Showing posts with label Fiddler's Green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fiddler's Green. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Fiddler’s Green: Henry Sachs
Henry Sachs was born in Bavaria about 1836. He immigrated to the United States at age 16, aboard the ship Emperor from LeHavre, France. He arrived in New York City on September 27, 1852. Five years late, Sachs lived in Boston and worked as a laborer. He was enlisted into Company K, 2d Dragoons there by Lt. McArthur on October 1, 1857. His enlistment documents describe him as 5’9” tall, with hazel eyes, dark hair, and a fair complexion.
Sachs served in the regiment on the frontier and in Utah until the outbreak of the war, earning promotions to corporal and sergeant in Co. K. His was the only company of the regiment to reach Washington, D.C. in time for the battle of Bull Run in July 1862, where he distinguished himself. According to Colonel Porter’s report on the battle, “While the cavalry were engaged in feeling the left flank of the enemy’s position, some important captures were made --- one by Sergeant sachs, Second Dragoons, of a General George H. Steuart, of Baltimore.” This exploit earned him a promotion to first sergeant of the company, and later a second promotion.
On October 24, 1861, First Sergeant Sachs was discharged in Washington, D.C. to receive a commission as a second lieutenant assigned to Company C, 3rd U.S. Cavalry. The regiment was then fighting in New Mexico Territory. He started west not long after, but took a long time to reach his new regiment.
By the following June, Lt. Sachs had only reached Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Territory, where the post commander assigned him as the post adjutant. Sachs was promoted to first lieutenant, 3rd Cavalry and assigned to Company L on July 17, 1862, but remained at Fort Leavenworth for the next nine months working as the post adjutant and acting assistant quartermaster. While at the post, he participated in skirmishes at Rocky Bluff and Hickory Grove, Missouri in August 1862. He was wounded in a separate skirmish with Quantrill’s raiders in Missouri the following month.
After he joined his regiment, Lt. Sachs commanded a detachment in Tennessee in June 1863 for several months. On October 15, he was assigned as the Regimental Quartermaster and served in that position until June 1, 1864. After his relief from this position, he commanded an independent company of cavalry near Van Buren, Arkansas for several months. Something that he did during this time brought him to the attention of his superiors, for on November 7, 1864, Lt. Sachs was assigned to headquarters, Department of Arkansas, on the staff of Maj.Gen. Frederick Steele. He served the next two months as an acting assistant quartermaster for the department.
First Lieutenant Sachs resigned his commission on January 25, 1865 for unknown reasons, and I was unable to find any further record of him following the war.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Fiddler's Green: Henry Baker
There hasn't been a Fiddler's Green post in far too long. I thought a regimental color bearer from one of the most famous cavalry charges of the war would be an appropriate choice for the blog's record of forgotten cavalrymen.
Henry Baker was born in Kent, England in 1839. After immigrating to the United States, he worked as a clerk prior to serving in the army. He was enlisted into the 2nd (later 5th) U.S. Cavalry by Lt. Ogle in New York City on August 13, 1860. His enlistment documents describe him as 5’6 ½” tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a ruddy complexion.
He served as a private, corporal and sergeant in Company A. He served in Texas until the state seceded, when he accompanied the second detachment of the regiment to Carlisle Barracks, by way of Indianola and New York City. He reached Carlisle on April 27, 1861.
Sergeant Baker participated in General Patterson’s Shenandoah campaign of 1861, and was engaged in the action at Falling Waters and in skirmishes near Martinsburg and Bunker Hill. During the winter of 1861-1862 he served in the defenses of Washington. The following spring he accompanied his regiment to the Peninsula, where he served during the advance on Richmond, the battle of Hanover Court House and the reconnaissance toward Ashland.
By June 1862, Baker served as the regimental color sergeant. During the battle of Gaines Mill, he “carried the standard with conspicuous gallantry in the famous charge which the regiment made at that place,” according to the regiment’s post-war history, Across The Continent With The Fifth Cavalry. Surprisingly, he was not even wounded in the charge, according to the regiment’s monthly returns. He also fought at Savage Station, Malvern Hill and White Oak Swamp. Baker was promoted to regimental sergeant major on August 1, 1862, and accompanied his regiment as part of the army’s rear guard during the evacuation of the Peninsula.
During the Antietam campaign, he served in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, and the skirmish near Shepherdstown. On September 22, 1862, he was notified of his appointment as a second lieutenant in the regiment, effective July 17th. After joining his company, he participated in engagements at Halltown, Union, Upperville, Markham Station, Barbee’s Crossroads and Amissville. Following the battle of Fredericksburg, he served on picket duty with his company in the winter camp near Falmouth.
Lieutenant Baker was promoted to first lieutenant on April 13, 1863, and participated in Stoneman’s raid the following month and the battle of Brandy Station in June. In September 1863, he became an aide de camp to General Pleasonton, and served with his headquarters until June 1864. He then served on special duty at First Cavalry Division headquarters for the remainder of the war, including the Central Virginia, Shenandoah and Appomattox campaigns. He was brevetted to captain and major for gallant and meritorious service during the war, to date from March 13, 1865.
First Lieutenant Baker served at the headquarters of the Department of West Virginia from May to August 1865. He then joined the detachment of the regiment serving on escort duty with general Grant in Washington, where he commanded a company.
On November 5, 1865, Baker was granted a twenty day leave of absence. He failed to return for duty at the expiration of his leave, and was dropped from the Army’s rolls on January 12, 1866. I have not been able to find any information on him following his dismissal.
Henry Baker was born in Kent, England in 1839. After immigrating to the United States, he worked as a clerk prior to serving in the army. He was enlisted into the 2nd (later 5th) U.S. Cavalry by Lt. Ogle in New York City on August 13, 1860. His enlistment documents describe him as 5’6 ½” tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a ruddy complexion.
He served as a private, corporal and sergeant in Company A. He served in Texas until the state seceded, when he accompanied the second detachment of the regiment to Carlisle Barracks, by way of Indianola and New York City. He reached Carlisle on April 27, 1861.
Sergeant Baker participated in General Patterson’s Shenandoah campaign of 1861, and was engaged in the action at Falling Waters and in skirmishes near Martinsburg and Bunker Hill. During the winter of 1861-1862 he served in the defenses of Washington. The following spring he accompanied his regiment to the Peninsula, where he served during the advance on Richmond, the battle of Hanover Court House and the reconnaissance toward Ashland.
By June 1862, Baker served as the regimental color sergeant. During the battle of Gaines Mill, he “carried the standard with conspicuous gallantry in the famous charge which the regiment made at that place,” according to the regiment’s post-war history, Across The Continent With The Fifth Cavalry. Surprisingly, he was not even wounded in the charge, according to the regiment’s monthly returns. He also fought at Savage Station, Malvern Hill and White Oak Swamp. Baker was promoted to regimental sergeant major on August 1, 1862, and accompanied his regiment as part of the army’s rear guard during the evacuation of the Peninsula.
During the Antietam campaign, he served in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, and the skirmish near Shepherdstown. On September 22, 1862, he was notified of his appointment as a second lieutenant in the regiment, effective July 17th. After joining his company, he participated in engagements at Halltown, Union, Upperville, Markham Station, Barbee’s Crossroads and Amissville. Following the battle of Fredericksburg, he served on picket duty with his company in the winter camp near Falmouth.
Lieutenant Baker was promoted to first lieutenant on April 13, 1863, and participated in Stoneman’s raid the following month and the battle of Brandy Station in June. In September 1863, he became an aide de camp to General Pleasonton, and served with his headquarters until June 1864. He then served on special duty at First Cavalry Division headquarters for the remainder of the war, including the Central Virginia, Shenandoah and Appomattox campaigns. He was brevetted to captain and major for gallant and meritorious service during the war, to date from March 13, 1865.
First Lieutenant Baker served at the headquarters of the Department of West Virginia from May to August 1865. He then joined the detachment of the regiment serving on escort duty with general Grant in Washington, where he commanded a company.
On November 5, 1865, Baker was granted a twenty day leave of absence. He failed to return for duty at the expiration of his leave, and was dropped from the Army’s rolls on January 12, 1866. I have not been able to find any information on him following his dismissal.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Fiddler’s Green: Richard Byrne, Regular Cavalryman in the Irish Brigade
Richard Byrne was born in 1833 in County Cavan, Ireland, and emigrated to New York in 1844. He appears to have initially joined the army in January 1851, but I was unable to find enlistment documents from his first enlistment. He appears only on post returns as a recruit.
Byrne was enlisted as a private into Company G, 1st (later 4th) U.S. Cavalry by Lt. Robert Ransom on May 21, 1856 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His occupation is listed as soldier, and he’s described as 5’10 ½” tall, with black hair, gray eyes and a fair complexion. He was promoted to corporal and sergeant within Co. G, and by early 1861 was the regimental sergeant major.
On May 14, 1861, Sergeant Major Byrne was appointed a 2nd lieutenant in the 17th Infantry. He applied for a transfer back to the cavalry, which was endorsed by his former commander, now Brigadier General Edwin V. Sumner, and was transferred to the 5th U.S. Cavalry on September 21st. He remained attached to the 4th Cavalry until October 1861, when he joined his company in Washington, D.C.
He served with the 5th U.S. Cavalry throughout the Peninsula campaign, seeing fighting at Williamsburg, Hanover Court House, Ashland, Old Church and White Oak Swamp. Byrne was promoted to first lieutenant on July 17, 1862. During the Maryland campaign, he saw action at South Mountain, Antietam, Shepherdstown, Halltown and Martinsburg.
Massachusetts Governor John Albion Andrews appointed Byrne colonel of the 28th Massachusetts Infantry on September 29, 1862. On October 16, 1862, he was granted an indefinite leave of absence from the 5th U.S. Cavalry to accept the appointment, and assumed command of his new regiment two days later at Nolan’s Ferry. The following month, the regiment was assigned to Colonel Thomas Francis Meagher’s Irish Brigade, Hancock’s Division, II Corps.
Colonel Byrne led his regiment against Marye’s Heights at Fredericksburg, where they lost 157 men killed, wounded and missing of 720 engaged. He fought at the regiment’s head during the Chancellorsville and Gettysburg campaigns.
He was sent back to Massachusetts during the winter of 1863 and spring of 1864 to recruit for the regiment’s depleted ranks. By the opening of the Overland Campaign he had returned to the regiment, and as senior officer present assumed command of the Irish Brigade.
Colonel Byrne was mortally wounded while leading an attack on the Confederate entrenchments at Cold Harbor on June 3, 1864. He was transported to Washington, D.C., where his wife joined him. Richard Byrne died on June 12, 1864. His appointment as a brigadier general of volunteers had been signed by President Lincoln, but he died before it could be officially presented to him. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York with military honors.
One of the Irish Brigade’s officers, D.P. Conyngham described Byrne as “brave almost to rashness, he always led his men, who knew no fear under his eye; a strict disciplinarian, just to each and all in the exercise of his authority, he commanded the respect and esteem of those under him, and to his efforts is mainly due the high reputation for steadiness and discipline which the Twenty-eighth enjoyed.”
References
Conyngham, D.P. The Irish Brigade and its Campaigns. New York: William McSorley & Co. Publishers, 1867.
Heitman, pg 272.
Price, pgs 495-496.
U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914, RG 94, NARA.
U.S. Army, Returns from Military Posts, 1806-1916, RG 94, NARA.
Byrne was enlisted as a private into Company G, 1st (later 4th) U.S. Cavalry by Lt. Robert Ransom on May 21, 1856 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His occupation is listed as soldier, and he’s described as 5’10 ½” tall, with black hair, gray eyes and a fair complexion. He was promoted to corporal and sergeant within Co. G, and by early 1861 was the regimental sergeant major.
On May 14, 1861, Sergeant Major Byrne was appointed a 2nd lieutenant in the 17th Infantry. He applied for a transfer back to the cavalry, which was endorsed by his former commander, now Brigadier General Edwin V. Sumner, and was transferred to the 5th U.S. Cavalry on September 21st. He remained attached to the 4th Cavalry until October 1861, when he joined his company in Washington, D.C.
He served with the 5th U.S. Cavalry throughout the Peninsula campaign, seeing fighting at Williamsburg, Hanover Court House, Ashland, Old Church and White Oak Swamp. Byrne was promoted to first lieutenant on July 17, 1862. During the Maryland campaign, he saw action at South Mountain, Antietam, Shepherdstown, Halltown and Martinsburg.
Massachusetts Governor John Albion Andrews appointed Byrne colonel of the 28th Massachusetts Infantry on September 29, 1862. On October 16, 1862, he was granted an indefinite leave of absence from the 5th U.S. Cavalry to accept the appointment, and assumed command of his new regiment two days later at Nolan’s Ferry. The following month, the regiment was assigned to Colonel Thomas Francis Meagher’s Irish Brigade, Hancock’s Division, II Corps.
Colonel Byrne led his regiment against Marye’s Heights at Fredericksburg, where they lost 157 men killed, wounded and missing of 720 engaged. He fought at the regiment’s head during the Chancellorsville and Gettysburg campaigns.
He was sent back to Massachusetts during the winter of 1863 and spring of 1864 to recruit for the regiment’s depleted ranks. By the opening of the Overland Campaign he had returned to the regiment, and as senior officer present assumed command of the Irish Brigade.
Colonel Byrne was mortally wounded while leading an attack on the Confederate entrenchments at Cold Harbor on June 3, 1864. He was transported to Washington, D.C., where his wife joined him. Richard Byrne died on June 12, 1864. His appointment as a brigadier general of volunteers had been signed by President Lincoln, but he died before it could be officially presented to him. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York with military honors.
One of the Irish Brigade’s officers, D.P. Conyngham described Byrne as “brave almost to rashness, he always led his men, who knew no fear under his eye; a strict disciplinarian, just to each and all in the exercise of his authority, he commanded the respect and esteem of those under him, and to his efforts is mainly due the high reputation for steadiness and discipline which the Twenty-eighth enjoyed.”
References
Conyngham, D.P. The Irish Brigade and its Campaigns. New York: William McSorley & Co. Publishers, 1867.
Heitman, pg 272.
Price, pgs 495-496.
U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914, RG 94, NARA.
U.S. Army, Returns from Military Posts, 1806-1916, RG 94, NARA.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Fiddler's Green: David S. Gordon
I recently received a request to check into David Stuart Gordon, and unearthed a very interesting cavalryman’s career.
David Stuart Gordon was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania on May 23, 1832, four years to the day before the birth of the regiment in which he would spend the majority of his career. Prior to the war, he moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he worked as a merchant and the city auditor.
After Lincoln was elected president, Senator James H. Lane of Kansas offered him a bodyguard of men from Kansas to protect him during his trip to Washington. Lincoln declined the offer, but Lane sent the men to Washington anyway. They organized themselves as a company known as the “Frontier Guard,” and established their headquarters at the Willard Hotel. Senator Lane was the company’s captain, and David S. Gordon was its first sergeant. Four days after the surrender of Fort Sumter, the company was asked by the Secretary of War to secure the White House. The company remained on duty there for several weeks before they were honorably discharged.
It is not surprising, then, that Gordon was in the first round of civilian appointments of officers to replace resignations in the regular army’s regiments. Senator Lane likely had something to do with this, since he was appointed to the Army from Kansas and not his native Pennsylvania. He was appointed second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Cavalry on April 26, 1861, and accepted the appointment the next day. Companies from the regiment were at that time arriving at Carlisle Barracks, PA from their evacuation of Texas. As soon as the first companies were refitted, they were dispatched to Washington, D.C. to defend the capitol. Gordon joined them when they reached Washington. He does not appear on the regiment’s muster rolls in April, May or June 1861.
On May 31, 1861, he accompanied Lt. Charles Tompkins and his company on a raid to Fairfax Courthouse (see here for details). Following the raid, and probably as a result of the hubbub surrounding it, Lt. Gordon was appointed an aide de camp to General Keyes. He was captured while serving in this position on July 21, 1861, during the battle of Bull Run.
Gordon was quite well-travelled as a prisoner, as the Confederate government struggled to establish a system for handling prisoners of war. Initially sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, he was subsequently incarcerated at Castle Pinckney, Charleston, SC; Columbia jail, SC; and Salisbury, NC. He was not exchanged until August 1862.
