“The 4th Maryland Infantry in the Wilderness Campaign”

Carroll County Times Article for 4 May 1997

By Jay A. Graybeal

Although much has been written about Carroll County during the Civil War, the participation of local soldiers is less well known. Most Union soldiers served in infantry regiments that were not directly involved in the three campaigns, Antietam, Gettysburg, and Monocacy, that brought Confederate and Union armies through the county.

Companies A and C of the 6th Maryland Volunteer Infantry were recruited in Carroll County. Two additional companies of local men, Co. E, 4th Regiment, and Co. F, 7th Regiment, Maryland Volunteer Infantry, served together in the Maryland Brigade of the Fifth Army Corps. James Easton, a veteran of Co. E, 4th Maryland, recalled the events of the Wilderness Campaign in an article published in the 23 February 1889 issue of the American Sentinel newspaper:

The following statement may be interesting to some of the members of the old Maryland Brigade, Second Division, Fifth Army Corps:On the morning of August 18th, 1864, the brigade left camp near Petersburg, Va., and marched to the Yellow House, 6 miles sough of Petersburg, when it was immediately thrown into line of battle, facing west, which position was occupied for about one hour. this line consisted of the 1st and 7th regiments, the 4th and 8th regiments having been deployed as skirmishers in front of the line. The enemy, changing his position, made a demonstration from the north, from the direction of Petersburg, when the brigade was moved to the right and the front changed to suit the new position. On this new line the Maryland brigade, which in the first position taken by it was separate, now found itself on the left of the other brigades of the second division. Immediately after getting into the new position the enemy charged the entire line with a large force and drove back the brigades on the right, leaving the Maryland brigade exposed on both flanks, thereby forcing upon it the necessity of falling back to prevent capture. After falling back, about four hundred yards, and clearing its flanks, a stand was made and the line of the brigade once more advanced, driving the enemy until a suitable position was reached, which position it held for nearly two hours and until it was regularly relieved by other troops. When relieved the men were nearly out of ammunition, and in some instances the fire was kept up by getting cartridges from the boxes of the killed and wounded of the brigade. It was a fair, stand-up fight, neither party having the advantage of breastworks, and the fire from our line was so severe that the enemy was compelled to fall back. The dead in front of the brigade showed very plainly where the hardest fighting took place.

General Ayres, as brave a man as there was in the army, complimented the brigade for the stubborn fight it had made, and sent work to Col. Dushane to tell his men that they had done nobly, nobly indeed. In other fights, being behind breastworks with other troops, nothing was done the glory of which all are not entitled to share. The above is a plain statement without attempting to improperly eulogize any particular man or regiment.

Below is a correct list of casualties which occurred in the 4th Regiment Md. Vol. Infantry, Col. R. N. Bowerman commanding, from May 4th, 1864, to July 30th, 1864.

Field and Staff.- Wounded, First Lieut. John Schley, left thigh, Spottsylvania.

Company A.-Wounded, corporal Jas. H. Higgins, hand; private, Donahue; missing, Thos. More, D. O. Miller, Thos. Igo.

Company B.-Killed, Adam Schmidt, A. F. Heidy; wounded, Capt. Geo. Ruth, left leg, First Lieut. W. J. Crawford, leg, John Ardman, hand, W. H. Wilson, arm, Jas. W. Dadds, Wm. Rasch, leg; missing, Adam Saure.

Company C.-Killed, J. T. Woods, W. H. Galloway; wounded, first sergeant M. V. B. Cook, foot, Geo. W. Price, shoulder, Robert Roberts, hand, J. H. Smith, knee, H. S. Seebold, hand; missing, sergeant George Black

Company D.-Killed, First Lieutenant R. M. Gorsuch; wounded, Lieutenant Jacob Rimby, James Garrett, C. H. Stewart, leg off, Wm. Roberson, hand; missing, M. H. West, J. Hartman, Wm. Bennett.

Company E.-Killed, first sergeant C. Huffington, sergeant Chas. Shipley, corporals Noah Pickett, C. A. Pickett, privates Chas. Conaway, William Bloom; wounded, First Lieutenant Thos. Mills, thigh, sergeant James Easton, arm, corporal Geo. T. Claver, head, David N. McQuay, leg, Emanuel Lugenbeel, neck, Gassaway Gillis, hip, Ben Hood, hand, Solomon Penn, B. W. Porter, breast; missing, Capt. Wm. H. Davis, Henry Crabb, W. B. Conaway

Company F.-Killed, sergeant G. F. Wilson, W. S. King, M. C. Ernest, T. B. Mansfield; wounded, First Lieutenant Henry Wilhelm, hip, Thos. Madgervick, hip, Owen Duval, arm, Edward Carter, leg, L. Robinson, knee, Frances Fawcett, body, G. W. Gates, arm off, G. W. Fringer, arm.

Company G.-Killed, privates Daniel Snader, G. F. Kline; wounded, W. Basley, hand, John Schew, hand, David Wilhelm, hand, G. W. Lilly, body, John Brown, leg, J. R. Tucker, thigh, Joseph Ray, leg, John Arnold, leg, J. F. Livingston, arm and breast, V. T. Jackson, leg missing, Jas. A. Hilton, W. A. Shultz.

Company H.-Wounded, J. W. Praley, hand, B. Patgeiser, leg, G. F. Crouse, hand; missing, Capt. C. H. O’Neill, Jas. Manroe, S. T. Wilson.

Company I.-Killed, Andrew Hussert; wounded, Wm. Latt, thigh, John D. Wilks, foot, J. S. Springer, hand; missing, Rich Elliott, John H. Schenbacker.

JAMES EASTON,
Co. E, 4th Maryland Volunteer Infantry.
Photo caption: The members of Pickett’s Post, Grand Army of the Republic were mostly veterans of Co. E, 4th Maryland Infantry. The post was named in honor of Corporals Noah and Celious A. Pickett who died of wounds received during the Wilderness Campaign. Historical Society of Carroll County Collection, gift of Bertha K. Pickett