Battery E, 1st Missouri Light Artillery Regiment
Battery E, 1st Missouri Light Artillery Regiment | |
---|---|
Artillery Battery | |
Nickname(s) | Cole's Battery |
Equipment | 4 x 10-pounder Parrott rifles and 2 x 3.5-inch Blakely rifles |
Engagements |
|
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Nelson D. Cole Joseph Foust |
Battery E, 1st Missouri Light Artillery Regiment was an
Formation
The battery's parent unit began its existence on 10–12 June 1861 in
History
1861–1862
On 29 September 1861, Battery E left St Louis and marched to
Later, Battery E moved first to Otterville and then to Lexington, Missouri where it remained on duty from 11 February to 3 June 1862. The battery participated in operations near Waverly on 25–28 May. It was assigned to the District of Central Missouri, Department of the Missouri from January to June 1862. Battery E was on duty at Sedalia from 3 June to 29 July 1862. The unit marched to Rolla, Missouri on 29 July and returned to Sedalia on 18 August. The unit marched to Springfield from 29 August to 4 September. It was assigned to the District of Southwest Missouri from June to October 1862, when it was transferred to the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, within the Army of the Frontier.[3]
Prairie Grove
On 12 October 1862, the department commander Major General
On 3 December, Hindman launched an offensive designed to crush Blunt's isolated 1st Division. However, Blunt's intelligence service alerted him at once and he called for reinforcements.
At 10:00 am on 7 December 1862, Herron found his two divisions blocked by Hindman's army on the Prairie Grove hill. He detached Lieutenant Edward's 2-gun section of Battery E and sent it forward with the purpose of getting the Confederate artillery to reveal its positions. After a 10-minute exchange of fire with two opposing batteries, Herron withdrew Edward's section.
After the Confederates repulsed the Union 3rd Division's attack, they counterattacked and were stopped by the rallied Union infantry and fire from Batteries E and L and two Illinois guns. Foust reported that he "forced them back with canister". Herron complimented his gunners, "Never was there more real courage and pluck displayed, and more downright hard fighting done".[15] When the Confederates drove back the 2nd Division's attack, they counterattacked again and the result was the same. The rallied Union foot soldiers and the gunners drove back their opponents with heavy fire. Afterward, Foust withdrew Battery E from the knoll and redeployed next to Battery L. The battery left behind eight dead horses and one caisson; there were 11 horses wounded.[16]
Battery E participated in the expedition over the
1863–1864
Battery E marched to Springfield, reaching there 15 February 1863. It remained on duty at Springfield and Rolla until April when it took part in operations against Brigadier General
On 4–16 June 1863, Battery E moved from St Louis to take part in the Siege of Vicksburg. At this time, Herron's division was re-assigned to XIII Corps[3] which was led by John A. McClernand. During the Vicksburg siege, Battery E under Captain Cole was part of Brigadier General William Vandever's 1st Brigade, Herron's division, Major General James B. McPherson's XVII Corps, Army of the Tennessee according to Battles and Leaders.[21] The siege was successfully concluded on 4 July. Battery E participated in the expedition to Yazoo City on 12–22 July. The unit moved to Port Hudson, Louisiana on 24 July and Carrollton on 16 August. After the Vicksburg siege, Battery E was part of the 2nd Division, XIII Corps.[3] At Vicksburg, the battery reported having four 10-pounder Parrott rifles and two "Fawcett Rifled Iron Gun, Cal. 3.5" (i.e., Blakely rifles).[22]
In August 1863, Battery E transferred to the Department of the Gulf.[3] Batteries B, E, and F, 1st Missouri Light Artillery were assigned to Herron's 2nd Division, Major General Cadwallader C. Washburn's XIII Corps.[23] Battery E took part in the expedition to Morganza on 5–12 September. There were skirmishes at the Atchafalaya River on 9–10 September and Sterling's Plantation on 12 September. The Battle of Stirling's Plantation occurred on 29 September.[3] In this action, a Confederate force led by Tom Green attacked and overwhelmed a Federal detachment, inflicting 515 casualties.[24] Part of Battery E fought at Stirling's Plantation and suffered the following losses in enlisted men: three killed, three wounded, and 12 missing.[25] The battery traveled to New Orleans on 11 October.[3] Major General Napoleon J.T. Dana commanded the 2nd Division from 28 September 1863 to 3 January 1864.[23] At the end of 1863, Captain Atwater was in command and Battery E reported from Brownsville, Texas that it was armed with two 10-pounder Parrott rifles and two 3.5-inch Whitworth rifled guns. All earlier reports called the latter weapons "Fawcett" or "English" guns.[26]
