Company G, 45th Regiment, Illinois Infantry

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Company G, “Washburne Lead Mine Regiment”

Company G was a company of the 45th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. It was formed in Rockford and made up mostly of men from Winnebago County. The 45th was also known as the “Washburne Lead Mine Regiment”, named after Northern Illinois US Representative Elihu B. Washburne and the lead mine in Galena where many of the recruits were from.

History

“Rockford Rifles”

Melanchthon Smith

In 1861 Melanchthon Smith was a recently appointed postmaster in Rockford, Illinois. He organized a group of fighters called the Rockford Rifles in June of 1861. On Sept 22, 1861 his 124 men left Rockford for Camp Washburne at Galina. The company was mustered into service as Company G of the 45th Infantry. ^[1][2]

Camp Douglas, Nov. 1861-Jan. 1862

The men at Washburne left for Camp Douglas, Chicago November 1861.

For some, this would be the end of their journey. Later Camp Douglas would become a prisoner of war camp with notoriously bad conditions. However, from its beginning as a training camp it was soon overcrowded with a lack of latrines and medical facilities. By February 1862 43 recruits had died of Illness in the camp. ^[3]

Private Edwin Rowley from Cherry Valley died of the measles in January at the camp. He was the first casualty of Company G.

Also in January Private George Royce, Rockford was discharged due to disability, probably illness.

On Dec. 25, 1861, all ten companies were officially mustered in as the 45th Regiment

They left for Cairo, Illinois in January 1862 where they were assigned to the Second Brigade, commanded by Colonel William H. L. Wallace, First Division, commanded by General John A. McClernand.

Officers

Captain Melanchthon Smith

Captain Robert Sealy

Captain Syria Budlong

First Lieutenant Dennis W. Griffen

First Lieutenant Giles H. Bush

First Lieutenant Leander Bander

Second Lieutenant George A. Sealey

Sergeant Freeman C. Brooks

Sergeant Alfred H. Peats

Sergeant John D. Blaisdell

Corporal Berkett G. Jennings

Corporal Daniel McNeilage

Corporal Henry D. Merrill

Corporal Bradley M. Flint

Corporal Charles W. Hogedon

Corporal Darwin H. Kingsley

1862

Fort Donelson, Feb. 11-16

Kurz & Allison, Battle of Fort Donelson

In February the 45th left Cairo with General Ulysses Grant’s army for the Tennessee River. Their first battle was at Fort Donelson. Two members of the 45th were killed, one from Co. G, Private John Travis from Rockford. His was the first battle casualty from Winnebago County. His friend Israel Sovereign who had come with a group of doctors and civilians to support the unit retrieved John’s body from the battlefield and brought it back to Rockford. ^[4] Of the 26 wounded two were from Company G—Private Luther Bixby from Byron. He was discharged in July and Private Isaiah Washburn from Burritt who was wounded from his own weapon accidentally firing.

Shiloh, April 6–7

Thure de Thulstrup, Battle of Shilo

The 45th left Camp Donelson on March 4. They marched to the Big Sandy, where they took boats up the Tennessee River to Savannah, arriving on March 11. On March 10, Private Frederick Champ from Howard died on board the steamship Dickey.

The unit camped at Savanna until March 25 when they joined McClernand’s Division at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee.

During that time Private Edward Sutton from Rockford contracted Typhoid fever. He died a day before the Battle of Shilo at the military hospital in St. Louis.

The 45th were at the front line of the fighting both days of the Battle at Shiloh.

Monument to Illinois 45th Infantry, Shiloh

Of the 26 soldiers of the 45th killed at Shiloh, four were from Company G, all from Winnebago County:

Corporal Daniel McNeilage, Guilford

Private George Henry, Rockford

Private Conrad LaGrange, Rockford

Private James Watterson, Harlem

Of the 199 wounded at least six were from Company G:

Private William Benham, Durand; wounded in the right cheek, discharged in August

Private John Campbell, Rockford; wounded in the right shoulder, discharged in July

Corporal Berkett Jennings, Winnebago; discharged in August

Private Thomas Lamont, Guilford

Private Henry Passon, Rockford; discharged in July

Sergeant Alfred Peats, Rockford; wounded in the right shoulder, discharged in July

Sergeant Freeman Brooks from Rockford was discharged from the hospital in St Louis later that month due to disability. No indication if it was wounds or illness.