In the meantime, the U.S. cavalry regiments were redesignated the month after Bull Run. The 2nd Cavalry became the 5th Cavalry, and the 2nd Dragoons became the 2nd Cavalry. So Gordon emerged from captivity to service in a new regiment of the same name. Such was the confusion over which regiment Gordon was assigned to that he appears in George Price’s Across the Continent With the Fifth Cavalry only in Charles Tompkins’ entry. He served for several months as the inspector of the U.S. Army’s Parole Camp at Annapolis, MD before joining the regiment just before the battle of Fredericksburg.
Following the battle of Fredericksburg, Lt. Gordon was assigned to the staff of General Schenk, commander of the Middle Department at Baltimore, MD. He served as an acting assistant adjutant general to General Schenk through the Gettysburg campaign. On April 25, 1863, he was promoted to captain in the 2nd US Cavalry, and on paper assigned to Company D, though still listed on detached service. He received a brevet to major, U.S. Army for gallant and meritorious service at the battle of Gettysburg.
He rejoined his regiment during the pursuit from Gettysburg, seeing action at Manassas Gap, Rappahannock Station, and Culpeper Courthouse.
In 1864 he served with regiment during the Wilderness campaign and Sheridan’s two raids. He commanded the regiment on the second day of the battle of Trevillian Station when Capt. T.F. Rodenbough was seriously wounded on June 11. He commanded the regiment through the battle of Deep Bottom on July 27-28, 1864, and during the majority of the Shenandoah campaign from August to October 1864.
In late October he was assigned to Carlisle Barracks for recruiting duty, as were officers from all the regular cavalry regiments. He was further assigned to Cincinnati, OH, where he recruited for his regiment from October 1864 to January 1865.
His regiment did not participate in the Appomattox campaign, and as the senior officer present he assumed command when he rejoined it at Point of Rocks, MD from March to November 1865.
At that point the majority of the brevetted officers returned from duty with volunteer regiments, and Gordon made the long slide down to once again commanding his Company D. The regiment was assigned to duty on the frontier In November, and began the long march to Fort Leavenworth, KS. Once the regiment reached Kansas, Gordon and Company D were further assigned to Fort Lyon, CO, where they remained until October 1866.
The 2nd US Cavalry was reassigned to the Department of the Platte under pre-war commander Philip St. George Cooke at the end of the year, and the regiment’s companies were reassigned to forts in what is today Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska.
Capt. Gordon and his company spent only a few weeks at their new post of Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory when they once again received marching orders. Following news of the Fetterman massacre, a column of infantry and cavalry was dispatched to the relief of Fort Kearney in January 1867. Gordon commanded a squadron of his own company and Company L in support of four companies of the 10th Infantry. An impromptu winter march across Nebraska must have been a challenging mission. Once they reached the fort, the majority of the column returned to Fort Laramie, but Gordon and his company garrisoned the fort until it was closed the following July.
Gordon’s next post was Fort D.A. Russell, Wyoming Territory, where he and his company served from August 1868 to May 1869. During this period his service is described as “engaged with hostile Indians and escorting mail and government trains.” Gordon later published an account of this expedition in the Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States in 1911.
Gordon’s company conducted an extended scouting expedition of the Wind River valley from May to September 1869, engaged multiple times with hostile Indians before moving to Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory in October. They were engaged in the affair at Miner’s Delight, WT on May 4, 1870, but I could not locate any information on said affair. They were then assigned to Camp Douglass, WT, where they spent the next five years.
At this point Gordon’s career becomes very cloudy. He was steadily promoted, so it’s unlikely any seriously untoward happened at Miner’s Delight, but there is no mention of further postings. He was promoted in the regiment to major on June 25, 1877 and lieutenant colonel on November 20, 1889.
In 1892, he was assigned to command Fort Myer, Washington, D.C. He finally left his regiment on July 28, 1896, when he was promoted to colonel and command of the 6th U.S. Cavalry. Gordon was promoted to brigadier general upon his retirement on May 23, 1896.
Brigadier General David S. Gordon died on January 30, 1930, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Sources:
Gordon, David S. "The Relief of Fort Phil Kearny," Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States, Volume 49, September-October 1911, pages 280-284.
Henry, Volume 1, page 153
Heitman, page 465
Lambert, Joseph. One Hundred Years With the Second Cavalry. San Antonio: Newton Publishing Company, 1999.
New York Times articles, December 29, 1895 and January 28, 1912.
Price, George F. Across the Continent with the Fifth Cavalry. New York: Antiquarian Press, Ltd, 1935.
Rodenbough, Theophilus F. From Everglade to Canyon with the Second United States Cavalry. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2000.
Speer, John. The Life of General James H. Lane.
David Stuart Gordon was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania on May 23, 1832, four years to the day before the birth of the regiment in which he would spend the majority of his career. Prior to the war, he moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he worked as a merchant and the city auditor.
After Lincoln was elected president, Senator James H. Lane of Kansas offered him a bodyguard of men from Kansas to protect him during his trip to Washington. Lincoln declined the offer, but Lane sent the men to Washington anyway. They organized themselves as a company known as the “Frontier Guard,” and established their headquarters at the Willard Hotel. Senator Lane was the company’s captain, and David S. Gordon was its first sergeant. Four days after the surrender of Fort Sumter, the company was asked by the Secretary of War to secure the White House. The company remained on duty there for several weeks before they were honorably discharged.
It is not surprising, then, that Gordon was in the first round of civilian appointments of officers to replace resignations in the regular army’s regiments. Senator Lane likely had something to do with this, since he was appointed to the Army from Kansas and not his native Pennsylvania. He was appointed second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Cavalry on April 26, 1861, and accepted the appointment the next day. Companies from the regiment were at that time arriving at Carlisle Barracks, PA from their evacuation of Texas. As soon as the first companies were refitted, they were dispatched to Washington, D.C. to defend the capitol. Gordon joined them when they reached Washington. He does not appear on the regiment’s muster rolls in April, May or June 1861.
On May 31, 1861, he accompanied Lt. Charles Tompkins and his company on a raid to Fairfax Courthouse (see here for details). Following the raid, and probably as a result of the hubbub surrounding it, Lt. Gordon was appointed an aide de camp to General Keyes. He was captured while serving in this position on July 21, 1861, during the battle of Bull Run.
Gordon was quite well-travelled as a prisoner, as the Confederate government struggled to establish a system for handling prisoners of war. Initially sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, he was subsequently incarcerated at Castle Pinckney, Charleston, SC; Columbia jail, SC; and Salisbury, NC. He was not exchanged until August 1862.
In the meantime, the U.S. cavalry regiments were redesignated the month after Bull Run. The 2nd Cavalry became the 5th Cavalry, and the 2nd Dragoons became the 2nd Cavalry. So Gordon emerged from captivity to service in a new regiment of the same name. Such was the confusion over which regiment Gordon was assigned to that he appears in George Price’s Across the Continent With the Fifth Cavalry only in Charles Tompkins’ entry. He served for several months as the inspector of the U.S. Army’s Parole Camp at Annapolis, MD before joining the regiment just before the battle of Fredericksburg.
Following the battle of Fredericksburg, Lt. Gordon was assigned to the staff of General Schenk, commander of the Middle Department at Baltimore, MD. He served as an acting assistant adjutant general to General Schenk through the Gettysburg campaign. On April 25, 1863, he was promoted to captain in the 2nd US Cavalry, and on paper assigned to Company D, though still listed on detached service. He received a brevet to major, U.S. Army for gallant and meritorious service at the battle of Gettysburg.
He rejoined his regiment during the pursuit from Gettysburg, seeing action at Manassas Gap, Rappahannock Station, and Culpeper Courthouse.
In 1864 he served with regiment during the Wilderness campaign and Sheridan’s two raids. He commanded the regiment on the second day of the battle of Trevillian Station when Capt. T.F. Rodenbough was seriously wounded on June 11. He commanded the regiment through the battle of Deep Bottom on July 27-28, 1864, and during the majority of the Shenandoah campaign from August to October 1864.
In late October he was assigned to Carlisle Barracks for recruiting duty, as were officers from all the regular cavalry regiments. He was further assigned to Cincinnati, OH, where he recruited for his regiment from October 1864 to January 1865.
His regiment did not participate in the Appomattox campaign, and as the senior officer present he assumed command when he rejoined it at Point of Rocks, MD from March to November 1865.
At that point the majority of the brevetted officers returned from duty with volunteer regiments, and Gordon made the long slide down to once again commanding his Company D. The regiment was assigned to duty on the frontier In November, and began the long march to Fort Leavenworth, KS. Once the regiment reached Kansas, Gordon and Company D were further assigned to Fort Lyon, CO, where they remained until October 1866.
The 2nd US Cavalry was reassigned to the Department of the Platte under pre-war commander Philip St. George Cooke at the end of the year, and the regiment’s companies were reassigned to forts in what is today Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska.
Capt. Gordon and his company spent only a few weeks at their new post of Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory when they once again received marching orders. Following news of the Fetterman massacre, a column of infantry and cavalry was dispatched to the relief of Fort Kearney in January 1867. Gordon commanded a squadron of his own company and Company L in support of four companies of the 10th Infantry. An impromptu winter march across Nebraska must have been a challenging mission. Once they reached the fort, the majority of the column returned to Fort Laramie, but Gordon and his company garrisoned the fort until it was closed the following July.
Gordon’s next post was Fort D.A. Russell, Wyoming Territory, where he and his company served from August 1868 to May 1869. During this period his service is described as “engaged with hostile Indians and escorting mail and government trains.” Gordon later published an account of this expedition in the Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States in 1911.
Gordon’s company conducted an extended scouting expedition of the Wind River valley from May to September 1869, engaged multiple times with hostile Indians before moving to Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory in October. They were engaged in the affair at Miner’s Delight, WT on May 4, 1870, but I could not locate any information on said affair. They were then assigned to Camp Douglass, WT, where they spent the next five years.
At this point Gordon’s career becomes very cloudy. He was steadily promoted, so it’s unlikely any seriously untoward happened at Miner’s Delight, but there is no mention of further postings. He was promoted in the regiment to major on June 25, 1877 and lieutenant colonel on November 20, 1889.
In 1892, he was assigned to command Fort Myer, Washington, D.C. He finally left his regiment on July 28, 1896, when he was promoted to colonel and command of the 6th U.S. Cavalry. Gordon was promoted to brigadier general upon his retirement on May 23, 1896.
Brigadier General David S. Gordon died on January 30, 1930, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Sources:
Gordon, David S. "The Relief of Fort Phil Kearny," Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States, Volume 49, September-October 1911, pages 280-284.
Henry, Volume 1, page 153
Heitman, page 465
Lambert, Joseph. One Hundred Years With the Second Cavalry. San Antonio: Newton Publishing Company, 1999.
New York Times articles, December 29, 1895 and January 28, 1912.
Price, George F. Across the Continent with the Fifth Cavalry. New York: Antiquarian Press, Ltd, 1935.
Rodenbough, Theophilus F. From Everglade to Canyon with the Second United States Cavalry. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2000.
Speer, John. The Life of General James H. Lane.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Fiddler's Green: William W. Loring
I generally don't feature Confederate cavalry leaders, but in this individual's case, he relates to the current thread of posts on the Regiment of Mounted Rifles/ 3rd U.S. Cavalry and had a very colorful career, so I decided to make an exception.
William Wing Loring was born in Wilmington, North Carolina on December 4, 1818. The family moved to St Augustine, Florida when he was four, and he spent the rest of his childhood in that state.
His military service started at the tender age of fourteen, when he enlisted in the Florida militia to fight against the Seminole Indians at the beginning of the Seminole Wars. He eventually rose to the rank of second lieutenant in the militia. He attempted to run away to fight in the Texas War for Independence as a seventeen year old, but was prevented by his father.
After attending a boarding school in Alexandria, Virginia for his secondary education, William attended Georgetown University before going on to study law. He was admitted to the Florida bar in 1842. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1843, and unsuccessfully ran for the Florida Senate in 1845.
The outbreak of the Mexican War rejuvenated Loring's fortunes. He joined a newly formed regiment, the Regiment of Mounted Rifles, as a captain, receiving his appointment on May 27, 1846. Originally organized to protect the Oregon Territory, the regiment was diverted for service in the Mexican War. Loring's prior military service apparently served him well, as he was promoted to major on February 16, 1847, prior to the regiment seeing its first combat. His regiment fought in most of the battles of the war, and Major Loring was wounded three times. His third wound came at the head of his regiment leading the charge into Mexico City, and resulted in the amputation of his arm. He was brevetted lieutenant colonel on August 20, 1847 for gallant and meritorious service in the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, and colonel on September 13, 1847 for similar service at the battle of Chapultepec.
After the war, Loring commanded the Oregon territory for two years during the California Gold Rush. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on March 15, 1848. His next assignment was to the frontier of Texas and New Mexico Territory, where he served for five years against the Comanche, Apache and Kiowa Indians. At the time he was promoted to colonel on December 30, 1856 at age 38, he was the youngest full colonel in the Army.
In 1859, Colonel Loring was sent to Europe to study the military tactics of foreign armies and lessons learned from the Crimean War. He visited 10 different countries, including Turkey and Egypt.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Loring decided his loyalties lay with the South. He resigned his commission on May 13, 1861, and volunteered for service in the Confederate Army. He was commissioned as a brigadier general almost immediately and assigned to command the "Army of the Northwest" in western Virginia. His first campaign was against Major General George McClellan's forces invading from Ohio. After this campaign, General Loring and his men served in the western theater of the war. During the Vicksburg campaign, his forces were cut off from the rest of the Confederate army at the battle of Champion Hill. He marched south and joined his troops to the forces under General Joseph E. Johnston. He served in the corps of General Leonidas Polk afterwards, and commanded the corps briefly after Polk was killed at the battle of Pine Mountain. Wounded a fourth time during fighting at Ezra Church, General Loring did not return to action until after the Atlanta campaign. Upon his return, he fought first with General Hood at Franklin and Nashville, then joined Johnston's forces in the Carolinas.
After the war, Loring tried his fortunes overseas. He was one of fifty Civil war veterans recommended by General Sherman to the Khedive of Egypt to modernize his army. General Loring initially served as the army's Inspector General, and later commanded the country's coastal defenses. In 1875, he served as the chief of staff for an Egyptian pasha during an invasion of Abyssinia. When the invasion failed, the Americans were blamed for the failure. The American officers were dismissed in 1878, but not before Loring had attained the rank of Fereek Pasha, the equivalent of Major General in the U.S. Army.
Returning to the United States, Loring ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate from Florida. After his defeat he moved to New York City, where he wrote a book on his experiences in Egypt which was published in 1884.
William W. Loring died on December 30, 1886, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, St. Augustine, Florida
William Wing Loring was born in Wilmington, North Carolina on December 4, 1818. The family moved to St Augustine, Florida when he was four, and he spent the rest of his childhood in that state.
His military service started at the tender age of fourteen, when he enlisted in the Florida militia to fight against the Seminole Indians at the beginning of the Seminole Wars. He eventually rose to the rank of second lieutenant in the militia. He attempted to run away to fight in the Texas War for Independence as a seventeen year old, but was prevented by his father.
After attending a boarding school in Alexandria, Virginia for his secondary education, William attended Georgetown University before going on to study law. He was admitted to the Florida bar in 1842. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1843, and unsuccessfully ran for the Florida Senate in 1845.
The outbreak of the Mexican War rejuvenated Loring's fortunes. He joined a newly formed regiment, the Regiment of Mounted Rifles, as a captain, receiving his appointment on May 27, 1846. Originally organized to protect the Oregon Territory, the regiment was diverted for service in the Mexican War. Loring's prior military service apparently served him well, as he was promoted to major on February 16, 1847, prior to the regiment seeing its first combat. His regiment fought in most of the battles of the war, and Major Loring was wounded three times. His third wound came at the head of his regiment leading the charge into Mexico City, and resulted in the amputation of his arm. He was brevetted lieutenant colonel on August 20, 1847 for gallant and meritorious service in the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, and colonel on September 13, 1847 for similar service at the battle of Chapultepec.
After the war, Loring commanded the Oregon territory for two years during the California Gold Rush. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on March 15, 1848. His next assignment was to the frontier of Texas and New Mexico Territory, where he served for five years against the Comanche, Apache and Kiowa Indians. At the time he was promoted to colonel on December 30, 1856 at age 38, he was the youngest full colonel in the Army.
