On July 15, 1862, Governor Austin Blair issued General Order No. 154, directing the raising of six Regiments of Infantry, designated the Fifth Congressional District, composed of the counties of Livingston, Lapeer, Macomb St. Clair and Sanilac as the territory in which the Twenty-second Michigan Infantry Volunteers should be recruited, naming Pontiac as the place of rendezvous, and appointing ex-Governor Moses Wisner as Commandant of Camp. Oh August 8, 1862, the Field and Staff Officers were commissioned, and on the 31st of July following commissions were issued to the officers of the line. On August 29, 1862, the regiment having its full quota of officers and men, was mustered into the United States service. The officers were as follows:
Field and Staff.
Colonel, Moses Wisner, Pontiac.
Lieutenant Colonel, Heber Le Favour, Detroit.
Major, William Sanborn, Port Huron.
Surgeon, Abram P. McConnell, Pontiac.
Assistant Surgeon, Wells B. Fox, Hartland.
Adjutant, Edgar Weeks, Mt. Clemens.
Quartermaster, Thomas C. Boughton, Pontiac.
Chaplain, Asher E. Mather, Pontiac.
Line Officers.
Co. A. Captain, Ezra C. Hatton, Farmington. First Lieutenant, Edward M. Wisner, Pontiac. Second Lieutenant, William Albertson, Pontiac.
Co. B. Captain, Alonzo M. Keeler, Shelby. First Lieutenant, William Hulsart, Bruce. Second Lieutenant, Henry W. Howgate, Armada.
Co. C. Captain, John Atkinson, Port Huron. First Lieutenant, Jefferson J. Wilder, Capac. Second Lieutenant, John Sackett, Port Huron.
Co. D. Captain, Townsend C. Beardslee, Pontiac. First Lieutenant, Almeron S. Mathews, Pontiac. Second Lieutenant, Elijah Snell, Independence.
Co. E. Captain, Henry Carlton, Newport. First Lieutenant, Hazzard P. Wands, St. Clair. Second Lieutenant, Thomas C. Jackson, Ira.
Co. F. Captain, Alfred Ashley, New Baltimore. First Lieutenant, George W. Robertson, Mt. Clemens. Second Lieutenant, Heber B. Pearson, New Baltimore.
Co. G. Captain, Joseph Goetz, Mt. Clemens. First Lieutenant William C. Stockton, Mt. Clemens. Second Lieutenant, Augustus Czizek, Mt. Clemens.
Co. H. Captain, Henry S. Dean, Green Oak. First Lieutenant, William A. Smith, Marion. Second Lieutenant, Louis Brown, Howell.
Co. I. Captain, Frederick W. Kimberk, Brighton. First Lieutenant, Walter Bowers, Lyon. Second Lieutenant, James Page. Lyon.
Co. K. Captain, Alexander G. Galbraith, Lexington. First Lieutenant, Henry Breidenbach, Lexington. Second Lieutenant, John A. Simons, Lexington.
September 4, 1862, the regiment left its camp on the Fair Grounds at Pontiac, and marched 1000 strong to the railroad depot, and took the cars for Detroit. Late that evening it took boat for Cleveland, at which place it arrived on the morning of September 5th. Here the regiment had its first issue of the rations on the march. From Cleveland it proceeded by rail to Cincinnati, where it arrived at midnight. It marched from the depot to the Fifth Street Market House, where at 2:00 o’clock a. m., September 6th, it ate breakfast provided by the city of Cincinnati. Before leaving the tables, the men were ordered to fill their haversacks, an order, however, it was never necessary to repeat during their term of service, when there were rations in sight. After breakfast, the regiment crossed the Ohio River on a pontoon bridge to Covington, Ky., and retired to rest on the paved streets of that town. Hard as was the bed, sweet was the sleep of these 1000 tired men, unaccustomed to carrying arms and knapsacks. During the forenoon, the regiment was marched to the front, without ammunition, and formed in line of battle to resist a reported attack about to be made by the Confederate forces under the command of General E. Kirby Smith. Company H was ordered forward as skirmishers, to ” feel the enemy,” without a round of ammunition, which it proceeded to do until relieved by troops provided with ammunition; this line of battle was formed on a knoll in the center of a field of cabbage, and this first experience of the regiment in war was dubbed by the men as the “Battle of Cabbage Hill.” After it was all over, the men laughed heartily, but while “the battle was on,” it did not appear so funny. At midnight, the regiment retired in “good order,” the battle having resulted in a great slaughter of Southern cabbage. Here the regiment was assigned to the Third Brigade, Second Division, Army of Central Kentucky, with which it served until April, 1863. The regiment remained in a fortification on Covington Heights until the evening of September 7th, when it marched one mile to the front and went into camp, where it remained until 1:00 o’clock a. m., when the bugle sounded “strike tents,” and it marched back to Camp Wallace, when it had its first experience in building fortifications, a work in which it was engaged until September 18th, at which date it marched five miles to Florence, Ky., and camped on the Fair Grounds at that place. September 19th it marched nine miles south of Florence; on September 20th it moved eight miles in a southerly direction; September 21st it marched back over the route it had come to within twelve miles of Covington, Ky., and went into camp, naming its resting place “Camp Walton.” From the 21st of September to October 9th it remained in this camp, forming line of battle from one to five times a night to meet threatened attacks by John Morgan’s Cavalry. From Camp Walton, it moved to Williamston, naming its halting place “Camp Wells.” There it remained until 11:00 o’clock p. m., October 14th. when all who were fit for duty proceeded to Cynthiana, where they arrived at 9:00 p. m., October 15th. The detachment left at Camp Wells, with the camp and garrison equipage, marched for Lexington, reaching that place October 21st. At Georgetown, through which town this detachment passed, it had an experience in returning slaves to their masters, which General Q. A. Gilmore ordered them to do. With one exception he is the only United States officer that ever gave such an order to the Twenty-second Michigan Infantry. On the night of October 18th, Company H was ordered to proceed up the railroad and take possession of and hold Townsend’s Bridge, which it did. That night, this Company was ordered “to proceed to Paris, take possession of the town, and hold same at all hazards.” The company reached Paris at 4.00 o’clock a. m., October 18th, took possession of the town, and captured 100 of Humphrey Marshall’s command. At 7:00 o’clock a. m., information was received from Lexington that John Morgan entered that place the evening before with 2,000 cavalry and a battery, and that he would move on Paris the next morning. Information of Morgan’s plans was dispatched by handcar (three negroes furnishing the motive power), to Colonel Wisner at Cynthiana. At 2:00 p. m. of that day, Colonel Wisner left Cynthiana with the regiment and a battery, arriving in Paris at 7:00 p. m., making the march of eighteen miles in five hours; this was quick time for infantry, and a cavalry regiment dubbed the Twenty-second “The Marching Regiment.” John Morgan, learning that Paris had been reinforced, did not attack the town. Upon a Confederate prisoner, a letter was found written by Humphrey Marshall to his wife, informing her that he had been ordered to move with his command out of Kentucky into Virginia by way of Pound Gap; this information was communicated to General Gordon Granger at Cincinnati, who ordered Colonel Wisner “to follow Humphrey Marshall, if he followed him to ‘Davy Jones’ locker.” In obedience to this order, the regiment left Paris in pursuit of Humphrey Marshall. Fortunately, however, Humphrey Marshall’s command of about 5,000 had so much the start of Colonel Wisner and his 800 men, that he did not overtake him. On this march the regiment passed through Lancaster to Athens, Ky., where it received orders to proceed to Lexington, where it arrived October 26, 1862. The detachment left at Camp Walton, with the camp and garrison equipage, had reached Lexington in advance of the main body. When the regiment left Camp Walton on October 9th it moved 44 in light marching order,” without tents, which every old soldier understands and never forgets, if, as in this instance, the march is late in the fall, and the ground most of the time covered with snow. Tents were a luxury the regiments had not enjoyed for seventeen days and nights.