Three soldiers were discharged for disability from Cairo (where there was a military hospital) in April:

Private William Barnes, Rockford

Private Ebenezer Butterfield, Roscoe

Private Simeon Tufts, Harlem

Siege of Corinth, April 29-May 30

During the siege, the Forty-fifth was attached to the First Brigade, Third Division of the Reserve.

During that time Private David Cline from Winnebago and Private Thomas Drake from Rockford were discharged for disability.

Treager’s, Aug. 31

During the summer of 1862, the 45th camped at Jackson, Mississippi.

During this time the following men were discharged for disability

June: Private George Himes, Guilford

August: Private William Ryan, Rockford, Typhoid Fever

August: Private Thompkins Tripp, Rockford, from Chicago

In August Company G was assigned to guard the Mississippi Railway at Treager's. During this time Private Lucius Day from Rockford was discharged due to disability.

On Aug 31 there was a rebel raid and fight. The Adjutant General's Report says Company C was captured while the National Park Service says it was Company G. Three were killed and at least two were from Company C. There is no record of any prisoners from Co. G.

Sept 17 they returned to Camp Jackson until Nov.3.

During that time the following men received disability discharges:

Sept: Private Robert Goodlander, Rockford (St. Louis)

Oct: Private Joseph Wilmarth, Rockford (St. Louis)

From November to January the 45th was assigned duty on the Mississippi Central Railway to the Yockna River.

During that time two more men received disability discharges:

Nov: Private William Davis, Rockford

Nov: Private Davis Sovereign, Rockford (at Chicago)

1863

Siege of Vicksburg, May 18-July 4

Logan's Division Battling the Confederates Near Fourteen Mile Creek. Battle of Raymond, 12 May 1863

In February the company joined General Grants’s Army on transports down the river from Memphis to take part in the Vicksburg campaign.

In March two men were discharged due to disability:

Private Chandler Adams, Rockford

Private John Wlech, Rockford

The 45th participated in all the battles of the campaign, forming part of Logans Division.

The miners of Galina used their skills to help tunnel below a Confederate fort to blow it up with black powder. After the explosion, the 45th and another regiment unsuccessfully assaulted the Confederate line.

Eighty-three of the 45th were killed including Melancthon Smith who had organized the original “Rockford Rifles” in the assault. ^[5] No one else from Company G was killed but Private Gustavus Martin, Guilford died of typhoid fever in September at Vicksburg.

In August Private Lucius Day, Rockford, received a disability discharge. In September Musician William Moore, Rockford, was sent home due to disability.

Burning of the Robert Campbell Sept. 28

The Robert Campbell was a steamship traveling from St. Louis to New Orleans. On the morning of September 28 it was set fire by Isaac Elshire and other Confederates “boat burners” responsible for sabotaging steamers along the Mississippi. ^[6]

Commissary Sergeant Henry Thomas helped rescue passengers from the burning ship. He drowned trying to swim back to shore. ^[7]

From November 7, 1863, until February 3, 1864, the 45th was in camp at Black River, some ten miles east of Vicksburg.

In December Private Hugh McMichael from Belvidere, died, probably of illness.

During December and January 1864 nearly all of the 49th re-enlisted as veterans

1864

Meridian Campaign, Feb. 3-March 6

The 45th was part of this campaign, including a skirmish at Chunky Station that left three men wounded.

Private Edward Watson, Harlem received a disability discharge in St. Louis February 11.

On March 17 the unit returned to Cairo where they enjoyed a veteran’s furlough until May.