In 1859, Colonel Loring was sent to Europe to study the military tactics of foreign armies and lessons learned from the Crimean War. He visited 10 different countries, including Turkey and Egypt.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Loring decided his loyalties lay with the South. He resigned his commission on May 13, 1861, and volunteered for service in the Confederate Army. He was commissioned as a brigadier general almost immediately and assigned to command the "Army of the Northwest" in western Virginia. His first campaign was against Major General George McClellan's forces invading from Ohio. After this campaign, General Loring and his men served in the western theater of the war. During the Vicksburg campaign, his forces were cut off from the rest of the Confederate army at the battle of Champion Hill. He marched south and joined his troops to the forces under General Joseph E. Johnston. He served in the corps of General Leonidas Polk afterwards, and commanded the corps briefly after Polk was killed at the battle of Pine Mountain. Wounded a fourth time during fighting at Ezra Church, General Loring did not return to action until after the Atlanta campaign. Upon his return, he fought first with General Hood at Franklin and Nashville, then joined Johnston's forces in the Carolinas.
After the war, Loring tried his fortunes overseas. He was one of fifty Civil war veterans recommended by General Sherman to the Khedive of Egypt to modernize his army. General Loring initially served as the army's Inspector General, and later commanded the country's coastal defenses. In 1875, he served as the chief of staff for an Egyptian pasha during an invasion of Abyssinia. When the invasion failed, the Americans were blamed for the failure. The American officers were dismissed in 1878, but not before Loring had attained the rank of Fereek Pasha, the equivalent of Major General in the U.S. Army.
Returning to the United States, Loring ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate from Florida. After his defeat he moved to New York City, where he wrote a book on his experiences in Egypt which was published in 1884.
William W. Loring died on December 30, 1886, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, St. Augustine, Florida
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Fiddler’s Green: John Savage
Another of the lesser known officers of the 6th U.S. Cavalry was Captain John Savage of Company H. He is yet another cavalry officer native to Philadelphia, a city that spawned many prominent cavalry leaders during the Civil War. He remains a mystery in many ways. While many “wants” have been found, there are precious few “whys.” Thanks to Jim Jones for permitting me to edit this and post it here.
John Savage, III came from a very prominent Savage family line who settled in Philadelphia during the late 18th century. His great grandfather was Edward Savage, who became a famous painter and engraver. He painted the first panorama in Philadelphia, The Congress Voting Independence, and many other political and historical paintings. His grandfather, John Savage, was a shipowner and through his trades became a very wealthy merchant. He settled in Philadelphia, and was very active in his community, including service as a chief justice and a manager of the Almshouse.
John Savage, III was born in 1832 in Washington County, Maryland. His father, John Savage, II of Philadelphia and his mother , Adelaide H. Hughes of Maryland, were married in Washington County, Maryland on December 30, 1830. According to census records, by 1850 the family had moved to Philadelphia, along with nine other person sin the household. Savage’s father died in 1853, leaving his entire estate to his son, minus an annuity for his wife.
John, III married Isabella Swift Fitzhugh of New York in 1855. Isabella was the daughter of Dr. Daniel Hughes Fitzhugh, who was a surgeon in the fleet of Commodore Perry at the battle of Lake Erie, and also a pioneer of Bay City, Michigan. Prior to the Civil War, the couple had two children: John Savage, IV in 1857 and Anne Dana Savage in 1859. In 1860, his mother Adelaide was living with him along with eight other persons, who held such job titles such as domestic, waiter, and coachman. John’s occupation was listed as “Gentleman,” and his total estate value was $250,000 dollars! (a hefty sum by 1860 standards).
At the outbreak of the Civil War, John secured himself a commission as a captain in the newly forming 3rd U.S. Cavalry Regiment (later to be renumbered the 6th) on May 14, 1861. He immediately began recruiting for his Company H at the Girard House on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. He quickly obtained his quota of men, and, therefore, was also the first company to reach the regiment’s second camp at Bladensburg, Maryland. At Bladensburg, he was officially assigned to and took command of his company on August 21, 1861. As the first two companies to complete recruiting, his company, along with Captain August V. Kautz’ Company B, was denoted the 1st Squadron. They were also selected as the flank squadron, which was the only squadron in the regiment initially equipped with carbines and acted as the advance squadron during regimental movements. The remaining squadrons were armed only with pistols and sabers.
Captain Savage trained with his regiment through the winter of 1861 at Camp East of Capitol, D.C., near the Congressional Cemetery. He accompanied the regiment upon its initial campaign in March 1862, and served uninterrupted until July 21, 1862, when he took five days of leave. His company, under the squadron command of Captain Kautz, literally led the advance of the Army of the Potomac on its advance from Yorktown toward Richmond as the advance squadron the army’s advance guard. After his return from leave, he served during the remainder of the Peninsula Campaign. On September 9, 1862, as the regiment departed the peninsula, he took sick leave. In October and November, he was listed as “supposed to be in Philadelphia,” and in December, he was listed as “absent without leave since October 10, 1862”on the regimental returns. What the regiment was unaware of was that Captain John Savage resigned on December 23, 1862. The reason for his resignation is a mystery, as he doesn’t appear to have distinguished himself in an overly positive or negative fashion during the campaign. A third child, Daniel Fitzhugh Savage, was born to the family at some point during his service. Perhaps he simply didn’t care for the rigors of active campaigning in the cavalry. The regiment didn’t learn of his resignation until February 1863, while at winter camp. His name doesn’t appear again in records during the war. His mother released her claim to her annuity to John in December 1863.
In 1868, John sold his inherited estate. By June 10, 1870, according to census records, the family moved to Bay City, Michigan – the city her father helped create – and settled at 412 North Jackson Street. John was listed as “without occupation,” and a net worth of $11,000, which if not invested in property likely did not reflect the money from the sale of his estate. A fourth child, Adelaide Hughes Savage, was born in 1867, perhaps named after his mother.
By June 1880, John and his family, along with his mother were living together. His youngest daughter, Anne, died on January 5, 1879. John also employed one elderly servant lady. John was listed as “retired.”
In 1890, John was living at 908 North Jackson Street and employed as the county register. He is listed on the Veteran’s Schedule of Bay City as a captain in the 6th U.S. Cavalry. Interestingly, it listed him as having been captain of company B, and having served a full three years, from May 24, 1861 to May 24, 1864.
John, III died in Bay City, Michigan on April 18, 1896. His wife died in the same city seven years later, on October 27, 1903. John Savage, John II and his wife Adelaide, John III and his wife Isabella, and their daughter Anne Dana Savage, were all buried at Ronaldson’s Philadelphia Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This cemetery was removed in the 1920s to Forrest Hills, 101 Byberry Road, Philadelphia, and denoted the Philadelphia Cemetery.
John Savage, III came from a very prominent Savage family line who settled in Philadelphia during the late 18th century. His great grandfather was Edward Savage, who became a famous painter and engraver. He painted the first panorama in Philadelphia, The Congress Voting Independence, and many other political and historical paintings. His grandfather, John Savage, was a shipowner and through his trades became a very wealthy merchant. He settled in Philadelphia, and was very active in his community, including service as a chief justice and a manager of the Almshouse.
John Savage, III was born in 1832 in Washington County, Maryland. His father, John Savage, II of Philadelphia and his mother , Adelaide H. Hughes of Maryland, were married in Washington County, Maryland on December 30, 1830. According to census records, by 1850 the family had moved to Philadelphia, along with nine other person sin the household. Savage’s father died in 1853, leaving his entire estate to his son, minus an annuity for his wife.
John, III married Isabella Swift Fitzhugh of New York in 1855. Isabella was the daughter of Dr. Daniel Hughes Fitzhugh, who was a surgeon in the fleet of Commodore Perry at the battle of Lake Erie, and also a pioneer of Bay City, Michigan. Prior to the Civil War, the couple had two children: John Savage, IV in 1857 and Anne Dana Savage in 1859. In 1860, his mother Adelaide was living with him along with eight other persons, who held such job titles such as domestic, waiter, and coachman. John’s occupation was listed as “Gentleman,” and his total estate value was $250,000 dollars! (a hefty sum by 1860 standards).
At the outbreak of the Civil War, John secured himself a commission as a captain in the newly forming 3rd U.S. Cavalry Regiment (later to be renumbered the 6th) on May 14, 1861. He immediately began recruiting for his Company H at the Girard House on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. He quickly obtained his quota of men, and, therefore, was also the first company to reach the regiment’s second camp at Bladensburg, Maryland. At Bladensburg, he was officially assigned to and took command of his company on August 21, 1861. As the first two companies to complete recruiting, his company, along with Captain August V. Kautz’ Company B, was denoted the 1st Squadron. They were also selected as the flank squadron, which was the only squadron in the regiment initially equipped with carbines and acted as the advance squadron during regimental movements. The remaining squadrons were armed only with pistols and sabers.
Captain Savage trained with his regiment through the winter of 1861 at Camp East of Capitol, D.C., near the Congressional Cemetery. He accompanied the regiment upon its initial campaign in March 1862, and served uninterrupted until July 21, 1862, when he took five days of leave. His company, under the squadron command of Captain Kautz, literally led the advance of the Army of the Potomac on its advance from Yorktown toward Richmond as the advance squadron the army’s advance guard. After his return from leave, he served during the remainder of the Peninsula Campaign. On September 9, 1862, as the regiment departed the peninsula, he took sick leave. In October and November, he was listed as “supposed to be in Philadelphia,” and in December, he was listed as “absent without leave since October 10, 1862”on the regimental returns. What the regiment was unaware of was that Captain John Savage resigned on December 23, 1862. The reason for his resignation is a mystery, as he doesn’t appear to have distinguished himself in an overly positive or negative fashion during the campaign. A third child, Daniel Fitzhugh Savage, was born to the family at some point during his service. Perhaps he simply didn’t care for the rigors of active campaigning in the cavalry. The regiment didn’t learn of his resignation until February 1863, while at winter camp. His name doesn’t appear again in records during the war. His mother released her claim to her annuity to John in December 1863.
In 1868, John sold his inherited estate. By June 10, 1870, according to census records, the family moved to Bay City, Michigan – the city her father helped create – and settled at 412 North Jackson Street. John was listed as “without occupation,” and a net worth of $11,000, which if not invested in property likely did not reflect the money from the sale of his estate. A fourth child, Adelaide Hughes Savage, was born in 1867, perhaps named after his mother.
By June 1880, John and his family, along with his mother were living together. His youngest daughter, Anne, died on January 5, 1879. John also employed one elderly servant lady. John was listed as “retired.”
In 1890, John was living at 908 North Jackson Street and employed as the county register. He is listed on the Veteran’s Schedule of Bay City as a captain in the 6th U.S. Cavalry. Interestingly, it listed him as having been captain of company B, and having served a full three years, from May 24, 1861 to May 24, 1864.
John, III died in Bay City, Michigan on April 18, 1896. His wife died in the same city seven years later, on October 27, 1903. John Savage, John II and his wife Adelaide, John III and his wife Isabella, and their daughter Anne Dana Savage, were all buried at Ronaldson’s Philadelphia Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This cemetery was removed in the 1920s to Forrest Hills, 101 Byberry Road, Philadelphia, and denoted the Philadelphia Cemetery.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Fiddler's Green: George C. Cram
Jim Jones has done a fantastic job sleuthing out the details of the life of one of the lesser known officers of the 6th (and 4th after the Civil War) U.S. Cavalry, George Cram. Although not terribly popular, and likely would have been voted most likely to be captured by his peers, there are nonetheless many items of interest in his career. Any errors are undoubtedly due to my editing, as Jim turned up a wealth of detail that I had to whittle down to something small enough to post. Unfortunately, George Cram is one of the few remaining officers we have been unable to find a picture of.
George Clarence Cram was born on June 13,1830 in New York City, New York. He was the youngest of five siblings born to Lydia Tucker and Jacob Louis Cram, a distinguished lawyer in New York and perhaps the founder of the law firm “Cram & Cram,” which resided at 65 Wall Street.
On 12 July 1855, George applied for his passport application in which he was described as 5’8” tall, with grey eyes, a straight nose, medium mouth, small chin, square face, high forehead, brown hair, and a fair complexion. This application implies that he travelled abroad between July 12, 1855 and June 25, 1860.
In 1860, George was living with his elderly parents and working as a lawyer in New York, according to census data.3 In 1861, he married his wife, Francis. Their time together for the next few years was to be short; overpowered by the outbreak of the Civil War.
On May 14, 1861, George secured a commission as a captain in the newly authorized 3rd U.S. Cavalry, where he was assigned command of Company I. He immediately set up his recruiting office in Rochester, New York, and between July 24th and September 29th, he recruited 79 men for his regiment (57 men for his own company, 17 men for Company G, one man for Company K, one man for the regiment’s Field &Staff, and three recruits who deserted).
In order to simplify the tracking of the large number of volunteer units being formed during the war, Congress had enacted, on 3 August 1861, that all mounted regiments should henceforth be known as cavalry. Army General Order No. 55, dated August 10, 1861, prescribed that the 3rd U.S. Cavalry would now be enumerated the 6th U.S. Cavalry.
On October 4, 1861, Captain Cram joined the regiment at Bladensburg, Maryland. Here, the regiment received its horses, and its first lessons in the saddle. On October 12th, the regiment broke camp at Bladensburg and marched to its new camp, East of Capitol. Here, the regiment would endure an intensive training regime, mounted and unmounted, and the company commanders would have the occasion to sharpen their men. Unfortunately, Captain Cram would not seize this opportunity. On November 27th, he took leave, and in February, he was absent, sick in Washington, D.C.
On March 10, 1862, the regiment broke camp and embarked with Major General McClellan on the famous Peninsula Campaign of 1862, where Captain Cram would serve in every engagement of the campaign. On May 30, 1862, during an action on the Pamunkey River, Major Williams mentioned in his report:
“At 12 o’clock on the night of the 28th Lieutenant Kerin left the camp with about 20 men, and successfully fired and destroyed the county bridge about 200 yards above the railroad crossing. He was assisted in both operations by Lieutenant Coats, and both deserve the highest praise for the effectual manner in which they discharged their duty. Another bridge was also burned by Captain Cram. This was a bridge which Rush’s Lancers had fired on the 27th, but owing to the suddenness of their having withdrawn from the front were unable to entirely complete the destruction.”
The regiment then marched into the brutal Maryland Campaign, remembered most famously for the battle of Antietam. Upon the closing of the campaign, Brigadier General Pleasonton, in making his report of the operations resulting in driving Lee’s army back into Virginia, said:
“The services of this division (cavalry) from the 4th of September up to the 19th were of the most constant and arduous character. For fifteen successive days we were in contact with the enemy, and each day conflicts of some kind were maintained, in which we gradually but steadily advanced. The officers and men have exerted themselves to insure the success of every expedition and these efforts have been fortunate. The officers entitled to mention for gallant services are....Captains W.P. Sanders commanding, and Capts. George C. Cram and Henry B. Hays, and Lieut. Albert Coats, adjutant.”
On October 31, 1862, Captain Cram was assigned to duty at Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, the regimental command had changed hands many times due to most of the senior officers receiving higher commands within the volunteer forces. After returning to his company and settling into winter camp, Captain Cram assumed command of the regiment on December 13, 1862, now the senior regimental officer.
Captain Cram appears to have been despised by the men in his regiment. One private wrote:
“He was a curious, capricious man, seeming to almost delight when the men most feared him. A perfect sign of terror held sway over the guards. The new regimental commander would come down to the guardhouse at all hours of these winter nights, sometimes wearing his sidearms and at other times without them, and then, in violation of all regulations, the guard and prisoners were obliged to turn out and fall into line – the latter in their bare feet and drawers – that he might be saluted according to rank. A little hatred towards him was developed throughout the entire regiment. Whenever a soldier had occasion to speak of him, his name was invariably coupled with uncomplimentary phrases. The universal desire was often thus briefly expressed, except for the religious:
“Damn Cram!”
Thus religious wore off the round edge of a curse:
“Darn Cram!”
While the young men from the country, who still retained a wholesome fear of profanity, contended themselves with:
“Gol darn Cram!”
All sorts of violent deaths and untimely ends were pictured as in store for the unfortunate Cram. Few of the men seemed to believe that he ever allowed himself to become sober while in command of the regiment that winter.”
