Staff Organization of the Army of the Cumberland

in the

Stones River Campaign

December 26-31, 1862, January 1-5, 1863

 

By Daniel A. Masters

Updated September 8, 2005

 

Preface

            The reorganization and revitalization of the staff system of the Army of the Cumberland is perhaps one of the most important if mundane improvements that Major General William S. Rosecrans implemented when he took command of the Department in late October 1862. Since the summer of the 1862, the old Army of Ohio had suffered the effects of poor staff work in a number of noticeable ways: short rations, inadequate ammunition, unfulfilled requisitions for war material, no pay, and an absentee list that constituted more than a third of the army’s strength.

These problems were not caused entirely by the deficiency in competent staff officers (Don Carlos Buell complained frequently of this problem throughout his tenure as army chief), but they were certainly exacerbated by it. One of the first powers that Rosecrans requested and received from the War Department when he took command was the authority to ruthlessly weed out all incompetent officers wherever they might be found. Probably at Buell’s suggestion, Rosecrans first turned his energies to commissary, quartermaster, and ordnance departments which had failed to keep the Army of Ohio adequately supplied in the previous campaign.

To get a better understanding of exactly what functions the various departments of the Army performed, the following section details the responsibilities of each and gives some idea as to what their effect was on the average soldier in the field. Following that is a list (as complete as possible from the sources I have) of the staff officers at the army, wing, division, and brigade level during the Stones River campaign (December 26, 1862-Janury 5, 1863), which was Rosecrans first as commander of the Army of the Cumberland.

Ultimately, this paper seeks to give some credit long overdue for the officers and men who worked in the background to ensure that the soldier in the Army of the Cumberland went into battle with a full haversack of nutritious rations (by the standards of the day), a cartridge box filled with cartridges of the proper caliber, and equipment that didn’t fall apart five miles into the first march.

 

Army Departments

 

Headquarters

Army Headquarters was the central nervous system of the Army of the Cumberland: all matters pertaining to the department, the army, and its relationship with outside entities were controlled or overseen by the headquarters staff and the commanding general. Headquarters was responsible for the entire care of the army: everything from quartermaster requisitions filed by the 21^st Ohio, to a furlough request from a private in the 1^st Wisconsin, to settling disputes between locals and division commanders, to working with the state government under Governor Andrew Johnson, headquarters did it all. In many instances (after Rosecrans had ensured that men of intelligence and capacity occupied the relevant staff positions down the chain of command), all that was required from headquarters was the signature of an aide-de-camp or any other member of Rosecrans’ staff. Initially things didn’t run that smoothly, but by the time of the Stones River campaign, Rosecrans and his staff were in an admirable state of tune.

Each day, wing and division commanders filed a morning report that gave the number of soldiers present for duty and mentioned any unusual occurrences during their night on their respective fronts. After having ascertained the situation of the day, headquarters was responsible for the drafting and delivery of orders to wing commanders and the supervision to see that those orders were carried out.  In the meantime, headquarters would conduct army business with anyone from local residents seeking protection of their property or safe conduct passes, to army contractors who seek redress for some grievance suffered at the hands of a subordinate. Headquarters was also responsible for the “paperwork” of the army: overseeing courts-martial reports, approving and forwarding furlough and discharge papers, compiling reports of hospital conditions and implementing recommendations for their improvement; the list is practically endless. It can best be summed up by saying that all of the work of the departments listed below passed through headquarters at some point. Headquarters’ main function, both in battle and in camp, was control and oversight of the army.

 

Positions:

Assistant adjutant general- oversees troop matters (furloughs, rosters, etc.) and writes orders, usually chief of staff

Aide-de-camp- delivers orders, assists commanding general in sundry ways

Chief of artillery- oversees maintenance, use, and deployment of all army artillery (see below)

Chief of commissary- oversees operation of commissary department (see below)

Chief disbursing officer- oversees cash flow of the army

Chief mustering officer- oversees mustering in and out of volunteer regiments

Chief of quartermasters- oversees operation of quartermasters department (see below)

Chief of signal corps- oversees communications via telegraph and flags

Chief of topographical engineers- oversees production and distribution of maps and literature

Inspector general- oversees condition of men, equipment, morale, officer competency

Judge advocate general- oversees legal affairs of the army (courts-martial)

Medical director- oversees general physical condition of the army (see below)

Ordnance officer- oversees use and distribution of military ordnance (ammunition, artillery shells, etc.)

Provost marshal general- oversees “military police” and enemy prisoners

           

 

Quartermaster

 “Upon the faithful and able performance of the duties of the quartermaster an army depends for its ability to move,” wrote Lieutenant Colonel John W. Taylor, chief quartermaster of the Army of the Cumberland following the Stones River campaign. “The least neglect or want of capacity on his part may foil the best-concerted measures and make the best-planned campaign impracticable. The services of those employed in the great depots in which the clothing, transportation, horses, forage, and other supplies are provided are no less essential to success and involve no less labor and responsibility than those of the officers who accompany the troops on their marches and are charged with the care and transportation off all the material essential to their health and efficiency.”

The quartermaster department carried enormous responsibility for acquiring, storing, and transporting of materials of all kinds needed for the army: clothing, shoes, leather accoutrements, knapsacks, haversacks, blankets, ponchos, tents, miles of rope of various grades, forage for battery and cavalry horses, wagons, ambulances, wheels, axle grease, tack and harness, etc. The department also arranged for the transportation of this equipment by contracting with railroads, shipping companies, stage, and freight companies to deliver the material.

The quartermaster department breaks down its responsibilities into three sub-departments: clothing, camp and garrison equipage, transportation by land and water, and regular and contingent supplies for the army. Clothing will be explained in some detail below. To supply an army of the size of the Army of the Cumberland in late 1862, the quartermaster department had to store more than 200,000 sacks of grain and 24,000 bales of hay to ensure a consistent supply. The department sent out officials to purchase and inspect forage, giving receipts to loyal parties and simply taking that which was owned by the rebels. The simple task of storing and keeping track of this immense quantity of forage must have been a daunting task.

