The Sword and Gun: A History of the 37th Wis. Volunteer Infantry

by R. C. Eden

[CHAPTER I.]

In the spring of 1864, a call having been made by the President for 500,000 fresh troops, his Excellency, James T. Lewis, issued an order for the raising of a regiment to be designated the 37th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry.

To Sam. Harriman, of Somerset, St. Croix county, Captain of company A, 30th Wisconsin, was entrusted the charge of raising this regiment, and a commission as Colonel issued to him on the 7th of March.

The work of recruiting was immediately entered into with vigor, and, on the 13th of April, 1864, the first company, (company, B, Capt. R. C. Eden,) was mustered into the service of the United States, at the rendezvous at Madison, by Capt. T. T. Brand, "for three years, unless sooner discharged." On the afternoon of the same day, company C, Capt. John Green, was also mustered in by the same officer, followed on the 12th of the same month by company D, Capt. Alvah Nash, on the 16th by company A, Capt. S. Stevens, on the 18th by company E, Capt. Frank A. Cole, on the 19th by company F, Capt. E. Burnett, on the 3d of May by company G, Capt. W. W. Heller, and company H, Capt. Frank T. Hobbs, on the 5th of May by company K, Capt. A. A. Burnett, and on the 6th of the same month by company I, Capt. Geo. A. Beck.

On the 28th of April, companies A, B, C, D, E, and F left Camp Randall, under command of Major Kershaw, and proceeded to Washington, where they arrived on the 1st of May, and were encamped on Arlington Heights, in the neighborhood of the Long Bridge. Colonel Harriman accompanied the regiment as far as Chicago, from which place he returned to Madison, to superintend the organization of the four remaining companies. The journey was accomplished in safety and without the occurrence of any noteworthy incident. On the 17th, the detachment was joined by companies H and I, and arms and accoutrements being at once issued to the men, the instruction of the regiment in the manual and battalion drill was at once proceeded with, with vigor. Lieut. Col. Doolittle, having joined the regiment at Chicago, assumed the command then and there, taking charge of the disciplining and instructing of the eight companies, of which it was then composed.

On the 28th of May, orders were received for the regiment to prepare for the field, and to be ready to march by the next morning. The comfortable "wedge" and "wall" tents in which men and officers had been luxuriating and gaining their first experience of camp life were, accordingly, turned in to the Regimental Quartermaster, and the fragmentary and disjointed dwellings, known to the polite world as shelter tents, or tentes d'abri, but known amongst soldiers as pup tents, were issued in their stead. All extra baggage was disposed of, and the comforts of civilized life bid adieu to, "for three years unless sooner discharged."

At daylight, on the morning of the 29th, we took up our line of march for Alexandria, thus entering on our first campaign. The morning was sunny and clear, and as the sun gained power, became unpleasantly warm, and a source of no little distress to men unused to marching and the encumbrance of gun, knapsack and accoutrements, as ours were. About ten o'clock, we arrived in the suburbs of Alexandria, where we rested for an hour or two, awaiting orders as to our further disposition.

The transports on which we were to embark for White House Landing, on the Pamunkey River, the then base of supplies of the Army of Virginia, had arrived the night previous and were then engaged in taking on board a large herd of cattle, which was to form part of their live freight, and we were accordingly ordered into camp on the banks of the river where we remained till 5 o'clock on the afternoon of the 30th. The work of embarking the troops was then commenced, and our Regiment was divided into three divisions, which were distributed as follows: Companies B and E were assigned to the propeller S. Cloud, under command of Capt. Eden, of company B; the propeller Andrew Harder carried companies A, C, D and F, under command of Lieut. Col. Doolittle, while Capt. Hobbs took command of the remainder of the detachment on board of the Charles Osgood.

With the exception of the Harder's grounding on a sand bank just above Mt. Vernon, and nearly involving the Cloud, which came to her assistance, in a like catastrophe, no incident, unpleasant or otherwise, occurred to mar the tranquility of our passage down the Potomac.