busy trying to reach their assigned destinations to worry about replacements, and there were too few experienced officers and noncommissioned officers present to detach many for recruiting duty.  Three recruiting stations were opened in 1861, Boston, Cincinnati and New York City.  Training at the depot continued and small detachments were forwarded once trained.  Only three events of significance took place at Carlisle.

The first was the arrival of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry in April following their exodus from Texas.  They spent April and part of May remounting the regiment and filling their ranks, gaining 174 recruits from the depot in April.  They temporarily emptied the depot, but it put a nearly full strength cavalry regiment into the field near Washington D.C.

The second was the assignment of newly appointed cavalry officers to Carlisle Barracks to undertake their initial training as well.  New subalterns who were experienced noncommissioned officers remained with their regiments, while those appointed from civilian life reported for various lengths of time to receive their initial training as well.  While veterans like John Mix, Thomas Dewees and Samuel Whitside stayed in the field, others like Theophilus Rodenbough, Isaac Dunkelberger and George Sanford were put through their paces by the permanent company.

The third event was the first wartime change of command at Carlisle Barracks.  On September 4, 1861, Major Graham was appointed a brigadier general of volunteers, and reassigned to Washington.  He was succeeded by Captain David H. Hastings of the 1st U.S. Cavalry.  Hastings was another seasoned veteran.  An Irish immigrant, he enlisted in 1837 and worked his way through the ranks to serve as a first sergeant in infantry, artillery and engineer companies prior to receiving a commission in the 1st Dragoons in 1848.  Severely wounded near Mexico City and again severely injured when his horse fell pursuing Indians in New Mexico in 1857, Captain Hastings was of far more use to the Army for his mind than his body at this point in his career.

Reserve Brigade Attrition in the Gettysburg Campaign

20 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by in 1863, 1st Cavalry, 2nd Cavalry, 5th Cavalry, 6th Cavalry, battle of Brandy Station, Casualties, Gettysburg campaign, manning, Reserve Brigade, Stoneman's Raid

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BufordLoC

Few would dispute the performance of Gen. John Buford on July 1st at Gettysburg.  He did an excellent job of fighting his division, especially since he was short one brigade.  The Reserve Brigade, without question his favorite in the division, was miles away guarding the wagon trains of the Army of the Potomac at the time of the biggest fight of his career.  The fact that he accomplished all that he did on that July day is not only a tremendous credit to Colonels Devin and Gamble, but to Buford’s ability to employ unfamiliar commands effectively.

It is an established fact that Gen. Buford preferred regular units to volunteers.  While the performance of the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry during Stoneman’s Raid went a long way toward changing his mind about volunteers, there can be little doubt that he would have preferred to have the Reserve Brigade with him on July 1st.  Indeed, he requested their return several times prior to that morning. (OR, Vol. 27, pt. 1, pgs. 923-924)

Why was the Reserve Brigade guarding wagon trains?  The answer is simply attrition, of officers even more than enlisted men.  By the end of June 1863, the brigade was simply fought out, and needed a day or two to reorganize before returning to the fight.  During the preceding two months, each of its regiments averaged losses in excess of 15% of their enlisted strength and nearly half of their officers.

At the end of April 1863, just prior to Stoneman’s Raid, this was the strength of the regiments of the Reserve Brigade.  Data for the 6th Pennsylvania is not shown.

Regiment         Officers           Enlisted            # Companies

1st US               10                    371                  7

2nd US              17                    304                  10

5th US              12                    424                  10

6th US              13                    498                  12

Total                52                    1,597               39

A full strength cavalry regiment was authorized 12 companies, including 42 officers and 1,100 enlisted men at this point in the war.  The companies present with the brigade averaged 1.3 officers and 40.9 enlisted men.  The brigade was commanded by a major, and each of the regiment’s by a captain.

At the end of May 1863, after Stoneman’s Raid and prior to Brandy Station, this was the brigade’s strength.  Data is unavailable for the 6th Pennsylvania. (National Archives, RG 94, Returns from Regular Army Cavalry Regiments, 1833-1916. Hereafter “Regimental returns”)

Regiment         Officers           Enlisted            # Companies

1st US               14                    322                  7

2nd US              16                    334                  12

5th US              12                    421                  11

6th US              13                    468                  12

Total                55                    1,545               42

Despite the addition of three officers and three companies, enlisted strength was down by 52 men.  Many of the losses were to the dismounted camp near Dumfries for mounts to replace those lost in the raid.  Each company still averaged 1.3 officers, but only 36.7 enlisted men.  The regiments were commanded by one major and three captains.