Regular and contingent supplies include materials for the hospitals (facilities, bandages, surgical implements, medicines, etc.), for the barracks, fuel (coal, wood, lamp oil, etc.), stationery, secret service, and any incidental expenses the army may accrue during its operations. Interestingly, the quartermaster department paid spies and worked to cut the flow of illicit goods (blockade running) to Southern lines. While the black market flourished in the area surrounding Nashville, the quartermaster’s department in conjunction with the Army police under William Trousdale did much to combat this trade. The department also employed thousands of men as laborers, teamsters, clerks, railroad workers, and tradesmen. The Army of the Cumberland was the first Civil War army to hire large numbers of contrabands to work as teamsters, being “generally familiar with the management of mules and preferred by wagon masters to careless white drivers.” By this simple expedient (and by paying these contrabands a fraction of what white teamsters received in pay), the department was able to free up nearly 4,000 soldiers for duty and save the government $40,000 a month in wages.

Returning to the clothing and camp equipage, each soldier, regiment, or battery was allowed a certain allowance of military material. Be it wagons, shoes, cartridge box plates, or what have you, the army allowed a certain amount to each organizational entity. For example, each infantry regiment could have one wagon, while an artillery battery could have one wagon per gun (up to six or eight). Each soldier was given a clothing allowance (an account kept on record with the quartermaster) and his company commander would make a requisition upon the brigade quartermaster to draw the needed equipment when some deficiency was found. What follows will explain in some detail how the entire system functioned from a company level to the wing level.

Private Frederick McLargin of Company C, 21^st Ohio Volunteer Infantry discovers that the pair of brogans he drew at Huntsville, Alabama in May 1862 has become worn and need replacement. To be sure, he can see his stocking feet protruding from the toe of his shoes. Sunday morning at inspection, his company commander Captain Arnold McMahan notices McLargin’s shoe deficiency and makes a note to requisition another pair when he visits the quartermaster that afternoon. Following lunch, Captain McMahan takes his prospective requisition of five pairs of shoes to his regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel James Neibling, who signs off on the requisition and sends McMahan to brigade quartermaster First Lieutenant Robert Mungen. Now, Lieutenant Mungen is also a member of the 21^st Ohio Infantry and a close friend of Colonel Neibling, and after greeting Captain McMahan checks his stores to find five appropriately-sized pairs of shoes. Finding the shoes, Mungen hands them off to McMahan who signs for the shoes and returns to his company. Mungen pulls out his register and reports the requisition, makes note of his remaining stock, and forwards the completed requisition to divisional quartermaster Captain Charles T. Wing. Wing receives the requisition a day or two later, makes his own note in his register and forwards the requisition to wing quartermaster Captain Andrew Jackson Mackay. Mackay makes his notes and files the requisition in the appropriate place and notes that he needs to acquire 500 pairs of shoes to meet his expected demand for the next week. And this operation went on dozens of times a day for articles of any description. 

Furthermore, the quartermaster department oversaw the acquisition of the said pair of shoes, ensuring that the shoes were well made and not liable to fall apart in the rain like so many pairs of government shoddy issued early in the war. Government and department inspectors frequently visited contractors’ places of manufacture to ensure that government standards for durability and quality were being met. Obviously this type of contact involving large sums of government money gave rise to payoffs and crooked dealings with some, but by and large, the Army of the Cumberland was well served by its quartermaster’s department in this regard.

The opportunity for incompetence or neglect to break this smooth sequence is immediately apparent: had not Lieutenant Mungen, Captain Wing, and Captain Mackay kept track of how many shoes they had in stock, McMahan’s requisition would not have been filled and Private McLargin would have marched off to Murfreesboro through those drenching rains in tatterdemalion shoes; possibly becoming sick and decreasing his company’s strength on the battlefield on December 31, 1862. Campaigns have been lost for such neglect, especially when practiced on a widespread scale as it was during Buell’s Kentucky campaign.

 

Positions:

Chief of quartermasters- oversees department and army quartermaster departments

Assistant quartermaster- wing, division, and brigade level, distributes equipment and material

 

 

Commissary

“The commissary department is the great heart that sends the life blood bounding through the veins of the army. Other departments are useful and necessary, but this is absolutely indispensable.” From stockpiling thousands of boxes of hard bread, to negotiating contracts with Chicago beef factors, the commissary department was responsible for all aspects of procuring and distributing food for the army.  A list of some of the items that the Army of the Cumberland commissary regularly issued included salt or fresh beef, pork, bacon, flour, soft and hard bread, corn meal, coffee, sugar, beans, peas, rice, hominy, molasses, vinegar, soap, candles, and desiccated vegetables.

To acquire the necessary quantities of foodstuffs, the commissary contracted with the public through advertisements and set the supply process in motion. Many of the prominent meat packing plants in Chicago got their start supplying salt beef or pork to the Army of the Cumberland during the war. Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Simmons made arrangements to have thousands of southern Illinois cattle raised for the army and shipped south as needed: the army slaughtered more than 100 beeves per day by the spring of 1863. At massive bakeries along the Ohio River in cities such as Cincinnati and New Albany, the majority of the thousands of boxes of hard bread consumed monthly were produced for the army.

The commissary department inspected and approved all rations issued to the army, with sometimes unsatisfactory results. Hard bread sometimes arrived completely broken in pieces; other times, the bread was boxed too soon after baking and became moldy and useless. A box of bread such as this was usually replaced, but the commissary department saw nothing wrong with issuing a box of worm-infested bread to its soldiers! Vegetables sometimes sat far too long in warehouses before being issued in a rotten state- given the desperate need of the men for fruits and vegetables; this was always a tragic occurrence.

Given the quantities and dollars involved, less scrupulous contractors and commissary officers sometimes colluded to defraud the government by selling diseased animals or flour mixed with sawdust at grossly inflated prices. Many soldiers were convinced that the desiccated vegetables that they were occasionally issued was nothing more than grass, leaves, and the scrapings from a hog trough- and undoubtedly in some cases, they were correct. But again as with the quartermasters department, outright fraud was more notable for its rarity than its frequency.

Rations issued on the march consisted almost invariably of hard bread and meat; but while in camp, commissary officers struggled to diversify the diet by introducing vegetables such as onions, potatoes, beans, and canned tomatoes. The winter months made procurement of these seasonal items problematic, and here the work of the various sanitary commissions were of enormous benefit to the army. Many commanding officers discovered that having competent cooks on hand greatly improved the general health and effectiveness of their commands. Left to their own devices, most soldiers proved to be poor cooks and undoubtedly many suffered from the effects of their culinary ineptitude.

