Guidon, Company A
(California 100), 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry
2nd Regiment of Cavalry, Massachusetts
Volunteers
(The California 100 and the California
Cavalry Battalion)
"…all of
a sudden it became a hand-to-hand affair. It was soon evident
to (Captain J. Sewall) Reed that he was in for a whipping, and
his men began breaking through the fences and into the field,
but fighting all the while. His Californians, especially notoriously
good fighters, were standing up to the rack like men, dealing
out to us the best they had. They rallied at every call on them
and went down with banners flying."
-John W. Munson, Commenting
on the California 100 (Company A, Second Massachusetts Cavalry)
from Reminiscences of a Mosby Guerrilla.
A
Short History
by Larry Rogers
Many patriotic young men on the West coast
had followed the war in the newspapers and were anxious for a
chance to join in the fight. But they knew that if they joined
a California unit they would be stationed in the West - fighting
Indians, guarding wagon trains, or doing garrison duty. And so,
in the late summer of 1862, a group of Californians, all, but
one,
originally from the East Coast, contacted Governor Andrew of
Massachusetts and proposed to raise one hundred volunteers to
form a separate company in a cavalry regiment that was being
raised in Massachusetts. The Governor readily agreed, with the
condition that the Californians would provide their own uniforms
and equipment. Officially they became Company "A" of
the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry, but they were more popularly known
as the "California Hundred'.
The Californians used their enlistment bounty
to pay for their passage and set off by sea from San Francisco,
December 11, 1862. Their journey took them via the Isthmus of
Panama and thence up the eastern seaboard to New York and on to
Boston, arriving at Camp Meigs, Readville, Massachusetts (just
outside Boston) on January 4, 1863. Alter spending
several weeks of basic training at Camp Meigs, the Company was
transported to Fortress Monroe, Virginia, and placed on active
duty at Gloucester Point on February 22, 1863.
This first contingent of Californians was
so successful that it was soon followed by 400 more volunteers
under similar terms. They arrived at Camp Meigs during March and
April of 1863, and soon alter receiving their basic training were
assigned to the defenses of Washington, D.C. They became Companies
E, F, L and M of the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry.
On July 27, 1863, Company A, the California
Hundred, left Gloucester Point and on August 19, 1863, joined
up with its fellow Californians at Centreville. There, they maintained
a role in the defenses of the Capitol as well as countering the
guerrilla raids of Mosby. They participated in the defenses of
the Capitol during the siege by Jubal Early in July of 1864. In
August they were assigned to Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah,
and participated in the sweep of the Confederates from the Shenandoah
Valley during the fall and winter of 1864. They fought with distinction
in the battles of Winchester, Luray, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek.
They were part of the long march from the Shenandoah to Petersburg
in February and March of 1865 and later participated in the battles
of Dinwiddie Court House, Five Forks and Sailors Creek. At wars
end they were present at the surrender of Lee at Appomattox Court
House. They took part in the Grand Review at Washington, D.C.
on May 23, 1865.
They were mustered out of the U.S. service
at Fairfax Court House, VA., July 20, 1865, and on August 3, 1865,
having returned to Camp Meigs, the men were paid off and the regiment
disbanded
The
California Hundred and California Battalion.
Company A; and E, L,
F & M of the 2nd Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry
by Wayne Edward Sherman
California
Having been a state since September of 1850,
the people of California were very much involved in the turmoil
of America's Civil War. Since the days of the initial gold discoveries,
California had grown enormously in size and importance to the
support of the national government. Gold helped to lubricate the
great industrial machinery of the East and now was needed to help
finance the conflagration then raging.
Since California was remote by comparison to the balance of the
then existing United States, travel to and from California was
very hazardous and difficult. One had two choices; the perilous
wagon journey overland across parching desert and past hostile
Indians or an equally uncomfortable journey by sea to Panama,
followed by a twenty-seven mile trek through steaming mosquito
infested jungle to the Pacific [or Atlantic] side there boarding
another oceangoing vessel to points north. The gold was shipped
"round the horn" of South America by Pacific Mail Steamers.
The United States Government, in order to
protect these important migratory and commerce routes, had stationed
about thirty-five hundred Regular troops about the west;
from remote blockhouses in Washington Territory to lonely, arid,
sand-blown posts in the deserts of the Arizona Territory; and
at many points around California, from the Docks at Benicia to
the waters of the Colorado River.
When the fighting erupted in April of 1861,
the California Legislature declared the State for the Union (even
though some of the "Placer" and southern counties had
decidedly southern leaning populations) and pitched in with raising
volunteers for the cause. By December of 1861, California had
raised two regiments of cavalry and five regiments of infantry
for the Union. Later, three more infantry regiments would be enlisted
along with a battalion each of "Mounted Infantry" and
"Native Cavalry" for a grand total of sixteen thousand
plus Californians enlisting as volunteers during the war. This
was a sizable amount for a fledgling state far from the core.
As the Volunteers were mustered into service they replaced the
Regular United States troops as they were drawn off to the center
of the war to fight.
