Those Wild Colorado Volunteers

Last night, I returned from a wonderful vacation to Taos, New Mexico. It was a relief to escape the heat on the Oklahoma prairies! Of course, I managed to work in a bit of sightseeing to Civil War related sites so look for a couple of future postings about those.

For now, I will offer some brief reflections about a book that I recently purchased at the Dickson Street bookstore in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Often cited in works about the 1862 New Mexico campaign, Ovando J. Hollister’s History Of The First Regiment Of Colorado Volunteers was published in 1863; my copy is a reprint edition published by The Lakeside Press in 1962 and edited by Richard Harwell. At that time it was retitled as Colorado Volunteers In New Mexico. One unusual feature of the book is the fact that it was originally published during the war. Of course this adds more immediacy to the book, and it also is more raw, blunt, and opinionated than many accounts published after the war. Books like Hollister’s remind the reader of the emotions of the time and the fact that the war was very much a young man’s war.

Hollister himself was in his late twenties when he enlisted in the 1^st Colorado Volunteers. A native of Massachusetts, Hollister drifted westward as a young man and arrived “in the mining district of South Clear Creek, Colorado” near the beginning of the war (p. xx). So far, I am most struck by the wildness and undisciplined nature of these young Colorado volunteers, although there is evidence of Hollister maturing as a soldier and recognizing the importance of discipline. The following passage dated March 22, 1862 is a good description of the behavior of these soldiers:

“About noon we succeeded in getting under way. A party started ahead early, to secure the plunder stolen from the sutler last night. A squad of regulars were sent after them, but they had no inclination to interfere with the volunteers and took care to discover nothing. The boys concealed some, drank more, lost and sold the balance. What was drunk immediately under the eyes of the sutler was about all the good they got of it; a doubtful good certainly, for the command was scattered from Dan to Beersheba, burying plunder, drinking, fighting and carousing with Mexican women, at the Lome, a small ‘Sodom’ five or six miles from [Fort] Union. There were a dozen of us too drunk to know friends from foes, consequently most provokingly troublesome. Many came in during the night with rough usage painted on their faces in unmistakable colors” (p. 88-89).

Four days later, part of the 1^st Colorado Volunteers saw combat at Apache Canyon followed on March 28^th by the battle at Pigeon’s Ranch (Glorieta).

Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Wilson's Creek

The latest issue of Hallowed Ground, the publication of the Civil War Trust features Gettysburg on the cover, but the magazine contains three feature articles about the trans-Mississippi. They are:

“Missouri’s Bloody Hill: The Battle of Wilson’s Creek” by Jeff Patrick

“The ‘Sesquicentennial App’: Springfield-Greene County Library’s Ambitious Digitization Project” by Brian Grubbs

“Beyond the Display Case: Exploring The Collections Of Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield” by Deborah Wood

By the way, there will be some special events at the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield in recognition of the battle’s anniversary in August.

Your Reading for the Summer...and Beyond

Do you need some ideas for your summer reading? Drew Wagenhoffer recently informed his blog readers of an excellent bibliography compiled by Gordon Chappell of the National Park Service. Titled “The Civil War in the American West,” the scope of the bibliography is the “Far West, the Southwest, the Pacific Coast, the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountain territories, and the Great Plains from Minnesota and North Dakota to Texas.” More than just a listing, Chappell includes his comments on a number of the books and pamphlets.

It Would Be Nice to Know More

Confederate service records are notoriously incomplete or even lacking altogether. Some men of the 28^th Texas Cavalry (dismounted) who fell killed or wounded during the Red River campaign had no compiled service record yet they appeared in newspaper casualty lists. Regional folklore states that there were men who rushed to arms to protect Texas and perhaps that explains these mystery men. How many other Confederates served with no surviving official documentation?

And then there is the case of “Bob.” Recently, I browsed through the compiled service records for the 24^th Texas Cavalry that are available online through Footnote.com. There is a record for “Bob (Indian)” a private who enrolled in Company G on January 18, 1862 in Polk County; on April 11, 1862 he was officially mustered in. Sadly, there is no other information about Bob. With no surname or enlistment age provided, there is little chance that he can be identified in the 1860 census. Possibly another soldier in the 24^th Texas Cavalry mentioned him in a surviving letter or a diary but the likelihood of that is probably slim. It would be nice to know more. During the Civil War, there certainly was more than one way to become “unknown.”

A Quiet Resting Place

Regular readers know of my fondness for visiting cemeteries so this posting will come as no surprise. One of the most historic towns in Oklahoma is Park Hill, which now has been almost overgrown by the neighboring, and much larger town of Tahlequah. Some of you will no doubt be surprised to learn that Oklahoma has a surviving antebellum house—the George M. Murrell Home stands in Park Hill and is open to the public. Just a short drive from the Murrell Home is the Ross Cemetery. It is situated on a peaceful hilltop and certainly counts as one of the most historic cemeteries in Oklahoma.

