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COLONEL Edward Daniels, in the summer of 1861, was
authorized by the War Department to recruit and organize one battalion
of cavalry in Wisconsin. He was subsequently authorized to raise
two more companies. The Governor, in October, was authorized to
complete the regiment, by the organization of six additional companies.
The location of the rendezvous was changed from Ripon to Kenosha,
and the regiment took up its quarters at Camp Harvey. Here its organization
was perfected, and the muster into the United States service completed
on the 8th of March 1862, and the regiment left the State on the
17th for St. Louis.
Arriving at St. Louis, on the 19th of March 1862,
the First Wisconsin were quartered at Benton Barracks. Here they
completed their outfit, and on the 28th of April, the regiment moved
down the Mississippi on transports to Cape Girardeau, Mo.
The Regimental Adjutant, Charles W. Burbanks, was
mustered -out on the 25th of March, and Lieutenant S. V. Shipman
acted as Adjutant. Colonel Daniels was placed in command of the
post, and assigned to the district of Southeast Missouri.
On the 10th of May, a force of six squadrons proceeded
to Bloomfield, fifty miles from Cape Girardeau, Major Pomeroy was
then placed in command of the post and was appointed Provost Marshal.
From this time until the regiment left South Missouri, they were
engaged in scouting in various directions repeatedly encountering
the enemy. Ten miles south of Bloomfield, a rebel camp was broken
up and a few days after, Colonel Phelan and about 100 confederates
were captured.
Then on the 14th of May, during an expidition to
the Chalk Bluffs, an enemy camp was found only a few miles after
crossing the St.Francis River. A skirmish then occurred in which
the regiment lost three killed and four wounded, among them Lieutenant
William J. Philips, of Company A, who was mortally wounded.
On the 21st of May, a detachment under the command
of Colonel Daniels, proceeded to Kennett, in Dunklin County. The
detachment learned that a steamer loaded with supplies was lying
in Little River, at Hornersville, ten or twelve miles distant. Colonel
Daniels pushed forward and succeeded in capturing the boat with
about fifty prisoners, and a valuable cargo of sugar, molasses and
other stores.
On the 1st of June, Dr. H. N. Gregory was killed
by a shot from a rebel sharpshooter at Chalk Bluff.
Not content with confining his operations to the
district to which be was assigned, Colonel Daniels took the responsibility
of making a raid into Arkansas. The regiment was concentrated at
West Prairie, about thirty miles south of Bloomfield. Sixty men
were positioned at Cape Girardeau. under command of Lieutenant Shipman,
who bad been appointed commandant of the post by order of the Department
commander. Fifty men were then positioned at Bloomfield, under the
command of Captain Hyde. A handfull of men were then assigned to
guard the stores left at camp on West Prairie.
On the 12th of June, Major La Grange was commissioned
Lieutenant Colonel, and Captain Henry S. Eggleston, Major.
Accompanied by three pieces of artillery, the regiment
departed from West Prairie on the 9th of July. That evening, after
reaching Chalk Bluff the evening, the regiment crossed the river
and encamped.
However, during the cross one of the boats sunk
along with the cannon. Resulting with one man lost. The cannon was
recovered next day.
The route pursued by the regiment was along Crawley's
Ridge, a remarkable geographical feature of the country. Having
its northern termination in the hilly region Northwest of Cape Girardeau
and running in a southerly direction, inclining a little easterly
between the St. Francis and White rivers, about 250 miles and terminating
in a bluff at Helena, Ark.
From Chalk Bluff, on the 10th, Captain Harridan,
of Company L, was sent in advance with about one hundred men, and
reached Oak Bluff, or Scatterville, about daylight of the 11th,
and surprised a force of 125 rebels, killing eight, and capturing
fourteen prisoners, with a large number of rifles, and several horses
and mules.
The march was continued by way of Scatterville,
Gainesville, Greensboro, Jonesboro, Harrisburg and Wittsburg, to
Madison, without meeting the rebels in any considerable force.
On the 16th, the regiment reached Jonesboro, when
Captain Harnden was detached with thirty men to Cache River Bridge
and captured ten men and a Lieutenant Colonel, Inspector General
of the rebel forces in that part of Arkansas.
