60. MILITARY RECORD OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY

Draft for the "Toledo War"

The Old Militia System and the Eleventh Militia Regiment

Mexican War Volunteers

Livingston in the Early Days of the Great Rebellion

The Fourth Michigan Infantry

Its Organization and Departure for the Front

The Fourth at Bull Run

Campaign of the Peninsula

The Seven Days' Fight

Campaign under General Pope

Antietam and Shepherdstown Ford

Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville

Gettysburg

Winter Quarters at Bealton

Campaign of the Wilderness

In Front of Petersburg

Expiration of Service and Muster Out

The Reorganized Fourth Service in Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas

Muster Out and Disbandment

List of Members of the Old and New Fourth from Livingston County

     THE first demand made upon the inhabitants of what is now Livingston County, to perform military service in a public exigency, was by the proclamation of Governor S. T. Mason, ordering a draft from the militia, of men to serve under General Brown, in the famous "Toledo War" of 1835. Under this authority, several men were drafted from townships now of this county; a half-dozen being taken from the militia of Green Oak. They were not called on to perform any very dangerous or protracted services, and their farms or other business did not suffer serious detriment from  61. their being summoned to the field. The "war" was, of course, but a farce, but for a time it caused serious apprehensions in the minds of drafted men and others; and it was, at all events, the first experience of the people of this region in furnishing soldiers for a service which threatened actual hostilities.

     Under the militia system of a period somewhat later than the Toledo war, many of the townships contained so-called military companies, which were ordered out at stated times for battalion or regimental "training" or general muster, as the case might be. In 1843 the Sixth Brigade of the Third Militia Division was commanded by Brigadier General Isaac Brown, whose brigade major and inspector was Edward H. Thomson; Brigade Judge Advocate, James W. Stansbury, of Pinckney; Brigade Quartermaster, Samuel C. Fairchild; and Aid-de-Camp, Furman G. Rose. The Eleventh Regiment seems to have been distinctively of Livingston County, and its first commanding officer was Colonel Timothy R. Allison, of Pinckney. A regimental order of the colonel's, issued in the year above named, has been found, of which the following is a copy:

"COMPANY BEATS, REGIMENTAL ORDER No. I."

"COLONEL'S OFFICE, PINCKNEY, Feb. 7, 1843."

"ELEVENTH REGIMENT, SIXTH BRIGADE, THIRD DIVISION "MICHIGAN MILITIA."

     "I do hereby cause this regiment to be divided into ten company beats, numbered and bounded as follows: First company beat to comprise the township of Green Oak; the second, to comprise the township of Hamburg; third, the township of Putnam; fourth, the township of Unadilla; fifth, the townships of Iosco and Marion; sixth, the townships of Genoa and Brighton; seventh, the townships of Hartland and Oceola; eighth, the townships of Howell and Handy; ninth, the townships of Conway and Tuscola; tenth, the townships of Deerfield and Tyrone.

     "Given under my hand at Pinckney, this seventh day of February, A.D. 1843.

Colonel Eleventh Regiment, Sixth Brigade, Third Division, Michigan Militia,"

     The successor of Colonel Allison in the command of the Eleventh Regiment was Colonel George Bennett. Washington Wing was the Lieutenant-Colonel. A cavalry company existed in the county, commanded by Colonel Ives, of Unadilla.

     The general "trainings" were usually held at Howell or at Provost's Plains. These occasions were invested with as much of pomp and parade as was practicable, and were looked. forward to with much of pleasure by the people. A pioneer, in mentioning them, says, "Ostensibly the object was to keep up a military organization, but really to have a jolly good time. Colonel Allison always thought it a part of his military duty to furnish the boys all the stimulant they wanted before the training, so that they might show proper enthusiasm." This is unquestionably a correct statement. The old militia system was doubtless originated in the idea of keeping up a military organization and to foster a military spirit, but it never made soldiers, and the organization which it kept alive was of no value. A few years later the State ceased to require this kind of military duty, and the system, with its trainings, drunkenness, and general burlesque of military spirit and discipline, happily became a thing of the past.