All of the troops raised in California as
volunteers served in the west at the places previously manned
by the small force of Regulars with a few new additions [Drum
Barracks being one of the most important additions]. The government
deemed this necessary in order to keep California safe for the
Union because of a fear of a possible Confederate takeover. In
fact, only a small detachment of cavalry with the California Column
ever had fighting contact with actual Rebels. The main hazards
to the California Volunteers were Indians, hostile locals, and
hostile environmental conditions. These volunteers suffered as
many a privation as their eastern counterpart but without the
chance for the battle glories dreamed of by the soldiers of the
day. This was a source of great consternation and regret by many
of the California Volunteers. Some claimed they were misled when
they enlisted, and a great deal of grumbling ensued. There were
some desertions, but the great many of the volunteers did their
promised, and no less important, duty till their terms expired.
Detail from California
Soldier's Bounty Warrant (Author's collection)
The Hundred
News from the front was not encouraging
for Union men during the summer and fall of 1862. The realization
that this would be no flash in the pan fight was setting in. In
San Francisco during this time a local militia officer, J. Sewall
Reed, along with others were hatching a plan to get themselves
and other Californians to where the fighting was.
The group had friends in high places in the Bay State and managed
to get the ear of Governor John A. Andrew. They proposed to raise
a company of a hundred handpicked men in California to serve as
a company in a regiment of cavalry then being raised for the Massachusetts
quota. An arrangement was reached in favor of the venture as long
as they provided their own transportation to the East. In the
fall an advertisement appeared in a San Francisco newspaper:
Many were said to have applied but only
the hundred most skilled were accepted to enlist. By early December
the ranks were filled and on the eleventh, after pooling their
bounty money to pay for transportation offered at half price by
the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, the "California Hundred",
amid cheering crowds, steamed out of the Golden Gate on the Steamer
Golden Age bound for Panama. Upon reaching Panama a cog railway
was taken across the isthmus to Aspinwall where they boarded the
Ocean Queen for New York.
The California Hundred arrived in New York
at 2a.m. January 3rd, 1863, after a less than pleasant trip in
crowded conditions with very poor fare. They were met at the dock
by the "Sons of Massachusetts" welcoming committee and
escorted to the New England Rooms for a well-appreciated breakfast
and dinner. That evening they were again aboard ship bound for
their sponsor city, Boston. After more cheers and welcoming The
Hundred were sent to Camp Meigs at Readville, Massachusetts for
training, here they officially became Company A of the 2nd Massachusetts
Volunteer Cavalry.
Training at Camp Meigs was not as mundane
for The Hundred as for most other troops. They had many visitors,
as the Easterners had a curiosity to know what the Californians
were like. Their unique hat brass, a set of downward crossed dragoon
style brass sabers along with brass letters "CAL 100"
in a semi circle over the top, was mentioned by George Towle in
his Recollections as having "served as a regulation pass
when we visited Boston." The evening of January 13th, a surprise
party was given at The Hundred's barracks by the Bunker Hill Association
of Charlestown, Massachusetts. This banquet was held to honor
the Californians for their patriotism and, the presentation of
an American Flag by a Miss Abbie Lord. After Miss Lord's speech,
Captain Reed accepted the standard on behalf of his Company. Too
large for cavalry service, the flag was only used once during
the war. Sadly, it served only to shroud the body of the Captain
whose eloquent acceptance speech brought the Barracks to cheers
and song long into the evening that night. The very next morning
it was off to Boston where more feting awaited. The Mayor of Boston
received them at the City Rooms, Governor John Andrew at the State
house, and ending the day with a "bountiful collation"
at Faneuil Hall.
Upon returning to camp January 27th, after
a company wide ten-day furlough, The Hundred were issued their
horses and equipment. From this point until their departure for
Virginia, on February 12th, they were involved in constant training
and drill. Company A arrived at their first camp, Gloucester Point,
Virginia, across the river from Yorktown on February 22, 1863,
along with Companies B, C, D and K under the command of Major
Caspar Crowinshield. The boys from California had received their
wishes; they were now in position to see the "Elephant"
and do something about it!
During The Hundred's stay in the Peninsular
Arena they were mostly involved in scouting and picket duty. Their
assessment of the manner in which they were being used was cause
for much complaint and criticism of their officer's competence.
As westerners they knew you didn't catch bushwackers by riding
up and down the beaten path. Their familiarity with Indian style
warfare made them good judges in this concern and, unknown to
them at this time, well suited for their future duties. However,
their ignorance of military protocol was cause for some rough
times in the beginning of their service.
The Hundred's first big test came during
a June expedition to burn the bridges across the South Anna River.
In a dismounted charge, across the water and into the fortifications
of a detachment of the 44th North Carolina, "seventy Californians
and twenty Massachusetts men captured one hundred and twenty-three"
Carolinians, officers and all. Now baptized by Mars they watched
the bridge burn and fall into the water, their elation checked
by the lifeless body of Joe Burdick and the cries of two seriously
wounded comrades.
Captain J. Sewall Reed
(Author's collection)
The Battalion
The enthusiasm started by the raising of
The Hundred was still going strong in San Francisco after their
departure. There were many men who didn't make the first cut that
still wanted to go to war. De Witt Clinton Thompson, a charter
member of the First California Guard and member of General Halleck's
staff, felt he could raise a battalion of four companies for service
in the east in the same manner as Captain Reed. Massachusetts
Governor Andrew, having some troubles filling his quotas, readily
agreed. On January 15th, 1863, Thompson received permission from
the Secretary of War. The next day a notice appeared in the Alta
California requesting enlistees for:
"…three years or the war,
under the Massachusetts Quota, and will leave for New York on
the 11th of February next. Transportation has now been provided
for and sufficient funds are now under the control of hon. Ira
P. Rankin to pay all necessary expenses of the organization.
Uniforms, quarters, substinence and necessary outfit will be
furnished to the men as soon as accepted."