The regiment reached Madison on the 22d, and captured
the Steamer Cart with several prisoners. From Madison, Colonel Daniels
proceeded to Memphis where he found orders from the Department commander
at St. Louis, inquiring by what authority lie had left the post
district assigned him, ordering the immediate return of the regiment.
Colonel Daniels returned to Madison, and on the 28th, took passage
in the steamer Carl, for Helena, and never rejoined
the First and Second Battalions, marched to La Anguille
Ferry on the 28th, and reached Marianne, eight miles beyond, on
the 29th. A heavy train of baggage wagons, escorted in by the Second
Battalion, under Major Eggleston, had moved several miles in the
rear during the march.
The train left Witts- on the 2d of August, marching
to La Anguille Ferry, and camping, on the north shore of the stream,
where, on the morning of the 3d of August, they were surprised about
daylight by an overpowering force of the enemy, and but little resistance
could be made. The Chaplain of the regiment, Rev. George W. Dunmore,
was killed while dressing himself. There were 15 killed. Fifty-seven
were taken prisoners, and also twenty men of a Union Arkansas company,
six of whom were afterwards shot by the rebels at Little Rock. Nearly
100 Negroes who were following the train were captured, many of
whom were shot down in cold blood. The train consisted of twenty
wagons laden with supplies, three ambulances, and two wagons with
ammunition, also all the regimental papers, which were all captured.
The regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel
La Grange, moved in immediate pursuit of the enemy as far as Rough
and Ready. Returning the next day to Marianne, on the 5th They then
marched to Helena, arriving there on the 6th, and reported to General
Curtis.
When between Wittsburg and Madison, on the 29th
of July, Captain Porter, of Company I, was ordered to detach twenty-two
men and gather the sick who had been left on the march, and return
with them to Bloomfield.
When near Jonesboro, Captain Porter reports that
he attacked a rebel camp drove the enemy and took several prisoners,
and other spoils.
Proceeding to Jonesboro on the 2d of August, he
took possession of the Court House, which in the night was surrounded
by about two hundred who, after a sharp fight, compelled him to
surrender.
They were soon paroled, and with those able to move
forward, pushed through the woods to the Mississippi River at Osceola.The
casualties in this affair as reported by Captain Porter were 7 killed
and 2 wounded. Eight of the detachment was missing, and eight were
taken prisoners and paroled.
On the 10th of August, the regiment was assigned
to General Vandever's brigade, and moved out and camped on the Claren
road until the 23d of September, engaged in scouting, having several
men wounded.
On the 27th of' September, the First Battalion,
under Lieutenant Colonel La Grange, arrived a few days after having
rescued the steamer Forest Queen from a band of guerillas at the
mouth of the Obion River.
The Second Battalion arrived on the 29th of September,
and encamped with the rest of the regiment one mile from town.
On the 3d of October, the regiment moved to Greenville
Mo., leaving 400 sick at Cape Girardeau.
On the 23d of July, the squad left at West Prairie,
were attacked, and Corporal E. W. Houck, of Company B, was mortally
wounded. The most of the stores at that point were safely moved
to Bloomfield.
The latter part of July, the rebels made a spirited
attack on Bloomfield, which was admirably defended by the little
force under Captain Hyde. We find Job Warren, of Company E, reported
killed at Bloomfield, on the 1st of August. They made another attack
on the 11th of September, when Captain Hyde was compelled to evacuate
the town, and retire to Greenville. Abner J. Keller, of Company
E, is reported killed.
A force of' 500 men was sent from Greenville, and
the place was retaken but was held only a short time, the whole
force returning to Greenville.
From Greenville the regiment moved to Patterson,
about thirty miles from Pilot Knob, and was brigaded in General
Benton's Division of the Army of Southeast Missouri.
During the winter the regiment encamped at West
Plains, Pilot Knob, and St Gunevieve, and engaged in scouting duty,
and in the spring the regiment was nearly all concentrated at Cape
Girardeau. Colonel Daniels never returned to the regiment, and finally
resigned.
Lieutenant Colonel La Grange was commissioned Colonel,
and Major Pomeroy as Lieutenant Colonel, on the 5th of February
1863.
On the 11th of December 1862, Captain Thomas Mars
was commissioned as Major, vice Major Eggleston, deceased.
