The Army of the US Historical Sketches of Staff and Line with Portraits of Generals-in-Chief
The Tenth Regiment of Infantry
By Capt. S. Y. Seyburn
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In submitting this sketch the author disclaims any attempt to narrate events in what is termed a popular style, but has endeavored to give to those interested a concise history of the Tenth Infantry, accurate in details so far as painstaking work and careful revision can make it. It will be noticed that it does not include the history of the organizations designated as Tenth Infantry which existed for short periods of time in the military history of the country prior to 1855. It would be very gratifying, no doubt, to be able to add to our records the gallant names and deeds of those regiments, but it is a question if their history should properly be included in that of the present organization.
The Tenth Infantry of to-day has a record of which its members may feel sufficiently proud, and it is hoped that some able pen may yet describe in an attractive manner the deeds of heroism, privations and sufferings of its members.
The regiment was organized by Act of Congress approved March 3, 1855, which also established the 9th Infantry, and 1st and 2d (now 4th and 5th) regiments of cavalry, and the following named officers were appointed to the original organization:
- Colonel Edmund B. Alexander.
- Lieut.-Colonel Charles F. Smith.
- Majors: William H. T. Walker and Edward R. S. Canby.
- Captains: Henry F. Clarke,* Franklin Gardner,* James G. S. Snelling,* Barnard E. Bee,* John C. Symmes,* Matthew S. Pitcher (N. Y.), Nathaniel S. Webb (Conn.), Albert Tracy (Me.), Jesse A. Gove (N. H.), and John Dunovant (S. C.).
- First Lieutenants: Joseph L. Tidball,* Alfred Cumming,* Cuvier Grover,* Louis H. Marshall,* Henry E. Maynadier,* Henry B. Kelly (La.), James Findlay Harrison (Ohio), William Clinton (Penn.), John McNab (Vt.), Nathan A. M. Dudley (Mass.).
- Second Lieutenants: Peter T. Swaine,* John H. Forney,* Lyman M. Kellogg,* Lawrence A. Williams,* James Deshler,* William H. Rossell (N. J.), Alexander Murry (Penn.), Malcolm H. Nicholls (La.), William Kearny (Mo.), and Curtis Dunham (Kan.).
Captains Clarke and Symmes declined, and 1st Lieutenants A. D. Nelson* and Henry Heth,* 6th Infantry, were appointed to fill their vacancies. John Dunovant was the only captain who had seen no previous service.
The 9th and 10th Regiments of Infantry (riflemen) were uniformed as
*Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy.
other regiments of infantry, with the exception of the knapsack straps and waist belts, which were like those of the French Chasseurs-a-pied. They were also furnished with bugles instead of drums.
The headquarters of the regiment were stationed at Carlisle Barracks, Pa., recruiting being conducted under the superintendence of the regimental commander, to whom all officers appointed to the regiment were directed to report by letter, giving their addresses, and suggesting places in their respective neighborhoods where recruiting rendezvous could be opened. For the first few months a field officer other than the colonel was in command of the regiment.
Recruiting rendezvous were established at various points throughout the Middle and New England States, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, and the junior major was designated as "inspector of regimental rendezvous and stations" in April, 1855; Lieutenants McNab and Maynadier being announced at the same time as adjutant and quartermaster respectively.
Colonel Alexander joined and assumed command of the regiment August 25, 1355, relieving Lieutenant-Colonel Smith and continuing the regimental staff in their positions.
To facilitate the necessary military instruction, Companies A, B, D, G and K were, in August, placed under the supervision of Lieut.-Col. Smith, and C, F, H and I, under that of Major Canby. Hardie's Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics were first used for instruction in the regiment. In September, 1855, preparations were commenced for the transfer of the regiment to its first regular station.
In October Lieutenant McNab was detailed on recruiting service and Lieutenant Maynadier was made regimental adjutant in his place, Lieutenant Swaine, later, being appointed regimental quartermaster in Maynadier's place.
The Field, Staff, and A, B, C, D, F, G, H, I and K, left Carlisle Barracks October 13th, and arrived at Galena October 17th. Headquarters and A, C, D, I and K, travelled thence by steamboat to Fort Snelling, arriving October 20th. Companies B, F, G and H, under Major Canby, left Galena on the 18th and arrived at Fort Crawford, Wis., October 19th. Company C took station at Fort Ripley October 31st.
Of the first five hundred men enlisted for the regiment, sixty-six were born in the New England States, one hundred and forty-nine in the Middle and Western States, and two hundred and eighty-five were foreign born. From this total enlisted, two hundred and seventy-five deserted before completing their enlistment.
