10th Regiment, US Infantry (Regular Army)

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10th Regiment, US Infantry (Regular Army)

Overview:Companies "B," "E," "G" and "I" at Washington, D. C., January, 1862. Companies "D" and "K" at Fort Laramie, Neb., till June, 1862. Moved to Fort Kearney and duty there till April 7, 1863. Joined Regiment near Chancellorsville, Va., April 30, 1863. Companies "A" and "F" at Socorro, N.M., January, 1862. Company "H" at Pinos Ranch near Santa Fe, N.M., January, 1862. Concentrated at Fort Craig (Cos. "A," "F" and "H"). Battle of Valverde, N.M., February 21, 1862. Alburquerque April 8. Peralta April 15. Company "C" at Fort Wise, Colo., January, 1862. Companies "C," "F" and "H" march to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., September to November, arriving there November 7, and moved to Washington, D.C., November 24. Joined Regiment at Aquia Creek, Va., November 28, 1862. Regiment attached to Sykes' Regular Infantry (Reserve) Brigade. Army Potomac, to May, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 5th Army Corps, Army Potomac, to August, 1863. Dept. of the East to April, 1864. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 9th Army Corps, Army Potomac, to June, 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 5th Army Corps, to October, 1864. Headquarters, Army Potomac, to November, 1864. Dept. of the East, to April, 1865. Headquarters, Army Potomac, to June, 1865. Dept. Washington, D.C., to October, 1865.

Service:-Duty in Defences of Washington, D.C., till March, 1862. Moved to the Virginia Peninsula March, 1862. Siege of Yorktown, Va., April 5-May 4. Seven days before Richmond June 25-July 1. Battles of Mechanicsville June 26; Gaines' Mill June 27; Turkey Bridge June 30; Malvern Hill July 1. At Harrison's Landing till August 16. Movement to Fortress Monroe, thence to Centreville August 16-28. Pope's Campaign in Northern Virginia August 28-September 2. Battles of Groveton August 29; Bull Run August 30. Maryland Campaign September 6-22. Battle of Antietam September 16-17. Shepherdstown Ford September 19-20. At Sharpsburg, Md., till October 29. Movement to Falmouth, Va., October 29-November 19. Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12-15. "Mud March" January 20-24, 1863. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5. Gettysburg (Pa.) Campaign June 11-July 24. Battle of Gettysburg, Pa., July 1-3. Pursuit of Lee July 5-24. Moved to New York August 16-20. At Fort Hamilton, N.Y. Harbor, September 14, 1863, to April 23, 1864. Moved to front and Joined 9th Army Corps at Bealeton Station, Va., April 29. Rapidan Campaign May 4-June 12. Battles of the Wilderness May 5-7; Spottsylvania Court House May 8-21; Ny River May 10. Assault on the Salient May 12. North Anna River May 22-26. On line of the Pamunkey May 26-28. Totopotomoy May 18-31. Cold Harbor June 1-12. Bethesda Church June 1-3. Transferred to 5th Army Corps June 11. Before Petersburg June 16-18. Siege of Petersburg June 16 to October 25. Weldon Railroad August 18-21. Poplar Springs Church, Peeble's Farm , September 29-October 2. Provost Guard, 2nd Division, 5th Army Corps, October 12 to 25. Moved to Fort Hamilton, N.Y. Harbor, October 25-29, and duty there till April, 1865. Moved to the field and Joined Army Potomac, at Burkesville, Va., April 23. March to Washington, D.C., May 2-12. Grand Review May 23. Duty at Washington, D.C., till October. Moved to St. Louis, Mo., October 20-27, thence to St. Paul, Minn.

Regiment lost during service 3 Officers and 83 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 3 Officers and 49 Enlisted men by disease. Total 138. ^[1]

Contents 1 Strength 2 The Tenth Regiment of Infantry. By LIEUT. S. Y. SEYBURN, U. S. A., ADJUTANT TENTH INFANTRY. 3 Battle of Antietam 4 Battle of Gettysburg 5 Sources

Strength

1 July 1863: 106 men

The Tenth Regiment of Infantry. By LIEUT. S. Y. SEYBURN, U. S. A., ADJUTANT TENTH INFANTRY.

At the commencement of the year 1862 the regiment was stationed as follows:

Headquarters and Companies D and K at Fort Laramie, Neb.; A and F at Socorro, N. M.; B, E, G and I in Washington, D. C.; C at Fort Wise, Col.; and H in camp at Pinos Ranch, near Santa Fe, N. M.

