- Joined
- Jan 16, 2015
I am indebted to @GELongstreet for providing a description of an orderly's duties and quote from an earlier post of his (https://civilwartalk.com/threads/orderly-duties.71972/) for a definition attributed to Kautz´s Customs of Service for NCOs and Soldiers:
"Orderlies are soldiers selected on account of their intelligence, experience, and soldierly bearing, to attend on generals, commanding officers, officers of the day, and staff officers, to carry orders, mess, etc. They may be taken from the guard or put on permanently while the duty lasts: in the latter case they are reported on daily duty and are excused from all other duty that would interfere with their duty as orderlies."
As for carrying orders, assigned couriers rather than orderlies were most often described as relaying the written or verbal orders of general officers at Gettysburg. It is supposed that the tasks of an orderly included those of a personal valet and/or groom for the officer's horse(s). In the Confederate army such tasks might have been handled by a black servant (slave) who was the property of the officer he served, but below I only list orderlies who were soldiers.
Orderlies generally remained in the shadows and are seldom mentioned in official reports or correspondence. For this reason, I think recognition is long overdue, particularly since they still faced the inherent dangers of a battlefield, even if behind the front lines. Incidentally, they should not be confused with "orderly sergeants" – also known as first (1st) sergeants – the senior non-commissioned officer found in every company.
Some orderlies linked to a specific officer:
Private Edward Cunningham, orderly to Major General Abner Doubleday. A member of Company I, 1st Maine Cavalry, he was a resident of Patten, Maine. Cunningham was killed on July 3 and was buried in the Maine plot in Gettysburg's National Cemetery. On his body was found a postage stamp, a comb, and $3.95 in cash. (Union Casualties at Gettysburg, by Travis W. Busey and John W. Busey, 1:20)
Private Charles E. Hamilton, orderly to Brigadier General James S. Wadsworth. He previously served as Brigadier General Gabriel Paul's orderly. Hamilton was a member of Company K, 1st Maine Cavalry and a resident of Portland. He enlisted on August 23, 1862 and was discharged on June 15, 1865. He was wounded and captured at Gettysburg, reportedly on July 3. (Union Casualties at Gettysburg, by Travis W. Busey and John W. Busey, 1:21)
Sergeant Ebenezer S. Johnson, orderly to Brigadier General C. John Robinson. His bravery during the battle was officially recognized by Robinson, who recommended that Johnson be promoted into the officer ranks – an uncommon event usually bestowed upon a meritorious sergeant major. The action was not described by Robinson, but it was most likely for one of the bravest individual acts performed at Gettysburg – a ride around Rodes' skirmishers posted in the McClean buildings in the first day's fight. (Official report of John C. Robinson; see also: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/union-cavalry-sergeant-ebenezer-s-johnsons-wild-ride-s.128608/)
Private Charles R. Delano, orderly to Brigadier General Gabriel R. Paul. Delano was a resident of Turner, Maine and served in Company G, 1st Maine Cavalry. On the first day at Gettysburg, he was slightly wounded in the back but soon recovered. He met his death on May 10, 1864, during a minor engagement in Hanover County, Virginia, and was interred in Livermore, Maine. (Union Casualties at Gettysburg, by Travis W. Busey and John W. Busey, 1:21; https://ironbrigader.com/2013/12/07/death-burial-private-charles-r-delano-1st-maine-cavalry/)
Private Charles Kehoe, orderly to Major General Henry W. Slocum. A native of Portland, Maine, Kehoe initially served with the 10th Maine regiment, which was officially mustered out on April 26, 1863. However, 244 men who had enlisted for three years were retained in the reorganized 10th Maine Battalion, comprising three companies (A, B and D). The battalion served as the headquarters guard for the Twelfth Corps, with Kehoe (from Company D) being detailed as Slocum's orderly. (Tenth Maine Battalion, Maine at Gettysburg)
Private Edward Gillis, orderly to Brigadier General Alpheus Williams. A member of Company A, 10th Maine Battalion, he followed a path similar to that of Charles Kehoe, and was detailed as Williams' orderly at Gettysburg. Gillis was a native of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada, a town established in French Acadia, but later populated by many Irish settlers. (Tenth Maine Battalion, Maine at Gettysburg)
Private Joseph T. Bloomfield, orderly to Brigadier General John W. Geary. Born in Vermont in 1840, Bloomfield enlisted in Company D, 9th New York Cavalry on November 5, 1861. He held the position of blacksmith for a time. He described service with Pope in the summer of 1862, being at Chancellorsville, then serving as Geary's orderly during the battle of Gettysburg. (National Tribune, September 3, 1903, p. 6; Civil War service index, Fold3)
1st Corporal Stephen D. Fletcher, orderly to Brigadier General Carnot Posey. At the age of 23, Fletcher enlisted as a private in Company I, 16th Mississippi. Wounded at Second Manassas on July 30, 1862, he returned to duty about five months later, and by early 1863 was detailed on extra duty as the general's orderly. He held that post into the summer, when he was officially described as a brigade courier. In early 1864, he was detailed as the brigade's mail carrier, due to an unspecified disability presumably linked to his earlier wound, and the records indicate he held this position into 1865. (Compiled service records of Stephen Fletcher, Fold3)
"Orderlies are soldiers selected on account of their intelligence, experience, and soldierly bearing, to attend on generals, commanding officers, officers of the day, and staff officers, to carry orders, mess, etc. They may be taken from the guard or put on permanently while the duty lasts: in the latter case they are reported on daily duty and are excused from all other duty that would interfere with their duty as orderlies."
