The 2nd U.S. Artillery, Battery E was an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fac ...

that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit fought at the battles of First Bull Run in 1861 and Yorktown, the Seven Days, Second Bull Run,

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France * Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department ** US Chantilly, a football club * Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States *Chantilly, Miss ...

, Antietam, and Fredericksburg in 1862. The following year, Battery E moved to the Western Theater where it served at

Vicksburg Vicksburg most commonly refers to: * Vicksburg, Mississippi, a city in western Mississippi, United States * The Vicksburg Campaign, an American Civil War campaign * The Siege of Vicksburg, an American Civil War battle Vicksburg is also the name of ...

and Knoxville. In 1864, the unit transferred back to the Eastern Theater where it fought at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Totopotomoy, and Cold Harbor. For the rest of the war, it became part of the Washington D.C. garrison.

Organizations

Battery E was at Washington, D.C. in January 1861. The battery was attached to

Robert C. Schenck Robert Cumming Schenck (October 4, 1809 – March 23, 1890) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War, and American diplomatic representative to Brazil and the United Kingdom. He was at both battles of Bull Run and took part in Jack ...

's Brigade, Daniel Tyler's Division, Irvin McDowell's Army, Northeast Virginia in June–August 1861. The unit transferred to the Artillery Division, Army of the Potomac in August–October 1861. It served in Fitz John Porter's Division, Army of the Potomac from that date until March 1862. Battery E was assigned to the Artillery Reserve, Army of the Potomac in March–May 1862. The battery was assigned to the 4th Brigade in

Henry Jackson Hunt Henry Jackson Hunt (September 14, 1819 – February 11, 1889) was Chief of Artillery in the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Considered by his contemporaries the greatest artillery tactician and strategist of the war, he was ...

's Artillery Reserve at the time of the Battle of Seven Pines on 31 May–1 June, though it was not engaged in the fighting. It served in the 5th Brigade, Artillery Reserve,

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army ...

, Army of the Potomac through September 1862. Battery E transferred to Artillery, 1st Division,

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...

in September–December 1862. The battery belonged to Artillery, 3rd Division, IX Corps from then until February 1863. It switched back to Artillery, 1st Division, IX Corps, Army of the Potomac in February–April 1863. Battery E transferred west to the District of Central Kentucky, Department of the Ohio in April–June 1863. It became part of the Artillery Reserve, IX Corps, Dept. of the Ohio in June–August 1863. Once again it was assigned to Artillery, 1st Division, IX Corps, Dept. of the Ohio from then until March 1864. Transferring east, the unit became part of the Reserve Artillery, IX Corps, Army of the Potomac in March–June 1864. Battery E was assigned to duty at Camp Barry, Washington, D.C., XXII Corps in June–November 1864. The battery consolidated with 2nd U.S. Artillery, Battery C on 24 August 1864. The unit was part of 1st Separate Brigade, XXII Corps from November 1864 to October 1865.

History

1861–1862

Battery E advanced toward Manassas, Virginia on 16–21 July 1861, including the occupation of Fairfax Court House on 17 July. The battery fought at the First Battle of Bull Run on 21 July. Commanded by

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

J. H. Carlisle, Battery E was armed with two

14-pounder James rifle The 14-pounder James rifle or James rifled 6-pounder or 3.8-inch James rifle was a bronze muzzle-loading rifled cannon that was employed by the United States Army and the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fired a solid sh ...

s and two

M1841 6-pounder field gun The M1841 6-pounder field gun was a bronze smoothbore muzzle-loading cannon that was adopted by the United States Army in 1841 and used from the Mexican–American War to the American Civil War. It fired a round shot up to a distance of at 5° e ...

s. Its guns were not among the 24 artillery pieces that crossed to the west bank of Bull Run with the assault brigades. The unit was part of the garrison of Washington, D.C. until March 1862 when it moved to the Virginia Peninsula. For the Peninsula campaign, the unit was equipped with six

20-pounder Parrott rifle The 20-pounder Parrott rifle, Model 1861 was a cast iron muzzle-loading rifled cannon that was adopted by the United States Army in 1861 and employed in field artillery units during the American Civil War. As with other Parrott rifles, the gun br ...

s. Battery E participated in the Siege of Yorktown on 5 April–4 May. The battery fought in the Seven Days Battles before Richmond on 25 June–1 July 1862. Specifically, it was engaged at Turkey Bridge on 30 June and at the Battle of Malvern Hill on 1 July. During the Seven Days, Captain Carlisle led both the 5th Artillery Brigade and Battery E. The battery remained at Harrison's Landing until 16 August. The unit moved to Centreville, Virginia on 16–28 August. Battery E under the command of First Lieutenant

Samuel Nicholl Benjamin Samuel Nicoll Benjamin (January 3, 1839 – May 15, 1886) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor. Early life Benjamin was born on January 3, 1839, in New York City. He was the son of William M ...

fought at the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

on 29–30 August 1862. Together with the 8th Massachusetts Light Artillery, Battery E was part of the division of

Isaac Stevens Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 – September 1, 1862) was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Represen ...

in the IX Corps led by

Jesse L. Reno Jesse Lee Reno (April 20, 1823 – September 14, 1862) was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War, in the Utah War, on the western frontier and as a Union General during the American Civil War from West Virg ...