In April, General Marmaduke advanced into Southeastern
Missouri, and moved forward to attack Cape Girardeau.
On the 24th, Company E, under command of Captain
S. V. Shipman was stationed to guard a bridge across Whitewater
River, about sixteen miles from Cape Girardeau, on the Bloomfield
road. One column of Marmaduke's army numbering about 3,000 men,
approached. A body of about 300 men moved above the bridge, some
distance, crossed the river, and took possession of the only road
through the swamp in rear of Captain Shipman's position. The enemy's
whole force then moved against the bridge, which Captain Shipman
found it impossible to hold. He therefore attempted to retreat to
Cape Girardeau under cover of the darkness. Falling into an ambuscade
set by the enemy, Captain Shipman ordered his men to cut their way
through himself, a Lieutenant Ogden leading the charge. In the attempt
Captain Shipman was severely wounded, having his thighbone badly
shattered by a pistol ball, and was taken prisoner with several
of his men. Lieutenant Ogden, with twenty-two men, succeeded in
cutting their way through and escaped to the Cape. Captain Shipman
was paroled and sent into Cape Girardeau, under a flag of truce,
where by superior surgical aid, his life was saved without amputation
of the limb. The casualties as reported, were 4 killed.
On the 25th, Marmaduke attacked Cape Girardeau with
great vigor, and after a time, demanded its surrender, which General
MacNeill refused, and the fight was resumed. A second demand for
its surrender was made, but it was again refused.
In the mean time General Vandever was on the way
to reinforce General McNeill, upon ascertaining which fact, Marmaduke
fell back to Jackson, where he was attacked by General Vandever
on the 27th and soon began his retreat.
General McNeill endeavored to reach the bridge over
the Whitewater, to intercept him, but the rebel General succeeded
in reaching the bridge first and destroyed the greater part of it.
On the 28th, Major Torrey, with four companies of
the regiment, had the bridge repaired by 11 o'clock, A.M., when
McNeill's forces crossed and resumed the pursuit. The bridge over
the Castor River, was also, destroyed by the rebels. The stream
was forded and General McNeill advanced towards Bloomfield, where
a severe skirmish ensued lasting all day. The enemy finally retreated
across the St. Francis at Chalk Bluff, upon which further pursuit
was abandoned, and General McNeill's forces returned to Cape Girardeau.
The First Cavalry took an active part in the defense
of the town and was in the advance in the pursuit; conduct eliciting
the warmest commendations from the commanding General. Sergeant
Mitchell O'Neill, of Company C, and Christian Bjornson, of Company
G, was reported as killed at Cape Girardeau; George P. Bates, of
Company G, was killed at Castor River, and Corporal William Fenton,
of Company H, at Bloomfield.
On the 26th of September, Major Mars resigned, and
Captain Nathan Paine was appointed Major.
On the 1st of October, the effective force of the
regiment encamped with the brigade at Jasper, Tenn. Next day, while
on the march, it was ascertained that the rebel General Wheeler's
command had burned a Government train near Anderson's Gap. .
The First Wisconsin, then leading the brigade,
was ordered forward. Moving with great rapidity the advanced guard
of the regiment, under command of Captain Smith, overtook the rebel
rear guard and promptly attacked it.
The enemy retreated steadily skirmishing constantly
with the advance guard of the regiment, which pursued him closely
for about two miles capturing eleven prisoners and liberating a
number of our men whom the enemy had previously captured.
About a mile from the, train, they encountered
Martin's brigade, which the advance engaged and held until the arrival
of the main body of the regiment upon which four companies were
dismounted and pushed forward as skirmishers, a mounted company
protecting each flank, and the remainder of the regiment held within
supporting distance.
Advancing in this order, the skirmishers taking
advantage of the nature of the ground, and moving rapidly from cover
to cover, drove the enemy, who sustained a loss of twelve killed,
and a considerable number wounded, a distance of two miles.
Near this point, the enemy, in attempting to form,
was thrown into confusion by the fire of our skirmishers, and at
the proper moment, the reserve charged and scattered his wavering
ranks in the wildest disorder.
Thirty-seven of the enemy were killed and wounded,
and forty-two made prisoners, the latter, including a portion of
the staff of General Wheeler, who himself narrowly escaped capture.