However much he may have been disliked by his men, Cram was diligent in attempting to see to the welfare of the men and their mounts. During the early part of January, the following letters were sent by Captain Cram, at a time when the strength of the cavalry should have been husbanded with great care for the coming spring campaign:
“Headquarters 6th U. S. Cavalry,
January 16th, 1863.
SIR: - I have the honor to report for the information of Brigade Headquarters, that the three squadrons of my regiment now on picket duty have the strength of 505 enlisted men. The three companies now in camp awaiting will turn out to-morrow 121 enlisted men. Present, absolute available strength mounted of the six troops and the three in camp, of which my command consists, 426.
There are three troops on detached service at General Sumner’s and General Pleasanton’s headquarters. Of ineffectives I shall leave in camp, mostly dismounted, 292. From the above it will be perceived that I can march with one-hundred and seventy-one men as the strength of my three disposable companies. I succeeded in getting thirty-six carbines and sabres from Pennington’s battery to-day. To-morrow I shall be obliged to send out two days’ forage and three days’ rations to my six companies on picket; this is essential to provide for their substance and forage. It requires six wagons for them to return during the day (they must be lightly loaded), which will cripple my transportation seriously, should I have to use it for general purposes to-morrow.
Very respectfully, Your obedient servant,
(Signed) G. C. Cram,
Captain, 6th U. S. Cavalry, Commanding.
To Lieutenant MAHNKEN,
Acting Assistant Adjutant-General,
2d Cavalry Brigade.”
“Headquarters 6th U. S. Cavalry,
January 21st, 1863.
SIR: - I have the honor to request to be informed whether I am at liberty to run out forage to the six companies of my regiment, now on picket; their forage is out this morning; also whether I can start my train to depot for forage. I have a scant two days’ in camp ahead for the whole command, and forage must be sent this morning to the detail on picket.
My entire command in rationed for three days, from this morning, in their haversacks. Am I to construe the circular received this morning as a standing order to run out the necessary transportation daily, to my detail on picket, with one day’s rations, without further orders, as it is only by that, that I can keep them three days ahead?
Very respectfully, Your obedient servant,
G. C. Cram,
Captain, 6th U. S. Cavalry.
To Lieutenant H. MAHNKEN,
Acting Assistant Adjutant-General,
2d Cavalry Brigade.”
“Headquarters 6th U. S. Cavalry,
Camp near Falmouth, Virginia, January 29th, 1863.
SIR: - I have the honor to transmit herewith approved requisitions for six wagons and requisitions for tools rendered absolutely necessary under orders from Headquarters 2d Cavalry Brigade, Cavalry Division, January 28th, 1863, requiring me to employ the troops under my command to construct and keep in repair the bridges on the road between General Hooker’s headquarters and ‘Stoneman’s switch.’ I have the honor to officially state my belief that, unless I am furnished with the means called for in such requisitions, it will be impossible for me to perform the duty assigned to me under the above-noticed order, as my regimental resources are already insufficient for the purposes of foraging and rationing my command. I have also the honor to very respectfully request to be informed if it is intended to retain this regiment on the roster for picket while discharging this duty of road and bridge construction and police, and if, while assigned to such fatigue duty, it will also be required to do its usual outpost duty. The requisitions are based upon a careful survey and examination made to-day of the roads and line of country assigned me.
******************************************************************************
I am, sir, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
(Signed) G. C. Cram,
Captain, 6th U. S. Cavalry, Commanding.
To Lieutenant H. MAHNKEN,
Acting Assistant Adjutant-General,
2d Cavalry Brigade.”
In the months of winter camp in 1863, the cavalry underwent major changes. Major General Joseph Hooker took command of the army, relieving General Burnside after his failure at Fredericksburg the previous November. One of General Hooker’s changes was to organize the various cavalry regiments into a massive mounted service designated the Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac. Under this new organization, the regiment remained with the rest of the regular cavalry regiments in the Reserve Brigade, now acting as an independent brigade. While the structure of this fledgling cavalry corps was beginning to take shape, Captain Cram was assigned command of the brigade on February 16, 1863. One soldier who was stationed at brigade headquarters noted in his diary:
“Monday, 16
Rainy some this morning. Cleaned up about 10 o’clock. Capt. Cram is in command of the Brigade. Handsome Brig. Genl. but he can’t command a corporal guard. (unr) that ain’t mutiny.”
Meanwhile, Brigadier General Buford, who was then the chief of cavalry, requested to command the reserve brigade under this reorganization. Thus, in March, Captain Cram was relieved of command of the Reserve Brigade, and resumed command of the 6th U.S. Cavalry.
The regiment, Captain Cram commanding, broke winter camp on April 13, 1863 and participated in the expedition known as “Stoneman’s Raid.”
On May 12,1863, while in camp at Hartwood Church, Captain Cram, accompanied by Assistant Surgeon William H. Forwood and two enlisted orderlies, rode to General Buford’s headquarters, about a mile and a half distant. Towards evening, they started back to camp, and while passing along a country road, were suddenly surrounded and compelled to surrender by about thirty of Colonel Mosby’s men, under Lieutenant Fairchild.
The guerrillas had ridden close to the camps, under cover of a dense forest, and, secreting their horses in the underbrush, had posted themselves on both sides of the road and captured several troopers passing back and forth between the camps.
Captain Cram and Assistant Surgeon Forwood were not armed, and both were entirely unsuspicious of any danger until confronted with a demand for surrender, backed up by cocked carbines. It was a daring ambush, laid in the midst of the cavalry corps, on a piece of road supposed to be covered by patrols and pickets.
The captors mounted and conducted their prisoners through the forest to a house, which appeared to be their headquarters. Here, Lieutenant Fairchild offered to release them if they would give their parole. Captain Cram and the enlisted men were released on parole, after being deprived of their horses and equipments, and started to camp.
Since medical officers on both sides had the right to be released without parole if captured, Assistant Surgeon Forwood declined to sign the parole, and insisted upon his right, as a medical officer, to be released. This was refused, and he was turned over to a guard to be taken to some interior point as a prisoner of war. The guard started after midnight, the prisoner being placed on foot between mounted detachments in front and rear. While passing through a dense growth of pines, the gallant surgeon made a dash for liberty and escaped without injury from the carbine and pistol shots that resounded through the forest.
The escaping prisoner floundered along over fallen timber and through swamps until nearly daylight, when he succeeded in reaching the main road, where Captain Cram and his party had already arrived, and at that point not far from General Buford’s headquarters. This ordeal caused Captain Cram considerable embarrassment, and though unproven, is probably why the gallant surgeon spent the rest of the month on detached duty at the Cavalry Corps’ dismount camp near Dumfries. Surgeon Forwood rejoined the regiment just prior to the battle of Brandy Station and continued to share its fortunes with the same daring spirit that dictated his dash into the dark forest amidst the flying bullets of the guerrillas.
Considerable controversy arose over this capture, and the result was a general order published by the War Department forbidding the acceptance of parole under such circumstances. The order referred to, dated 3 July 1863, contains the following language:
“It is understood that captured officers and men have been paroled and released in the field by others than commanders of opposing armies********
Any officer or soldier who gives such parole will be returned to duty without exchange, and, moreover, will be punished for disobedience of orders. It is the duty of the captor to guard his prisoners, and if, through necessity or choice, he fails to do this, it is the duty of the prisoner to return to the service of his Government.”
It appears that Captain Cram wasn’t any more beloved by the officers of his regiment than he was by the enlisted men. In a letter dated the same day of Captain Cram’s capture, Captain Brisbin wrote to his wife:
“***I am now again in command of the regiment much to the delight of all in it. The Rebels got Cram, Body and Breeches. I am only sorry that they did not kill the son-of-a-bitch, but we are all rid of him and thats all we need care for.***”
Nonetheless, Captain Brisbin’s sentiment would not hold true, for after “officially” being paroled on June 2, 1863, Captain Cram again assumed command of the regiment, if only for a short time.
On June 9th, the battle of Brandy Station took place, in which Captain Cram can easily be commended for the way he handled his regiment in battle. He received a brevet promotion to major for gallant and meritorious service his actions during the battle.
The following day, June 10th, Major Samuel H. “Old Paddy” Starr was appointed to the 6th U.S. Cavalry and would have assumed command of the regiment. However, Major Starr was immediately given command of the brigade, replacing Major Whiting, his junior, while Captain Cram remained in command of the regiment.
Major Starr was a veteran of the old army and known to be a strict disciplinarian, which he rigidly exercised towards all – officers and men. One private would remember:
“There was one feature in MAJ Starr’s administration that in a measure compensated the men for their suffering and humiliation. That was the poorly concealed terror and hate with which he was regarded by the subordinate regimental officers. CPT Cram especially seemed to be an object of Major Starr’s terrific disciplinarian efforts. Under the watchful eyes of the major, poor Captain Cram seemed to have dropped from the pinnacle of happiness to the depths of despair. In his presence, Captain Cram appeared heavily ill at ease. His trepidation was visible to everyone, and a smile was sure to pass along the line on such occasions. Whenever the cold blue eyes of his senior were turned upon him, his manifest trepidation was expressibly gratifying to those who had been subject to Captain Cram’s caprices while at the previous winter camp.”
The regiment continued the march, and on June 21, 1863 participated in the battle of Upperville. On the 23rd, while camped near Aldie, Captain Cram submitted his official report, which is very interesting and given in more detail than is usual in such cases. This is likely because of Major Starr’s vociferous displeasure of the performance of the brigade during the battle. After the brigade’s brief stay at camp near Aldie, it continued the march, chasing after General Lee’s army.
On June 29, 1863, the command reached Frederick City, Maryland, where newly appointed Brigadier General Wesley Merritt assumed command of the brigade, relieving Major Starr. Starr assumed command of the 6th U.S. Cavalry, which in turn, relieved Captain Cram of command of the regiment and returned him to his company.
The command soon reached Emmitsburg, Maryland, where it went into camp. On July 3rd, the brigade commander received information that a Confederate wagon train was very near and guarded by a weak force. Sensing it was ripe for the taking, Brigadier-General Merritt ordered the 6th U.S. Cavalry to the task.
As the regiment marched into Fairfield, Pennsylvania, Major Starr ordered Captain Cram, commanding the 1st Squadron, to take his men and follow the course of an unfinished railroad that lay at the foot of the mountains on the western side of the valley. Captain Cram set off on his reconnoiter, while the rest of the regiment continued towards Cashtown. The battle which ensued, known as the battle of Fairfield, saw the regiment utterly routed by the Confederate force guarding the wagon train, which turned out to be an entire Confederate brigade, under the command of General William “Grumble” Jones. Captain Cram, hearing the firing from the engagement, quickly rushed his 1st Squadron toward the scene. His squadron charged the enemy, but his horse was shot out from underneath him, and he was captured. The remaining few men of the regiment retreated back towards Cashtown.
That afternoon, Captain Cram, along with the other prisoners, set off on the long march south towards the Confederate prisons at Richmond. After a long and rainy march, the prisoners camped some distance away from the battlefield. Now prisoners, and after a long, rainy, cold, hungry, and weary march, these Federal men were not only defeated on the battlefield, but also in spirit. One private noted:
“Grim jokes about ”cordwood brigades,” “Company Q,” and “put a nosebag on him” were occasionally heard, but there was no absolute disrespect shown by the men. Even Captain Cram, with all the different phases of common hate assumed toward him, escaped insult.”
The long march south resumed, and continued for the next few days. Shortly before daylight of July 7th, the men halted near a place called the Mountain House, and here remained until late in the afternoon. Here Captain Cram was once again illegally paroled. The parole was not recognized by the Federal government to be binding, as all prisoner exchanges required the delivery of prisoners to Vicksburg or City Point. He received parole, complaining of gout in his feet from the tremendous amount of marching.
This same day, Brigadier-General Neill reported that:
“***Captain [George C.] Cram, now a prisoner of war at Monterey, states that the discipline of the enemy seems to be very much relaxed. In the last two days I have taken a great many prisoners, or, rather, deserters from the rebels.***”
After this second unauthorized field parole, near Monterey, he was granted 20 days of leave starting on the 24thfor reason of being a paroled prisoner. He then extended his leave for 60 days and subsequently was put on duty as an inspector of cavalry horses at Washington, D.C. on November 6, 1863. On February 20, 1864, he again took leave. On March 10, 1864, he was assigned as a mustering and disbursing officer at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In September, he transferred to his home ground of New York City, still working as a mustering and disbursing officer. In November, he was listed as “sick in New York City,” and on November 16th he was ordered to join his regiment, yet managed to avoid rejoining throughout the remainder of the war. Perhaps the reason for his numerous leaves was that his wife was pregnant, and in 1865, she bore a son, which they named Jacob Cram, probably after George’s father.
At this point, it should be noted that Captain Cram was the only one of the original company commanders in the regiment that had not received some sort of higher command, whether in the regular army or more commonly the volunteer service. However, this was finally about to change, for while in New York, and perhaps the reason for his avoidance to join his regular regiment, he secured an appointment as Colonel of the 22nd New York Cavalry. Unfortunately for Cram, this appointment was rescinded upon the return of the original commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Horatio B. Reed.
Having failed to secure his volunteer command, he must have been compelled to rejoin his regiment, reporting sometime in May of 1865. Yet again, he took leave and was absent on June 16, 1865. In July, he was again reported present for duty, and was assigned special duty as the acting provost marshal at Frederick, Maryland. Yet again, he took leave on August 21, 1865, but was back on duty near Frederick, Maryland by September.
The regiment received hundreds of recruits during the summer, and now at full strength, was ordered to duty in Texas. The regiment broke camp at Frederick, Maryland on October 15, 1865 and proceeded by rail to Battery Barracks, New York, where it embarked , October 19th, on the steamship “Herman Livingston” for New Orleans. The steamer sailed the next morning, and when off the coast of Hatteras, during the 23rd and 24th, encountered a violent storm. One of the sad incidents of this trying voyage was the loss of horses, thrown overboard to lighten the ship. The ship weathered the severe gale which sent many vessels to the bottom, and reached Key West on the night of the 27th, and New Orleans on November 2nd.
The regiment remained in camp near New Orleans until the 10th, when it sailed on the steamer “Clinton” for Galveston, arriving there on November 12th. Austin, Texas, was reached on the 29th, and Camp Sanders was established half a mile west of town. During this month, Captain Cram was listed as present, but sick. By December, he was assigned on detached service as provost marshal at Major-General Custer’s Headquarters in Austin, Texas. On January 24, 1866, he was assigned as the acting inspector general at the same headquarters, until February 1st, when he rejoined his regiment. On March 16th, he was put on special duty attending the general court marshal of a soldier, per Special Order No. 65, and was relieved of that duty on April 22, 1866, yet reported sick. On May 3, 1866, Captain Cram reported to duty, and with his company was on detached service at Jacksboro, Texas.
During early 1867, he went on a scouting expedition after Indians. It is not known what happened on that expedition, but on April 5, 1867, he was listed as joined from that expedition and “in arrest,” since that date. On April 28th, he and his company transferred from Jacksboro to Fort Belknap, where he remained in arrest until June at that post. In June, the returns list him as “from present in arrest to absent in arrest since June 20, 1867, attending his trial before General Court Marshal at Austin, Texas.” Meanwhile, his company was transferred to Camp Wilson. On October 24, 1867 he reported from “absent in arrest to present in arrest” at Camp Wilson “by permission to delay joining his company until the decision of his trial is made known per instructions from the 5th Military District, dated 11 October 1867.”
In a baffling turn, Captain Cram was promoted to Major the next day, October 12, 1867, and assigned to the 4th U.S. Cavalry, and was ordered to report to his new regiment on November 19, 1867. In December, he was en route to Fort Clark, Texas to assume command of that post. He did not stay in command long at Fort Clark, for on January 20, 1868, Major Cram transferred and assumed command of Fort Verde and the regiment. In March, he led his regiment on a movement to transfer to Fort Concho, Texas, and assumed command of that post April 3, 1868.
For the next few months, Major Cram commanded the regiment and post to which he was assigned, until August 18, 1868, when he relinquished command and reported for detached service as a member of a military commission per Special Order No. 3, Headquarters, 5th Military District, dated August 12, 1868. He left the regiment on the 20th for this duty, and by October 2nd, his duty was complete, as he went on leave and travelled to his home in New York City. His leave there was extended for three months per Special Order No. 250, dated October 19, 1868.
