forces. These same three companies captured the colors of the 4th Louisiana, but only after they had shot down four successive color-bearers.”

NOTE. Mr. Greeley, in his reliable "American Conflict," says of the operations at Port Hudson, May 27, 1863: "Never was fighting more heroic than that of our army, assailing nearly equal numbers behind strong defences, approached only through almost impassable abatis, swept by rebel shell and grape. If valor could have triumphed over such odds, they would have carried the works; but only abject cowardice or pitiable imbecility could have lost such a position to so small an army; and the rebels also fought well."

In the valuable work, the "American Encyclopedia," is found the following notice of the same affair: "At 2 o'clock A. M. (27th) an assault was commenced on the works on the centre and left of the centre by the divisions under General Augur and Brig. General Sherman, (T. W.) The enemy was driven into his works and the Federal troops moved up to the fortifications, holding the opposite side of the parapet with the enemy."

At the siege of Port Hudson the 6th was under the command of General T. W. Sherman, so prominently engaged on May 28th, and which consisted of the 6th Michigan H. Artillery, 2nd (Duryea's) Zouaves, 128th and 147th regiments N. Y. Infantry, with the 26th Conn. Infantry, and 21st Indiana and 2nd Vermont Batteries.

An officer serving at the time with the rebel army in Port Hudson, in his diary says of that day's work: "About nine o'clock in the morning the attack was made in the woods on Col. Steadman's (rebel) centre, and upon the line of fortifications on General Beall's right. The latter attack, that of Sherman's brigade, was the most imposing in appearance. Emerging from the woods at the distance of about four hundred yards from our breastworks, the Zouave regiment charged in line of battle across an open field. The gay colors of their uniforms contrasted brilliantly with the green and sombre shades of the trees and field, making a fine mark for our fire. As soon as they appeared in sight our artillery opened on them with spherical case, many of them bursting right in their ranks, but the gaps were quickly closed up, and they came on in splendid style. As they lessened the distance, our gunners substituted grape for shrapnell, and when they finally came within one hundred and fifty yards our guns were double-charged with canister, and the infantry receiving the order at the same time to fire, the field was swept with a storm of musket balls and grape-shot.

"The advancing line of Zouaves wavered and then halted, while they were dropping from the ranks, mown down by our deadly fire, which now became an incessant rattle of musketry, intermingled with rapid discharges of canister from the guns.

"The Zouaves, after wavering for a while in indecision, finally broke and scattered, most of the men throwing themselves flat on the ground behind stumps, logs and inequalities of the ground where they now commenced sharp-shooting. *

*

*

"As soon as the Zouaves broke, Sherman's brigade came out of the woods in column, and played to the right and left in line of battle, as prettily as if they were on drill, Our artillerists again had recourse to shell and shrapnell, and the infantry opened on this advance sooner than before. Their charge was a good one, and had the advantage of the Zouave line of Sharp-shooters, some of whom were within a hundred yards of our works, and whose Minie balls were whistling over our parapet.

"But our men, though opposed by an enemy ten times their number, kept up a withering fire, and after the brigade had approached a little nearer than the Zouaves had done, it finally hesitated and wavered. At this sure precursor to a repulse, our boys sent up a shout of triumph for the victory they now saw certain. The enemy's officers and many of the men ran ahead of the line and urged the others on, but in vain; their confidence in themselves was gone. Some of them, in the hopes of inspiring others, started a cheer, but it died away in a weakly strain, and, the rear rank giving way, the front rank turned also, and the whole force made for the woods to the sound of our ringing cheers. At the woods they rallied, and reforming their line under our artillery fire they again charged. It was useless; we knew that troops we had once driven back so far would not succeed on a second trial under similar circumstances. After coming within fifty or sixty yards of where they first broke, they wavered again and speedily broke and ran thoroughly defeated."

THE SEVENTH INFANTRY.

