History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With ... biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers.
Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885., Johnson, Crisfield., D.W. Ensign & Co.
Philadelphia: D. W. Ensign & Co., 1880.


This regiment had a larger representation than any other from the two counties which are the subject of this history, there being over four hundred men in its ranks from Berrien County and about one hundred from Van Buren. Company B was raised at St. Joseph and vicinity; Company C, at Buchanan and vicinity; Company E, and parts of Companies F and K, at Niles; and Company I, at and around Berrien Springs. There were also many from Berrien County in the other companies. Company H and part of K were raised in Van Buren County, and there were thirty or forty more from that county in other companies.

The regimental rendezvous was at Niles. It remained there in camp of instruction, busily preparing for its duties in the field, until the 18th of March, 1862, when it set out for St. Louis, with a thousand men and officers on its rolls. From St. Louis it was hurried forward to Pittsburg Landing, and was stationed in the extreme front of the Union army, about eighty rods from Shiloh Church.

Much has been said about the Union troops being surprised at Shiloh; but Maj. (then lieutenant) S. W. Pearl, of Benton, who was with the 12th at the extreme front, says there was nothing of the kind. The advanced regiments knew from the reports of reconnoitering parties that there was a large Confederate force not far off, and were expecting its approach.* About two o'clock in the morning of the 6th of April, 1862, a reconnoitering party was sent out, met the enemy, and fell back before him to the Union picket line. Meanwhile the 12th and other regiments were put in line of battle, and moved to a point about one hundred rods in front of their color-line, and there, about six o'clock in the morning, they began the fight with the advancing enemy.

The Confederate commanders hurled heavy columns against the comparatively few regiments at the front of the field, and steadily drove them back. All day long the battle raged in the forests of Tennessee, the Union troops being slowly but steadily forced back until six o'clock in the evening, when they stood near the banks of the Tennessee River, and saw across that stream the welcome reinforcements of Buell.

That night a portion of Buell's army crossed the Tennessee, and in the morning the Union forces took the of fensive, and drove back the enemy over the same ground which he had triumphantly traversed the preceding day. During the battle of the 7th this regiment was most of the time in the rear of Buell's army, but it took part in the final charge in the afternoon, when the rebels were driven from the field. In this battle the 12th suffered severely having about forty men killed and eighty wounded.

After the surrender of Corinth the 12th was ordered to Jackson, Tenn., and was on duty at that place and Bolivar during a large part of the summer and autumn of 1862. When Gens. Price and Van Dorn were defeated in their attempt to recapture Corinth, on the 3d and 4th of October, the 12th was a part of the force sent by Gen. Grant from Bolivar, under Gen. Hurlbut, to cut off the retreat of the defeated army. Gen. Hurlbut's command met the retreating Confederates at the bridge over the Hatchie River, some fifteen miles west of Corinth, on the 5th of October, the point being sometimes called Metamora.

A very sanguinary battle ensued, which, for the numbers engaged, was one of the hardest of the war. The portion of the Confederate army which had crossed the river were attacked on the west side and driven back, and then, amid a storm of shot and shell, the 12th and other regiments crossed the bridge, and drove the enemy from his position on the west side. His attempt to escape at this point was completely foiled, though the greater part of his army made their way across the river at a point several miles farther south.

After the battle of the Hatchie the 12th returned to Bolivar, where it remained until the 4th of November. From that time until the 31st of May, 1863, it was engaged in guarding the Mississippi Central Railway from near Bolivar to Hickory Valley, the regimental headquarters being at Middleburg, Tenn.

On the 24th of December, 1862, one hundred and fifteen of the men, who were in a block-house at Middleburg, under the command of Col. William 11. Graves, were surrounded by a whole division of rebel cavalry under Gen. Van Dorn, who had captured over a thousand Union troops at Holly Springs, Miss., and had thence made his way into Tennessee. He demanded the surrender of the post, which was promptly refused by Col. Graves. The rebels then opened fire, and during two hours made desperate efforts to capture the little garrison. The latter, however, gallantly maintained its position, and, as it was well protected, it was able to inflict on the enemy a much greater loss than its own. Finally the assailants withdrew, leaving nine killed and eleven wounded on the field, besides the less severely wounded, whom they took away with them. Fifteen rebel prisoners, including ten officers, were captured. The garrison had six wounded, and lost thirteen prisoners, most of whom were captured while on picket.

In general orders issued from the headquarters of Gen. Grant, the 12th Michigan, and other regiments which had successfully defended their posts, were declared to be " deserving of the thanks of the army, which was in a measure dependent on the road they so nobly defended for supplies."