To distribute rations, the commissary department through its division and brigade staff drew the required quantity from whence the regimental commissary sergeants drew their own requirements. The commissary sergeant then took the rations and evenly distributed them to the companies of his regiment- so many hard crackers to the man, a small pile of coffee and sugar for each, so many pounds of beef or pork, etc. Occasionally a regiment would draw a bad lot of beef or pork, which would be indignantly returned to the commissary, with usually unsatisfactory results for the regiment. Soldiers sometimes made light of this predicament by holding mock funerals for the rancid meat complete with a procession and dirge.

A few comments as to the chief commissary officer’s value to the army during battle: “At all times his services are very important, but in time of battle even more so. He must be always ready to issue when called upon, whether it be by day or night. He must also exercise a careful foresight with a view to meet contingencies of every kind. It is no small matter to cater for 50,000 men and to so arrange that a full supply shall always be on hand.”

 

 Positions:

Chief commissary- army level, oversees system and contracts for foodstuffs

Commissary of subsistence- corps and division level, distributes rations to brigade

Assistant commissary of subsistence- brigade level, distributes rations to individual regiments

 

Provost Marshal General

Perhaps the most misunderstood of all of the various departments, the provost marshal general served as the “great internal regulator” for the army, guarding commissary stockpiles and private residences, while maintaining order in the incredibly diverse and constantly changing environment of an army encampment. The provost marshal’s office consisted of but a few officers and men, but the commanding general had a few regiments that frequently drew duty as provost guards (9^th Michigan, 10^th Ohio, and 74^th Ohio all had extensive experience in these duties). The primary activity of the provost was the issuing of passes for both soldiers and civilians of all kinds: local refugees, regimental sutlers, outside visitors, sanitary commission workers, etc.

The provost marshal also served as judge and jury for a whole variety of camp followers, such as prostitutes, horse thieves, cut throats, loafers, swindlers and tricksters. All of these were brought into his presence for interrogation and subsequent punishment. When Ohio Copperhead Congressman Clement L. Vallandigham passed through the army’s lines headed south in the late spring of 1863, the provost marshal confined him and escorted him to the Confederacy as per the President’s order. The provost also dealt with refugees, contrabands, spies and blockade runners (frequently seemingly innocent women), who if discovered were brought before the provost judge. As such, the provost worked closely with the army police.

During battle, the provost guards were usually engaged with guarding enemy prisoners, the army’s supply wagons, or (in the case of Stones River), halting and organizing demoralized troops driven from the field. The 10^th Ohio and 9^th Michigan infantry regiments performed this duty at Stones River and were largely responsible for halting the rout of the right wing that morning. Each wing had a detail of men or a regiment for provost duty.

 

Positions:

            Provost Marshal General- responsible for dealing with civilian matters

            First Assistant Provost Marshal- responsible for dealing with army contractors and soldiers

            Second Assistant Provost Marshal- responsible for dealing with refugees and contrabands

 

Medical

The Medical Department of the Army of the Cumberland was responsible for the medical treatment of the soldiers of the command, distributing medicines through regimental surgeons, operating the numerous hospitals in and around Nashville, and providing burial for deceased soldiers. The department also reported to headquarters trends or patterns in sickness to headquarters, and recommended measures to prevent disease.

Not seeking to get into a discussion of how Civil War medicine was practiced (there are several fine books and articles online that cover that subject in considerable detail), it is safe to say that the soldiers of the Army of the Cumberland viewed a trip to the hospital was trepidation and fear. While the incidence of amputation has probably been overstated, the soldiers largely felt that the surgeons would cut first and ask questions later. The department struggled to combat sickness armed with the poor medicines of the time, and an inadequate understanding of the nature of communicable diseases. The use of quinine was widespread, along with various bitters, alcohol, blue mass, and patent medicines.

Venereal disease was a not uncommon affliction of the army while it was stationed in Nashville, which had a booming business in prostitution and vice. One observer noted that the health of army noticeably improved following the Battle of Stones River, despite the hardships of the campaign, because the men were away from the ladies of the night. To combat the prevalence of this disease, the medical department in conjunction with headquarters instituted a licensing and inspection system that provided monthly medical exams to prostitutes. This had the effect of reducing the incidence of venereal disease in both soldiers and the Cyprians. This is just one example of how the medical department dealt with disease in the army.

Each regiment had a surgeon, and assistant surgeon, hospital stewards, and men detailed to work in the regimental hospitals as cooks, clerks, or nurses. In the field, these hospitals were grouped together into brigade and division hospitals and marked with a plain yellow flag. Located well behind the front lines and presumably safe from enemy fire in farmhouses or barns, both sides generally did not fire upon structures displaying the yellow flag. Most if not all of the medical personnel of the right wing and center corps was captured on the morning of December 31^st, but were allowed to continue their work while the battle raged on. Following the battle, they were “exchanged” with their opposite numbers in the Confederate ranks (Or given a field parole) who were left behind to attend the wounded when the Army of Tennessee retreated.

In early 1863, the medical department comprised 159 surgeons, 260 assistant surgeons, 84 contract physicians, and more than 2500 stewards, clerks, cooks, and nurses on duty in 35 general hospitals. The department also had more than 500 ambulances for transportation of the wounded.

 

Positions:

Chief medical director- responsible for overall health of the army

Medical director- corps, and division level, oversaw operation of field hospitals

Regimental surgeon- responsible for medical treatment within the regiment

 

 

Artillery

Artillery proved to be one of the most important elements of battlefield success in the Civil War, and the Army of the Cumberland could boast of an artillery branch second to none in efficiency and power. Consisting of 39 batteries (86 officers, 2,760 enlisted men) at the Battle of Stones River under the command of Colonel James Barnett, the artillery saved the army from destruction on the morning of December 31^st and was instrumental in repulsing Breckenridge’s assault on the afternoon of January 2^nd. While organized with chiefs of artillery for each wing and division, the individual batteries still fought as part of brigades with minimal artillery supervision (with the exception of the Left Wing). Rosecrans did little with the artillery until just before the Stones River campaign; as a result the organization of the artillery branch was largely unchanged from Buell’s tenure.