. The unit also fought at the Battle of Chantilly on 1 September where Stevens was killed. It participated in the Maryland campaign on 6–22 September. At the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

on 17 September, Lieutenant Benjamin commanded four 20-pounder Parrott rifles. He recorded no casualties at Antietam and reported three officers and 97 enlisted men present for duty on 22 September. A return from 1 October listed three officers and 90 enlisted men. During the battle, the battery supported the attack on Burnside's Bridge. The battery remained on the east bank of Antietam Creek throughout the fighting. It was near Warrenton, Virginia on 15 November. At the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

on 13 December 1862, Battery E under Captain Benjamin's command served in George W. Getty's 3rd Division of the IX Corps under Orlando B. Willcox. Benjamin complained in his after battle report about the "miserable quality of the ammunition" with which the battery was provided. He admitted tossing 53 rounds of shell and shrapnel into a stream because the ammunition was visibly defective. He wrote that the paper time fuses often failed to ignite. The Schenkl percussion shells broke up while still in the gun barrel and many did not explode on contact. The Parrott shells broke up in the gun or exploded at the muzzles of the guns.

1863–1865

Battery E participated in the Mud March on 20–24 January 1863. The unit shipped to Newport News on 10 February and served there until March 19. The battery traveled to Kentucky on 19-23 March and performed duties in the District of Central Kentucky until June. Battery E moved to

on 7–14 June and participated in the Siege of Vicksburg on 14 June–4 July 1863. During the siege, the IX Corps was led by

John Parke John Grubb Parke (September 22, 1827 – December 16, 1900) was a United States Army engineer and a Union general in the American Civil War. Parke's Civil War service was closely associated with Ambrose E. Burnside, often serving him as chi ...

. Battery E was the only unit in the corps Reserve Artillery. The unit advanced to Jackson, Mississippi on 4–10 July where it took part in the Siege of Jackson until 17 July. The battery traveled first to Covington, Kentucky then to

Crab Orchard, Kentucky Crab Orchard is a home rule-class city in Lincoln County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 841 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Crab Orchard was near the end of the Logan Trace of ...

on 4–18 August. Battery E marched to Knoxville, Tennessee on 10–26 September. It took part in the Knoxville campaign on 4 November–23 December. The battery fought at the

Battle of Campbell's Station The Battle of Campbell's Station (November 16, 1863) saw Confederate forces under Lieutenant General James Longstreet attack Union troops led by Major General Ambrose Burnside at Campbell's Station (now Farragut), Knox County, Tennessee, during ...

on 16 November. It participated in the Siege of Knoxville on 17 November–5 December. Battery E led by Lieutenant Benjamin fought in the Siege of Knoxville. During skirmishing on 18 November, the battery was asked to fire on some Confederate snipers in a house about distant. Engineer officer

Orlando Metcalfe Poe Orlando Metcalfe Poe (March 7, 1832 – October 2, 1895) was a United States Army officer and engineer in the American Civil War. After helping General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea, he was responsible for much of the early ligh ...

reported that Benjamin's gunner put a round into the room occupied by the snipers. Poe wrote, "During the whole war, I never saw a prettier shot." Still armed with four 20-pounder Parrotts, the battery was assigned to defend Fort Sanders. The other defenders were Captain William W. Buckley's

Battery D, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery Battery D, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery Regiment was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service Battery D, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery Regiment was organized in Providence, Rhode Island and ...

(six

12-pounder Napoleon The M1857 12-pounder Napoleon or Light 12-pounder gun or 12-pounder gun-howitzer was a bronze smoothbore muzzleloading artillery piece that was adopted by the United States Army in 1857 and extensively employed in the American Civil War. The gun ...

s), one section of Captain Jacob Roemer's

34th Independent Battery New York Light Artillery The 34th Independent Battery New York Light Artillery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was organized as Battery L, 2nd New York Heavy Artillery, but was soon detached as an independent ...

(two 3-inch Ordnance rifles), 120 soldiers from the 79th New York Volunteer Infantry, 100 men from the

2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 2nd Michigan Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 2nd Michigan Infantry was organized by Francis William Kellogg and others at Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan. It ...

, 80 men from the 20th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and 75 men from the

29th Massachusetts Infantry The 29th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union army of the United States during the American Civil War. The regiment was organized in December 1861 when three new companies were attached to a batta ...

Regiment. The Battle of Fort Sanders began after 6:00 am on 29 November 1863 when Confederate brigades assaulted the fort but were repulsed with serious losses. From December 1863 until March 1864, Battery E took part in operations in East Tennessee. The unit traveled to

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

before participating in the Overland Campaign on 4 May–7 June. At the beginning of the campaign, the battery was commanded by Lieutenant James S. Dudley and was one of six batteries of the Artillery Reserve of IX Corps under Ambrose Burnside. Battery E fought at the

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Arm ...

on 5–7 May 1864, the Battle of Spotsylvania on 8–21 May, the Battle of Totopotomoy Creek on May 28–31 May, and the Battle of Cold Harbor on 1–7 June. At Cold Harbor, Lieutenant Samuel B. McIntire commanded the battery. Shortly afterward, Battery E was ordered to return to Washington, D.C. where it served as a garrison until October 1865.

Commanders

*Captain J. Howard Carlisle (1st Bull Run, Seven Days) *Lieutenant Samuel Nicholl Benjamin (2nd Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, Fort Sanders) *Lieutenant James S. Dudley (Wilderness) *Lieutenant Samuel B. McIntire (Cold Harbor)

Notes

References

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