Loomis Battery

In the third and final installment relating to the monuments in downtown Coldwater, we bring your attention to the artillery piece that is a major feature of the monument square. Indeed, it is a large part of why the square is named Loomis park, after General Loomis who hailed from Coldwater and started out with this piece.

Taken from Soldier's monument across the street.

Closer view

Limber from the front
 

Limber from the side

Plaques posted give a short history of the unit, along with the names of the men in the battery.

Unit history Plaque

Names Plaque 1 of 3

Names Plaque 2 of 3

Names Plaque 3 of 3

For a slightly more detailed unit history, I went to the Soldiers and Sailors database maintained by the National Park Service. That history can be found at the end of the post.  The Soldiers and Sailors database can be found at:  https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm


Finally, a there is a monument to the town of Coldwater itself.

Coldwater Monument sign

 Other monuments have been placed in the park, but they pertain to later eras and thus are beyond the scope of this blog.

-Corporal

1st Regiment, Michigan Light Artillery

Overview:

BATTERY "A" 1st REGIMENT LIGHT ARTILLERY. ("LOOMIS' BATTERY," "COLDWATER ARTILLERY.")

Attached to State Militia. Tendered its services to the government as an organization and accepted by the government April 23, 1861. On duty at Fort Wayne; Detroit, Mich. Battery reorganized for three years service and mustered in May 28, 1861. Left State for Cincinnati, Ohio, May 31. Duty at Camp Dennison, Ohio, till June 12. Ordered to West Virginia June 12. Attached to McCook's Brigade, Army of Occupation, West Virginia, to August, 1861. Reynolds' Cheat Mountain District, West Virginia. to December, 1861. Artillery, 3rd Division, Army of the Ohio, to September, 1862. 17th Brigade, 3rd Division, 1st Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, Center 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863. Artillery, 1st Division, 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to December, 1863. Garrison Artillery, Chattanooga, Tenn., Dept. of the Cumberland, to July, 1865.

Service:

At Clarksburg, W. Va., June 28, 1861. March to Buckhannon June 28-July 1. Middle Fork Bridge July 6. Camp Garnett, Rich Mountain, July 10. Battle of Camp Garnett, Rich Mountain, July 10-11. Battery remounted with six 10-lb. Parrotts by order of the General commanding. At Beverly July 12. Moved to Cheat Mountain Pass July 13, thence to Elkwater August 14 and duty there till October 30. Operations on Cheat Mountain September 11-17. Point Mountain Turnpike and Cheat Mountain Pass September 13. Elkwater September 14. Greenbrier River October 3-4. Moved to Huttonsville October 30, thence to Phillippi December 6. Ordered to Louisville, Ky., December 16; thence to Bacon Creek December 31 and duty there till February, 1862. Advance on Bowling Green, Ky., February 14-15. Occupation of Bowling Green February 15. Advance on Nashville, Tenn., February 22-25. Occupation of Nashville February 25. Engaged in scout and patrol duty in Northern Alabama by detachments and at Edgefield, Tenn., till August. Action at Bridgeport, Ala., April 29. Gunter's Landing May 15 (Detachment). Athens May 29 (Detachment). Whitesboro June 13 (Detachment). Expedition from Woodville to Guntersville July 27-30 (Section) - March to Nashville, Tenn., thence to Louisville, Ky., in pursuit of Bragg August 21-September 26. Pursuit of Bragg to Crab Orchard, Ky., October 1-15. Battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8. March to Nashville, Tenn., October 16-November 7, and duty there till December 26. Advance on Murfreesboro, Tenn., December 26-30. Battle of Stone River December 30-31, 1862, and January 1-3, 1863. Duty at Murfreesboro till June. Expedition to McMinnville April 20-30. Middle Tennessee (or Tullahoma) Campaign June 23-July 7. Hoover's Gap June 24-26. Occupation of Tullahoma July 1. Occupation of Middle Tennessee till August 16. Passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22. Davis Cross Roads, near Dug Gap, September 11. Battle of Chickamauga September 19-21; 5 pieces captured after 27 Officers and men and 50 horses had been killed and disabled; one with 3 caissons was recaptured on September 19, and two more on the 20th, but all were unfit for duty and the Battery was ordered to Chattanooga; one gun was recaptured at Mission Ridge and the last at Atlanta. Siege of Chattanooga, Tenn., September 24-November 23. Battles of Chattanooga November 23-25. Battery stationed at Chattanooga as garrison till July, 1865. Demonstration on Dalton February 22-27, 1864 (Section). Tunnel Hill, Buzzard's Roost Gap and Rocky Faced Ridge February 23-25, 1864. Mustered out July 12, 1865, and discharged at Jackson, Mich., July 28, 1865.