     At the breaking out of the Mexican war, in 1846, the population of Livingston County was comparatively small, and there were few among its people who were in a condition to make it possible for them to leave their families and farms to become soldiers. Still there were a few from the county who followed their country's flag to the fields of Mexico. Among these were John A. Tanner, of Handy, who enlisted in Captain I. S. Rowland's company of the First Michigan Regiment, John Moran, of Oceola, and some others whose names have not been ascertained (mostly from Hartland and other eastern towns), who served in that and Captain Hanscom's company of the same regiment. The First was commanded by Colonel T. B. W. Stockton, of Flint, and was raised in the fall of 1846, was rendezvoused at Detroit, and as soon as organized, and before its ranks were full, left for the seat of war by way of Cincinnati and New Orleans, arriving at Vera Cruz in January, 1847. From Vera Cruz it moved with other forces, amounting in all to two thousand men, under General Bankhead, to Cordova and Orizaba. A second detachment, under Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards General) Williams, left Detroit after the main body of the regiment and joined it at Cordova. The colonel of the regiment was made military governor of Cordova, and remained there in that capacity to the close of the war. The regiment suffered very severely by sickness during its term of service, and a great number of its soldiers left their bones in Mexico. Besides those who entered the First Regiment, there were a few from Livingston who enlisted in the Fifteenth United States Infantry, which was in the division of General Gideon J. Pillow, of Tennessee. Those who were with this command participated in some of the principal battles of the Mexican war.

     62. All the matters above referred to, however, were but trivial, and hardly worthy of mention, in comparison with the events of that later struggle,--the tremendous war of the Rebellion, with the opening of which, commences the real military history of Livingston, a record which, to the county and to its people, is a most creditable one. When the thrilling news from Charleston Harbor first rang through the country, and President Lincoln called on the loyal States for an army of seventy-five thousand men to sustain the authority of the government in an unexpected crisis, the young men, the middle-aged and the old men, as well as the women of Livingston, responded most patriotically, and at once took measures to furnish the county's full quota of soldiers to fill the ranks of the Union army. The first step taken here, as everywhere in the North, was the holding of public meetings to promote enlistments. Fifteen days after the President's call was issued, an extremely large and enthusiastic "Union mass-meeting" was held (April 30, 1861) at the court-house in Howell, at which James B. Lee, Esq., of Brighton, presided, and B. Howard Lawson was made secretary, and which was addressed by the president, by Henry H. Harmon, William A. Clark, E. F. Burt, George W. Lee, and others, in a most eloquent and effective manner. "At noon a magnificent star-spangled banner, made expressly for the occasion by the patriotic ladies, was unfurled from the liberty-pole in front of the court-house amid the wildest enthusiasm of the assembled multitude. The thrilling song of the 'Star-Spangled Banner' was sung and listened to by the audience with intense emotion and vociferous cheers . . . The court-room was literally jammed full of men and women, but by this time the people from all parts of the county had assembled by many hundreds in the court-house square, with two bands of music, and they evinced their desire to participate in the patriotic proceedings in so unmistakable a manner that the meeting adjourned to the square, where the speeches were received with an enthusiasm exceeding anything of the kind ever witnessed. All party ties seemed broken, all partisan prejudices obliterated, and but one desire and determination manifested by the speakers and the people--to sustain the Federal government in the legitimate exercise of its power to preserve the Union. William A. Clark, Henry H. Harmon, Ira Knight, Mylo L. Gay, and Andrew D. Waddell were constituted a committee on resolutions, and they, by their chairman, Mr. Clark reported a preamble and a series of six patriotic, resolutions, which were adopted by, acclamation, and of which the following was the concluding one:

      "Resolved, That we devote as an oblation and willing sacrifice upon the altar of our common country all political party prejudices and animosities, and by obliterating all party distinctions to unite as patriotic American citizens in defense of the perpetuity and prosperity of the American Union; and to such a line of conduct we dedicate ourselves, and pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to the cause of our country, and to the maintenance of the Constitution and Union bequeathed to us as a precious heritage of freedom by our heroic ancestors.'"