The 7th Michigan-the gallant forlorn-hope regiment at the battle of Fredericksburg-was recruited and organized under the direction of Col

onel Ira R. Grosvenor, at Monroe, and leaving that point for the field on the 5th of September, 1861, first encountered the enemy in the affair at Ball's Bluff, Va., October 21st following, where, in command of that officer, it gained credit even in that disastrous engagement. It afterwards moved with McClellan to the Peninsula, and endured the hardships and disappointments of that barren campaign, participating in common in its victories and defeats, but always with much credit, and had the honor to serve in the rear-guard of the army on the retreat to Harrison's Landing. It also took part in the Maryland actions. At the battle of Antietam it is reported to have lost more than half its force engaged, including Captain Allen H. Zacharias, who died of his wounds on January 1st following, and among the killed were Captain J. H. Turrill, Lieutenant J. P. Eberhard, and Lieutenant John A. Clark.

But one of the great feats of the war, than which none will appear brighter in history, was reserved for the 7th at Fredericksburg, on December 11, 1862, when Burnside concluded to cross the Rappahannock and attack the rebels in that stronghold. The upper pontoon had been laid part of the way by the engineers during the night of the 10th. Daylight exposed them to the fire of the enemy's sharp-shooters, which drove them off. Volunteers were called for to cross the river and gain a position to protect the laying of the bridge. Immediately the 7th Michigan, under the gallant Baxter, rushed to the boats, crossed the stream in full view of both armies, under a most terrific fire from the enemy's sharp-shooters, losing heavily, but vigorously charging the rebels on the opposite bank, drove them from their rifle-pits, taking a number of prisoners and holding the ground. Colonel Baxter, having fallen severely wounded, recrossed the river, while the regiment, with the 19th and 20th Massachusetts, which had crossed by the second trip of the boats, dashed up the hill into the city, driving the enemy from house to house, and from stronghold to stronghold, capturing nearly as many prisoners as the regiment numbered, and inflicting a severe loss in killed and wounded, while their own loss was also heavy, including among the killed Lieutenant Franklin Emery, of the 7th Michigan. The river thus protected, the laying of the pontoons was speedily accomplished, on which Burnside crossed a portion of his

army.

Engaging with the Army of the Potomac in the Pennsylvania campaign, this regiment underwent the laborious and forced marches by which it was marked, rendered more arduous by the intense heat of the weather. On the 27th of June the regiment was detailed as wagon guard at 7.45 A. M., marched by a circuitous route to near Urbana, Md., where it halted at 3 A. M., on the 28th, a distance said by citizens to have been thirty-seven miles; on the 28th it marched six miles to Monocacy. On the 29th it marched at 9 A. M., and reached Uniontown at 9 P. M., thirty-miles in twelve hours; thus, in three days, marching seventy-five miles. The regiment arrived on the field at Gettysburg on the 2d of July and was immediately sent to the front on Cemetery Hill, having fourteen officers and one hundred and fifty-one men. It occupied the same position until the close of the battle on the 3d. The loss of the regiment at Gettysburg was twentyone killed and forty-four wounded. Among the killed were Lieut. Colonel Amos E. Steele, commanding the regiment, and Lieut. Albert Slafter, both gallant officers.

Entering on the campaign of 1864, it is found in command of Major S. W. Curtis, crossing the Rapidan at Ely's Ford on May 4th and on the 5th becoming engaged at the Wilderness, with small loss. On the 6th it lost