In January and early in February, A, F and H concentrated at Fort Craig, N. M., and on the 21st of February were engaged in the battle of Val Verde, near Fort Craig, with the rebel forces, F serving a battery of howitzers. The battalion commander, Capt. W. H. Rossell, 10th Infantry, was taken prisoner, ten enlisted men were killed and sixteen wounded in this engagement. The killed were Privates Collins, Hoggant, Miller, Reichling, Schweer and Washburne of Company A, and Corporals Crotty and Christianson, and Privates Brown and Schweep of Company H. This was the regiment's first sacrifice to the Civil War, made on the dreary plains of New Mexico, nearly two thousand miles from the principal theatre of operations.

Companies B, E, G and I, serving with the Army of the Potomac, left Washington, March, 1862, encamped near Fort Monroe from March 26 till April 4, and at Yorktown, Va., on the 12th. In May B was broken up and the men absorbed by E, G and I. The same course was adopted during the same month with A in New Mexico, the privates being transferred and the non-commissioned officers attached to F and H. During the previous month A, F and H had formed part of Colonel Canby's command, which left camp at Val Verde, N. M., on April 1, 1862, F serving as artillery. They took part in the affairs at Albuquerque on the 8th, and Peralto on the 15th of April. In September and October, 1862, C, F and H, marched to Leavenworth, arriving November 7. On the 24th they were in Washington, and four days later had reported for duty with the 2d Brig., 2d Div., 5th Corps, General Sykes commanding, at Aquia Creek, Va., where E, G and I were also serving. These six companies were engaged in the battle of Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 14 and 15. E, G and I, while forming part of Sykes' Brigade, were engaged in the battle of Chickahominy, with a loss in killed and wounded of thirty enlisted men, and were engaged at Malvern Hill and Bull Run, 2d, with a loss in those two engagements of thirteen enlisted men. They were also engaged in the battle of Antietam, and in the action near Shepardstown, Va., with a loss in these two engagements of fifteen enlisted men.

The year 1863 proved to be a most eventful one for the regiment. At its commencement Headquarters and D and K were at Fort Kearney, having been transferred to that post from Fort Laramie in the preceding June. C, E, F, G, H and I were with the Army of the Potomac. Early in March, 1863, C, E, F and I were broken up. and the enlisted men, numbering 81, were transferred and attached to Companies G and H. Regimental Headquarters and D and K, commanded by Lieut. Bush, left Fort Kearney April 7, and joined the regiment in the field near Chancellorsville on the night of the 30th. When Lieut. Bush and his command, numbering three officers and fifty men, direct from the plains of Nebraska, joined the regiment, its total strength then amounted to but eight officers and 100 enlisted men.

At about noon of the following day, while moving toward Fredericksburg, the enemy made his appearance, and was attacked and driven back by the 2d Brigade, which on that morning led the division. When the enemy was first encountered the 2d Brigade was deployed with the 2d and 6th Infantry on the right of the road, the 7th, 10th, and 11th on the left. The 17th was deployed as skirmishers. The 10th, with some assistance from the 11th, captured in this advance 27 Of the enemy, including one officer. Lieut. Bush commanded the regiment in this battle, and in his report recommends Sergeant-Major William Stanley for promotion to a second-lieutenancy for gallant conduct in the field. He also mentions national color bearer, Lance Sergeant J. A. Crotty for soldierly conduct and for capturing one of the enemy; and mentions Sergeant Michael Finaughty regimental color bearer, for his coolness under fire.

The brigade commander in his report of the battle mentions Lieutenants Bush, Sellers, Kellogg and Boyce, 10th Infantry. Lieut. Sellers was at this time A.A.A.G. of the 2d Brigade, Lieut. Kellogg, A.D.C., and Lieut. Boyce, A.A.D.C. to the brigade commander. Lieut. Hampson is also mentioned by the regimental commander for having distinguished himself in this action. The loss of the regiment in this engagement was 12 enlisted men wounded. On the 6th of May the regiment recrossed the Rappahannock and encamped near Falmouth, Va. In this month K was broken up and its 25 enlisted men were transferred and attached to D. The regiment, still forming a part of the 2d Brig., 2d Div., 5th Corps, left camp near Falmouth, Va., June 4, reached the vicinity of Gettysburg July 2d, and fought the enemy the same day, losing one officer Lieut. W. J. Fisher and 16 enlisted men killed; five officers and 27 men wounded, and three men missing. Captain William Clinton commanded the regiment at this time. The regiment lay in position, supporting a battery during the night of the 2d, and took part in the fighting on the A 4th and 5th. The loss inflicted in these engagements upon what remained of the regiment at this time was fearful. Sixty per cent. of the officers, and over fifty-four per cent. of the enlisted men engaged were killed or wounded. The regiment occupied at one time an exposed position, with a greatly superior force in front and on both flanks. A terrific fire was directed against it by the enemy, and the roar of musketry was so great that the commands given it to fall back were not heard. Fortunately another portion of the Corps came to the rescue, and compelled the enemy to retreat. The wounded officers were Captains Clinton and Bush, and Lieuts. Welles. Boyce and Hamilton. Lieut. Boyce died shortly after from wounds received in this battle.