Appointed Major by Governor Andrew, Thompson
had fifty applicants by the 19th. However, February 10th, the
day before Thompson first proposed to sail, only one hundred eighty-five
enlistees were on hand. The departure date was postponed and additional
recruiting offices were opened. The enlistees bunked at Platt's
Music Hall and drilled daily in addition to making an impressive
showing at a few parade and reviews.
On March 20th and 21st, the volunteers were
mustered into service. There were only three complete companies
ready to sail on the steamer S.S.Constitution March 23rd.
Captain David A. De Merritt stayed behind to complete recruiting
his company and did not reach Boston until mid May. Those that
sailed that beautiful clear March day were treated to the "traditional"
parade, speeches, and salutes. Throngs cheering from the shore
and boats must have offset, temporarily at least, the trepidations
one should feel when going to war. It was another wonderful send-off
for the patriots from California even though it belied what waited
ahead.
The voyage aboard the S. S. Constitution
was miserable and a stop had to be made in Mexico to take on fresh
provisions to quell insurrection. Guard duty caused the Battalion's
first casualty. Hiram Townsend of Walnut Grove fell overboard
while on guard duty one evening leaning on a rail while seasick.
Feelings during the voyage were not improved as the Californians
thought the steamer's crew made but a "trifling search."
For the Atlantic side of the trip The Battalion boarded the same
ship that conveyed The Hundred, the Ocean Queen. The Alta California
newspaper reported the Battalion debarking the Ocean Queen at
New York cursing the vessel, her captain and all connected with
Vanderbilt's steamship line. The New York welcoming committee
consisted of a few hack drivers, two newspaper boys, some old
women selling apples and a Sheriff with a writ of habeas corpus
freeing 18-year-old Isaac Golinsky, who had wanted to "back
out" at the last moment before sailing, from service. Although
this was not the welcome they had expected, a nice meal and show
that evening improved The Battalion's mood. The next day, after
a parade and speech by Governor Nye of Nevada, they were off to
Camp Meigs at Readville, Massachusetts for training and designations
as Company E, under Captain Charles Eigenbrodt; L, under Captain
Zabdiel Adams; F, under Captain David De Merritt; and M, under
Captain George Manning.
Hard fighting had cooled the Easterners
taste for war and the fanfare enjoyed by The Hundred a few months
earlier didn't materialize for The Battalion. There was some resentment
of this as they had come so far to fight, and possibly even die,
for their country. Even worse feelings were instilled when Governor
Andrew paid more attention to his first "Negro Regiment"
the 54th Massachusetts, also training at Camp Meigs, than to the
Californians.
The Battalion received marching orders May
12th, and feeling they had been poorly treated, were glad to leave
Massachusetts. Arriving in Washington City May 16th, they were
attached to the 22nd Army Corps. For their first weeks of service
they did scouting duty around the city. During June they were
moved from East Capitol Hill to Camp Brightwood for picket and
patrol duties in the region between Washington and the Blue Ridge.
The Battalion's first real taste of the
"Elephant" came on July 12th, while on a reconnaissance
mission of the Shenandoah Valley with Colonel Charles Russell
Lowell. The Californians pursued three platoons of Confederate
Cavalry to Ashby's Gap where a hot fight ensued. After an initial
charge by the Californians was turned back, Colonel Lowell sent
two companies of Californians to turn the left flank. The rebels
were forced to fall back and were chased for three miles. With
the weather poor for visibility the expedition turned back to
their base. As it was with their predecessors, The Hundred, The
Battalions first taste of victory on the field was tempered with
the reality of war and its fortunes. During this "successful"
action Walter S. Barnes and Harry P. Irving were killed, another
mortally wounded, four others slightly wounded, and Lieutenant
John C. Norcross and three privates captured. All were Californians.
Major D.W.C. Thompson
(Post war image, author's collection)
The Regiment
On August 6, 1863 The Hundred and The Battalion
were finally united along with the rest of the regiment at Centerville,
Virginia. For the next year the 2nd Massachusetts
Cavalry would operate in the area of Virginia fast becoming known
as "Mosby's Confederacy"; Fauquier, Loudoun, and Fairfax
Counties, Virginia. John Singelton Mosby, a protégée
of J.E.B. Stuart, with a group of "Partisan Rangers"
began harassing the Union installments in the area in a series
of lightning like strikes. After a raid, Mosby's Rangers would
scatter to the wind making retribution almost impossible. Mosby's
men knew the country and the sympathetic inhabitants giving them
a great advantage over their cumbersome foes.
