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New York's
1st Artillery Regiment (Light)
Civil War Newspaper Clippings
There are more clippings under the various batteries
JOURNAL & REPUBLICAN
SOLON M. HAZEN
AMOS W. SMILEY
editors
LOWVILLE, N.Y.
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 21, 1864
PROMOTIONS.—L. W. Scott, who was
recently promoted from Sergeant to 2d
Lieutenant in the 1st N.Y., has
again been raised from that position to
that of 1st Lieutenant, his promotion
dating from July 28, 1864.
1st Sergeant Hiram H. Schell, formerly
of Greig, now of the 1st N. Y.
A., has also been raised from that position
to 2d Lieutenant, his promotion dating
July 27, 1864. We rejoice in the
success of these worthy young men, and
trust they may be spared from the perils
of grim-visaged war to yet enjoy the
blessings of that peace for which they
have so valiantly fought.
LIGHT ARTILLERY SERVICE.
Col. L Bailey's Regiment.
Recruiting Office over Arcade Entrance,
WATERTOWN, N. Y.
PERSONS WISHING TO ENLIST INTO
this arm of the Service, and especially those having
friends in the 1st N. Y. Artillery, now stationed at Camp
Barry, Washington, are requested to call on either of the
undersigned, one of whom will be found in the office at
all times.
Bounty, Pay, Rations and Clothing, the same as in
other branches of the service. No picket duty. Those
enlisting in this Regiment have the advantage of being
in a Regiment already organized, which will secure them
clothing, pay, and side arms immediately. This is the
last call that will be made here for recruits for this excellent
regiment.
A. BARNES,
1st Lieut. 1st N. Y, Artillery.
E. P. WEBB,
2d Lieut, 1st N. Y. Artillery.
Miscellaneous
First New York -
Light Artillery
Lieut. E.P. Newkirk
Is authorized to open a Recruiting Office in Oswego,
for the several Batteries of this old and well-known organization.
Office near corner of West First and Bridge
Streets, in rear of Jacob's Tobacco Store.
R.H. FITZHUGH,
Major 1st New York Artillery.
Supt. Regtl R.S.
Returned to the War.—
Capt. Spratt. of the 1st N.Y. Artillery,
in which battery are Lt. Mink, Lt.
Clark and the Lewis County boys, left
for Yorktown where his battery is located,
last Thursday.
Lt. Frank Smith of Copenhagen, belonging
to the 35th regiment, who has
been at home on a furlough, has also
returned to his Company.
GOV. OLDEN RIFLE ARTILLERY.
In pursuance of a meeting duly authorized and noticed
to be held on the 16th day of July,1861, at the Pavilion
Hotel, Elysian Fields, New York, the following officers
were unanimously elected as line officers:—Colonel, J. M.
Latson; Lieut. Colonel, William Halstead; Major, Wm B.
Latson, and Geo. U. M. Mead, Quartermaster. At the
election the officers appointed a committee to wait upon
each of the officers elected, which committee presented
the various candidates, who made some appropriate remarks.
ARRIVAL OF CAPT. WlEDRICH's BATTERY—
T h e re-enlisted men of Wiedrich's Battery, numbering
sixty in all, arrived in this city on Saturday
night, about 11 o'clock. They were accompanied
by their old commander, Lieut. Colonel
Wiedrich. The veterans have a furlough of
thirty days, which we hope will be a season of
unalloyed enjoyment to them.
Flag PRESENTATION. — Wiedrich’s Battery
was presented with a beautiful flag yesterday
afternoon at Gillig's Hall, the gift of a number
of the friends of that Company.
WOUNDED IN WlEDRICH's BATTERY.—The
following is a list of the wounded in Captain Wiedrich's
battery in the late battle at Chancellorsville:
Sergt. Kappel, privates Betler, Klee, Schell, Kehl
and Hartwich.
DESERVED PROMOTIONS.—No promotion has
been better earned than that accorded to Capt.
(now Major) John A. Reynolds, of the Battery
which bears his name. He went into the service
nearly two years ago, recruited a company
of first class men, (assisted by his subaltern
officers,) and has been constantly upon duty,
with the exception of a ten days furlough a few
weeks since. His battery has been in the hottest
engagements of the war, and always so ably
managed and effective, that commanding officers
have learned to rely upon it, and in the retreat
of Hooker, it covered the retiring troops
at the crossing of United States Ford. Of
course, the officers of the battery will receive
promotion according to their present rank; and
they deserve this no less than their commander.
COL. WIEDRICH'S WOUND; —A letter
from Lieut. Col. Wiedrich, dated in the
field, the 17th, brings the gratifying intelligence
that his wound, received in the battle
of Thursday, on the Weldon Railroad,
was slight, and that he expects soon to be
able to resume his duties. While passing
down the line of his regiment, to encourage
the men, he was struck by a rifle ball on
the back, below the right shoulder, the ball
glancing off and inflicting only a flesh
wound. His horse was shot about the same
time. Seven officers of his regiment were
wounded, two, it is feared, fatally.