On the 8th of July the regiment was encamped near Middleton, Md. It crossed the South Mountain on the 9th, and arrived in camp near Williamsport on the 14th. On the 15th it crossed the Potomac at Berlin, and on the night of the 23d formed a part of the line of battle at Manassas.

The losses of the regiment had been so heavy, and it had become so reduced in point of numbers, that it had become necessary for the authorities to withdraw it from the field and send it North for recuperation. On the 17th of August what remained of it left Alexandria by steamer, arriving in New York City on the 20th, where it remained until the 14th of September, when it was transferred to Fort Lafayette, N. Y. H. At the end of the year all that was left of t he regiment consisted of the band and Company D, with a total strength, present and absent, of 128.

Capt. William G. Jones, 10th Infantry, while absent commanding, as colonel, the 36th Ohio Volunteers, was killed in the battle of Chickamauga, Ga., Sept. 19, 1863.

The regiment left Fort Lafayette on the 23d of April, 1864, and joined the 1st Brig., 1st Div., 9th Corps, near Bealton Station, Va., on the 29th of the same month. On the 6th of May it took part in the battle of the Wilderness, with a loss of eight enlisted men killed, officer Major Hayman and 48 enlisted men wounded, and five men missing. On the 12th of May the regiment was engaged in the battle of Spottsylania C. H., Va., losing but two men wounded.

From this time on until the battle of North Anna River, May 24, there was a total loss in killed, wounded and missing of 17 men. Casualties frequently occurred while employed in reconnoissances, picket duty and skirmishing. While making a reconnoissance near Spottsylvania C. H. on the 16th, one man was killed; and two days later, while on the same duty, two men were killed and one officer Lieut. Reed and one man were wounded. On the 3d of June the regiment was engaged in the battle of Cold Harbor, losing one officer Lieut. Stanley, adjutant and one man wounded. The regiment was transfered [sic] June 11 to the 1st Brig., 2d Div., 5th Corps, and took part in the battle of Petersburg, June 18, losing in killed and wounded three men. One man was killed on the 19th, and another on the 21st. On this date also Lieut. Skinner was wounded, from the effects of which he .died June 26.

The regiment also took part in the assault following the explosion of the mine at Petersburg, July 30. It was also engaged in the battle of Weldon Railroad, August 18, 19 and 21, 1864, losing six men killed, one officer Captain R. H. Hall and nine men wounded, and one officer Lieut. J. C. White and sixteen men missing. The movement of the regiment to its position of the first day at Weldon Railroad began at daylight on the 18th. The march was a most fatiguing one, the heat intense. Lieutenant Luning, commanding, was prostrated about noon from its effects, and the command then devolved upon 2d Lieut. T. H. French. Fully one-third of the men had fallen out of ranks before this time from sheer exhaustion, although they bravely endeavored to keep up. In the first advance, which was made through a dense wood east of the railroad, and half a mile beyond, the regiment was engaged, outflanked, and subjected to a heavy cross-fire, which caused it to fall back to a position in the rear of the woods. Captain Hall joined the regiment on the morning of the 19th. At about 3 o'clock on the afternoon of that day the enemy again attacked the line of which the regiment formed a part, again outflanked it, and caused it to withdraw. It subsequently regained its first line after a gallant charge against the enemy. Captain R. H. Hall, commanding the regiment, was hit by a musket ball in the head a few hours after taking command.

On the 20th there was no fighting for the regiment, but on the 21st it occupied a position greatly exposed to an artillery cross-fire. The fire was so well directed that our men had to seek safety on the outside of their breastworks. 1st. Sergeant Pealock received special mention for his gallant conduct, coolness and bravery, during these engagements of the 18th, 19th and 21st of August.

On the 1st of October the regiment, still forming a part of the 1st Brig., 2d Div., 5th Corps, was engaged in battle on the Squirrel Level Road, Va., losing three men, killed, and one officer Lieut. T. H. French and five men wounded, and 18 men missing. The regiment was commanded in this battle by 2d Lieut. Theodore Schwan, who, in his report, mentions Lieutenants French and Hunter as having behaved with gallantry seldom surpassed. 1st Sergeant Pealock is again mentioned for coolness and bravery. Corporal H. Marshall, 1st Sergeant Marpool, and Privates Stephens, Steward, Landan and Mahony are also noticed for noticeable coolness under fire.