The Californians were well matched for this
duty as their skills as horsemen and gunmen were on a par with
their new antagonists. However, they were again immensely frustrated
as they felt the Command just didn't understand how to properly
counter "guerrillas". Their officer's predictable folly
of following the highways while on scouting expeditions led to
at least two major disasters during 1864; Dranesville in February,
and, Mount Zion Church in July. In each of these fights with Mosby
the Californians suffered heavily during surprise attacks resulting
in several killed, many wounded and scores hauled off to the horrors
of the Confederate prison camps. Yet, despite the impossible task
and handicaps handed to them, The Californians performed their
duties with honor and éclat, even winning the admiration
of their foes. Ranger Munson, in his Reminiscence's, stated:
"…his [Capt. Reed, Dranesville]
men began breaking through the fences and into the fields, but
fighting all the while…His Californians, especially notoriously
good fighters, were standing up to the rack like men, dealing
out to us the best they had. They rallied at every call on them
and went down with banners flying."
In spite of these setbacks, the situation
was not a comfortable one for Mosby's men either. In several clashes
with the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry, Mosby ended up on the short
side losing many of his best and brightest subordinates. Mosby
himself was almost killed in the Coyle's Tavern raid carrying
home two Californian bullets in his thigh and groin that deceptively
pleasant August 24th, 1863.
During July of 1864, General Jubal Early
crossed the Potomac with his Rebel Army and made an advance on
Washington City. The Californians and the Bay State Boys were
placed in position to reconnoiter and contest his advance. Along
one thoroughfare a hand full of Californians from Company M, and
Massachusetts's men from Company D, were the only troops between
Early and the heart of the Capitol. Details of the Regiment gallantly
stood at the Monocacy River fords, Fort Reno, and Fort Stevens
to slow the advance and buy time for reinforcements. When Early's
advance was checked, he withdrew, but not before the entire 2nd
Massachusetts Cavalry ripped into his Army's coat-tails with their
new Spencer repeating carbines in a fierce seesaw fight at Rockville,
Maryland. They had seen him in, and it was only polite to see
him out!
The late summer of 1864 brought a welcome change for the men of
the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry. General Grant had enough of Early
and the cozy avenue he used to stroll up to the Capitol, the Shenandoah
Valley. This area had provided food and cover for the enemy since
the beginning of the war. General Philip Sheridan was given the
helm of a new force, the Army of the Shenandoah, and charged with
destroying Early, his Army and his breadbasket. August found the
2nd Massachusetts Cavalry on the move for twenty-one days straight
while constantly fighting and performing bravely. The Regiment
was riding high in the saddle fighting with "Little Phil".
They were happily on the offensive now and the bushwhacking business
was behind them. At August's end several more of California's
bravest troopers had joined the ethereal ranks of Captain Reed
and the others. The dashing Captain Charles S. Eigenbrodt was
shot dead from his horse in a charge at Halltown on August 25th,
and gallant Lieutenant Charles E. Meader was killed the next day
in a "hand to hand fight" at Charlestown, while in command
of The Hundred.
September brought the 2nd Massachusetts
a welcome honor. They were made a part of Sheridan's Reserve Brigade
of Cavalry along with two Regiments of U. S. Regulars. As icing
on the cake their Colonel Lowell was appointed Brigade Commander.
Fighting took place all that month and into
the next with battles at Opequan creek, Locke's Ford, Winchester,
Waynesboro, Round Top and Tom's Brook.
Early October the Regiment was ordered to
burn all forage and confiscate all supplies in the Valley. The
order was carried out so well that, within four days of the order,
fodder had to be shipped in for the Regiment's horses. An angered
Early struck back on October 19th, at Cedar Creek and nearly had
his way if not for a stubborn stand by the Cavalry Corps and part
of the 6th Corps. With his Army recovered in the afternoon Sheridan
attacked and Colonel Lowell and his boys shined. Charge after
charge finally broke the back of Early's Army, and again, the
Spencers of the 2nd Massachusetts helped usher him off. The toll
this time was heavy, Brave Colonel Lowell was dead, as was Captain
Rufus Smith while leading the surviving members of The Hundred.
Ten of the Regiments own died that day along with twenty-two wounded.
After Early's expulsion from the Valley,
the Regiment stayed in the area doing picket and patrol duty until
February. The high point during this time was an ordered raid
into Loudoun County to burn and forage that must have satisfied
many as this area had given Mosby so much aid during past clashes.
The low point was a freezing march toward Gordonsville and back
during mid December.
18-year-old trooper Waldo
Le Fay and mount, 2nd Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry (Author's
collection cdv)
The End and Beyond
Battle scarred and worn the Californians
joined one of the hardest marches of the war when Sheridan left
Winchester for Petersburg February 27th, 1865, to join the Army
of the Potomac in its campaign against Lee. After destroying the
remnants of Early's Army, the Cavalry Corps literally worked their
way east. For the next month the Regiment marched, fought, skirmished
and destroyed all that could be of use to the enemy for almost
three hundred miles. The entire journey made worse by unrelenting
rain and torturous mud.
Arriving in camp at Petersburg they were
but three days at rest before they were back in the saddle again.
This time, unbeknown to them, they were to play a pivotal part
in the last chapter of the Rebellion.
March 31st, the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry
participated in the attack on Dinwiddie Court House and, on April
1st, they were in the thick of the fight at Five Forks breaking
the Confederate right and insuring the fall of Petersburg. The
Regiment participated in the fight at Sailors Creek on the 6th,
capturing Ewell's Corps, and on the 8th, of April they helped
capture Lee's desperately needed supply train at Appomattox Station.
