John E. Gurley (135th USCT Commander)-- Part 6: The Battle of Atlanta to the End of the War

So, at the Battle of Atlanta, John Gurley did not become "a ruined man."

During the close-in fighting, Gurley had two horses shot out from under him.

But, for ordering those two regiments into line of battle without his commander's orders, Gurley was court martialed but since this action also saved his division from surprise and probably great loss of life, he was promoted to then rank of colonel and eventually received command of the 135th USCT Infantry Regiment the next year.

Before receiving that command, Gurley was part of Sherman's March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign.

He held the command of the 135th from March 1865 and his regiment was part of the Grand Review in Washington, D.C., and then to Louisville, Kentucky, where he and the regiment were mustered out of service in October 1865.

--Old Secesh

135th USCT-- Part 1: Mustered in at Goldsboro, N.C.

In the last post I wrote about the exhibit on this regiment that will be at the Wayne County Museum in Goldsboro, North Carolina.

From the 135th USCT website.

The regiment was formed in Goldsboro, North Carolina, on March  27, 1865, from men who had previously served in the Pioneer Corps, and were a part of Gen. William T. Sherman's Union Army.

Prior to taking the oath of service in Goldsboro, they had been recruited for the Pioneer Corps during Sherman's March through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.  Once they were formed into the 135th, they were commanded by Colonel John Edgar Gurley, who then commanded them until the end of the war (which wasn't very long by this time).

The Pioneer Corps worked tirelessly through the winter of 1864 and spring of 1865 to move General Sherman's Army.  They built corduroyed roads to get them through swamps and bridges.  There were a lot of swamps, rivers and streams along Sherman's path.  These Pioneers were a big reason for his success.

They had to work hard to insure  that the over 2,500 wagons of Sherman's army could stay with the 60,000 men.

--Old Secesh

A Confederate Built the First Suspension Bridge Over Hudson River-- Part 2: A Railroad Opportunity

When the Civil War broke out, Robert Gilchrist,  though opposed to secession,  stayed in Charleston and sided with the Confederacy.  He fought to defend the Fort Sumter and Charleston Harbor.   He was commissioned an officer and rose to the rank of major under general Beauregard, the commander in Charleston.

The city held out until 1865, when it was abandoned as Sherman marched his Union force through South Carolina.

When the war ended, Robert, his wife and young family, traveled to The Glen to inspect the property owned by his uncle (also named Robert Gilchrist) and Mother (Mary Gilchrist).

Dr. Thomas Durant  by then had the Adirondack Railroad, whose completion had been delayed because of the war and was planning to expand his railroad from Saratoga to North Creek.  Robert Gilchrist was now in the Adirondacks and had plans to expand into the  forest, tourism and resort industries and saw an opportunity with the railroad.

Robert decided to help the railroad locate and had a bridge built across the Hudson River on his property.  The project cost $8,000 and was a John A. Roebling-style bridge and hired engineer Charles McDonald to supervise it.

--Old Secesh

Sherman's Carolinas Campaign

This is the subject of the McHenry Country Civil War Round Table discussion group meeting tomorrow in Crystal Lake (see last post for particulars).

From Wikipedia.

Also called the Campaign of the Carolinas, went from January 1 to April 26, 1865.  It was the final campaign conducted by the U.S. Army against the Confederacy.  Wikipedia holds it as being in the Western Theater

On January 1, 1864, Union General Sherman advanced his army from Savannah, Georgia, with plans of marching through South Carolina and North Carolina to where he would link up with the Union Army in Virginia.

The defeat of Confederate General Joseph Johnston's Army at the Battle of Bentonville and its unconditional surrender on April 26, 1865, effectively ended the Civil War.

--Old Secesh

MCCWRT Discussion Group Meets This Saturday: Sherman's 1865 Carolinas Campaign

The McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table discussion group will be meeting this Saturday, February 23, at Panera Bread, 6000 Northwest Highway (US-14) in Crystal lake from 10 am to noon.

This month's topic is Sherman's 1865 Carolinas Campaign.

All are invited.

Come On Down.  But be forewarned, we are often off-topic.

And, real good news, we will start having regular meetings in March (we tale January and February off, too cold in Illinois, you know.)  The meeting will be March 12 at the Woodstock (Illinois) Library.  Topic is "Jonathan Letterman" by Steve Acker.

He is a surgeon credited with  originating modern methods for medical organization in the Army.

