Exchanged

The 125^th New York; a regiment raised in Rensselaer County, New York, was officially exchanged on November 22^nd 1862 from Camp Douglas, Chicago, Illinois.

The 125^th New York Infantry was raised in Rensselaer County, New York and was mustered into Union service at the end of August 1862 in Troy, New York with Colonel George L Willard as their commander for a term of three years.  The men left Troy by train August 30^th 1862 for Martinsburg, Virginia.  Just a few days later they were involved in the Battle of Harper’s Ferry.  Several of the men of the regiment were killed and wounded.  The 125^th were also among the 11,500 men garrisoned at Harper’s Ferry who surrendered to the Confederates on September 15^th 1862.

The 125^th along with the other captured troops were sent under parole to Camp Douglas in Chicago, Illinois to await exchange.  They would be referred to as the “Harpers Ferry Cowards”   The exchange came for the 125^th on November 22^nd 1862, and the men were sent back to Virginia, where they took up position in the defense of Washington, DC.  They were camped at Centerville on June 24^th 1863, when they became part of the II Corps, Union General Alexander Hay’s Division.  Their commander Colonel George L Willard became the brigade commander.  The men marched off to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  During the Battle of Gettysburg the 125^th lost 139 men killed and wounded, including Colonel Willard.

The 125^th would go on the fight at Bristoe Station, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor and many more.  They would be engaged every day during the siege of Petersburg from July 16^th 1864 through April 1^st 1865.  The 125^th or what was left of it was at Appomattox when Confederate General Robert E Lee surrendered.

Following the Grand Review of the troops in Washington, DC, the men of the 125^th proceeded to Troy, New York, where they were mustered out of service June 15^th 1865.

They Lost Over Half Their Strength

The 19^th Maine Infantry was discharged from Union service May 31^st 1865, after serving for three years.

The 19^th Maine Infantry was raised in Bath, Maine, and was mustered into Union service August 25^th 1862.  Most of the men came from the counties of Kennebec, Knox and Waldo.  The 19^th was in the Battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Bristoe Station, Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Boydton Plank Road, and many others.  These men fought on July 2^nd 1863 at Gettysburg loosing 53% of the regimental strength, when they were moved forward to the Codori Farm to cover the retreat of Sickles' Third Corps.  Their commander there was Colonel Francis E Heath from Waterville, Maine; he was wounded on July 3^rd 1863 during Pickett’s Charge just south of the Copse of Trees.  On June 18^th 1864 the remaining 277 men of the 4^th Maine were merged into the 19^th.

The remaining members of the 19th were mustered out of the Union Army on May 31^st 1865 at Bailey’s Cross Roads.  Of the 1,441 who were members of the 19^th Maine, 192 were killed in actions or died from wounds received, 501 were wounded.  184 men died from diseases and 47 died while being held in Confederate Prisoner of War camps.

He Received The Masonic Sign

A member of the 140^th Pennsylvania Infantry, Henry Harrison Bingham received his commission on August 22^nd 1862 to First Lieutenant.

Henry Harrison Bingham was born December 4^th 1841 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He attended Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and would graduate with a law degree from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania.

Bingham enlisted in the Union Army, and was commissioned First Lieutenant in the 140^th Pennsylvania Infantry August 22^nd 1862.  During the Battle of Gettysburg he was part of Union Major General Winfield Scott Hancock’s Second Corps.  He was near the Angle as Pickett’s Charge came to its conclusion.  Bingham would be the man to whom Confederate Brigadier General Lewis Addison Armistead gave the Masonic sign after being wounded. [Although this story has been discounted recently.] Bingham who was a Captain would come to Armistead’s aid, receive his personal effects and tell Hancock the news of his old friend.  During the Battle of Wilderness Bingham was the aide-de-camp to Union Major General Gouverneur Kemble Warren.  As a Captain in Company G of the 140^th Pennsylvania on May 6^th 1864 he "rallied and led into action a portion of the troops who had given way under fierce assaults of the enemy."  For this action he would be awarded the Medal of Honor.  Bingham was wounded at the Battle of Spotsylvania and captured at the Battle of Fair Oak.

After the war Bingham was appointed by President Andrew Johnson to Postmaster of Philadelphia, a post he held until December 1872.  He was a delegate at the Republican National Conventions from 1872 through 1900.  He was a Congressman from 1879 until his death, serving as the Chairman of several committees.  Bingham died March 22^nd 1912 in Pennsylvania and is buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Would Not Surrender The Symbols of Pride

The 16^th Maine Infantry was organized in Augusta, Maine and was mustered into service August 14^th 1862, for a term of three years.