At the battle of Brandy Station, General Buford used his 1st and 2nd Brigades primarily defensively after crossing the Rappahannock and losing Colonel B.F. Davis early in the battle.  Once his lines were established, he used the Reserve Brigade for the majority of his attacks on the Confederates, first at St James Church, and later on his right flank.  These attacks resulted in correspondingly higher casualty rates for the brigade.  The 1st U.S. Cavalry picketed north of the river for the majority of the battle, and saw very little fighting.  The Gettysburg Campaign in Numbers and Losses by J.D. Petruzzi and Steven Stanley provides an excellent roll-up of regimental strengths and losses by engagement for the campaign.  Their numbers for the battle of Brandy Station are listed in the table below. (Petruzzi and Stanley, The Gettysburg Campaign in Numbers and Losses, pgs. 5-6. Also, OR, Vol. 27, pt. 1, pg. 905.)

Regiment         Strength   Killed  Wounded   Missing       Total    % Strength

1st US               350            1           1                 0           2             .6%

2nd US              435          11         29               26          66          15.2%

5th US              330            6         17               15           38          11.5%

6th US              510            8         26               32           66          12.9%

6th PA              310            5         25               78         108           34.8%

Total              1,935          31         98              151        319          14.5%

Total strength for the brigade may be conservative, as Gen. Pleasonton’s official report lists their strength on June 9, 1863 at 1,857. (Ibid., pg. 906)

Total losses for Buford’s right wing in the battle, including the infantry brigade, were 471.  The Reserve Brigade losses of 319 were 67.7% of this total.  As devastating as these numbers appear, they may be conservative.  The commander of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry during the battle, Wesley Merritt, later reported 8 of 14 officers were killed or wounded, and 68 killed or wounded of only 225 engaged.  These equate to losses of 57% of officers and 30% of enlisted men in this regiment. (Rodenbough, From Everglade to Canyon, pg. 290.)

The campaign continued, and the brigade rode north with the rest of the division.  Less than two weeks later, on June 21st, the division engaged in another battle at Upperville. (Petruzzi and Stanley, pgs. 33-34.)

Regiment         Strength   Killed  Wounded   Missing      Total    % Strength

1st US               345            1         13               39         53          15.4%

2nd US              372

5th US              301            1                                            1             .3%

6th US              463                         6                 3            9            1.9%

6th PA              240

Total              1,735              2         19               42            63

Again, these numbers may be conservative, as Captain Cram of the 6th U.S. Cavalry claimed in his official report, “The regiment marched out 12 commissioned officers and 242 enlisted men strong.” (OR, Vol. 27, pt. 1, pg. 947.)  This would increase the regiment’s loss to 3.6%.  During the battle, Gen. Buford again employed the Reserve Brigade as his primary attack force, and they paid commensurately. The 1st U.S. Cavalry, who had missed much of the previous battle, figured prominently in this one.  Division losses for the engagement totaled 115.  The Reserve Brigade, composing 39.8% of the division’s strength, suffered 54.7% of its casualties.  Two more officers were lost, one each from the 1st and 6th U.S. Cavalry. (Ibid., pg. 922.)

By the end of June, conditions within the brigade had changed dramatically from just one month before.  Regular regiment strengths as reported on their monthly returns for June 1863 are listed below. (Regimental returns.)

Regiment         Officers           Enlisted            # Companies

1st US                 8                       313                 8

2nd US                5                       505               12

5th US                9                       441                11

6th US                9                       461                10

Total                32                    1,720                 41

While enlisted strengths remained roughly the same per company, primarily due to replacements from the dismounted camp as mounts became available, officer strengths had plummeted.  Over the month, 21 of 52 officers were lost killed, wounded or missing, a loss of 40%. (Ibid.)  This left less than one officer per company.  Despite the continual reinforcements, companies remained at 40% strength on average, with near-constant disruptions to the ranks.  Additionally, the brigade received its third commander of the month on June 30th in the person of newly-promoted Brigadier General Wesley Merritt.

MerrittLoC

Fortunately, 21 of the remaining 32 officers were former enlisted men in the regiments. (Ibid. Also, National Archives, RG 94, Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914 and Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, Volume 1.)  The brigade was still an experienced, battle-hardened formation, it simply needed a couple of days to reorganize.  This was proven on July 3rd and throughout the pursuit of the Army of Northern Virginia following the battle of Gettysburg.