     At the same time the sum of eight, hundred dollars was pledged by citizens, in addition to amounts voted the Board of Supervisors, for the relief, if needed, of the families of volunteers from Livingston County who should enter the service of the United States.

     Meetings of the same kind were held in other parts of the county, and by the enthusiasm thus awakened, enlistments were promoted, and progressed with such rapidity that early in May it was announced that one company (raised by Captain John Gilluly) was full, and that Mr. James Mulloy had also made good progress in procuring enlistments for a second company, -- twenty-two names being enrolled by him on the first day. It was not at that time known in what regiments these volunteers would be placed. The company of Captain Gilluly being afterwards assigned to the Filth Infantry, entered the field with that command, and fought most gallantly in its campaigns; but in the mean time other volunteers from Livingston joined the Fourth, which was soon ordered to the front. These regiments, with others most noticeable for the number of Livingston County men serving in their ranks, are specially mentioned below in historical sketches of their organization and services in the great war for the Union.

THE FOURTH INFANTRY

     This regiment, which was one of the most distinguished for excellent discipline and unflinching bravery of all those which the State of Michigan sent to the war, had in its ranks a number of Livingston County volunteers, equal to about half of a full company; these being principally made up of the men above mentioned as having been recruited by Mr. James Mulloy. This detachment left Howell on the twenty-first of May, 1861, amid scenes of (then) unparalleled excitement, enthusiasm, and sorrow, and proceeded to Dexter for the purpose of joining a company which was forming at that place for the Fourth Regiment. They had previously expected to be attached to the Fifth Infantry, to which Captain Gilluly's company (containing many of their friends and acquaintances) 63. had been assigned; but, upon the receipt of an apparently authentic announcement that the Fifth would not be called to the field, they decided to make sure of acceptance, and a chance to see service, in the Fourth. The rendezvous of this regiment had been established at Adrian, and to that place the "Howell volunteers" proceeded from Dexter, and were, incorporated with " K" company, of which James Molloy was commissioned second lieutenant, dating from June 20th.

     The regiment was mustered into the United States service, one thousand and twenty-four strong, on the twentieth of June, 1861, by Lieutenant-Colonel Backus, United States Army. Its field officers were:

Colonel Dwight A. Woodbury

Lieutenant-Colonel William W. Duffield

Major Jonathan Childs

     On the twenty-fifth of June the Fourth left Adrian, and proceeded by way of Toledo to Cleveland, which was reached at about dark, and from thence by Erie, Pennsylvania, and the Erie Railroad to Elmira, where the men changed to the cars of the Northern Central Road, and moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. There they pitched their tents and remained in quiet until the first of July, when, at Seven A.M., they moved on through Baltimore to Washington, which was reached at three o'clock in the morning of the second. The names of the members of the regiment belonging in Livingston County were reported on their arrival at Washington as follows: (List re-alphabitized)

     Having received a visit from President Lincoln, and from the Hon. Kinsley S. Bingham, of Livingston County, then United States Senator from Michigan, and also having been marched to the arsenal, and there armed with indifferent Springfield muskets, the regiment was soon after moved across the Long Bridge to the sacred soil which forms the right bank of the Potomac. Arriving in Virginia, the Fourth took an active part in the movements connected with the first battle of Bull Run, and after that disastrous conflict it was one of the few regiments which retired in good order, covering the rear of the demoralized army. The regiment also aided largely in the construction of the works around Washington.

