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864jac: Union Forces Battle of Darbytown Road 13 October 1864

                          Union Forces
                    Battle of Darbytown Road
                         13 October 18641 

X Corps: Major General D.B.Birney
     1st Division: Bvt. Major General A.H.Terry
          1st Brigade: Colonel F.B.Pond
               39th Illinois Infantry Regiment
               62nd Ohio Infantry Regiment
               67th Ohio Infantry Regiment
               85th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment
          2nd Brigade: Colonel J.C.Abbott
               7th Connecticut Infantry Regiment
               3rd New Hampshire Infantry Regiment
               l6th New York Heavy Artillery (7 cos)
          3rd Brigade: Colonel  H.M.Plaisted
               10th Connecticut Infantry Regiment
               11th Maine Infantry Regiment
               24th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment
     3rd Division: Brigadier General W.Birney
          1st Brigade: Colonel A.C.Voris
               7th U.S.Colored Troops
               9th U.S.Colored Troops
          2nd Brigade: Colonel U. Doubleday
               29th Connecticut Infantry Regiment
               8th U.S.Colored Troops
               45th U.S.Colored Troops
Cavalry Division: Brigadier General A.V.Kautz
          1st Brigade: Colonel R.M.West
               3rd New York Cavalry Regiment
               5th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment
          2nd Brigade: Colonel S.P.Spear
               1st District of Columbia Cavalry Regiment
               11th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment
          3rd Brigade: Colonel A.W.Evans
               1st Maryland Cavalry Regiment
               1st New York Mounted Rifle Regiment
          Artillery: Lt. D.L.Noggel
               Wisconsin Light Artillery, 4th Battery (1 section)

(Order of Battle From the George Nafziger Collection)2

Source:

  1. U.S. War Department, The War of the Succession, A Compilation of
    Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Government
    Printing Office; Washington D.C. 1880-1901
  2. George Nafziger Order of Battle Collection
{ 1 comment… add one }
  • Brendan May 15, 2010, 2:33 pm

    The Greenwich Library & Greenwich Historical Society have a great volume of transcribed letters of Silas Edward Mead, a teenage private in Company I, 10th Connecticut Infantry. When I was in high school, I used to spend hours in the library every week, pouring over his accounts of the war (yes, I was that much of a nerd). Perhaps the most moving thing I read was his description of the Battle of Darbytown Road. The 10th had only about 90 men (due to casualties and the recent end of many 3-year enlistment terms) when they were ordered to charge a well-fortified Confederate position. According to Mead, the soldiers and officers knew the attack would be suicidal, but Terry refused to rescind his order. They went in knowing they would fail, and half of them were killed or wounded before they were forced to fall back. Sgt. Caleb Holmes, in command of Company I (and Mead’s good friend), was among those killed. At the end of his letter, Mead, who was undoubtedly both devastated by the loss and enraged at the generals who ordered the charge, concluded, “Some men must die for others to get glory.”

    I hope the Historical Society one day digitizes the Mead letters, as they are an incredible source.

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