On January 9, 1868, Major Cram was recommended for promotion to a lieutenant-colonelcy by Brigadier-General George Stoneman, now a Colonel in command of the 21st U.S. Infantry. Stoneman wrote the following recommendation on behalf of Major Cram:
“Petersburg, Virginia
January 9th, 1868
Hon. Secretary of War,
Sir,
I have never troubled the War department with many recommendations for promotion or preferment, and when I have done so it has ever been done with a knowledge of the person, his claims, and his merits, and because I really thought he was justly entitled to what was asked for him.
The case I now beg the privilege of bringing to the attention of the Department, and through it to the President, is that of one of the most gallant and deserving Officers in the Army --- Major G.C. Cram, 4th U.S. Cavalry, and what is asked for him by myself and through me by his friends who have written me on the subject, is that he may be brevetted a “Lieutenant Colonel in the Army for gallant and meritorious conduct at the engagement of Fairfield, Pennsylvania, July 3d, 1863.”
The circumstances are as follows, His Regiment the 6th Cavalry was taken into the action by Colonel Starr, who being wounded early in the engagement, the Command of the Regiment devolved upon major Cram --- who in extricating his Regiment and saving the Regimental Colors, had his Clothing and saddle perforated with bullets in many places, his horse killed under him, and himself wounded --- when being afoot he was captured by the enemy --- who recognizing and appreciating his gallantry, paroled him and turned him loose.
It is to be presumed that the reason why his name and claims have never been presented for consideration is that no Official report was ever made of the engagement by Colonel Starr, (for reasons unnecessary here to mention,) and I hope it is not now too late to do justice to a brave Soldier, gallant Officer, and thorough Gentleman,
I am, Sir,
Very Respectfully,
Your Obedient Servant
George Stoneman
Colonel 21st U.S. Infantry and
Brevet Major General U.S.A.”
It is obvious that Major Cram stretched the truth to favor himself for a promotion. It need only be mentioned that Private George C. Platt, of Company H, was the soldier who rescued the regimental colors from falling in the hands of the enemy, and for which action he became the regiment’s first Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. Even though Major Cram was commanding the 1st Squadron (which consisted of companies B and H), it proves at the very least he was trying to take credit for one of his soldier’s actions.
This concoction of Major Cram’s would ultimately backfire, for at the time, promotions required a letter of endorsement from the commander of the soldier at the time of their actions: Major Samuel H. Starr! Major Starr was currently stationed in Texas with the 6th U.S. Cavalry, and upon receiving Major Cram’s recommendation to lieutenant-colonel, wrote the following:
“Post of Mount Pleasant, Tex.
February 17th 1868
Respectfully returned to HeadQuarters of the Army. I believe General Stoneman does not claim to know anything personally about the actuion mentioned by him in the within communication as he was not serving in the Army of the Potomac at the time: the first paragraph of his letter is intended, I presume, merely to remind the Department of his habitual course, from which, in this case, for sufficient reasons, he chooses to depart. There are several erros of fact in the General’s communication which, as it is referred to me, it is my duty to correct, and I will do so in the order they appear --- I was wounded some hours after the action began and after its close, while the regiment was in retreat through a narrow defile (a country road) and not “early in the engagement.” --- Major Cram certainly was not during any part of the action in command of the regiment --- The regiment being weak and attacked by two brigades of the enemy’s cavalry, under the rebel Generals B.H. Robertson and Jones, was much cut up, routed and disorganized, it is true, but was reformed several miles from the field of action by Lt. Louis H. Carpenter (now Captain, 10th U.S. Cavalry) and not by Maj. Cram. Capt. Carpenter is my informant in this. --- Major Cram had nothing to do with “extricating the regiment.” --- I never heard that Major Cram saved the standard, I think this is a mistake --- I did not know that he was wounded in that action, or that his saddle or clothing was spoiled --- major Cram with his squadron was detached by me on the morning of the 3rd July, the day of the action, before the enemy was discovered, to look after his (the enemy’s) foragers reported by the people to be robbing barns in the neighborhood of Fairfield; and he did not rejoin the regiment, at least not till after the action was over and the regiment was in full retreat; he took no part in the action up to that time; he was however captured. I have heard, and paroled because he was unable to walk from gout in his feet. He did not, I believe, serve again in the field during the war on account of some complications about his exchange.
The remark of General Stoneman in the last paragraph, written in parentheses, to wit “for reasons unnecessary here to mention,” requires notice: The reason no official report was made of the action by me was that in the retreat I lost my right arm near the shoulder while marching through the defile above mentioned --- myself the last man in the column. I add the last clause because it seems to me the remark quoted is calculated to injure me, it is at least liable to misconstruction.
S.H. Starr
Maj. 6th Cav. Bvt Col USA”
The remarks from Army's commanding general were characteristically brief:
“Gen. Stoneman’s recommendation is not approved.
U.S. Grant
General
Hdqrs. Army
March 7, ‘68”
Needless to say, Major Cram never received the promotion, and perhaps from this denial he chose to resign. His resignation was accepted per Special Order No. 23, Headquarters, Army, Adjutant-General’s Office, Washington, D.C., January 28, 1869, to take effect January 26, 1869.
While on leave in New York City, and after resigning, George C. Cram most likely entered schooling at Stamford, Connecticut. However, within the same year of his resignation, and on August 22, 1869, George Cram died. It is unknown what he died from, but still more puzzling is who wrote the following obituary, posted in the New York Times, 26 August 1869:
“The death is announced of Major George Clarence Cram, at Stamford, Conn., on Sunday last, the 22nd inst. Major Cram was a son of the late Jacob Cram, and brother of Henry A. Cram, Esq., and of Mrs. James Watson Webb. He entered the army in 1861, his first commission as Captain of the Sixth Regular Cavalry having been dated May 14, of that year. In this regiment he served throughout the war. In the latter part of 1862, Captain Cram found himself in command of his regiment, being the senior officer on duty with it, and early in 1863 the regular cavalry of the Army of the Potomac was organized into a brigade, the command of which was retained by him, although his rank was not increased. In both these positions he won the praise of his superiors, and the cordial likings of his inferiors in rank by his soldierly qualities and courteous, gentlemanly bearing. While commanding the brigade he kept open the communications of General STONEMAN’S expeditionary force with the main army, on which service he taught the guerillas a much needed lesson. June 9, 1863, he was brevetted Major, and was afterward on duty here as Provost Marshal, and was also sent on a tour of inspection through the North. October 12, 1867, he was commissioned Major of the Fourth Cavalry, and resigned on the 26th of January, 1869. He was in his fortieth year, and much beloved and respected by the many who knew him. His death will be sincerely mourned by a large circle of friends, and by none more sincerely than by his old comrades of the Army of the Potomac.”
Sources:
The Cram Sourcebook, Vol. II, Michael A. Cram.
Passport application of George Clarence Cram, filed 12 July 1855, New York City.
1860 Federal Census, District No. 2, 18th Ward, New York, New York, Page No. 81, Family entry 353.
General Order No. 33, Adjutant-General’s Office, 18 June 1861.
6th U.S. Cavalry database, compiled by Jim Jones.
Official Records to the War of the Rebellion.
Special Order No. 158. Returns for Regular Army Regiments, 6th U.S. Cavalry.
Returns for Regular Army Regiments, 6th U.S. Cavalry, October through December 1862.
Common Soldier, Uncommon War: Life as a Cavalryman in the Civil War, Sidney M. Davis.
From Yorktown to Santiago with the Sixth U.S. Cavalry, Lieutenant Colonel William H. Carter.
The Union Cavalry Comes of Age, Eric J. Wittenberg.
The diary of Randolph R. Knapp, housed at the Gettysburg Library.
Letter to Jane, his wife, by James S. Brisbin, housed at the Iowa Historical Society.
List of Officers of the Army of the United States from 1779 to 1900, William Henry Powell.
Special Order No. 348, Adjutant-General’s Office, War Department, Washington, D.C.
Special Order No. 358 and Special Order No. 494, Adjutant-General’s Office, War Department, Washington, D.C., respectively.
Special Order No. 84, Adjutant-General’s Office, War Department, Washington, D.C., dated 20 February 1864.
Special Order No. 114, Adjutant-General’s Office, War Department, Washington, D.C., dated 10 March 1864.
Special Order No. 398, Adjutant-General’s Office, War Department, Washington, D.C.
From Rochester to Winchester: The Regimental History of the 22nd New York Cavalry, Michael G. Burns.
Returns for Regular Army Regiments, 6th U.S. Cavalry.
Special Order No. 8, Adjutant General’s Office, Washington, D.C.
Special Order No. 190, Headquarters, 5th Military District, dated 19 November 1867.
Order No. 228, Headquarters, Department of Texas, dated 28 December 1867.
Special Order No. 7, dated 10 January 1868.
Returns for Regular Army Regiments, 4th U.S. Cavalry.
George Clarence Cram was born on June 13,1830 in New York City, New York. He was the youngest of five siblings born to Lydia Tucker and Jacob Louis Cram, a distinguished lawyer in New York and perhaps the founder of the law firm “Cram & Cram,” which resided at 65 Wall Street.
On 12 July 1855, George applied for his passport application in which he was described as 5’8” tall, with grey eyes, a straight nose, medium mouth, small chin, square face, high forehead, brown hair, and a fair complexion. This application implies that he travelled abroad between July 12, 1855 and June 25, 1860.
In 1860, George was living with his elderly parents and working as a lawyer in New York, according to census data.3 In 1861, he married his wife, Francis. Their time together for the next few years was to be short; overpowered by the outbreak of the Civil War.
On May 14, 1861, George secured a commission as a captain in the newly authorized 3rd U.S. Cavalry, where he was assigned command of Company I. He immediately set up his recruiting office in Rochester, New York, and between July 24th and September 29th, he recruited 79 men for his regiment (57 men for his own company, 17 men for Company G, one man for Company K, one man for the regiment’s Field &Staff, and three recruits who deserted).
In order to simplify the tracking of the large number of volunteer units being formed during the war, Congress had enacted, on 3 August 1861, that all mounted regiments should henceforth be known as cavalry. Army General Order No. 55, dated August 10, 1861, prescribed that the 3rd U.S. Cavalry would now be enumerated the 6th U.S. Cavalry.
On October 4, 1861, Captain Cram joined the regiment at Bladensburg, Maryland. Here, the regiment received its horses, and its first lessons in the saddle. On October 12th, the regiment broke camp at Bladensburg and marched to its new camp, East of Capitol. Here, the regiment would endure an intensive training regime, mounted and unmounted, and the company commanders would have the occasion to sharpen their men. Unfortunately, Captain Cram would not seize this opportunity. On November 27th, he took leave, and in February, he was absent, sick in Washington, D.C.
On March 10, 1862, the regiment broke camp and embarked with Major General McClellan on the famous Peninsula Campaign of 1862, where Captain Cram would serve in every engagement of the campaign. On May 30, 1862, during an action on the Pamunkey River, Major Williams mentioned in his report:
“At 12 o’clock on the night of the 28th Lieutenant Kerin left the camp with about 20 men, and successfully fired and destroyed the county bridge about 200 yards above the railroad crossing. He was assisted in both operations by Lieutenant Coats, and both deserve the highest praise for the effectual manner in which they discharged their duty. Another bridge was also burned by Captain Cram. This was a bridge which Rush’s Lancers had fired on the 27th, but owing to the suddenness of their having withdrawn from the front were unable to entirely complete the destruction.”
The regiment then marched into the brutal Maryland Campaign, remembered most famously for the battle of Antietam. Upon the closing of the campaign, Brigadier General Pleasonton, in making his report of the operations resulting in driving Lee’s army back into Virginia, said:
“The services of this division (cavalry) from the 4th of September up to the 19th were of the most constant and arduous character. For fifteen successive days we were in contact with the enemy, and each day conflicts of some kind were maintained, in which we gradually but steadily advanced. The officers and men have exerted themselves to insure the success of every expedition and these efforts have been fortunate. The officers entitled to mention for gallant services are....Captains W.P. Sanders commanding, and Capts. George C. Cram and Henry B. Hays, and Lieut. Albert Coats, adjutant.”
On October 31, 1862, Captain Cram was assigned to duty at Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, the regimental command had changed hands many times due to most of the senior officers receiving higher commands within the volunteer forces. After returning to his company and settling into winter camp, Captain Cram assumed command of the regiment on December 13, 1862, now the senior regimental officer.
Captain Cram appears to have been despised by the men in his regiment. One private wrote:
“He was a curious, capricious man, seeming to almost delight when the men most feared him. A perfect sign of terror held sway over the guards. The new regimental commander would come down to the guardhouse at all hours of these winter nights, sometimes wearing his sidearms and at other times without them, and then, in violation of all regulations, the guard and prisoners were obliged to turn out and fall into line – the latter in their bare feet and drawers – that he might be saluted according to rank. A little hatred towards him was developed throughout the entire regiment. Whenever a soldier had occasion to speak of him, his name was invariably coupled with uncomplimentary phrases. The universal desire was often thus briefly expressed, except for the religious:
“Damn Cram!”
Thus religious wore off the round edge of a curse:
“Darn Cram!”
While the young men from the country, who still retained a wholesome fear of profanity, contended themselves with:
“Gol darn Cram!”
All sorts of violent deaths and untimely ends were pictured as in store for the unfortunate Cram. Few of the men seemed to believe that he ever allowed himself to become sober while in command of the regiment that winter.”
However much he may have been disliked by his men, Cram was diligent in attempting to see to the welfare of the men and their mounts. During the early part of January, the following letters were sent by Captain Cram, at a time when the strength of the cavalry should have been husbanded with great care for the coming spring campaign:
“Headquarters 6th U. S. Cavalry,
January 16th, 1863.
SIR: - I have the honor to report for the information of Brigade Headquarters, that the three squadrons of my regiment now on picket duty have the strength of 505 enlisted men. The three companies now in camp awaiting will turn out to-morrow 121 enlisted men. Present, absolute available strength mounted of the six troops and the three in camp, of which my command consists, 426.
There are three troops on detached service at General Sumner’s and General Pleasanton’s headquarters. Of ineffectives I shall leave in camp, mostly dismounted, 292. From the above it will be perceived that I can march with one-hundred and seventy-one men as the strength of my three disposable companies. I succeeded in getting thirty-six carbines and sabres from Pennington’s battery to-day. To-morrow I shall be obliged to send out two days’ forage and three days’ rations to my six companies on picket; this is essential to provide for their substance and forage. It requires six wagons for them to return during the day (they must be lightly loaded), which will cripple my transportation seriously, should I have to use it for general purposes to-morrow.
Very respectfully, Your obedient servant,
(Signed) G. C. Cram,
Captain, 6th U. S. Cavalry, Commanding.
To Lieutenant MAHNKEN,
Acting Assistant Adjutant-General,
2d Cavalry Brigade.”
“Headquarters 6th U. S. Cavalry,
January 21st, 1863.
SIR: - I have the honor to request to be informed whether I am at liberty to run out forage to the six companies of my regiment, now on picket; their forage is out this morning; also whether I can start my train to depot for forage. I have a scant two days’ in camp ahead for the whole command, and forage must be sent this morning to the detail on picket.
My entire command in rationed for three days, from this morning, in their haversacks. Am I to construe the circular received this morning as a standing order to run out the necessary transportation daily, to my detail on picket, with one day’s rations, without further orders, as it is only by that, that I can keep them three days ahead?
Very respectfully, Your obedient servant,
G. C. Cram,
Captain, 6th U. S. Cavalry.
To Lieutenant H. MAHNKEN,
Acting Assistant Adjutant-General,
2d Cavalry Brigade.”
“Headquarters 6th U. S. Cavalry,
Camp near Falmouth, Virginia, January 29th, 1863.
SIR: - I have the honor to transmit herewith approved requisitions for six wagons and requisitions for tools rendered absolutely necessary under orders from Headquarters 2d Cavalry Brigade, Cavalry Division, January 28th, 1863, requiring me to employ the troops under my command to construct and keep in repair the bridges on the road between General Hooker’s headquarters and ‘Stoneman’s switch.’ I have the honor to officially state my belief that, unless I am furnished with the means called for in such requisitions, it will be impossible for me to perform the duty assigned to me under the above-noticed order, as my regimental resources are already insufficient for the purposes of foraging and rationing my command. I have also the honor to very respectfully request to be informed if it is intended to retain this regiment on the roster for picket while discharging this duty of road and bridge construction and police, and if, while assigned to such fatigue duty, it will also be required to do its usual outpost duty. The requisitions are based upon a careful survey and examination made to-day of the roads and line of country assigned me.