In this affair, the regiment sustained a loss of
Sergeant Forsyth, of Company D, wounded severely, and three others
slightly wounded. The retreating rebels were pursued two miles further
when the regiment went into bivouac, remain- until the 4th of October
when they joined in pursuit of the rebel cavalry.
Marching by way of Dunlap across the Cumberland
Mountains they reached McMinnville, from whence they proceeded by
way of Rogersville and Athens, to Huntsville, Ala., and on the evening
of the 13th, took part in the skirmish at Maysville, with a portion
of the force of General Roddy, whom they pursued next day in the
direction of Lamb's Ferry.
On the 16th they marched to Salem, and next day
encamped near Winchester, where they remained until the 20th of
November, at which date they moved to Murfreesboro, Tenn.
From this point, they moved by the way of Crab Orchard
Gap into East Tennessee, and arrived on the 16th of December, at
Knoxville. They continued their march by way of Strawberry Plains,
to New Market, where slight skirmishing with the enemy took place
on the 23d.
During the night, Captain Harridan, with Company
L, forced back the rebel pickets, and on the following day the regiment,
under the command of Major Torrey, took part in a severe engagement
in which the rebels were driven across Mossy Creek. They participated
in several other engagements in this vicinity, successfully resisting
the enemy's attempts to establish his line beyond the stream. The
casualties as reported, were two killed and 2 wounded.
On the 14th of January 1864, they marched to and
encamped near Dandridge, and were engaged next day with the enemy
losing one man wounded.
In the action of the 17th, the enemy was at first
forced back, but being assailed subsequently by greatly superior
numbers, our regiment was compelled to retire. Captain La Grange
Company D, was mortally wounded. The casualties were 4 killed and
14 wounded. 16 missing. Eli Braid, of Company I, died of wounds,
January 17th, 1864.
During the night they marched towards Knoxville,
through which they passed on the 19th, encamping on the Sevierville
road.
On the 2d of January, Major Torrey was sent to Nashville
to procure horses, and Major N. Payne was left in command regiment.
From the 21st of January, 1864, to March 4, the
regiment remained in East Tennessee, engaged in scouting duty being
stationed at different times at Sevierville, Marysville, Motley's
Ford and Madisonville.
Lieutenant Colonel Pomeroy having resigned on the
11th of February, Major William Torrey was commissioned Lieutenant
Colonel, on the 1st of March. George E. Cardeman, of Company E,
and Albert L. Hinman and William Slater, are reported as dying of
wounds April 14th, 1864.
The regiment on the 12th of March, encamped at Cleveland,
Tenn., where their numbers were augmented on the 26th, by the arrival
of Lieutenant Colonel Torrey, with three hundred and fifty-four
recruits, and fifty-six returned convalescents, increasing the aggregate
strength of the regiment to one thousand and fifty- Lieutenant Colonel
Torrey took command of the regiment.
While stationed here, details from the regiment
were constantly employed in scouting parties, from which small numbers
were frequently captured by the enemy.
On the 11th of April, a picket post was surprised,
and Lieutenant Caldwell, and nineteen men of Company L, was captured.
At the commencement of the Atlanta campaign, the regiment, commanded
by Lieutenant Colonel Torrey, moving with the Second Brigade, Colonel
La Grange commanding, of the First Cavalry Division, left Cleveland,
Tenn., on the 3d of May, and skirmishing constantly on the advance,
arrived on the 7th, at Varnell's Station, Ga., on the Cleveland
and Dalton Railroad, ten miles from the latter place. A. J. Keller,
of Company E, was killed on the 3d of May. On the 9th of May, Colonel
La Grange was ordered, with the Second Brigade, to develop the strength
of the enemy on the railroad, three miles south of Varnell's.
It was found that nearly the entire command of General
Wheeler, supported by a division of infantry, occupied a strong
position, and after a severe engagement the brigade returned to
Varnell's
In this affair, our regiment lost Colonel La Grange,
Captain G 0. Clinton and Lieutenant Sandon captured by the enemy.
The latter officer was also wounded. Major Paine was badly injured
by a fall from his horse and Lieutenants Warren and Crocker were
wounded.
At the battle of Resaca, on the 15th, the regiment
occupied the extreme left and had four men severely wounded.
On the 17th, Lieutenant Colonel Torrey went to the
rear sick, Major Paine assumed Command of the regiment.
