The Air was Literally Full of Iron: The 1st Minnesota and Pickett's Charge

Watching the approach of the lines of Confederates on the afternoon of July 3, 1863, one Minnesota soldier was moved to write "such bravery, coolness, and determination as the Rebels showed in this charge is not recorded in history. MacDonald’s charge at Wagram does not come up to the steady, determined, unwavering approach of these men without a shot or a shout, although not one of every ten who started reached our lines."

    Although unsigned, I’m reasonably certain this letter was penned by Second Lieutenant William Lochren of Co. K of the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. The letter was written to Colonel George N. Morgan who formerly commanded the 1st Minnesota and was then the commander of Fort Snelling. The letter first saw publication in the July 31, 1863, edition of the Weekly Pioneer & Democrat published in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

First Lieutenant William Lochren, Co. E, 1st Minnesota Infantry resigned his commission due to ill health at the end of 1863. An attorney, he returned to practice in Minnesota and later served a term as pension commissioner during Grover Cleveland's second term and as a federal judge until retirement in 1908. A lifelong Democrat, Lochren did not enjoy a good relationship with the local G.A.R. post but was fiercely loyal to his comrades in the 1st Minnesota. 

Bivouac of First Regt., Minnesota Vols.

Near Antietam Creek, Maryland

July 15, 1863

Dear Colonel,

          I write the first moment of time I have had since the Battle of Gettysburg- the most fatal to use that we ever participated in. You doubtless have heard the particulars ere this reaches you. I sent a list of the killed and wounded to the Adjutant General of the State two days ago. We lost about three-fourths of the officers and men and engaged.

          Poor Periam [Captain Joseph Periam, Co. K] fell in the first charge. I was just by his side and saw the bullet hole by his right ear. I did not suppose he would breathe again and passed on. Co. K had 29 men when we went into that charge. Of these eight were killed and thirteen wounded. Corporal Leslie Gore, the company clerk, was killed. Matt Marvin was badly wounded in the foot. Samuel Tenny also had a bad wound. The whole regiment (except Cos. C, F, and L who were not engaged here) suffered nearly as bad.

          Captain Louis Muller [Co. E] was shot through the brain. Lieutenant Francis was also shot through the brain. Among the others that you knew particularly were Sergeant Trevor and Privates Jackins, Davis, and J.L. Taylor of Co. E (poor “Tactics,” his notebook is closed forever.) Colonel Colville and Lieutenant Colonel Adams are both badly wounded. Downie has two wounds in the right arm while Peller’s left arm is broken. Tom Sinclair had a bullet flatten itself on his breastbone. I told him there was no necessity that he should get “ironclad.”

Sergeant Matthew Marvin of Co. K of the 1st Minnesota suffered his third and final wound of the war when he was badly wounded in the foot during the 1st Minnesota's charge on July 2nd but would survive. July was a rough month for the Minnesotan: he had previously been wounded July 21, 1861 at First Bull Run, a second time July 7, 1862 at Harrison's Landing, and then at Gettysburg. The native New Yorker returned home to Minnesota and lived until 1903. 

          The next day (Friday), we withstood the shock of the decisive charge of the battle. After shelling for about three hours, during which the air was literally full of iron and compared with which all the other shellings we ever withstood seemed insignificant, A.P. Hill’s corps charged our line just at the point held by our Second Brigade. The enemy advanced in solid column, in beautiful order and style, without firing a shot although it left the ground over which it passed strewn with its dead and wounded from a deadly fire which we poured into its front and flanks besides canister from a dozen batteries. It never wavered nor fired a shot until it planted its colors upon our nearest battery.

          Our brigade, moving by the right flank to the point of attack and constantly firing, arrived at the battery just with the enemy and charged him. Decimated as they were by our murderous fire, what of them who were left were obliged to succumb and our regiment alone, although not more than 100 men strong, took over 500 prisoners and the colors of the 28th Virginia regiment.

Flag of the 28th Virginia captured by Herman Marshall of Co. C of the 1st Minnesota Infantry on July 3, 1863, during Pickett's Charge. 

Such bravery, coolness, and determination as the Rebels showed in this charge is not recorded in history. MacDonald’s charge at Wagram does not come up to the steady, determined, unwavering approach of these men without a shot or a shout, although not one of every ten who started reached our lines. As they reached our battery, they fired upon us and we had all along been under a withering fire of grape from their batteries which came up to close range. Here Captain Messick, then commanding the regiment, along with Captain Ferrell fell.

The provost guards were ordered up. Lieutenants May and Mason were wounded severely and Lieutenants Harmon and Heffelfinger were wounded slightly. Immediately after this, another charge was made to our left but the Johnny Rebs were completely “gobbled up” by the Second Vermont Brigade who charged them at a run when they approached within about 50 yards of their line and took nearly every one prisoner. Thus ended the Battle of Gettysburg, the most sanguinary that I have ever participated in.

You may judge how our men fight when I tell you that after the battle, but one man was missing while three-fourths of the whole were killed or wounded. We are now in front of the enemy here. Heavy skirmishing has been going on these two days and a battle is imminent. Captain Coates commands the regiment.

Source:

Letter from First Lieutenant William Lochren, Co. E, 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, Weekly Pioneer & Democrat (Minnesota), July 31, 1863, pg. 5


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