Colonel Barnett’s primarily ensured that the various batteries of the army were adequately supplied with ammunition, friction primers, sights, wagons, limbers, horses, and all of the impedimenta needed by a modern artillery unit. He also requisitioned new guns and distributed them to the batteries in conjunction with the ordnance department. As such, his post at this point was largely administrative.

Artillery batteries in the Army of the Cumberland usually consisted of six guns each, divided into three sections, each under the command of a Lieutenant, the Captain maintaining overall control of the battery. Most of the batteries were armed with two, sometimes three, different types of cannon. For example, the 5^th Wisconsin Battery attached to 1^st Brigade, 1^st Division, Right Wing was armed with six guns: two 10 pdr. Parrotts, two 12-pdr. Model 1841 howitzers (there is some speculation that these were actually Mountain howitzers and not Model 1841s), and two 12 pdr. Model 1857 Napoleons which were issued to the battery just before the start of the campaign. (Just as an aside, these 2 guns were likely forged by Miles Greenwood & Co. in Cincinnati). This type of arrangement allowed the battery great flexibility in range and firepower: the Parrott rifles had a range of 5,000 yards, the 12 pdr. howitzers about 1,000 yards, and the Model 1857s about 1,500 yards. Additionally, battery officers were loath to use canister in rifled guns as it wore away the rifling quickly, so having 2/3 of the battery armed with smoothbores made them more effective in the relatively short ranges prevalent in western theater battles. Later in the war, Grant and Sherman reorganized the batteries of the Army of the Cumberland into four gun batteries of either 3 inch ordnance rifles or 12 pdr. Napoleons.

Developments in the eastern theatre such as grouping batteries into battalions for greater fire power did not migrate westward until later in 1863. Below is an organization chart for the artillery at the Battle of Stones River:

 

RIGHT WING

Major Charles S. Cotter, chief of artillery (absent during battle)

11 6-pdr. James rifled guns, 17 6-pdr. Model 1844 smoothbore guns, 8 10-pdr. Parrott rifled guns, 4 12-pdr. Model 1857 smoothbore Napoleons

Total 40 guns in 9 batteries

 

FIRST DIVISION

Captain Oscar F. Pinney, chief of artillery

1^st Brigade- 5^th Wisconsin

2^nd Brigade- 2^nd Minnesota

3^rd Brigade- 8^th Wisconsin

 

SECOND DIVISION

Captain Warren Parker Edgerton, chief of artillery

1^st Brigade- Battery A, 1^st Ohio

2^nd Brigade- Battery E, 1^st Ohio

3^rd Brigade- 5^th Indiana

 

THIRD DIVISION

Captain Asahel Kidder Bush, chief of artillery

1^st Brigade- 4^th Indiana

2^nd Brigade- Battery G, 1^st Missouri

3^rd Brigade- Battery C, 1^st Illinois

 

CENTER CORPS

Captain Oscar Addison Mack, chief of artillery

4 6-pdr. James rifled guns, 3 6-pdr. Model 1844 smoothbore guns, 4 12-pdr. Model 1841 smoothbore howitzers, 12 10-pdr. Parrott rifled guns, 2 6-pdr. Wiard rifled guns, 2 12-pdr. Wiard rifled guns

Total 27 guns in 6 batteries

 

FIRST DIVISION

Colonel Cyrus Orlando Loomis, chief of artillery

1^st Brigade- none

2^nd Brigade- 1^st Michigan

3^rd Brigade- 1^st Kentucky

4^th Brigade- Battery H, 5^th U.S.

 

SECOND DIVISION

Captain Frederick Schultz, chief of artillery

1^st Brigade- not present

2^nd Brigade- Battery G, 1^st Ohio

2^nd Brigade- Battery M, 1^st Kentucky (attached)

3^rd Brigade- Battery M, 1^st Ohio

 

LEFT WING

Captain John Mendenhall, chief of artillery

6 6-pdr. James rifled guns, 12 6-pdr. Model 1844 smoothbore guns, 10 12-pdr. Model 1841 smoothbore howitzers, 16 10-pdr. Parrott rifled guns, 4 3 inch Rodman guns

Total 48 guns in 10 batteries

 

FIRST DIVISION

Major Seymour Race, chief of artillery

Artillery not attached to brigades

10^th Indiana

8^th Indiana

6^th Ohio

 

SECOND DIVISION

Captain William E. Standart, chief of artillery

Battery B, 1^st Ohio

Battery F, 1^st Ohio

Battery H, 4^th U.S.

Battery M, 4^th U.S.

 

THIRD DIVISION

Captain George R. Swallow, chief of artillery

7^th Indiana

3^rd Wisconsin

26^th Pennsylvania

 

PIONEER BRIGADE

Captain James H. Stokes, chief of artillery

2 6-pdr. James rifled guns, 4 6-pdr. Model 1844 smoothbore guns

 

Chicago Board of Trade Battery

 

CAVALRY DIVISION

Battery D, 1^st Ohio

2 3-inch Rodman rifled guns

 

 

CANNON MAXIMUM RANGES

12-pdr. bronze Model 1841 howitzer: 1,072 yards

6-pdr. bronze Model 1844 smoothbore: 1,525 yards

12-pdr. “light” bronze Model 1857 Napoleon: 1,660 yards

6-pdr. James rifle: 3,000 yards

3 inch wrought iron Ordnance “Rodman” rifle: 3,972 yards

10-pdr. iron Parrott rifle: 5,000 yards

6-pdr. steel Wiard rifle: less than 5,000 yards

12-pdr. steel Wiard rifle: less than 5,000 yards

 

 

Signal and Army Telegraphic Corps

The Signal Corps of the Army of the Cumberland was reorganized by General Rosecrans in November 1862 with the purpose of maintaining constant communication between different parts of the army via flag or telegraph communications and to observe movements of the enemy. A detail of selected men throughout the army was made in the latter part of 1862 to fill the ranks of this organization, which marched with the army to Murfreesboro. Members of the corps perched themselves in elevated positions (trees, hills, buildings, etc.) to signal other portions of the army using colored flags (one black with a white center, one white with a red center, and one all red) during the day and torches at night. The messages were delivered in code.