On the 20th Major Paine being wounded, and disabled
by a fractured arm was sent to the hospital, and Captain Hamden,
of Company L, took command of the regiment.
On the 21st, the regiment had a heavy skirmish with
the enemy losing nine men.
On the 26th of May, five companies with a portion
of the Fourth Indiana, charged a brigade of rebel cavalry at Burnt
Hickory capturing forty-seven prisoners. In this action Captain
Harnden was badly wounded while leading the charge and Captain Seaton
then took command of the regiment.
On the 1st and 2d of June, they participated, without
loss, in the demonstration on Johnston's right, and on the 4th a
portion of the regiment drove out a small body of rebels.
With the brigade, they dislodged the rebel force
holding Big Shanty, on the 6th, and subsequently advanced with the
army to Lost Mountain.
On the 1st of July, they marched from Lost Mountain
to Howell's Ferry, on the Sweetwater.
On the 27th, they re-crossed the river as part of
General McCook's force for operations in rear of Atlanta. They again
crossed the Chattahoochie next day, six miles below Campbell town,
where the regiment was detached from the main body and ordered to
Campbell town. Two miles east of the place, on the Fairbourn road,
they attacked the advance of the rebel General Armstrong's division
and after a severe engagement, were compelled to retire.
During the raid, the regiment lost forty men and
officers, reported mostly as missing. Major Paine was mortally wounded
while making a charge. He fell from his horse saying, " I am Shot-
FORWARD." He fell into the hands of the enemy and was taken to a
house near by where he died.
Major Paine was a brave and efficient officer, and
a thorough gentleman. Lieutenant Colonel William Torrey. Who was
then in command of the brigade, was killed on the 30th of July.
To Colonel Torrey great credit is due for so disciplining the regiment
as to make it one of the best cavalry regiments in the service.
He was one of the bravest of officers, and his fall was deeply felt
by the brigade, which he commanded.
In the regiment the deaths of Colonel Torrey and
Major Paine, were greatly lamented. Corporal J. T. Parsons and Private
Ellis Brown, of company C, were reported killed.
Acting as guard to the pontoon train and battery,
they returned on the 31st, to Marietta, ten miles south of which
place, they were afterwards stationed to cover the return of stragglers
from General McCook's command, until the 7th of August, when they
received marching orders.
On the 12th, they arrived at Cartersville, where
they remained, employed in forage and scout duty, until the 17th
of October, when they again marched, arriving on the 19th, at Calhoun.
While at Calhoun, the whole available force of the
regiment was constantly engaged in scouting and in foraging, losing
a number of men by the guerillas. Here the escort of a wagon train,
commanded by Major Harnden, whilst foraging on Pine Log Creek, was
fiercely attacked by a band of guerillas, which were thoroughly
routed, and the band broken up.
They left Calhoun on the 4th of November, when they
were ordered to Louisville, KY. Here the regiment lay in camp being
reorganized, remounted and rearmed with improved weapons, until
on the 4th of December, under the command of Major Hamden, they
set out in the direction of Nashville, then besieged by the rebel
forces under General Hood.
Upon arriving at Bowling, Green, on the 12th, the
regiment accompanied the movement of the Second and Third Brigades,
which were ordered to proceed by forced march to Hopkinsville, where
a force of the enemy was reported 2,000 strong, consisting of cavalry
and artillery, under command of General Lyon.
They arrived in front of Hopkinsville on the 15th,
and next morning drove the enemy from the town, capturing two pieces
of artillery and fifteen prisoners. Our regiment lost five men wounded:
They then pursued the enemy to Elizabethtown, overtaking about 400
of General Lyon's force at that point.
Colonel La Grange, with twenty men of the regiment,
at once charged upon the rebels, capturing eleven prisoners, when
the pursuit was abandoned. The campaign being closed, the regiment
finally went into winter quarters at Waterloo, Ala., where they
remained until the 10th of March, 1865, when they moved across the
Tennessee River to Chickasaw, and on the 22d of March, took up their
line of march for the interior of Alabama, and crossing the Black
Warrior River at Jasper, on the 31st, arrived at Montavallo.