     During the winter of 1861-62 it was encamped at Miner's Hill, Virginia. In the spring of the latter year it went with McClellan's army to Yorktown, and thence up the Peninsula. On the twenty-fourth of May it was on the north side of the Chickahominy, at New Bridge. An order came to make a reconnaissance in force. Five companies of the Fourth were directed to cross the river. They plunged in under a heavy fire, and made their way steadily across. In many places the water was up to the men's necks, and they could only keep their cartridges dry by hanging the boxes on their bayonets and holding their rifles above their heads. Once on the other side, the battalion quickly formed and engaged in a desperate conflict with the celebrated Louisiana Tigers, driving them back with heavy loss. They were highly complimented by General McClellan for their gallantry, and at once took rank among the best regiments in the service.

     On the twenty-sixth of June the Fourth took part in the battle of Mechanicsville, and in that of Gaines' Mills on the following day. Still retiring with the shattered Army of the Potomac, on the first of July it reached the hills of Malvern, where the Union forces stood at bay. The Fourth Michigan was on the extreme left of the Union lines. One of the divisions of Stonewall Jackson's corps formed on its left, with the evident intention of turning its flank. The brigade to which the Fourth belonged, changed front, so as to face the enemy, and poured a deadly fire upon them. Meanwhile the gunboats in the James River, which lay so as to cover the Union flank, also opened fire on the foe with their big guns, throwing, as our informant expressed it, "shells as big as nail-kegs." As their terrible missiles, which cut off trees like pipe-stems, joined their destructive powers to the thick-flying bullets of the Fourth Michigan and their comrade regiments, the rebels were very glad to retire in all haste from the position, and did not again attempt to occupy it.

     During the fierce battle which followed, Colonel 64. Woodbury, the commandant of the Fourth, was killed. Captain George W. Lombard was promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the regiment for gallant conduct at Malvern Hill, his commission dating from July 1st,--the day of the battle. The total of casualties in the Fourth during the battles of June and July was fifty-three killed, a hundred and forty-four wounded, and fifty-two missing; in all two hundred and thirty-one.

     The regiment soon after went North with the Army of the Potomac, being present in the battles of Gainesville, Second Bull Run, and Antietam, but without suffering very serious loss. Three days after the latter battle, on the twentieth of September, 1862, the Fourth was stationed on the east side of the Potomac, at Shepherdstown Ford. On the western side of the river was a rebel battery of five guns, which kept up a most annoying fire on the troops on the eastern side. General Griffin, the commander of the brigade, rode up to the commander of the Fourth, saying,

     "Can't you take your regiment quietly into the river after dark, march across, and capture that battery?"

     "I can try, sir," promptly replied the officer addressed.

     "That's all that any one can do," said the general; "go ahead and try it."

     Accordingly, about nine o'clock at night, the Fourth, alone, moved quietly down and took post in the bed of the Baltimore and Ohio Canal, which ran close to the bank of the river, and from which the water had been drained by the breaking of the locks. All orders-were passed in a whisper, and the utmost care was taken to prevent any untimely noise from disclosing the enterprise to the enemy.

     The men looked with considerable distrust on the undertaking; it seemed like a big job to ford a river a third of a mile wide, in face of a hostile battery, and capture it. However, the order was imperative, and few or none were disposed to flinch. When all was ready, the requisite orders, still in whispers, were passed along the line, and the men silently arose and passed over the bank into the river. The night was dark, and although the enemy's pickets were close to the water on the other side, they could see nothing of the movement which was in progress.

      In some places the water was only ankle-deep, in others knee-deep, and in others waist-deep. In complete silence the line moved steadily forward until the middle of the stream was nearly reached. Then some of the men stumbled on the slippery rocks, and in saving themselves from falling made considerable splashing in the water. The attention of the rebel pickets was aroused, and on peering eagerly into the darkness, they could discern the dim line of the silent Fourth making its way across the river. The next instant a dozen rifles flashed their angry welcome. Their leaden messengers whistled among the ranks of the advancing Yankees," and the sharp reports re-echoed along the rocky banks of the Potomac.

     No more need of silence now.

     "Forward!" shouted the colonel; "forward! forward!" repeated the line-officers, and forward went the gallant regiment, all striving to see how quickly they could reach the shore.

