A Gallant Defense: The 1st Michigan Engineers and the Fight for LaVergne

          The fight of the 1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics regiment at LaVergne, Tennessee on January 1, 1863 represented the proudest moment in that regiment’s service during the Civil War. Numbering only 315 officers and men under the command of Colonel William Innes, the regiment hunkered down in their breastworks and protected one of the army’s baggage trains from destruction by Joe Wheeler’s cavalry and suffered but small loss to themselves. But it was desperate fighting as remembered by Private William L. Clark of Co. K.

          “The main force came plunging up on the left of the company, discharging their pieces and wheeling to the left when they found our defenses so good that they could not gallop their horses over them. They were an excellent mark for every musket, rifle, and revolver loaded in the company and many were killed or wounded. One gallant fellow tried to spring his horse over in front of Lieutenant Curtis. “Don’t come over here, sir!” said he and a ball from his revolver passed directly through his body which, however, was carried some distance before it fell to the ground,” Clark noted.

          Clark's regiment originally began as a fusileer regiment, but William P. Innes convinced the War Department and Governor Blair to accept the regiment into the service as the 1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics; recruiting proceeded with rapidity and 1,032 men were in the ranks when the regiment mustered into service on October 29, 1861. The regiment left for Kentucky in December 1861 and was attached to the Army of the Ohio, accompanying that army on its marches through Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. The regiment was broken up into four detachments and attached to various divisions of the army where the regiment soon garnered a solid reputation for their skill and speed with which they performed their duties repairing bridges and constructing corduroy roads. This was the reason that the 1st Michigan was at LaVergne on January 1, 1863- they had been tasked with repairing a bridge of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad at that point to support the advance of Rosecrans' army. 

          Private Clark’s description of the defense of LaVergne first saw publication in the January 21, 1863 edition of the Marshall Statesman.

 

This unidentified soldier of the 1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics poses with his Hardee hat complete with an ostrich plume and an engineers badge in the center of the hat. 

 Camp of the 1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics

La Vergne, Tennessee, January 5, 1863

 

          Before we left the camp from which I last wrote, we were aware of the proximity of a considerable force of the enemy’s cavalry and took more than usual precaution against a surprise. On the last day of last year, our wagons were sent around on the turnpike to arrive here while we marched across the country for part of the distance on by-roads of the narrowest and poorest description. As we reached here, we first had quite a resting spell and while waiting many stragglers from the battlefield came along and reported the Right Wing cut to pieces and falling back from the line of battle. We could then easily hear the heavy guns, probably seven or eight miles away.

          Various were the speculations upon the result of the battle at Murfreesboro; some men were inclined to believe that Rosecrans was not equal to his position and would be defeated, and that so many changes in commanders would prove the nation’s ruin and nothing would go right until McClellan should be reinstated. Nobody defended General Buell or wished him in command. Others were willing to wait awhile before looking upon defeat in front as a positive fact, past, present, or to come to call, and dared to believe Rosecrans would bring things out alright.

          Stragglers continued to pass on the railroad track as well as the turnpike, which I assured you looked very bad and disgraceful; hearty, strong soldiers getting away on horseback or by foot away from their regiments, away from their comrades, and away from their officers, leaving them to do double duty or lose the day and subsequently bear the disgrace of defeat. When our wagons came, they were placed so as to enclose the north end and almost the west side of an oblong camp about six or eight rods from the road and parallel to it. No tents were raised. Regimental headquarters were established in an old log building on the east line of the camp.

Colonel William P. Innes
1st Michigan Engineers & Mechanics

          Early on New Year’s Day, a large detail from each company was employed throwing up a breastwork of small trees and brush on the east line and south end. A surprising amount of work was soon performed and by noon we had defenses worth mentioning if attacked only be cavalry. Up to this time, it was not known that we should be molested as wagons trains and prisoners under guard had been frequently passing along, but we had orders to be in readiness to meet an attack at any moment.

          Suddenly early in the afternoon, on the north side and close to us, boom, boom, popped a couple of pieces of artillery. “Company, fall in! Fall in!” sounded throughout the camp. Each company took its assigned position with directions to change points of defense whenever ordered. Looking north along the road, the Rebels had already captured a portion of a train and now the wagons were burning. Along a ridge at right angles to the road, a long line of cavalry was drawn up, preparing to charge upon us. As they appeared fairly upon the highest point, some eighty rods off, a heavy volley was fired upon them. They turned and retreated down out of sight and commenced firing upon with artillery and sharpshooters. As the shot and shell whirred over our heads or cut the trees, or took the legs or heads of mules, some timid hearts are said to have supposed we were “gone up.”