On the 6th of January 1865, Major Harnden was commissioned
Lieutenant Colonel, and Captains Shipman and Howland, Majors, and
on the 25th of February, Captain Newton Jones was commissioned Major.
On the 1st of April, the Second Brigade was detached
from the main column, and ordered to move to the right.
One battalion of the regiment, under command of
Major Shipman, moved forward in advance to Centreville, where they
put to flight a small force of the enemy, capturing fifteen prisoners.
Upon being joined by the balance of the brigade,
they crossed the Catawba River at Centreville, and bivouacked for
the night at Scottsville, having marched upwards of forty miles
during, that day.
Early next morning they encountered Jackson's division
of rebel cavalry, and after a severe engagement, lasting two hours,
during which, Thomas Deming, of Company E, was killed they fell
back towards Selina. They subsequently marched in various directions
a distance of nearly two hundred miles, and on the 6th arrived at
Selina, where they rejoined the main column and remained two days.
Crossing the Alabama, on the evening of the 9th
of April, the brigade leading the marching column had advanced about
five miles from the river. They met the enemy, and a running fight
commenced in which the rebels were rapidly driven back over a distance
of about twenty-five miles, the brigade entering Lowndesboro at
dusk.
On the evening of the 12th they occupied Montgomery,
which was surrendered to the brigade, and continuing the march they
had advanced but two miles from the capitol, when they were fired
upon.
The First Wisconsin and Seventh Kentucky were then
detached from the brigade and attacked the rebels, who had erected
barricades about two miles apart. In the running fight which occurred
as the rebels withdrew in their front from one barricade to another,
the First Wisconsin was the only regiment actually engaged and captured
one hundred prisoners, sustaining a loss of one killed and five
wounded.
Passing through Tuskegee and Auburn, they reached
West Point, Ga., at noon on the 16th of April. The brigade immediately
assaulted and captured Fort Tyler at this place, with its garrison
of two hundred men. Our regiment, dismounted, carried one side of
the fort. They were the first to cross the ditch, and for twenty
minutes, lay on the embankment within ten feet of the enemy waiting
for the other regiments assigned to the attack to attain position.
At the appointed signal, they sprang up, when the garrison displayed
the white flag.
Loss, seven killed, including Lieutenant Vosburg,
and fourteen wounded, including Lieutenant Colonel Harnden slightly.
The following casualties at West Point on the 16th
of April, were reported by Lieutenant Waterman, Adjutant of the
Regiment: 6 killed, 15 wounded. Sergeant Farrell, of Company K,
was the first male to enter the fort.
On the 17th, they crossed the Chattahoochie at West
Point and on the morning of the 21st, arrived at Macon, Ga., where
they went into camp. General Wilson, in his report, speaks highly
of Lieutenant Colonel Harnden's management of the regiment, and
recommended him for promotion.
The last active duty, which this regiment was called
upon to perform in the closing scenes of the rebellion, has already
become historic by its association with the capture of Jefferson
Davis, President of the so called Southern Confederacy.
In compliance with orders from the division commander,
a detachment of 150 men of the First Wisconsin, under command of
Lieutenant Colonel Harnden, left Macon on the evening of the 6th
of May, and proceeding by way of Jeffersonville, in Twiggs County,
where Lieutenant Hewitt with thirty men, was detached to guard the
cross roads, reached Dublin, in Lawrence County, fifty-five miles
from Macon, on the evening of the following day, and encamped near
the ferry across the Oconee River.
At Dublin, Lieutenant Colonel Harnden ascertained
that a train of light wagons and ambulances, with a number of horses,
had crossed the ferry during the day, taking the Jackson road, and
subsequently learned that Davis and his wife were with the train.
Leaving Lieutenant Lane, with forty-five men, to
guard the ferry and patrol the roads, the balance of the detachment
started in pursuit at daybreak on the 8th, and on reaching Turkey
Creek Bridge, learned the exact course the train had taken, and
pushed forward, under the direction of a guide, to the site of their
camp of the previous night, between the forks of Alligator Creek.
At this point they were but four hours behind the
train, and after feeding the horses, the pursuit was resumed across
Alligator Creek, and through a swamp, to Gum Swamp Creek, in Pulaski
County, where the trail became too indistinct to follow in the darkness
and the detachment bivouacked for the night.