******************************************************************************
I am, sir, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
(Signed) G. C. Cram,
Captain, 6th U. S. Cavalry, Commanding.
To Lieutenant H. MAHNKEN,
Acting Assistant Adjutant-General,
2d Cavalry Brigade.”
In the months of winter camp in 1863, the cavalry underwent major changes. Major General Joseph Hooker took command of the army, relieving General Burnside after his failure at Fredericksburg the previous November. One of General Hooker’s changes was to organize the various cavalry regiments into a massive mounted service designated the Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac. Under this new organization, the regiment remained with the rest of the regular cavalry regiments in the Reserve Brigade, now acting as an independent brigade. While the structure of this fledgling cavalry corps was beginning to take shape, Captain Cram was assigned command of the brigade on February 16, 1863. One soldier who was stationed at brigade headquarters noted in his diary:
“Monday, 16
Rainy some this morning. Cleaned up about 10 o’clock. Capt. Cram is in command of the Brigade. Handsome Brig. Genl. but he can’t command a corporal guard. (unr) that ain’t mutiny.”
Meanwhile, Brigadier General Buford, who was then the chief of cavalry, requested to command the reserve brigade under this reorganization. Thus, in March, Captain Cram was relieved of command of the Reserve Brigade, and resumed command of the 6th U.S. Cavalry.
The regiment, Captain Cram commanding, broke winter camp on April 13, 1863 and participated in the expedition known as “Stoneman’s Raid.”
On May 12,1863, while in camp at Hartwood Church, Captain Cram, accompanied by Assistant Surgeon William H. Forwood and two enlisted orderlies, rode to General Buford’s headquarters, about a mile and a half distant. Towards evening, they started back to camp, and while passing along a country road, were suddenly surrounded and compelled to surrender by about thirty of Colonel Mosby’s men, under Lieutenant Fairchild.
The guerrillas had ridden close to the camps, under cover of a dense forest, and, secreting their horses in the underbrush, had posted themselves on both sides of the road and captured several troopers passing back and forth between the camps.
Captain Cram and Assistant Surgeon Forwood were not armed, and both were entirely unsuspicious of any danger until confronted with a demand for surrender, backed up by cocked carbines. It was a daring ambush, laid in the midst of the cavalry corps, on a piece of road supposed to be covered by patrols and pickets.
The captors mounted and conducted their prisoners through the forest to a house, which appeared to be their headquarters. Here, Lieutenant Fairchild offered to release them if they would give their parole. Captain Cram and the enlisted men were released on parole, after being deprived of their horses and equipments, and started to camp.
Since medical officers on both sides had the right to be released without parole if captured, Assistant Surgeon Forwood declined to sign the parole, and insisted upon his right, as a medical officer, to be released. This was refused, and he was turned over to a guard to be taken to some interior point as a prisoner of war. The guard started after midnight, the prisoner being placed on foot between mounted detachments in front and rear. While passing through a dense growth of pines, the gallant surgeon made a dash for liberty and escaped without injury from the carbine and pistol shots that resounded through the forest.
The escaping prisoner floundered along over fallen timber and through swamps until nearly daylight, when he succeeded in reaching the main road, where Captain Cram and his party had already arrived, and at that point not far from General Buford’s headquarters. This ordeal caused Captain Cram considerable embarrassment, and though unproven, is probably why the gallant surgeon spent the rest of the month on detached duty at the Cavalry Corps’ dismount camp near Dumfries. Surgeon Forwood rejoined the regiment just prior to the battle of Brandy Station and continued to share its fortunes with the same daring spirit that dictated his dash into the dark forest amidst the flying bullets of the guerrillas.
Considerable controversy arose over this capture, and the result was a general order published by the War Department forbidding the acceptance of parole under such circumstances. The order referred to, dated 3 July 1863, contains the following language:
“It is understood that captured officers and men have been paroled and released in the field by others than commanders of opposing armies********
Any officer or soldier who gives such parole will be returned to duty without exchange, and, moreover, will be punished for disobedience of orders. It is the duty of the captor to guard his prisoners, and if, through necessity or choice, he fails to do this, it is the duty of the prisoner to return to the service of his Government.”
It appears that Captain Cram wasn’t any more beloved by the officers of his regiment than he was by the enlisted men. In a letter dated the same day of Captain Cram’s capture, Captain Brisbin wrote to his wife:
“***I am now again in command of the regiment much to the delight of all in it. The Rebels got Cram, Body and Breeches. I am only sorry that they did not kill the son-of-a-bitch, but we are all rid of him and thats all we need care for.***”
Nonetheless, Captain Brisbin’s sentiment would not hold true, for after “officially” being paroled on June 2, 1863, Captain Cram again assumed command of the regiment, if only for a short time.
On June 9th, the battle of Brandy Station took place, in which Captain Cram can easily be commended for the way he handled his regiment in battle. He received a brevet promotion to major for gallant and meritorious service his actions during the battle.
The following day, June 10th, Major Samuel H. “Old Paddy” Starr was appointed to the 6th U.S. Cavalry and would have assumed command of the regiment. However, Major Starr was immediately given command of the brigade, replacing Major Whiting, his junior, while Captain Cram remained in command of the regiment.
Major Starr was a veteran of the old army and known to be a strict disciplinarian, which he rigidly exercised towards all – officers and men. One private would remember:
“There was one feature in MAJ Starr’s administration that in a measure compensated the men for their suffering and humiliation. That was the poorly concealed terror and hate with which he was regarded by the subordinate regimental officers. CPT Cram especially seemed to be an object of Major Starr’s terrific disciplinarian efforts. Under the watchful eyes of the major, poor Captain Cram seemed to have dropped from the pinnacle of happiness to the depths of despair. In his presence, Captain Cram appeared heavily ill at ease. His trepidation was visible to everyone, and a smile was sure to pass along the line on such occasions. Whenever the cold blue eyes of his senior were turned upon him, his manifest trepidation was expressibly gratifying to those who had been subject to Captain Cram’s caprices while at the previous winter camp.”
The regiment continued the march, and on June 21, 1863 participated in the battle of Upperville. On the 23rd, while camped near Aldie, Captain Cram submitted his official report, which is very interesting and given in more detail than is usual in such cases. This is likely because of Major Starr’s vociferous displeasure of the performance of the brigade during the battle. After the brigade’s brief stay at camp near Aldie, it continued the march, chasing after General Lee’s army.
On June 29, 1863, the command reached Frederick City, Maryland, where newly appointed Brigadier General Wesley Merritt assumed command of the brigade, relieving Major Starr. Starr assumed command of the 6th U.S. Cavalry, which in turn, relieved Captain Cram of command of the regiment and returned him to his company.
The command soon reached Emmitsburg, Maryland, where it went into camp. On July 3rd, the brigade commander received information that a Confederate wagon train was very near and guarded by a weak force. Sensing it was ripe for the taking, Brigadier-General Merritt ordered the 6th U.S. Cavalry to the task.
As the regiment marched into Fairfield, Pennsylvania, Major Starr ordered Captain Cram, commanding the 1st Squadron, to take his men and follow the course of an unfinished railroad that lay at the foot of the mountains on the western side of the valley. Captain Cram set off on his reconnoiter, while the rest of the regiment continued towards Cashtown. The battle which ensued, known as the battle of Fairfield, saw the regiment utterly routed by the Confederate force guarding the wagon train, which turned out to be an entire Confederate brigade, under the command of General William “Grumble” Jones. Captain Cram, hearing the firing from the engagement, quickly rushed his 1st Squadron toward the scene. His squadron charged the enemy, but his horse was shot out from underneath him, and he was captured. The remaining few men of the regiment retreated back towards Cashtown.
That afternoon, Captain Cram, along with the other prisoners, set off on the long march south towards the Confederate prisons at Richmond. After a long and rainy march, the prisoners camped some distance away from the battlefield. Now prisoners, and after a long, rainy, cold, hungry, and weary march, these Federal men were not only defeated on the battlefield, but also in spirit. One private noted:
“Grim jokes about ”cordwood brigades,” “Company Q,” and “put a nosebag on him” were occasionally heard, but there was no absolute disrespect shown by the men. Even Captain Cram, with all the different phases of common hate assumed toward him, escaped insult.”
The long march south resumed, and continued for the next few days. Shortly before daylight of July 7th, the men halted near a place called the Mountain House, and here remained until late in the afternoon. Here Captain Cram was once again illegally paroled. The parole was not recognized by the Federal government to be binding, as all prisoner exchanges required the delivery of prisoners to Vicksburg or City Point. He received parole, complaining of gout in his feet from the tremendous amount of marching.
This same day, Brigadier-General Neill reported that:
“***Captain [George C.] Cram, now a prisoner of war at Monterey, states that the discipline of the enemy seems to be very much relaxed. In the last two days I have taken a great many prisoners, or, rather, deserters from the rebels.***”
After this second unauthorized field parole, near Monterey, he was granted 20 days of leave starting on the 24thfor reason of being a paroled prisoner. He then extended his leave for 60 days and subsequently was put on duty as an inspector of cavalry horses at Washington, D.C. on November 6, 1863. On February 20, 1864, he again took leave. On March 10, 1864, he was assigned as a mustering and disbursing officer at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In September, he transferred to his home ground of New York City, still working as a mustering and disbursing officer. In November, he was listed as “sick in New York City,” and on November 16th he was ordered to join his regiment, yet managed to avoid rejoining throughout the remainder of the war. Perhaps the reason for his numerous leaves was that his wife was pregnant, and in 1865, she bore a son, which they named Jacob Cram, probably after George’s father.
At this point, it should be noted that Captain Cram was the only one of the original company commanders in the regiment that had not received some sort of higher command, whether in the regular army or more commonly the volunteer service. However, this was finally about to change, for while in New York, and perhaps the reason for his avoidance to join his regular regiment, he secured an appointment as Colonel of the 22nd New York Cavalry. Unfortunately for Cram, this appointment was rescinded upon the return of the original commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Horatio B. Reed.
Having failed to secure his volunteer command, he must have been compelled to rejoin his regiment, reporting sometime in May of 1865. Yet again, he took leave and was absent on June 16, 1865. In July, he was again reported present for duty, and was assigned special duty as the acting provost marshal at Frederick, Maryland. Yet again, he took leave on August 21, 1865, but was back on duty near Frederick, Maryland by September.
The regiment received hundreds of recruits during the summer, and now at full strength, was ordered to duty in Texas. The regiment broke camp at Frederick, Maryland on October 15, 1865 and proceeded by rail to Battery Barracks, New York, where it embarked , October 19th, on the steamship “Herman Livingston” for New Orleans. The steamer sailed the next morning, and when off the coast of Hatteras, during the 23rd and 24th, encountered a violent storm. One of the sad incidents of this trying voyage was the loss of horses, thrown overboard to lighten the ship. The ship weathered the severe gale which sent many vessels to the bottom, and reached Key West on the night of the 27th, and New Orleans on November 2nd.
The regiment remained in camp near New Orleans until the 10th, when it sailed on the steamer “Clinton” for Galveston, arriving there on November 12th. Austin, Texas, was reached on the 29th, and Camp Sanders was established half a mile west of town. During this month, Captain Cram was listed as present, but sick. By December, he was assigned on detached service as provost marshal at Major-General Custer’s Headquarters in Austin, Texas. On January 24, 1866, he was assigned as the acting inspector general at the same headquarters, until February 1st, when he rejoined his regiment. On March 16th, he was put on special duty attending the general court marshal of a soldier, per Special Order No. 65, and was relieved of that duty on April 22, 1866, yet reported sick. On May 3, 1866, Captain Cram reported to duty, and with his company was on detached service at Jacksboro, Texas.
During early 1867, he went on a scouting expedition after Indians. It is not known what happened on that expedition, but on April 5, 1867, he was listed as joined from that expedition and “in arrest,” since that date. On April 28th, he and his company transferred from Jacksboro to Fort Belknap, where he remained in arrest until June at that post. In June, the returns list him as “from present in arrest to absent in arrest since June 20, 1867, attending his trial before General Court Marshal at Austin, Texas.” Meanwhile, his company was transferred to Camp Wilson. On October 24, 1867 he reported from “absent in arrest to present in arrest” at Camp Wilson “by permission to delay joining his company until the decision of his trial is made known per instructions from the 5th Military District, dated 11 October 1867.”
In a baffling turn, Captain Cram was promoted to Major the next day, October 12, 1867, and assigned to the 4th U.S. Cavalry, and was ordered to report to his new regiment on November 19, 1867. In December, he was en route to Fort Clark, Texas to assume command of that post. He did not stay in command long at Fort Clark, for on January 20, 1868, Major Cram transferred and assumed command of Fort Verde and the regiment. In March, he led his regiment on a movement to transfer to Fort Concho, Texas, and assumed command of that post April 3, 1868.
For the next few months, Major Cram commanded the regiment and post to which he was assigned, until August 18, 1868, when he relinquished command and reported for detached service as a member of a military commission per Special Order No. 3, Headquarters, 5th Military District, dated August 12, 1868. He left the regiment on the 20th for this duty, and by October 2nd, his duty was complete, as he went on leave and travelled to his home in New York City. His leave there was extended for three months per Special Order No. 250, dated October 19, 1868.
On January 9, 1868, Major Cram was recommended for promotion to a lieutenant-colonelcy by Brigadier-General George Stoneman, now a Colonel in command of the 21st U.S. Infantry. Stoneman wrote the following recommendation on behalf of Major Cram:
“Petersburg, Virginia
January 9th, 1868
Hon. Secretary of War,
Sir,
I have never troubled the War department with many recommendations for promotion or preferment, and when I have done so it has ever been done with a knowledge of the person, his claims, and his merits, and because I really thought he was justly entitled to what was asked for him.
The case I now beg the privilege of bringing to the attention of the Department, and through it to the President, is that of one of the most gallant and deserving Officers in the Army --- Major G.C. Cram, 4th U.S. Cavalry, and what is asked for him by myself and through me by his friends who have written me on the subject, is that he may be brevetted a “Lieutenant Colonel in the Army for gallant and meritorious conduct at the engagement of Fairfield, Pennsylvania, July 3d, 1863.”
The circumstances are as follows, His Regiment the 6th Cavalry was taken into the action by Colonel Starr, who being wounded early in the engagement, the Command of the Regiment devolved upon major Cram --- who in extricating his Regiment and saving the Regimental Colors, had his Clothing and saddle perforated with bullets in many places, his horse killed under him, and himself wounded --- when being afoot he was captured by the enemy --- who recognizing and appreciating his gallantry, paroled him and turned him loose.
It is to be presumed that the reason why his name and claims have never been presented for consideration is that no Official report was ever made of the engagement by Colonel Starr, (for reasons unnecessary here to mention,) and I hope it is not now too late to do justice to a brave Soldier, gallant Officer, and thorough Gentleman,
I am, Sir,
Very Respectfully,
Your Obedient Servant
George Stoneman
Colonel 21st U.S. Infantry and
Brevet Major General U.S.A.”
It is obvious that Major Cram stretched the truth to favor himself for a promotion. It need only be mentioned that Private George C. Platt, of Company H, was the soldier who rescued the regimental colors from falling in the hands of the enemy, and for which action he became the regiment’s first Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. Even though Major Cram was commanding the 1st Squadron (which consisted of companies B and H), it proves at the very least he was trying to take credit for one of his soldier’s actions.
This concoction of Major Cram’s would ultimately backfire, for at the time, promotions required a letter of endorsement from the commander of the soldier at the time of their actions: Major Samuel H. Starr! Major Starr was currently stationed in Texas with the 6th U.S. Cavalry, and upon receiving Major Cram’s recommendation to lieutenant-colonel, wrote the following:
“Post of Mount Pleasant, Tex.