To some extent, however, the loss of the Reserve Brigade may have done much to reveal Buford’s battlefield acumen.  Had they been present, it seems very likely that he would have relied on them heavily once again.  Instead, he was forced to utilize the tools he had at hand, specifically his other two brigade commanders.  Both were very capable cavalry leaders, they simply had not yet had a good opportunity to demonstrate their ability to their division commander.  They proved themselves in the crucible on July 1st.  The lessons that Gen. Buford learned about them and their commands in this fight greatly enhanced his ability to fight his division through the rest of the campaign.  A look at Gen. Buford’s reports from the campaign will show that he maneuvered the division differently before and after the fighting at Gettysburg.  Following the battle, they appear to have much more autonomy in their movements.

 

Manning the Regulars, Part II

20 Tuesday Feb 2007

Posted by in manning, resignations

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Officer manning within the Regular regiments started the war below full strength and never recovered. At the beginning of 1861 the Regular Army had only 16,367 of its authorized strength of 18,093 officers and men, and there had been no increase in strength since 1855 (Sawicki, Cavalry Regiments of the U.S. Army, pg 46). These numbers quickly dwindled as southern born (and some northern born) officers resigned their commissions and left the army.

As mentioned previously, four of the five commanders of the mounted regiments resigned. Many are aware that the one who did not, Philip St. George Cooke of the 2nd Dragoons, was a Virginian. The other officer ranks fared little better. Of the officers assigned to the 2nd Dragoons on January 1, 1861, 1 of 2 majors resigned, 6 of 12 captains resigned and 2 more retired. Seven of the twelve first lieutenants resigned or deserted. One of these, Francis N.C. Armstrong, resigned after leading his Company K for the Union during the first battle of Bull Run (Rodenbough, From Everglade to Canyon, pg 462). Those who remained were promoted and distributed among all five regiments.

Unlike the seemingly limitless number of volunteer regiments organized during the war, there were a finite number of Regular regiments, and officer billets within them. Total numbers included six colonels, six lieutenant colonels, eighteen majors, and 72 captains. Officers were commissioned and assigned against a specific billet in a specific regiment. These were the only billets authorized by Congress, and there were not any spares. Assignments outside the regiments for such things as instructors at the Cavalry School at Carlisle Barracks or aides de camp to general officers were taken out of hide from the regiments. If you were the regimental commander and one of your captains was teaching at West Point, for example, you did without a captain and a first lieutenant commanded one of your companies. Once assigned to a regiment as a second lieutenant, one remained a second lieutenant until a billet was vacated by one of the first lieutenants, via promotion, resignation, or death. It was possible, however, to be promoted to another regiment.

Even promotions worked against the strength of the Regulars, due to the promotion system of the Regular Army. During the course of the war, it was not uncommon for regular officers to take leaves of absence to lead volunteer units. These officers did not resign, and continued to count against the assigned strength of the regiment. Alfred Pleasonton, for example, occupied a major’s billet in the 2nd for the entire Civil War, even while commanding the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac. At the end of the war, Wesley Merritt was likewise still assigned to the regiment, one of five major generals of volunteers on the rolls (Rodenbough, 371).

Senior officers within the regiments were rarely present with them. Thomas J. Wood, who succeeded Cooke in command of the 2nd when he was promoted to Brigadier General in November 1861, was commanding a brigade and then a division in the Tennessee and Mississippi campaigns. He remained in the western theater throughout the war, and never served with the regiment that he nominally commanded (Rodenbough, pg 438). This is one of the reasons that captains are usually noted as leading Regular regiments in reports in the Official Records and elsewhere. Indeed, this problem did not go away after the war. Regimental returns from November 1, 1866 show seven generals of volunteers assigned to the 2nd Cavalry, with a captain actually present commanding the unit and lieutenants commanding seven of the twelve companies (Rodenbough, pg 371).

New officers did join the regiments as the war progressed. Eleven new lieutenants joined the 2nd in 1861, four of them newly commissioned West Point graduates. Never, however, were they at a full complement of officers. The only possible exception to this might be the 6th US Cavalry, since it formed in the summer of 1861. Given the very active service of this regiment throughout the war, however, it is doubtful that they stayed at strength for long.