The next day they stood in Lee's Army's path with the rest of
the Cavalry Corps. Six grueling weeks of pushing human endurance
to the limit would now pay-off in spades. A white flag was brought
forth from the Rebel lines and presented to the Cavalry Corps.
The war in Virginia was over and the Bear State Soldiers would
now witness what they all had wished for two and a half years.
After returning to Petersburg, the Regiment
was ordered south to North Carolina to assist in rounding up Johnson's
troops. Johnson surrendered prior to their arrival and the detail
turned back for Washington City in time to participate in The
Grand Review on May 23rd. The Californians proudly bore the Bear
Guidon of The Hundred and the wreath encircled Star Guidons of
The Battalion aloft to the cheers of the multitude.
The cheering over, the Regiment returned
to camp and were mustered out of United States service at Fairfax
Court House, Virginia July 20th. Two days later they were on the
way back to Camp Meigs at Readville, Massachusetts where the 2nd
Massachusetts Cavalry was paid off and disbanded August 3rd, 1865.
Of the nearly five hundred Californians
who began the adventure only one hundred eighty-two were left
to muster out. Those that wished to return to California were
left to find and finance their own way home!
Samuel Corbett's Diary entry for August
8th, 1865, tells us best what it must have been like after such
the adventure:
"I find that I am a very badly
used up man now that the excitement of war is over, I find that
I am completely let down from nervous prostration. I cannot sleep
in the house, the air seems so close, and the beds are too soft.
I find myself lying on the floor every morning with no knowledge
of how I got there. My broken ribs hurt - in fact I am one mass
of hurt. During the last campaign in six weeks I lost 40 pounds
of flesh, and had it lasted 2 weeks longer I should have left
it all on the sacred soil of Va."
George Towle, entrusted by his comrades
to transport the Californian's flags back to the California State
Adjutant General, put it another way:
"The wearing character of the service
has been but lightly touched upon but my honest belief has always
been that the hardships attending my term of service would result
in lopping off from the end of my life not less than ten years."
The above being the testimony of some of
the luckier troopers, one can only begin to imagine what it must
have been like for those returning from hell on earth; Andersonville,
Florence, Millen and other southern prison camps. Several of the
most affected troopers, although surviving the war, perished in
the parole camps, hospitals and homes of loved ones in the months
soon after the close of hostilities.
In the years after the war the veterans
of The Hundred and Battalion would meet, on occasion, at reunions
of the Grand Army of the Republic veteran's organization. Regimental
Comrades spread across the full width of the country; from Maine,
to Florida, to California. Those that returned to California settled
anywhere from Northern California to Los Angeles, with the greatest
concentration being in the San Francisco area. The Lincoln Post
#1, of San Francisco, boasted thirteen surviving members as Comrades
in 1886 out of the forty 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry veterans listed
in California Posts.
The largest post war gathering of veterans of The Hundred and
Battalion occurred in conjunction with the 1886 National Grand
Army of the Republic Reunion in San Francisco. The surviving veterans
of The Hundred and Battalion gathered in Sacramento, at a [side]
reunion, to tell stories and catch up on the years gone by. There,
on the Capitol grounds, twenty-one years since they last stood
together, possibly for the last time as a group, the attending
surviving members of The California Hundred and Battalion stood
proudly under their battle flag and had their image captured for
eternity.
The Flags of the California
Hundred
The Following was printed in the Daily
Alta California Thursday Morning, November 2, 1865 :
Mr. Geo. W. Towle, Jr., of Santa Clara,
one of the survivors of the gallant "California Hundred,"
who left here in December, 1862, to serve in the Army of the
Potomac as a portion of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry, was
in town to-day on his way to Sacramento, with the original company
flag, or guidon, carried by the company through their whole campaign,
And now donated by the survivors to
the State of California. On the staff is a silver plate bearing
the following inscription: "Presented to the California
Hundred by Daniel Norcross, of San Francisco. December 1st, 1862.
Presented to the State of California by the remaining members
of the California Hundred, July 24th, 1865."
The colors of the guidon are faded and
the silk worn and torn to shreds and patches by long service
on the field, and it was found necessary to attach a large blue
satin pennant to the staff on which to inscribe the list of battles
in which the company participated.
This list, which is printed in gold,
is as follows:
" South Anna, Drainsville, Aldie,
Fort Reno, Rockville, Poolsville, Summit Point, Berryville, Berryville
Pike, Charlestown, Hall Town ( four days,) Opequan, (six days,)
Winchester, Luray, Waynesboro, Tom's Brook, Cedar Creek, South
Anna, White Oak Road, Dinwiddie Court House, Five Forks, Sailor's
Creek, Appomattox Court House."
Accompanying the flag is a letter, neatly
engrossed on parchment, addressed to the Adjutant general of
the Sate of California, and signed by each individual of the
company now remaining alive. This letter reads as follows:
"Camp of Cavalry Forces, Fairfax
Court House, Va., July 20th, 1865.}
"To the Adjutant General of the
State of California: Sir-The California Hundred, the first Company
organized on the Pacific Coast for the war in the East, and the
suppression of armed rebellion, prior to their departure from
San Francisco, California December 11th, 1862, were presented
by Daniel Norcross, Esq., of San Francisco with the Bear Flag
which this letter accompanies. This flag has been carried by
the Company through nearly three years of active service, including
twenty-three general engagements, (as denoted upon the pennant,)
and under which three of our Company Commanders and many of our
comrades have fallen. And now, at the final muster out and discharge
of the Company, the remaining members, whose names appear in
this letter, respectfully present it, through you, to our adopted
State, California.