February 17th 1868
Respectfully returned to HeadQuarters of the Army. I believe General Stoneman does not claim to know anything personally about the actuion mentioned by him in the within communication as he was not serving in the Army of the Potomac at the time: the first paragraph of his letter is intended, I presume, merely to remind the Department of his habitual course, from which, in this case, for sufficient reasons, he chooses to depart. There are several erros of fact in the General’s communication which, as it is referred to me, it is my duty to correct, and I will do so in the order they appear --- I was wounded some hours after the action began and after its close, while the regiment was in retreat through a narrow defile (a country road) and not “early in the engagement.” --- Major Cram certainly was not during any part of the action in command of the regiment --- The regiment being weak and attacked by two brigades of the enemy’s cavalry, under the rebel Generals B.H. Robertson and Jones, was much cut up, routed and disorganized, it is true, but was reformed several miles from the field of action by Lt. Louis H. Carpenter (now Captain, 10th U.S. Cavalry) and not by Maj. Cram. Capt. Carpenter is my informant in this. --- Major Cram had nothing to do with “extricating the regiment.” --- I never heard that Major Cram saved the standard, I think this is a mistake --- I did not know that he was wounded in that action, or that his saddle or clothing was spoiled --- major Cram with his squadron was detached by me on the morning of the 3rd July, the day of the action, before the enemy was discovered, to look after his (the enemy’s) foragers reported by the people to be robbing barns in the neighborhood of Fairfield; and he did not rejoin the regiment, at least not till after the action was over and the regiment was in full retreat; he took no part in the action up to that time; he was however captured. I have heard, and paroled because he was unable to walk from gout in his feet. He did not, I believe, serve again in the field during the war on account of some complications about his exchange.
The remark of General Stoneman in the last paragraph, written in parentheses, to wit “for reasons unnecessary here to mention,” requires notice: The reason no official report was made of the action by me was that in the retreat I lost my right arm near the shoulder while marching through the defile above mentioned --- myself the last man in the column. I add the last clause because it seems to me the remark quoted is calculated to injure me, it is at least liable to misconstruction.
S.H. Starr
Maj. 6th Cav. Bvt Col USA”
The remarks from Army's commanding general were characteristically brief:
“Gen. Stoneman’s recommendation is not approved.
U.S. Grant
General
Hdqrs. Army
March 7, ‘68”
Needless to say, Major Cram never received the promotion, and perhaps from this denial he chose to resign. His resignation was accepted per Special Order No. 23, Headquarters, Army, Adjutant-General’s Office, Washington, D.C., January 28, 1869, to take effect January 26, 1869.
While on leave in New York City, and after resigning, George C. Cram most likely entered schooling at Stamford, Connecticut. However, within the same year of his resignation, and on August 22, 1869, George Cram died. It is unknown what he died from, but still more puzzling is who wrote the following obituary, posted in the New York Times, 26 August 1869:
“The death is announced of Major George Clarence Cram, at Stamford, Conn., on Sunday last, the 22nd inst. Major Cram was a son of the late Jacob Cram, and brother of Henry A. Cram, Esq., and of Mrs. James Watson Webb. He entered the army in 1861, his first commission as Captain of the Sixth Regular Cavalry having been dated May 14, of that year. In this regiment he served throughout the war. In the latter part of 1862, Captain Cram found himself in command of his regiment, being the senior officer on duty with it, and early in 1863 the regular cavalry of the Army of the Potomac was organized into a brigade, the command of which was retained by him, although his rank was not increased. In both these positions he won the praise of his superiors, and the cordial likings of his inferiors in rank by his soldierly qualities and courteous, gentlemanly bearing. While commanding the brigade he kept open the communications of General STONEMAN’S expeditionary force with the main army, on which service he taught the guerillas a much needed lesson. June 9, 1863, he was brevetted Major, and was afterward on duty here as Provost Marshal, and was also sent on a tour of inspection through the North. October 12, 1867, he was commissioned Major of the Fourth Cavalry, and resigned on the 26th of January, 1869. He was in his fortieth year, and much beloved and respected by the many who knew him. His death will be sincerely mourned by a large circle of friends, and by none more sincerely than by his old comrades of the Army of the Potomac.”
Sources:
The Cram Sourcebook, Vol. II, Michael A. Cram.
Passport application of George Clarence Cram, filed 12 July 1855, New York City.
1860 Federal Census, District No. 2, 18th Ward, New York, New York, Page No. 81, Family entry 353.
General Order No. 33, Adjutant-General’s Office, 18 June 1861.
6th U.S. Cavalry database, compiled by Jim Jones.
Official Records to the War of the Rebellion.
Special Order No. 158. Returns for Regular Army Regiments, 6th U.S. Cavalry.
Returns for Regular Army Regiments, 6th U.S. Cavalry, October through December 1862.
Common Soldier, Uncommon War: Life as a Cavalryman in the Civil War, Sidney M. Davis.
From Yorktown to Santiago with the Sixth U.S. Cavalry, Lieutenant Colonel William H. Carter.
The Union Cavalry Comes of Age, Eric J. Wittenberg.
The diary of Randolph R. Knapp, housed at the Gettysburg Library.
Letter to Jane, his wife, by James S. Brisbin, housed at the Iowa Historical Society.
List of Officers of the Army of the United States from 1779 to 1900, William Henry Powell.
Special Order No. 348, Adjutant-General’s Office, War Department, Washington, D.C.
Special Order No. 358 and Special Order No. 494, Adjutant-General’s Office, War Department, Washington, D.C., respectively.
Special Order No. 84, Adjutant-General’s Office, War Department, Washington, D.C., dated 20 February 1864.
Special Order No. 114, Adjutant-General’s Office, War Department, Washington, D.C., dated 10 March 1864.
Special Order No. 398, Adjutant-General’s Office, War Department, Washington, D.C.
From Rochester to Winchester: The Regimental History of the 22nd New York Cavalry, Michael G. Burns.
Returns for Regular Army Regiments, 6th U.S. Cavalry.
Special Order No. 8, Adjutant General’s Office, Washington, D.C.
Special Order No. 190, Headquarters, 5th Military District, dated 19 November 1867.
Order No. 228, Headquarters, Department of Texas, dated 28 December 1867.
Special Order No. 7, dated 10 January 1868.
Returns for Regular Army Regiments, 4th U.S. Cavalry.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Fiddler’s Green – Myles Moylan
As a former commander of Company C, 2nd U.S. Dragoons (at the time in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, currently designated the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, but still on continuous active service since 1836), it’s always gratifying to turn up information on one of the company’s soldiers. Little did I suspect, however, where following Moylan’s life would lead me. Shiloh, Gettysburg, Little Big Horn, Wounded Knee --- Myles Moylan was definitely born to be a cavalryman. Despite controversy shrouding his career more than once, the quality of the 36 years of his service speaks for itself.
Myles Moylan was born at Amesbury, Massachusetts on December 17, 1838. His father was Thomas Moylan and his mother was Margaret Riley, both born in Ireland. Educated in local schools, he worked as a shoemaker prior joining the army. He was enlisted as a private in Company C, 2nd U.S. Dragoons by Lieutenant McArthur in Boston, Massachusetts on June 8, 1857. His enlistment documents describe him as 5’9 ½” tall, with black hair, gray eyes and a ruddy complexion. For some reason he listed Galway, Ireland as his place of birth on his enlistment paperwork.
Army life apparently agreed well with young Myles. He was promoted to corporal on October 1, 1858, and sergeant exactly two years later. During this time, he served in the Utah expedition of 1857-1858 and later in Kansas and Nebraska. He fought in an engagement with Indians at Blackwater Springs, Kansas on July 11, 1860. Sergeant Moylan was promoted to first sergeant of the company on May 17, 1861.
This last promotion proved very important to the company, as all of its assigned officers resigned at the outbreak of the war. Company C left Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on June 11, 1861, under the command of Lieutenant Farrand of the 1st U.S. Infantry. It didn’t rejoin the rest of the regiment until June 1863. During these two years, it was commanded by eight officers of different regiments and corps, including four infantry officers and two artillery officers. It would have been the steady hand of the first sergeant that kept the company functioning.
First Sergeant Moylan led his company through engagements at Wilson’s Creek, Missouri, Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee. He re-enlisted at Pittsburgh, Tennessee on April 1, 1862, just days before the battle of Shiloh. He continued to serve with the company through that battle and the subsequent siege of Corinth. During the winter of 1862-1863, they served as the escort for General Grant for several months at Memphis, Tennessee. First Sergeant Moylan remained with the company until March 28, 1863, when he was discharged at Memphis, Tennessee. He was appointed a second lieutenant in the 5th U.S. Cavalry on February 19th, but it took over a month for the news to reach him.
Lieutenant Moylan joined his new regiment in Virginia in May, and was assigned to Company D. He immediately assumed command of the company upon his arrival due to a shortage of officers with the regiment. He commanded the company through engagements at Brandy Station, Aldie, Middletown, Upperville, Gettysburg, Williamsport, Boonsboro, Funkstown, Falling Waters, Manassas Gap, Front Royal, and Brandy Station again in August. The regiment moved with the rest of the Reserve Brigade to Giesboro Point, D.C. for remounting and refitting from August to October 1863. His final battle with the regiment was the engagement at Morton’s Ford, Virginia on October 11th, as part of the diversion for Kilpatrick’s raid.
His commission was revoked and he was dismissed from the service on October 20, 1863 for an unauthorized visit to Washington, D.C. and failing to report to military district headquarters. Sympathetic biographers have on several occasions referred to this as a “trifling offense,” but given the length of his service he should have known better. In his defense, officer absenteeism was a common problem subject to periodic crackdowns during the war, and he may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He didn’t stay out of action long, however. He enlisted in Company A, 4th Massachusetts Cavalry at Malden, MA under the fictitious name of Charles E. Thomas on December 2, 1863. Despite using a nom de guerre, he received a $325 bounty for enlisting. Given his experience, it is unsurprising that he was a sergeant in the company by December 26th, and appointed first lieutenant a month later on January 25, 1864.
Lieutenant Moylan led his company through engagements on John’s Island, South Carolina in July, 1864, and near Jacksonville, Florida in October before his regiment was assigned to the forces besieging Petersburg. He was promoted to captain of Company K on December 1, 1864, and served briefly on the staff of Major General John Gibbon. He commanded a squadron of the regiment at the headquarters of the XXIV Corps during the Richmond campaign, and on April 9, 1865 received a brevet promotion to major of volunteers for gallant and meritorious services during the campaign in Virginia. He was honorably mustered out of service with his regiment on November 14, 1865 at Richmond, Virginia.
After the holidays, Moylan was back in uniform, this time once again under his own name. He enlisted in the general mounted service at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania as a private on January 25, 1866, and on March 10th was promoted to corporal.
Corporal Moylan was assigned to the new 7th U.S. Cavalry when it was formed on August 20, 1866, and his fortunes soared again. He was noticed by the regiment’s Lieutenant Colonel Custer, and was appointed the regiment’s first sergeant major on September 1, 1866. The two had briefly served together in the 5th Cavalry prior to Gettysburg. Moylan would serve in the 7th Cavalry for the next 26 years.
Custer encouraged his new sergeant major to apply for a commission once again. He was appointed a first lieutenant, 7th U.S. Cavalry on July 28, 1866, but was initially unable to accept it because he failed the appointment examination. Custer obtained permission to administer a second test, however, and tutored him to pass the examination the second time.
Such patronage was not without its costs. The new lieutenant was not initially admitted into the junior officer’s mess, though whether this was due to his prior enlisted service or Custer’s favoritism is unclear. Lieutenant Moylan served as the regimental adjutant from February 20, 1867 to December 31, 1870, when he was relieved at his own request. He served in the 1868 Washita campaign, following which he was also assigned as an acting assistant adjutant general of the troops serving in Kansas from 1868 to 1869. Lieutenant Moylan was assigned on recruiting service from January 1871 to January 1873.
While on recruiting service, Myles Moylan married Charlotte Calhoun on October 22, 1872 at Madison, Indiana. Charlotte, or Lottie as she was known, was the 19 year old sister of First Lieutenant James Calhoun. Lieutenant Calhoun also served in the 7th Cavalry, and was married to Custer’s half sister, so this further cemented Moylan’s ties to the Custer family.
Moylan was promoted to captain in the 7th U.S. Cavalry on March 1, 1872, and assigned to command of Company A when he returned to the regiment. He commanded Company A and at times a squadron during the Yellowstone and Black Hills expeditions of 1873 and 1874.
Captain Moylan commanded his company at the battle of Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876, and was one the few officers of the regiment to survive the fight. He participated in the fight of Major Reno’s column in the valley, and later the Reno-Benteen defense on the bluff. Moylan lost both his patron and his brother in law during the battle. Interestingly given his ties to Custer, he later wrote a controversial letter defending Reno’s actions during the battle. He was part of the burial detail after the fight, and several months later wrote to Libby Custer of how he’d found her husband’s body on the battlefield.
Captain Moylan again led his company in the campaign against the Nez Perce the following year, when he earned the Medal of Honor. After a forced march of several days, the cavalry column successfully overtook a camp of the elusive tribe near Bear Paw Mountain, Montana on September 30, 1877. During the subsequent battle, he “gallantly led his command in action against Nez Perce Indians until he was severely wounded,” according to the award citation. He was reportedly wounded in the right thigh while at the head of his company charging at a full gallop. His was one of nine medals of honor awarded for the battle. He was brevetted major in the regular army for the battle on February 27, 1890, and his medal of honor was awarded November 27, 1894.
In 1880, Captain Moylan commanded his company and Fort Meade, Dakota Territory, according to census data. He commanded a battalion of three companies of cavalry during the summer Little Missouri River campaign of 1881, and his own company during an engagement with Crows in Montana Territory on November 5, 1887. He continued to serve on the frontier through the fighting at Wounded Knee in 1890.
Captain Moylan was promoted to major in the 10th U.S. Cavalry on April 8, 1892. He retired a year later, on April 15, 1893, after a career of almost 36 years. He and his wife moved to California, where he settled in San Diego with his wife. They had no children.
Major Myles Moylan died of stomach cancer in San Diego, California on December 1, 1909. Lottie survived him by seven years, dying March 29, 1916. The couple had no children, and are buried together in Greenwood Memorial Park, San Diego.
Sources:
Hammer, Kenneth. Men With Custer, Biographies of the 7th U.S. Cavalry. Fort Collins: Old Army Press, 1972.
Hatch, Thom. The Custer Companion. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2002.
Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1903. Page 733.
Henry, Guy V. Military Record of Army and Civilian Appointments in the United States Army, Volume I. New York: D. Van Nostrand Publishing, 1873. Page 172.
Index to Compiled Military Service Records (accessed at www.ancestry.com on May 14, 2009)
Powell, William H. Records of Living Officers of the United States Army. Philadelphia: L.R. Hamersly & Co., 1890.
Price, George F. Across the Continent with the Fifth Cavalry. New York: Antiquarian Press, Ltd., 1959.
Rodenbough, Theophilus F. From Everglade to Canyon with the Second United States Cavalry. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2000.
U.S. Army Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914. (accessed at www.ancestry.com on May 15, 2009)
Utley, Robert. Life in Custer’s Cavalry. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1987.
Wert, Jeffry D. Custer. New York, Simon & Schuster, 1997.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Fiddler's Green: Edwin S. FitzHenry
Edwin Sawtell FitzHenry was born in Dublin, Ohio on July 24, 1835. He worked as a blacksmith prior to the Civil War.
Edwin was enlisted into Company B, 6th U.S. Cavalry on August 5, 1861 by Lieutenant Wade in Columbus, Ohio. His enlistment documents describe him as 5’ 6 ½” tall and 25 years old, with black hair, gray eyes and a sallow complexion. Interestingly, he signed into the regiment as Edwin S. Henry, dropping the “Fitz” from his name.
Private Henry trained with the new regiment at Bladensburg, Maryland and Camp East of the Capitol, Washing ton, D.C. through the fall and winter of 1861. He accompanied the regiment to the Virginia peninsula in March 1862 for the start of its first campaign as a company farrier.
Edwin seems to have avoided the disease that struck the regiment heavily after its arrival in Virginia. His first and only injury appears to have occurred at the battle of Hanover Court house on May 26, 1862. After the war he claimed to have been wounded in the left hand by a saber during the fight. There is no record of him in the regimental returns, either in the monthly return for June or the annual return for 1862. He did serve on detached service from his company at Cold Harbor with the regimental trains and hospital later that month, however, so there could be some credence to his claim. If he was injured, but not seriously enough to see one of the regiment’s assistant surgeons, there would not be a record of his injury. Regardless, he was back to duty with his company the following month.
