An Old New Yorker

Union General James Samuel Wadsworth died May 8^th 1864 from wounds received two days earlier at the Battle of the Wilderness.

James Samuel Wadsworth was born October 30^th 1807, the son of James Wadsworth in Geneseo, Livingston, New York.  He studied law at both Harvard and Yale, and was admitted to the bar.  He didn't set up a practice; instead Wadsworth managed the family’s estate.  He would enter politics as a Democrat, but then became one of the organizers of the Free Soil Party, and finally a Republican.  In 1861 Wadsworth was a member of the Peace Conference.

When the Civil War became inevitable, Wadsworth volunteered his service to the Union.  He served as an aide-de-camp at the First Battle of Bull Run to Union Major General Irvin McDowell.  McDowell recommended Wadsworth for command, and with the rank of Brigadier General on October 3^rd 1861 he began commanding the 2^nd Brigade of 3^rd Division of the 1^st Corps.  From March 17^th to September 7^th 1862 Wadsworth had command of the Military District of Washington, and had a hand in holding troops for its defense against the wishes of Major General George B McClellan.  After having stepped on McClellan’s toes, Wadsworth could see no prospect in McClellan’s army, and so put his name into the running for Governor of New York State.  After McClellan was replaced at the head of the Army of the Potomac, and Wadsworth had lost the election to Democrat Horatio Seymour, he took the command of the First Division in the 1^st Corps.  He was well thought of by his men.  As the leader of his new division, they were only marginally involved at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863.  At the Battle of Gettysburg, his division was the first Union infantry troops to arrive on the field on July 1^st 1863, and was heavily engaged, loosing over 50% of their strength that day.  They would also fight on the second day.

When the spring 1864 Campaign began, the Army of the Potomac was reorganized, and Wadsworth became the commander of the 4^th Division in the V Corps.  At the Battle of the Wilderness, Wadsworth was the oldest Union divisional command at 56.  On May 5^th 1864 his division was ordered to defend the left of the Union line, but lost their way in the thick underbrush, exposing his left flank to an attack.  Then on May 6^th 1864 while placing two of his brigades, Wadsworth was shot in the back of head, he fell from his horse and was captured by the Confederates.  Wadsworth would die in a Confederate field hospital two days later on May 8^th 1864.  His son-in-law Montgomery Harrison Ritchie would cross line under a flag of truce to retrieve his body.  He is buried in the Temple Hill Cemetery in Geneseo, New York.

Highlanders Follow Your General

Union Brigadier General Isaac Ingalls Stevens was killed in the Battle of Chantilly September 1^st 1862.

Isaac Ingalls Stevens was born in Andover, Massachusetts March 25^th 1818.  He graduated 1839 from the United States Military Academy at West Point at the top of his class.  He entered the Army Corps of Engineers and was promoted to First Lieutenant by 1840.  During the Mexican American War Stevens saw action at the Battles of Cerro Gordo, Vera Cruz, Churubusco, Chapultepec and others.  He would write a book about his experiences in 1851.  On March 17^th 1853 Stevens was named the Governor of the newly created Washington Territory.  On his way to his new post Stevens made a survey across the prairie for a possible railroad route.  He was elected to and served the Territory in the United States Congress from 1857 to 1858.

When the Union was defeated at the First Battle of Bull Run [First Manassas] Stevens accepted a commission as the Colonel of the 79^th New York Infantry, which was known as “the Cameron Highlanders”.  He was appointed Brigadier General September 28^th 1861 and led men at the Battles of Port Royal and Secessionville.  Stevens’ men were transferred to the IX Corps and made part of Union Major General John Pope’s Army, where they fought in the Second Battle of Bull Run [Second Manassas].  At the Battle of Chantilly on September 1^st 1862 Stevens raised the fallen regimental colors of his old 79^th New York and shouted at the men, "Highlanders, my Highlanders, follow your general!"  As he charged ahead of his troops Stevens was hit by a bullet in the temple and died instantly.  His body was brought to Newport, Rhode Island and buried in the Island Cemetery there.

Contibuted To Loss At First Bull Run

Major General Robert Patterson

The Union Department of Pennsylvania was merged into the Department of the Shenandoah August 24^th 1861, following the Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run.

The Department of Pennsylvania was established April 27^th 1861, and covered the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.  The Department was under the command of Union Major General Robert Patterson.  The force was made up of mostly of three month troops from New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.  The men of the Department achieved an early tactical victory at the Battle of Hoke’s Run July 2^nd 1861.  Patterson and his Department of Pennsylvania was held as indirectly contributing to the Union loss at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21^st 1861.