"The accompanying American Flag
was presented to the Hundred upon their arrival in Massachusetts
by Miss Abbie A. Lord, a patriotic young lady of Charlestown,
Massachusetts, but has never been carried upon the field of battle,
as it was too large for cavalry service. (It has never been unfurled
by the Company except in one instance- to enshroud the remains
of our original Company Commander, Captain J.S. Reed.) It is
the wish of the Company that the same disposition be made of
this as was the Bear Flag.
Wesley R. Crumpton,
Chas E. Benjamin,
Chas. H. Powers,
Thos. D. Barnstead.
John L. Hunter,
J. Carey Ross,
Geo Anderson,
Wells W. West,
Geo. M. Johnson,
Ed. B. Campbell
Frederick Hall,
Wm. G. Anthony,
Geo. W. Goulding,
Samuel Smith, Jr,
Richard C. Samuel,
H. H. Fillebrown,
Henry S. E. Tubbs,
Geo. T. Holt,
Henry S. Sherwin,
Issac R. McIntosh,
Charles H. Ackerman,
Chas. Blake,
Chas. Legler,
Benj. Locke,
Wm. E. Starr,
Cyrus F. Demsey,
Geo. W. Towle, Jr.,
Wm. Cunningham,
Henry Mazy,
Peter E. White,
M.Z. Poole,
John Fletcher,
Byron D. Gibbs,
C. P. Briggs,
Henry Schrow,
Jeremiah J. Carey,
John D McCarthy,
James Watson,
Wm. H. McNeil,
Darnley O. Balcom.
Only a portion of the Company have yet
arrived from the East, the remainder being unable to pay the
rates of fare demanded, and the State of Massachusetts having
declined to forward them, on the ground that as they were mustered
into the service of the United States in San Francisco, it was
the business of the General Government to return them to the
place from whence they were received into the service. The War
Department has now consented to furnish transportation for those
still at the East, and all who desire will, therefore, be returned
here within a short time. They have deserved well of their country
and our state, and their services will, we trust, not soon be
forgotten by their fellow citizens.
Eureka!
An original copy of this photograph can be viewed at the Drum
Barracks Civil War Museum in Wilmington, California.
Organization
Company "A" (The California
100) organized at San Francisco, Cal., December 10, 1862. Arrived
at Readville, Mass., January 4, 1863. Companies "B,"
"C," "D," "G," "H," "I"
and "K" organized at Camp Meigs, Readville, Mass. Companies
"E," "F," "L" and "M"
organized at San Francisco, Cal., February and March, 1863. Left
San Francisco for Readville. Mass., March 21 and joined Regiment
at Readville, Mass., as the California Cavalry Battalion April
16, 1863. Companies "A," "B," "C,"
"D" and "K" left Massachusetts for Baltimore,
Md.; thence moved to Fortress Monroe, Va., February 12-18, 1863;
thence moved to Gloucester Point, Va., February 19. Attached
to Cavalry Command, 4th Army Corps, Dept. of Virginia. Engaged
in picket and outpost duty and scouting until July, 1863. Reconnaissance
from Gloucester March 30. Expedition to Gloucester Court House
April 7. Companies "A" and "B" moved to Williamsburg,
Va., and reconnaissance to White House April 27-May 14. Expedition
to King and Queen County May 6. Companies "C," "D"
and "K" moved to West Point May 15 and duty there until
June 1. Dix's Peninsula Campaign June 24-July 7. Expedition to
South Anna Bridge June 23-28. Action at Hanovertown and South
Anna Bridge June 26. Expedition from White House to South Anna
River July 1-7. Expedition to Gloucester Court House July 25.
Moved to Washington, D.C., July 27-29, and joined Regiment at
Centreville, Va., August 6. Companies "E," "F,"
"G," "H," "I," "L" and
"M" moved from Readville, Mass., to Washington, D.C.,
May 11-16, 1863. Attached to Casey's Provisional Troops, 22nd
Corps, to August, 1863. King's Division, 22nd Corps, to September,
1863. Cavalry Brigade, 22nd Corps, to August, 1864. Reserve Cavalry
Brigade, 1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of Shenandoah, Middle
Military Division, to September, 1864. 3rd (Reserve) Brigade,
1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of Shenandoah and Army of the
Potomac, to July, 1865.
Service
Duty at East Capital Hill, Defenses of
Washington, D.C., until May 30, 1863, and at Camp Brightwood
June 1-11. Moved to Poolesville, Md., June 23, and patrol duty
in rear of the Army of the Potomac June 23-July 3. Brockville
July 1. Scout near Dawsonville July 3-9. Reconnaissance to Ashby's
Gap July 11-14. Action at Ashby's Gap July 12. Rockville, Md.,
July 13. Reconnaissance to Warrenton July 20-21. Skirmishes at
Warrenton July 21 and 31. Operations about Fairfax Court House
July 28-August 3. Near Aldie July 30. Duty at Centreville, Va.,
operating against Moseby until October 6. Companies "C,"
"F," "G" and "I" detached at Muddy
Branch September 15, 1863, to March 8, 1864. Warrenton Pike August
17. Coyle's Tavern, near Fairfax Court House, August 24. Expeditions
from Centreville August 15-19, September 18-20 and October 2-5.
