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4th Regiment Infantry
Organized by Companies at Fort Snelling, Minn., as follows: Company "A" mustered in October 4, 1861, and Company "B" October 2, 1861. Moved to Fort Ridgly, Minn., and garrison duty there until March, 1862. Company "C" mustered in October 7, 1861. Also moved to Fort Ridgly and garrison duty there until March, 1862. Company "D" mustered in October 10, 1861. Moved to Fort Abercrombie, D. T., and duty there until March, 1862. Company "E" mustered in November 27, 1861. Company "F" mustered in October 11, 1861. Company "G" mustered in November 22, 1861. Moved to Fort Abercrombie and duty there until March, 1862. Company "H" mustered in December 20, 1861. Company "I" mustered in December 23, 1861. Company "K" mustered in December 23, 1861. Regiment concentrated at Fort Snelling March, 1862, and moved to Benton Barracks, Mo., April 20-23, 1862. Moved to Hamburg Landing, Tenn., May 2-14. Attached to 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, Army of Mississippi, May to November, 1862. 1st Brigade, 7th Division, Left Wing 13th Army Corps (Old), Dept. of the Tennessee, to December, 1862. 1st Brigade, 7th Division, 16th Army Corps, to January, 1863. 1st Brigade, 7th Division, 17th Army Corps, to September, 1863. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 17th Army Corps, to December, 1863. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 15th Army Corps, to April, 1865. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 15th Army Corps, to July, 1865.
SERVICE.--Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss., May 18-30. Pursuit to Booneville May 31-June 12. Duty at Clear Creek until August. Expedition to Rienzi and Ripley June. Moved to Jacinto August 5, and duty there until September 18. March to Iuka, Miss., September 18-19. Battle of Iuka September 19. Moved to Corinth October 1. Battle of Corinth October 3-4. Pursuit to Ripley October 5-12. Grant's Central Mississippi Campaign November, 1862, to January, 1863. Reconnaissance from Lagrange November 8-9, 1862. Duty at White's Station and Memphis, Tenn., until February, 1863. Expedition to Yazoo Pass by Moon Lake, Yazoo Pass and Coldwater and Tallahatchie Rivers February 24-April 8. Operations against Fort Pemberton and Greenwood March 13-April 5. Moved to Milliken's Bend, La., April 13-15. Movement on Bruinsburg and turning Grand Gulf April 25-30. Battle of Port Gibson, Miss., May 1. Jones' Cross Roads and Willow Springs May 3. Battles of Raymond May 12; Jackson May 14; Champion's Hill May 16; Big Black River May 17. Siege of Vicksburg May 18-July 4. Assaults on Vicksburg May 19 and 22. Expedition to Mechanicsburg May 26-June 4. Surrender of Vicksburg July 4. Garrison duty at Vicksburg until September 12. Moved to Helena, Ark., September 12, thence to Memphis, Tenn., and Corinth, Miss., and march to Chattanooga, Tenn., October 6-November 20. Operations on Memphis & Charleston Railroad in Alabama October 20-29. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Tunnel Hill November 24-25. Mission Ridge November 25. Pursuit to Graysville November 26-27. At Bridgeport and Huntsville, Ala., until June, 1864. Operations about Whitesburg, Ala., February 2, 1864. Veterans on furlough March 5 to May 4, 1864. Moved from Huntsville, Ala., to Stevenson, Ala., thence to Kingston, Ga., June 22-25, thence to A1latoona July 5-6, and garrison duty there until November. Battle of Allatoona October 5. March to the sea November 15-December 10. Siege of Savannah, Ga., December 10-21. Campaign of the Carolinas January to April, 1865. Salkehatchie Swamps, S.C., February 2-5. South Edisto River February 9. North Edisto River February 12-13. About Columbia February 15-17. Cheraw March 3. Battle of Bentonville, N. C., March 19-21. Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. Advance on Raleigh April 10-14. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29-May 20. Grand Review May 24. Moved to Louisville, Ky., June 2-3. Duty there until July 19. Mustered out July 19 and discharged at St. Paul, Minn., August 7, 1865.