The Department was disbanded August 24^th 1861.  Any of the regiments whose terms of enlistments weren’t up, and their commanders were merged into the Department of the Shenandoah under the command of Union Major General Nathaniel P Banks.  Patterson received an honorable discharge from the Union Army July 27^th 1861.

Tetanus Took Him

Union Brigadier General George Crockett Strong died from complication of a wounding on July 30^th 1863.

George Crockett Strong was born October 16^th 1832 in Stockbridge, Windsor, Vermont the son of David Ellsworth and Harriet (Fay) Strong. He was raised by an uncle in Easthampton, Massachusetts. He attended the Williston Seminary in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and Union College in Schenectady, New York, before settling in and graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1857.  He was ranked 5^th out of a class of 38.  He served in several military arsenals, becoming the assistant superintendent of the Watervliet Arsenal in Watervliet, Albany, New York.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Strong was serving as an ordnance officer on the staff of Union General Irvin McDowell with the rank of First Lieutenant, and was with him at the First Battle of Bull Run.  He commanded an expedition against Biloxi, Mississippi in April 1862, and received a commission to Brigadier General in November 1862.  While leading and assault on Fort Wagner at Morris Island, South Carolina on July 18^th 1863 he was wounded in the thigh.  While on his way to New York City to recuperate, Strong developed tetanus because of the wound and died June 30^th 1863.  He is buried in the Green Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

To The Memory Of Patriots

The Henry Hill Monument built by the 5^th Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery on the Manassas battlefield, was dedicated June 11^th 1865.

Just eight weeks after Confederate General Robert E Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S Grant, Lieutenant James M McCallum of the 16^th Massachusetts Battery received orders to oversee the building of a monument.  He oversaw soldiers from the 5^th Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery in the building of two monuments on the Bull Run battlefield.   The monument located on Henry Hill would be twenty feet tall, topped with a two hundred pound shell.  There are pedestals on each corner which are also topped with shells.  It is built from local sandstone, and took the men just four days to construct the monument.

Union General Samuel P Heintzelman, Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs and Major General Orlando B Wilcox attended the dedication of the monument held on June 11^th 1865.  There were speeches given by chaplains from Illinois and Kentucky, followed by a firing of artillery located on Henry Hill.  The inscription on the monument reads, “To the memory of the patriots who fell at Bull Run, July 21st, 1861.”

A Borrowed Boat

When the civil War started the Union Navy needed vessels, and so on April 23^rd 1861 the USS Ice Boat was borrowed from the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The USS Ice Boat was owned by the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was also sometime called the Refrigerator and Release.  Right after the Civil War started Philadelphia offered her for the use of the Union Navy.  The USS Ice Boat was placed in service under the command of Commodore Oliver S Glisson on April 23^rd 1861.  She left Philadelphia that day to protect Union troops who were landing at Annapolis, Maryland.

The Ice Boat did duty on the Potomac River and Aquia Creek, trying to stop the trade between Virginia and Maryland.  When the Union lost at the First Battle of Bull Run, she returned to the Washington, DC area to defend the city.  After a month she returned to Aquia Creek where she served until late in November 1861, before being returned to the city of Philadelphia.

The First Union Army Lady Doctor

Doctor Mary Edwards Walker a Union Army surgeon was awarded the Medal of Honor November 11^th 1865 under the recommendation of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman.

Mary Edwards Walker was born November 26^th 1832 in Oswego, New York the daughter of Alvah and Vesta Walker.  She worked on the family farm and took to wearing men’s clothing while working.  She was educated in the local school her mother taught.  After earning her own money to pay for it, Walker attended the Syracuse Medical College, graduating with a medical degree in 1855.  She married Albert Miller a fellow student and the two of them opened a practice in Rome, New York.

When the Civil War started Walker volunteered her service to the Union Army.  At first she was only allowed to operate as a nurse, as the Army didn’t have any other female surgeons.  She was at the First Battle of Bull Run.  Walker worked unpaid as a field surgeon on the front line at the battles of Fredericksburg and Chickamauga.  She was finally made a “Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon (civilian)" for the Union Army of the Cumberland in September 1863.  This made Walker the first female Union army surgeon.  She was captured April 10^th 1864, behind the lines helping a Confederate doctor with an amputation and was sent to prison in Richmond, Virginia until exchanged.  President Andrew Johnson had her awarded the Medal of Honor after she was recommended by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman and George Henry Thomas on November 11^th 1865.

Following the war Walker went on to write and lecturer about health care, temperance, and women’s rights.  She died February 21^st 1919.  At her funeral there was an American flag draped over her coffin.  She is buried in the Rural Cemetery in Oswego, New York.

