Battery E, 1st U.S. Artillery was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

field artillery battery that was in service between 1821 and 1901, most notably in extensive service with the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. During the Civil War, the battery was present at the Siege of

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a historical Coastal defense and fortification#Sea forts, sea fort located near Charleston, South Carolina. Constructed on an artificial island at the entrance of Charleston Harbor in 1829, the fort was built in response to the W ...

in April 1861 under the command of

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

Abner Doubleday Abner Doubleday (June 26, 1819 – January 26, 1893) was a career United States Army officer and Union major general in the American Civil War. He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war, and had a ...

. Returned to the artillery defenses of Washington, D.C., and rearmed as a field artillery battery, the unit was merged with Battery G, 1st U.S. Artillery in February 1862. Consolidated and renamed Battery E & G, 1st U.S. Artillery, the unit continued with this designation until the end of the war. The unit is also known for its participation in the

Wounded Knee Massacre The Wounded Knee Massacre, also known as the Battle of Wounded Knee, involved nearly three hundred Lakota people killed by soldiers of the United States Army. More than 250 people of the Lakota were killed and 51 wounded (4 men and 47 women a ...

in 1890.

Service

Battery E, 1st U.S. Artillery was formed by a reorganization of the U.S. Army artillery service in 1821. The battery saw service in the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...

and the early engagements of the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

. From 1856 through 1858, the battery was stationed in Florida during the

Third Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the battery was stationed at Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina in January 1861, where it was present during the

Battle of Fort Sumter The Battle of Fort Sumter (also the Attack on Fort Sumter or the Fall of Fort Sumter) (April 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender of the ...

in April which sparked the war. Following the surrender of that post, it moved to Washington, D.C., where it was attached to Patterson's army to October 1861, in the field but not present at the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by Confederate States ...

. Its new commander, Captain Jefferson C. Davis, was absent on detached service throughout the duration of the war; under the command of subaltern battery officer Lieutenant Alanson Merwin Randol, the battery was merged with Battery G, 1st U.S. Artillery in February 1862, serving as Battery E & G with the Artillery Reserve, Army of the Potomac, to May 1862; 2nd 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 Arm ...

, Army of the Potomac, to September 1862; Artillery, 2nd Division, V Corps, to October 1862; Artillery, 3rd Division, V Corps, to May 1863; 2nd Regular Brigade, Artillery Reserve, Army of the Potomac, to June 1863; 2nd Brigade,

Horse Artillery Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving, and fast-firing field artillery that consisted of light cannons or howitzers attached to light but sturdy two-wheeled carriages called caissons or limbers, with the individual crewmen riding on h ...

, Artillery Reserve, Army of the Potomac, to June 1864; 3rd Brigade, DeRussy's Division, XXII Corps, to July 1864; and 1st Brigade, DeRussy's Division, XXII Corps, to October 1865. On garrison duty along the East Coast post-war, the battery also participated in the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...

at Wounded Knee.Haskin in ''The'' ''Army of the United States'', 311.