The Signal Corps was still in development at the time of the Battle of Stones River, and as such played a minor role in the battle. Regarding the operations of the nascent corps: “A signal line was established to maintain communication and was operated until the junction of forces (December 30^th) rendered it unnecessary. Dense woods overspreading a low, flat country prevented the general application of signals, and the continued movement of the army made it impossible to construct stations in the tree tops… an effort was made to connect these portions (right and left wing) of our army by signals, but it was frustrated by the impediments of nature already noted.” Yet, there was another obstacle to the use of signals. “General Rosecrans was continually in motion, rarely at a single point for more than a few minutes and the same activity was exhibited by the various division generals. It was, in consequence, impossible to render efficient service, even had the country permitted the employment of signals. Some of the signal officers employed their time in reconnaissance; others served with the divisions to which they were attached as aides to the commanding officers.”

Field telegraphy made its first appearance in this department in the spring of 1863 and was used with some success at the Battle of Chickamauga in September. Telegraph offices along the Louisville and Nashville Railroad provided fairly reliable communication with the North despite frequent problems with guerillas cutting the wires.

 

Positions:

Chief of Signal Corps- responsible for training and utilization of signal corps

Signal Corps officer- responsible for operating communication station with wing and division commanders

 

 

Mail

One of the most important methods of keeping up and army’s morale is to ensure a consistent flow of mail into and out of the command. When General Rosecrans took command of the army, one of the primary complaints against Buell was that soldiers’ rarely received mail. Few things were more demoralizing to a soldier than to go months without hearing from his folks at home. Rebel cavalry raiders had destroyed the railroad between Louisville and Nashville and frequently captured mail wagons heading to Nashville from points north. The old mail routes and frequently changing position of the army resulted in long delays and lost mail. What mail did get through would accumulate at a central distributing point (Mitchellsville, Tennessee was as far as U.S. Mail could safely go without interference in November 1862) and would go forth to the army only when the regular mail route was open.

Rosecrans was quick to recognize that the Post Office Department lacked the resources to supply the army with its mail, and as such, he devised a military system that worked in concert with the post office. Appointing F.C. Herrick, army postmaster, Rosecrans sent out the mail wagons under heavy cavalry escort to Mitchellsville, Tennessee, where tons of mail had accumulated, and started a more regular service. The main improvement made was that Rosecrans made it a priority that his soldiers received their mail in a timely fashion. Over 20,000 pieces of mail were sent daily from the Nashville post office, along with two or three bushels of photographs and daguerreotypes. The mail department worked closely with the army directory, which tracked the latest locations of all military forces within the department.

Once delivered to the army, mail was sent to the regimental post master who would distribute the mail accordingly. Chaplains frequently served in this role. A humorous story arose from Chaplain John H. Lozier’s experience as divisional post master while serving with the 37^th Indiana Infantry. Lozier’s well-earned reputation on the battlefield of Stones River availed him nothing when confronted with the infrequency of army mail delivery. To quote from the regimental history: “There was no regularity to the coming or going of the mails, and consequently, the inquiries as to when the mail would go out became frequent and annoying. To answer this inquiry once and for all, the Chaplain placed in a piece if pasteboard in large letters- The Chaplain does not know when the mail will go- and hung it in front of his tent. Soon after, while he was out in business, a fun-loving, but not overly pious soldier wrote immediately under this in the same kind of letters- neither does he care a damn! One can readily imagine the surprise of the Chaplain when he returned and saw the amendment the witty soldier made to his notice. He could not swear, and did not feel like praying, and simply took the notice down and afterwards answered all questions by the living voice.”

 

 

Police

While not officially attached to the Army of the Cumberland, the Police Department under William Truesdail served an important role in combating crime, vice, and illicit trade within the lines of the army. Upon his arrival in Kentucky, Colonel Truesdail assumed command of the police forces of the region and uncovered a snake pit of smuggling and guerrilla activity along the line of the Louisville and Nashville. Moving with the army to Nashville, Truesdail found the city filled with avowed secessionists who worked as spies or smugglers when the opportunity offered. All manner of military equipment, even rifles, were frequently stolen and sold on the streets of Nashville for a pittance, or sent south by blockade runners. Setting up a large organization of civilian spies and agents, Truesdail and his men started patrolling all routes into the city, detaining and arresting hundreds of rebel emissaries (and committing blatant civil rights violations in the process).  Arrests were made without good reason, goods seized without cause, and some even charged that many of Truesdail’s agents were nothing more than the old criminal class of Nashville crowned with a police badge. In many months of hard work, the army police cut smuggling and returned thousands of dollars of stolen government property to the army.  To be sure, this department was one of the least popular in the army as many soldiers in the ranks suffered imprisonment or embarrassment at its hands.

 

           

 

Organization of the Army of the Cumberland

 per General Order No. 41 issued December 19, 1862

 

Army of the Cumberland

Major General William Starke Rosecrans, commanding

Staff

Colonel James Barnett, chief of artillery and ordnance

Lieutenant Colonel Arthur C. Ducat, assistant inspector general

Lieutenant Colonel Julius Peter Garesche, assistant adjutant general and chief of staff

(Killed in action December 31, 1862)

Lieutenant Colonel William P. Hepburn, inspector of cavalry

Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Simmons, chief commissary

Lieutenant Colonel John W. Taylor, chief quartermaster

Major Calvin Goddard, senior aide-de-camp

Major William H. Siddell, acting assistant adjutant general, chief mustering and disbursing officer

Major Ralston Skinner, judge advocate general

Captain William D. Bickham, volunteer aide-de-camp

Captain Elias Cosper, assistant provost marshal general

Captain James Curtis, assistant inspector-general

Captain J. Bates Dickinson, assistant adjutant general

Captain Jeremiah Howard Gilman, inspector of artillery

Captain Jesse Merrill, chief of Signal Corps

Captain Nathaniel Michler, chief of Topographical Engineers

Captain Elmer Otis, commanding courier line

Captain John Christia Peterson, acting adjutant and inspector general

Captain Robert Scott Thoms, volunteer aide-de-camp

Captain Charles R. Thompson, Rosecrans’ personal aide-de-camp

Captain William M. Wiles, provost marshal general

Captain John Horne Young, assistant mustering officer

Surgeon Ebenezer Swift, medical director

First Lieutenant Frank Stuart Bond, aide-de camp

First Lieutenant George Burroughs, corps of engineers

First Lieutenant Theodore Edson, U.S. ordnance officer

First Lieutenant Byron Kirby, aide-de-camp

(Wounded in action December 31, 1862)

