Company D, 45th Illinois Infantry Officers: Captains

From Family Search.

Name, Residence, Date of Rank, Date of Muster, Remarks

CAPTAINS

Thomas D. Connor / Galena / September 3, 1861 / November 20, 1861 / Killed at Shiloh April 6, 1862

John O. Duer / Galena / April 6, 1862 / April 23, 1863 /  Promoted Major

Joseph W. Miller / Galena / June 25, 1863 /  Not mustered /  Promoted by President

Otto C. Hager /  Galena /  June 25, 1863  /  December 21, 1863  /  Mustered out  July 12, 1865

--Old Secesh

45th Illinois Infantry Company Origins

Same source as the last two posts.

Regiments were often organized by county or area.  Members of the companies were often from one area as well.

COMPANY

A--   Many from Carroll and Jo Daviess counties

B--   Jo Davies County

C--   Cook and Jo Davies counties

D--   Joo Daviess County

E--   Carroll and Jo Daviess counties

F--  Boone and Winnebago counties

G--   Winnebago County

H--   Rock Island County

I--   Mercer County

K--   Knox County

--Old Secesh

With the 45th Illinois at Shiloh-- Part 3: Union Graves and 'Half Seas Over'

"We buried  our Union boys in a separate trench, and on another board were the words:  '35 Union.'

"Many of our men had been taken away and buried separately by their comrades.  It was night when we finished the task, some of the squad, 'half seas over' with liquor, but they could not be blamed, for it was a hard job.

"The next day, we burned the dead horses and mules."

So, "Half Seas Over" is another way of saying "Snockered."

An Unpleasant Job All Around, But the Whiskey Helped.  --Old Secesh

With the 45th Illinois After Shiloh-- Part 2: Burial Detail Plied with Whiskey

"On Tuesday I was detailed with others to bury the dead lying within our camp and a distance of  two hundred yards in advance.  I had charge of digging the grave, if a trench over sixty feet long and four feet deep, can be called a grave.

"The weather was hot, and most of the dead had been killed early Sunday morning, and dissolution had already commenced.  The soldiers gatherd the bodies up and placed them in wagons, hauling them near the trench, and piling them up like cord wood.

"We were furnished with plenty of whiskey, and the boys believed that it would have been impossible to have performed the job without it.

"When the grave was ready, we placed the bodies  therein, two deep; the father, brother, husband and lover, all lie till Gabriel's trumpet shall sound.  All the monument to those brave men was a board nailed to a tree at the head of the trench, upon which I cut with my pocket knife, the words: '125 rebels.' 

--Old Secesh

With the 45th Illinois After the Battle of Shiloh Was Over-- Part 1: Sleeping Amongst the Dead and 'Indignant Over Loss of My Girl's Picture'

Same source as previous post.

April 7, 1862

When darkness fell, the 45th took over their former camp again "filled as they were with the dead of both armies.  We had no difficulty in sleeping well, even though the silent dead lay all about us.  The dead do not disturb us; it is the living we should be  afraid of.

"We built fires and cooked our frugal meal, and, after eating, gathered 'round the camp fire and recounted the deeds of valor done during the  the great battle, speaking kind words of our brave comrades who had fallen.

"A few Sibley tents, torn and riddled by shot and shell, were all we had left.  I lost my shirts, blankets, letters from home, my testament (mother's gift) and a picture of 'the girl I left behind me.'  I was more indignant over the loss of my girl's picture then I was  over the other articles."

--Old Secesh

MCCWRT Discission Group Saturday: 'Antietam- What If the South Had Won?'

The McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table meets Saturday, March 25, at Panera Bread in Crystal Lake from 10 am to 11:30.

The topic promises to be a good one and involves all sorts of thoughts:  "Antietam-- What If the South Had Won."  Would this have made a difference in the outcome of the war?

Come on out and put you two cents worth in.

Panera Bread is located at the corner of US-14 (Northwest Highway) and Main Street.  Have some expensive, but good, coffee and food and give your thoughts.

"Where there is always good discussion and debate (sometimes even on topic).

See You There.  --Old Secesh

45th Illinois at Shiloh Casualties

STRENGTH AND LOSSES OF THE 45TH ILLINOIS AT SHILOH

Present for duty:  562

KIA:  23

WIA:  187

MIA:  3

Total casualties:  213

Loss ratio:  38%

--Old Secesh

An Amusing Incident with the 45th Illinois at Shiloh: 'I'll Show Dem!'

From "With Grant at Fort Donelson, Shiloh and Vicksburg, with an Appreciation of General U.S. Grant" by Wilbur F. Crummer.

"I remember no amusing incidents during the battle, save that one of my company, who was shot through the mouth in such a way as to knock out all of his front teeth.  

"He was a German who spoke English brokenly, and swore like a trooper; he would spit blood and then curse the enemy with great vehemence, and loading his gun and firing, would explain:  "D--- 'em, dey tinks dey vill spile me so I can't eat hardtack, d--- 'em, I'll show dem!"

And so he fought while his comrades cheered  him on.

--Old Secesh

Capt. Connor's Co. D, 45th Illinois Infantry

From Adjutant General's Report, 45th Illinois Infantry.

CAPTAINS

THOMAS D. CONNOR of Galena, Ill.,  Date of rank:  Sept. 3, 1861 Date of Muster: Nov. 20, 1861,  Killed Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862.

JOHN O. DUER of Galena.  Date of Rank: April 6, 1862.  Promoted to Major

JOSEPH  W. MILLER of Galena.  Date of Rank:  June 25,  1863.  Promoted by President

OTTO C. HAGER of Galena.  Mustered out  July 12m 1865

**************************

PRIVATES  (Killed at Battle of Shiloh or died later from wounds received there.)