From October 26, 1862, to February 21, 1863, the regiment remained in Camp Ella Bishop at Lexington, Ky. Here it learned the terrible fact that bullets are not the only danger incident to the life of a soldier. The four months spent in Lexington were months of suffering, with but little good to compensate therefor. The rigid discharge of picket duty in open fields, without shelter from the cold and storms of winter, without fires, sleeping on the damp ground, not permitted to use straw which was generously offered by citizens, brought sickness, suffering and death upon the regiment. Scores of noble men lie sleeping in the cemetery at Lexington, who died in consequence of exposure in picketing their own camps, to prevent Union soldiers from entering the town of Lexington, for there was not an armed enemy within the state at that time. Mrs. Sanborn, wife of Colonel Sanborn, spent the winter in camp, and the men of the regiment will never forget how much she did to alleviate their suffering—she was their good angel. On January 4th, 1863, Colonel Moses Wisner died after a lingering illness from disease contracted while in the faithful discharge of his duty; his last words were expressions of love for his country, sympathy and hope for the well being of his Regiment. Governor Blair in his annual message to the Legislature referred to the death of Colonel Wisner as follows:
“Intelligence has been received of another of the great sacrifices we make to save our country. My predecessor, ex-Governor Moses Wisner, Colonel commanding the Twenty-second Regiment of Infantry, died at his post of duty in Kentucky, on the 4th day of January. His conduct is his best eulogy. A man of great intellectual, as well as physical power, in the meridian of life, surrounded by all the comforts of family, home and friends, he obeyed the call of his country and took the field. Deeply imbued with a love of those free institutions which had done so much for his country and himself, he put away from everything but this service, and went forth at the head of his regiment to peril all in defense of the Union. As a commanding officer of patriotic volunteers, he was successful in an eminent degree, as he had been in all the walks of life. He died of the diseases of the camp, in the midst of his command, in the doing of his duty. More than this need not be said. For him the pomp and circumstance and the battle are no more. To his family and friends he leaves the rich remembrance of an honorable fame, and to the State he loved, the pride that she had so noble a citizen. To you, gentlemen, the representatives of the people, is committed the duty to fitly commemorate his services.”
On the death of Colonel Wisner, Lieutenant Colonel Heber Le Favour was promoted to Colonel; Major William Sanborn to Lieutenant Colonel; and Captain Henry S. Dean to Major of the regiment.
On February 21st the regiment under the command of Colonel Le Favour marched from Lexington to Hickman Bridge on the Kentucky river, camping that night in the snow on what was known as the Scott farm. The next day it marched to Danville, where it remained until the afternoon of February 23rd, when it retraced its steps to Hickman Bridge, arriving there at midnight, tired and foot-sore, the men lying down on the bare ground without tents to Sleep if they could. Scarcely had they rolled themselves in their blankets, when an order was received from General Gil- more, directing the regiment “to return to Lexington as soon as possible.” At 1:00 o’clock a. m. it was moving in that direction. The camp equipage was unloaded from the wagons, and left under guard at the Bridge, and as far as possible, men who could march no longer were loaded into the wagons following the rear of the column. At daylight the regiment reached Nicholasville, where it took cars for Lexington. Upon arrival at the latter place Companies B, E, G, and K, under command of Major Dean, were ordered to proceed to Cynthiana to guard that place against a threatened attack. The detachment reached Cynthiana late in the afternoon of February 25th, tired and hungry, without rations, and no government stores to draw upon. Six wealthy Confederate sympathizers were requested to furnish and cook rations for these four companies. To the credit of those parties be it said that during the two days they kept a boarding house for Union soldiers they “set a good table.” February 26th this detachment was ordered to rejoin the regiment at Lexington where it remained until March 21st, when it was again ordered to proceed to Danville. A few days previous to this. Colonel Le Favour was thrown from his horse and very seriously injured; so seriously, that “he was unable to resume duty until the May following. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Sanborn the regiment marched for Danville as part of a force, consisting of two regiments of infantry, one of mounted infantry, one of cavalry and a battery. A Confederate force under General Pegram had crossed the Cumberland River from Tennessee into Kentucky, with evident designs upon a depot of .Government supplies stored at Danville. To the protection of these, the force of which the Twenty-second Michigan was a part, was hurrying. On March 21st the regiment marched from Lexington to Danville, distance forty miles, in eighteen hours; that night it was quartered in a church, the next morning it moved out one mile on the Stanford road and went into camp. In the meantime, the Government stores had been loaded into wagons, and the train started in the direction of Hickman Bridge, on the Kentucky river. At 11:00 o’clock a. m., March 25th, the enemy made his appearance, opening fire upon the regiment from his mountain howitzers; line was formed to meet the attack, but it was evident