The regiment remained on duty in West Tennessee during the ensuing winter and the beginning of the spring, but about the last of May embarked on transports at Memphis,
----------
* True, there were no intrenchments, which would certainly have been built under such circumstances at a later period of the war.


and proceeded down the Mississippi, arriving at Chickasaw Bluff, near Vicksburg, on the 3d of June, 1863. It disembarked at Sartatia, on the Yazoo, and marched to Haynes' Bluff, and then closed in towards Vicksburg. Though it formed a part of the Union line which prevented escape from, or succor of, the doomed city, and though the men could hear the continual roar of the cannon and see the shells circling gracefully on their mission of death, yet they were not themselves brought under fire during the siege.

On the 28th of July the regiment embarked for Helena, Ark., where it remained until the 13th of August. It then marched with Gen. Steele's army to Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas. Arriving on the 10th of September at a point six miles below that city, on the north side of the Arkansas, the Union troops found the way stopped by Gen. Price with a large Confederate army, strongly intrenched on the north side of the river, with several batteries on the south side. During the night of the 10th this regiment and others were placed close to the river. Early on the morning of the 11th the command was rapidly crossed on pontoons to the south side of the stream, and immediately drove the rebels from their intrenchments on that side. A running fight was maintained all day, the enemy constantly retreating before the advancing Unionists, who entered Little Rock just before nightfall. The 12th suffered no loss during the movement.

On the 26th and 27th the regiment moved from Little Rock to Benton, Ark., but on the 1st of November it returned to the former place. It remained there until the 14th of January, 1864, during which time the larger part of the men re-enlisted, constituting it a veteran volunteer regiment. It then returned to Michigan, arriving at Niles on the 1st day of February, when the men were furloughed for thirty days.

Rendezvousing at Niles in the first part of March, with a large number of recruits, the regiment left on the 21st for Little Rock, where it arrived on the 1st of April. On the 26th it set out for Pine Bluff, marching forty-eight miles in two days, and arriving there on the 28th. Two days later it returned to Little Rock. On the 17th of May it moved to Brownsville, and from Brownsville to Springfield, reaching that place on the 25th, and returning to Little Rock on the 31st; the object of this and many similar marches being to drive away the guerrilla bands which infested the State, but who were extremely difficult to come up with.

On the 25th of June the regiment proceeded by rail to Duvall's Bluff, and thence by steamer to Clarendon, on White River. It engaged the enemy, under Gen. Shelby, on the 26th, having a running fight with him, and chasing him all that day and the next. It then returned to Duvall's Bluff, where it remained encamped until the 30th of August following.

The next move of the 12th was up White River by steamer. It was fired on by guerrillas, on the 4th of September, from the banks of the river, six of its men being killed and wounded. The regiment disembarked as soon as possible, but the chivalry had fled. The next day the regiment moved up the river to Austin, but returned to Duvall's Bluff on the 7th of September. /

From this time until the 6th of June, 1865, the headquarters of the regiment were at Duvall's Bluff, the men being stationed there or in the immediate vicinity, and being employed on picket, scout, provost, and fatigue duties, and especially in guarding the railroad which preserved the communications of troops more advanced.

On the 6th of June the regiment broke camp, and moved by way of Little Rock to Washington, Ark., where it arrived on the 31st. The war was now over, but it was necessary still to employ troops at various points to prevent the depredations of guerrillas, and assure the maintenance of the power of the Union. The 12th was accordingly broken up for that purpose. Companies A, B, C, and F were sent to Camden, where they were under the command of Maj. S. W. Pearl. Company E was stationed at Arkadelphia, and Company D at Paraclifta. The other companies remained at Washington with the headquarters of the regiment. On the 30th of September, Company F was sent from Camden to Champagnolle, on the Washita River, and about the same time the headquarters of the regiment, with Companies H and K, were removed from Washington to Camden.

The various detachments remained at the positions first noted until the forepart of February, when they all assembled at Camden, and on the 15th of that month were mustered out of the service. The regiment then proceeded by steamer down the Washita and Red Rivers to the Mississippi, and up that stream to Cairo, and thence by rail to Jackson, Mich. It was paid off and discharged on the 6th day of March, 1866.

The fortunes of war were such that the 12th Infantry did not meet the enemy on as many fields of battle as did some of its comrade organizations, but it performed faithfully all the duties intrusted to it, and its record from first to last was a credit to its members and to the State. The losses of the 12th during its term of service numbered four hundred and thirty-two deaths by disease and in battle, this being the largest death-record of any Michigan regiment excepting only the 6th Infantry, in which the corresponding loss was five hundred and forty-two.