Company E during this year was serving in the field under General Harney, a portion of the time being mounted. The seventy men carried on its return for July had all been selected by Captain Heth from the general service recruits at Governor's Island, N. Y. The company, under Lieutenant Dudley, arrived at Fort Leavenworth on the 25th of July. It left that post on the 4th of August, and on the 3d of September was engaged in the battle of Blue Water.
The only changes in the list of officers of the regiment for the year 1855 were due to the death of Captain Snelling and the resignations of Lieuten-
ants Harrison and Kellogg. Aside from the regular promotions so caused, three brevet second lieutenants—Hill of the 10th, Bennett of the 3d, and Bryan of the 9th—were promoted and joined the regiment at the foot of the list of second lieutenants.
In March, 1856, a system of regimental instruction was instituted. Exercise in drill, target practice and marching was zealously kept up. It was impressed on the soldiers that their duties as "Light Infantrymen" required of them a complete knowledge of the use of the rifle, and especially deliberation and calmness in firing, that each shot might be effective. The ranges for target practice were two, three, four, five, six and seven hundred yards. Five shots were allowed at 200 yards, seven at 300, nine at 400, nine at 500, and ten each at 600 and 700 yards. The target used was a piece of white cotton, seven feet long and four feet wide, stretched on an iron frame. The bull's-eye was a circle eight inches in diameter, four feet from the ground and equidistant from the sides, painted black, with the exception of a small spot in the centre left unpainted to determine the centre accurately. Outside the bull's-eye were two black rings concentric with it, with radii of six and nine inches respectively. All shots were recorded and the men classified according to ability. Squads and individuals were practised, and the percentage of hits to misses governed the score, record in the cases of individuals being kept of bull's-eye hits.
Regimental headquarters and four companies, under Colonel Alexander, left Fort Snelling June 24th of this year, and arrived at Fort Ridgely June 30th, taking station there; B, F, G and H left Fort Crawford, Wis., June 9th, and arrived at Fort Snelling June 11th, where H was assigned to duty.
On the 23d of July, B (Gardner) and F (Pitcher) left Camp Alexander, near Fort Snelling, under the command of Lieut.-Col. Smith, on the Red River expedition. They were absent until November 27th of the same year, when the command returned to Fort Snelling, having marched in that time a distance of nearly a thousand miles. Colonel Smith assumed command of Fort Snelling on his return to that post.
On the 19th of March, 1857, it was reported to the commanding officer of Fort Ridgely, that a war party of Sioux had raided a settlement at Spirit Lake on the southern border of Minnesota, killing settlers and burning their homes. The call for assistance came from Des Moines City, described at-that time as a settlement on the Des Moines River, some fifteen miles north of Spirit Lake. Captain B. E. Bee with "D," numbering forty-eight rank and file, left the post at noon of the same day and proceeded down the valley of the Minnesota River to South Bend.
The season of the year was most unfavorable for such an expedition. The snow lay deep on the trail, and had thawed to such an extent that it would not bear the weight of the men or the heavy sleds used for transportation. Their progress was necessarily slow and wearisome.
Extricating the mules and sleds from the deep drifts of snow by digging with spade and shovel, and pulling them out of the sloughs, more troublesome than the snow-banks, and more dangerous, occupied the men from early daylight until darkness set in, and greatly delayed the progress of the command. For several days the same difficulties were encountered.
By marching the command in column of fours and relieving the men at the head of the column, at short intervals, they were able to break a road through the deep and heavy snow. They would then stack arms, and the soldiers would fall back to the assistance of the sleds. In spite of these difficulties the command marched fifteen or eighteen miles a day. In addition to the severe strain this labor imposed upon the men, they were, after reaching camp, drilled in skirmishing, as many of them were recruits who had never been instructed in this drill. In spite of their hardships and sufferings the soldiers behaved gallantly, evincing patience, determination and pluck, and maintained a cheerfulness really remarkable.
On the afternoon of March 28th, after a weary march of twenty miles, the command arrived in sight of the Indian village, which was situated in a thick grove of timber and apparently consisted of about thirty lodges. At once all was made ready for action. The sick and weary rejoined the ranks from the sleighs. The advance was made and the old story repeated. The Indians had fled, and only their deserted village and a half-breed Sioux settler, well known to the whites by the name of Caboo, remained to compensate the troops for their gallant effort. From Caboo it was learned that the hostiles were a portion of Ink-pah-du-tah's band. They had wiped out the settlement, and had gone to Heron Lake, some twenty-five miles distant in the direction of the Yankton Country.
Caboo was confident that the Indians were there, although he asserted that they intended to join the Yanktons, who were then at war, and against whom troops were then operating on the Missouri River.