First Lieutenant Henry Stone, assistant adjutant general

Second Lieutenant J.R. Reynolds, acting aide-de-camp

Second Lieutenant Elbridge Geary Roys, commanding escort of headquarters train

Second Lieutenant Henry Clifton Wharton, corps of engineers

 

 

 

Right Wing

Major General Alexander McDowell McCook, commanding

Staff

Lieutenant Colonel Elisha Bassett Langdon, inspector-general

Major Caleb Bates, volunteer aide-de-camp

Major Charles S. Cotter, chief of artillery

Major John A. Campbell, assistant adjutant general

Major Richard H. Nodine, engineer officer

Captain Orris Blake, provost marshal

Captain Joseph Fulton Boyd, assistant quartermaster

Captain Horace Newton Fisher, volunteer aide-de-camp and topographical engineer

Captain Gates Phillips Thruston, ordnance officer

Captain Beverly Dickinson Williams, aide-de-camp

Surgeon Clarke McDermont, medical director

First Lieutenant Lovell H. Thrixton, commanding headquarters escort

 

 

First Division, Right Wing

(Old 9^th Division)

Brigadier General Jefferson Columbus Davis, commanding

Staff

Captain Miller R. McCulloch, aide-de-camp

(Killed in action December 31, 1862)

Captain Henry Pease, inspector general

Captain Oscar F. Pinney, chief of artillery

(Mortally wounded December 31, 1862 while commanding 5^th Wisconsin Battery)

Captain Samuel B. Scherer, commanding headquarters escort

Captain Shriver, ordnance officer

Surgeon John Luscombe Teed, medical director

First Lieutenant Thomas H. Dailey, aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant Theophilus Wylie Morrison, acting assistant adjutant general

First Lieutenant Robert Plunkett, provost marshal

First Lieutenant Francis E. Reynolds, aide-de-camp

Private Frank Clark, clerk to assistant adjutant general and acting aide-de-camp

 

First Brigade, First Division, Right Wing

(Old 30^th Brigade)

Colonel Philip Sidney Post, commanding

Staff

First Lieutenant Henry N. Baker, 74^th Illinois

First Lieutenant Hamilton Warren Hall, 59^th Illinois

First Lieutenant Hobert H. Hatch, 74^th Illinois

First Lieutenant Samuel M. Jones, 59^th Illinois

Private George Fogle, orderly

 

Second Brigade, First Division, Right Wing

(Old 31^st Brigade)

Colonel William Passmore Carlin, commanding

Staff

Captain William C. Harris, 38^th Illinois

Captain Samuel P. Voris, acting assistant adjutant general

First Lieutenant Albert Woodbury, 2^nd Minnesota Battery

Second Lieutenant Walter E. Carlin, 38^th Illinois

Private Alexander C. Hosmer, clerk

Private Amick, orderly

Private Hart, orderly

Private Knox, orderly

Private Pease, orderly

 

Third Brigade, First Division, Right Wing

(Old 32^nd Brigade)

Colonel William E. Woodruff, commanding

Staff

Captain George Austin, acting assistant adjutant general

Captain Allen C. Keys, 35^th Illinois

First Lieutenant Caswell P. Ford, quartermaster

First Lieutenant John F. Isom, 25^th Illinois

First Lieutenant Harvey S. Park, 2^nd Kentucky Cavalry

Second Lieutenant William R. McChesney, 2^nd Kentucky Cavalry

Private A.T. Greeman, orderly

Private Abijah Lee, orderly

 

 

Second Division, Right Wing

(Old 2^nd Division)

Brigadier General Richard W. Johnson, commanding

Staff

Captain Joseph R. Bartlett, acting assistant adjutant general and inspector general

Captain Theodore C. Bowles, assistant quartermaster

Captain Warren Parker Edgarton, chief of artillery

Captain William D. Hooker, 4^th Kentucky Cavalry

Captain William E. McLeland, commissary of subsistence

Surgeon Solon Marks, medical director

Lieutenant Taft

Lieutenant Hill

Second Lieutenant Frank N. Sheets

Sergeant William C. Miles, 3^rd Kentucky Cavalry, commanded headquarters escort

 

First Brigade, Second Division, Right Wing

(Old 6^th Brigade)

Brigadier General August Willich, commanding

(Captured December 31, 1862)

Colonel William H. Gibson, commanding

Staff

Captain Carl Schmitt, assistant adjutant general

First Lieutenant Shepherd S. Green, acting assistant inspector general

Lieutenant McGrath

First Lieutenant Milton F. Miles, 49^th Ohio

 

Second Brigade, Second Division, Right Wing

(Old 5^th Brigade)

Brigadier General Edward Needles Kirk, commanding

(Mortally wounded December 31, 1862)

Colonel Joseph B. Dodge, commanding

Staff

Captain Abraham Beeler, volunteer aide

Captain Edmond P. Edsall, inspector general

Captain Isaiah C. McElfatrick, topographical engineer

Captain David C. Wagner, assistant adjutant general

Assistant Surgeon George W. Hewitt, acting brigade surgeon

Lieutenant Alexander T. Baldwin, aide-de-camp

Lieutenant Peter F. Walker, aide-de-camp

Private John Darstrin, orderly

Private Thomas Mar, orderly

(Wounded in action December 31, 1862)

 

Third Brigade, Second Division, Right Wing

(Old 4^th Brigade)

Colonel Philemon Prindle Baldwin, commanding

Staff

Surgeon Enos S. Swain, brigade surgeon

First Lieutenant George H. Burns, acting assistant adjutant general

First Lieutenant William L. Patterson, 1^st Ohio

First Lieutenant Joseph Johnson Siddall, 6^th Indiana

 

 

Third Division, Right Wing

(Old 11^th Division)

Brigadier General Philip Henry Sheridan, commanding

Staff

Major Henry F. Dietz, provost marshal

Captain Henry Hescock, chief of artillery

Captain George Lee, assistant adjutant general

Captain Francis Mohrhart, topographical engineer

Surgeon David J. Griffith, medical director

First Lieutenant Frank H. Allen, aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant Edgar M. DeBruin, aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant Robert M. Denning, aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant Arad J. Douglass, ordnance officer