The 16^th Maine Infantry was organized with Colonel Charles W Tilden as its commander.  They were mustered into Union service August 14^th 1862 and arrived in Washington, DC a few days later.  They went into active duty immediately in Maryland.  The 16^th was assigned to General John Gibbon’s Division of the First Corps. 

The first action for this regiment was at the Battle of Fredericksburg, where they had 427 men present, losing 27 killed, 170 wounded and 34 missing.  The next time the men of the 16^th saw heavy fighting as the Battle of Gettysburg, where the 16^th went in with 248 officers and men and ended the battle with 2 officers and 15 men able to report for duty.  They saved their flags as the Confederates closed in on the men on July 1^st 1863 by tearing up the colors into small pieces.  As Abner Small of the 16^th said, “For a few last moments our little regiment defended angrily its hopeless challenge, but it was useless to fight longer.  We looked at our colors, and our faces burned. We must not surrender those symbols of our pride and our faith."  The men hid the pieces on their person there by depriving the Confederates of capturing the flags.  In March 1864 the 16^th was transferred to the Union Fifth Corps, serving in General Samuel W Crawford’s Division.  The men would see hard fighting at the Battles of Spotsylvania, Hatcher’s Run and others.

During the three years of service 1,907 men served in the 16^th Maine.  They had 181 killed in battle or die of wounds.  578 men were wounded in action.  259 of the 16^th died from disease.  76 good men of Maine would die in Confederate prison of war camps.

A Businessman Turned Soldier

Confederate Brigadier General George Pierce Doles was killed while inspecting his troops at the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 2^nd 1864.

George Pierce Doles was born May 14^th 1830 in Milledgeville, Georgia the son of Josiah and Martha (Pierce) Doles.  He attended local schools, and at 16 tried to run away with his brother to join the army fighting the Mexican American War.  Their father caught them and brought them home.  Doles was a businessman in his hometown, and became the Captain of his local militia company the “Baldwin Blues”.

When the Civil War started Doles enlisted with the rest of “Baldwin Blues” and became a part of the 4^th Georgia Infantry.  He was appointed Colonel of the 4^th on May 9^th 1861, leading them during the Peninsula Campaign.  He was wounded at the Battle of Malvern Hill by a bursting shell.  The 4^th was part of Ripley’s Brigade, and when Confederate General Roswell S Ripley was wounded at the Battle of Antietam, Dole led the brigade in an assault at Miller Cornfield.  Dole was officially placed in command of the brigade November 1^st 1862 with his promotion to Brigadier General. He saw action at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.  At Gettysburg Dole’s Brigade lost 16% of their strength on the first day of the fight.  His Brigade was overrun at the Mule Shoe during the Battle of Spotsylvania on May 10^th 1864.  He escaped capture there only by lying on the ground and playing dead, until a counter attack was made.

On June 2^nd 1864 during the Battle of Cold Harbor, Doles was supervising the building of entrenchments near Bethesda Church, Virginia when a Union sharpshooter shot and killed him.  He is buried in the Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville, Georgia.

A Live Major General Or A Dead Brigadier

Confederate General Abner Monroe Perrin was killed at the Battle of Spotsylvania May 12^th 1864.

Abner Monroe Perrin was born February 2^nd 1827 in Edgefield, South Carolina.  He was a Lieutenant and served in the infantry during the Mexican American War.  After the war was over Perrin studied for and took up a law practice in 1854.

When the Civil War started Perrin joined the 14^th South Carolina as their Captain.  The 14^th was part of Confederate Brigadier General Maxcy Gregg’s Light Division.  He saw action at Seven Days, Second Manassas, Antietam, and Fredericksburg.  Perrin took over command of a brigade just before the Battle of Gettysburg in Confederate Major General William Dorsey Pender’s division.  Perrin was promoted to Brigadier General September 10^th 1863 and given command of an Alabama brigade in Major General Richard H Anderson division.  He fought with this brigade at the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864.

When the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House started Perrin said, "I shall come out of this fight a live major general or a dead brigadier."  When Confederate Major General Edward Johnson’s division was overrun at the Mule Shoe the Confederate Third Corps which included Perrin’s brigade was called in.  Perrin led his brigade in a counterattack with his sword in hand.  He was shot from his horse May 12^th 1864, being hit by seven bullets.  He is buried in the Confederate Cemetery in Fredericksburg, Virginia.