At retreat, Captain Bee, having decided to continue the pursuit, called for volunteers, desiring to select for that purpose the strongest and most ardent of the men, but every man of the company stepped to the front and desired to be permitted to accompany the expedition. Selecting one officer,—Lieutenant Murry,—two non-commissioned officers, and twenty privates, rationed for three days, Captain Bee pushed on to Heron Lake. Caboo, who had joined the command as a guide, by intercepting the trail shortened the distance marched to about fourteen or sixteen miles. The camp was found, but the Indians had become alarmed and fled in haste from their village, leaving behind traces of their plunder in the shape of books, scissors, articles of female apparel, furs, traps, etc., scattered about all parts of the village. They had been gone some hours. About four miles beyond, at another small lake and grove, a small camp of hostiles had also been established, but was deserted when Lieutenant Murry and his men, detached for that purpose, reached it. Fearing that other bands were still about the settlement, and being destitute of provisions, with a rapidly rising stream—the Des Moines—between him and his supplies, and his men being foot-sore and weary from a march of one hundred and forty miles under difficulties not easily portrayed, Captain Bee was obliged to return disappointed to his main camp. The command then marched to the settlements, and an investigation entered into by Captain Bee disclosed the cause of the outbreak to be as follows:
In the early winter Ink-pah-du-tah's band, numbering about thirteen men, had been hunting on the Little Sioux River. A dog belonging to one
of the settlers attacked and severely bit one of these Indians, and was promptly killed by the Indian. The owner of the dog punished the Indian,, and the other settlers, fearing trouble from the settler's rash act, made matters still worse, in fact, precipitated upon themselves an Indian war in short order. They disarmed the whole band of Indians, thus leaving them without means of procuring sustenance. The Indians became highly incensed at this act of the whites. The captured arms were left unguarded, a fact the Indians soon discovered. They immediately recovered them, and then turned with true savage fury upon the defenseless settlers of the valley, murdering, burning and carrying into captivity women and children. These Indians procured through the unscrupulousness of a pair of white wretches by the name of Wood, who were brothers, living on the opposite side of the river to the settlement destroyed by the Indians, arms and ammunition. They are said to have carried on a profitable traffic with the hostiles. There appears no record of a subsequent hanging match either.
During April of this year the headquarters of the regiment were temporarily established at Fort Snelling, in consequence of the Indian excitement, and upon the strong recommendation of General Alexander, who earnestly set forth the advantages possessed by that post in having a daily mail in summer, and a tri-weekly mail in winter.
In May one of the white women, captured by Ink-pah-du-tah's band of Sioux at the Spirit Lake massacre, was surrendered to Agent Flandreau and taken to Fort Ridgeley. While negotiating the surrender of two others held by the band, it was decided to suspend military operations planned, and which were to have been carried on mainly by the Tenth Infantry, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Smith and Major Canby, until that object had been accomplished. Yellow Medicine Agency was the point from which the negotiations were being conducted.
Following closely upon the Indian troubles which most of the regiment had been employed, since early spring, in suppressing, came the necessity to send to Utah a large military force to protect the Federal officers there,. and to compel obedience to the laws. Brigham Young, who had been running things successfully with a high hand for some years, finally announced himself as follows:
"I am, and will be Governor, and no power can hinder it until the Lord Almighty says,' Brigham, you need not be Governor any longer.'"
This seems to have settled it. The Government ordered an expedition, consisting of two thousand five hundred men under Colonel A. S. Johnston, I to Utah Territory for protection of the newly appointed Governor, Alfred Cumming, and other federal officials in the discharge of their duties.
The Tenth Infantry formed a part of the expedition, and by the 30th of June, 1857, the regiment, excepting A and D, was at Camp Walbach, near Fort Leavenworth. General Alexander, Colonel Smith, and Major Canby were present for duty; A was at that time at Fort Ripley, and D at Fort Ridgeley.
The regiment took up the march July 18 and reached Fort Kearney August 7 where it remained until the 11th, and on August 31 encamped eight miles below Fort Laramie, on the scene of Lieutenant Grattan's
massacre.* A left Fort Ripley July 8, and D Fort Ridgeley July 21, and at the end of August both companies were in camp near Fort Kearney, Neb., en route to Utah.
The march of the regiment from Fort Laramie was not resumed until Sept. 5, the time since its arrival having been occupied in refitting, replenishing supplies, and resting the weary. On the night of the 24th the Mormons made an attempt to stampede the mules of the baggage train, a small party of them dashing through the herd, firing and yelling. Only eleven of the mules were driven off, and they were recovered the next day by a party of teamsters sent in pursuit under Lieutenants Maynadier and Swayne. The regiment reached Green River on the 27th, left there at midnight the same night, and after a march Of 23 miles reached Ham's Fork. Company C formed a part of the command of Captain R. B. Marcy during October. It returned to Ham's Fork October 31. A and D joined the command on the 6th of November.