     On the other hand, the rebels, who seem to have been without much infantry support, got their guns ready for action as speedily as possible, and began a tremendous cannonade. But the battery was on high ground, and by the time it opened fire the Fourth was so close that the rebel balls went harmlessly over their heads. With a thundering cheer, the Union line charged up the steep, rushed with fixed bayonets upon the artillerists, and captured about twenty of them, while the rest fled at the top of their speed into the darkness, leaving their five cannon the prize of the conquerors. So well had the plan been arranged and carried out that only two or three men were killed in what had at first appeared to be an undertaking of extreme danger. Its very audacity largely assisted its success.

     Four of the guns thus taken had been captured by the rebels at the first Bull Run battle from the battery then commanded by Captain Griffin, of the regular army, who in 1862 was the brigadier-general that ordered the assault just described, and who was intensely gratified at the unexpected recapture of his former pets.

     After this exploit, the regiment engaged in the usual marches through the mud and snow of Virginia, until the battle of Fredericksburg, on the thirteenth and fourteenth of December, 1862, in which it took an active part, having nine men killed and forty-one wounded. It remained in the vicinity of Fredericksburg until the first of May, 1863, when it became engaged in the battle of Chancellorsville, though not in the hottest part of the field. The total of casualties there-killed, wounded, and missing-was thirty.

     Then followed the long march northward under a blazing sun, till on the first of July they reached the field of Gettysburg. On the second they were in the thick of the fight, being then in the Fifth Corps. Here they met the Louisiana Tigers, their old enemies of the Chickabominy, with other regiments, in one of the few hand-to-hand conflicts of the war. For a time the conflict was of the most deadly description. Colonel Jeffords, the commander of the regiment, fell dead pierced by half a 65. dozen bayonets. Several other officers were killed and wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel Lombard assumed command and gallantly continued the fight, but the loss of the regiment was very serious. When, on the fourth of July, after the glorious victory of the Union arms was assured, the rolls of the Fourth Michigan were called, it was found that twenty-eight men had been killed, eighty were wounded, and seventy-nine were missing.

     After Gettysburg the Fourth participated in the pursuit of the enemy and other movements of the Army of the Potomac, and was encamped during the winter of 1863-64 at Bealton, on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. Lieutenant-Colonel Lombard was promoted to colonel, dating from the third of July, 1803.

     On the thirtieth of April, 1864, the Fourth broke camp, and set out on the great campaign which was only to close with the overthrow of the Rebellion. On the fifth, sixth, and seventh of May the regiment was engaged in the battle of the Wilderness. Though not in the thickest of the fight, it suffered a severe loss on the first-mentioned day, the gallant and genial, Colonel Lombard being mortally wounded by a rebel bullet.

     On the morning of the eighth of May, the Fourth, with the rest of Griffin's Division, arrived at Laurel Hill, between the Wilderness and Spottsylvania Court-House. They remained here during the eighth and ninth, exchanging frequent shots with the enemy, but without a heavy battle. On the morning of the tenth of May, while the Fourth was supporting a battery, the enemy made a charge on the guns. The supports, remained in the rear, and the first charge was repulsed by the battery alone.

     It was seen, however, that another and more determined charge was about to be made, and pretty soon the gray lines came rushing forward, sounding the well-known rebel yell. The brigade to which the Fourth belonged was ordered to keep quiet till the enemy was within about ten rods. Then, at the sound of the bugle, the Union line advanced rapidly to the battery and delivered a well-directed volley among the advancing Confederates. Scores of the latter fell, killed or wounded, before the deadly blast, but, with redoubled yells, the survivors rushed forward towards the coveted cannon. The Fourth and their comrades stood their ground, and for a few moments a fierce hand-to-hand conflict raged among the guns and caissons. In some instances, when bayonets were knocked off the rifles were clubbed and shattered on the heads of foemen.