Ordered to Fairfax Court House October 6, thence to Vienna October
9 and duty there until May 24, 1864. Scout to Gum Springs October
12-13, 1863. Near Annandale October 22. Tyson's Cross Roads November
14. Reconnaissance to Blue Ridge Mountains November 18-26. Picket
attacks December 12-23. Affair at Germantown December 13 (Detachment).
Scout from Vienna to Middleburg December 18-20. Skirmish with
Moseby December 29. Near Ellis and Ely's Fords January 17, 1864.
Ellis Ford January 26. Scout to Aldie February 4-6. Aldie February
5. Near Circlesville February 21. Dranesville February 22. Scout
to Farmwell February 25-26. Companies "B," "D,"
"E" and "M" relieve Companies "C,"
"F," "G" and "I" at Muddy Branch
March 8. Expedition to Faquier and Loudoun Counties April --.
Affair Leesburg April 19 (Detachment). Action with Moseby near
Leesburg April 28. Scout to Upperville April 28-May 1. Patrol
duty on Orange & Alexandria Railroad May --. Moved to Fall's
Church May 24. Escort wounded from the Wilderness June 8-14.
Point of Rocks July 5. Action with Moseby at Mr. Zion Church,
near Aldie, July 6. Frederick Pike July 7-8. Tennallytown July
10. Fort Reno and near Fort Stevens July 11. Fort Stevens and
about Northern Defenses of Washington July 11-12. Rockville,
Md., July 13. Poolesville, Md., July 14. Pursuit of Early to
Snicker's Gap July 14-28. Snicker's Gap July 17-18. At Rockville
July 26-August 9. Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign August
to November. Shepherdstown August 10. White Post August 12. Strasburg
August 15. Winchester August 17 and 18. Opequan Creek August
18. Near Opequan Creek August 19. Berryville Pike August 20.
Summit Point August 21. Charleston August 21-22. Halltown August
22-24. Summit Point August 25-27. Smithfield August 29. Berryville
September 3-4. Berryville Pike September 4. Opequan Creek September
7. Locke's Ford, Opequan Creek, September 13. Sevier's Ford,
Opequan Creek, September 15. Battle of Opequan, Winchester, September
19. Front Royal and Snake Mountain September 20. Fisher's Hill
September 21. Milford September 22, Mill's Ford September 23.
Toll Gate, near Front Royal, September 23. Luray Valley September
24. Port Republic September 26-27. Rockfish Gap September 28.
Waynesboro September 28, 29 and 30 and October 2. Mt. Crawford
October 2. Tom's Brook, "Woodstock Races," October
8-9. Battle of Cedar Creek October 19. Guarding Winchester &
Potomac Railroad November 3-28. Near Kernstown November 11. Expedition
to Loudoun and Faquier Counties November 28-December 3. Expedition
to Gordonsville December 19-28. Madison Court House December
20. Gordonsville December 23. Charlottesville December 24. At
Camp Russell, near Winchester, January 1 to February 27, 1865.
Sheridan's Raid to White House Landing February 27-May 25. Occupation
of Staunton March 2. Waynesborough March 2. Duguidsville March
8. South Anna Bridge March 14. Destruction of Virginia Central
Railroad and James River Canal. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April
9. White Oak Road, near Five Forks, March 30. Dinwiddie Court
House March 30-31. Five Forks April 1. Scott's Cross Roads April
2. Tabernacle Church or Beaver Pond Creek April 4. Sailor's Creek
April 6. Appomattox Station April 8. Appomattox Court House April
9. Surrender of Lee and his army. At Nottawny Station until April
19. Expedition to Danville April 23-29. Near Petersburg to May
10. March to Washington, D.C., May 10-16. Grand Review May 23.
Near Cloud's Mills May 29-June 26, and at Fairfax Court House
until July 20, Mustered out July 20, 1865.
Regiment lost during service 8 Officers
and 82 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 3 Officers
and 138 Enlisted men by disease. Total 231.
Tells the little known story of the five
hundred volunteers from California known as the "California
Hundred and Battalion", who fought in the East during the
Civil War years 1863-1865 as a part of the Second Massachusetts
Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. Genealogists, teachers, researchers,
and historians will gain new insights into California's involvement
in the Civil War in the East, which has been largely overlooked.
Hardcover - 219 pages (October 2001)
McFarland & Company
The Second Massachusetts Cavalry included
the only organized group (5 companies totaling 504 men) from
California to fight in the east during the Civil War. Led by
a young Boston aristocrat, Colonel Charles R. Lowell, these men
began their wartime careers in Northern Virginia in 1862, clashing
with the partisan rangers of Major John S. Mosby, in a deadly
world of guerrilla warfare. In August of 1864, the regiment was
assigned to Major General Phil Sheridan's Army of Shenandoah
and served through all of the battles in the victorious campaign
to clear the valley of Confederates, witnessing the final surrender
at Appomattox Courthouse. This account tells what these men from
California and Massachusetts accomplished, how they communicated,
and how they viewed themselves. The book contains three appendices
that list the battle casualties of the regiment during its largest
engagements. Photographs and a bibliography are also included
California
Sabers: The 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry in the Civil War by James McLean
Hardcover (December 2000)
Indiana University Press
This is the story of the California Battalion and Hundred, a
group of 500 select men who were the only organized group of
Californians to fight in the East during the Civil War--as the
cadre of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry. The Second Massachusetts
fought a bloody guerilla war against John S. Mosby, the confederacy's
"Gray Ghost," and then went on to battles across Virginia
and finally to a stand that blocked Lee's army at Appomattox.