Battery lost during service 1 Officer and 11 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 28 Enlisted men by disease. Total 40.

Old Sam the Artillery Horse monument

A monument that may be unique is the monument to Old Sam, the artillery horse. 

Monument Stone

Another of the monuments in monument square of Coldwater, Michigan, it is dedicated to a beloved artillery horse from the local battery, Loomis. The battery monument itself will be detailed in another post.



Detail of plaque

Given the rate of horse casualties during the Civil War, Old Sam's survival was a rarity. The monument itself describes the terrible losses among the animals in the battery.  It is estimated that over three million horses and mules, the prime movers of most armies in the black powder era, died during the four years of conflict. Much like the humans they served with, most died of disease or overwork.  In combat, the artillery horses were considered valid targets for concentrated fire. If the team was dead, the guns couldn't be moved and were easier to capture.

Gibson's Battery of horse artillery, near Fair Oaks, Va. 
Old Sam could have been in a photograph like this

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Unfit for service. Artillery caisson and dead mule.

While the second picture shows a dead mule by the artillery limber, it serves as an example of the dangers involved for the teams in combat.


In the Coldwater Cemetery there is indeed a headstone for Old Sam.

-Corporal

Library of Congress photographs citations:


Barnard & Gibson, Copyright Claimant, Gibson, James F, photographer. Gibson's Battery of horse artillery, near Fair Oaks, Va. Fair Oaks Henrico County United States Virginia, 1862. [June] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2014646906/. (Accessed January 28, 2018.)



Gardner, Alexander, photographer. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Unfit for service. Artillery caisson and dead mule. United States, 1863. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/cwp2003004687/PP/. (Accessed January 28, 2018.)

Coldwater Soldier's Monument

Soldiers Monument overview

As mentioned in the Christmas post, we like seeing monuments at different times of the year when possible. Most monuments are seen by us only during the warmer weather due to distance or the fact that we are seeing them in conjunction with a reenactment.

In the spirit of this, I wish to draw some attention to the monument square in downtown Coldwater.  Not everything that will be pictured in the background of this and subsequent posts are related to the black powder era and so will not be detailed. Many of these pictures were taken a couple years ago after the annual reenactment held every Memorial Day weekend. For more information of the reenactment itself, search for "Branch County Civil War Days" online. 





Detail of soldier Front

In close up we see an infantryman at the position of "In place rest." He is dressed for cold weather as he is wearing his greatcoat, as mentioned in the Christmas post. In the rear facing photo you can see the short cape that is used as a hood and his bayonet in the scabbard. 

Detail of Soldier, rear.

The plinth he stands on has four inscriptions on it. I will write out the inscriptions for clarity.




Front Face

"To the Memory of the Soldier Dead. Erected by Butterworth Woman's Relief Corps No. 31 and the Citizens of Coldwater. Dec[ember] 11, 1906"

Left Face
"To the memory of the soldiers of the Spanish American and Philippine wars who gave their lives in defence of the flag in foreign lands."



Right Face

"To the memory of the boys whose lives went out when alone on picket, on southern battlefield, in prison pen, or 'neath the ocean wave. 1861-1865"



Rear
"Butterworth Post No. 109. Grand Army Republic. Organized in the city of Coldwater. March 9, 1883.  Butterworth Woman's Relief Corps No. 31. Organized in the city of Coldwater Jan 30, 1885"

A few side notes regarding the monument. The statue itself, I believe, is one of the mass produced ones you could order from Sears (yes, THAT Sears) through their catalogue in the late 19th and early 20th century.  I have seen similar or identical soldiers at other places.

 Regarding the inscription, I wish to relate two things.  The Spanish American War of 1898 does technically fall within the scope of this blog.  The volunteer troops that were raised were issued breech loading conversions of the muskets issued in the Civil War.  These used black powder metallic cartridges.  As it is mentioned on the inscription, the Philippine war was a three year uprising that occurred immediately after the United States taking the Philippines from Spain in the 1898 war. It is almost completely forgotten today.

Next time I shall detail the cannon on the other side of the street.

-Corporal









New year, new changes

Black Powder and Lace has went threw alot of changes during this last year and we thank everyone that has shown us love.

As we go near our one year anniversary we are excited to say we will be back on the road with even more exciting places to tell you all about this year.