In 1917 the United State Congress removed Walker’s name along with 910 other Medal of Honor recipients from the Roll of Honor.  None of the 911 was asked to return their medal and Walker wore her until her death.

If you’re interested in reading more Dr Mary E Walker  is a good web site to start with.

His Death Caused The Burning Of A Town

Union Major John Rodgers Meigs was killed October 3^rd 1864 under a cloud of controversy which led to the burning of a town in Virginia as retaliation.

John Rodgers Meigs was born February 9^th 1841 the son of Major General Montgomery C and Louisa (Rodgers) Meigs.  He received an appointment to the United State Military Academy at West Point in 1859.  He took a short leave from the school following the First Battle of Bull Run to serve as aide-de-camp to Union General Philip Henry Sheridan.  Meigs returned to West Point graduating at the top of the class of 1863.

Following the Battle of Gettysburg, Meigs became a staff officer for Brigadier General Benjamin Franklin Kelly in West Virginia.  He saw action at the Battle of New Market, and was with Sheridan during the actions in the Shenandoah Valley.  Meigs received a brevet to Captain and then to Major for action in the Third Battle of Winchester and the Battle of Fisher’s Hill.

On the rainy night of October 3^rd 1864 Meigs and two other Union soldiers were traveling to Union headquarters in Harrisonburg, Virginia.  They came onto three Confederate cavalrymen riding on the same road.  Both parties demanded the surrender of the other.  There was an exchange of gunfire during which Meigs was killed, one of the men riding with him was taken prisoner, and the third man escaped.  The man who escaped told Sheridan that Meigs was killed without the chance to defend himself.  Thinking Meigs had been murdered; Sheridan ordered the town of Dayton, Virginia to be burned to the ground as retaliation.

Meigs’ father had him buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, DC, but would latter have him re-interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

The First In New Jersey

Union General George William Taylor died August 31^st 1862 from wounds received a few days earlier at the Second Battle of Manassas.

George William Taylor was born November 22^nd 1808 at his family home “Solitude” in High Bridge, New Jersey, the son of Archibald Stewart and Nancy Ann (Bray) Taylor.  He graduated from Partridge's American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy in Middletown, Connecticut.  After graduation Taylor went to work at his father’s company Taylor Iron & Steel Company.  In 1827 He joined the United States Navy, serving until 1831, when he went back into family business.  When the Mexican American War started Taylor served under General Zachary Taylor in the 10^th US Infantry.  Following his service in the Mexican American War, he spent a time looking for gold in California, before returning to New Jersey and the iron company.

When the Civil War started Taylor help recruit what would become the 3^rd New Jersey Infantry.  He would be their Colonel.  The 3^rd would become a part the famed “First New Jersey Brigade” and Taylor and the 3^rd would see action at First Bull Run and many battles during the Peninsula Campaign.  Taylor was promoted May 9^th 1862 to Brigadier General and given command of the 1^st New Jersey Brigade.  On August 27^th 1862 while Taylor’s Brigade was deployed at Manassas Junction near Bull Run Bridge, he was wounded in leg by an artillery shell.

Taylor died August 31^st 1862 in the Washington, DC area.  His body was sent by train to Clinton, New Jersey.  He is buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Clinton, New Jersey.

The Leader Of The Irish

One of the leaders of the Union Irish Brigade, Colonel Patrick Kelly was killed June 14^th 1864 while at the head of his men at the Siege of Petersburg.

Patrick Kelly was born about 1822 in Castlehacket, County Galway, Ireland.  He immigrated with his wife Elizabeth to New York City.

When the Civil War started Kelly enlisted, and was made a Captain in the 69^th New York Infantry.  He saw his first action at the First Battle of Bull Run.  He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the 88^th New York Infantry on September 14^th 1861, and had command of the regiment during the Battle of Antietam.  Kelly received his promotion to Colonel on October 20^th 1862.  He led the regiment in its failed frontal attack of Marye’s Heights at the Battle of Fredericksburg.  Following the Battle of Chancellorsville, the commander of the Irish Brigade Union Brigadier General Thomas Francis Meagher resigned and Kelly was placed in command of the brigade.  The Irish Brigade with Kelly saw heavy fighting in the Wheatfield at Gettysburg, losing 37% of the Brigade.  As the Union Army was reorganized more senior officers returned and Kelly went back to leading his regiment.  At the Battle of Cold Harbor, with the death of Union Colonel Richard Byrnes in June 1864, Kelly was placed back in command of the Irish Brigade.