--Old Secesh

15th Illinois Infantry Actions and Campaigns-- Part 2: Atlanta Campaign

Duty Vicksburg, Ms. Nov. 10 to Feb. 1864
Meridian Campaign Feb. 3 to March 5, 1864
Atlanta Campaign June 8 to Sept. 8, 1864

Assigned garrison duty Altoona Pass, Ackworth, Big Shanty and Marietta until Nov.
Consolidated with 14th Illinois July 1, 1864 and became the 14th and 15th Illinois Battalion Infantry
March to the Sea  Nov. 15 to Sept. 10, 1864

Siege of Savannah Dec. 10 to Dec. 21
Campaign  of the Carolinas January to April 1865
Battle of Bentonville  March 19-21

Occupation of Goldsboro, NC, March 24
Occupation of Raleigh April 14
Bennett's House April 26.  Surrender of Johnston's Army
Grand Review Washington, D.C.. May 24

Duty on the plains until September 1
Mustered out Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Sept. 16, 1865

--Old Secesh

The Battles of the German Light Artillery

From Research Online

Battles:

Seven Days Battles, Virginia   25 June-1 July 1862

2nd Manassas, Virginia   28-30 August 1862

South Mountain, Maryland   14 September 1862

Sharpsburg, Maryland   17 September 1861

Fredericksburg, Virginia   13 December 1862

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania   1-3 July 1863

Tullifinny Station   9 December 1864  Actually the Battle of Tulifinny Creek

Carolinas Campaign  South Carolina and North Carolina  February to April 1865

--Old Secesh

The Confederate German Light Artillery-- Part 1: With Army of Northern Virginia Seven Days Battles to Gettysburg

In the last post I wrote about Captain Childs delivering infantry accoutrements to this outfit.

The unit was formed in early 1862 in Charleston, S.C..  Captain William K. Bachman was its commander  It was armed with four 12-pounder Napoleon cannons from August 1862 to July 1863.  On May 3, 1864, it was armed with two Blakely Rifles and two 12-pounder howitzers.

This unit served in the Seven Days Battles,  Second Manassas (Second Bull Run),  Sharpsburg (Antietam), Fredericksburg,  and Gettysburg.  It then returned to South Carolina.  It was later in the Carolinas Campaign and surrendered with General Joseph Johnston at Durham  Station in North Carolina on April 25, 1865.

Some Heavy Fighting.  --Old Secesh

The Fayetteville Arsenal-- Part 3: Defending It From Sherman

The principal weapon produced was known as the Fayetteville Rifle.  At its peak, the armory produced 500 rifles a month and various numbers of larger ordnance, cartridges, swords and bayonets.  Over one hundred workmen from the Harpers Ferry Arsenal relocated to Fayetteville with their families.

In the middle war years, young ladies from the area were employed in the making of cartridges and as clerks.

In 1865, as Union General William Sherman began his Carolinas Campaign, it became apparent to the Confederate commander Col. Frederick L. Childs, that Fayetteville was going to be a major target.  When Sherman reached Columbia, S.C., Col. Childs ordered the construction of earthworks for the defense of the Fayetteville area.

Remnants of these earthworks can be seen on the grounds of the Veterans Administration Hospital on Ramsey Street in Fayetteville,.

--Old Secesh

105th Illinois Infantry-- Part 8: Colonel Daniel Dustin

From Find-A-Grave.

Daniel Dustin was born October 5, 1820, in Orange County, Vermont.  He died March 30, 1892, in Carthage, Jasper County, Missouri.

During the Civil War, he first served as major in the 8th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry and then as the commander of the 105th Illinois.  Breveted to brigadier general March 16, 1865, for "gallant service in recent campaign in Georgia and South Carolina.  That would be the March to the Sea and Carolinas Campaign.

Buried at Elmwood Cemetery, Sycamore, DeKalb County, Illinois.  Plot:  Block 9, Lot 9.

--Old Secesh

105th Illinois Infantry-- Part 3: Battles and Campaigns

Atlanta Campaign
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Battle of Resaca, Battle of Peachtree Creek.

March to the Sea

Campaign of the Carolinas

Battle of Bentonville

Bennett's House, surrender

Grand Review in Wasihngton, D.C.

--Old Secesh

I Came Across What Happened to George Cadman-- Part 1: Death

From 19 January 2015, UNC Library Civil War Day By Day.

Exactly the reason why there were no more letters from George Cadman.

A letter from Geog. R. Gear replying to a Nov. 7, 1864 letter from Esther Cadman asking for information about the particulars of George Cadman's death.

George Gear apologized for now replying sooner, but was writing from Savannah and said he had been too busy to do so in the meantime (Sherman's March to the Sea).  At that time, Sherman was preparing for his Carolinas Campaign.

Evidently, he had died at some time between June and November. The letter did mention that he was buried at Marietta, Georgia, outside of Atlanta.

--Old Secesh

Just How Muddy Was It?

I came across this humorous quote in Mark L. Bradley's book "Last Stand in the Carolinas: The Battle of Bentonville."

The night before the Battle of Averasboro, March 16, 1865, a Confederate attempt to slow down Sherman's Army marching through North Carolina, it rained very heavily, turning roads and the land into a regular quagmire.

As Union Colonel William Hawley's brigade fell in for the march, Captain Daniel Oakey of the 2nd Massachusetts wrote that "The men furnished themselves with [burning] pine-knots and our weapons glistened in the torch-light, a cloud of black smoke from the torches floating back over our heads.

"The regimental wits were as ready as ever, and amid a flow of lively bandinage we toiled on through the mud. When we halted...to give us an opportunity of drawing breath, I found Sergeant Johnson with one arm in the mud up to the elbow.

"He explained that he was trying to find his shoe."

How Muddy Was It? --Old Secesh