 

“They came with a flag of truce asking permission to pick up their dead and wounded but Colonel Innes told them they could have all they could find out of the range of our guns, but if they came in range, we should fire on them. So, on the head of that they skedaddled leaving about 50 dead outside of our stockade. We captured one private and one private and six wounded men. The sun is now down and with ends this New Year’s dance for it was a dance I assure you.” ~Private Isaac Roseberry, Co. D, 1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics

 

          Presently, the cavalry made a charge and were driven back. Then they charged on the east and were jilted again. Once more and again repulsed. Then more artillery firing and sharpshooting while the cavalry, under cover of the woods, gained ground on our southwest and camp up dismounted upon Co. D’s defenses supposing they were not seen. Coming up in good order as fallen treetops, stumps, and obstructions would permit, they were allowed to gain a close distance before they were assailed by a volley so well-directed that a rapid retreat ensued, and they were contented to leave for parts out of sight for a considerable time. Several straggling soldiers came in on our colors being displayed in the road and some Ohio cavalry so that we had a little help.

          Mule teams and horses had broken loose and ran about, and several teamsters ventured pretty close to the enemy’s position after them without injury. We heard firing to the south on the road and supposing reinforcements were coming, we cheered loudly. During this temporary lull, the enemy was planning to attack on the east, north, and south. Co. K was ordered from the western to the southern defenses. A tremendous cheer in that direction proved to be the signal of general assault. While the charge was made in other directions and accordingly to Colonel Kinsman Hunton, “splendidly made,” and as gallantly repelled. I can only speak particularly of that on the south.

 

The stout fight of the 1st Michigan at LaVergne inspired this "war song" in early 1863. 

“While the regiment numbered only a little over 300, it fought a greatly superior force until dark with the loss of one killed and six wounded, defeating every attempt at capture until darkness compelled the enemy’s withdrawal. During the engagement, which last for five hours, the enemy made seven distinct charges, something forcing their horses up to the breastworks, but were as often gallantly repelled. While these charges were being made by the cavalry, their artillery kept constantly at play with considerable effect, killing some 40 or more horses and mules and damaging the wagons. General Wheeler three times sent a flag of truce to Colonel Innes demanding a surrender each time claiming an increase of his force and threatening the consequences of a refusal, to which Colonel Innes invariably replied, ‘I can’t see it so long as my ammunition holds out!’ By this gallant fight, the entire rear of the army and nearly all the baggage trains were saved.” ~ Clarence F. Bronner, 1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics

 

          Forming behind the woods, they charged up handsomely along the road and through the woods on the southwest corner. The main force came plunging up on the left of the company, discharging their pieces and wheeling to the left when they found our defenses so good that they could not gallop their horses over them. They were an excellent mark for every musket, rifle, and revolver loaded in the company and many were killed or wounded. One gallant fellow tried to spring his horse over in front of Lieutenant Cyrus M. Curtis. “Don’t come over here, sir!” said he and a ball from his revolver passed directly through his body which, however, was carried some distance before it fell to the ground. It is thought that Captain Emory Crittenton killed one with his revolver as his aim was good and mark pretty close. Many of the men feel sure their aim was too good to have entirely missed. Several horses fell and on one an officer’s dress clothing was found. He probably fell in the charge as the officer was dressed in good citizen’s butternut.

The men of the 1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics busily at work rebuilding the Elk River bridge in this image from the Photographic History of the Civil War. 


          I am told 23 dead have been found and buried. Of course, most of their wounded could easily ride away. Many arms have been picked up and brought in; Captain Crittenton found a good Enfield rifle today near the first line formed by the cavalry. I lost my two best and nearest aims from the non-explosion of poor caps on my revolver, so I probably killed none but although at a greater distance, I fired amongst the butternut gang eight or nine times. After the last charge, a flag of truce was sent in the first place to demand a surrender, and at last, to bury their dead. Of course, Colonel Innes did not surrender. The enemy’s force was about 3,000.