PROMOTED.—It is a pleasure to note
the military advancement of any of our Jefferson
county boys, who by their patriotic
spirit, temperate habits, and honest dealing
with the government, merit the honors and
rewards of high positions. The following
order will show that Major T. W. Osborne,
of this village has been promoted to the position
of Chief of Artillery of the 11th Corps
of the Army of the Potomac.
HEADQUARTERS ELEVENTH CORPS
Army of the Potomac near
Brooke's Station, Va., June 2,1863.
General Orders No. 13:
Major T. W. Osborne, 1st New York Artillery,
having reported at these Headquarters,
pursuant to Special Orders No. 151,
from Headquarters Army of the Potomac, is
announced as Chief of Artillery of the Corps.
By order of Major General Howard:
T. A. MEYSENBURG,
Asst. Adjt. Gen.
SOLDIERS' REMITTANCES.—The members
of Jenny's Battery, now on Morris Island,
before Charleston, have sent home a considerable
amount of money, which has been received
at the office of the American Express
Company, where it may be obtained.
The soldiers in the South-west from Central
New York are sending home large sums
of money. One day the past week the packages
received by Express here, for distribution
in Oswego, Cayuga and Wayne counties,
contained over $15,000.
Money Received
From Battery G. (Capt. Nelson Ames) 1st
N.Y. Artillery, by Chandler & Ames,
Aug. 14, 1863: Julius Stebbins, $100;
Henry E. Bourn, $37; Alson W. March, $60;
Orville Whitney, $50; John Dawley, $20;
Warren Dawley, $30; Sylvanus D. Wilson, $160;
George H. Barse, $25 ; Henry A. Rathbone,
$40 ; Charles W. Fogg, $30; Orange Frary,
$160 ; Caleb A. Baker, $50; Franklin B. Gregory,
$20 ; Almon Johnson, $30; Ira D. Allen, $60;
Henry Pierce, $20 ; Judson D. Mattison, $30;
George Loomis, $35; Elias Crawford, $25;
David E. Fancher, $15; Moses Turney, $25;
Daniel Fitzpatrick, $40; George Kline, $130;
F.F. Goff, $175; Nelson Ames, $350.
Northern N.Y. Journal -
Tuesday Evening.
September 29, 1863.
MAJOR OSBORN'S REPORT
JULY 29th, 1863.
(CONCLUDED FROM LAST WEEK.)
In the morning before General Slocum
had occupied his position and while he was
doing so I placed 3 Batteries on the right
of the Baltimore Road, commanding the ravine
between the two prominent hills on
our right. Yet as Gen. Slocum withstood
every assault on his lines without assistance,
later in the day I withdrew these batteries
to the hill. As soon as the enemy developed
the position he would probably occupy
with his batteries, I placed mine in position
commanding them. By the assignment on
the hill, Dilger had the right resting next
the Baltimore Road and parallel with the
Emmittsburg Road; on his left and in order
were: Bancroft, Eakin, Wheeler, Hill and
Hall; commanding the enemy's Batteries to
the right of the town and across the Baltimore
Road, I placed Taft in rear and perpendicular
to Bancroft, also Huntington in
rear and perpendicular to Wheeler but farther
in the rear of Wheeler as Taft was of
Bancroft, so that Taft's Battery would not
obstruct his line of fire. By this assignment
of Artillery I commanded with a reputable
number of guns every point on
which the enemy could place Artillery commanding
the Cemetery Hill. I also occupied
every point of the hill suitable for Artillery,
and during the engagement every gun at
different times was used with good effect
and the fire of no one gun interfered with
the fire of another. A sharp curve in the
side of the hill also afforded good and convenient
protections for the caissons. Most of
the day the firing of the enemy's Artillery
was irregular, they scarcely opening
more than one battery at a time, and when
they did so we readily silenced them. On
our entire front the enemy held a fine crest
for the protection of the Artillery at a distance
of 1000 to 1400 yards from us. But
at the time the heavy attack was made on
the extreme left of our line the firing was
very severe and especially upon the hill.
They engaged the greater portion of our
whole line, and from both left and right of
the town much of the fire was concentrated
on our position, but we soon gained a
decided advantage over them, and long before
the infantry struggle on the left was
decided we had silenced most of their guns.
In this Artillery fire Lieut. Eakin was
wounded in the hip and carried from the
field. Between 7 and 8 o'clock in the day
a rebel Brigade charged from the town upon
Weidrich's Battery. The charge was
very impetuous and the infantry at first
gave way and the Battery was held for a
moment by the enemy, when the cannoniers
rallied with the infantry and seizing upon
any weapons they could reach, threw themselves
upon the enemy and assisted to drive
them back. All was done that could be,
both before and after the repulse of the
enemy by the use of canister upon their
ranks.