Capt. Darius Brown, Niles; com. Oct. 5, 1861; must. out at end of service, Jan. 7, 1865.
Capt. William M. T. Bartholomew, Oronoko; corn. Dec. 20,1864; con. 2d lieut. March 29, 1864; must. out Feb. 15, 1866.
1st Lieut. John Graham, Oronoko; con. Oct. 5,1861; pro. to capt., Co. H, March 19, 1864.
1st Lieut. William H. Miller, Berrien; comn. March 19, 1864; res. May 3, 1865.
2d Lieut. Charles E. Howe, corn. Oct. 8, 1861; pro to capt, Co. A.
2d Lieut. Hiram B. Ilipp, Berrien; con. Sept. 14, 1862; disch. for disability, March 29, 1864.
2d Lieut. John C. Welch, corn. July 3,1864; pro. to 1st lieut., Co. A.
2d Lieut. Josiah C. Murphy, Buchanan; con. Jan. 7, 1864; resigned June 7, 1865.
2d Lieut. Hiram L. Brown, St. Joseph; com. June 7, 1865; must. out Feb. 15, 1866.
Sergt. William H. Hall, Niles; enl. Sept. 1, 1861; disch. July 25, 1862.
Sergt. Hiram B. Hipp, Berrien; enl. Oct. 5, 1861; pro. to 2d lieut.
Sergt. William H. Miller, Berrien; enl. Oct. 11, 1861; veteran, Dec. 25, 1863; pro. to 1st lieut.
Sergt. Charles H. Parketon, Oronoko; enl. Oct. 12, 1861; disch. for disability, June 27,1862.
Sergt. Henry L. Johnson, Berrien; enl. Oct. 11,1861; killed in battle at Shiloh, April 6, 1862.
Corp. John E. Eidson, Oronoko; enl. Oct. 7,1861; diach. Nov. 12, 1862.
Corp. William M. T. Bartholomew, Oronoko; enl. Oct. 12, 1861; sergeant; veteran, Dec. 25, 1863; pro. to 2d lieut.
Corp. David K. Hubbard, Oronoko; enl. Oct. 14, 1861; veteran, Dec. 25, 1863; disch. for disability, June 8,1865.
Corp. Daniel G. W. Gangler, Oronoko; enl. Oct. 12,1861; veteran, Dec. 25,1863; disch. Nov. 13,1865.
Corp. Henry R. Smith, Pipestone; enl. Oct. 14, 1861; died of wounds received at Shiloh, May 4,1862.
Corp. William W. Leader, Oronoko; enl. Oct. 14, 1861; veteran, Dec. 25, 1863; killed in battle, Sept. 4,1864.
Corp. Israel M. Allei, Pipestone; enl. Nov. 6, 1861; disch. by substitute.
Corp. Charles S. Reese, Pipestone; enl. Oct. 9,1861; died in rebel prison in Alabama, May 11,1862.
Musician Daniel E. Clark, Berrien; enl. Nov. 8,1861; died of disease at St. Louis, May 11,1862.
Musician James R. Ackerman, Oronoko; enl. Oct. 12,1861; veteran, Dec. 25, 1863; must. out Feb. 15, 1866.
John A. Aunmick, died of disease at Little Rock, Ark., June 12,1864.
William Brayman, died of disease at Little Rock, Ark., May 8,1864.
Francis Bartholomew, died of disease at Duvall's Bluff, Ark., Aug. 6,1865.
Elisha M. Blakeman, died of disease at St. Louis, Mo., June 18,1862.
Lemuel S. Barlow, Jr., disch. Feb. 1, 1862.
George Brown, disch. at end of service, Jan. 7, 1865.
George W. Babcock, disch. at end of service, Jan. 7,1865.
James C. Bedinger, disch. at end of service, March 28,1865.
Ephraim Black, disch. by order, Feb. 11, 1865.
John Barber, disch. by order, Sept. 30, 1865.
William V. Baker, veteran, Dec. 25, 1863; must. out Feb. 15,1866.
Raymond Brosius, veteran, Dec. 25,1863; must. out Feb. 15,1865.
Alonzo Brayman, must. out Feb. 15,1866.
Joel Benson, must. out Feb. 15,1866.
Charles Brownell, must. out Feb. 15,1866.
Isaac Crawford, must. out Feb. 15,1866.
George B. Crandall, must. out Feb. 15,1866.
Albert D. Crandall, veteran, Dec. 25,1863; must. out Feb. 15,1866.
Edward J. Curtis, veteran, Dec. 25,1863; must. out Feb. 15,1866.
James D. Curtis, veteran, Dec. 25,1863; must. out Feb. 15,1866.
John E. Curtis, disch. Nov. 11. 1862.
Andrew Covert, disch. for disability, Aug. 8,1862.
Van B. Clendenin, disch. by order, Aug. 16, 1865.
James Conkwrite, died of disease at Little Rock, Ark., June 16,1864.
Orlando A. Cook, died of disease at Pittsburg Landing, May 20,1862.
Jacob Cool, died of disease at Little Rock, Ark., May 24,1864.
Hiram Clawson, died of disease at Duvall's Bluff, Ark., Aug. 5,1864.
Ezra N. Cleveland, died of disease in Tennessee, Sept. 16,1862.
Levi Chase, died of disease at Chickaming, Oct. 31,1863.