Clark County WI, Civil War History

16th Wisconsin Infantry

By E. B. Quiner, transcribed by Janet Schwarze.

THE Sixteenth Regiment was organized at Camp Randall, Madison, and its muster into the United States service was completed on the 31st day of January, 1862, and the regiment left the State for St. Louis on the 13th of March. The following was the regimental roster:

COLONEL ” BENJAMIN ALLEN

Lieutenant Colonel ”Cassius Fairchild; Major ”Thomas Reynolds: Adjutant ”George M. Sabin; Quartermaster ”John E. Jones; Surgeon  ”George W. Eastman; First Assistant Surgeon  ” Ira A. Torrey; Second Assistant Surgeon  ” Otto Mauer; Chaplain  ” Rev. Lark S. Livermore.

 

They arrived at St. Louis on the morning of March 15th, and were assigned as part of the forces of General Grant. On the 16th, they embarked on transports, and proceeded up the Tennessee River, reported to General Grant at Savannah, and disembarked on the 20th, at Pittsburg Landing, nine miles above Savannah, where General Grant was concentrating his forces.

Pittsburg Landing, the final stand of General Grant's Army, April 6, 1862.

Here the regiment was assigned to the Sixth Division, General Prentiss, which occupied the extreme left of General Grant  s army, being posted four miles out on the main road to Corinth, and some distance in advance. The First Brigade, Colonel Everett Peabody commanding, consisted of the Twenty-fifth Missouri, Sixteenth Wisconsin, and Twelfth Michigan infantry. The camp of the Sixteenth occupied a position in the extreme front. Here they engaged in the usual camp duties and in drilling until the evening of Saturday, April 5th, when Companies A, Captain Saxe, B, Captain Fox, C, Captain Patch, and D, Captain Pease, were ordered out on picket duty, with two companies of the Missouri Twenty-first. They advanced a mile or more, to the right and front, where they were posted until about five o  clock, A. M., when the rebels attacked the Missouri companies, and drove them back. They were soon rallied by Colonel Moore, of the Twenty-first Missouri, and Captain Saxe, with his company, went to their assistance. Being soon joined by the other companies of the Sixteenth, the force advanced up a slight rise of ground, where they found the rebels concealed behind a log fence, who opened on them with a volley directly in their faces. Captain Saxe and Sergeant Williams, of Company A, were instantly killed, and several were wounded. They soon became engaged in a brisk skirmish, but  œere forced to fall back, carrying off their killed and wounded.

The division of General Prentiss was soon under arms; the Sixteenth forming in line of battle about forty rods in front of their camp, in the edge of the timber, where they were joined by the companies on picket, who were followed closely by the enemy, advancing in three lines of battle, which were extended right and left so as to envelope the wings of Prentiss   division. Fire was opened along Prentiss   line, and the advance of the enemy was checked, until the lines were broken on the right, when Colonel Allen ordered the regiment to change front on the 10th company, in order to face the enemy in his new position. The order was executed with the greatest coolness and precision, in an open field, and under a galling fire. The regiment fell back, contesting every inch of ground, and formed in front of their camp, under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Cassius Fairchild, and again held the enemy in check. Here Colonel Allen had two horses shot under him, and Lieutenant Colonel Fairchild was severely wounded in the thigh, which compelled him to leave the field. The regiment again fell back, through the camp, fighting, until they were relieved by another line. About 11 o  clock, the regiment moved back for a fresh supply of ammunition, which was obtained, and the command was reformed about 2 o  clock, P. M., near a log house, on the road to the Landing, and again went into action. Here Colonel Allen was wounded by a shot in the left arm, about 3 o  clock. Major Reynolds had been placed under arrest a day or two before, for the infraction of some petty military order, and deprived of his sword. He, however, went into the battle, and borrowed a sword, and when the Colonel was obliged to leave the field, on account of his wound, took command of the regiment, and moved it to a position on the right, where it remained until dark. For the gallantry displayed by the Major, his sword was returned to him next day. On the 7th, the regiment under Major Reynolds, occupied several different positions along the line, wherever the exigencies of the occasion seemed to require it., but were not very actively engaged. Although this was their first fight, the men of the Sixteenth fought with the coolness of veterans, often changing front under fire, and rallying, if thrown into confusion, and again pouring in a deadly fire upon the advancing foe. The field officers behaved with great gallantry, the Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel encouraging their men by their coolness and deliberation, until they left the field, when Major Reynolds and Adjutant Sabin rallied the regiment, and brought it into the position it occupied until dark.

Shiloh Log Chapel, where the Battle of Shiloh began April 6, 1862.

The battle of Shiloh was one of the severest of the war, and Wisconsin soldiers fought as bravely there as they have done elsewhere, although at that time they were without drill and experience. The records of the Sixteenth and Eighteenth, show that those two regiments nobly did their duty.

The Sixteenth was engaged from 5 o  clock in the morning until 3 o  clock in the afternoon, without rations, and suffered greatly for want of food, the regiment having been called into action before the men bad been to breakfast. Colonel Allen was on duty during the entire day, until he was wounded, about 8 o  clock.

Of the line officers, Captain Saxe was killed while on picket duty, his Lieutenant, Cooley Smith, was mortally wounded, Captain Oliver Pease, of Company D, was also mortally wounded during the day, as was also Lieutenant Vail, of Companyl. All of these officers fell while gallantly leading their men.

