The complete issue
Vol. XXII, No. 5
(40 pages)
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Inside
Cover image
An image from the National Archives pictures officers of the 15th New York Infantry sit around their carefully posed regimental colors.
Table of Contents (p. 1)
Mail Call (pp. 2-3)
Feedback includes several corrections to incorrectly identified soldiers and a request for help finding a specific image.
Passing in Review (pp. 4-5)
Four publications are reviewed, including Promise of Glory: A Novel of Antietam (Forge Books) by C.X. Moreau, Catalog of Uniforms in the Collection of the Museum of the Confederacy (Museum of the Confederacy) by Les Jensen, Campaigns of the 146th Regiment New York State Volunteers (North Star Press) by Mary Genevie Green Brainard and Minnesota in the Civil War, An Illustrated History (Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Kenneth Carley.
The Auction Block (pp. 6-8)
A sampling of sales from the popular auction site eBay is included.
Engineers at War: An Introduction (pp. 9-13)
Unlike many foreign armies, the U.S. Army considers the Corps of Engineers, one of the Army’s oldest branches of service, a combat arm. Indeed, members of the Corps are often called upon to fight as well as build and destroy. This was also true in the Civil War when engineers were vital in getting armies supplied and from point to point as needed. Identified portraits include P.G.T. Beauregard and Col. Barton S. Alexander of the 1st Engineer Brigade of the Army of the Potomac,
The U.S. Engineer Battalion (p. 14)
A portrait of Charles E. Cross accompanies the text.
1st New York Engineers (p. 15)
A portrait of Nathaniel M. Edwards accompanies the text.
15th New York Engineers (p. 16)
Portraits of captains Stephen Chester and Joseph Wood Jr. accompany the text.
50th New York Engineers (pp. 17-18)
Portraits of Capt. George W. Ford, 2nd Lt. Sidney George Gwynne, Asst. Surg. Lewis V. Beers, 1st Lt. William D. Cameron, 1st Lt. John T. Davidson and Sgt. Daniel Crane accompany the text.
1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics (p. 19)
A portrait of 1st Lt. Charles W. Calkins and 2nd Lt. Joseph C. Herkner accompany the text.
Bissell’s Regiment of the West (p. 20)
Portraits of 1st Lt. Horace B. Hooker, Capt. G. Louis Werth and 2nd Lt. Charles C. Wood accompany the text.
Corps d’Afrique (p. 21)
Portraits include 2nd Lt. Frank Brown of the 4th Regiment, Engineers.
1st Confederate Regiment, Engineer Troops (p. 22)
Portraits of Col. T.M.R. Talcott and Capt. David S. Hessey illustrate the text.
The 18th Penna. Vol. Inf., 1898 by Kean E. Wilcox (pp. 23-24)
A brief history of the regiment includes two photographs.
Phil Sheridan, Desk Jockey by J. Dale West (pp. 25-26)
Two portraits of Sheridan are included in the story of “Little Phil’s” early war experience as an administrative officer.
A Dutch Doctor in the Union Army by Mike Fitzpatrick (p. 27-30)
Bernard A. Vanderkieft arrive din New York from his native Holland in September 1861. Less than a month later, he became an assistant surgeon in the 53rd New York Infantry and began a military career that included service in the 102nd New York Infantry and the U.S. Volunteers. Brig. Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain recommended him for a brevet rank of lieutenant colonel for his courage. Vanderkieft received the promotion and ended the war as a brevet colonel. He died in 1866.
Uniforms & History by Michael J. McAfee (pp. 31-32)
In “Maine Regiments of 1861,” McAfee explains that the 1st through 6th regiments of the state wore gray uniforms. Two portraits illustrate the text: A ninth-plate tintype of an unidentified volunteer and a salt print carte de visite of James G. Preble of the 1st Main Infantry.
Stragglers (pp. 33-37)
Portraits include Capt. Stan Mlotkowsky of Independent Battery A of the Pennsylvania Artillery, Capt. Eugene L. Dunham of the 44th New York Infantry, 1st Illinois Light Artillerymen Quartermaster Sgt. Benjamin McCarty, Bugler Manning S. Poole, Wagoner Simeon Prince, Noles T. Quales and Timothy Upton Jr. and Pvt. Samuel Warner of the 16th Ohio Infantry.
Sutler’s Row (pp. 38-39)
The Last Shot (p. 40)
A carte de visite from the John Ertzgaard collection features two Rhode Islanders with the hand written notation, “We have struck ‘Ile.’”