The regiment arrived at Camp Scott, near Fort Bridger, on the 20th, where a winter camp was formed. The health of the regiment was reported remarkably good, but many cases of frost-bite occurred during the month. Theoretical and practical instruction was maintained as regularly as was permitted by inclement weather, and the absence of large details for detached guard and outpost duty, and the necessity of hauling all the fuel by hand four or five miles. These laborious duties were -performed too, upon a restricted and indifferent allowance of food. The ration of flour was restricted at one time to ten ounces, and the beef cattle furnished were of the poorest quality, some of them unable to stand up.
The regiment moved from Camp Scott to Fort Bridger March 18, 1858, in one of the most terrible snowstorms ever encountered in that valley. It remained at this post until June 15, when it marched to Salt Lake City. arriving June 26, and at the temporary site of Camp Floyd, U. T., July 7, Major Canby, with E and K left Camp Floyd August 6 to proceed to Fort Bridger and there to assume command. Lieut.-Colonel Smith assumed command of the regiment August 6, Colonel Alexander going on leave, and the regiment moved from temporary to permanent site of Camp Floyd September 7, and at once commenced erecting adobe quarters into which it moved October 16, 1858.
It was during the year 1858 that the "double quick" was established as the habitual marching time of the regiment in the formation of line.
The duties which devolved upon the officers and men of the regiment at this period were extremely disagreeable, and demanded the utmost caution, determination, firmness and good judgment. The troops were employed in arresting and guarding civil prisoners, upon the requisitions of U. S. Marshals, and supporting officers at the U. S. Courts; Captain Heth, part icularly, rendering efficient service in these duties. Company B, under Lieutenant Cunningham, was employed in protecting immigrants against Indians in the northern part of the territory, going as far north as Fort Hall.
Sergeant Ralph Pike, 10th Infantry, died at Camp Floyd, U. T., August
*Brevet 2d Lieut. John L. Grattan, 6th Infantry, killed in action with Indians Aug. 19, 1854.
14, 1859, and was buried with military honors on the 15th. He was a victim to Mormon hatred, having been assassinated in revenge for the proper discharge of his duty. It is of interest to know that the murderer of Sergeant Pike was arrested. The arrest, however, was not made until about twenty eight years had elapsed, and it is not known what punishment, if any, the murderer received.
On March 21, 1860, the command of the regiment devolved upon Major Canby, Lieutenant-Colonel Smith having been directed to assume command of the department of Utah. Indian troubles in New Mexico occupied the attention of the military authorities early in this year (1860), the powerful Navajo tribe furnishing the greatest number of malcontents. Major Canby who stood high as an efficient and successful officer in the field, was directed by the War Department to proceed to Fort Garland, N. M., and on May 20 he, with A, F and H, left Camp Floyd en route for that post, which was reached after a long and arduous march of more than 640 miles, extending over a period of two months. The route selected was by way of Summit Camp on Salt Creek, Utah, where the command arrived May 31, and the Blue River, on which it encamped from June 28 until July 6, 1860, finally arriving at its new station, Fort Garland, July 28.
Regimental Headquarters, and B, C and G, under Captain Cumming, left Camp Floyd May 10 en route to Forts Bridger and Laramie, and reached Fort Bridger May 20; Headquarters, and C, D and K, under Captain Dunovant, left Bridger May 26 and arrived at Fort Laramie June 19, 1860, having marched a total distance of 550 miles.
Colonel Alexander rejoined from leave and took command of the regiment July 16, 1860, and on the same date appointed Lieutenant J. H. Hill, adjutant and Lieutenant L. H. Marshall, R. Q. M. Lieut.-Colonel Smith was relieved of the command of the department of Utah and assumed command of Camp Floyd August 20, 1860.
During the month of August, 1860, A left Fort Garland on an expedition against Navajo Indians and, on the 3d of October, had a sharp skirmish with a superior force of them in the Tunica Mountains, near the Sierra de las Estréllas, killing ten Indians, capturing five prisoners, taking 16 horses and destroying the village. First Sergeant Boyce was wounded in the affair by an arrow shot through his breast. The company then proceeded to Fort Defiance, A. T., arriving October 4, and leaving on the 11th as part of the first column of the Navajo expedition. On the last day of the month the company was in camp at Mesa de las Bacis, Lieutenant Rossell in command, having marched a distance during the month of over 300 miles.
During the first half of the month of November, A was employed in scouting the country between Cañon de Chele and Cañon de las Simitas.
Major Walker and Captain Dunovant, who were both from the South, resigned in December of this year.