that he was after the train, and not a fight, as he immediately moved around the left of the line, taking a short cut through the fields to reach the pike on which the train was moving. The regiment was ordered to fall back through the town to protect the rear of the train. As it came up with the train, the enemy opened fire on the regiment from among the timber growing along side the pike. Lieutenant Colonel Sanborn moved the regiment by the flank behind a stone wall on the side of the pike, and commenced a vigorous return of the enemies’ fire. Just then, General Carter and staff rode up, and ordered Lieut. Col. Sanborn to detach the three left companies of his regiment, under command of the Major, with a section of artillery to continue the fight, and to move the rest of his command up with the train. During the afternoon, until the last wagon was safely across the Kentucky River, this detachment with the artillery moved to high ground, first on one side and then on the other of the pike, firing over the train to repulse the enemy in his repeated attacks upon the train. In this skirmish, the regiment had two men wounded and one captured. The regiment reached the Bridge late at night, tired, wet (it having rained all the afternoon), and hungry, and laid down in the mud and rain to sleep. The next morning, the regiment was ordered out on the Danville road to see if it could find the enemy, which it did, and posted a picket line: here it remained for two days, with occasional firing by the pickets. March 28th, the regiment returned to Nicholasville, and from there marched to Camp Dick Robinson and camped; the next day, it moved to Lancaster, and from there to Crab Orchard 011 March 30th. March 31st it moved toward Summerset, on the Cumberland River, in which direction Pegram was retreating with the plunder he had seized during the raid. That night, the regiment camped in the snow, without tents, at Buck Horn Creek. Whoever directed this campaign appeared to be full in the faith that infantry could keep pace with cavalry, and, in fact, the regiment was only eight miles behind Pegram’s Cavalry, when it was overtaken by our mounted infantry, and 400 of his command and all his plunder captured at Summerset. April 1, 1863, the regiment was ordered to proceed to Nashville, Tenn., via Lebanon Junction. It arrived at the latter place April 9th, where it was to take cars for Nashville. It was detained at Lebanon thirty-two hours behind stacked arms, beside the cars upon which it was to proceed, because it refused to leave its colored servants in Kentucky. Brigadier General Manson, Post Commander, went so far as to order out a regiment of infantry, a squadron of cavalry, and a section of artillery to enforce his order. Colonel Sanborn firmly refused to obey the order, in which he had the support of every officer and man in the regiment. The matter was finally referred to General Burnside, at Cincinnati, who ordered the regiment “to proceed immediately to Nashville, and to stop quarreling about the nigger,” which it did, taking its servants along. The regiment arrived in Nashville on the evening of April 13, 1863, and was assigned to the Third Brigade, Second Division, Reserve Corps, Army of the Cumberland. It remained at Nashville doing interior guard duty until September 5th. The Twenty-second Michigan and the Eighty-ninth Ohio were temporarily brigaded under the command of Colonel Heber Le Favour of the Twenty-second Michigan, and attached to General Whitaker’s Brigade, General Steedman’s Division, and General
Gordon Granger’s Reserve Corps. On Sept. 5, 1863, the Twenty-second Michigan left Nashville for Chattanooga, Tenn., with the following officers:
Lieutenant Colonel Wm, Sanborn, Commanding.
Captain Alonzo M. Keeler, Acting Major.
Abram P. McConnell, Surgeon.
Almeron S. Mathews, Adjutant.
Charles J. Bockins, Quartermaster.
Major Henry S. Dean was detailed on General R. S. Granger’s staff at Nashville, as Acting Inspector General.
The companies were officered as follows:
Co. A. First Lieutenant Wm. Albertson, commanding; Second Lieutenant Geo. W. Button.
Co. B. First Lieutenant Wm. Hulsart.
Co. C. Second Lieutenant Edgar G. Spalding, commanding; Captain John Atkinson was detailed on the staff of General R. S. Granger at Nashville.
Co. D. Captain Elijah Snell; First Lieutenant Lewis Drake; Second Lieutenant Wm. Willetts.
Co. E. Captain Hazard P. Wands; First Lieutenant Louis A. Allor.
Co. F. First Lieutenant George Robertson, commanding; Second Lieutenant Wm. B. Hamilton.
Co. G. Captain Joseph Goetz; First Lieutenant Charles Bassett; Second Lieutenant Edward E. Andrews.
Co. H. Captain Wm. A. Smith.
Co. I. Captain Fred W. Kimberk; First Lieutenant Hamilton J. Woodman; Second Lieutenant Lewis C. Mead.
Co. K. Captain Alex. G. Galbraith; First Lieutenant Henry Breidenbach.
The regiment arrived at Bridgeport, Ala., September 11th, and camped on Seven Mile Island until 7:00 a. m., September 13th. Here it left its baggage in charge of Lieutenants Henry Breidenbach and Wm. Hulsart and marched all day and night, passing over the base of Lookout Mountain at midnight. Here the men were so wearied with carrying their equipments, they slept on foot, jostling each other as they marched up and down the rocky slopes; then some one would waken, and break out in the words of the song, “John Brown’s body lies mouldering in the grave, as we go marching on.” At 11:00 a. m., September 14th, after a march of more than 40 miles, the regiment reached Rossville, Ga., where every man placed his gun in stack when the command “stack arms ” was given. This fact coming to the knowledge of General Gordon Granger, he issued a special order, complimenting the regiment, and commending this example of good discipline to the rest of his command.