 Sources:

Letter from Private William L. Clark, Co. K, 1st Michigan Engineers & Mechanics, Marshall Statesman (Michigan), January 21, 1863, pg. 2

“Defending the Train,” Clarence F. Bronner, 1st Michigan Engineers & Mechanics, National Tribune, August 9, 1888, pg. 3

Diary of Private Isaac Roseberry, Co. D, 1st Michigan Engineers & Mechanics, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University


Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

Arming the Buckeyes: Longarms of the Ohio Infantry Regiments

Image
     A common question that comes up in conversation about Civil War Buckeye regiments is "What were they armed with?" We are fortunate in that the state of Ohio kept good records of how the regiments were armed when they went into service, this being especially true for those regiments which went into service in 1861 and 1862. The state adjutant general's reports for 1861 and 1862 have been heavily drawn upon to construct this article, as well as consultation with Phil Spaugy who has done extensive research on how Ohio's troops were armed during the war.      Buckeyes carried a fairly wide variety of weapons into the field, and the below article breaks this down into weapons of both domestic manufacture and imported arms. The early days of the war found the state of Ohio practically bereft of longarms; as an example, when the 1st and 2nd Ohio Volunteer Militia left the state in late April 1861, they left unarmed, being armed at Lancaster, Pennsylvania on their way to
Read more

Bullets for the Union: Manufacturing Small Arms Ammunition During the Civil War

Image
       Civil War bullets are perhaps the most common item collected from the era; the two armies expended bullets by the millions during the four years’ conflict and spent or deformed bullets of all shapes and sizes have made fascinating and affordable collectibles since the guns went silent in 1865.       I recently acquired a display piece featuring 35 different types of small arms ammunition used during the Civil War, including everything from a small .28 caliber ball up to a .69 caliber three-ring Minie and it triggered some questions: how did the Federal army obtain its small arms ammunition during the war? Where did the lead come from to make the bullets, and where and how was the ammunition manufactured? This post seeks to answer those questions. A typical .58 caliber 3-ring Minie bullet   “Whenever the blasts of war blow in the ears of men who trade in the implements of destruction, they are apt to experience more joy than the true warrior, for then comes the harvest of gain.
Read more

Dressing the Rebels: How to Dye Butternut Jeans Cloth

Image
     In the early days of the Civil War,  the Southern states found themselves with an abundance of cotton but a shortage of cloth with which to make army uniforms. The trade in cloth prior to the war had largely been to send raw cotton or wool north to New England (or Great Britain) where it was converted into usable cloth; but now that trade was broken and the Southern states were thrown upon their own resources in their efforts to properly clothe the Confederate army.  This collection of Confederate enlisted men's frock coats and shell jackets gives some indication of the variety of shades of butternut worn during the war. All of them are shades of yellow brown, some heavier on the yellow and some heavier on the brown. The blue used around the collar or as rank insignia indicates that the soldier was in the infantry. Surviving Confederate uniforms are considered rather rare and command quite a healthy price in the collecting market. For an in-depth study of how Confederate jacke
Read more

The Wizard of Oz and the Civil War

Image
T he 1939 film The Wizard of Oz has delighted viewers for 85 years and ranks as a personal favorite, especially during the Halloween season. While watching it with the family the other night, I wondered if there were any connections between the film and the Civil War. Not surprisingly, the answer is yes and those connections touch both the blue and the gray.           Interestingly both “witches” in the film not only had Civil War ancestors but had connections with Civil War soldiers from Ohio. Margaret Hamilton, the “Wicked Witch of the West,” was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 9, 1902, to attorney Walter Jones Hamilton and his wife Mary Jane Adams; Margaret’s grandfather was Judge Edwin Timothy Hamilton. Judge Hamilton had served as a private in Co. D of the 84 th Ohio Infantry during the summer of 1862. The 84 th Ohio, a three months’ regiment, served nearly the whole of its service attached to the Railroad District in western Maryland, performing provost duty at Cumberlan
Read more

The Vaunted Enfield Rifle Musket

Image
     The English-made Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield Rifle Musket was widely regarded as the best infantry arm in the world at the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861. Favorable international press describing its efficiency in the Crimean War and in suppressing the Indian rebellion led to the widespread desire of American infantrymen (both Federal and Confederate) to be armed with these accurate and well-made arms. The lock plate of this well-worn P1853 Enfield rifle musket produced in 1862 shows the typical markings of a British-made weapon that made it through the Federal blockade.  ( Army of Tennessee Relics ) Enfield-pattern weapons were imported into the states by the tens and hundreds of thousands during the war years; one estimate stated that the Federal government purchased 500,000 while the Confederates purchased another 400,000. The Confederate government dispatched Captain Caleb Huse to Europe in April 1861 to purchase weapons and Huse focused on securing all the Enfi
Read more