Company A, with G, 5th Infantry, under command of Lieutenant Lewis, 5th Infantry, left Fort Fauntleroy January 5, 186 1, on a scouting expedition. About thirty miles north of Fort Fauntleroy, on the morning of the 7th, a village was located, surprised by the troops, four Indians killed, seventeen taken prisoners, twelve animals captured, and the village destroyed. At
the commencement of the year 1862 the regiment was stationed as follows:
Headquarters and Companies D and K at Fort Laramie, Neb.; A and F at Socorro, N. M.; B, E, G and I in Washington, D. C.; C at Fort Wise, Col.; and H in camp at Pinos Ranch, near Santa Fé, N. M.
In January and early in February, A, F and H concentrated at Fort Craig, N. M., and on the 21st of February were engaged in the battle of Val Verde, near Fort Craig, with the rebel forces, F serving a battery of howitzers. The battalion commander, Capt. W. H. Rossell, 10th Infantry, was taken prisoner, ten enlisted men were killed and sixteen wounded in this engagement. The killed were Privates Collins, Hoggant, Miller, Reichling, Schweer and Washburne of Company A, and Corporals Crotty and Christianson, and Privates Brown and Schweep of Company H. This was the regiment's first sacrifice to the Civil War, made on the dreary plains of New Mexico, nearly two thousand miles from the principal theatre of operations.
Companies B, E, G and I, serving with the Army of the Potomac, left Washington, March, 1862,—encamped near Fort Monroe from March 26 till April 4,—and at Yorktown, Va., on the 12th. In May B was broken up and the men absorbed by E, G and I. The same course was adopted during the same month with A in New Mexico, the privates being transferred and the non-commissioned officers attached to F and H. During the previous month A, F and H had formed part of Colonel Canby's command, which left camp at Val Verde, N. M., on April 1, 1862, F serving as artillery. They took part in the affairs at Albuquerque on the 8th, and Peralto on the 15th of April. In September and October, 1862, C, F and H, marched to Leavenworth, arriving November 7. On the 24th they were in Washington, and four days later had reported for duty with the 2d Brig., 2d Div., 5th Corps, General Sykes commanding, at Aquia Creek, Va., where E, G and I were also serving. These six companies were engaged in the battle of Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 14 and 15. E, G and I, while forming part of Sykes' Brigade, were engaged in the battle of Chickahominy, with a loss in killed and wounded of thirty enlisted men, and were engaged at Malvern Hill and Bull Run, 2d, with a loss in those two engagements of thirteen enlisted men. They were also engaged in the battle of Antietam, and in the action near Shepardstown, Va., with a loss in these two engagements of fifteen enlisted men.
The year 1863 proved to be a most eventful one for the regiment. At its commencement Headquarters and D and K were at Fort Kearney, having been transferred to that post from Fort Laramie in the preceding June. C, E, F, G, H and I were with the Army of the Potomac. Early in March, 1863, C, E, F and I were broken up. and the enlisted men, numbering 81, were transferred and attached to Companies G and H. Regimental Headquarters and D and K, commanded by Lieut. Bush, left Fort Kearney April 7, and joined the regiment in the field near Chancellorsville on the night of the 30th. When Lieut. Bush and his command, numbering three officers and fifty men, direct from the plains of Nebraska, joined the regiment, its total strength then amounted to but eight officers and 100 enlisted men.
At about noon of the following day, while moving toward Fredericks-
burg, the enemy made his appearance, and was attacked and driven back by the 2d Brigade, which on that morning led the division. When the enemy was first encountered the 2d Brigade was deployed with the 2d and 6th Infantry on the right of the road, the 7th, 10th, and 11th on the left. The 17th was deployed as skirmishers. The 10th, with some assistance from the 11th, captured in this advance 27 Of the enemy, including one officer. Lieut. Bush commanded the regiment in this battle, and in his report recommends Sergeant-Major William Stanley for promotion to a second-lieutenancy for gallant conduct in the field. He also mentions national color bearer, Lance Sergeant J. A. Crotty for soldierly conduct and for capturing one of the enemy; and mentions Sergeant Michael Finaughty regimental color bearer, for his coolness under fire.