First Lieutenant Joseph T. Forman, commanding escort

Second Lieutenant Thomas H. Soward, aide-de-camp

 

First Brigade, Third Division, Right Wing

(Old 37^th Brigade)

Brigadier General Joshua Woodrow Sill, commanding

(Killed in action December 31, 1862)

Colonel Nicholas Greusel, commanding

Staff

Surgeon Delos W. Young, brigade surgeon

First Lieutenant Nathaniel S. Bouton, brigade quartermaster

Lieutenant J.B. Watkins, acting assistant adjutant general

Second Lieutenant John L. Mitchell, aide-de-camp

Quartermaster Sergeant Frederick Colburn, volunteer aide-de-camp

 

Second Brigade, Third Division, Right Wing

(Old 35^th Brigade)

Colonel Frederick Schaefer, commanding

(Killed in action December 31, 1862)

Lieutenant Colonel Bernard Laiboldt, commanding

Staff

Unknown

 

Third Brigade, Third Division, Right Wing

Colonel George Williamson Roberts, commanding

(Killed in action December 31, 1862)

Colonel Luther Prentice Bradley, commanding

Staff

Captain Rufus Rose, 51^st Illinois

 

 

Center Corps

Major General George Henry Thomas, commanding

Staff

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander von Schroeder, acting inspector general

Major George E. Flynt, assistant adjutant general and chief of staff

Captain Oscar Addison Mack, acting chief commissary and chief of artillery

(Wounded in action December 31, 1862)

Captain Andrew Jackson Mackay, chief quartermaster

Captain James Richmond Paul, commissary of subsistence

Surgeon Gaylord DeWitt Beebe, medical director

First Lieutenant John D. Barker, commanding headquarters escort

First Lieutenant Jehu L. Hollopeter, signal officer

First Lieutenant Robert F. Just, aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant Joseph S. Lutz, aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant Edwin I. Meeker, signal officer

Second Lieutenant Samuel Bachtell, signal officer

Second Lieutenant James H. Connelly, signal officer

Second Lieutenant Homer C. Jones, aide-de-camp

Second Lieutenant Thomas J. Kelly, aide-de-camp

Second Lieutenant George Washington Landrum, aide-de-camp

Second Lieutenant William Quinton, signal officer

Second Lieutenant Alfred Kincaid Taylor, signal officer

 

 

First Division, Center Corps

(Old 3^rd Division)

Major General Lovell Harrison Rousseau, commanding

Staff

Colonel Cyrus Orlando Loomis, chief of artillery

Captain James R. Paul, chief commissary

Captain Marion C. Taylor, acting assistant adjutant general

Captain John C. Wickliffe, aide-de-camp

Surgeon Charles S. Muscroft, medical director

First Lieutenant William M. Carpenter, division quartermaster

(Badly injured in fall from horse December 31, 1862)

First Lieutenant William G. Jenkins, aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant William Preston McDowell, assistant adjutant general

(Wounded in action December 31, 1862)

First Lieutenant Harrison Millard, aide-de-camp and inspector general

First Lieutenant Alfred Pirtle, ordnance officer

Second Lieutenant Charles D. Armstrong, commanding headquarters escort

Second Lieutenant Samuel L. Hartman, 79^th Pennsylvania

Private Damas, orderly

Private Emery, orderly

(Wounded in action December 31, 1862)

 

First Brigade, First Division, Center Corps

(Old 9^th Brigade)

Colonel Benjamin Franklin Scribner, commanding

Staff

First Lieutenant George H. Hollister, acting assistant commissary of subsistence

(Wounded and captured December 31, 1862)

First Lieutenant Francis J. Fitzwilliams, acting assistant adjutant general and aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant Alexander Martin, inspector

(Wounded in action December 31, 1862)

First Lieutenant St. George Aston Vandegrift, acting assistant adjutant general

Second Lieutenant Mundy Allen, topographical engineer

Private Josiah F. Mitchell, orderly

 

Second Brigade, First Division, Center Corps

(Old 17^th Brigade)

Colonel John Beatty, commanding

Staff

First Lieutenant James S. Wilson, acting assistant adjutant general

James K. Patterson, volunteer aide-de-camp

 

Third Brigade, First Division, Center Corps

(Old 28^th Brigade)

Colonel John Converse Starkweather, commanding

Staff

Unknown

 

Fourth Brigade, First Division, Center Corps

Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Lathrop Shepherd, commanding

Staff

Captain Nathaniel Coates Kinney, brigade quartermaster

Assistant Surgeon Webster Lindsley, acting brigade surgeon

First Lieutenant Anson Mills, chief of commissary

First Lieutenant Robert Sutherland, acting assistant adjutant general

 

 

Second Division, Center Corps

(Old 8^th Division)

Brigadier General James Scott Negley, commanding

Staff

Major Ferdinand H. Gross, medical director

Captain Charles R. Hayden, ordnance officer

Captain James A. Lowrie, assistant adjutant general

Captain Frederick Schultz, chief of artillery

Captain Charles T. Wing, assistant quartermaster

First Lieutenant Robert H. Cochran, provost marshal

First Lieutenant Nathan D. Ingraham, topographical engineer

First Lieutenant Frederick H. Kennedy, aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant Thomas Riddle, acting assistant commissary of subsistence

Second Lieutenant William W. Barker, acting aide-de-camp

Second Lieutenant Charles C. Cooke, acting aide-de-camp

Sergeant William H. Longwell, orderly

 

Headquarters escort from 7^th Pennsylvania Cavalry

Sergeant George C. Lee, commanding

Corporal E.H. Dougherty, Privates John Cunningham, George Gillen, John Higgins, Abraham Kepperly, John D. McCorkle, Henry Schwenk, Leon Starr, Daniel Walker, Henry Zimmerman

 

Second Brigade, Second Division, Center Corps

(Old 29^th Brigade)

Colonel Timothy Robbins Stanley, commanding

Staff

First Lieutenant William Bishop, 19^th Illinois

First Lieutenant Peter Cunningham, 19^th Illinois

First Lieutenant Henry S. Platt, Jr., aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant Jacob J. Rarick, 69^th Ohio

First Lieutenant Frank Sweeny, 69^th Ohio

Second Lieutenant Morris D. Temple, 19^th Illinois

Private Adams, orderly

Private Agnew, clerk

Private Coffin, orderly

Private Mercer, orderly

Private Riley, clerk

 