WILLIAM BRYSON of Elizabeth, Ill.  Killed at Shiloh April 6, 1862

WILLIAM W.  BLACK  of Jo Davies County, Ill.  Died Jackson, Tn. on Sept. 8, 1862

JOHN CHAPMAN of Hanover.  Died Evansville, Indiana, May 14, 1862

JOHN REED of Galena  Died at Jackson, Tn., on Aug. 21, 1862

FRANCIS REED of Galena.  Died  at Camp McClernand, April 2, 1862 (before the battle)

Were these last two brothers/ related?

ROBERT YOUNG of Hanover, Ill.  Died at Savannah, Tn. April 16, 1862.

--Old Secesh

Galena's 45th Illinois Infantry-- Part 4: The Second Day of Shiloh and Corinth

The second day of the Battle of Shiloh, Monday, April 7, 1862, it was a forward movement nearly all day.  After a final charge near the end of the day, the 45th found itself at nearly the same spot as their camp had been the day before.

The losses of the 45th at the Battle of Shiloh were 26 killed and 199 wounded and missing.  The missing turned out to be but few and continued to rejoin the regiment starting about dark on the 7th.  One of the dead of the 45th was Captain Thomas Connor, who I have written about before.

They remained in camp until April 24th when they broke camp and moved slowly forward with the Army toward Corinth.  During the siege at that city, the 45th  was attached to the First Brigade, Third Division of the Reserve.

Its labors on the trenches were severe; its dangers were few.

--Old Secesh

Galena's 45th Illinois-- Part 3: Really Saw the Elephant at Shiloh

There, the camp of the 45th Illinois was  at the junction of the  Purdy and Corinth roads, not far from Shiloh Church.

On April 6, 1862, the regiment had its regular Sunday morning inspection, and left its arms stacked on the color line at the close of inspection, to take breakfast.  Breakfast call had just sounded when the "long roll" was beaten on the color line.

In three minutes,  the men had their weapons in hand and the officers took their places.  The order was given to move to the left and front at "double quick" to support Sherman.

The 45th went into action that day with about 500 men.  It was in the front line from the first to the last of the day fighting.  On Sunday it mainly fought on its "own hook" after the first engagement under Col.  Smith.  Several times they fought back and forth over the same ground.

Late in the day, they fell back, "leisurely" and took their place with its Brigade and Division on the right of the line.  A stand was finally made here.  The men laid on their arms in the rain that came that night.

--Old Secesh

Galena's 45th Illinois Infantry-- Part 2: Action at Fort Donelson and 'Baptism of Fire'

On February 1, 1862, the 45th was assigned to the Second Brigade, commanded by Colonel W.H.L. Wallace, First Division, commanded by  General John  A. McClernand.

On February 2, the regiment left Cairo with General Grant's Army for the Tennessee River and on the 4th reached Camp Halleck, four miles below Confederate Fort Henry.  On the evening of the 6th, the regiment marched into Fort Henry after its abandonment by the Confederates.

On Feb. 11th, they moved toward Fort Donelson and on the 13th took position on the right of the Union line.  That afternoon, the 45th received its "baptism of fire."  In other words, they "saw the elephant."  The regimet saw plenty of action at Fort Donelson and lost two killed and 26 wounded.

Afterwards, the 45th remained in camp at Fort Donelson until March 4, when it marched to Big Sandy River mouth and took boats up the Tennessee River, arriving at Savannah on March 11.  There they remained until March 25.

Saw the Elephant Indeed.  --Old Secesh

MCCWRT Meeting Tuesday, Mar. 14: 'How Did They Die? Murder or Natural?

The McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table (MCCWRT) will meet Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at the Woodstock Public Library in Woodstock, Illinois.  The meeting starts at 7 pm and will be in person or via Zoom.

This month's presentation will be given by Steve Alban.  "How Did They Die?  An Agatha Christie Whodunit.  Prominent Civil War  Persons Who Died.   Natural Causes or Murder?"

There will be a pre-meeting get-together at 3 Brothers Cafe on Ill. Route 47 at 5:30.  Snacks are meal, your choice.

--Old Secesh

Preservation at North Carolina's Bentonville Battlefield

From the American Battlefield Trust 2023 March calendar.

BENTONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

The March 1865 Battle of Bentonville, the largest battle ever fought in the Tarheel State, was the catalyst for the last series of standoffs between Union General William Tecumseh Sherman and Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, as Federal forces closed in around the Confederate army.

The Trust has saved more acreage at Bentonville -- nearly 2,000 acres -- than at any other battlefield outside of Virginia.

I was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina, which was a major goal for Sherman's army.  The city is close to the battlefield, so appreciate the Trust's efforts.

--Old Secesh

This Month in the Civil War: Lincoln Inaugurated, Battles of Averasboro and Bentonville in North Carolina

From American Battlefield Trust March 2023 calendar.

MARCH 4, 1861

**  Abraham Lincoln inaugurated 16th President of the United States of America.

MARCH 7, 1862

**   Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, begins.

MARCH 16, 1865

Battle of Averasboro, North Carolina.

MARCH 17, 1863

Battle of Kelly's Ford, Virginia.

MARCH 19, 1865

Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina begins.

MARCH 23, 1862

**  First Battle of Kernstown, Virginia.

MARCH 5

**  Medal of Honor Day.

MARCH 26, 1862

**  Battle of Glorieta Pass, New Mexico Territory, begins.

MARCH 31, 1865

**   Battle of White Oak Road, Virginia.

--Old Secesh