Col. Wainwright speaks in highly complimentary
terms of both officers and men
for their gallant conduct on this occasion.
Although the command was much exhausted
by the two days' work, most of the night
was passed in replenishing the Batteries
with ammunition and making repairs.
On the morning of the 3d, we were in
position the same as on the 2nd. But little
was done during the A.M., by our Corps.
Occasionally a rebel Battery would open upon
the Cemetery, evidently with a view to
obtain the exact elevation and time to make
their fire effective in the P.M. work on our
position. At each attempt we silenced them
with but little loss to ourselves. About 2
o'clock P.M. they opened with Artillery
along our whole front, with an unbroken line
of artillery, and also heavily on our right
flank, apparently using every description
of missiles of Field Artillery. The crest
which the enemy occupied, varied from
1000 to 1900 yards distance and afforded an
excellent protection. I judge that the guns
of not less than one half mile of this front
were concentrated on our position, besides
several batteries on our right which enfiladed
our position, excepting Capts. Taft and
Huntington's Batteries. Our Artillery endured
this fire with surprising coolness and
determination. No Battery ever showed a
disposition to retire and several times during
the cannonading, we silenced several of
their Batteries, but at a moment's cessation
on our part they would reopen upon us.
The fire was extremely galling and by comparing
the rapidity with which the shells
fell among and passed our guns, with the
rapidity with which our guns replied, the
number of guns playing on the hill, was
very much greater than the number in position
there, probably double. Our guns
were worked with great coolness, energy
and judgment, but as no satisfactory results
were obtained, I ordered all our guns to
cease firing and the men to lie down to
await development. At the same time the
Artillery of our entire front ceased firing
and a few moments later, the infantry of the
enemy broke over the crest from where their
Artillery had been playing and made their
grand charge across the plain upon our lines.
The left of the charging column rested on a
line perpendicular to our front, then stretching
away to the right beyond our view, thus
offering an excellent front for our Artillery
fire. We used according to distance all
descriptions of projectiles. The whole
force of our Artillery was brought to bear
upon this column and the havoc produced
upon their ranks was truly surprising. The
enemy's advance was most splendid, and for
a considerable distance the only hindrance
offered it was by the Artillery fire which
broke their lines fearfully; as each moment
showed that their advance under this concentrated
Artillery fire was most difficult
and though they made desperate efforts to
advance in good order were unable to do so,
and I am convinced that the fire from the
Hill was one of the main auxiliaries in
breaking the force of this grand charge.
But while the enemy was advancing, and
after having been repulsed, I insisted that
the Artillery fire should be turned intensely
upon the infantry, and no notice whatever
was to be taken of their Artillery.
I am not able to speak of any one or
more Batteries as deserving especial notice
over another. Every Battery did its whole
duty; the officers proved themselves brave
and efficient, and the men on the battlefield
were most willing, brave and gallant. In
fact the only fault I could mention was too
great willingness to use ammunition at
small squads of men and on unimportant
objects, yet this was not carried to excess.
The Artillery of the Reserve proved all that
could be expected or even asked of it, without
their assistance I do not conceive how
I could have maintained the position we
held. I feel most thankful for their assistance
and the very willing and cordial manner
in which it was rendered.
I would also speak of Lieut. Geo. W.
Freeman, Acting Assistant Adjutant General
of the command, for the great assistance
he was to me and to the whole command
during the engagement. I am unable
to give any definite estimate of the
amount of ammunition expended during
the engagement; after we had exhausted the
supply with our Batteries I replenished
from our train. Col. Wainwright on the P.
M. of the 1st also replenished from our
train and after this source was exhausted I
drew from the Reserve train of the Army.
The casualties of this command as
follows:
Battery G, 4th United States Artillery,
1st Lieut. B. Wilkeson, mortally wounded,
men killed 1, wounded 11, missing 4, horses killed 31.
Battery I, 1st Ohio Artillery, men killed
, wounded 15, missing 1, horses killed
28, one piece disabled.
Battery K, Lieut. Sheely severely wounded,
men killed 2, wounded 10, missing ,
horses killed 9, one piece lost.
Battery J, 1st New York Artillery, 1st
Lieut. N. Salm and 2nd Lieut. Chas. Stock,
severely wounded, men killed 3, wounded
9, missing—, horses killed 18, one piece
dismounted.
13th New York Independent Battery,
men killed —, wounded 10, missing 3,
horses killed 12, one piece dismounted.
I am very respectfully,
Your obedient servant.
T. W. OS BORN,
Major Commanding Artillery 11 Corps.
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during the Civil War
New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs: Military
History
Last modified:
March 14, 2006
URL: http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/artillery/1stArtLt/1stArtLtAllCWN.htm
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