Third Brigade, Second Division, Center Corps

(Old 7^th Brigade)

Colonel John Franklin Miller, commanding

Staff

Major Augustus B. Bonnaffon, topographical engineer

Surgeon William Anderson, brigade surgeon

First Lieutenant Hugh Alfred Ayers, aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant Samuel Fletcher Cheney, aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant Henry Martyn Cist, acting assistant adjutant general

First Lieutenant Robert Mungen, brigade quartermaster

First Lieutenant Francis Riddle, brigade commissary

First Lieutenant Frank J. Tedford, inspector

Private Nicholas John Vail, orderly

Private Wilson J. Vance, clerk and orderly

 

 

First Brigade, Third Division, Center Corps

Colonel Moses B. Walker, commanding

Staff

Captain Robert McQuilkin, acting assistant adjutant general

 

 

Provisional Brigade, Fourth Division, Center Corps

Brigadier General James Gallant Spears, commanding

Staff

Unknown

 

 

Left Wing

Major General Thomas Leonidas Crittenden, commanding

Staff

Major Lyne Starling, assistant adjutant general and chief of staff

Captain Louis M. Buford, aide-de-camp

(Slightly wounded in action December 31, 1862)

Captain Case, signal officer

Captain R. Loder, inspector general

Captain Gilbert Crawford Kniffin, commissary of subsistence

Captain John Mendenhall, chief of artillery and topographical engineer

Surgeon Alonzo Jefferson Phelps, medical director

First Lieutenant George Gregg Knox, aide-de-camp

Lieutenant Jones, volunteer aide

Second Lieutenant Peter S. Bruner, commanding headquarters escort

 

 

First Division, Left Wing

Brigadier General Thomas John Wood, commanding

(Wounded in action December 31, 1862)

Brigadier General Milo Smith Hascall, commanding

Staff

Major Seymour Race, chief of artillery

Major Isaiah D. Walker, volunteer aide-de-camp

Captain Marcus P. Bestow, assistant adjutant general and chief of staff

Captain Charles H. Bruce, ordnance officer

Captain Lorenzo Doty Meyers, division quartermaster

Captain Theodoric R. Palmer, inspector general

Surgeon William W. Blair, medical director

First Lieutenant Samuel D. Henderson, commissary of subsistence

First Lieutenant John C. Martin, signal officer and acting assistant quartermaster

First Lieutenant John Yaryan, aide-de-camp

 

First Brigade, First Division, Left Wing

Brigadier General Milo Smith Hascall, commanding

Colonel George Pearson Buell, commanding

Staff

Captain Edmund R. Kerstetter, assistant adjutant general and chief of staff

Captain John Roberts, commissary of subsistence

First Lieutenant James R. Hume, aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant James R. Warner, inspector general

 

Second Brigade, First Division, Left Wing

Colonel George Day Wagner, commanding

Staff

Captain Henry C. Tinney, acting assistant adjutant general

Captain Horace Warren, aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant William M. Casterline, aide-de-camp

 

Third Brigade, First Division, Left Wing

Colonel Charles Garrison Harker, commanding

Staff

Captain Samuel L. Coulter, acting assistant adjutant general

Surgeon John M. Todd, acting brigade surgeon

First Lieutenant A.B. Case, acting assistant inspector general

First Lieutenant David L. Wright, aide-de-camp

 

 

Second Division, Left Wing

Brigadier General John McAuley Palmer, commanding

Staff

Captain Henry Howland, assistant quartermaster

Captain Jacob R. Muhleman, assistant adjutant general and chief of staff

Captain David Woodman Norton, acting assistant adjutant general

Captain William E. Standart, chief of artillery

Surgeon Mason G. Sherman, acting medical director

First Lieutenant Charles E. Hayes, topographical engineer

First Lieutenant Charles C. Peck, commissary of subsistence

First Lieutenant John H. Shaw, 7^th Illinois Cavalry

First Lieutenant Thomas H. Simmons, 14^th Illinois

(Wounded in action December 31, 1862)

Second Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Croxton, ordnance officer

Lieutenant Child, aide-de-camp

 

First Brigade, Second Division, Left Wing

Brigadier General Charles Cruft, commanding

Staff

Captain William H. Fairbanks, acting assistant adjutant general

Captain Robinson, commissary of subsistence

Surgeon James B. Armstrong, acting brigade surgeon

First Lieutenant James C. Beeler, acting quartermaster

First Lieutenant John A. Wright, acting aide-de-camp

Corporal James T. Slater, escort

Private William Hayman, escort

 

Second Brigade, Second Division, Left Wing

Colonel William Babcock Hazen, commanding

(Slightly wounded in action December 31, 1862)

Staff

Major Robert L. Kimberly, acting assistant adjutant general

Captain Leonidas A. Cole, topographical engineer

(Slightly wounded in action December 31, 1862)

Captain James McCleery, acting inspector general

(Wounded in action December 31, 1862)

First Lieutenant Edwin Byron Atwood, aide-de-camp

First Lieutenant William M. Beebe, Jr., aide-de-camp

(Wounded in action December 31, 1862)

First Lieutenant John L. Chilton, acting brigade quartermaster

First Lieutenant Ferdinand D. Cobb, acting commissary of subsistence

Second Lieutenant William “Harry” Morton, volunteer aide-de-camp

Sergeant Henry Diedtrich, orderly

(Mortally wounded December 31, 1862)

Private Christopher Lehmann, brigade bugler

 

Third Brigade, Second Division, Left Wing

Colonel William Grose, commanding

Staff

Captain Milton Peden, 36^th Indiana

(Wounded in action December 31, 1862)

First Lieutenant Jephson P. Duke, 23^rd Kentucky

Surgeon Silas H. Kersey, acting brigade surgeon

Corporal Isaac Bigelow, orderly

Private Benjamin “Frank” Brough, orderly

Private Martin Mann, orderly

Private Louis Miller, orderly

Musician George W. Shirk, orderly and bugler

Private William D. Smith, orderly

Private Frank Webb, orderly

Private Albert L. Woods, orderly

 

 

Third Division, Left Wing

Brigadier General Horatio Phillips Van Cleve, commanding

(Slightly wounded December 31, 1862)