eight killed, thirty-eight wounded, and eight missing. On the 8th it moved to the left, near Po river, and on the 9th crossed. On the 10th it was exposed to a severe fire from sharp-shooters, losing four wounded, and on the same day, in an assault on the enemy's works on the right, at Spottsylvania Court-house, it lost five killed and eight wounded. On the 11th it lost three wounded. On the 12th the 7th took part in Hancock's charge on the left of the enemy's line, in which its casualties were eleven wounded. On the 13th it lost three killed and ten wounded. Withdrawing with the army from in front of the enemy's works at Spottsylvania Court-house, the regiment arrived at the North Anna river on the 23d, and was engaged as skirmishers on the 24th at Chesterfield Ford, where the regiment lost one killed and three wounded, including Lieut. Charles Oakley mortally, who died on the next day. On the 26th it was employed in the rear guard of the army, in the flank movement of the latter across the Pamunkey river, arriving at the Tolopotamy creek on the 28th. On the 30th and 31st of May and 1st of June it was engaged as skirmishers, with a loss of six killed and nine wounded. On the 1st the regiment again served as rear guard for the army in the movement to Cold Harbor, and on the 3d, in a charge on the enemy's works, lost two killed and fourteen wounded. From the 3d to the 10th its casualties were one killed and twelve wounded. It crossed the James river with the army and arrived in front of Petersburg on the evening of the 15th. From this date to the 25th of July the regiment was engaged in labor on the fortifications and on picket, losing three killed and twenty wounded. The regiment, like the other Michigan regiments in the Army of the Potomac, had gone gallantly through the forced marches and hardships of the campaign, and now, with equal fortitude, it endured with them the labors in the trenches before Petersburg. On the 27th the 7th, with its corps, crossed the James river at Deep Bottom, but on the 29th returned to its former position before Petersburg, having lost during the movement two men wounded. It remained here employed in fatigue and picket duty until August 12th, when it again moved to Deep Bottom, and on the 14th and 17th was engaged in the battles of Strawberry Plains and Flussier's Mill, losing three killed and eleven wounded; Lieut. Harty S. Felt mortally, who died on the 24th following. On the 20th the regiment returned to near Petersburg. On the 25th it was engaged in the battle of Ream's Station, on the Weldon railroad; its casualties in this action being one killed, four wounded, and eight missing.

Passing through the various campaigns of the Army of the Potomac, acquitting itself nobly in every battle in which it became engaged, the regiment is found on the 26th of October, 1864, in the hottest of the fight at Hatcher's Run, near Burgess' Farm and Boydton Plank Road, where its corps, the 2d, was heavily engaged, and in which the 7th Michigan, then only eighty-five strong took twenty officers and four hundred and eighty men prisoners, while Sergeant Alonzo Smith, (afterwards first lieutenant,) captured the colors of the 26th North Carolina infantry, for which he was presented with a medal of honor by the Secretary of War. Through some misunderstanding the 7th was left on the line after the Union troops were withdrawn, and remained in that condition until the morning of the 28th, when Col. Lapointe, then in command, finding that his regiment had been left alone on the field, formed his men and explained to them their perilous situation, telling them to stand by him and they could find their way out. They commenced at once their dangerous undertaking, marching 12 miles through the country held by the enemy, gallantly fighting their way at almost every step, pursued and harassed constantly by cavalry threatening

to cut them off, but they arrived safe within our lines at sundown of the same day. Gen. Hancock, their corps commander, complimented the regiment highly on the occasion, and characterized the undertaking as one of the most praiseworthy and daring of the war.

On April 2d, 1865, the regiment, together with details from the 1st Minnesota and 19th Massachusetts, charged the enemy's works at Cat Tail Creek, capturing two forts and three guns, then sweeping down the line, captured five other forts, well defended by infantry, and during the day taking about five hundred prisoners and several horses. The regiment is reported to have been the first to break the rebel lines in front of the 2d corps. After marching with the division to the rear of Petersburg, the regiment was deployed as skirmishers up the South Side railroad, in advance of the division, taking many prisoners and contrabands, and capturing great numbers of horses and mules. On April 3d it marched ten miles, continuing the march on the 4th and 5th; on the 6th it received orders to report to General Smith, and was put in the advance of the skir mish line of the 3d brigade, taking a number of prisoners during the day, and at 9 P. M. rejoined the division, having marched about thirty miles. On the morning of the 7th it marched with its brigade, until near High Bridge, in the vicinity of Farmville, when, together with the 59th New York, it was deployed as skirmishers to cover the front and flanks of the brigade, and moving on the enemy, it participated in capturing many prisoners, advancing to within half a mile of Farmville, when the enemy, throwing a heavy column of infantry and cavalry on the right and rear of the skirmish line, its connection with the brigade was cut off; but as soon as the advance on its rear was discovered, the skirmish line was faced to the rear, and charged the advancing force; but the enemy being superior in numbers, the line was repulsed, the regiment losing three officers and thirty-four men prisoners, including one officer severely wounded. In the afternoon the regiment was relieved from the front, and rejoined its brigade. On the 8th the march was continued until 12 P. M., and on the 9th marched about five miles, when General Lee's army surrendered.