September 17th the Twenty-second Michigan, Eighty-ninth Ohio, and the Eighteenth Ohio Battery, with other troops, were ordered to make a reconnaissance in the direction of Ringold. As the regiment passed General Gordon Granger’s headquarters, Company B, under command of Lieutenant Chas. Bassett, was detailed to guard the General’s headquarters. Late in the afternoon, near Ringold, the enemy’s pickets were driven in, and a few shells were thrown into the town, which received no response. Some hustling was observed in town, and considerable dust in the distance, as of troops marching away. So the force started back toward Rossville. About 11.00 p. m., after crossing Pea Vine Creek, pickets were posted and the regiment camped for the night, but just as it was being wrapped in comfort- able sleep, shells came dropping into the camp. The pickets fell back upon the camp, a circumstance due to the orders given by a Staff officer, who posted them. The pickets were sent back, the enemy fell back, and the regiment retired to rest, no harm being done. In the morning, the regiment renewed its march for Rossville, where it arrived at 1:oo p. m., September 18th. On the afternoon of September 19th General Steedman ordered Colonel Le Favour to report with the Twenty-second Michigan and the Eighty-ninth Ohio to General Whitaker, who was then being attacked by the enemy near McAfee Church. The Twenty-second Michigan took position on the left of the road and the Eighty-ninth Ohio on the right, with the Eighteenth Ohio Battery in the road in the rear, commanding a large field below and in front. This field gradually descended to a creek, bordered with thick brush and scattering timber. From this brush the enemy’s sharpshooters came out into the open field to a log house, nearer to them than to the Union lines, with the intention of picking off some of the officers, or most exposed men. They soon opened fire through the spaces between the logs of the old house at the battery men. They seemed to think they had a safe place, until the Battery sent some shells crashing into their hiding place, setting the slivers flying about their heads, They were soon hugging the ground on the way back to the brush without having wounded a man. Night came on, and here the regiment slept on its arms for the first time. The night was cold, and without provision for it. No casualties resulting, except that one man accidentally discharged his rifle during the night, and disabled one of his toes. The morning was calm and beautiful, reminding one of the beautiful, sunny days of childhood, not a sound disconsonant with Holy Sabbath, which it was. Nothing in sight five miles away to betoken the fierce and bloody conflict of Chickamauga that was that very day to test the courage of the Twenty-second Michigan Infantry. After roll call, and the men were getting ready to receive their rations, orders came from General Granger for General Steedman to report to General Thomas at once. Some men in their hurry to fall into line, took a handful of hardtack, others speared their bayonets into pieces of bacon, hoping to find time and opportunity to divide and share with each other for, at least, a slight breakfast. Soon the artillery began to be heard, and the march was through fallen timber and among brush piles, so that the idea of breakfast was abandoned, the bacon dropped, and the ear was given to the roar of artillery. Soon an open field was reached—the road led past buildings that the day before had been used as field hospitals. Some dead were still on the ground beneath the trees. All that could be seen or heard was stimulating to the braver, and unnerving, perhaps, for the weaker soldier, but soon the enemy’s fire across the line of march brought thoughts of present personal danger. By shelling, the enemy were attempting to prevent the passage of the column through between the heels of the horse shoe shape into which General Thomas’ forces had been pressed by the enemy. The regiment had no time or opportunity to defend itself—it was hastening to the relief of others worse pressed. A short halt in a corn field near General Thomas’ position, that the officers might get directions to the place of direst necessity. While the men could not see over the rising ground, the roar of artillery and the rattle of musketry was too near and too fierce to make things attractive. Soon orders came to go in on General Brannan’s right. Making its way over the low enclosure of the corn field into the woods, the regiment formed line of battle as it hurried up and to the right of Snodgrass Hill, and charged over Horse
Shoe Ridge, led by Lieutenant Colonel Wm. Sanborn, down into the thickest of the fight. Captain F. W. Kimberk of Company I did not participate in this charge; Second Lieutenant Lewis C. Mead took command of the Company; First Lieutenant Hamilton J. Woodman being in command of a detail guarding a supply train. Here the Twenty-second Michigan, with the Eighty-ninth Ohio on its right, under Colonel Le Favour, met a most deadly fire from the enemy — the slaughter was fearful — Lieutenant Colonel Sanborn was seriously wounded while leading the regiment and taken to the rear; Captain Wm. A. Smith was mortally wounded, Color Sergeant Philo Durkee of Company A was struck in the breast by a grape shot—he fell mortally wounded — clasping the flag in his arms, he sealed his devotion to it with his blood upon its folds. Corporal Richard A. Stansell of Company H took the flag from the dying grasp of Sergeant Durkee, and gave his life for the flag, a musket ball passing through his brain. Corporal Pearl Mitchell of Company F raised the flag amidst the storm of shot and shell that soon carried away his left arm; Corporal Jonathan Vincent rushed for the flag and defiantly waved it in the face of the enemy — he fell severely wounded; Colonel Le Favour, coming up at this instant, shouted ” Take up the flag.” First Sergeant Wm. F. Atkinson took the flag and handed it to Sergeant Oscar Kendall, who, with a knowledge of the enemy’s determination to put down the flag, threw away his rifle, took the flag, and with a courage and daring none can describe, planted it by his side, and stood as erect and fearless as God ever made man to stand for any cause. Corporal Fred Herger and one or two others of the Color Guard were killed; Captain A. M. Keeler, having taken command of the regiment after Lieutenant Colonel Sanborn was wounded, received orders to move the regiment back into line on the crest of the ridge where it joined Snodgrass Hill. There was a cessation of firing, and after closing up the broken ranks, the men were ordered to lie down. Within thirty minutes after the crest was occupied, two divisions of Longstreet’s veterans