Atlanta Campaign Summer

The Siege of Atlanta, Thure de Thulstrup

In May the 45th left Cairo to join the Atlanta Campaign. They engaged in the following battles:

Port Gibson, May 1

Raymond, May 12

Jackson, May 13

Champion Hill, May 16

Big Black River Bridge, May 17

Assaults on Vicksburg, May 19-22

Kennesaw Mountain, June 27

Nickajack Creek, July 2-5

Chattahoochie River, July 5-17

Howell's Ferry, July 5

Leggett's, Bald Hill, July 20-21

Siege of Atlanta, July 22-August 25.

Jonesborough, Aug. 31-Sept. 1

They were present at the surrender of Vicksburg on July 4.

In May, two men were sent home die to disability, Private George Purdon, Rockford and Samuel Vanston, Winnebago.

The unit stayed in Vicksburg for Provost duty until October.

March to the Sea, Nov. 15-Dec. 21

On November 12 the 45th were attached to the 17th Army Corp and marched from Atlanta to Savanna, arriving Dec. 21.

1865

Campaign of the Carolinas, Jan 1-April 26

On January 4, 1965, the 45th left Savannah on a steamer, arriving in South Carolina on the 13th for the Campaign of the Carolinas. On Jan. 14 they were part of an attack on Pocotaligo, with 8 men of the 45th wounded.

By Feb. 28 the 45th had marched 300 miles in less than a month throughout the Carolinas, engaging in the following battles:

Salkehatchie Swamp, Feb. 1-5

Whippy Swamp, Feb. 2

South Edisto River Feb. 9

North Edisto River Feb. 11-12

Columbia Feb. 15-17

Battle of Bentonville, March 20-21

General Mower turning the Confederates Left

In March the company marched on to Bentonville and Goldsboro and participated in the battle there, as well as the occupation of Goldsboro. They then advanced to Raleigh April 10-14. William C. Taylor, quartermaster of the 45th received the surrender of Fayetteville.

End of the War

On April 10 the 45th marched to Raleigh. When they arrived they learned that the war was over and the Union had won the day. They occupied the city from April 10-14.

May 1, 1865, the Forty-fifth, with the rest of the Seventeenth Army corps, took up its final march for Washington, D. C., via Richmond. They were in competition with the Fifteenth to reach Washington D.C. first. It was a tie. Both the Fifteenth and Seventeenth arrived at Alexandria and went into camp on the same day, May 19, 1865.

The Forty-fifth participated in the Grand Review at Washington, May 23 and 24.

The 45th was officially mustered out on July 12, 1865. They arrived in Chicago on July 15, 1865, for final pay and discharge.

Sources

1. ↑ Daily Register-Gazette (Rockford, IL) 22 August 1911, page 2 GenealogyBank: accessed 18 September 2020
2. ↑ Genealogy Trails from Brooks, R. Chad. A Call to Arms. 1968
3. ↑ Levy, George. To Die in Chicago: Confederate Prisoners at Camp Douglas 1862–1865 (revised ed.). Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 1999. Pg. 34
4. ↑ Rockford’s Role in the Civil War
5. ↑ Walker, Darren. Thousands of Illinoisans took part in Siege of Vicksburg. The State Journal-Register, July 1, 2013.
6. ↑ Jones, Michael. Civil War sabotage on the Mississippi 2013
7. ↑ Janicke, Doug. Identity Revealed: Civil War Soldier. 2011

See also:

• History of the 45th Illinois Regiment Illinois USGenWeb Project
• 45th Illinois Infantry Regiment Wikipedia
• Illinois. Military and Naval Dept, Reece, Jasper N, Elliott, Isaac Hughes, 1837-1922. Report of the adjutant general of the state of Illinois. Springfield, IL, Phillips Bros., State printers [etc.], 1900. Pages 348-351
• Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls
• Company "G" 45th Illinois Infantry Roster Illinois USGenWeb Project
• 45th Regiment, Illinois Infantry Battle Unit Details National Park Service
• Fish, Daniel. The Forty-Fifth Illinois: a souvenir of the re-union, held at Rockford, on the fortieth anniversary of its march in the Grand Review (1905)
• Adair, John A. Historical Sketch of the Forty-Fifth Illinois Regiment: with a complete list of the officers and privates and an individual record of each man in the regiment (1869)