There was found in the pocket-book of Captain Zacharias a note, dated Fair Oaks, June 28, 1862, and is as follows:

"Allen Howard Zacharias was born May 15, 1833, in Clear Spring, Washington county, Maryland, and removed with his father to Monroe county, Michigan, in 1841. Graduated A.B. from the University of Michigan, June, 1860. Went to Mississippi in September, and became a professor, and in February, 1861, principal of the State Military Institute, at Brandon, in that State. Resigned his position in May, and returned to Michigan, when, from a solemn sense of duty, enlisted as a corporal, and was promoted first lieutenant June 25th, and to a captaincy March 10, 1862; was with the regiment at Yorktown, West Point, and Fair Oaks, May 31st and June 1st."

Upon the other side of the paper was found the following:

"FRIEND: If you find my body lifeless upon the field, bury it decently, mark its resting place, and inform my friends in the regiment and my father. Do this, and you shall be liberally rewarded, and have the grati

tude of my friends.

(Signed)

A. H. ZACHARIAS, "Captain, Company K, 7th Michigan."

He did not fall on the retreat to James river, but fell in Maryland, the place of his nativity, and near the spot on which he first saw the light. In

his hand, while laying on the bloody field, was found an old envelope, written over as follows:

"To Peter K. Zacharias, Monroe, Michigan:

"DEAR PARENT, BROTHERS, AND SISTERS: I am wounded-mortally, I think. The fight rages around me. I have done my duty; this is my consolation. I hope to meet you all again. I left not the line until nearly all had fallen, and colors gone. I am getting weak; my arms are free, but below my chest all is numb. The enemy trotting over me; the numbness up to my heart. Good-bye, all.

"Your son,

ALLEN."

He was found and conveyed to a field hospital, and the scrap sent to his friends by a kind-hearted private of the 4th Maine battery. Being so near the place of his nativity, he was soon found by friends-Mr. Joseph B. Loose, of Hagerstown; Rev. Dr. Zacharias, his uncle, from Frederick; Rev. J. S. Loose, of Greencastle, Penna., and conveyed to the house of Mr. Loose, of Hagerstown, where he was joined the next day by his sister Kate, who was visiting in Reading, Penna., and in a short time by his father. But they could not save him. His body was brought home to Michigan for interment, and on the 3d of January was placed by the side of his mother, in the cemetery of the German Reform Church in Ida, Monroe county, Michigan.

Lieutenant John J. Brown died at Alexandria, October 2, 1863, of wounds received on picket, September 18, 1863.

THE EIGHTH INFANTRY.

The 8th infantry, recruited by Col. W. M. Fenton, of Flint, might well be designated as the wandering or itinerant regiment of Michigan, leaving the State on the 27th of September, 1861, commanded by that officer, for the field in Virginia. It embarked at Annapolis, Md., as part of the expedition to Hilton Head, under Gen. T. W. Sherman. Down to November 1, 1862, it had been engaged in nine battles, occurring in four different States, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Maryland, and afterwards served in the various campaigns of the 9th corps in Tennessee, Mississippi, and, down to the olose of the war, in Virginia. This brave and patriotic regiment commenced its battles at Port Royal, S. C., November 7, 1861, and was engaged most creditably in several others from that time to April 16, 1862, when it became specially noted in the spirited engagement on the reconnoisance made from on board the steamer Honduras by Col. Fenton, at Wilmington Island, Ga., on that day, where, after landing from the boats, it encountered the 13th Georgia, about 800 strong, armed with Enfield rifles, and drove them from the field in confusion, with loss, and leaving their dead on the ground. The object of the reconnoisance having been effected, the regiment, about dark, re-embarked on board the steamer. Its loss, out of a force of 300 men, were 10 killed and 35 wounded. Here fell two gallant officers, Adjutant N. Minor Pratt, killed instantly, and Lieutenant Frederick M. Badger, who died of his wounds at Beaufort, S. C., three days after the battle.

On June 16th following it was most signally distinguished in the assault made upon the enemy's works at Secessionville, on James Island, S. C., by a command of General Hunter's forces, under General Benham. The direct attack was made by General Stevens with the brigade led by Col. Fenton, and composed of the 8th Michigan, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Frank