furiously charged the Union lines. The men had been carefully instructed to select their men and fire at their hearts. The men lying upon the ground until the enemy were within easy range, quickly sprang to their feet and dealt them a fearful slaughter. For a minute the firing was terrible, but the enemy were soon driven back. Captain Snell was mortally wounded and taken to the rear. Captain Galbraith was wounded but refused to be taken off the field. He asked Captain Keeler to examine the wound, who unbuttoned his waistbands, and putting his fingers in the wound found that the ball had been stopped by a bone and had glanced out. Captain Galbraith went back to his Company; Captain Goetz received a wound in his face, and brushing his hand over the wound went right in again; Lieutenant Spaulding was wounded, but remained with his Company. Word was sent back that the Twenty-second was nearly out of ammunition. Soon the enemy reformed, and came again determined to stay — the attack was desperate, and lasted for some minutes. The reply was brave and telling, and a charge broke and drove the enemy back again. Although the day before the Twenty-second had taken the precaution to put forty rounds in each cartridge box and forty rounds in the pocket of each man, the long continued firing had entirely exhausted the ammunition of many men — more was called for. An Orderly came back, saying “Ammunition would be sent, but hold the ground at all hazards.” What ammunition the men had was divided, and all that could be gathered from the cartridge boxes of the dead was distributed. General Granger, anticipating another charge at this point, sent orders, “to stand firm and use the cold steel.” After an ominous silence of a few minutes, the enemy came again, but a well directed fire, followed by a charge, broke the last line of the day. Of this last attack, General Longstreet, on visiting the Chickamauga battlefield, in an article in the Atlanta Constitution, under the heading, “After Twenty Years,” is made to say: There, pointing to Snodgrass Hill, “On that crest occurred the last collision of the day. A body of Federals made a gallant rally — it was then night — I threw my men on them, and my men melted away like shadows into darkness.” Here ended one of the fiercest battles of the Civil War. The Twenty-second Michigan and Eighty-ninth Ohio were still holding the ground they had been ordered to hold at all hazards and with the cold steel. It was so dark no further fighting seemed possible, so dark that the blue could not be distinguished from the gray. Colonel Le Favour, coming near Captain Keeler asked, “have you any orders for the Twenty-second Regiment?” He replied, “I will go to the right and see.” He did not return, but in a few minutes a body of troops were seen coming from the right, one from the left, and another from the rear. Then came an order to “throw down arms.” The moon was rising, but there was no ammunition to give a ray of hope. This was the first intimation of defeat that the Twenty-second had received, and there was no alternative. The Sixth Florida, Fifty-fourth Virginia of Triggs Brigade, Preston’s Division and Buckner’s Corps, took the arms and colors of the regiment. As the Twenty-second was being taken away, another regiment of the enemy fired on them and their guards. The guard ordered “Lie down,” and shouted, ” You are firing on your own men.” Nearly all dropped to the ground to escape a second volley. Lieutenant Albertson and John L. Clem, the regimental marker, feigning themselves dead, did not rise, and thus escaped a long imprisonment. The regiment was taken to General Preston’s headquarters. He called for the ranking officer. Captain Keeler went forward, and was asked to what Regiment, Brigade. Division and Corps his command belonged, and what position it occupied in the fight? He asked how many men Gordon Granger had in his Corps. When told that there were between three and four thousand, he replied, “That’s a damned lie; we know he had more men than that. Well, you fought like devils, we will use you well.” Colonel Le Favour was captured with the Eighty-ninth Ohio when he went to the right for orders; the Twenty- second was taken after that, while waiting for orders. It claims that it was the last regiment to leave the line of battle, and that orders to leave the field should have been sent to this Brigade, while all the others were withdrawn, unless it was necessary to sacrifice this command to save the rest of the army. All the other Federal forces had received orders to retire to Rossville, and had gone. The last orders received by these two regiments were “to hold the ground at all hazards; stand firm and use the cold steel.” The Twenty-second Michigan, when taken prisoners, numbered 178 men and 14 officers. That morning 500 men and officers answered to roll call. These prisoners were delivered at Libby Prison on the evening of September 30th, 1863. The next morning, the enlisted men were taken to other buildings, and afterwards sent to Belle Isle, Danville, Florence and Andersonville prisons, where nearly half of some of the companies died of starvation and cruel exposure. No pen can describe their inhuman treatment; the officers were kept in Libby Prison until May, 1864, and then moved to Macon, Ga., whence they were taken to Charleston, S. C., and placed under fire of the Union guns in the siege of Charleston; from there they were taken to Columbia, S. C., until Sherman’s march compelled the enemy to move them to Charlotte and Raleigh, N. C., where they were paroled and passed through the Union lines near Wilmington, N. C., March 1, 1865. While every officer and man of the Twenty-second Michigan who participated in the battle of Chickamauga did his whole duty, Lieutenant Colonel Sanborn was conspicuous for his bravery. General Whitaker in transmitting a copy of his report of the battle to Governor Blair, speaks as follows of Colonel Le Favour and the conduct of the regiment
Fort Whittaker, Opposite Lookout Mountain,
Near Chattanooga, Oct. 12, 1863.
Sir: Having had the honor of commanding the Twenty-second Michigan, Colonel Le Favour, in my brigade, in the battle of Chickamauga, and being personally observant of their undaunted heroism, let me urge you for the good of the service, and as a reward to a chivalrous officer, to use your influence for the promotion of Colonel Le Favour.
Respectfully yours, etc.,
W. C. WHITAKER,
Brigadier General Fourth Army Corps.
The following is from General Whitaker’s report:
“The Twenty-second Michigan, after fighting for nearly three hours, having exhausted their ammunition, boldly charged into the midst of overwhelming numbers with the bayonet, driving them until overcome by superior numbers.”