As for carrying orders, assigned couriers rather than orderlies were most often described as relaying the written or verbal orders of general officers at Gettysburg. It is supposed that the tasks of an orderly included those of a personal valet and/or groom for the officer's horse(s). In the Confederate army such tasks might have been handled by a black servant (slave) who was the property of the officer he served, but below I only list orderlies who were soldiers.
Orderlies generally remained in the shadows and are seldom mentioned in official reports or correspondence. For this reason, I think recognition is long overdue, particularly since they still faced the inherent dangers of a battlefield, even if behind the front lines. Incidentally, they should not be confused with "orderly sergeants" – also known as first (1st) sergeants – the senior non-commissioned officer found in every company.
Some orderlies linked to a specific officer:
Private Edward Cunningham, orderly to Major General Abner Doubleday. A member of Company I, 1st Maine Cavalry, he was a resident of Patten, Maine. Cunningham was killed on July 3 and was buried in the Maine plot in Gettysburg's National Cemetery. On his body was found a postage stamp, a comb, and $3.95 in cash. (Union Casualties at Gettysburg, by Travis W. Busey and John W. Busey, 1:20)
Private Charles E. Hamilton, orderly to Brigadier General James S. Wadsworth. He previously served as Brigadier General Gabriel Paul's orderly. Hamilton was a member of Company K, 1st Maine Cavalry and a resident of Portland. He enlisted on August 23, 1862 and was discharged on June 15, 1865. He was wounded and captured at Gettysburg, reportedly on July 3. (Union Casualties at Gettysburg, by Travis W. Busey and John W. Busey, 1:21)
Sergeant Ebenezer S. Johnson, orderly to Brigadier General C. John Robinson. His bravery during the battle was officially recognized by Robinson, who recommended that Johnson be promoted into the officer ranks – an uncommon event usually bestowed upon a meritorious sergeant major. The action was not described by Robinson, but it was most likely for one of the bravest individual acts performed at Gettysburg – a ride around Rodes' skirmishers posted in the McClean buildings in the first day's fight. (Official report of John C. Robinson; see also: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/union-cavalry-sergeant-ebenezer-s-johnsons-wild-ride-s.128608/)
Private Charles R. Delano, orderly to Brigadier General Gabriel R. Paul. Delano was a resident of Turner, Maine and served in Company G, 1st Maine Cavalry. On the first day at Gettysburg, he was slightly wounded in the back but soon recovered. He met his death on May 10, 1864, during a minor engagement in Hanover County, Virginia, and was interred in Livermore, Maine. (Union Casualties at Gettysburg, by Travis W. Busey and John W. Busey, 1:21; https://ironbrigader.com/2013/12/07/death-burial-private-charles-r-delano-1st-maine-cavalry/)
Private Charles Kehoe, orderly to Major General Henry W. Slocum. A native of Portland, Maine, Kehoe initially served with the 10th Maine regiment, which was officially mustered out on April 26, 1863. However, 244 men who had enlisted for three years were retained in the reorganized 10th Maine Battalion, comprising three companies (A, B and D). The battalion served as the headquarters guard for the Twelfth Corps, with Kehoe (from Company D) being detailed as Slocum's orderly. (Tenth Maine Battalion, Maine at Gettysburg)
Private Edward Gillis, orderly to Brigadier General Alpheus Williams. A member of Company A, 10th Maine Battalion, he followed a path similar to that of Charles Kehoe, and was detailed as Williams' orderly at Gettysburg. Gillis was a native of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada, a town established in French Acadia, but later populated by many Irish settlers. (Tenth Maine Battalion, Maine at Gettysburg)
Private Joseph T. Bloomfield, orderly to Brigadier General John W. Geary. Born in Vermont in 1840, Bloomfield enlisted in Company D, 9th New York Cavalry on November 5, 1861. He held the position of blacksmith for a time. He described service with Pope in the summer of 1862, being at Chancellorsville, then serving as Geary's orderly during the battle of Gettysburg. (National Tribune, September 3, 1903, p. 6; Civil War service index, Fold3)
1st Corporal Stephen D. Fletcher, orderly to Brigadier General Carnot Posey. At the age of 23, Fletcher enlisted as a private in Company I, 16th Mississippi. Wounded at Second Manassas on July 30, 1862, he returned to duty about five months later, and by early 1863 was detailed on extra duty as the general's orderly. He held that post into the summer, when he was officially described as a brigade courier. In early 1864, he was detailed as the brigade's mail carrier, due to an unspecified disability presumably linked to his earlier wound, and the records indicate he held this position into 1865. (Compiled service records of Stephen Fletcher, Fold3)
Bringing the