The brigade commander in his report of the battle mentions Lieutenants Bush, Sellers, Kellogg and Boyce, 10th Infantry. Lieut. Sellers was at this time A.A.A.G. of the 2d Brigade,—Lieut. Kellogg, A.D.C.,—and Lieut. Boyce, A.A.D.C. to the brigade commander. Lieut. Hampson is also mentioned by the regimental commander for having distinguished himself in this action. The loss of the regiment in this engagement was 12 enlisted men wounded. On the 6th of May the regiment recrossed the Rappahannock and encamped near Falmouth, Va. In this month K was broken up and its 25 enlisted men were transferred and attached to D. The regiment, still forming a part of the 2d Brig., 2d Div., 5th Corps, left camp near Falmouth, Va., June 4, reached the vicinity of Gettysburg July 2d, and fought the enemy the same day, losing one officer—Lieut. W. J. Fisher—and 16 enlisted men killed; five officers and 27 men wounded, and three men missing. Captain William Clinton commanded the regiment at this time. The regiment lay in position, supporting a battery during the night of the 2d, and took part in the fighting on the A 4th and 5th. The loss inflicted in these engagements upon what remained of the regiment at this time was fearful. Sixty per cent. of the officers, and over fifty-four per cent. of the enlisted men engaged were killed or wounded. The regiment occupied at one time an exposed position, with a greatly superior force in front and on both flanks. A terrific fire was directed against it by the enemy, and the roar of musketry was so great that the commands given it to fall back were not heard. Fortunately another portion of the Corps came to the rescue, and compelled the enemy to retreat. The wounded officers were Captains Clinton and Bush, and Lieuts. Welles. Boyce and Hamilton. Lieut. Boyce died shortly after from wounds received in this battle.
On the 8th of July the regiment was encamped near Middleton, Md. It crossed the South Mountain on the 9th, and arrived in camp near Williamsport on the 14th. On the 15th it crossed the Potomac at Berlin, and on the night of the 23d formed a part of the line of battle at Manassas.
The losses of the regiment had been so heavy, and it had become so reduced in point of numbers, that it had become necessary for the authorities to withdraw it from the field and send it North for recuperation. On the 17th of August what remained of it left Alexandria by steamer, arriving in New York City on the 20th, where it remained until the 14th of September, when it was transferred to Fort Lafayette, N. Y. H. At the end of the
year all that was left of t he regiment consisted of the band and Company D, with a total strength, present and absent, of 128.
Capt. William G. Jones, 10th Infantry, while absent commanding, as colonel, the 36th Ohio Volunteers, was killed in the battle of Chickamauga, Ga., Sept. 19, 1863.
The regiment left Fort Lafayette on the 23d of April, 1864, and joined the 1st Brig., 1st Div., 9th Corps, near Bealton Station, Va., on the 29th of the same month. On the 6th of May it took part in the battle of the Wilderness, with a loss of eight enlisted men killed, officer—Major Hayman—and 48 enlisted men wounded, and five men missing. On the 12th of May the regiment was engaged in the battle of Spottsylania C. H., Va., losing but two men wounded.
From this time on until the battle of North Anna River, May 24, there was a total loss in killed, wounded and missing of 17 men. Casualties frequently occurred while employed in reconnoissances, picket duty and skirmishing. While making a reconnoissance near Spottsylvania C. H. on the 16th, one man was killed; and two days later, while on the same duty, two men were killed and one officer—Lieut. Reed—and one man were wounded. On the 3d of June the regiment was engaged in the battle of Cold Harbor, losing one officer—Lieut. Stanley, adjutant—and one man wounded. The regiment was transfered [sic] June 11 to the 1st Brig., 2d Div., 5th Corps, and took part in the battle of Petersburg, June 18, losing in killed and wounded three men. One man was killed on the 19th, and another on the 21st. On this date also Lieut. Skinner was wounded, from the effects of which he .died June 26.
The regiment also took part in the assault following the explosion of the mine at Petersburg, July 30. It was also engaged in the battle of Weldon Railroad, August 18, 19 and 21, 1864, losing six men killed, one officer—Captain R. H. Hall—and nine men wounded, and one officer—Lieut. J. C. White—and sixteen men missing. The movement of the regiment to its position of the first day at Weldon Railroad began at daylight on the 18th. The march was a most fatiguing one, the heat intense. Lieutenant Luning, commanding, was prostrated about noon from its effects, and the command then devolved upon 2d Lieut. T. H. French. Fully one-third of the men had fallen out of ranks before this time from sheer exhaustion, although they bravely endeavored to keep up. In the first advance, which was made through a dense wood east of the railroad, and half a mile beyond, the regiment was engaged, outflanked, and subjected to a heavy cross-fire, which caused it to fall back to a position in the rear of the woods. Captain Hall joined the regiment on the morning of the 19th. At about 3 o'clock on the afternoon of that day the enemy again attacked the line of which the regiment formed a part, again outflanked it, and caused it to withdraw. It subsequently regained its first line after a gallant charge against the enemy. Captain R. H. Hall, commanding the regiment, was hit by a musket ball in the head a few hours after taking command.