But for a heavy detail of the regiment acting as a train guard, under command of First Lieutenant Woodman, and Company B under command of First Lieutenant Bassett, acting as guard to General Gordon Granger’s headquarters, which were not in the battle, there would have been but few left to go into camp at Rossville on the night of September 20th. The next morning, what was left of the regiment marched back to Chattanooga, crossed the Tennessee River and went into camp on Moccasin Point. On September 23rd, at his own request, Major Henry S, Dean was relieved from duty as Inspector General on the staff of General R. S. Granger, at Nashville, also as a member of a commission detailed for the trial of cotton speculators, and reported to General Thomas at Chattanooga, who ordered him to take command of the regiment, which he did September 26, 1863. On September 27th, there were 187 officers and men present for duty; within a few days, this number was increased to 300 by General Thomas’ order, directing all detailed men to be returned to the regiment. From September 25th to October 8th, the regiment was engaged in building fortifications on Moccasin Point. On the latter date the enemy opened a heavy fire upon the regiment’s position from his batteries at the base of Lookout Mountain, which the Tenth Indiana Battery returned with such vigor that during the night he moved his batteries higher up on the mountains. The next morning, the enemies’ artillery practice commenced from Point Lookout upon the camp of the Twenty-second, and the battery it was supporting. For six weeks there was hardly an hour of the day or the night that the enemies’ shells did not screetch over or into the camp. There were many narrow escapes, some dodging of heads, and sudden reclinings at full length, but what seemed almost miraculous, no one was hurt; this condition continued until the charge of the Union lines up Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge drove the enemy from his guns. From September 27th to November 25th the regiment knew what it was to be hungry— three-fourths of one day’s rations of hard-tack, bacon and coffee, was issued to each man, and nothing more to eat could be had for four days.. The army was literally starving — when the men went out on picket duty, the Confederate pickets would call out, “Well, Yank, how do you like Vixburgh?” The regiment was hungry, ragged and bare-footed, but its Michigan grit failed not. On one occasion, but one-half of the usual short ration was issued. Late in the evening of the second day thereafter, an order was received from Brigade Headquarters announcing that there would be no more rations issued for two days. In the darkness of night, the regiment was formed in line to have this order announced to it. After the order had been read, the commanding officer said to the men: “On the march, on the battlefield and in fatigue duty, you have proven yourselves true soldiers; two days from now it will be known whether you are good soldiers when hungry and without rations. With such a state of facts staring them in the face, Michigan will be proud of men who could send up a cheer, as did those men on that dark and dreary night. On the night of October 27th, the regiment was ordered to sleep upon its arms; at 1 o’clock a. m. the roar of artillery and rattle of musketry gave notice that the enemy had discovered the Union forces, crossing the Tennessee River at Brown’s Ferry. At 4 o’clock a. m. the regiment, with the brigade to which it was attached, moved to the assistance of General Hooker, who was fighting to open the “Hard Tack” line, as the men named it. At daylight, the regiment crossed the pontoon bridge which had been successfully laid at Brown’s Ferry. As the column moved down the valley, the enemy opened fire on it from his batteries planted on the base of Lookout Mountain, wounding several men, killing two horses and smashing one wheel of a battery moving next in front of the regiment. The brigade of which the Twenty-second formed the right of the line, was ordered to relieve some troops just over from the Potomac who had exhausted their ammunition, and were lying down in line of battle. The brigade was ordered to charge the enemy, who were posted on a ridge behind rifle pits. As the line marched over, the troops it was ordered to relieve made remarks more pointed than complimentary about the clothing of the Twenty-second Michigan. One of the Michigan men cried out, “You may wear better clothes than we do, but you can’t do any better fighting, and we will prove it in five minutes.” The line charged up the hill, but before it reached the crest, the enemy got out of their rifle pits and ran down the other side of the hill, an action that created a suspicion that it was a trick. Word was passed hastily along the Union line, that as soon as it reached the crest it was to halt and lie down, which it did, and none too soon. The enemy had run down into a deep ravine and laid down, and then opened with grape and canister from four guns posted on a ridge about twenty-five or thirty rods beyond, firing over their own troops; they kept this up for eight or ten minutes, when they ceased firing, and their infantry charged our line, evidently thinking that their artillery fire had cut the Union line all to pieces, but they discovered their mistake as they went back in great confusion, and while the rattle of grape and canister was terrific, it all struck in the bank in front or went over the regiment lying down just back of the crest of the hill, and no one was hurt. Not so, however, with the troops in the rear which had been relieved. The enemy’s shot that went over the hill plunged into their ranks, killing and wounding quite a number. After their repulse the enemy began to reform in a piece of timber to the right and front of the Twenty-second. Just at that time, General Whitaker came onto the line, and seeing what the enemy were doing, hurried forward a bat- tery to the right of the Twenty-second which opened a vigorous fire upon the enemy, forcing him to retreat. This battle and the possession of Brown’s Ferry gave to the Union forces in Chattanooga the short line of communication to Bridgeport, Ala. The next morning the Twenty-second marched back to its camp on Moccasin Point. On its return, it marched through a corn field which had not been disturbed by the ravages of war, where it halted until every man could shell corn enough to fill his haversack, which was the first time they had had full haversacks for more than a month. October 29th the regiment was assigned to the Engineer Brigade, commanded by General William F. Smith, Chief Engineer of the Army of the Cumberland. From this date until November 21st, it was engaged in building roads from Brown’s Ferry to Chattanooga. On the 21st of November it was assigned to the duty of moving a pontoon train of 125 wagons from Chattanooga to a point four miles above that place, to where General Sherman was to cross the Tennessee River to take part in the battle of Mission Ridge. The route over which this train was to be moved was in plain sight of the enemy on Lookout Mountain. Major Dean, who was in command of the regiment, was told by General Thomas that the enemy must not get an inkling of this movement, that if he failed to conceal it, one important part of the contemplated movement would fail, and directed Major Dean, accompanied by Captain West, General Smith’s Adjutant General, to make himself perfectly familiar with the entire country over which the train and troops were to move to reach the position selected. The night of November 21st, 1863, was dark and stormy. At 9 o’clock p. m. a train of 125 heavy pontoon wagons and boats were sent across the river from under the shadows of Cameron, where they had been kept out of sight of the enemy, to the north side of the Tennessee River, and delivered to the Twenty-second Michigan. The most profound secrecy was enjoined; the mules that were to move this train were so reduced by starvation that some of them could scarcely stand alone. The roads were mud, axletree deep. Before starting, the regiment was told that upon its exertions for the next forty hours depended in a great measure the success of the movement about to be made against the enemy; that if weak mules could not move the wagons, men must; if wheels were broken they must be replaced at once. The missing wheels from General Palmer’s ammunition train which was parked in the brush near the road on which the pontoon train was moving gave proof that the order to repair breakage was promptly obeyed. When wagons were capsized they were quickly righted by the strong arms of brave men; when mules and wagons were mired, men knee deep in mud pushed or pulled them out. The task was not completed when day began to break on the morning of November 22nd. Wagons and boats were quickly concealed in thickets, behind hills or by piling brush over them. The men, tired, wet, hungry and without rations, laid down in the underbrush to await the darkness of another night. The next night, Nov. 23rd, the same experience was repeated, and the pontoon train placed in its position. Some idea of the skill and secrecy with which the movements preceding the battle of Mission Ridge were conducted may be had from the fact that the men of the Twenty-second had not the least knowledge that General Sherman, with 15,000 troops, lay concealed just over the hill, forty rods to their left; nor did the enemy get an inkling of what was going on, until one of General Sherman’s Captains with a squad of Union soldiers made the grand rounds of his picket line, on the south side of the river.