Regiment lost during service 3 Officers and 58 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 3 Officers and 175 Enlisted men by disease. Total 2
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
History Of The Fourth Regiment of Minnesota Infantry Volunteers During The Great Rebellion, 1861-1865
St. Paul, Minn., The Pioneer Press Company, 1892
Scaife, William R., Allatoona Pass, A Needless Effusion of Blood, Etowah Valley Historical Society, 1995.
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
This is from
THE
BATTLE OF ALLATOONA.
OCTOBER STH, 1864.
A PAPER
READ BEFORE THE
MICHIGAN COMIVIANDERY
OF THE
MILITARY ORDER OF THE LOYAL LEGION OF THE IT. S.
— BY —
WILLIAM LUDLOW,
Major Corps of Engineers; Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel U. S. A.
AT
DETROIT, APRIL 2o, 1891.
"After the battle the
wounded of both sides were collected, housed and cared for.
One of the surgeons invited me to come to the hospital with
him, and on the way said he had a wounded woman there.
I expressed surprise, and he said: "See if you can pick her
out." We went through the hospital, and I saw no woman,
but passing through again on the way back, the doctor
stopped at a bed where a tanned and freckled young rebel,
hands and face grimy with dirt and powder, lay resting on
an elbow, smoking a corn-cob pipe. The doctor inquired,
"How do you feel?" and the answer was, "Pretty well, but
my leg hurts like the devil." As we turned, the doctor said,
"That is the woman," and told me that she belonged to the
Missouri Brigade, had had a husband and one or two brothers
in one of the regiments, and followed them to the war.
When they were all killed, having no home but the regiment,
she took a musket and served in the ranks. Like an actor
of the old Greek dramas, war has its two masks of tragedy
and comedy, although it is difficult at times to determine to
which the antiphonal scene belongs—Jo of this case. It is
perhaps not proper in such a paper as this to expose or call
attention to the shifts to which the Confederates were forced
to fill their ranks, but the incident may be told nevertheless."
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
Couple more interesting bits; as far as I can find the 4th was never issued forage caps, only Hardee's upon mustering w/out another issue of headgear. I find it very difficult to believe but that's what I could find. I would consider the 4th MN VI the typical unit of the AoT; hard marching, self sufficient and tough as nails. The 4th MN started out carrying a little of whatever was available: M1841's, M1816/22 conversions, a Company carrying M1817 rifles, Belgian pumpkin slingers and .71 "Consul" Austrian Arms. MN received 3000 just as the 3rd, 4th & 5th were organizing; looks like the 3rd & 5th received the lions share of those arms as the 4th had just largely been posted out to the frontier forts and received a lions share of the rifled arms available to MN. MN received several thousand M1841's from St Louis as well and these went along way in replacing the obsolete US made arms in the 4th & 5th (3rd was already gone). At Vicksburg the 4th was still carrying M1841's 300-400 and I believe a companies worth of M1817 rifles that had been converted to percussion. I've found some conflicting info that at least some M1841's were still in the hands of the 4th at the time of the Grand Review.
The 4th was the first US Regiment into Vicksburg and the lead company had M1841's at right shoulder shift w/ "sword bayonets glinting wickedly in the sun."
I have a note referencing the 4th in Nov 1863 w/ just 81 M1861's.
I did quite a bit of research in the MN Hysterical Society last year when my back went kablewee... most of it was looking up 3rd & 4th info. Most of what they actually have is on the 1st & 7th... though I held the blood stained muster roll of the 4th's from Allatoona... talk about shudders.