On the 20th there was no fighting for the regiment, but on the 21st it occupied a position greatly exposed to an artillery cross-fire. The fire was so well directed that our men had to seek safety on the outside of their breast-
works. 1st. Sergeant Pealock received special mention for his gallant conduct, coolness and bravery, during these engagements of the 18th, 19th and 21st of August.
On the 1st of October the regiment, still forming a part of the 1st Brig., 2d Div., 5th Corps, was engaged in battle on the Squirrel Level Road, Va., losing three men, killed, and one officer—Lieut. T. H. French—and five men wounded, and 18 men missing. The regiment was commanded in this battle by 2d Lieut. Theodore Schwan, who, in his report, mentions Lieutenants French and Hunter as having behaved with gallantry seldom surpassed. 1st Sergeant Pealock is again mentioned for coolness and bravery. Corporal H. Marshall, 1st Sergeant Marpool, and Privates Stephens, Steward, Landan and Mahony are also noticed for noticeable coolness under fire.
On the 12th of October the regiment was detailed as provost guard at Headquarters 2d Div., 5th Corps, and on the 25th was ordered to Fort Hamilton, N. Y. H., where it arrived on the 29th. It was transferred to Fort Columbus, N. Y. H., November 3d and to Fort Porter, Buffalo, N. Y., December 2d, where it was stationed at the end of the year. It was much depleted in numbers, mustering, present and absent, but 189, a large portion of the absent sick being permanently disabled.
In March, 1865, 245 recruits were sent to the regiment, certain companies were reorganized, and were all filled to the maximum strength. In April 170 recruits were received and Company G was reorganized.
The regiment was again ordered into the field in April, 1865, and reached Headquarters Army of the Potomac April 23d, at Burksville, Va. .It marched with that army, via Richmond, May 6th, and encamped at Arlington Heights May 12th. It participated in the review of the Army of the Potomac May 23d, at Washington.
On the 20th of October the regiment moved by rail to St. Louis, Mo., arriving October 27th, and on the 31st Companies A, B, D, F, G and H moved by steamer up the Mississippi River to St. Paul, Minn., and were stationed as follows: Companies D and F at Fort Snelling; B and H at Fort Ridgeley, and A and G at Fort Ripley, Minn.; Regimental Headquarters were established at Jefferson Barracks, Mo. In December, 1865, C, E, I and K were reorganized at the General Recruiting Depot, Fort Columbus, N. Y. H., and in April, r866, together with Regimental Headquarters, joined the regiment at Fort Snelling.
A redistribution to posts took place, and early in June, j866, the regiment was stationed as follows: Headquarters and Company B at Fort Snelling; H at Fort Ridgely; A and I at. Fort Ripley; D and F at Fort Abercrombie, D. T.; C, E, G and K at Fort Wadsworth, D. T.
After the arrival of the regiment in Minnesota, it was employed in repairing and rebuilding, and in procuring fuel, so that but little work was possible toward instructing and drilling the new men.
In June, 1867, Company C, with detachments from D and F, acted as mounted escort to the department commander, and while encamped near Fort Stevenson a party of hostile Indians stampeded the horses belonging to the escort, and succeeded in running off several. The Indians were im-
mediately pursued, soon overtaken, and in the skirmish which ensued Private Wallace was wounded. During the summer G and H were busily employed in building the post of Fort Ransom.
In 1869 the regiment was transferred to the Department of Texas, and by the end of July the assignments to stations had been completed. By the end of August, 1869, the consolidation of the regiment with the 26th Infantry had also been effected, at which time the regiment was stationed as follows: Headquarters and A, H and K, at Fort Brown, Texas; E and I at Ringgold Barracks; B at Corpus Christi; C at Fort McIntosh; D at Galveston ; F at San Antonio, and G at Helena, Texas.
During its stay of ten years in the Department of Texas the regiment was engaged in a constant series of scouting and Indian fighting expeditions of more or less importance, some of them extending even into Old Mexico.
The causes which combined to bring about the frequent expeditions organized for field service during the years 1866-67-68 had their origin mainly in the. comfort, aid and security extended the Indians by the Mexicans on their side of the river. The Lipans, a tribe small in numbers but active as monkeys, and as bold and cunning as Comanches, had established themselves near the towns of Zaragoza, and Remilina, in the State of Coahuila, from which points they usually started on their destructive raids into Texas. In 1876 Colonel Shafter with a large command crossed the Rio Grande, hunted up the hostile villages, wiped two or three of them from the face of the earth and killed a number of their most active warriors. This had the effect of keeping the survivors of the tribe quiet for a few months, by which time they had effected something in the way of a combination with the Mescalero Apaches, when they again became troublesome, but the troops followed them up so closely that their raids to our side of the river soon practically ceased and the redoubtable little band of Lipans rather in mysteriously disappeared from view. But it is not at all unlikely that many of them can now be found among their old allies the Mescalero Apaches on their reservation near Fort Stanton, N.M.