In front of Atlanta with the 68th Ohio

Image
  The arrow corps badge of the 17th Army Corps was worn by many members of the 68th Ohio in the latter days of the war.       Private Edward A. Bigelow of Co. F of the 68th Ohio Volunteer Infantry wrote this brief account of the Battle of Atlanta just two days afterwards to his father back home in Henry County, Ohio. The regiment formed a part of Colonel Robert K. Scott's three regiment all-Ohio brigade consisting of the 20th, 68th, and 78th regiments, being designated the Second Brigade of the Third Division of Frank Blair's 17th Army Corps. Bigelow's letter originally appeared in the Napoleon Press newspaper and was copied in the Toledo Daily Commercial which was providential as no known copies exist today of the wartime Napoleon Press.  
Read more

Charging Battery Robinett: An Alabama Soldier Recalls the Vicious Fighting at Corinth

Image
W riting 30 years after the Battle of Corinth, James A. McKinstry of the 42 nd Alabama recalled his experiences storming Battery Robinett with Colonel William P. Rogers of the 2 nd Texas and expressed guilt that it was perhaps his action that brought about the colonel’s demise. “On seeing a line of Federals approaching, and before giving the situation a thought, I immediately raised my gun and fired full into the breast of a Federal sergeant, who was in front of the column, and only a short distance from us.  'Twas then that Captain George Foster shouted, "Cease firing, men! cease firing!" and waved his handkerchief, then I realized the true situation. 'Twas too late! That fatal volley had been turned on our little band from the muzzles of 1,500 muskets. I was still standing just as I was when I fired my last shot, and within a few feet of Colonel Rogers, when a Minie ball went crashing through my left hip and turned me half round; another went tearing through my
Read more

Federal Arms in the Stones River Campaign

Image
  T he following list, constructed after many years of research, lists unit by unit which type of weapons were carried by the Army of the Cumberland during the Stones River campaign. A number of sources were consulted including state ordnance reports, Federal quarterly ordnance reports (thank you Research Arsenal ), Ken Baumann’s Arming the Suckers, regimental histories and memoirs, captured ordnance reports, and consultation with knowledgeable experts in the field of firearms. Some of this information has been shared on the blog before in “ Rosy’s Heavy Metal: Artillery of the Army of the Cumberland ” or “ Shoulder Arms: How Sheridan’s and Davis’s Divisions Were Armed at Stones River ” but this is the first time the army as a whole has been presented. The overall conclusion I drew from looking at this data is that the Army of the Cumberland in December 1862 was an organization in the midst of transformation as far as arms. Many of the regiments still retained their original issue
Read more

Cook & Brother of New Orleans

Image
    The lockplate of a New Orleans-made Cook & Brother Enfield rifle produced in 1862 shows the fine craftsmanship that became the hallmark of the maker throughout the Civil War. Note the stars and bars flag at left, an emblem used on C&B's production throughout the war and the Cook & Brother, N.O. 1862 markings. Earlier production weapons at New Orleans had the flag located just above the maker's name while later weapons produced in Athens, Georgia would have a modified flag and Athens on the plate followed by the serial number.        In the spring of 1861, two English-born businessmen, Ferdinand and Francis Cook of New Orleans, perceived the need for the South to have its own domestic production of firearms and  set out to prove "that rifles could made here as well as in Yankee land or in Europe." The brothers  elected to produce copies of the British Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield rifle as this was considered the benchmark longarm at the outset of the
Read more

Revisiting Snodgrass Hill: Memories of a 21st Ohio Officer

Image
Captain Isaac Cusac, Co. G, 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry proudly displaying his rank as captain in an image likely dating from early 1863. One of his shoulder straps was shot off in the final stages of the 21st Ohio's fight atop Snodgrass Hill on September 20, 1863. Cusac brought it back to Chickamauga 50 years later.  I n September 1913, 83-year-old Isaac Cusac, a retired Presbyterian minister from the little town of McComb, Ohio, returned to Chattanooga to attend the national G.A.R. encampment. The former captain of the 21 st Ohio returned to Snodgrass Hill on the old Chickamauga battlefield on the 50 th anniversary of the battle carrying with him a precious relic of his wartime experiences. “He carried with him there an epaulet that was shot from his shoulder at the battle,” it was reported. “The bullet clipped off the epaulet and then struck him on the left hand, injuring two fingers.”           The flood of memories as he walked the grounds must have been overwhelming. The f
Read more