Farrier Henry served through the rest of the campaigns of 1862 and 1863 without incident. He was one of the few soldiers in Company B who wasn’t killed, wounded or captured during the Gettysburg campaign in the regiment’s engagements at Fairfield or Funkstown. He continued to serve until the expiration of his term of service on August 6, 1864 at Light House Point, Virginia. The only change to his description is that his complexion had changed from sallow to ruddy, undoubtedly due to the many months outdoors and in the saddle during his enlistment.
The attached picture is courtesy of the Fitz-Henry family collection and shows Edwin at some point during his service. The person on the right is most likely Francis Riggs Chapman, another soldier from Company B. Chapman was also born in Dublin, Ohio, and enlisted the same day as Edwin at age 23.
After his return from the war, Edwin married Sarah Jane Burns on October 30, 1866. They had seven children over the next eighteen years. They moved to Illinois in the spring of 1875, where they lived on a farm two miles north of Gibson City until mid 1883. In 1883, Edwin moved his family to Fairbury, Nebraska. The family lived in Nebraska only six months before Edwin died from heart disease on January 12, 1884. He is buried in the Fairbury cemetery.
Sarah Jane and her children returned to Illinois. At the age of 34, she was a widow with children ranging in age from 5 months to 15 years. She received a widow's pension from the War Department for Edwin's service in the Civil War. Mrs. FitzHenry died of pneumonia on March 21, 1911.
Special thanks to Ann FitzHenry for starting me down the path of Edwin’s career and to her and her family for allowing me to post Edwin’s photo.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Fiddler’s Green: William J. Palmer
While William J. Palmer was not a cavalryman in a regular regiment, he was a cavalryman who rose to great prominence and distinction after the Civil War. He used his Civil war career as a springboard to an amazing career as a railroad pioneer and philanthropist, yet he is all but forgotten today outside the city that he founded. As today marks the 100th anniversary of his death, I thought it fitting to post a memoriam of his life and achievements.
William Jackson Palmer was born to a Quaker family in Leipsic, Delaware on September 17, 1836. The family left the small coastal town when he was five and moved to the Germantown section of Philadelphia. He was fascinated as a child by steam locomotives and learned all that he could about railroads. When he was 17, he went to work the Pennsylvania Railroad.. He was sent to England and France to study railroad engineering and mining. When he returned in 1856, he became the private secretary of the president of the railroad. From this position, he was exposed to the inner workings of the railroad industry, something that stood him in excellent stead in later years.
Palmer explained to the president of the PRR that coal could replace wood as a fuel source, based on his observations in England. Faced with shortages of wood along its right of ways, the company became the first American railroad to convert to coal as a fuel source. He spent the next several years focusing on associated problems with railroad engine power and combustion. Among those he worked closely with during this time was the railroad vice president’s assistant, Andrew Carnegie.
Although raised as a Quaker, Palmer was also an active abolitionist, and felt compelled to serve for the Union during the Civil War. He was appointed a captain of volunteers and recruited a troop of cavalry during October and November 1861 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The unit, known throughout the war as the Anderson Troop, was organized to serve as an escort for Major General Robert Anderson, commander of the Army of the Ohio. He was replaced before the troop reached the army, but they subsequently served as escorts for generals Sherman, Buell and Rosecrans.
The troop was very active as scouts and couriers, and commended by General Buell for their efforts following the battle of Shiloh. Their performance was so exemplary that Buell petitioned the secretary of war for permission to expand the troop to a full battalion of cavalry. Upon receiving this permission, Captain Palmer and several of his men were ordered back to Pennsylvania in July 1862 to recruit three additional companies. They opened recruiting offices in several locations across the state, and again established a camp of rendezvous at Carlisle. Recruiting was so successful that a full regiment was eventually raised, and designated the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Although also known as the Anderson Cavalry, the original troop was never incorporated into the regiment.
Early in September 1862, the regiment’s drill and training were interrupted by the Army of Northern Virginia’s invasion of Maryland. While the rest of the regiment remained in place to defend the Cumberland valley if needed, two hundred fifty men were selected to move to the front under Captain Palmer. The group, still dismounted since the regiment had not yet received its horses, proceeded by rail to Greencastle, near the Maryland border. They procured a number of mounts locally, and picketed the roads leading into the town from the south. Skirmishing took place on the 12th and 13th, but the unit was able to hold its positions, convincing General Longstreet at Hagerstown that he had “swarms of Yankee cavalry” to his front. It was Palmer’s men that the tired troopers of the cavalry column from Harpers Ferry encountered with their captured wagon train just outside of Greencastle the morning after their escape. They were withdrawn two days later, and utilized for scouting during the battle of Antietam.
The day after the battle, Captain Palmer was sent across the Potomac to Virginia in civilian clothes as a scout to determine the disposition of the Confederate army. He was captured by Confederate cavalry shortly after crossing the river, however, and sent to Castle Thunder prison in Richmond. Four months later, he was exchanged for a political prisoner and sent north. Unbeknownst to him, he was promoted to Colonel of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry on September 8, 1862.
Upon his release, Colonel Palmer recuperated very briefly before moving west to rejoin his regiment. The unit at the time was in deplorable shape. Palmer’s capture had occurred at a critical time in the formation of the regiment, and left the unit without a number of key leaders. The problems culminated in December, when over half the regiment had refused to move to the front and fight at the battle of Stones River. The 200 men who fought in the battle gave a good accounting of themselves, and both majors were killed during the fighting. Colonel Palmer returned on February 7, 1863 to find part of his regiment praised in official reports of the battle and over 600 men in prison under death sentences for mutiny.
Within weeks the young colonel negotiated a settlement which reorganized the regiment and paroled the mutineers from the firing squad as long as there were no further incidents. The regiment was organized into twelve companies, and received it s full complement of horses and equipment. The regiment was reviewed by General Rosecrans on April 10th and deemed ready for action.
The regiment performed well in the Tullahoma campaign, with three companies retained at army headquarters as an escort for the commanding general. They spent the majority of July and August on scouting and mapmaking duty. They guarded flank roads during the battle of Chickamauga, and assisted in covering the army’s retreat. They were among several cavalry units detached from the army during the siege of Chattanooga. Once the siege was raised following the battle on November 25th, they led the column under Sherman sent to relieve Burnsides’ forces at Knoxville. They continued to distinguish themselves in various engagements during November and December of 1863.
On January 13, 1862, Colonel Palmer learned that Confederate General Vance, with a force of 300 cavalry and dismounted Indians, had advanced from North Carolina and captured a small wagon train and a number of prisoners near Sevierville. His regiment was at the time in camp, with a brigade of Confederate cavalry to its front. Leaving his pickets posted to the regiment’s front, Palmer assembled 125 men and took a mountain back road to cut off the raiders before they could reach Newport. Following a march of 30 miles, Palmer’s force overtook the Confederates. A successful saber charge netted them General Vance, 150 horses, 50 prisoners, and the entire wagon train. He successfully moved the entire party safely back to Sevierville. He was recommended for promotion for his gallantry in the affair by Elliott, Foster and Sturgis.
In late January, Palmer led a raid of his regiment and the 1st Tennessee Cavalry to the mouth of the Big Pigeon River, where they captured another small wagon train and a number of mules and prisoners. The remainder of the winter was spent in scouting and reconnaissance.
The winter’s hard campaigning had exhausted the regiment’s horses, and in May 1864 it was ordered back to Nashville to remount and re-equip. Due to supply shortages, it was August before all necessary equipment was received. The regiment was further delayed from rejoining the army in responding to raids by Confederate general Wheeler. The fall was spent in continuous scouting. At the end of the year, Palmer and his men joined in the relentless pursuit of Hood’s defeated Army of Tennessee following the battle of Nashville. On November 6, 1864, he was brevetted brigadier general of volunteers for meritorious service.
On January 14, 1865, at Red Hill, Ala., Palmer and his men attacked and defeated a larger force, capturing 200 Confederate soldiers and one fieldpiece without losing a man. Palmer was awarded the Medal of Honor for that action by Congress on February 24, 1894.
Before the spring campaign of 1865 was started, General Palmer was assigned command of the First Brigade of Gillem’s Division in the cavalry under General Stoneman. General Palmer continued to perform well, and succeeded Gillem in command of the division. At the end of April 1865, Palmer’s division was ordered to proceed south in an attempt to capture Jefferson Davis. While his men didn’t succeed in capturing Davis, they did capture General Braxton Bragg and over a million and a half dollars belonging to the various banks of Macon, Georgia. This capture was forwarded to army headquarters at Augusta without incident. Not long afterward, General Palmer and his regiment were mustered out of service on June 21, 1865.
After the war, Palmer resumed his railroad career. He was appointed managing director of the Kansas Pacific Railroad and was responsible for its extension to Denver. During this time, he met Dr. William Bell, an Englishman who became his friend and partner in most business ventures for the rest of his life. Once this line was complete, he and Bell co-founded the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in 1870.
The young railroad entrepreneur met Mary “Queen” Mellen and her father while they were on a train trip to see the west. William and Mary were married in Flushing, New York on November 8, 1870. During their honeymoon in Great Britain, Palmer noticed the use of narrow gauge (3’ wide) railroading and recognized the advantages of using such a gauge on his own line. The narrower gauge enabled trains to take steeper grades and sharper curves, which was particularly useful in the mountains of Colorado. The majority of the D&RG railroad was built in narrow gauge. One 45 mile section, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, continues to operate today as a tourist line.
He also assisted in the establishment of Hampton University in Virginia. Typical of many traditionally black colleges and universities which trace their roots to the period immediately after the end of American Civil War, the school received much of its financial and leadership support from church groups and former officers and soldiers who had served in the Union Army. The new normal, or teachers’ school at Hampton was led by another former Union general, and Palmer gave substantial sums to help. "Palmer Hall" on the Hampton University campus was named in honor and gratitude of the his financial support.
The new railroad’s first section was an area line from Denver to Pikes Peak. Palmer loved the new area at the base of the mountain. In 1871, he acquired 10,000 acres of land east of the former territorial capital, Colorado City, and laid out and founded the new city of Colorado Springs. The city was centrally planned and developed by Palmer. Saloons and gambling houses were not permitted, and the production or sale of alcohol was illegal in the city until prohibition was lifted nationwide in 1933. Mrs. Palmer opened the first public school in the new town in November. Within two years the city had grown to over 1,500 people.
This city later became the focus of Palmer’s life. He built his dream home, which he called Glen Eyrie near Colorado Springs in the northwest foothills north of the Garden of the Gods rock formations which are today a city park. Dr. Bell built his home, called Briarhurst, at the southern end of the unique rock formation. Glen Eyrie was a 22-room frame house with a large carriage house. In 1881, the house was remodeled to include additional rooms and a tower. The house still stands today, and is owned by a group known as The Navigators. Tours of the main house can be arranged.
In 1879, he noticed a high demand for steel for rails, and constructed a large steel mill in the nearby town of Pueblo for the Colorado Coal and Iron Company. In 1892 the company merged with Colorado Fuel Company to become the state’s largest employer, and a company that dominated industry within the state for decades.
All of Palmer’s fortunes were not on the rise, however. His north-south railroad had conflicting right of way issues with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. A long and bitter legal battle ended with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Palmer in 1880. Later that year, Mrs. Palmer suffered a mild heart attack and was advised to move to a lower altitude. She and their three daughters moved first to the East Coast, then to England. Mrs. Palmer died on December 28, 1894, and a grieving William Palmer went to England to return Mrs. Palmer's remains and the girls to Colorado Springs.
In 1901, Palmer sold the Rio Grande Western Railroad and retired. He dedicated himself and the fortune he had amassed to charity. He enjoyed being the benefactor to the Colorado Springs community, and was well liked by the people.
William Jackson Palmer’s legacy is tremendous. He granted land to several institutions in Colorado Springs, including the Union Printer's Home, the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind, several churches in central Colorado Springs, and Cragmor Sanitarium, a tuberculosis sanitarium. He also provided land and funding for the creation of Colorado College and was one of its founding trustees. Palmer Hall, the main social science building on the Colorado College campus, is named for him. Two local high schools are also named for the general. Palmer Divide, the ridge north of the city, and Palmer Park in Colorado Springs, are also named in his honor. Queen Palmer Elementary School in Colorado Springs is named in honor of his wife.
In 1906, Palmer suffered a fall from a horse while on a ride with his daughters and a friend. He was paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Unable to travel in 1907, he paid for all the expenses of the 208 surviving veterans to come to his vast Colorado home for a three-day reunion and celebration.
William Jackson Palmer died at his home on March 13, 1909 at the age of 72. He is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Sources for this entry are open sources too numerous to document, but which include Samuel P. Bates’ History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-65, and an excellent article by Thomas P. Lowry which can be found online at http://www.historynet.com/william-j-palmer-forgotten-union-general-of-americas-civil-war.htm
Special thanks to Brian Downey at Antietam on the Web for permission to use the wartime photo of Palmer from his website.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Fiddler's Green: Edward Fitzgerald
Edward Fitzgerald was born in County Limerick, Ireland in 1837. He immigrated to the United States, and was working as a laborer in New York when he joined the army. He was enlisted into Company E, 1st U.S. Cavalry in Albany, New York by Lieutenant Johnston on January 9, 1858, at the age of 21. His enlistment documents describe him as 5’8 1/2” tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a ruddy complexion.
Fitzgerald served in Company E with the 1st, then 4th U.S. Cavalry for the next five years, earning promotions to corporal, sergeant and first sergeant of the company. At the beginning of the Civil War, he served in a squadron consisting of his company and Company A in the Army of the Potomac until the winter of 1862. Once the peninsula campaign started, they served the majority of that time as the headquarters escort for the Army of the Potomac and Major General McClellan. As the company first sergeant, Fitzgerald was responsible for the company’s discipline. This was sometimes a less than popular position with his soldiers, as exhibited in one of Charles Bates’ letters here.
Fitzgerald’s enlistment expired at a camp near Falmouth, Virginia on January 8, 1863, shortly before the squadron returned to the rest of the regiment in the western theater. By the time the squadron reached the regiment, however, he was back in uniform.
First Sergeant Fitzgerald was appointed a second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Cavalry on February 19, 1863, and assigned to Company I. He served with his company and regiment throughout the campaigns of 1863 and 1864, receiving a promotion to first lieutenant on May 9, 1864.
Lieutenant Fitzgerald was wounded while charging against a battery of three enemy guns at the front of his company on December 17, 1864 during fighting near Franklin, Tennessee. He never recovered from his wounds, and died on February 16, 1865.
Sources:
Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1903), page 422.
Henry, Guy V. Military Record of Army and Civilian Appointments in the United States Army, Volume II (New York: D. Van Nostrand Publishing, 1873), pg 90.
Muster Rolls, 4th U.S. Cavalry, NARA, M744
U.S. Army Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914
Fitzgerald served in Company E with the 1st, then 4th U.S. Cavalry for the next five years, earning promotions to corporal, sergeant and first sergeant of the company. At the beginning of the Civil War, he served in a squadron consisting of his company and Company A in the Army of the Potomac until the winter of 1862. Once the peninsula campaign started, they served the majority of that time as the headquarters escort for the Army of the Potomac and Major General McClellan. As the company first sergeant, Fitzgerald was responsible for the company’s discipline. This was sometimes a less than popular position with his soldiers, as exhibited in one of Charles Bates’ letters here.
Fitzgerald’s enlistment expired at a camp near Falmouth, Virginia on January 8, 1863, shortly before the squadron returned to the rest of the regiment in the western theater. By the time the squadron reached the regiment, however, he was back in uniform.
First Sergeant Fitzgerald was appointed a second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Cavalry on February 19, 1863, and assigned to Company I. He served with his company and regiment throughout the campaigns of 1863 and 1864, receiving a promotion to first lieutenant on May 9, 1864.
Lieutenant Fitzgerald was wounded while charging against a battery of three enemy guns at the front of his company on December 17, 1864 during fighting near Franklin, Tennessee. He never recovered from his wounds, and died on February 16, 1865.
Sources:
Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1903), page 422.
Henry, Guy V. Military Record of Army and Civilian Appointments in the United States Army, Volume II (New York: D. Van Nostrand Publishing, 1873), pg 90.
Muster Rolls, 4th U.S. Cavalry, NARA, M744
U.S. Army Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914
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