I visited this cemetery for the first time in April and was accompanied by my friend and fellow cemetery enthusiast, Leann. My mom also went along but did not feel up to walking the cemetery. Leann served as official trip photographer and the accompanying photographs are used with her permission. The first burial at the cemetery took place in 1842; John McDonald Ross was laid to rest on the hilltop, his grave marked by a rather elaborate marker. I thought it was interesting that he was "A Graduate of the College at Princeton, N. J."

His uncle was John Ross, who served as the principal chief of the Cherokee Indians for nearly forty years. Chief Ross attempted to prevent the removal of the Cherokees from the southeastern United States, but eventually led the tribe to the Indian Territory. He dealt with much internal turmoil in the tribe due to removal and faced other, and sometimes related difficulties, once the Civil War began. Ross hoped that the Cherokee Nation would be neutral during the conflict, but the Cherokees eventually allied with the Confederacy. Once the Cherokee Nation was invaded by Federal forces, he traveled to Washington, D. C. where he attempted to ensure the survival of the Nation. He died in Washington, D. C. in 1866, was buried in Delaware, but soon disinterred and buried in the Ross Cemetery.

Another interesting marker:

And, because of my interest in astronomy, I can’t resist mentioning Mary Golda Ross. As a young woman, she was employed by Lockheed where she worked on the Agena rocket project and then went on to work on projects involving fly-bys of Venus and Mars.

The Swiss Rifles

My posting about Jacob Philip Wingerter was a fun project, and it drew the attention of a number of readers. His descendants are hoping to learn more about Wingerter’s Bavarian roots so if you have some information for them, then please contact them at the email address listed in the comments section of the Wingerter posting.

Today marks the next installment of my regimental series about Union units from Fox’s list of 300 Fighting Regiments that served at some point in the trans-Mississippi. The 15^th Missouri Infantry, also known as the Swiss Rifles, began their combat service at the battle of Pea Ridge and then went on to serve actively in many other campaigns. This German-American regiment was a small unit that suffered a high percentage of killed and mortally wounded compared to their enrollment numbers.

For more information about the Fighting Fifteenth see:

Allendorf, Donald. Long Road to Liberty: The Odyssey of a German Regiment in the Yankee Army, The 15^th Missouri Volunteer Infantry. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2006.

“Kimball's Brigade — Newton's Division--Fourth Corps

（1) Col. Francis J. Joliat.

（2) Col. Joseph Conrad; Bvt. Brig.-Gen.

Losses.	Officers.	En. Men.	Total.
Killed and mortally wounded	8	107	115
Died of disease, accidents, in prison, etc.	1	106	107
Totals	9	213	222

Enrollment (prior to 1865), 904, killed, 115; percentage, 12.7.

Battles.	Killed.	Wounded.1	Missing.2	Total.
Pea Ridge, Ark.			11	11
Chaplin Hills, Ky.	1	7		8
Stone’s River, Tenn.	12	55	5	72
Liberty Gap, Tenn.		1		1
Chickamauga, Ga.	11	67	22	100
Missionary Ridge, Tenn.	5	22		27
Rocky Face Ridge, Ga.		1		1
Resaca, Ga.	6	24	1	31
Adairsville, Ga.	1	4		5
New Hope Church, Ga.		4		4
Dallas, Ga.	3	16		19
Kenesaw Mountain, Ga.	8	19	2	29
Peach Tree Creek, Ga.	1	2		3
Siege of Atlanta, Ga.	4	16		20
Jonesboro, Ga.	1	4		5
Lovejoy's Station, Ga.	2	5		7
Spring Hill, Tenn.	3	11	3	17
Franklin, Tenn.	8	44	34	86
Nashville, Tenn.	1	6	2	9
Columbia, Tenn.	1			1
Totals	68	308	80	456

Notes.--Organized at St. Louis in August, 1861. After serving in Missouri and Arkansas during the rest of the year, it marched, in the spring of 1862, with Curtis's Army of the South-west on the campaign which culminated in the victory at Pea Ridge, Ark. The regiment was then in Asboth's (2d) Division, but as it was in reserve at that battle it sustained but slight loss. In June, 1862, it moved with Asboth's command to Corinth, Miss. It was there transferred to Buell’s Army of the Ohio, with which it marched on the Kentucky campaign, and was engaged at the battle of Chaplin Hills, Ky., it being then in Sheridan's Division. Three months later it fought at Stone’s River, where Colonel Schaeffer, the brigade commander, was killed while leading the regiment. Colonel Joliat, who had resigned in November, 1862, was succeeded by Colonel Conrad, formerly Major of the Third Missouri. The regiment suffered its severest loss at Chickamauga, its casualties on that field being unusually large in proportion to the very small number engaged; it was then in Laiboldt's (2d) Brigade, Sheridan's Division, McCook's Corps. Upon the reorganization of the Army of the Cumberland, in October, 1863, the regiment was placed in Steedman's (1st) Brigade, Sheridan's (2d) Division, Fourth Corps, remaining in that corps during the rest of its service. Reenlisting in January, 1864, it was furloughed for thirty days, and upon its return joined Sherman's Army as it was starting on its Atlanta campaign. After the fall of Atlanta, the corps fought at Franklin and Nashville, proceeding thence to Texas, where the regiment was mustered out in December, 1865” (Fox, p. 415).