Next morning they were again in motion at three
o'clock, and crossing Sugar and Cypress Creeks, proceeded to the
0cmulgee River, the bank of which they followed, in the dense swamp,
to Brown's Ferry. Here an accident to the ferry boat, 'caused a
delay of two hours in crossing the river, after which they pushed
forward to Abbeville, which place the train had left at ten, in
the morning, taking the road to Irwinville, in Irwin County.
Promptly dispatching his command in that direction,
Lieutenant Colonel Harnden went to meet Colonel Pritchard, of the
Fourth Michigan Cavalry, who was in the vicinity, and whom he informed
of the proximity of the train, which he had pursued for such a distance,
and that his command had gone forward in pursuit. Declining his
offer of additional force, on account of the difficulty of procuring
forage, Lieutenant Colonel Harnden left Colonel Pritchard at Abbeville,
to which place he had been ordered, and moving rapidly forward,
rejoined his command, which, about ten miles from the town, discovered
the camping ground of the train, so recently left that the fires
had not yet been extinguished.
Colonel Harnden continued the pursuit through the
pine woods, until nine in the evening, when, feeling certain that
the train was close at hand, and that an attack in the darkness
might afford an opportunity for some of the party to escape, he
halted his command, with orders to be ready for an early start.
At three in the morning of the 10th of May, he again
gave the order to move forward. The command had proceeded about
a mile, when the advance guard, commanded by Sergeant Hussey, was
ordered to halt, by a party of men partly concealed behind trees.
Supposing he had run upon the rebel pickets, Sergeant
Hussey attempted to retreat, when a heavy volley was fired upon
the party, wounding three out of his seven men. Colonel Harnden
then moved forward a squad of ten men, who were met with a similar
volley, whereupon he deployed his whole force, and advanced rapidly,
driving back the opposing force, one of whom was captured, proving
to be a member of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry, under command of
Colonel Pritchard.
All firing of course ceased, and upon explanation,
it was shown that Colonel Pritchard, after his interview with Lieutenant
Colonel Harnden at Abbeville, had selected a number of his best
mounted men, pushed rapidly forward on the run, and thence by way
of House Creek, back to Irwinville, which be reached before the
arrival of the train. He had then sent a small force, dismounted,
around to the rear of the train, and as he moved upon it with his
principal force front the Irwinville side, Lieutenant Colonel Hernden
encountered his dismounted men, as above related.
While this unfortunate collision was in progress,
a portion of Colonel Pritchard's force captured the train. In this
affair our regiment lost three severely, and several slightly wounded.
The reward offered for the capture of Jeff Davis will probably be
divided, by the War Department, between the forces of Lieutenant
Colonel Hamden and Colonel Pritchard. Colonel Wilson, commander
of the cavalry corps, in a letter, says: Lieutenant Colonel Harnden
is entitled to an equal share of the credit for the capture of Jeff
Davis, and is in no way responsible for the unfortunate collision
which occurred." Lieutenant Colonel Harnden then returned as rapidly
as possible to Macon, where he reentered camp on the 13th of May.
The regiment left Macon, Ga., on the 6th of May,
and marching northward, by way of Forsyth, Dalton and Ringgold,
arrived on the 2d of June, at Chattanooga, Tenn., from which they
resumed the march on the 7th, encamping on the 15th at Edgefield,
Tenn., opposite Nashville.
At this place, the First Wisconsin Cavalry was mustered
out of service on the 19th of July, and shortly afterwards, paid
and disbanded.
After the regiment went to Tennessee, Colonel La
Grange was almost constantly in command of a brigade, and distinguished
himself in several brilliant actions, and gained the reputation
of being one of the very best cavalry officers in the service, and
was A NEW brevetted Brigadier General on the 13th of March, 1865.
Lieutenant Colonel Hamden was brevetted Colonel,
and afterwards Brigadier General, and Major Shipman, Lieutenant
Colonel and Colonel. Regimental Statistics. - Original strength,
1,124. Gain-by recruits in 1863, 2951 in 1864, 597, in 1865, 164;
substitutes, 83; by draft in 1863, 202, in 1864, 76; veteran reenlistments,
61; total, 2,602. Loss-by death, 366; deserted, 91; transferred,
67; discharged, 634; mustered out, 1,444.
Wisconsin
Cavalry Photo Archives
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