 Kelly was leading the Irish Brigade on June 14^th 1864 during the Siege of Petersburg.  They were moving on some Confederate earthworks when he was shot in the head and killed.  His body was taken back to New York City, where Kelly is buried in the First Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, New York.

For more information about Patrick Kelly check out the web site News from the Irish Brigade Asscciation

A Three Year Regiment

Henry W Slocum

Union Colonel Henry W Slocum organized the 27^th New York Infantry; it was accepted May 21^st 1861 at Elmira, New York.

The 27^th New York Infantry was organized at Elmira, New York by Colonel Henry W Slocum.  The State of New York accepted the regiment on May 21^st 1861.  It mustered into service in early June and left for Washington, DC on July 10^th 1861.  The 27^th saw its first action at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21^st 1861.  The men of the 27^th were also in Battles at Yorktown, Gaines’ Mills, Crampton’s Gap, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and others in the early part of the war.

The 27^th was a three year regiment, and their enlistment was up on May 31^st 1863.  The men mustered out at Elmira, New York.  They had 4 officers and 142 enlisted men killed, die from wounds or disease during their service.

If you’re interested in learning more about the 27th Infantry Regiment Civil War Union Regiment this is a good web site.

Protection For Washington DC

Fort Stanton outside of Washington DC was closed March 20^th 1866, and everything in it sold off with the land returned to its owners.

When Virginia seceded to join the Confederacy, Union troops moved into the Arlington area of northern Virginia.  This movement was to stop the Confederates from seizing the United State Capital.  During the next seven weeks the Union forces built forts along the Potomac River.  Following the First Battle of Bull Run and Union Major General George B McClellan’s becoming the commander of the Army of the Potomac, it was decided that Washington, DC needed even more protection.

Union Brigadier General John G Barnard was appointed the chief engineer of the defenses of Washington.  Fort Stanton was the first of these new forts.  It was located in Garfield Heights and was begun in September 1861, across from the Washington Navy Yard.  Work went fast, and by Christmas that year Fort Stanton was completed and fully armed.  By the summer of 1862 the fort was garrisoned.  In 1864 Fort Stanton was reported to be armed with six 32 pounders, three 24 pounders field howitzer, four 8 inch guns, and was garrisoned by the 4^th New York Heavy Artillery and 88^th Pennsylvania Infantry.

After Confederate General Robert E Lee’s surrender at Appomattox on April 9^th 1865, there wasn’t much reason to keep the forts around Washington, DC.  The forts were dived into classes; first class being those that should be kept active, second class should be kept in reserve, and third class should be abandoned.  Fort Stanton was listed as first class, as it defended the Washington Navy Yard.  As listed Fort Stanton received maintenance and continued to be fully garrisoned.  However with the Civil War over military budgets were cut, and soon all the first and second class forts were looked at as surplus.  The guns were taken out of Fort Stanton, and the land the fort sat on was returned to its original owners.  Fort Stanton was abandoned March 20^th 1866.

The Irish General

Michael Corcoran the Irish American General and Colonel of the 69^th New York died December 22^nd 1863.

Michael Corcoran was born September 21^st 1827 in Carrowkeel, Sligo, Ireland, the only child of Thomas and Mary [McDonagh] Corcoran.  When he was 18 he took a job with the Revenue Police, searching for illegal stills and other distilling activities in Donegal County, Ireland.  Corcoran immigrated to the United State on August 30^th 1849.  He settled in New York City, where he found work in the Hibernian House, a tavern in Manhattan.  Corcoran enlisted in the New York City Militia which became the 69^th, and was their Colonel on October 11^th 1860 when he refused to march in a parade put on for the visiting Prince of Wales.  He was removed from command and was placed under a court martial when the Civil War started.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Corcoran’s charges were dropped and he was restored to command of the 69^th New York.  While the Regiment served in Washington, DC early in the year, they worked on defenses of the city, building Fort Corcoran.  Corcoran led the 69^th at the First Battle of Bull Run, and was taken prisoner.  He was released in a prisoner exchange in August 1862 and was promoted to Brigadier General in the Union army.  Following Corcoran’s release he was placed in command of the 1^st Division of the 12 Corps.  He saw action at the Battle of Deserted House and the Siege of Suffolk, before returning to the defenses of Washington, DC.  Corcoran was riding alone on December 22^nd 1863 when his horse fell on him.  He died from a fractured skull.  Corcoran is buried in the Calvary Cemetery at Woodside, Queens, New York.

Another web site that might interest you about Corcoran is

A hero to the Irish soldiers