     A brief experience of this kind of fighting was sufficient to satisfy the assailants, And very soon the gray-coats were seen streaming back to the shelter of their rifle-pits. Then a counter-charge was ordered, and with a cheer the Union brigade rushed forward, capturing a large number of prisoners and taking and holding the first line of the rebel works. This was the signal for a general advance along the Union lines, by which several thousand prisoners were captured. In the brief conflict of the morning the Fourth had twenty men killed and wounded, which was nearly ten per cent of the number engaged.

     The Fourth was in the advanced lines of the Fifth Corps throughout the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth days of May, a large part of the time being actively engaged as skirmishers. It also participated in a brisk conflict near Jericho Mills, on the North Anna River. In fact it was at this period engaged in fighting nearly every day and almost all day. On the twenty-ninth, thirtieth, and thirty-first days of May, and the first day of June it was skirmishing south of the Pamunkey River, and on the third of the latter month it took part in the capture of the enemy's works at Bethesda Church.

     Crossing the James River, the regiment arrived in front of Petersburg on the sixteenth of June, and the next day was engaged in a skirmish. Its time expired on the nineteenth of June, and on that very day it took part in a sharp engagement, having eight men killed and wounded. That evening it was relieved from duty and the next day embarked for Washington. It arrived in Detroit on the twenty-sixth of June, and on the thirtieth was mustered out of service.

     A hundred and twenty-nine of the men, however, had re-enlisted as veterans, which, with recruits who joined after the organization, brought up the number of those whose time had not expired to two hundred and eighty soldiers and three officers. These were assigned to duty with the First Michigan Infantry when the Fourth left the seat of war.

     Of the ten hundred and eighty-five gallant officers and, men who left Adrian in the Fourth Infantry for the front in June, 1861., there were only two hundred and twenty-three on the rolls at the time of muster out, in addition to the one hundred and twenty-nine re-enlisted veterans. Of those who had been dropped from the rolls nearly two hundred had been killed in action or died of wounds. Only about fifty had died of disease during the whole time, but about two hundred and fifty were discharged for disability. The report for 1862 is defective, so that we cannot give the exact numbers. During the last eight months of service only twelve had, died of disease, while forty had been killed in 66. action, showing that the men had become pretty well seasoned to the hardships of camp-life.

THE REORGANIZED FOURTH INFANTRY

     The one hundred and twenty-nine veterans of the old Fourth formed but a small basis for a new regiment, but a determined effort was made to organize one. The veterans were consolidated into two companies, and an order was issued for the enlistment of eight more. A camp was established at Adrian on the twenty-sixth of July, and Lieutenant-Colonel Hall, of the old Fourth, was made colonel of the new organization. The work was completed in about two months and a half, and on the fourteenth of October, 1864, the new regiment was mustered into service. A few men from this
county were included in the reorganized Fourth.

     On the twenty-second of October the regiment left Adrian proceeding to Decatur, Alabama, which they reached on the twenty-eighth, where their career was at once inaugurated by a battle with the forces of the rebel general Hood, who had already attacked that town. The assailants were repulsed, the Fourth having only one man killed and four wounded. It was afterwards sent to Murfreesboro where it was kept on picket and guard duty until the middle of January, 1865. It then went to Huntsville, Alabama, where it was assigned to the Third Division, Third Brigade, Fourth Army Corps.

     In the latter part of March it was ordered to East Tennessee. It remained there, constantly on the march, about a month, when it returned to Nashville. It stayed at that point until the middle of June, when, with its corps, it was sent to New Orleans. It was then joined by the detachment of the old Fourth Infantry which had previously been on duty with the First. The regiment proceeded to Texas in July.

     The fighting was over but the service was severe; owing to the heat, and the scarcity and badness of the water, many died. The regiment was on duty at various points in Texas, mostly at San Antonio and vicinity, until May 26, 1866, when it was mustered out of service at Houston, in that State. On the tenth of June it arrived at Detroit, where it was paid off and disbanded.

OFFICERS AND ENLISTED MEN OF THE OLD AND NEW FOURTH INFANTRY, FROM
LIVINGSTON COUNTY*