At 1 o’clock a. m., November 25th, the regiment was under arms, every man carrying forty rounds in his cartridge box and as many more tucked into his blouse, ready to take part in meeting any resistance the enemy might make to laying the bridge. But the movement had been conducted with such secrecy that the enemy’s pickets did not discover the first landing party until they did so as prisoners. As soon as the crossing of General Sherman was effected, the regiment was ordered to take the pontoon train back to Chattanooga and assist in throwing a bridge across the Tennessee River at that point. As the last boat in this bridge was placed in position, that magnificent line of battle, five miles in length, charged up Mission Ridge, sending back a goodly number of Bragg’s army to cross that bridge as prisoners of war. November 28th the regiment left its camp on Moccasin Point, crossed to the south side of the river, and went into camp one mile below Chattanooga, at the junction of Chattanooga Creek and the Tennessee River. From this date until December 16th, by special order from General George H. Thomas, the regiment was engaged in repairing railroad bridges. January 16, 1864, cars began to run from Bridgeport to Chattanooga, and the long season of short rations ended.
Through the efforts of a recruiting party sent home to Michigan under the command of Captain Atkinson and Lieutenant Breidenbach, the regiment was filled to something near its full quota during the months of March and April, 1864. From December 17, 1863, to May 1, 1864, the regiment was engaged in building railroad bridges, storehouses, magazines, saw-mills, and furnishing guards for steamboats. It was a common saying “that if anything was to be built, from a watch to a saw-mill, a Michigan regiment could build it,” and the Twenty-second Michigan was not an exception to the rule — it never was idle, and none accomplished more when they worked than did the men of the Twenty-second Michigan. On May 1, 1864, the regiment was ordered onto Lookout Mountain, where it remained until May 26th, when it received orders “to report to Major General George H. Thomas in the field.” It proceeded from Chattanooga to Kingston, Ga., by rail; from there it marched out three and one-half miles on the Cassville road, and camped at sunset May 28th. Just as it had rolled itself in its blankets, a dispatch was received from the Post Commander at Kingston that the regiment was 011 the wrong road and in imminent danger of being attacked, and advising an immediate return to Kingston. After a brief consultation among the officers, it was decided to post a strong picket, and sleep or fight in that place; there was some good sleeping, but no fight. May 29th it marched, changing its direction, crossing the Etowa River nine miles from Kingston, passing through the beautiful town of Euharlie, and at 5 p. m. camped on Altoona Creek. May 30th it crossed the Altoona Mountains and camped that night on a creek four miles from Dallas, Ga. May 31st it marched two miles to the right of Dallas and reported to General Thomas. He ordered the regiment to report to General Howard, who directed it to go into line and support a battery on its right. The enemy made three attempts to break the Union lines, but were repulsed with great slaughter, and a considerable number of them captured in a counter charge Here the recruits of the regiment heard the whistle of bullets for the first time. On June 1, 1864, the regiment was assigned to the Reserve Brigade, Department of the Cumberland, to report direct to Major General George H. Thomas. Colonel Heber Le Favour having been exchanged and just returned to the regiment, was assigned to the command of the brigade. The regiment remained in this brigade from the date of its organization until the close of the Atlanta campaign. During that time there was almost con- tinuous battle; the days on which there was no fighting were the exception. The Twenty-second Michigan participated in the following movements and battles in the Atlanta campaign:
Kenesaw Mountain, June 9th; Big Shanty, June 10th; Golgotha Church, June 15th; Pine Mountain, June 16th; Culp’s House, June 22nd; Kenesaw Mountain, June 27th; Nickajack Creek, July 2nd to 4th; Vining’s Station, July 5th; Chattahoochie River, July 6th to 10th.
July 17th, as the regiment was about to cross the Chattahoochie River on a pontoon bridge, with the rest of the column, Lieutenant Colonel Dean received an order from General Thomas directing him to halt his regiment and build a double-track bridge of sufficient strength for the passage of heavy artillery, stating that material for the bridge would be found growing on the banks of the river, and that necessary tools would be sent to him. The regiment built this bridge, 280 feet long, at an elevation of ten feet above the water in sixty hours. When its completion was reported to General Thomas he ordered the regiment to remain at the bridge until the rear of the army had crossed, and then to cut connections and let the bridge go down stream. The regiment participated in the battles of Peach Tree Creek July 20th and Atlanta July 22nd. In the latter it was under a heavy artillery fire from the enemy’s works in front of Atlanta, from under which General Thomas ordered it to fall back. It remained in front of Atlanta, participating in the siege until 4 o’clock a. m., August 25th, when with the rest of the army it made the flank movement to the south of that place. The men carried four days’ rations in haversacks and ten more by wagon. On the morning of August 29th, it reached Red Oak, a small station on the Montgomery Railroad, and at once proceeded to destroy the road. In a few hours it tore up miles of the track, piling the rails on burning heaps of ties and fence rails, thus heating them red hot in the center and then taking them by each end and bending them around trees and telegraph poles, thus rendering them useless and breaking another line of the enemy’s communication with Atlanta. August 31st the regiment camped at Renfros, near Jonesboro; September 1st it was moved into line and stood under arms all day. At the opening of the fight it was under fire and there it stood all day, as reserves, in readiness to move at a moment’s notice to take part in the battle of Jonesborough, which was won that day by the Union forces. There is nothing more trying to a soldier than this anxious waiting for orders during the progress of a great battle, not knowing at what moment the order may come to go in, and knowing to, as do reserves, that it will not come unless their comrades meet with a repulse.
September 3rd the regiment began retracing its steps to Atlanta. On the morning of September 8, 1864, the brigade of which the regiment was a part, marched into the city of Atlanta with light hearts, colors flying and bands playing. The prize fought for inch by inch, for four months, won at last. On October 14th, while the teamsters were outside the picket line at Atlanta, grazing the regimental animals a squad of Confederate cavalry dashed down upon them, capturing six men, five horses and twenty-nine mules. One of the men who made his escape reported that “all the mules are captured but me.” A detachment was immediately sent in pursuit but the enemy made good his escape with prisoners and plunder. October 31st the regiment left Atlanta for Chattanooga as part of the escort and guard to the Books and Papers of the Department of the Cumberland, arriving at Chatanooga November 6th, having made the march of 140 miles in six and one-half days, over roads which were horrible and through a rain storm.