The list of killed, and those who died of wounds, we find in the records of the Adjutant General; the list of wounded is as was officially reported:

KILLED OR DIED OF WOUNDS. ” Company A ”Captain Edward Saxe, First Lieutenant Cooley Smith, Sergeant .7. K. Williams, Privates Cyrus P. Howe, George M. Camp, Joshua
Eldridge, W. P. Walbridge, J. Lurch and Jas. Pattison. Company B ”Corporal T. H. Morris, Privates E. S. Evanson, H. Powers and Joseph E. Quiner. Company C ”Sergeant James P. Wilson, Privates Henry Holton, Garrett O. Poet, Theodore Foster and M. McMillan.  Company D ”Captain Oliver D. Pease, Corporal William Taylor, Privates A. Farrington, August Woolem, Harrison Fuller and Kilo Farrington. Company E ”Sergeants John Willis, Joseph 5. Holcomb and Almon Webster, Corporal August Caldwell, Privates Philo Perry, K I Rider, Henry L Thomas and Michael Kennedy. Company F ”Privates Harrison E. Carey, Anthony Morse, John McNown, Franklin Prevy, Lyman Stilson, Jonathan T. Bennett, Hiram Huggins and Samuel Long. Company, G ”Corporals Noah Barnum and James V. Walker, Privates William Archer, O. B. Browning, Levi K Belknap, Charles Francisco, Charles Thomas and Charles Mauck. Company H ”Sergeants Henry Babcock and Asa D. Thompson, Corporal George H. Rashaw, Privates Orville Herrick, George H. Hoskins, Charles Hedge, George Lincoln, L. Raymond, Geo. Skeeles and Richard Leigh. Company I ”First Lieutenant Charles H. Vail, Sergeant Edwin T. Winchester, Privates William 8. Austin, A. Clifford, Joseph L. Hannegan, George Burchill, H. C. Howard, John Solomon and William T. Wording. Company K ”Sergeant B. P. Bradford, Corporals B. J. Valentine and B. Cooper, Privates William A. Clark, .J.
Hennesy. Thomas Manning. Stowell Toueley,Willtam H. Tousley and John Murphy ” �.

WOUNDED. ”Field Officers. ”Colonel Benjamin Allen and Lieutenant Colonel Cassius Fairchild. Company A  ” Corporal J. L. Veidal, Privates Reuben Billings, Peter Bird, James O. Champlin, Luman Hall, John Michaels, John A. Smith, Newton Whitman, J. H. Kellogg, George Cronk and Bordine Hawley. Company B ”First Sergeant E. G. Wheeler, Privates J. Brobst, P. W. Cross, E. W. Ellis. J. Jargenson, H. Nancarron and H. F. Haines. Company C ” Captain H. D. Patch, Second Lieutenant B. K. Hovey, Corporals A. H. Turner and F. Rix, Privates August Filkin, C. H. M. Gould, J. W. Hampton, Wm. J. Kruskee, W. H. Stevens, F. Graham and Max Merts. Company D ” Sergeant John S. Bean, Privates Charles N. Visger, Michael Walrod, James B. Cook, Herman Gerrick, Joseph Edwards, James M. Lyons, Dennis Delanty, Josiah W. Fields, Burton R. Tousley, Charles H. Tracy, William Hamilton and Daniel Kaflahan. Company E ” Corporal Robert D. Sparks, Privates Aaron Newcomb, Albert Gates, Oscar K. Brownson, Jesse Crouch, Hosea Hugoboom, Henry Lininger, James McPbeeters, Daniel Miltimore, Perry T. Stivers, Frank Stowell, H. P. Ely, John K Hammond and George Williamson. Company F ” Captain H. V. Train, Sergeant B. W. Persons, Corporals K A. Devan, Stephen Bailey, Joseph McMurtry and George Speed, Privates Wm. O. Bassett, Ebenezer Bowder, F. B. Brink, George Birdsall, John Duckworth, L Clafflin, Archibald Mccall, John Mcintyre, Samuel Monroe, Chas. Moore, Ole Nelson, Samuel Plummer, Edward Trumble, Charles Ellsworth and Jonathan Ellsworth. Company G ”Sergeants Michael B. O  Connell, Andrew Chambers, James Crawford, and John K. Jones, Corporals James Smith, Jackman P. Long, and W. H. H. Beebe, Privates John J. Pearsons, Thos. McGillon, P. Francisco.  Sanders Cochran, George Ritter, William Smith, George Odell, John Tomlinson, A. Loomis, James 0. Hatch, J. B. Van Vieck, James A. Swan, Myron D. Bradway, Willard W. Bartlett and S. I.. Benjamin. Company H ”Corporal John Lamb. Privates David Dalrymple, Rezekiah White, David Collier, Levi S. Bennett, John Blair, Hiram Bell John W. Hakins, Edgar Weed, William Loring, Robert Sanders, Prank K Wicks. Chas. Rump, Hiram Nichols, Leander Roberts, George M. Porter, William H. Rice and Robert K Parks. Company I ”Second Lieutenant D. Gray Putman, Sergeants W. H H. Townsend and F. S. Houghawout, Corporals P. H. Dumphy, J. C. Long and W. Turck, Privates William Brewer, F. A. Cherry, C. S. French, Jacob Faucett, Michael Hanley, H. C. Rail. George Long, G. W. Pease, M. J. Smith, Thomas Pendergrass and Lemuel Phelps. Company K ” Captain O. C. Williams, Lieutenant D. F. Vail, Sergeant K D. Bradford, Corporals S. Trambull and G. W. Hedding, Privates E. M. O  Neil, B. Walker, James Keever, J. Clark, A. Collins, L. Nelson, S. Gunther and William Cooper  ” 149,
 

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