This work, based on extensive research, is the first comprehensive
history of this relatively unknown group and will be of great
interest to Civil War enthusiasts and historians.
Other Books
Adjutant General of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines
in the Civil War. 8 Vols. Boston: Norwood Press, 1931.
Bensell, Royal A. All Quiet On The Yamhill.
Edited by Gunther Barth. Eugene, Oregon: University of Oregon
Books, 1959.
General Committee of Management, Twentieth
National Encampment. Register of the Department of California,
Grand Army of The Republic. San Francisco, California: Joseph
L. Tharp, 1886.
Hand, George. The Civil War in Apacheland. Edited by Neil
B. Carmony. Silver City, New Mexico: High-Lonesome Books, 1996.
Harpending, Asbury. The Great Diamond
Hoax. Edited by James H. Wilkins. San Francisco: The James
Barry Co., 1913.
Humphreys, Charles A. Field, Camp, Hospital
and Prison in the Civil War, 1863-1865. Boston: Press of Geo.
H. Ellis Co., 1918.
Hunt, Aurora. The Army of the Pacific 1860-1866. Glendale,
California: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1950.
Lewis, Oscar. The War in the Far West.
Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, inc., 1961.
Madden, David. Editor. Beyond the Battlefield.
New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
McDowell, Donald. The Beat of the Drum.
Santa Ana, California: Graphic: Publishers, 1993.
Munson, John W. Reminiscences of a Mosby Guerrilla. New
York: Moffat, Yard And Company, 1906.
Orton, Richard H. comp. Records of California
Men in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 To 1865. Sacramento,
California: State Printing Office, 1890.
Rice, William B. The Los Angeles Star
1851-1864. Edited by John Walton Caughey. Berkeley and Los
Angeles, California: University of California Press: 1947.
Robinson, John W. Los Angeles in Civil
War Days 1860-65. Los Angeles, California: Dawson's Book Shop,
1977.
Talbott, Laurence Fletcher. California
in the War For Southern Independence. Los Angeles, California:
Hale and Co., 1996.
Ward, William H., editor. Records of
Members of the Grand Army of the Republic. San Francisco,
California: H.S. Crocker & Co., 1886.
War Department. The War of the Rebellion:
A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate
Armies. 128 volumes Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1880-1901.
Wert, Jeffry D. Mosby's Rangers.
New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.
Williamson, James J. Mosby's Rangers.
New York, New York: Ralph B Kenyon, 1896. Reprint, Time Life Books,
1982.
Young. San Francisco-A History of the
Pacific Coast Metropolis. (Chapter XXXVI. San Francisco's
Attitude During The Civil War). 1912.
Magazines and Periodicals
Chandler, Robert J. San Franciscans View
the Civil War. Salvo: Journal of the Fort Point and Army Museum
Association. Volume VI, Number 1. Spring 1990.
Chandler, Robert J. The Velvet Glove:
The Army During the Secession Crisis in California, 1860-1861.
Journal of the West. October 1981.
Chandler, Robert J. Vigilante Rebirth:
The Civil War Union League. The Argonaut: Journal of the San Francisco
Historical Society. Volume 3, Number 1.
Winter, 1992.
Colwell, Wayne. The California Hundred.
Pacific Historian. Volume 13, Number 3.
Corthell, James Roland. The Story of
Camp Meigs. New England Magazine. Vol. XXXII, Number 4. June
1905.
Fitzpatrick, Mike. Jubal Early and the
Californians. Civil War Times Illustrated May 1998.
Kibby, Leo P. California Soldiers in
the Civil War. The California Historical Society Quarterly.
December 1961.
Riley, Roger D. California's Role in
the Civil War. California Historian, Fall 1994.
Tibbals, Richard K. Thirty Years Later. Civil War Times Illustrated.
April 1986.
Newspapers
Boston Herald,
Boston, Massachusetts. 1863.
Boston Transcript,
Boston, Massachusetts. 1863.
Boston Journal,
Boston, Massachusetts. 1863.
Boston Saturday Evening Gazette, Boston, Massachusetts.
1863
Daily Alta California, San Francisco, Ca., 1862 - 1865.
Dedham Gazette,
Dedham, Massachusetts. 1863.
Evening Buelletn,
San Francisco, Ca. 1862- 1864.
The Napa County Reporter. Napa, Ca. 1863.
Diaries and Unpublished
Works
Corbett, Samuel J. Diary 1862-1865. Bancroft
Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Dearborn, Valorus. Diary 1864. Privately
owned. Copy at Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Mace, Joanne Beer. Massachusetts Cavalry
from California 1862-1865. A Thesis Presented to Humboldt State
College. August 1967.
Their Horses Climbed Trees: The Chronicle of the
California 100 and Battalion from San Francisco to Appomattox