CIVIL WAR INDEX
Primary Source Material
on the Soldiers and the Battles
Home The Armies The Soldiers The Battles Civilians Articles
If this website has been useful to you, please consider making a Donation.

Your support will help keep this website free for everyone, and will allow us to do more research. Thank you for your support!

9th Wisconsin Light Battery
in the American Civil War

Regimental History

Ninth Wisconsin Light Battery. — Capts., Cyrus H. Johnson, James H. Dodge, Watson D. Crocker; First Lieuts., James H. Dodge, Watson D. Crocker, John A. Edington; Second Lieuts., John A. Edington, Henry A. Hicks, Albert Helliwell. This battery, known as the Randall Battery, was organized and mustered into service on Jan. 27, 1862. It remained at Racine until March 18, when it proceeded in company with the 8th and 10th batteries to St. Louis. On April 3 it embarked for Leavenworth, Kan., where it prepared for a march across the plains. On the 26th it proceeded by way of Fort Kearny and Julesburg, to Denver, reaching there on June 2 after a march of 700 miles. On June 4 it proceeded to Fort Union, New Mex., and soon afterward Lieut. Crocker with the left section marched to Fort Lamed and remained there until Dec, 1864. On July 5, the right section marched to Fort Lyon, where it joined the center section. These two sections remained in Colorado until April 26, 1864, either at the fort or at Denver, making frequent marches to the distant frontier. The most noteworthy of these was made by Lieut. Edington with one section in June, 1863. The march was a distance of 240 miles and it was made in three days — the quickest in the history of the war at that date. In April, 1864, the battery marched to Council Grove, Kan., where it remained as garrison of the town, escorting trains and U. S. mail coaches over the road until August, when it went to Fort Riley. In July Lieut. Edington with one section joined in an expedition against the Indians at Fort Larned. Late in August he joined an expedition to Smoky Hill, where the Indians were defeated in a well contested engagement. In July, 1863, Lieut. Crocker and the left section held Fort Larned with its large and valuable government supplies against the combined forces of the Indians in that locality. In Oct., 1864, Capt. Dodge, with 4 guns, joined the command of Gen. Curtis and participated in the campaign against Price in Missouri and Arkansas. In the battle at Westport the battery broke the charge of a column, 6,000 strong, three successive times. In Dec. 1864, this portion of the battery proceeded to Fort Leavenworth, where soon afterward it was joined by the other detachments preparatory to reorganization of the veterans. The aggregate distance marched by the battery and detached section during these three years was nearly 15,000 miles. The veteran battery was organized Jan. 27, 1865, with Lieut. Crocker as Captain. On March 26 Lieut. Edington with one section marched to Fort Scott and remained there until June 16, when he proceeded to Fort Riley. This section left Fort Riley for western Kansas and was mustered out at Fort Leavenworth Sept. 30. The original strength of the battery was 155. Gain by recruits, 63; reenlistments, 78; total, 296. Loss by death, 6; transfer, 1; discharge, 56; mustered out, 233.

Footnotes:
Regimental history taken from "The Union Army" by Federal Publishing Company, 1908 - Volume 4

Whats New
Bibliography
About Us


Copyright 2010 by CivilWarIndex.com
A Division of Pier-Pleasure.com