---

1 Includes the mortally wounded.

2 Includes the captured.

Jacob Philip Wingerter: Confederate Veteran and Brazilian Immigrant

When I researched the history of the 28^th Texas Cavalry (dismounted) I had hoped to include a chapter that discussed the soldiers’ postwar lives, however, I found it challenging at best to trace them into the postwar years. When I conducted my research, the internet was not yet available which meant I had to rely on printed indexes and microfilm. To say the least, scrolling through reels of microfilm is a tedious business, and after a time I gave up on following these veterans into the postwar years. Admittedly, weariness settled on me since I had tried to locate all 1,000 plus men in the 1860 U. S. census and the Texas tax rolls—enough was enough! Since writing my history of the 28^th Texas Cavalry, I have heard regularly from descendants of men who served in the regiment. In this way, I have met a number of helpful and interesting people who have shared stories of their Confederate ancestors. The accounts about their wartime service interest me, but what happened to them after the war is often even more fascinating.

Most recently, Neusa Maria Wingeter di Santis of Brazil contacted me through the Texas in the Civil War Message Board, and what followed was a fascinating exchange about Neusa’s g-g-grandfather, Jacob Philip Wingerter. Private Wingerter enlisted in the spring of 1862 in the Freestone Freemen that soon became known more officially as Company H of the 28^th Texas Cavalry. A Texas state official listed him as having zero taxable property in the state’s tax rolls, and that was the extent of my knowledge concerning Private Wingerter.

Neusa informed me that her ancestor was part of a colonizing group led by Frank McMullen to Brazil in 1867. The McMullan-Bowen Colony, according to a census of the group, consisted of 97 hardy souls; many of the men were Confederate veterans. Most traveled as families to Brazil; Jacob traveled there with his second wife, Susan, and his ten year old daughter, Amy. Jacob had already lived an exciting life; born in Bavaria, he immigrated to the United States around 1854. Settling first in Illinois, he eventually moved to New Orleans and then to Texas. His first wife and their children died as the result of an accidental poisoning, and then he experienced many hardships while serving in Walker’s Texas Division in the trans-Mississippi.

The members of the McMullan-Bowen Colony left Galveston, Texas, on the Derby, an old British vessel. These southerners left for a variety of reasons—some were concerned about postwar unrest, others hoped to escape poverty, and for others there was the lure of fertile land in a country that had some cultural similarities to the South. The little group encountered many difficulties on their journey to Brazil. They were shipwrecked near Cuba and were forced to find other transportation—this led to a trip to New York City and then, finally, to their colony near São Paulo. This fascinating story is told by William Clark Griggs in The Elusive Eden: Frank McMullan’s Confederate Colony in Brazil (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1987).

Luckily, Neusa shared even more information with me about her ancestor. Before the war, he distributed religious tracts in New Orleans, and I suspect that he continued doing so in Texas and perhaps even when he served in the 28^th Texas. Several years after arriving in Brazil, Dr. Edward Lane, Confederate veteran and founder of the very first Presbyterian church in Brazil, hired Jacob as a colporteur. In other words, Wingerter distributed and sold religious tracts and Bibles. According to a letter written by Mrs. Lane, “It has been no unusual thing for the colporteur to leave one copy of the Bible in a village or neighborhood, going back in six months or a year, he has been able to sell a dozen copies.” After Jacob found it difficult to ride in his later years, he worked for the American Bible Society. An admiring Mrs. Lane wrote that Jacob was “humble, patient, earnest, self-sacrificing, laborious, untiring, willing to toll anywhere, or at anything that the emergencies of the work demanded, but happier in proportion, as he was more directly engaged in extending a knowledge of the gospel.” Much of this religious information, according to Neusa, is from a book written by Dr. Alderi S. Matos who is the official historian of the Presbyterian Church in Brazil.

Neusa gave me permission to use the accompanying photograph of Jacob. It depicts him in 1914; he died two years later at the age of 83. He certainly lived a long, active, and fruitful life!

By the way, if you’re ever in Brazil on the second Sunday in April, you may wish to attend the Festa Confederada; Neusa reported that she attended the most recent one. The Festa Confederada is held alongside the Confederate Cemetery in Santa Barbara D’Oeste, São Paulo. Southern foods are served, many attendees dress in antebellum style clothing, and the heritage of the Confederacy is celebrated.