November 8th was election day and the Twenty-second cast its vote for President. The regiment remained on duty as provost guards at Chattanooga from November 6, 1864, until June 21, 1865. During November and December the regiments, by permission of General Thomas, cut, rafted and sawed the lumber to erect twenty-five buildings of sufficient capacity to quarter 1,000 men and officers, for their own use. On April 1, 1865. the regiment was assigned to the Third Brigade, Separate Division, District of the Etowah, Army of the Cumberland, commanded by Colonel and Brevet Brigadier General Heber Le Favour. With the exception of the Twenty- second Michigan, the brigade was stationed at Cleveland, Tenn. While the regiment was at Chattanooga, two warehouses, each forty feet wide and one hundred feet long, filled with fixed ammunition, shells, etc., caught fire from a spark from an engine. These storehouses stood about thirty feet from a brick building with a shingle roof, in which was stored five tons of gunpowder. The Twenty-second was ordered to form line as a bucket- brigade down to the river, between the burning storehouses and the brick building and not to let the powder house take fire. The air was full of bursting shells, and the noise equal to a good-sized battle. Fortunately no one was killed and none seriously wounded, but the coolness of the men under these trying circumstances was so conspicuous that General James B. Steedman, commanding the District of the Etowah, issued a special order, which was read to all the troops, calling attention to the coolness and efficiency of the service rendered by the regiment. On June 21, 1865, the regiment received orders to proceed to Nashville, Tenn., for the muster out of all its men whose term of service would expire on or before October 1, 1865. At the time this order was received, the Twenty-second Michigan Infantry bore upon its rolls the names of 1,000 men, and was carrying twenty unassigned recruits. The regiment left Chattanooga by rail for Nashville, Tenn., where it arrived on the evening of June 22nd. The men whose terms of service did not expire on or before October 1, 1865, were transferred to the Twenty-ninth Michigan Infantry. The muster out rolls of the regiment being completed, on the 26th of June, 1865, it was mustered out of the United States service and ordered to Detroit for final payment and discharge. Tuesday morning, June 27th, it left Nashville by rail, loaded in cattle cars, homeward bound. On its arrival at Indianapolis, Ind., it was detained twenty-four hours for lack of cars, as the cattle cars would not be permitted to go any further. A telegraphic message was sent to Superintendent Rice of the M. C. R. R. Co., at Detroit, asking him to send coaches to Indianapolis to take the regiment from there to Detroit. In twenty minutes the answer came: “Coaches have left for Indianapolis.” Hearty cheers went up from the regiment as the train of coaches, on which was inscribed the familiar letters “M. C. R. R.,” ran down to the Soldiers’ Home in Indianapolis, where it was quartered. It quickly got on board and was soon speeding away for Michigan, comfortably seated in passenger coaches for the first time in three years. At Marshall, Mich., the good citizens insisted that the regiment should stop and eat the good things they had spread out for it on its arrival; at Jackson, too, dinner was awaiting the regiment, but when it was known that it was to be paid off in Detroit the then Mayor of that city said that “unless the regiment was paid off in Jackson, it could not eat the dinner.” The men had two days’ rations of bacon and hard tack in their haversacks and thought they could live on that until they reached Detroit. It went on board the train without tasting the dinner, in justice be it said, much to the regret and mortification of the citizens of Jackson. The regiment arrived in Detroit at 8:15 p. m., was marched to the supper room in the M. C. R. R. depot, where so many of the returning regiments were the recipients of the hospitality of the City of the Straits. Welcoming speeches were made, the cowbell that had seen three years’ service was rung, the log chain which Joseph Le Bot found in Georgia, and carried through all his marches, because he thought “it would be handy on his farm,” was exhibited and the Twenty-second Michigan Infantry sat down to the last supper it ever ate as a regiment. It slept that night on the M. C. R. R. Co.’s wharf, and the next day went into camp on Clinton street. July 10, 1865, it was paid off and discharged and the Twenty-second Michigan Infantry Volunteers no longer had an existence. During its term of service the regiment was commanded by the following officers: Colonel Moses Wisner, from August 8, 1862 until January 4, 1863; By Colonel Heber Le Favour from January 5, 1863 until March 20, 1863; by Lieutenant Colonel William Sanborn, from March 21, 1863, until May 2, 1863; by Colonel Heber Le Favour from May 3, 1863, until September 4, 1863; by Lieutenant Colonel William Sanborn, from September 5, 1863, until September 20, 1863; by Captain A. M. Keeler, from September 20, 1863, until September 25, 1863; by Major Henry S. Dean, from September 26, 1863, until June 6, 1864, as Major, and from June 7, 1864, until June 21, 1865, as Lieutenant Colonel; and by Colonel and Brevet Brigadier General Heber Le Favour from June 22, 1865, until July 10, 1865.
On September 4, 1862, just before the Twenty-second left Pontiac, the young ladies of that city presented the regiment with a beautifully embroidered silk flag. J. S. Dewey, Esq., made the presentation in behalf of the ladies. Miss Emma Adams and Miss Julia Comstock delivered it to Colonel Wisner, who accepted it on behalf of the regiment. This flag and the State colors, in defense of which so many brave men gave up their lives, were captured at Chickamauga. For more than thirty years the survivors of the regiment made diligent but fruitless search for these colors. While in Washington, James Greeson of Company I, Twenty-second Michigan, in looking over a book in the War Department, containing an inventory of the property captured by the Union Army at the final surrender of Richmond, Va., found the record of a box containing “two flags of the 22nd Michigan Infantry.” He immediately communicated his discovery to a committee which had been appointed to search for the flags by the Regimental Association. Congress had passed an act forbidding the return of any flags except by an Act of Congress authorizing it. The committee appointed by the Regimental Association, asked Senator James McMillan to introduce a bill authorizing the return of the flags to the Regimental Association, which he did. The bill was reported favorably by the Senate Military Committee. When put upon its passage, it was amended, providing that the return should be to the State of Michigan. In this form the bill passed both Houses of Congress and was signed by the President. In 1895 the flags were returned to Governor John T. Rich, as representative of the State, who appointed Lieutenant Colonel Henry S. Dean as trustee to hold them for the State. On September 4, 1895, just thirty-two years after their presentation, the survivors of the Twenty-second Michigan Infantry held a reunion in the city of Pontiac, when the flags were restored to the regiment, several of the ladies who presented them being present on that occasion.