In 1878 raids by the Indians from Coahuila had become a thing of the past, but early in that year a large expedition was organized, commanded by General Mackenzie, and Mexico was again invaded by our troops. This time however, the Mexican military authorities made a pretence of opposing the American forces and established themselves in a strongly defensive position on the crest of the eastern slope of the Remilina Creek, a rapid stream, which was about four feet deep opposite their lines.
The 10th Infantry battalion, under the command of Capt. W. C. Kellogg, was directed to advance against the enemy which was done in double time, the creek was reached and the crossing found very difficult owing to the swiftness of the current, but when the battalion had emerged from the creek and had ascended the opposite slope, not a white coated Mexican soldier could be seen. The rapidity of their flight could only be equalled by that of a flock of mallards. Not a shot was fired by either side. The other battalions, which where composed of troops from the 20th, 24th and 25th Infantry, 2d Artillery, 4th, 8th and 10th Cavalry, in all about 1000 men, stood silently by in column, apparently wondering what it all meant and what the
trick was anyhow. In the Department of Texas this affair was frequently mentioned and never without exciting derisive remarks and much amusement. It has been termed the battle of Remilina.
The field operations of the 10th Infantry for the years from 1872 to 1879 involved no small amount of extremely severe labor. The young officers of the regiment were almost constantly in the field serving with the scouts or cavalry when their own companies were in garrison. This was occasioned mainly by a scarcity of officers throughout the Department. Many were disabled, awaiting retirement, and others were on detached service.
Good fortune was in store for the regiment, however, for in May, 1879, it was transferred to the Department of the East, arriving in Detroit, May 27. 1879. It was stationed as follows: Headquarters and A, E, H and K at Fort Wayne; B and I at Fort Brady; C and D at Fort Mackinac, and F and G at Fort Porter, N. Y.
During its stay of five years in this Department nothing of general interest occurred except perhaps the participation of Regimental Headquarters and A, D, F and H, in the centennial celebration at Yorktown, Va., in October, 1881.
In June, 1884, the regiment was transferred to the Department of the Missouri, taking stations as follows: Headquarters and B, C, F and I, at Fort Union, N. M.; D and H at Fort Bliss, Texas; A and E at Fort Lyon, Colorado; and G and K at Fort Crawford, Colorado.
On the 16th of March, 1885, Captain Kirkman, Lieutenant Seyburn and twenty enlisted men proceeded from their station, Fort Union, to Springer, the county seat of Colfax County, N. M., to prevent, if possible, a collision between the civil authorities and outlaws. The command arrived in the town at night, raised the siege of the court-house which was being conducted by the excited outlaws and cowboys, and rescued the civil officers who had taken refuge in the building. In this affair the celebrated Dick Rogers lost his life, as did one of the Currys and "Red River Tom," all presumably at the hands of one man, a deputy sheriff by the name of Jesse Lee. The soldiers escorted the officials to Las Vegas for safe keeping and then returned to Fort Union.
Companies C, D, F, H and I, took part in the campaign against the hostile Chiricahua Apaches under Geronimo, in 1885-86, F and I being, out from July, 1885, until the end of August, 1886.
On the 19th of April, 1889, an expedition commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Simon Snyder, 10th Infantry, consisting of G and K, 10th Infantry, and K and G, 18th Infantry, left Fort Lyon, Col., for Oklahoma, I. T. The object of this expedition was to aid in preserving the peace among the people upon the opening of Oklahoma Territory. The President's proclamation opening it to settlement went into effect at noon on the 22d of April, at which time great numbers of people poured in from all directions. There was entire absence of law. Extreme disorder prevailed, and the duties of the troops in preventing bloodshed were difficult and demanded good judgment, patience and skill.
The regiment is stationed at the present time (January, 1891) as follows: Headquarters and Company D at Fort Marcy, N. M.; C and H at Fort
Union, N. M.; B at Fort Stanton. N. M.; A and F at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; E at Fort Lewis, Col.; and C at Oklahoma, I. T. I and K, skeletonized.
It is noticeable how frequently the regiment has occupied the same stations. in 1855 a portion of it garrisoned Fort Snelling, Minn., and again in 1866. In 1861 portions of the regiment were stationed at Forts Union, Marcy and Lyon, and again, twenty-nine years later, these posts were occupied by a part of the 10th Infantry. In 1865 it was at Fort Porter, N. Y. In 1879 and until May, 1834, Companies F and G composed the regular garrison of that post.
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