The 4th's 1st Winter in service was out on the frontier garrisoning posts on the frontier. It was not a pleasent winter w/ temps dropping to 60 degrees below freezing and dealing w/ snow drifts 20-30' deep. It was in this environment against the Lakota that the Regiment gained its mettle. It's first casualties were actually in an accident on an overloaded riverboat where 20 men were killed and injured when an overloaded deck collapsed. Their baptism of fire was during the Corinth/Iuka campaign and they gave good service in every campaign of the AoT after. After their furlough they were garrison troops at Kingston and then Allatoona. They had a group of men who could track a snake across a flat rock and on several occasions they tracked guerrillas & partisans back to their hides and captured them unawares. There was at least one "Indian" (Dakota I think but don't know) who regularly took scalps.
Both the 4th & 5th MN's had a reputation as Indian fighters and regularly let out war hoops instead of the accepted Huzzah... which scared the hell out of people.
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
This is from
THE
BATTLE OF ALLATOONA.
OCTOBER STH, 1864.
A PAPER
READ BEFORE THE
MICHIGAN COMIVIANDERY
OF THE
MILITARY ORDER OF THE LOYAL LEGION OF THE IT. S.
— BY —
WILLIAM LUDLOW,
Major Corps of Engineers; Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel U. S. A.
AT
DETROIT, APRIL 2o, 1891.
"After the battle the
wounded of both sides were collected, housed and cared for.
One of the surgeons invited me to come to the hospital with
him, and on the way said he had a wounded woman there.
I expressed surprise, and he said: "See if you can pick her
out." We went through the hospital, and I saw no woman,
but passing through again on the way back, the doctor
stopped at a bed where a tanned and freckled young rebel,
hands and face grimy with dirt and powder, lay resting on
an elbow, smoking a corn-cob pipe. The doctor inquired,
"How do you feel?" and the answer was, "Pretty well, but
my leg hurts like the devil." As we turned, the doctor said,
"That is the woman," and told me that she belonged to the
Missouri Brigade, had had a husband and one or two brothers
in one of the regiments, and followed them to the war.
When they were all killed, having no home but the regiment,
she took a musket and served in the ranks. Like an actor
of the old Greek dramas, war has its two masks of tragedy
and comedy, although it is difficult at times to determine to
which the antiphonal scene belongs—Jo of this case. It is
perhaps not proper in such a paper as this to expose or call
attention to the shifts to which the Confederates were forced
to fill their ranks, but the incident may be told nevertheless."
I've had it in my files a year or so now... good to see great minds think alike. Think I commented over there too. I'm there as Johan Steele as well.
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
Have Scaife's book on Allatoona. That was some fight! The rebs worked their butts off on trying to take that place. Some of the best and bravest laid down the last full measure there. It was one helluva fight!
ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
Have Scaife's book on Allatoona. That was some fight! The rebs worked their butts off on trying to take that place. Some of the best and bravest laid down the last full measure there. It was one helluva fight!
ole
I surmise they weren't so much trying to 'take the place' as they were trying to chase them d'.... yanks off territory they already owned.
As for 'best and bravest' and 'one helluva fight', you're right on, as usual.
__________________ Ancestors in US Army: 13th TN Cav; 10th TN Cav; 3rd NC Inf
Ancestors in CSA Army: 48th VA; 63rd VA, 5th NC Cav; 37th NC
Wife and Grandson's CSA: 15th AL, 51st GA, 41st TN; 36th TN; GA Mil 1197 Dist
No they were definetly trying to take the plave, there was nowhere for the yanks to run.
The Civil War began the American soldiers fame at "Myhillitis" and we have excelled at the tactic ever since. From Missiononary Ride on the American soldier has been able to say I'm taking that impossibly well defended hill come hell or high water. And on the other side of the coin they've said we're gonna hold no matter what gets thrown at us.
IMO Allatoona was just one more battle that proved the western troops on both sides of the argument were the best in the field.
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
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I've had it in my files a year or so now... good to see great minds think alike. Think I commented over there too. I'm there as Johan Steele as well.
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