Battery E participated in the expedition to the
Reorganization
On 14 September 1864, Segebarth's Battery C Pennsylvania Artillery, Mississippi Marine Brigade was renamed Battery E, 1st Missouri Light Artillery. The new Battery E was attached to the artillery post of the District of Vicksburg until November. After that it served as garrison at both Vicksburg and Natchez. The new Battery E was mustered out of service on 1 January 1865.[3] The officers were Captain Edmund H. Nichols, First Lieutenant Robert L. Crouch, and Second Lieutenants Hugh J. Randolph and Andrew J. Gibson.[2]
See also
Notes
- ^ Official Army Register 1867, p. 56.
- ^ a b Official Army Register 1867, p. 59.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Dyer 1908a.
- ^ Monaghan 1955, pp. 202–203.
- ^ Monaghan 1955, p. 206.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 29.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 59.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 63–64.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 71–72.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 114.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 128.
- ^ Battles & Leaders 1987, p. 459.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 155–156.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 158–162.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 178–180.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 194–195.
- ^ a b Shea 2009, p. 275.
- ^ Swain 2016a.
- ^ New York Times 1863.
- ^ Swain 2016b.
- ^ Battles & Leaders 1987, p. 548.
- ^ Swain 2017.
- ^ a b Dyer 1908b.
- ^ National Park Service.
- ^ Official Army Register 1867, p. 63.
- ^ Swain 2019.
- ^ Thompson & Howard 2020, pp. 317–318.
- ^ Thompson & Howard 2020, pp. 320–322.
References
- "Battle of Sterling's Plantation". National Park Service. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. Vol. 3. Secaucus, N.J.: Castle. 1987 [1883]. ISBN 0-89009-571-X.
- Dyer, Frederick H. (1908a). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion: Battery E, 1st Missouri Light Artillery. Des Moines, Iowa: Dyer Publishing Co. p. 1314. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- Dyer, Frederick H. (1908b). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion: Thirteenth Army Corps. Des Moines, Iowa: Dyer Publishing Co. pp. 559–560. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- Monaghan, Jay (1955). Civil War on the Western Border: 1854–1865. New York: Bonanza Books.
- "New York Times: The Battle of Cape Girardeau". New York Times. New York, N.Y. 1863. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- "Official Army Register of the Volunteer Force of the United States Army, Part VII". Washington, D.C.: Secretary of War. 1867. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- Shea, William L. (2009). Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign. Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-3315-5.
- Swain, Craig (2016a). "Summary Statement, December 31, 1862 - Missouri's 1st Regiment of Artillery". To the Sound of the Guns. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- Swain, Craig (2016b). "Summary Statement, 1st Quarter 1863 – 1st Missouri Artillery". To the Sound of the Guns. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- Swain, Craig (2017). "Summary Statement, 2nd Quarter 1863 – 1st Missouri Artillery". To the Sound of the Guns. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- Swain, Craig (2019). "Summary Statement, 4th Quarter 1863 – 1st Missouri Artillery". To the Sound of the Guns. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- Thompson, Jerry; Howard, Nelson (January 2020). "The Journal of Sergeant Nelson Howard, Company E, 13th Maine Infantry on the Texas Coast, 1863–1864". Southwestern Historical Quarterly. CXXIII (3): 317–343.
Further reading
- Dyer, Frederick H. (2016) [1908]. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion: Battery E, 1st Missouri Light Artillery. Civil War Archive.