Detailed service

Defense of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, April 12–13, 1861. Evacuation of Fort Sumter April 13. Reached Fort Hamilton, New York Harbor, April 19. Moved to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, June 3. Ordered to Washington, D.C., August 26, 1861. Duty at the federal arsenal and at Camp Duncan, defenses of Washington, until March 1862. Moved to the Virginia Peninsula. Siege of Yorktown April 5-May 4. Battle of Seven Pines, May 31-June 1. Seven Days Battles before Richmond June 26-July 1. Savage's Station and Peach Orchard June 29. White Oak Swamp and Glendale June 30. Malvern Hill July 1. At Harrison's Landing until August 16. Moved to Fortress Monroe, then to Centerville August 16–28. Pope's Virginia Campaign August 28-September 2. Battle of Groveton August 29. Second Battle of Bull Run August 30. Maryland Campaign September 6–22. Battle of Antietam September 16–17. Shepherdstown Ford September 19–20. At Sharpsburg until October 30. Movement to Falmouth, Virginia, October 29-November 19. Battle of Fredericksburg, December 11–15. At Falmouth, Virginia, until April 1863. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Battle of Chancellorsville May 1–5. Gettysburg Campaign June 11-July 24. Aldie June 17. Middleburg June 19. Upperville June 21. Ashby's Gap June 21. Battle of Gettysburg, July 1–3. Near Harpers Ferry July 14. Shepherdstown July 16. Bristoe Campaign October 9–22. Advanced to line of the Rappahannock November 7–8. Mine Run Campaign November 26-December 2. Custer's Raid into Albemarle County February 28-March 1, 1864. Near Charlottesville February 29. Stannardsville March 1. Rapidan Campaign May 4-June 8. Battle of the Wilderness May 5–7. Spotsylvania May 8–21. Milford Station May 21. Chesterfield May 23. North Anna River May 23–26. On line of the Pamunkey May 26–28. Totopotomoy May 28–31. Mechump's Creek May 31. Cold Harbor June 1–5. Sharp's Farm June 3. Moved to Washington, D.C., June 18. Garrison duty at Fort Willard and

Fort Strong Fort Strong is a former U.S. Army Coast Artillery fort that occupied the northern third of Long Island (Massachusetts), Long Island in Boston Harbor. The island had a training camp during the American Civil War, and a gun battery was built there ...

, defenses of Washington, D.C., until October 1865.

Later service

One of the most notable actions of Battery E, 1st U.S. Artillery was in support of the

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

James W. Forsyth's 7th U.S. Cavalry at the now-controversial engagement at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890. The battery was commanded by Captain Allyn Capron and equipped with four Hotchkiss M1875 mountain guns which were used against the Wounded Knee encampment with devastating effect after the fight broke out. Some estimates report that as many as 200

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

Indians were killed or wounded in the engagement, the majority of whom were women and children. The battery participated in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

in Cuba in 1898, under the command of Captain Capron. In 1899, the battery was deployed to the Philippine Islands during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

; it remained there until 1901, when the unit was dissolved and reorganized as the First Battery, Field Artillery in the newly organized Artillery Corps of the United States Army.

Commanders

* Captain

Sylvester Churchill Sylvester Churchill (August 2, 1783 – December 7, 1862) was an American journalist and Regular Army officer. Early life Churchill was born in Woodstock, Vermont, the son of Joseph and Sarah (Cobb) Churchill. Educated in the schools of his hom ...

* Captain Henry Saunders * Captain Ebenezer Sibley * Captain James Henry Prentiss * Captain

William H. French William Henry French (January 13, 1815 – May 20, 1881) was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General officer, General in the American Civil War. He rose to temporarily command a corps within the Army of the Potomac, but was re ...

* Captain

* Captain Jefferson C. Davis * Lieutenant Samuel S. Elder * Captain Alanson M. Randol * 1st Lieutenant Egbert Worth Olcott * 1st Lieutenant Frank Sands French * Lieutenant Edward Alexander Duer * Captain Franck Eveleigh Taylor * Captain Tully McCrea * Captain Allyn Capron * Captain Henry Merritt Andrews

Notes

References

* Buel. Clarence C. and Robert U. Johnson. ''Battles and Leaders of the Civil War''. Vol. 1. New York: The Century Company, 1887. * Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion''. Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co., 1908. * Haskin, William L., ed. ''The History of the First Regiment of Artillery''. Portland, ME: B. Thurston and Company, 1879. * Haskin, William L.
The First Regiment of Artillery
" In Haskin, William L. and Theophilus F. Rodenbough. ''The Army of the United States''. New York: Maynard, Merrill, & Co., 1896. * Heitman, Francis B. ''Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army''. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1903. * Randol, Alanson M. “From January, 1862, to August, 1864” in Haskin, William L., ed. ''The History of the First Regiment of Artillery''. Portland, ME: B. Thurston and Company, 1879. {{CWR

External links

Battery E, 1st U.S. Light Artillery monuments at Gettysburg Battlefield
United States Regular Army Civil War units and formations U