On the 12th of October the regiment was detailed as provost guard at Headquarters 2d Div., 5th Corps, and on the 25th was ordered to Fort Hamilton, N. Y. H., where it arrived on the 29th. It was transferred to Fort Columbus, N. Y. H., November 3d and to Fort Porter, Buffalo, N. Y., December 2d, where it was stationed at the end of the year. It was much depleted in numbers, mustering, present and absent, but 189, a large portion of the absent sick being permanently disabled.

In March, 1865, 245 recruits were sent to the regiment, certain companies were reorganized, and were all filled to the maximum strength. In April 170 recruits were received and Company G was reorganized.

The regiment was again ordered into the field in April, 1865, and reached Headquarters Army of the Potomac April 23d, at Burksville, Va. .It marched with that army, via Richmond, May 6th, and encamped at Arlington Heights May 12th. It participated in the review of the Army of the Potomac May 23d, at Washington.

On the 20th of October the regiment moved by rail to St. Louis, Mo., arriving October 27th, and on the 31st Companies A, B, D, F, G and H moved by steamer up the Mississippi River to St. Paul, Minn., and were stationed as follows: Companies D and F at Fort Snelling; B and H at Fort Ridgeley, and A and G at Fort Ripley, Minn.; Regimental Headquarters were established at Jefferson Barracks, Mo. In December, 1865, C, E, I and K were reorganized at the General Recruiting Depot, Fort Columbus, N. Y. H., and in April, r866, together with Regimental Headquarters, joined the regiment at Fort Snelling.

A redistribution to posts took place, and early in June, j866, the regiment was stationed as follows: Headquarters and Company B at Fort Snelling; H at Fort Ridgely; A and I at. Fort Ripley; D and F at Fort Abercrombie, D. T.; C, E, G and K at Fort Wadsworth, D. T.

Battle of Antietam

Second and Tenth U.S. Infantry, marker 77

Companies E, G & I of the 10th were attached to the 2nd United States Infantry under Captain John S. Poland of the 2nd. Company E was commanded by First Lieutenant George S. Lauman, Company G by Captain Henry E. Maynadier and Company I by Second Lieutenant William L. Kellog.

From the marker on the Antietam battlefield:

About noon of the 17th, the Battalion of the Second and Tenth U.S. Infantry crossed the Antietam and moved to the support of the Horse Batteries on the left (south) side of the Boonsboro Pike. After the withdrawal of these Batteries, Poland deployed the entire Battalion as skirmishers and, under heavy fire of canister and musketry, advanced to this point (Sherrick's Lane), his right resting on the Boonsboro Pike, his line extending to the left, along the lane fence, in the direction of Sherrick's House, on the road to Burnside Bridge. In this position he engaged the skirmishers of Garnett's Brigade, his right advancing some distance beyond the farm lane and driving the enemy's cannoneers from their guns on Cemetery Hill.

While thus engaged the 17th Michigan and the skirmishers of Willcox's Division came up and relieved the left of his line, and the First Battalion, 14th U.S. Infantry formed about 210 yards in rear of his right.

Poland assembled his skirmishers on the center, and the Battallion of the 14th U.S. Infantry threw forward skirmishers on the right of the line.

His ammunition being exhausted, Poland withdrew to the cover of the hill east of this tablet and at dusk recrossed the Antietam.

Battle of Gettysburg

10th United States Infantry Monument at Gettysburg

Captain William Clinton brought three companies (D, G & H) to the field.

From the monument on Houck Avenue at Gettysburg:

July 2 Arrived with the Brigade in the morning and took position on the right of the Twelfth Corps. Later moved to the left and at 6 p.m. the Brigade form ed line with left on north slope of Little Round Top the right extending into the woods. Advanced across Plum Run and to the crest of the rocky wooded hill in front near the Wheatfield and facing left occupied the stone wall on the edge of the woods. The Confederates having opened fire on the right flank and advanced through the Wheatfield in the rear the Brigade was withdrawn under a heavy infantry fire on both flanks and from the rear and shot and shell from the batteries and was formed in line on the right of Little Round Top.

July 3 Remained in same position.

Casualties: killed 1 officer and 15 men; wounded 5 officers and 27 men; missing 3 men

See Also: 10th Infantry Regiment, United States Army for an overall history.

Sources

1. ↑ National Park Service Soldiers and Sailors Database

• http://civilwarintheeast.com/us-regiments-batteries/us-regulars/10th-united-states-infantry/

• https://history.army.mil/books/R&H/r&h-10in.htm